Free at last free at last

Wichita is so bad there were long lines of people wanting to leave well before six am this morning. Need I say more ?
I made it out !!

The outer limits of Wichita

This trip to Wichita has been hectic. Several oddities stand out that are worth noting. Before I go into detail, the duration of this trip is forcing me to miss the Ronde van Palouse road race which really pisses me off. My frustration will be clear as you detect the tone of this post.

 

First oddity. Wichita is a ghost town. As you drive down the street there is nobody walking around. The parking lots are huge and empty. When you pass homes at eight at night they are dark. Apartment buildings have lights on in one window and eight other units are dark. I checked Wikipedia and the population in 2010 was greater than 2000, so I don't have an easy answer. I feel like the protagonist in The Truman Show, and everyone is pretending this is a real town.

 

Second oddity there is nothing to do in Wichita

Q: Why do people work late in Wichita ?

A: Because when they get off work they are in Wichita and there is nothing to do.

 

Third (and most significant) oddity. People here hate it here. When we ask people what to do for fun they sound like convicts without a choice. "Yeah, there is nothing to do here.... I hate it here." Really ! I didn't see a fence so I don't know what is keeping them here but they seem to be serving some kind of sentence. "I used to live in ______, it was wonderful. Wichita is terrible." I have heard that a lot this miserable week. You know it is real when you can see the longing in their eyes as they ask where we are from. "Seattle; oh that must be nice..."

 

I had occasion to have coffee and a scone at a coffee shop. The coffee was COLD, the scone soft like a doughnut. I looked around and it reminded me of the Emperors clothing. All these people trying to look cool and pretending the coffee and food were good. They weren't.

 

Lots of famous people were born and raised in Wichita. NONE of them are here now. Nobody famous has decided to settle here. Like a lot of places, Wichita is a great place to be FROM.

 

On the bright side, they have good steaks and I am leaving soon.

Star is so afraid, she uses mirrors so she doesn't have to look directly at you.

Star your foster pop is on his way !!

Wichita ..there's no place like home..

Here I am in Wichita. The weather is front page news. In my honor they are welcoming rain to the area.

On page A2 was the above breaking news.

I am enjoying my stay at the Hotel Clearance

Check out this sweet orange house... Maybe I should paint ours this color...

This is Star

Hottie volunteered at the Greyhound halfway house in Woodinville and had an interesting experience. She helped with a bunch of Greyhounds in transition from track to homes. Some pups had been returned for various reasons such as owners illness, owners relocation and some dogs didn't fit into their new surroundings.

As she told me of her eventful day, she kept mentioning a scared female named Star. Star wasn't doing well and was terrified of everything. Since Tux the wonder dog is perfect in every way (except for his crooked face which just makes him more lovable) I felt emboldened to ask Hottie if we should foster Star to try and socialize her. When we first got Tux he was scared of cars and bikes and almost everything so maybe we could help this little female..

After some emails we loaded Tux in the wagon and went to see if they might get along. Nobody bit anybody, so we decided to give it a try. We brought home Star and she was scared to death of everything. She cowered in a corner with her tail between her legs.

Evo trying to share a treat.

She is making progress, but it isn't all happening at once. Hottie is doing nearly all of the hard work, and there is hope. We realized that if we can't get her to socialize, she may never get a home. Stay tuned..

 

April Highs and Lows

After what seems like, and has been, months of this:

We had a day that was closer to this:

We weren't in short sleeves or anything, but we got to wear sunglasses with dark lenses. Sixty-five miles and five thousand feet of climbing with an assortment of teammates. We had sunshine and blue sky. Despite riding parts of this route dozens of times, for the first time we had views of the snowy Olympic mountains and chamber of commerce views of the tall buildings of Seattle.

In the afternoon I donned shorts and sandals (and a long sleeved shirt) and pretended it was summer.

I'm getting fit. I feel really good after yesterday's epic. Thank you sir, may I have another? I just need to keep pouring on the miles (with climbing mixed in). I saddle up and do it again. It wouldn't be as fast, but I could do it.

On the downside, I have to travel again. My work has taken me to some pretty cool places. I've been to Paris, London, Montreal, Munich, Rio, New York, and South Beach.

This time, I don't even get to go to beautiful and desirable Dubuque:

Not this time. I'm off to freakin Wichita. The highlight of Wichita is the Hotel Old Town:

A sharp eye will recognize the Stevie Nicks shower curtain.

I shall employ my duel talents of optimism and denial and have a good time.

Test post

All good

I LIKE April !!

Kyson offering a Fish Kiss

I got up in the dark and prepped for another wet ride. Under cloudy skies I drove to the appointed start of the mornings suffering. It was dry. We rode and I peeled off my jacket and stuffed it in a back pocket. We had a smattering of rain that was little more than a sneeze. It was a surprise treat. A WELCOMED treat. I wouldn't call it warm, but it did give us hope.

Then my daughter and her family came over. Kyson couldn't help but be the star.