Phase 3, Day 7. Marysville, KS - St. Joseph, MO

All done now.  103 miles through many more rolling hills.  Fought that darn headwind again most of the way but I'm used to it by now so it's not as frustrating as it was. 

The most direct road from Marysville to St. Joseph is Kansas Route 38. It's an OK road as these things go and Sunday morning at 7 am is always mellow but once church let out....look out!

Stopped for coffee in Hiawatha, KS to ask a local about another route I was thinking of taking but wanted to be sure the road was paved. Many country roads here are gravel roads so had to be sure. He said it was the "old" highway so I gave it a shot. Perfect!  I love "old" highways, no one drives on them.

Couldn't believe I climbed 3000' feet today.  Is that even possible in Kansas?  It is.    The undulating and never ending hills go on and on.  Usually when climbing I see a crest ahead thinking I'm nearly done but in Eastern Kansas there's another hill exactly like it waiting a mile down the road.  Not bad, just makes it all go much slower.

As I was cranking along a car pulled up slowly next to me and matched my speed.  It was the nice couple who own the Nelson, NE restaurant from a couple of days ago. They stopped to check on me and we chatted a bit then off they went. I will always like Nebraska. 

When riding a bike 100 miles day-after-day one learns to play mind games to help keep the energy going. In honor of this last day of the journey I spent every 5 miles thinking, in as much detail I could remember, about each day riding since leaving Sacramento. Tried to think about where I ate, changed flat tires, the people I met, the places I slept, and the amazing things I saw.  It was a good strategy and worked well until I got to about mile 85 when the bike could smell the barn.  The last 20 miles was a wonderful 20 miles.  

I love this sign. 

The hills finally ended and around the last curve it was dead flat ahead. I had finally reached the Missouri River floodplain. It's quite wide but I knew I was close. Crossed the Missouri River and into St. Joseph.  Of course it was straight to the Pony Express Museum to officially end this trip.  A very nice museum at the actual 'Express horse barn but by now I had seen it all so paid my $6 and took a quick look around but was so happy to have finished I didn't pay much attention. 

The bike ran great all week and we didn't even have a flat tire...or get rained on. Remarkable. 

Grand totals since leaving Sacramento: 2091 miles and 132 hours in the saddle. 

I've been a US Citizen for only 2 years, about as long it has taken me to complete this adventure. What a fitting way for me to learn more about my country than to ride the bike across it. People are good and generally want to do the right thing and be helpful. I saw this everywhere I went and met the most wonderful and helpful people along the way....and I've only just made it past halfway. It's a great place this USA, but it takes a bit of effort to see it for yourself. Zipping back and forth from coast-to-coast in 5 hours doesn't cut it. 

What now?  I don't know.  I might press on to the east or start a new journey closer to home.  It all started after reading a book about the Pony Express when I thought "what a fun bike ride...with a purpose!"  I will need another purpose. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I did.

-Ben