Day 13 Liberal to Dodge City (85 miles)

On paper this was meant to be one of our easiest days, a recovery day with some time for sightseeing around the famous Dodge City with its Boot Hill. That wasn't how it turned out, this was one of our toughest days yet. All because of the wind which was 20 mph and gusting to 30 in our faces all day. Six of us started out riding a paceline. About 10 miles down the road the guy at the front was wearing a bum bag (or fanny pack as they call it out here.) This slipped from around his waist and he swerved to try and catch it. The five of us behind very nearly piled into each other.

Soon after one guy got dropped and we continued on as a five. When you're directly into the wind things aren't too bad. We were doing a mile each, so you give it a lot of effort for 4-5 minutes and then drop to the back for 15-20 minutes of relative rest. It's when it's coming a little to the side that it's worst. We'd like to go in a kind of diagonal "\" formation, but usually the shoulder isn't wide enough. So as well as getting beaten up when you're in position 1, you also get it at 3 and 5 as well. It's also fairly tricky moving positions when you're going like that, it's not just a case of dropped off the front, everyone has to shuffle round. Amazingly we didn't have any further incidents or near misses all day.

Terrain is pretty flat and dull. Looks either like the lowlands of Dartmoor, all grasslands and small shrubs or farmland.

The lunch SAG was at the famous hideout of the Dalton gang. From there they would go robbing banks, but always return to Ma Dalton who would shelter them. Now it looks like any other house in a suburban street.

I think the photo is of Boot Hill. It's certainly a hill in Dodge City. By that point I was too tired to care whether it's the real thing.

One of our party had to abandon the tour today. He'd been suffering with varioius ailments over the last few days and is now off home to see a doctor. Real shame. So now we're down to seven trying to go coast to coast.

More of the same tomorrow, a little colder, a little wetter, but hopefully not so windy.