It didn't take long to get out of Pittsburg and into Missouri. The state line was less than five miles from the edge of town. I was slightly annoyed that it had taken me six days to get through Kansas and the near-sightline proximity of the broader to Missouri wasn't helping. Whatever...

Thus begins the 16 days of 100+ miles per day.

I expect this post to be kinda big and blurry, cause that's how this section of the trip felt at the time too. We'll see...

The next few days were spent mingling with Luke, and his roomies, Donavan, Ariel, Tony, and Chad. The day after I arrived, I slept in (of course) and once I finally got up, I wandered over to the U.S. Olympic Training Center, which is where Luke spends most of his days. He's going to school on a triathlete scholarship at UCCS and thus trains. A lot. Winning a junior National Championship doesn't happen by accident...

After saying good bye to the cuz and Carrie, I checked my Google Maps route on my phone once more and set off south from their house. I snaked through another park and passed no less than 5 different bike lane designs within the first few miles. Before long, the city gave way to residential neighborhoods, suburbs and really nice mountain views...

As I stated in the last post, I got up around 6 I think to pack up everything and get it all down stairs to the van. Ned and Jason were there already loading up and Corey showed up to say goodbye. After getting everything in van with mild difficulty, we shipped out to find the best possible vantage point for TV coverage as well as a good place to see the end of the race...