Pratt, KS

80 miles and it was a tough 80 miles. We woke up as usual at 5 AM packed our things and ate breakfast, but when it came time to leave the sun still wasn't up so we had to wait until it was light enough to ride.

Once on the road we faced a harsh head wind for the first 35 miles until we turned to have the wind at our backs, making the later half of the ride much easier; everyone needed it after the headwind.

We were told that if we to make the 80 miles before noon to lodging that we'd be able to shower and change into our "JOH Tux" (Khaki's and our red shirts) instead of having to wear cycling clothes all day, which was a big motivator on the road.

For lunch we had a friendship visit in town with Arrowhead West at the local teen center. We had an awesome arrival and they had made signs for us and were very excited to see us. They had subs and ice cream for lunch and afterward we played air hockey, pool, and some of the guys sang karaoke with the clients. This was a really neat friendship visit for me because I met a young man named Marty, who was non-communicative but Trevor and myself spent most of the visit it with him just tossing a pillow around. The joy that he expressed for us being there and just spending time with him put a smile on my face and really confirmed why were on this trip.

The afternoon was spent exploring main street and visiting a few of the small shops in town. Dinner was sponsored by the Pratt Archer club and we visited their property where we all had the opportunity to shoot several type of bows including recurve, long bow, and compound. They cooked us steaks and it was amazing! It was the first time I've had steak since I left and it really hit the spot. They also had homemade snickers and strawberry ice cream which we devoured.

We made the front page!

Although the ride was tough and tiring, the friendship visits really make up for all the pain we feel on the bike and helps get us through the day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when we ride to Wichita where we'll be staying in a hotel and each of us will get our own beds, a real treat these days!