Day 68

3 inches of water
So I bet all of you predicted what happened next. Around 1am, there was thunder and lightning. No rain- so I figured I was fine. The wind was crazy- I was glad I was so low, I'm sure my tent would be ripped apart if I was anywhere else. Around 2am it started raining. I figured I was still fine- I could feel that the ground was still somewhat dry. It was around 4am that I woke up and felt like I was on a water bed. Thankfully, only a bit of water made it into my tent- my basket was the only thing effective at keeping the floor down and letting water through the tiny thorn holes. I got out and took my bike up the small bank first. Then I got all my bags and set them on top of it, to keep them off the wet ground. I had to step in the water to do this and it was raining the whole time- I got pretty soaked. Finally I went back to get my tent with my sleeping bag and pad still inside. I almost slipped on the muddy bank. Finally I transferred all my bags back inside my tent, secured the rain fly, and climbed inside. I must have picked a good sleeping bag- dispite the fact that I was wet and pretty much everything was wet, I was still warm and somewhat comfortable inside of it. I slept through more rain, thunder and lightning. I decided to stay in my tent longer than usual- no point in getting out when you know it's raining. When I did finally get out, I had to remove two spiders and a web from one shoe and a dady long leg from the other. I usually keep them inside my tent, but they were wet and muddy this time. I won't make that mistake again. I laughed at the canal that probably had almost a foot of water in it at places. Oops. There were some places where dirt had built up though. If I had randomly chosen one of these islands, I would have been fine- although packing up in the morning would have been a pain. Finally I started heading toward the city I wanted to get to yesterday, Nevada. The gravel roads were specially annoying when wet- at times I had to walk my bike because my tires sunk into the mud. Finally I was on the main road into the city. The shoulders were fantastic- a whole car lane to myself. At one point two cars pulled over in front of me. No big deal, I just had to get on the road to get around them. Then right afterwards, two motorcycles pulled over in front of me. What the heck! I had to get in the road again. It's weird. I'm wearing a fluorescent green shirt- you can't miss me. Oh well. I restocked at a gas station. I got new water- the water from the public bathroom sink tasted like filtered sewage. I was either thirsty enough to not notice yesterday or it got worse overnight. I headed out of town, somehow missing my turn (how did I miss Main Street?). I was happy to be on pavement for so long, but it was negated by the crazy headwind. I turned and started going by houses. Tons of dogs barked and chased me down this road, but they all ended up being friendly. All I had to do was say "Wanna treat?" and they would usually stop barking. Down some gravel roads, waved at some farmers. I got into a town called Liberal and got some more food. A kid asked me where I was biking to- I said through every state. He nodded, like yeah that makes sense. I went past the school- they were the Liberal Bulldogs. I don't know why, but that cracks me up. When I got to the welcome to Kansas sign, it took me by surprise- I didn't think I was so close. There was a storm ahead. It started raining for a bit, but then it stopped, so I thought I was fine. Then it started to downpour. I thought about seeking shelter, but it was just house after house. At least I wasn't cold. The rain took a quick break, then it was like a hurricane. I was instantly completely soaked. It was difficult to pedal when I was being pelted with rain and wind going directly against me, but somehow I did it. The rain slowly died down again, for good this time. I just laughed. Rain isn't bad unless you have to put up with it all day. I had a hard time actually finding the city. My phone was almost dead. I can usually follow signs, but there were none. I just had to keep checking my phone. Finally I passed by a gas station- no post cards though. I headed into the city. I didn't have much time. It ended up being terrible timing- not many places are open past 7 on Labor Day. A lady pulled up behind me and waved. She got out and told me about the tornado and cyclone warnings. They were for south of here. I'd be ok for tonight. But there were also thunderstorms all around. She suggested to go to the park to find some shelter. I took her advice- even if I did find a post card, I wouldn't have enough time to find a place to camp. I went along the road that had the park- I couldn't find any convient places. I decided to just cross a different road- there were no houses nearby. When I went to cross, there were too many cars. I waited for a bit and then noticed there were woods on this side of the road. I headed over and quickly made a dog start barking. I headed back to the road. Finally I crossed it and headed into the woods. The thorns here were insane- they caught my clothing, legs, my tent as I set it up- so annoying. I took one last look at the stream nearby. It would have to rain about 6 feet in order to get to me. I climbed inside my tent. It wasn't raining, but the thunder and lightning kept me up for a bit.