Day 22:Colby,KS to St Francis,KS

Day 22.........

Miles on the road: 70
Route: Hwy 25 north for 30 miles, Hwy 36 West for 40 miles.
Temp: Morning: 50's Afternoon: low 80's
Conditions: Rain all morning, partly cloudy in the afternoon.
Wind: Morning we had a nice 30 MPH HEADWIND and in the afternoon there was a steady crosswind
Highlight of the Day: Riding by my Mom and sister who were stuck in the mud.
Real Highlight of the Day: Alright, so seeing those guys get stuck in the mud was pretty funny, but the real highlight was just having my family out here with me, especially in Kansas of all places. They RULE!
# of times I was blown off the road: 1.5
# of times I thought about packing up the horse and buggy: a couple
How difficult the first 30 miles of today's journey was on a 1-10 scale: 191
What was going through my mind the first 30 miles: "Hmmm, this is really weird, am I going backwards?"
Road Kill: Hardly Nothin'
Songs stuck in my head: "Hitch a Ride" -Boston

TOMMY'S TAKE ON TODAY.........
Alright, so I don't think that I'm exaggerating when I say that the first 30 miles of the ride this morning might possibly be the roughest 3 hours of outdoor activity I've ever been involved with. It was crazy nuts out there. I had a difficult time holding a 10 mph pace at times. Start with an absolutely punishing, unforgiving headwind, then throw in some hard rain, and just a bit of splash from the trucks and you've got some nasty biking conditions. But I lived to blog about it, and I feel like Tommytoughguy again (a feeling I had lost if you will recall after meeting the cross-country unicyclilst).

IS IT ME OR IS..........
there a "no talking" policy in every cafe and restuarant in Kansas. This is hysterical to me. This morning at breakfast you could have heard a pin drop in a crowded room of people. Also, a hilarious moment that I forgot to mention was when I was eating lunch with Dad and Mom at a cafe the other day and my Dad laughed really loud and everyone in the cafe turned at looked at him. That was awesome. Nice job, Dad. I knew that you'd be up for putting a little life in these Kansasnites.

THE HUNGER RIDES SAYS FAREWELL TO........
Dad and Mom. It's been a fun ride guys! Thanks for the good times! I love you lots and had a blast ridin' with ya!

THE HUNGER RIDE WELCOMES.........
Luke Riffle of Denver,CO, who will be riding with me across Colorado for the next seven days or so. Luke and I go way back as college roomies at UT-Knoxville. Luke makes me look foolish in the "wildman" category, and I'm sure there will be a story or two that comes out of this week. Stay tuned.

RIDING PLANS FOR THE WEEK.......
Sunday: St Francis,KS to Alton,Co
Monday: Alton,Co to Strasburg,Co
Tuesday: Strasburg,Co to Denver,Co
Wednesday: REST DAY in Denver.......or maybe I'll climb a fourteener
Thursday: Denver to Estes Park
Friday: Estes Park to Granby
Saturday: Granby to Steamboat Springs
Sunday: Steamboat Springs to Craig

TODAY'S SHOUT OUTS........
-Wendy's of Goodland for picking up dinner.
-Howard Johnson for the mattress, ice container, shampoo, and shower cap. Oh, and also the pen.

Day 21:Hill City,KS to Colby,KS

Day 21 on the road.......

Miles covered: 68
Temperature: 78
Wind: Tailwind (Woohoo!) and a little bit of a crosswind.
Terrain: gently rolling hills
Weather: Cloudy, and then a steady rain for the last hour or so of the ride.
Average Speed: 17.8 mph
Today's Fantasy on the Bike: An all-you-can-eat buffet of frozen custard from Oscar's in Waukesha, Wi.
Songs stuck in my head: "Every once in awhile" -Blackhawk
Quote of the day: "You know Tom, you could probably bicycle in the nude for a long time on these roads without anyone ever knowing." (Rose Rand)

Moment when I laughed out load on my bike: This actually happens quite often. When you're on the road for so long each day your mind wanders in all sorts of different directions. I often think about something funny that someone said or did, or something funny that I may have said or did. Well, I laughed out loud today because I thought about my trip to Phoenix, Az this past January. I was staying with a good friend of mine and his wife, and I hadn't seen this buddy on mine in a couple of years. When I walked into his house, I saw a picture with a young looking, attractive gal in a picture frame. Without thinking, (or remembering) I said to him, "Who is this cutie? Are we going to go on a little double date while I'm in town." The next line is incredible. He said, "No, that's my mother." (And yes, unfortunately for me, this really did happen)

SUMMARY OF DAY 21........
Yesterday's brutal day on the road was followed up with a much better day of biking. It was cool, I had cloud cover, as well as the wind going in my direction. It would have been a perfect day had it not been for the rain the last 20 miles into Colby. But even then, it just gave me more incentive to pedal hard and fast into Colby. And it was kind of refreshing too. Dad and Mom have been all-stars out here on the road with me.

