We departed right on time at 7:45 a.m. Pam drove off about 7:30 and I could tell she was almost to cry. I’m glad she left earlier, as it might have hit her harder to see me leave. This is the longest we will have been apart in our 28 years of marriage. I ordered a dozen roses for her yesterday, to be delivered later this morning. Hope they provide a nice surprise for her. Sure do love my wife!!

As I got ready to sit down, two sisters setting behind me asked if they could trade seats with me. I was sitting between them and their father, so we traded.

I hope I will continue to write my thoughts and experiences all the way through the trip – I would experience it, but I would also like Pam and others to experience it. I was nervous enough this morning that all I ate for breakfast was two slices of toast. Pam later told me that she was afraid I was feeling sick! As the busses departed from Lenexa I called Pam on my cell phone. She was in the process of eating oatmeal and sounded much better than she was 20 minutes earlier. I was very relieved - she actually sounded good! Since Letisha, our daughter, didn’t have to go to work for awhile Pam spent some time talking to her while Letisha was still in bed. Pam had purchased a magazine for me to read on the way out, so I started reading.

About 8:15 we stopped at a rest area east of Lawrence to pick up several riders. Since I had a vacant seat one of the riders sat down beside me. We talked a little and I soon discovered that he taught at KU Lawrence. It turned out he was a professor in the School of Education, his name was Mickey Imber.

At 9:00 we arrived in Topeka to pick up more riders. I bought some orange juice (OJ) while Mickey supervised the repacking of his bike below the bus. I had concerns about my bike also. When my bike was packed in KC, they placed both wheels (I had removed them) next to the cargo doors. I could just see the spokes, or worse yet, the rims being bent or broken as the load shifted while traveling. Fortunately this did not happen! While waiting for the riders to reboard I watched a young couple depart - she was acting like she would really miss him for the next several days. I saw her frequently throughout the trip and she appeared to be having a good enough time with her friends!

After we left Topeka, someone told me about the Iowa ride called RAGBRAI. This ride consists of some 8,000 registered participants, plus some 2-3,000 other people that just show up. They camp in farmer's fields, or wherever they can arrange for a place to sleep. With so many people using water, it is not unheard of for a small towns' water pressure to be reduced so low that occasionally the fire department has to be called in to boost the water pressure! There is a lot of beer drinking and partying on RAGBRAI. I’ll leave that one to the party crowd for now. In contrast, BAK is said to be more laid back and quiet. It is known as one of the better rides in the country. Each of the 3 routes is limited to 300+ riders and BAK arranges for accommodation in school gyms. It is relatively unstructured with few rules and a go at your own pace type of ride. They do not allow any smoking or drinking on a schools property – this is strictly enforced.

10:30 found us at the Manhattan interchange on I-70 where we picked up a few more riders. At this place in the state, the trees were becoming few and far between and the wind was really starting to blow. I heard it is supposed to be hotter next week this can be expected in KS at this time of the year. Hope Pam has her flowers by now.

We arrived at our lunch stop in Salina about 12:30. Mickey and I ate buffet style at a Chinese restaurant called the Panda House. The waitress was rather harried it seemed. She came by two times and asked us what we would like to drink. Each time I told her tea. When she finally came out she was carrying 7-8 other drinks as well as my tea. She distributed all of the other drinks and then wandered around with my lonely glass of tea, looking for its owner. Finally catching her attention I received my long awaited glass of tea.

At 3:00 we made a rest stop on I-70 in the middle of nowhere. In Salina, the wind had been blowing very hard. When we got off the bus, in order to stand upright one had to practically lean south into the wind. It must have been blowing 30-50 mph. Stood in line to use the restroom – also good excuse to get out of the wind! Sure hope the wind dies down before we start riding. I called Pam while there and she said my roses came that morning, as well as a dozen roses Letisha purchased and delivered herself! They were interviewing a prospective professor where she works, so receiving 2 dozen roses in one morning created quite a stir. She sounded good as I was talking to her.

The wheat in this part of the state looks about ready to cut, although there appears to still be some green patches here and there. The two sisters in front of us were going on this trip with their dad. The trip for one was a graduation present from her uncle. At the Oakley exit (mile 39) we stopped because the lead bus was having some type of problem. We had been going between 40 and 50 mph for quite some distance. Sure hope we make it to Goodland without having to stop again, or try to put the contents and people of the first bus on the other two busses. We are going slower and slower. Only 20 more miles to Goodland. Finally arrived in Goodland about 5:30 p.m., but our bus kept on going after leaving the other two busses and made straight for St. Francis, getting there about 6:30 p.m. The wind was still blowing very hard when we arrived. We unloaded the bus, I found a place to sleep (next to a snorer!), and reassembled my bike.

I took my first bike ride with Mickey, down to the local version of a Quik Trip (known hereafter as QT). I had a supper of packaged ham sandwich, water and blueberry pie. We had our first nightly meeting where our route directors were introduced, after which we were registered in the entryway of the high school. They gave each of us an armband (similar to a hospital band) with "BAK 2000" on it. Once this was put on, the only way to remove it was to cut it off. We were also given a clipon badge, BAK 2000 water bottle, and a flashlight. While I was waiting in line, a guy, who had ridden in 90 miles today from Colorado, was trying to register and ride with our group. They told him our route was full and he would have to ride with one of the other two routes. I don’t think this set to well with him since the other two groups were some 30 miles south of us.

I tried calling Pam on my cell phone several times this evening, always getting a busy signal until finally getting through after the third or fourth try. There were all types of sleeping accomodations - little pads and queen size air mattresses, sleeping bags on the floor – even cots. I had a self inflating air mattress with a blanket and a sheet which I hoped would suffice. Since they were serving breakfast starting at 5:30 a.m. and I wanted to start riding to the Colorado line by 6:30am I took a shower and and got my sleeping duds on. I was too wound up to sleep so went outside and walked around the school several times trying to relax. Finally about 11:00 went to bed. Had trouble sleeping, waking up about 2:30 a.m. and not being able to go back to sleep for over an hour. Finally went back to sleep, but was awakened shortly after 5:00 a.m. by others getting around. I had dreamed I overslept and woke up only in time to put my bags on the truck at 9:00 a.m. What a way to start the trip!!!

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