Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more...

I had a little technical difficulty yesterday. This was the post I wrote last night that somehow didn't get published.

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Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/stjosephMO.kmz

After what seems like half my adult life we finally made it across Kansas. We had a much nicer day today. The winds were favorable, which always makes me a LOT better cyclist. When the wind is blowing me down the road at 20 MPH I feel like I actually know what I'm doing out here. We covered 87 miles, stopped for a snack at Dairy Queen, had 2 SAG stops, and I still got finished before 12:30. That's a good day at the office.

Speaking of good days at the office, I had an IM session with one of my co-workers last night. I've been gone for 3 1/2 weeks. It seems like my former work life never existed. I have a tough time even remembering what I do in the "real" world. (Note to Boss -- that doesn't mean that I don't want my job back when I get done...). My co-worker said it seems like I just left. Interesting how the perspective changes.

Here's a picture of one of the support vans. It's not a terribly interesting picture, but I include it just as an example of how the support system works on this trip. A group of us were at Dairy Queen having a snack. Tracy saw the flags and pulled in to see who was here. She didn't stop, she just made note of who was here. She and her staff know where every rider is located all day long.


We crossed the Missouri River today when we left Kansas. I don't have a picture because the bridge was barely rideable and there was nowhere to stop. There was no sign labelling the river, no scenic lookout, nothing. Very Strange. Well, maybe not so strange after seeing the state of the roads so far in Missouri. I suspect that will be a continuing topic of conversation over the next 3 days.

At the Route Rap tonight we heard about a special event happening during tomorrow's ride. I'll just throw that out as a little "tease". It should be really fun.