Today Team Melrose (Corey, Steph, Kel, and me) got through the day without any drama.  We were dubbed Team Melrose because something dramatic has happened on several occasions during our support days.  The last major instance occurred during the ride to the Natural Bridges.  First, mapmyride.com did not have the right mileage, so a 70 mile day turned into 98-102 miles depending on the odometer.  Second, grocery stores (convenience stores do not count) do not exist between Hanksville and the Natural Bridges.  For all of those riding next year, make a note of this.  Corey had to travel 50 miles past the Natural Bridges in order to get the basic necessities for dinner that night and breakfast/lunch the next day.  Third, the third reststop was way too far from lunch considering the climbs and the heat that day. 

 I was dropped off on Corey’s way to set up the third reststop until the sag came along.   Armed with water, my green blanket for shade, and snacks, Corey drove off in search of food.  When the first three riders made it to the rest-stop, they were completely out of water for the past ten miles!  Luckily, Kel came along in one the vans.  We then made the rolling rest-stop truly rolling.  We turned the van around and started refilling water-bottles and handing out bars and GU as we saw riders.  At one point we almost got the name Team Bartenders because Kel and I were filling orders for water or sports-drink as fast as bartenders getting hundred dollar tips in a crowded room. 

  The best green blanket ever!

Despite all of the drama of the day, Corey returned with plenty, dinner was excellent (breakfast for dinner), and the sky was beautiful.  Throw in a couple of moon pictures and the night was perfect.  Just like a TV show, there was a happy ending.  Team Melrose always comes through in the end.

Back to today.  It seems that breakfast is our specialty.  We were under the impression that Ness City would not have a kitchen for us to use, so we decided to cook breakfast and let everyone fend for themselves for dinner.  Before I delve into the deliciousness of breakfast, a special thanks goes out to Wichita High School for allowing us to use the facilities! 

Breakfast:  Steph made some awesome southern styled potatoes.  Kel cooked up three dozen eggs…some with cheese.  I made some pancakes with an apple topping (for those interested in the recipe, in a skillet, cook chopped apples, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until apples soften and sauce thickens).  Since we had extra diced apple, I decided to cook up some apple fritters.  The usual cereal, coffee, oatmeal, and fruit were also available.  Just as an FYI, we are learning that nutrition is very important on a journey such as this.  We try to have protein options, vegetarian options, and lots of variety to meet our needs. 

The riders took off around 9am with very full and hopefully satisfied bellies. 

The winds were much better today, though the scenery was the same for much of the 80 miles.  Amber waves of grain are everywhere.  You can imagine how America the Beautiful gets stuck in one’s head.  Other than an occasional small town, you pretty much see cows, horses, telephone poles, and other farm related equipment.  Andrew (one of the R4WH founders) and Chris from previous R4WH groups, who visited us in Telluride, told us of a game they played:  “Look, there’s something!”  Essentially you get a point if you find something outside of town that is not related to farming, telephone poles, or animals.  So far my score is zero…we still have a couple of days left in Kansas, though. 

  Cows and Horses

Tonight we are staying in Ness City HS, home of the Eagles.  We did find a home ec room after-all.  However, this was after everyone found their own dinner.  Oops. 

I glanced through the other blogs and didn’t notice an explanation of why we stay in such random places like high schools and “Indian burial grounds.”  Just in case anyone is wondering, well, it’s free.  We donate the money we would have otherwise spent on motels to Doctors without Borders.   The next couple of pictures gives you an idea of the accommodations.

  Our communal bedroom for the night. 

   Another luxury we no longer take for granted.  Wireless Internet access!

Overall, it’s not too shabby.  The showers here are hot, we have internet, and we have plugs to set up our movie equipment.  The projector for the event slide-shows doubles as a movie projector, too.  Maybe a movie and a game of Taboo are in order. 

Here’s another aside, just figured out that my blackberry charger works for my camera!  Hope to get lots of good pictures now.

We head 98 miles east to Lyons, Kansas tomorrow.  Can’t wait to ride.  The wind cut my last couple of riding days short and there was no riding for me today.  Cross your fingers that the wind and weather stay nice. 

John Steinbeck referred to Route 66 as “the Mother Road” in his classic novel, The Grape of Wrath. Route 66, originally an interstate from Chicago to Los Angeles, proved to have quite a wrath of its own. Ever since a parallel interstate was built to replace Route 66, the historic Route 66 has been severely neglected!

Good news: very few cars travel on that road.

Bad news: there were approximately 13 miles of rocky unpaved concrete with large craters that made riders swerve through both lanes in an attempt to find semi-smooth riding surface.

Route 66 definitely left its mark on Ride for World Health riders (Cory has a pretty gash on his thumb, Carissa has a sweet bruise on her left thigh just like the one on the girl who slid into home plate in “A League of Their Own,” and I have a nice scratch on my chin after taking an Ang Lee style skid on gravel).

The best news of the day, however, is that all riders completed their first century ride (100-miles) despite the rocky start…literally. The Mother Road gave us some great battle scars but couldn’t break our spirits!