toto, we are STILL in Kansas.

Current location: Pittsburg, KS..soon to be MISSOURI.
Miles the last two days: 84, 59
total miles: I think I'm gonna stop counting for awhile, I still have 1,000 plural to go....uugh

let me just take a deep breath for a second. phew...

So I left you all back in the rainy days of Hesston, KS. I braved the storm and luckily made it out alive, and with no lightening bolts I might add. The morning I left Hesston was a race to avoid the giant black storm cloud that seemed to be just in front of me the entire day.

A highlight of the morning was meeting two people along the road. I spotted them from a distance, and for a split second had a twinge that it might be my sister walking towards me and the horizon. It was not her, obviously, but it was an older solo woman cyclist (my first sighting!) and a younger man who, get this, is walking-I repeat, WALKING - across the country! I was feeling like this little journey of mine is taking a very long time, but this boy has already been walking for four months! I think I may have made a face similar to the once usually directed at me, you know, eyes go wide and you lose control of your mouth for a second, but once I came to my senses I realized how cool the idea actually is. He just finished getting his masters and decided to just do "something cool." I decided, we should probably be friends.

The rest of that day was actually pretty tough, its not so much fun biking through grey clouds of fog, misting rain, and nasty headwinds. About 25 miles before my foreseen destination, and five miles before a one stop town, my knee started hurting so bad it felt like I was actually limping on my bike. Kind of feels like a sniper hit my knee from the roof of a building, or the top of a windmill in this case. About ready to give up and lay in a ditch, I luckily came across the one diner in this middle of nowhere town. Limping in looking all frazzled and upset, the older couple greeted me warmly and avidly expressed their shock at me being a single woman. In a weird way, its starting to feel good that people who are so used to seeing touring cyclists out on the road, are still surprised to see me all alone.

Well, I obviously looked the usual level of haggard after a day on the road, and I asked them if and where I could camp for the night, already knowing full well there was no where. The woman thought for a minute, and told me that probably out back would be fine. Then it was like a light bulb went off and she jumped up to use the phone, calling her friend down the street. She got her neighbors to open the church up for me, so I could sleep indoors; out of the rain, and off the street. She even packed up a cinnamon roll for me, another staple of my diet.

What a night. Surprisingly it was a little creepy to sleep in the basement of a church by myself, but it was great to stay totally dry, and to be out of the tent for a night, propelling me to nice early start the next day.

Another bit of exciting news: There are rumors going around, and out here word spreads pretty fast, of another solo female cyclist! I first heard about her this morning as I was preparing to leave, and then someone else told me about her in the next town. Apparently I am in hot pursuit of a South African woman cyclist. I feel like I already stalk bikers on the road, but this time it must be a sign. Unfortunately, she is nowhere to be found! I'm starting to think she is another urban legend like all the other solo women travelers out there, because I keep hearing about them, I just cannot find them! It might be nice to have someone to ride with for a few days, not to mention someone to talk to. I'm doing my best to not become one of those crazies that talks aloud all day, although you know I sing at the top of my lungs pretty much all day, and have started the bad habit of cussing like a sailor at any car that passes too close...so I might just be closer to that image than you all thought.

Now here I am in Pittsburg Kansas, just five miles away from the border of Missouri! I couldn't bring myself to bike the extra 40 miles to the next closest thing to a town, so the big border crossing will have to be in the morning.

That's all for now, I should probably leave the library and find a shower, and maybe put on something besides these sexy spandex...hmm.