The day started early for everyone. Since this was such a long day everyone had to have their gear loaded by 7 a.m. We did our normal breakfast at McDonald’s and were on the road by 6:30 a.m.

The ride was mainly over county roads. They were rough which restricted our mph. Today turned out to be one of our hottest days with a high of 90 degrees. Water was a concern due to this heat and the long 58 miles without any services other than our support vehicles. The support vans did a good job keeping up with everyone so all stoppes were covered for most of the riders.

My oldest son J.D. left me a message to call when I first woke up in Newton. He told me he was driving from Houston and would see us in Larned. This will be a 900 mile drive. He made it to Larned about 6 p.m. This was a huge surprise. We went out for dinner and then he camped with us at the park with the rest of the team.