The Midwest, with some of the nicest people you'll ever meet

In Great Bend, we finished early, so we had time to go around town and do laundry (which was much needed) and get a good rest before heading off to Abilene, Kansas.

We headed towards the northern part of Kansas and followed the major road I-70 so that we'd hit some large cities on the way. But compared to the stereotypical flatness of Kansas, the roads of northern Kansas are a little hillier than advertised.



You gotta love the farmlands.



After going about 100 miles, we made it to Abilene! Alex went downtown to Sonic while the others went to a motel. He talked to a nice lady named Patti O'Malley, who just so happened to be the Regional Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo (kind of a big deal). She told him, "You know what, I have a cabin at my place that you can go to, so just throw your stuff in the back of my car and I'll drive you there." He promptly accepted the offer.



Alex went to her compound. There were three houses, including a cabin (that was Alex's for the night). He definitely enjoyed the jacuzzi, and I had my own ATV to get around.




Patti O'Malley is big into living organically. Here's a picture of her chicken coop (she even had peacocks on her farm, which Alex tried to chase around to take a picture of). The signs are of companies that Mrs. O'Malley helped found. She grew up in New Canaan, CT, went to school at UCONN - such a crazy coincidence! She had to show Alex her credit card with Jonathan the Husky on it to prove that she went to UCONN.

The offer was given to the other riders to stay at Mrs. O'Malley's compound, but they were settled in the motel and didn't want to head over.




Mrs. O'Malley gave Alex a bunch of herbs - oregano, basil, mint, chocolate mind, lavendar, and aloe - to have some fresh scents on the road (because we're obviously not smelling very fresh throughout the day). However, Alex forgot them in the morning! She made him a delicious breakfast with organic eggs and toast with raspberry pomegranate champagne jelly. It was amazing!

We all met up at a hotel and had breakfast at a diner in Abilene. Before we leave Abilene though, we have to mention that it's the birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower.



Eventually, we made it to Topeka. We were biking on Route 75, and on the other side of the road we saw a local NBC news van. The guy in the car asked us, "Are you guys biking for a charity?" And Arturo replied, "Yeah, we're biking across the country."

So he got out of the news van with a video camera, and Arturo gave an impromptu interview. It kind of caught us off-guard, so I wasn't able to take a picture of it - but I wish I did!

The Days Inn in Topeka donated a room for the night.

After having a complimentary breakfast (always a plus), we went to downtown Topeka to see the capital building.




We started heading towards Kansas City. During one of our breaks, Arturo took this awesome picture. These random views are the kinds of things that you miss during a road trip across the country.

When we got to Kansas City, we stayed at a Holiday Inn just southwest of the city. There was a Green Mill restaurant attached to the place, where they had a special for $10 for a large pizza with two toppings. We took full advantage of that special. And by the way, they have fantastic deep dish pizza.

Near our hotel, there was a bike shop, Turner's cyclery, where the owner tuned up Loreen's bike for free! He was amazingly generous, and even gave us some cool key chains to go with Arturo's expired Nevada license plate.

Just south of Kansas city are some pretty ritzy suburbs. This entire shopping district had some interesting architecture. We also crossed into Missouri, which was uneventful, because we merely crossed a road called State Line Road.

We saw an awesome fountain in the art district of Kansas City, and with the hot, humid weather, we had to indulge ourselves by going in.

That pretty cool building in the distance is actually a Cheesecake Factory. Loreen took a trip there to pick up some of her favorite Red Velvet Cheesecake.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Kansas City. Stacy and Arturo went to the movie theatres to see Salt while Alex and Loreen (who were kind of upset that Toy Story 3 was not playing theatres in Kansas City) went to the pool to relax.

Alex took a stroll through the sculpture garden.

And a tour of the Sculpture Garden isn't complete without a picture of one of the giant shuttlecocks.

The next day, we reluctantly left Kansas City (it's just so neat here!) and headed east.

We stopped by at a restaurant in Warrensburg, Missouri, and a woman saw us with our jerseys on. She asked us what we were doing, and we explained our bike ride for Lea's Foundation. She told us that her son struggled through three bouts of leukemia, but he passed away. She thanked us for what we were doing. Later on, we realized that she paid for our meals without telling us and left the restaurant.

Sometimes rides get tough. I'm constantly dirty, sweaty, and gross. I miss my family and friends. I'd like to lie down in my own bed, and I'd like to have the familiar comfort of being at home. But when I meet people who have had loved ones who passed away from leukemia, or people who have had leukemia themselves, and I see how grateful they are for what we're doing, I know that I can keep on going.

Tonight, we're staying at the Comfort Inn at Sidelia, Missouri. It's 6:30, and we're trying to get up early to beat the heat, so I'm embarassed to admit that it's almost my bedtime. So good-night everyone!