Flat tires, poison ivy and a flat screen TV

I’ve been dreading this moment since Day One -- the day I get my first flat. Outside the small town of Buhler, Kansas, I was all over the road. I was swerving left and swerving right and actually yelled out to myself in an annoyed voice, “Go f’ing straight!”

Finally, I looked down at my tire. Flat. Completely and utterly flat. After a long sigh, I got off my bike, took off the front panniers, pumped it back up, threw the front panniers back on and rode as fast as I could until it went flat again-- which ended up being every two miles. I repeated this a couple of times instead of changing the flat right there on the side of the road. Why? Because it was hot with no shade, and I could see Buhler in the distance.

When we finally got to Buhler, changing the tire was easy. We found some shade, took our time and the tire change went smoothly. We headed off to Hutchinson, where we found an amazing free biker hostel. It’s located in the basement of a church, has beds with clean sheets, a shower, and most spectacularly there are flat screen TVs mounted above the beds! What’s not to love? Cable TV, movies, air conditioning and a full kitchen for us to enjoy. Because the riding has been a little brutal due to heat, we decided that staying here for two nights and taking a rest day would be a great idea.

And . . . I have my first case of poison ivy. Ugh.

Brooke

Can we move in?