As far as the second picture goes....YES, it appears as if I've reached celebrity status here in Kansas, and I haven't even left the state or finished the Hunger Ride. You know, a lot of people have buildings named after them or have a statue made in honor of their great achievements. But do you ever see someone with a landfill named after them? No, you don't. And that's I why I consider this to be a privledge. I also appreciate the county not putting my full name on the sign. They too recognize that I do not desire to be recognized.

THE HUNGER RIDE WELCOMES........
Susie and Tim Grade (my sister and bro-in-law). Look out Colby, whenever you get four or more Rand's together in one location, laws are bound to be broken and riots are usually started. This town gets no sleep tonight.

TODAY'S SHOUT OUTS........
-Colby Comfort Inn
-The person who left the absolutely hysterical "Harry Carry" impression on my voicemail. I've listened to it four times and almost wet my pants each time. Who are you? I definitely recognize the voice......but I can't figure it out.

Day 20: Beloit,KS to Hill City,KS

The Big 2-0.........

Miles on the bike: 100
Temperature: 102
Wind: 22 mph crosswind
Word that best describes today: brutal
Fantasy #1 while riding: Swimming in Lake Michigan in the middle of January in a speedo and aqua socks
Fantasy #2 while riding: That I drafted off a slow moving truck the entire day (see wind mph)
Excerpt from the road: "Alright wind, you think you're bad. And you know what, you are pretty nasty, I gotta tell you that. But c'mon wind.....Is that all you got? Cause' this Wisconsin Wonderboy ain't goin' down that easy. Bring it on wind. Bring it. (I probably should mention that I nearly got blown off my bike not long after attempting to trash talk the wind)
Songs stuck in my head: "Come sail away" -Styx, "Walk On" -U2
What I ate for dinner: 5 slices of Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza, Choc. chip cookie dough blizzard, apple, Twizzlers.


SUMMARY OF DAY 20........
Well, the 2006 Hunger Ride is 40% complete. Man, I can't believe that it's gone by this fast. Crazy.
As you might have noticed from the picture, we definitely hit the jackpot in Cawker City,Kansas. Yep, you saw it here first.....the World's Largest ball of Twine. And oh boy......that sucker is big. Larger than life I tell ya. I don't think that I'm going out on a limb here when I say that many PDS families in Memphis will more than likely change their reservations in Destin this summer for the likes of the Twine Ball in Cawker City. Let me also mention that another 20 miles down the road in Alton, Kansas (population somewhere between 37 and 42) you have the birthplace of Russell Stover. Now that's a Double Jackpot. I do need to say that nowhere in Alton can you actually buy any Russell Stover product.

Yeah, so no need for Captain Obvious to tell us that it was a hot one today. A real cooker. I almost cooked my bacon and eggs on the pavement this morning. I should have had a gigantic salt stick available for days like today. The Rand Train was suppose to stop in Stockton for the night, but after discovering our less than desireable acccommadations we opted to
move on up the road. So, I'll only have 66 miles to ride tomorrow. And this is a good thing since Mr. Weatherman is calling for strong scattered thunderstorms. It is a real blessing to have my folks here with me for a few days on the ride. They are seasonded road-trippers, and a blast to be with.

TODAY'S SHOUT OUTS..........
-Sara and Jerica at Pizza Hut for the dinner hook-up. Keep up the good work gals!
-Best Western of Wakeeney, Ks

Day 19: Manhattan, KS to Beloit,KS

Highlights of Day 19........

Miles on the road: 96
Temperature: 94 degrees
Wind: out of the south at 15-25 mph w/ gusts up to 39 mph
Route: Hwy 24 out of Manhattan to Hwy 77, 82, Cty Rd 396, then Hwy 24 the rest of the way.
Songs stuck in my head: "You're not in Kansas anymore" -JoDee Mesina
Today would have been a great day on the bike if: I was biking to Canada instead of Oregon (see wind direction)
Road Kill: Today was definitely a light day for sure. I did see several colored birds though.
Best piece of trash I saw on the road: This probably isn't the best......but I've been seeing a lot of underwear.......what's the deal with that?

