Emporia to Ottawa 114 miles DPF 2491
Up early and decided to back track to the place I might have lost the vest. So on my way to almost Cottonwood, I past all the BAK riders going in the opposite direction. Obviously, there was a lot of waves, shouts of support and some mention of me going in the wrong direction. Search was in vain so it was back to Emporia for a bite to eat and use of the library. Then north on 99 and met Leroy Hershberger, who I'd met several times over the previous days, coming south and way off the BAK route. Turned out he'd been invited to take his craft of storytelling to a group of children at the library in Admire. So it was a final, final farewell and I was back on my way and heading east on 170. The little town of Reading seemed a little run down but there was obvious construction work ongoing. Was stopped a few miles later by a chap who gave me a bottle of ice cool water and who mentioned the town had been hit by a tornado a few weeks ago, resulting in 1 loss of life and 3 million dollars worth of damage.
Reached Ottawa, which has some really good cycling/walking facilities and camped in the local Forest Public Park. Really nice evening, kids at the outdoor pool, baseball diamond in use and lots of families wandering about. As it started to get dark, there was a lightning storm somewhere just to the south. Also saw my first 'fire flies'. Then the wind got up and up and up and up. Ehhhhhh, think I might need some more lines and pegs. The panniers also ended up inside the tent to keep things down and I was holding onto the single pole hoping it wouldn't break. There was no rain, just what must have been at least gale force winds. Strongest I've ever encountered in a tent. Several hours later and all was peaceful again. Got a slight surprise in the morning.
As I backtracked for 42(ish) miles this morning, I've only added 72 miles to the DFP.
Updated: Windsor, Missouri (library)
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