Day Forty - Part Rest Day.

As I write this, I am in a public library uploading photos. They amount to just less than 1GB so far, and it says I've got 4 hours or so remaining. I wonder if it'll be faster once all these people clear off.

I deliberately didn't set my alarm for this morning, mostly because I knew I wasn't going to be going that far and it wouldn't be taking me that long. I also had a ridiculously wide bed, making it even harder to persuade my legs for me to get up. I did at around 8, and got going around 10, which felt weird knowing that I'd been getting up at that time before.

I was expecting to go about 30something miles today, but it turned into about 46 by the time I'd found where I was staying.

The main part of the riding today was along the same road for 22 miles, with about 14 miles from my hotel up through Newton and further north to said road. I couldn't decide which was the wind was blowing, it seemed to be breezy from every direction. It didn't stop me from pretty much blitzing the miles, and I arrived at the turn off towards Hutchinson after not much more than hour. The only hold ups I had down this stretch was a car accident (where I think someone had missed the bridge all together) and the road surface. I'm no expert in road works, but I think if they're planning on relaying it, they score the previous layer all up. They'd done all this to long sections of the road, so my bike was vibrating fairly violently at times.

I briefly spoke to a cyclist who was doing some supported ride across the State, I wasn't sure if he was racing or he just didn't want to hang around for very long. I turned onto the road into Newton, which was fairly busy with very little shoulder. I don't mind cars so much, it's the juggernauts that refuse to slow down because it'll take so long to re-accelerate the other side of me. I was only on this stretch for 6 miles, before turning onto 17th Avenue and the same sort of business district that I've gotten used to. There were plenty of places to stay up there, but instead I ploughed onwards for what seemed like ages (Hutchinson is a big place) to Main Street. After going the wrong way down it, I eventually found the bike shop, where I bought a bike lock, a new Livestrong band to wear while I find some way to sterilise the festering one I've worn this far, and got the key for the cyclist hotel at a local church.

The young guy in the shop gave me some really ropey directions, and just as I thought I was lost, he'd pedaled the route I'd come and caught up to show me where it was. I let myself in, and went for a shower. I was expecting this place to be a bit like an apartment in the back of a church, instead it's like a village hall with a bed on the stage, and a kitchen and bathroom out in a different room. I think they're airbeds too, they're ridiculously bouncy.

I didn't see any point in hanging around at there, I didn't get any WiFi and the TV only tunes to one channel. I got back on my bike (something that I found quite tricky without any bags on it, it's wobbly) and went in search of food. After that, I came straight to the library to try and put some photos online, but it's taking so long that I'm not sure I'll be able to do them all at once. I'll eventually get round to putting some photos into my blog posts, one day.

As for tonight, I'll probably go to choose from the vast selection of fast food restaurants I have nearly on my doorstep, though I think I'll have to ride to them because they aren't THAT close. Remember I said before about some places that were built AFTER the invention of the car? the outskirts of this place definitely falls into that category.