TODAY'S REPORT........**
Well, some of you may be saddened to know that the Hunger Ride has ended today. I've also decided to call it quits at PDS as I went and purchased my very own garage here in Kansas (see picture). I know it doesn't look like much but I tell you what it's got some serious potential. Even though I've been known to have a hard time fixing my own bicycle flats from time to time, I've got some mad skilz with cars. Heck, I changed my own air filter once. Wait, maybe twice. Also, it's great to have former PDS bible teacher Chris Hill with me in Kansas as my lead mechanic here at "Tom's Garage." By the way, Chris, where were you for work today? Come on man, we've got three Tercel's and two Saub's up on the racks. I can't have you missing work like this. And lastly, I figured I'd call Kansas home due to the fact that I made a stellar trade this afternoon at local pawn shop in Miltonvale, Kansas. How can you go wrong with two bikes for the price of one?? (see picture) That pawn shop doesn't know how much of a ride I just took them on. Ha!

Good day on the road. I'm glad that it's over though because I'm beat. As you can imagine, that wind was rough. I'm just happy it was a crosswind and not a headwind or I really would have been in trouble. I tell you what......I'm enjoying the Kansanites (?) that I've been meeting. Great folks for sure. I met a guy in a gas station today that said, "I saw you ride by and I knew that you were from Tennessee." Wow! Holy smokes! That's astonishing. Since it appeared that I was in the presence of a modern day prophet........I'd tried to get some other basic information out of him such as who/or if I'm going to get married, where I'll be in 10 years, and when and/or if I'm going to go bald. Apparently this was a one-time thing because the guy had no answers.

TOMORROW'S FORCAST.........
Temp: 92
Wind: out of the south at 22 mph
Miles to Stockton, Kansas: 70

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY...........
Hanging out with Becky Birdsong, a fellow co-worker of mine at PDS. Becky has been hanging out with family in Salina and she made the drive up and met me in Miltonvale. I tell you what, it's always a blessing when you're far away from home and you see a familiar face. Thanks for making the effort to get together, Becky!

THE HUNGER RIDE WELCOMES..........
Rose and Roger Rand to Beloit, Kansas! Lord only knows the crazy stories that will come out of the next four days!

TODAY'S SHOUT OUTS........
-Susie and Tim Grade's home church for a wonderful rendition of "Take me out to the ballgame" on my voicemail
-Plum Creek Restaurant of Beloit for a tasty dinner
-Super 8 of Beloit for two rooms (my bike gets its own room tonight....how about that!)
-The person who left "Harry Carry" from SNL on my voicemail. That always makes me laugh

**The reader should be aware that the next 13 sentences of this blog may or may not be entirely true.

Day 18: Topeka,KS to Manhattan,KS

Day 18.......

Miles Ridden: 60
Temperature: 82.5 degrees or so
Wind: tailwind most of the way
Terrain: mostly flat, then I hit a few hills the last 14 miles or so
Soreness Scale(1 being not very sore 10 being ready to throw in the towel): 2.5
Route: Hwy 24
Songs stuck in my head: "Calling out your name" -Rich Mullins
What was cool about today: The Topeka newspaper interviewed me this morning
The Feeling that I had all day: Did somebody put me on a treadmill with my bike? I kept seeing the same farmhouses and fields all day long. Actually, because the roads are empty and the terrain is flat, I'm kinda likin' Kansas.
What I might be doing today if I wasn't on this bike trip: Watching "Macgyver" ......since I have almost every episode on VHS
# of Bugs that went in my mouth: 3
# of Bugs I think I swallowed: 2
# of Dog Attacks: 0
Accommadations: Holiday Inn of Manhattan

MEAL RUNDOWN:
Breakfast: bacon, eggs, and toast. Expresso and orange juice
Lunch: Chicken sand. at McDonald's
Dinner: China Buffer
Snacks: granola bar

Quote of the Day: (courtesy of the lady at the Super 8.....maybe she was mad that I wasn't staying there)
Tom: M'am, can you tell me where the Holiday Inn is located?
Front Desk lady: "Oh yeah, the Holiday Inn is just down the road"
Tom: "Great! Do you know how far?"
FDL: two blocks
Tom: Thanks so much

(After going the direction she told me too I was unable to find the H.I. so I asked a few of my sorority sister friends that I happened to meet at a stop light. They told me I was was nowhere near the hotel. About 15 minutes later I arrived at the H.I.)

SHOUT OUTS........
-H.I. for the spacious room
-the All You Can Eat China Buffet for a satisfying dinner

THE HUNGER RIDE WELCOMES..........
Rose and Roger Rand to the trails tomorrow in Beloit, Kansas. Good Times, Good times.

