So I'm not sticking to my one week blog post as promised. Some of it is contributed to not having WiFi the entire way through Kansas, but a lot of it is contributed to my laziness. I have a lot to catch you up on so put on your seat belts, it's going to be a wild ride.
Kansas isn't even in the running for the worst state. In fact it has been my favorite state thus far. No it wasn't the most scenic, but it was beautiful. There were blue skies for days. We only had one night of rain in the whole week that we were there, but we didn't have to ride in any rain so I consider that a win. There were a few days where the temperature was in the 90s and even one day where it surpassed 100°. It was hot but we were smart enough to wake up early, so we could get out and beat the heat.
Manhattan, KS was my favorite town. We had a build day where once again we didn't have enough to do, but it was really cool because we got to 1) Build lemonade stands for all the kids from the Habitat house recipients from years past and 2) the house that we did work on was dedicated to the family. It was an experience I'll never forget. Handing over the keys to a recently widowed mother of 5.
Manhattan was a college town so there was plenty of nightlife and it was Taylor's birthday. We had a great night. We started out at one bar where they only served shots, I was bored and just wanted to dance. After being there for what felt like an eternity we went to another bar where we just sat down to drink. Right when I was about to set out to find a bar where we could dance I heard some music coming from the back room. We walked back and there was a light up dance floor surrounded by TVs. Bike & Build took over the joint. We were bouncing off the walls to the nights end. This is where the rain comes in. We set out in what we thought was a break from the downpour that happened 5 minutes earlier. We got two blocks away from the bar when we the sky started dumping on us again. The thunder and lightning came soon after. It was slightly terrifying, but what could we do? Our options were to go back to the bar soaking wet, or book it back to the host. I made the executive decision to book it back to the host. Taylor, a little tipsy, was not happy. She just kept repeating, "I have to pee," and ,"why is it so cold?" Needless to say we got back to the host a little wetter than we would have liked, but nothing a dry towel wasn't able to solve.
Making our way through Kansas was a blast. Sure they weren't the most interesting rides, they were mostly flat with a few rolling hills, but like I said before, the blue skies went on for days. There's just something so intriguing about wide open land like that and the people were so nice, the support was overwhelming. Not to mention that there was a water park in every town we stopped in. If there's one thing Kansas does right (which I can vouch that there is definitely more than 1) it's the water parks. Almost every town we stopped in had a new water park complete with slides, diving boards, and lazy rivers. It was a great way for all of of us to even out our ridiculous tan lines.
I still have some more to talk about but unfortunately I need to run. The Colorado stories are soon to come.
