I am now in Kirksville, not Kirksburg as I previously mentioned in an earlier post, where my cousin Melissa lives. I am sleeping on her floor tonight after two long days of riding. It turned out that I couldn't rebuild my wheel, because there was a crack in the rim, so I ended up buying an entirely new wheel yet again, although it wasn't any more expensive than rebuilding what I had, so I suppose its no big deal. I managed to save the hub and shipped that home while still in Blue Springs.

My rudimentary calculations as to the anticipated distance from the campground through both Kansas Citys across the river and into Blue Springs was wildly underestimated, and though I planned for about 70 miles in this stretch, I pedaled nearly 97 in my trek through the long, sprawling ghetto of northern Kansas City. At one point I was actually in the projects, although I probably wouldn't have known the difference had I not actually seen a sign that said "Kansas City Projects" next to a parking lot where I immediately spun my bike around and headed in the opposite direction.

Leaving Beloit was generally a pleasant ride, right into the heart of the state, along gently rolling roads with only a little sunshine and not too much wind. The temperature steadily rose through the course of the day, but the wind remained relatively calm for the majority of the ride, although this is not typical according to the locals. A 96 mile day left me fairly exhausted, especially after another broken spoke only a few miles from Tutle State Park kept me out in the sun a bit longer than I had hoped. I slept hard, if not soundly, since midnight rain awoke me to put on the rain fly.

Today I woke up somewhat regretting the big day yesterday, but still hoping to make some good time. I did discover Hill City today, however. While its namesake is actually some founder named Hill, it is also extremely hilly country, as I discovered most of northern Kansas to be. The heat and the hills shortened my day to only about 57 miles, and I camped at Webster State Park, right on a reservoir. The water was dingy and gross, but a quick dip livened me up and a relaxing afternoon helped recharge me.