Gettin' Into Dodge

Cool morning start out of Liberal, KS with more than a hint of rain later.  Winds shifted but we're still working against us until we made an abrupt turn north, about 61 miles into the ride.  The last 23 miles were kind of zip-a-dee-do-dah miles with the wind mainly at our backs.  It's all about karma.  BTW, it never rained.

Early morning out of Liberal

One of the few "rises" that we saw

In Meade, we stopped at the hideout of the notorious Dalton Gang.  It turns out that the boys would hide out at the house that was owned by their married sister.  I suspect, like Dorothy and Toto, the Daltons will surface in other parts of Kansas.

One of the buildings at the Dalton hideout site

John F. (left) and Tom

John F. was feeling pretty rough this morning after a nearly sleepless night.  But, like all of us, he wants to complete the ride.  So we helped to wrap his ribs with an ace bandage and off he went although much more slowly than normal.  He's still having considerable trouble breathing.  One of our physician riders wrote him a prescription for something to help.  John is just trying to make it to our next non-riding day, which is Tuesday.

Golden waves of grain, north out of Minneola on Highway 283

Our hotel in Dodge City is on Wyatt Earp Boulevard.  Like Dorothy and the Daltons, Mr. Earp has left his mark on the Kansas legacy.  There are many local reminders of Wyatt, his deputy Bat Masterson and the motley cast of characters who gave Dodge the reputation of baddest town in the Wild West.

Total Miles:  84           Total Vertical Climb:    1300 ft.