Day 18 May 15th Lamar Kansas – Lakin Ks.

 

 
This was a day that I didn’t want to get out of bed! I lay in bed all night listening to the wind blow against the hotel. But I got up & prepped for the day that would take me into Kansas. I made a stop @ WalMart & bought a $9.50 radio. This was a wise choice as a replacement for my ear plugs of yesterday. I spent the day grinding it out, like a fish swiming up steam….. All day! I ran into rain @ about the 26 mile mark. Dressed in every stitch of cloths I had & shopping bags taped around my feet & hands I pressed on @ 7 – 9 mph. The math said I would not make the 102 miles to Garden City. This meant trying for the town of Lakin 23 miles to the west. Up & down hills through pasture land & hay fields I stopped about 18 miles west Lakin. There a Kansas State trooper in a pickup truck stopped to ck on me. He commented on the wind & cold day & offered to take me the rest of the way into town. That’s how desperate I must have looked. I declined &assured him I would make it OK. With that I rolled on, pacing my way to town. On the outskirts of town a pickup truck had pulled off the road a few hundred yards ahead. When I reached the truck a guy got out & flagged me down. He said I was only 1 1/2 miles from town & said that the weather called for rain & wind for the next 3 days. He said he had a place a few miles back & invited me to stay. This is typical Kansas. He then said that he wasn’t interested in having sex or anything like that? Well that was a deal breaker. After all being on the road for 18 days I was disappointed in this 😁! Who the hell says this as an opening line anyway? I declined & said no thanks & sped up the hill into town @ Tour De France speed! Yikes!! my tech adviser J Perry warned me of this situation. I made it into town just before dark & found a room at the only hotel in town. & 80.5 miles done. 

Now the bad news. Looks like I got a case of the flu! Nose running all day chilled to the bone & fever. I don’t do sick well on my best day but this is very inconvenient . I am going to bed & see how tomo goes. I am a few days ahead of schedule so may end up taking the day off or go into Garden City & find medical help. Will keep you informed as I go.