Trans Am 2017 Day 12: Ness City, KS to Rosalia, KS— 208 Miles, +1,434 ft

8 min readNov 7, 2017

Some post offices are uncomfortably cold, and Ness City was one of them. I woke up and couldn’t wait to get out into the sauna like heat, which I guess was a refreshing change. I was on the road by 3:30 am and happy to be getting an early start in the dark. I ripped along in the peaceful morning, the dark road hardly interrupted except by the blinking lights of a nearby airpot, and I passed through a sleeping Rush Center, stopping only for a quick stop at a rest area.

I started hurting bad when the sun came up, though, as is often the case. I fought it for a while, but at one point pulled off to the side and laid down starfish style in the grass for a minute, just absolutely wrecked and tired. I was feeling sorry for myself. I was brought back to life when a car turned around and pulled up next to me to see if I was OK. They were seriously concerned, and wondered if I had crashed. No, I said, just insanely tired. These morning hours were always a struggle for me. I got better as I got closer to Larned and felt pretty strong by the time I got to town. As the race went on, the mental fatigue definitely began to show more and more as I was truly spent.

I fueled up at a Casey’s and rolled out of town, Ken and Donncha right behind me, though they stopped at a Sonic. It’s a long, brutally straight stretch after Larned, but I felt good. I started to fade from straight road boredom at one point but ran into a touring cyclist going the other way whose energy and good vibes brought me back. The road ran on and on, and I got to Nickerson where I was in and out of the shop quickly. The ladies in there were super nice, and were keeping an eye on the tracker, letting me know what place I was in. I promised to keep biking hard and moving up the leaderboard.

This whole day was about reaching the Newton Bike Shop, and I would regularly check with people on how far I was. Unfortunately, Luke had pulled out of this race this point due to Shermers Neck, so he was always available to chat. We talked in the morning about how far I had to get to Newton and debated whether they were actually at mile #2588 or somewhere else. If you want to get James going, give him shit for the #2588 hashtag, because thats nowhere near the actual mileage of the shop.

The 40 mile stretch to Hesston quickly left me wrecked and dehydrated (it was fucking hot!), and I stopped in a grocery store there for ice water and some food. I wanted to roll into Newton fresh for the cameras, you know. I kept the stop pretty short, and was heading south to Newton soon.

Newton Bike Shop is fucking legendary, and I don’t care if you have had a bad experience there. I looked forward to reaching it from mile 1. Friendly faces and people who wanted the best for you and were deeply involved in the race. If Nathan Jones is the founder of the race, then James and Heather are its adopted parents. They were incredibly friendly before the race, emailing racers about packages and logistics, and they do so much for all types of bikers who come through. I can only hope that I’ll have a chance to spend some more time with them at the shop down the road. If you had a bad experience with them, then you need to think about what attitude you came in with and whether you took responsibility for your shit and kept in mind that they have an insane amount on their plate, all while sleeping even less than you. People in the service industry are there to help, but you have a role in the interaction as well.

James posted this photo in the spring and I’d stare at it while training. Just kidding.

As everyone has hopefully watched Inspired to Ride, you will probably remember Mike Hall subtly but very bad ass-ly bunny hopping the curb in front of the Newton Bike Shop. Obviously, I’ve watched in many times and of course had planned for a long time to do the same. I felt a high level of stoke as I rolled into town, and my heart sang as I turned to corner and saw the Newton Bike Shop sign. I rolled up and successfully bunny hopped the curb (more on that later), felt cool, and was greeted by Heather at the front door. She hadn’t realized I was close because the tracker hadn’t updated in awhile, but congratulated me on my successful bunny hop, which she had managed to see. If you watch my video and wonderfully embarrassing crash from the finish, I’d like to refer you to Heather just so you know that I can actually do that very simple thing.

James was not far behind and I was so stoked to meet the two legends who were super friendly and all smiles. James took my bike, confirmed with me what it needed, and Heather showed me around. I stood there with my bike in front of the webcam and marvelled at the beautiful shop. I have worshipped photos of the wall of jerseys from the previous winners, and I stood there for a few in front of these hardos feeling soft. One of the volunteers helped me with food in the kitchen and I promptly spilled a glass of chocolate milk all over myself and the floor. Yes, I was low functioning at this stage.

I thought about just napping, showering, and generally hanging out there for a few hours and riding through the night, but knew that was not the right move given that I was there in the late afternoon. I still wanted to hang for a bit, though, so I let myself relax some. I ate, showered, washed my clothes, and greeted Ken when he came in. I had a time just chilling in the shop, bantering with James and the rest of them, and was glad to relax for a few. James gave me shit and marveled at how I could be in 9th place when I wasted so much time. I’d like to say I am very selective in my time wasting. Ken was in, showered, combed, and out before me, but I was content to follow my plan of enjoying my time with these guys. I signed the wall, did all the stuff, and finally made my way out of the shop feeling good.

Hilarious clip of Amy and Anton leaving Newton.

I didn’t have any snack, so I had to hit the gas station when I left, but after that was moving well. I called friends, chatted, had a great time in the early evening and knew I was closing on Ken. I passed him a couple miles from Cassoday and was feeling good.

This stretch had some serious Wizard of Oz vibes and was as back country as I’d felt in Kansas. It was beautiful and I felt good, so I took some pics.

I stopped in Cassoday looking for water just in case but found none, and Ken passed me again. This is how it always was — I’d pedal fast but inconsistent, and the sometimes slower but steady Ken would pass me while I shopped, pooped, or generally wasted time.

I set off to Rosalia hoping to make it to Eureka, but there was a massive storm in front of me as well as a little headwind. I was making good time and catching Ken, but I was nervous that I’d get caught in the lighting storm in front of me. I chatted with Luke on the phone, who rooted for me to keep gaining on Ken but also said to be careful of the massive storm, which he was reading about online. Luke was always there when I called to chat with me and offer advice, at all times of the night. What a dude. There was lightning and thunder, and I got nervous that I would get caught out in this dark prairie in hail or other malicious weather. The trees were creepy and few and far between, and the few homes that I passed did not look inviting at all.

I changed my plan to stop in Rosalia to avoid the weather and assumed Ken would too, but he was already down the road when I got to town. Oh well, he can enjoy some hail. Turns out he did and was crushed by the storm and rescued by a kind hotel manager in Eureka who picked up food for him before the stores closed. Good people of Kansas! I wasted too much time looking for water with no success, and finally hit the post office. It was another cold one, and the neighbors across the street had come out to look at the weirdo sleeping in it. I followed normal course, and went to bed. It was a decent day, but I’d wasted time in Newton (even though it was fun), and had let myself get dehydrated and beat up in the heat. Oh well, wake up in 4 hours and do it again!

Trans Am 2017 Intro

Trans Am Day 1: Astoria, OR to McKenzie Bridge, OR

Trans Am Day 2: McKenzie Bridge, OR to Prairie City, OR

Trans Am Day 3: Prairie City, OR to Council, ID

Trans Am Day 4: Council, ID to Lochsa Lodge, ID

Trans Am Day 5: Lochsa Lodge, ID to Bannack State Park, MT

Trans Am Day 6: Bannack State Park, MT to Cameron, MT

Trans Am Day 7: Cameron, MT to Lander, WY

Trans Am Day 8: Lander, WY to Cowdrey, CO

Trans Am Day 9: Cowdrey, CO to Alma, CO

Trans Am Day 10: Alma, CO to Haswell, CO

Trans Am Day 11: Haswell, CO to Ness City, KS