Day 29: Small Towns and Big Hearts (Lindsborg, KS to Osage City, KS - 114 miles)

Our last full day in Kansas began with an earlier wakeup time than usual so we could avoid as much of the midday heat and wind as possible. My alarm rang at 2:00 and we then turned on zombie mode and hit the road by 3:00. It took a few miles to get into the swing of it, but the cool morning and empty roads proved to be great for riding once again. At 5:20, we had a phone interview from the road with 1080 AM WTIC. We'll post the link up here when we get it. Special thanks to Chris DeFrancesco for once again helping us out with publicity. Shortly thereafter, we were treated to another picturesque sunrise.

As the morning rolled in, we noticed some storm clouds behind us, creeping up slowly. We kept up a decent pace throughout the early morning hours, thanks to a decent tailwind, and managed to avoid the ominous sky. The clouds helped block out the sun though, so the riding was nice and casual during that stretch. We met a bit of a headwind towards the end of the ride, but we made it into Osage City for 12:30 without being too exhausted. Our first stop was Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet, which was actually pretty good. Their salad bar was stocked, complete with hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, and fruit (some of my favorites, as many of you know). Of course, we did most of our damage with the pizza, making the buffet totally worth it. We then checked in at St. Patrick's church, where we had arranged to meet with Father Anthony Kipligat. Father Anthony brought us into his office and spoke with us about our ride, and then offered us his guest bedrooms for the night. We enjoyed a delicious chicken and mushroom dish, complete with some really tasty African tea made with local cow and goat milk. Father Anthony has incredible insight and optimism, and it was a real treat talking with him. The true sincerity we've been met with in Kansas has made the past few days a lot of fun. The towns may not have much in them, but they're some of the best we've come through.