Phillipsburg to Beloit - (Not Wisconsin)

Kansas corn

We woke to no wind!  We thought we had been transported to another planet.

Gratefully, we got on our bikes and headed out hoping that the weather would hold.  We dodged some raindrops but for the most part, the riding was perfect.  A slight headwind, beautiful scenery, very little traffic and happy bicycles.

Arriving in Beloit, Sean found another City Park along a beautiful river where we are camping for free.  This seems to be a very hospitable offering that the towns around here provide and we just love it.  

Overall, today was a fabulous riding day.  We did 86 miles had over an hour lunch break, saw the largest ball of string in the world and still got to our destination by about 4 feeling really good.  We also found a nursery run by Roberta and Charles Bock.  No relation, but it was fun meeting them and sharing name stories.

A comment about Kansas that I feel needs to be made has to do with grass and mowing.  Now, maybe we will find this true throughout the rest of the country but we are distinctly aware of the need to mow here.  Everyone mows.  The parks are mowed, the roadsides are mowed, wherever there is grass, it is getting mowed.  Mowing seems to be the favorite outdoor activity for many people. especially when they have the 'sit-upon' mowers. We observe great skill as mower drivers sweep quickly and cleanly around poles without missing a blade of grass or touching the pole.  One unpleasant thought I had while riding down the road and seeing way too many plastic soda bottles filled with a vile looking yellow liquid, is that when the mowers are doing roadside shoulders, they must shred the  bottles whose contents undoubtedly meet the air with very unpleasant results. (These roadside bottles are not only seen on Kansas roadsides, they are everywhere.  Combining the bottles with mowers is, so far, unique to Kansas.)

Great birdwatching country

We had to check this out

The Bock's, left and right

Now that's some ball of string- Cawker City

Some doctoring in Beloit City Park

Cottonwood snow

Our pad for the night in Beloit City Park - Free camping!