By: Lisa Peng
Whoever said Kansas was flat was a big fat liar. I’m pretty sure I’m the one who said it. NAH UH FOLKS. Today was a tough (although beautiful) ride up and down rolling hills, facing headwinds and one crazily shaped truck that almost knocked us off of our bikes. There was actually a lot of distance between us and the truck when it passed (Kansas drivers have been so courteous!), but the truck was carrying some aerodynamic disaster that made all of us swerve in addition to lifting Alex’s front tire off the ground and jostling my phone around enough to mute it!?
There’s something very calming about looking out over fields of open space and blue skies with nothing else around for miles but the road you’re biking on and maybe one or two yoked horses.
I’m a little late on the podcast train in this group, but I’m finally jumping on and starting Caliphate. It’s about ISIS, told by journalist Rukmini Callimachi as she interviews members of ISIS. It’s very engaging, and I’m excited to finish up the series.
57 miles into the day, my back decided that it had had enough from the past week of long riding, and I gratefully joined Annie in the van. Meanwhile, Alex and Bethany met Mike, an MIT alumni and enthusiastic biker on the road.
A church generously hosted us for the night, and everyone was so happy to find showers and a kitchen we could use. Delia whipped up some of her famous grilled cheeses while others shuffled around making a delicious quinoa salad for dinner.
I messed around a little on a piano before going to bed. My goal now is to learn Clair de Lune by Debussy before this trip is up. Goodnight!