I just wanted to write a quick update for the past week before I travel into rural central Kansas and Eastern Colorado, where I will probably not have a chance to blog again until Denver, CO.

I spent an extra couple days in Kansas City after my last blog. The first day was to wait and catch up with the Rotary club meetings scheduled this week. And the second day was because there were severe thunderstorms with strong winds and large hail. Anytime I have a safe, comfortable house and hosts that don't mind me sticking around, I'm gonna wait that kind of weather out. Rain is one thing, but taking falling balls of ice from the heavens on my bare body is not something I want to do.

Tuesday night, my hosts (Tom and Jennifer) took me out with some of their friends to Kite's Grille and Bar to eat, drink and watch the NBA finals game. I didn't want to drink very much because I didn't want to be dehydrated for the next day, but I figured a few pints couldn't hurt. I ordered a Guiness, one of my favorite beers, and opened the menu. The first thing I saw was too ridiculous and I couldn't look away. I was staring at a picture of Will Ferrel putting a huge sandwich to his face and next to that photo was the description: Will Ferrel's 3-pound Cheeseburger...We DARE you!. I had traveled over 2,300 miles at this point and this was the first 'food challenge' I had come across. I was more unsure about the price rather than my ability to actually eat this gargantuan burger. It was $34.95, and if you finished it they didn't give it to you free, the simply gave you a t-shirt. After a few moments of contemplation, I decided the opportunity for something like this, to make an unforgettable memory and story, was more important than money or prizes.

When they brought out the platter that this cheeseburger sat on the whole table and myself were stuck with uncontrollable laughter and disbelief. I don't know if Will Ferrel created this thing, or simply was the first to order it, but he was a madman. There were two gigantic beef patties, a whole tomato, half a red onion, a load of iceburg lettuce and lots of cheese. The bun was one of the most absurd parts to this monstrosity. They said that they have to run over to the Walmart bakery to buy this loaf of bread they use as the bun when someone orders it because it would go stale otherwise in between orders. To make sure the cow wasn't actually still alive they had a huge steak knife buried to the handle through the top bun. And as if this weren't enough, they include a big pile of hand-cut French fries, two whole Idaho potatoes worth. We took pictures, I'll post them soon hopefully, then I cut my sandwich into 1/4ths, each one the size of a giant double cheeseburger. And so I began. It wasn't until the third 1/4th that I was noticing how totally full I was. But it was a good burger and I wasn't backing down. I started at tip off of the basketball game and was finished during half-time. The bartender was so impressed he gave me two t-shirts, one in each color. Apparently, Kite's originated in Manhattan, Kansas and this particular Kite's had been open over two years and no one had finished the challenge without getting sick. The general manager came over to the table and had me autograph a t-shirt and took my picture. They're putting that up on their wall. My host, Tom, was so entertained by the whole spectacle that he picked up my tab. After it was all over, I felt extremely sleepy and terribly full. Never got sick or even close though.

The next day, I left KC and headed West. After 64 miles I reached my next host's house in Topeka, KS, the capital. One of the girls I played volleyball with on my first night in KC had contacted her college friend, Patrick, and he offered me his spare bedroom. Not only was the 10th my dad's birthday, but it was also Patrick's. He had gone out with friends the night before so he was playing it low key that night and we went to eat Thai food at a nice little place, and it was delicious. Afterward, I had an amazing night of movie watching and laying in bed. The following morning I packed up and cycled over to the Downtown Topeka Rotary club's lunch meeting. They had very good food, and they were very welcoming and generous. Once the meeting was over, I cycled 67 miles that afternoon to Manhattan, KS where I am staying with the president of the Manhattan Konza Rotary club. I spoke to their club this morning, and was greeted by several very nice people with lots of questions. Rotarians are some of the nicest people I've met, and I enjoy most every meeting I attend. I am relaxing today, and tomorrow I set out on what will be one of the hardest days so far. I'm trying to reach Glen Elder State Park 106 miles away, and there will be a section of around 54 miles where there will be no service or gas stations for me to refill my water. I'm going to fill up my Arizona Iced Tea jug that I've been carrying as a reserve reservoir, but have yet had to fill. This will make my trailer around 10 lbs heavier which will be just lovely, I'm sure. I'm going to try and get an early start and just get through it. This next week will be some of the hardest days, as I travel through the prairie and plains of Kansas and East Colorado. I'm not sure how good my cell coverage will be, or when I'll be able to be on the internet again. But I am glad I have my SPOT GPS tracker that I can keep everyone updated on where I am and let ya'll know I'm okay. My SPOT maps on my website aren't working properly right now, but if you want to track me you can find my One Man, One Bike, One Fight on www.spotadventures.com So until next time, keep your fingers crossed for me missing all the tornadoes and hail storms.