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Kansas, as you might imagine, wasn't a very interesting state, at least in terms of scenery. We also rode into a headwind every day, which was pretty demoralizing.
The interesting bits of Kansas were the people and the storms. I grew up on the east coast and went to college in the west, so I never really experienced the heartland of America.
Remember back in 2001 when a coalition of morons decided to call French Fries "Freedom Fries" instead? I was only 10 at the time, but I thought it was pretty stupid, and wondered what kind of people would get behind such an idea. In Kansas, we stopped at a restaurant where they serve 'Freedom Fries' to this day.
We also spent a night camping in a woman's backyard. She had a hostel for touring cyclists set up, but we were too cheap for that. As it was, I felt awful paying $10 a head for a shower and laundry and a patch of grass.
Anyhow, I was talking with our hostess, and it came up that I was a vegetarian most of the time. In response, she told me that she fully supported my commitment, that it was the natural way, and that all humans were vegetarians, back before the flood thinned out the berries and nuts we used to subsist upon, forcing us to eat meat. Apparently doing so reduced the human lifespan from 900 years to 90. She was dead serious the entire time.
Pictured are two of the dudes I rode with, one from England and the other from Switzerland. I'll trust you can figure out which is which.
