Day 19: Garden City, KS

Well got on the road early on Wed. ready to get in my short (comparitively) 70 miles day to Tribune, which would be my last day in Kansas. Buuut, just about 4 miles outside of town I first felt a little bump, which seemed like trouble so I stopped my iPod and rode a little slower listening closely to my bike to see if anything felt off. About 30 seconds later a felt a hiss of air on my leg and I could only cringe - knowing that my back tire had just gone flat and not in a good way. Flat tires are inevitable on a long trip like this -and I have already changed a few - but I knew this was different. Before looking I knew that it was actually a hole in my tire, not just a punture in the tube. I pulled in the grass, flipped the bike and sure enough saw what I feared. Problem for several reasons - the biggest being that I don't have a spare tire along with me. I did have several tubes, but that's not the problem, and I had just bought these tires new before the trip began, so I figured I could at least ride them out for the trip. Guess not.

Changing the tire at the point was useless until I could get a new tire (although I learned from some bikers coming through I could try and put a boot on the tire - use something like a dollar bill to cover the hole and could temporarily hold for a few miles - I knew I'd have to get to town. Scott City was 20 miles down the road, but was three times the size of Dighton so I wanted to got there instead of back into town. After about an hour of waiting on the road, a couple guys pulled over and offered me a ride into Scott City which I took (Joe and I forget the other name). They were from Texas, and passing through town on business - they are in the feedlot business and I heard a bit about that, although understood mostly none of it. Nice fellas though. They dropped me off at the library in town as I needed to search for a bike shop - it's harder than you may think to find the kind of bike tires i need, Wal-Mart/Target/whatever doesn't carry them. I did find a store in Garden City, about 40 miles south of Scott City, also one in Colby about 70 miles north of Scott City, but outside of that the next bike shop is in Pueblo - my final destination about 220 miles away at that point. So back to the side of the road I went, looking for a hitch down to Garden City.

I went south of the business district a ways - just down from a gas station - to try and hitch and was there for about 15 minutes before a police officer pulled over and told me I couldn't hitch in town. I told him why I needed a hitch and the obvious problem of not having a way to get to where I needed to go. This officer was driving a pickup truck - so I was actually hoping he'd pull a "you shouldn't do this, but you're in a tough spot and I can just give you a ride down there - not like I'm doing anything here anyway". Instead he pulled the "Sucks for you. I need you to go past all the buildings, out of Scott City to ask for a hitch and even then I bet if a state trooper sees you he'll tell you to stop. And even though you need to just go another mile down the road, I won't offer to at least drop you off there, but instead walk your bike and gear that mile next to this busy highway with no sidewalk or shoulder." routine. So I walked out of town and set up shop just south of the "Welcome to Scott City sign". Was there for probably an hour (by the way, roughly 99 degrees at this point, 2 p.m.) before got someone to pull over. Fellow by the name of Chris. Mid 20s, from the area but had been living in Texas recently, had in dog in the truck with him, chewing tobacco along the way as we talked. What really got him talking was hunting - he probably talked about that for 15-20 minutes - hunting big wild boar in the area (he had a skull in the back of his truck). Can't say as though I contributed to the conversation much but still kinda cool to hear about some of the stories and honestly was surprised he talked to me like I would know exactly what he's talking about - guess I figured I wouldn't be coming off as the hunting type in my biking shorts and little bicycle, but hey I'll take it as a compliment.

Anyway, he dropped me in town and I got my new tire but I was now at decision time. I had a few options:

A) Bike the 40 miles back to Scott City, get back on route but now be another day and a half behind schedule, so either push the miles more and arrive in Pueblo more like Monday night or Tuesday.

B) Bike along Highway 50 out of Garden City, which runs to Pueblo as well. A couple century rides and I'd still be there on time. But even though it has a wide shoulder, it's next to much more busy traffic and scenery is pretty poor, plus at this point the wind is blowing in my face so it would end up being a grind of a final 200 miles.

C) F it. Chill and find another way to get to Colorado at this point. Likely ride the Amtrak to Lamar, CO then Greyhound to Colorado Springs or Denver - really only public transportation option out of there. Have to pack my bike and send it back from here though, since Amtrak/Greyhound doesn't allow it.

So I've ended up choosing C, though maybe with a twist. Yes, my bike tour is done and ended in an anti-climactic way, not really as I would have pictured or wanted but not really in a bad way either. I was close to my goal and certainly could have done it physically, it was more the cost-benefit analysis of the situation said hey, you're on vacation, costs exceed benefit of finishing trail, relax. Course the train was booked for Friday (only 1 train a day, leaving at 6:45 a.m.) so I booked a Sat. morning train.

So I've got a free day here in Garden City today (day 20). It actually has been pretty great so far. Slept in a bit, went to a bookstore and picked out some good reading material for travel tomorrow and for Hawaii (I Can Die In Peace Now: Bill Simmons, Sex,Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: Chuck Klosterman, and Wilderness: Robert Shaw) read a little in a coffee shop and then took a tour of the Wildlife Preserve south of town - really cool. About 6 square miles of preserve which hold like 150 Bison - one of the bigger herds in the US. Got a private tour where we went ride out next to the herd in a Suburban and just got to watch them up close for like 45 minutes or so. My tour guide -Jamie - knew her stuff and was a good guide, and was pretty impressed by my bike tour. AND on top of that, apparently her family is headed out to Colorado to go camping tomorrow and offered to give me a lift to Pueblo. Jackpot! No early morning Amtrak or 7 hour wait for the Greyhound, so I think I'm going to take her up on that.

Anyway, I have a few things I still need to do today, but I guess the blog aspect is just about over. I may post another summary conclusion thing soon, and I will definitely post my pictures on here when I can, but that won't be for another couple weeks.

But for now I'll sign off. Thanks for reading!