Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 22, 2003

To Topeka!
Today I woke up energized and ready to give the strong Kansas gusts a piece of my mind! Kansas City to Topeka was a scenic ride. I told myself to ignore that nasty wind and take in the beautiful countryside, along with trying to search for Dorothy and Toto.



One specific moment I remember was a bird flying by my side for about a half mile. It was as if we were flying together, side by side, and enjoying every moment. Riding a bike across country has made me appreciate moments like these in nature and how much it has been taken for granted.



At our first water stop, everyone decides Sonic, a fast food chain, would be a great place to grab an early snack. One thing no rider has on this trip is a small stomach! When you ride 80-100 miles, five meals a day is the only way to keep pedaling. As we pushed off from the water stop we saw what lay ahead--rain.



Then nature reared its ugly head with the approach of our lunch hour. Katie, Sam and I were watching the sky grow darker and darker as we fiercely pedaled out way into Lawrence, Kansas. If you can just imagine the blackest sky you have ever seen, we traveled into one ten times blacker than that. We kept telling ourselves to pedal our hardest and beat the rain. We watched a severe storm off to our far right, but still no rain. Lightning was touching down off in the distance, but we still had no rain. We arrived in Lawrence, just as a slow steady shower began. We kept biking. We found Rich and Pat just ahead of us and set out to find the lunch stop. The rain started to come down harder. We recalled the stories told by locals about the hail storms that dropped baseball, softball and volleyball size hail not too long ago in this same area.



Since we have yet to see one of our support vehicles, we call Sumeet who informs us lunch is five miles up the road at the restaurant Applebees. Then the torrential downpour began. We decided it was safer to pull over and wait off the rain. As we waited in a gas station overhang, we noticed how flooded the roads became. The skies did not appear to be clearing quickly. We give Sumeet and Emily another call and they will come get us since we are not too far away. We were the only riders lucky enough to get shuttles to lunch.



Meanwhile, the rest of the riders did not quite get into town fast enough. They took cover in enlarged Teepees and even exotic clubs, oddly enough. Some found abandoned buildings in which to take shelter for a while. Other hid in old fireplaces, yes fireplaces. You wouldn’t imagine how resourceful you become when you need cover from rain. There was no way to shuttle everyone so these riders waited out the rain.



Applebee’s was by far one of the best lunches at this point of our trip. They offered everything on their menu to us. Almost everyone ordered a meal along with a dessert. Pat and Sam ate so much they joined Team Van. It was hard for many to jump on their bikes on full stomachs, but not Katie and I. We left together in as Team Alpha, anyone who is riding in the first group of riders, and reached speeds at around 25-30 going up and down some of the most breathtaking rolling hills in Kansas. Katie got a great photo of me cruising around a corner in my There’s No Place Like Home jersey. My sister gave me this jersey the night before I left. It is white, sleeveless, and has "There’s No Place Like Home" written in red glitter on the back.



The pastor in Topeka greeted us warmly as everyone rolled into town. This night was spent relaxing with a few rented movies. Some riders even strolled around the neighborhood to check out the sites.



Another day down, another day biked, and another day closer to San Francisco!