4 Important Words

It takes a lot of communication to ride a tandem. Since we have a timing chain that connects us together, we have to do all motions together and not individually. This requires lots of communicating. There are 4 very important words we use while riding.

Pedal,
Coast,
Bump, and
Duck

Since things can happen quickly you can't spend a lot of time explaining or questioning these words. I especially have to trust what Clay tells me since I can't see what is coming. If he says duck I can't try to look ahead to see why he said that, I have to immediately duck. Clay and I have gotten pretty good at this since we have been riding tandem for 11 years.

Several times on this trip when Tom and Susan were drafting us, which means they were riding very close to Clay and I, I would hear Tom tell Susan to coast. A few times I actually stopped pedaling before realizing that it was Tom and not Clay that said coast. When this happened I had to use the 5th most important word, and that is "Sorry"!

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Statistics for Part II

504 miles
Averaged 14.5 miles per hour
11 out of the 12 riding days were 100 degrees F or higher
3 flat tires
1 rest day
176 pictures taken

 Clay & Kathy

Tom & Susan

Photo Potpourri

 My personal touch

 Preparing to leave McPherson, KS

 Shadow picture.

 Tom had problems with bugs at this rest stop.

 Abby. Lyons, KS

 Clock Tower on the Rice County Courthouse in Lyons, KS

 Cross monument somewhere between Lyons, KS and Ellinwood, KS

 Kansas wildflowers.

Between Lyons, KS and Ellinwood, KS

Antique Store in Pawnee Rock. We liked the bike out front but we like ours better!

High Plains area in Kansas

Left to Right
Ann Sell, Mary Lynne Simer, Rachel Wallace, Kathy Burkholder,
Judy Craig, Clay Burkholder,
Sue Goldsby, Robert Craig, Susan Weaver, Tom Weaver,
Ellen Merriman, Abby Weaver,
Mary Kate Weaver, Jane Leeper and Christy Cate

Don't Cry Because It's Over, Smile Because It Happened

Part II
Day 13
Liberal, KS to Hooker, OK
20 miles

The title of this blog is a quote from Dr. Seuss, and I thought it was fitting for this day. What a journey this has been! 

We started with a hearty breakfast at Hampton Inn. I love eating waffles, and the only time I eat them is when we are traveling and I'm burning lots of calories. We left the parking lot approximately 8:30 a.m. It was a beautiful morning with not much wind, and what wind we had was at our backs. It was only about 4 miles until we left Kansas and entered Oklahoma. Of course we had to stop and take a picture.

We arrived in Hooker right at our planned time of 10 a.m. There was a small crowd gathered at the cemetery to cheer us in. It was really hard not to cry as we pedaled in, knowing that it was over. I am so thankful for my husband who didn't think I was crazy when I suggested this journey and who worked with me to make it happen. I am also thankful that my sister, Susan, and her husband Tom shared this experience with us. I really appreciate our support team who provided shade when there wasn't any, who brought us water when we ran out, who came out to us with our pump when we had a flat tire, who notified us of road hazards or construction so we wouldn't be caught unaware, who got up early each morning so we wouldn't have to ride after lunch in this extreme heat, and who did so much more for us. You made our job so much easier!

I don't know if I can adequately explain what it felt like to retrace my great-great grandfather's journey. It was very surreal at times. Especially when our journey paralleled their journey. I feel very honored to have had a glimpse of my relative's lives through the manuscript written by Sophronia Cousins and can only hope that some day a grandchild of mine will enjoy my blog about our journey as much.

 Releasing balloons to celebrate our ride

Clay and I at my grandparent's grave at the Hooker Cemetery

Land Of Oz

Part II
Day 12
Plains, KS to Liberal, KS
25 miles

Because we rode so many miles yesterday it made today's ride really short. We had a very brisk wind at our backs. It was very enjoyable and we averaged almost 21 miles per hour. That even included a  steep incline after crossing the Cimarron River. We had a flat tire 2 miles after starting out this morning, so that was a bummer. It was on the front tire this time. The wind was so strong, several times while standing there while Clay was changing the tire, I lost my balance because of how hard the wind was blowing! Tom and Susan decided to take a rest day so it was just Clay and I this morning.

You can see how hard the wind was blowing by looking at Rachel's hair.

In 1912 when Charles Cousins was coming into Liberal, the Cimarron River was a wide and swiftly moving river that they had to cross. Some places the water was only knee deep but at other places it was waist deep. Today there was not a drop of water in it!

Cimarron River

We are expecting several relatives to arrive in Liberal today. They are planning to welcome us in Hooker, Oklahoma tomorrow when we finish. I can't believe our journey is almost over.

Liberal is the official hometown of Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz. 

Rachel and the Tin Man.

Drifting Along With The Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Part II
Day 11
Dodge City, KS to Plains, KS
60 miles

We started our day early. Had breakfast at 6 a.m. with road construction workers, Harley riders, and rodeo cowboys. An outsider looking in would have thought us a strange group! We pedaled out of the hotel parking lot at 7 a.m. When we left Dodge City it was 71F, and Clay and I were actually cold. We even had goosebumps!

Our planned route today was to stop in Meade, Kansas, which was 45 miles away. We were really making good time this morning. I think we were pedaling fast to try to warm up. When we stopped at our 20 mile break, it was about the time we are usually getting started. This was a great morale booster. Susan said it has been the best day for her.

We always get strange looks from the cows and horses as we pedal by.

When we took a break at Fowler, Kansas, this morning we heard a train coming. We realized that it was going West, the same as us, so we quickly hopped on our bikes so we could draft him. It was so much fun. We got up to 24 miles per hour. We also got 2 encouraging whistle blows from trains today along with some car honks!

When we got to Meade, we found a Historical Museum. We decided to go in and see if they had anything about our relatives when they came through. We were disappointed that we didn't find any information, but it was a nice museum. The lady there was very helpful! Since it was still before lunch and we were making such good time, we decided to continue on. We ended up stopping in Plains, Kansas, at the 60 mile mark for us. It was Tom and Susan's longest ride to date and also the longest mileage we have done in a day on this trip. Way to go Tom and Susan!!

Susan needing to be helped in after bicycling 60 miles.

Some tumbleweed bushes along our route today.

Seeing all the tumbleweeds today reminded me of something in the manuscript that you might find interesting. Sophronia writes "From farmer's wives we learned how to cook tumbleweeds which grew abundantly along the road side. Tumbleweeds, when picked small before the prickly thorn develops, were delicious! Maude, Rita and I picked baskets full of the weeds as we walked along the road." I never knew that tumbleweeds could be eaten!

This afternoon we went to the Liberal Cemetery and found Harry and Lucy Cousins' gravesite. They were my great grandparents and they were 2 of the 13 that traveled in the 1911 caravan.