Day 17:Kansas City,Mo to Topeka,KS

Day 17.......

Miles Ridden: 74
Wind: Tail
Temperature at 9:30 am: 71
Temperature at 1:00 pm: 73
Terrain: flat.....oh yeah!
How I felt about the temperature, wind, and terrain: Totally Ecstatic
What I saw all day long: See green picture above
Songs stuck in my head: "The Rising" -Bruce Springsteen
Scary Moment #1: Fido from the farmhouse tried to get a piece of me. Luckily for me he was unsuccessful.
Scary Moment #2: Two-lane, 60mph road, virtually no shoulder, semi on my side and dump truck passing me at the same time on the other side. WHOA!
Scripture for the day: Romans 8.
Accommadations: The house of Julie and Webb Garlinghouse in southwest Topeka
Dinner: STEAKS!

IF YOU LIKE THESE THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE TOPEKA.......
-Payless Shoe Stores........thier distribution center is located in Topeka
-Frito's......d.c. located here as well
-fields and farmhouses......I saw a lot on the way in and a lot on the way out
-NO TRAFFIC.......I rode in around 5pm and the roads were clear

SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK............
Wednesday: Manhattan to Beloit, Kansas (92 miles)
Thursday: Beloit to Stockton, Kansas (70 miles)
Friday: Stockton to Colby, Kansas (100miles)
Saturday: Colby to St Francis, Kansas (75 miles)

THE COOLEST THING I HEARD THIS WEEK.........
-Jolynn Sirak from Beaverton,OR had a garage sale for the Hunger Ride last weekend and she raised $1,000 for Ethiopia!!! Nice job JOLYNN!

SHOUT OUTS........
-All of the great people that I met from Hartland Church in Kansas City, MO. THANKS for allowing me to say a few words about the Hunger Ride in your service.
-Mitch & Hillary of Kansas City for allowing me to stay at their place Sunday night! Great times guys.....Y'all rock!

SUPER TUESDAY WINNER........
The best joke that I received on my voicemail this week was from Dr E (aka my Dad).

THIS WEEK'S SUPER TUESDAY CONTEST.......
It's impersonation week. And this week I'll give you all a choice. Choose one of the following to impersonate: Elvis, Harry Carry, a mime, or Tom Rand. Voicemails must 39.60 seconds or less. For those of you who are a little timid to enter SUPER TUESDAY, I dare you.

Day 16: REST DAY in Kansas City

Day 16........A Day of REST

Miles Covered: 0
Inside Temperature: 70 degrees.......ah, it feels so nice.

UP TO DATE TRIP STATS.........(CHARLESTON TO KC)
Days Gone: 16
Days of Riding:14
Days of Rest:2
Total Miles on the Bike: 1,202
Average Miles per day: 75
Calories Consumed: appr. 60,000
Body Weight Before the trip: 162.2 pounds
Current Body Weight: 163 pounds
% body fat before trip: 11.4
Current body fat %: 9.3

WHAT I WILL DO ON MY DAY OFF.........
See picture above. The goal is to move as little as possible. I've considered only walking on my hands to give my legs a break, but that might be a little difficult after awhile.
Currently, I'm hanging out at the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Since 1999, "IHOP" has been a place of continual worship and prayer, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical at first, but I've gotta say that this place is amazing. I've truly been encouraged and uplifted by spending time here. We hung out here last night and it was a great time to pray, reflect, and sing. I am currently blogging from "Higher Ground," the coffee shop that is connected to IHOP. Check out the website www.ihop.org
Also, today I have the chance to hang out with Tyler Scheer, an old, dear friend from back home in Waukesha, WI. When I was in high school, Tyler and I quite possibly logged over 2,000+ hours on my driveway playing hoops.....sun, rain, or snow......early in the morning or late at night. In our vintage one-on-one games, Tyler is infamous for sticking his hands deep in a snowbank (in 17 degree weather) and then immediately nailing three-pointers in my face from 25 feet.

TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT.......
I have the chance to talk very briefly about Ethiopia and my summer in spandex at a church here in K.C.

ANNE MCCAIN COMES TO K.C........(see picture above)
I'm grateful to have Anne McCain, my friend who works with Food for the Hungry here in K.C. Anne made the trip from Virginia to meet with a church that is helping sponsor orphans in Zeway, as well as cheer us on in the ride!
Anne's work with the Hunger Ride has been invaluable since Day 1. There's no way I'd be doing this without her guidance and insight.

WHY ARE YOU HELPING PEOPLE IN A FAR AWAY PLACE WHEN THERE'S PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP HERE IN THE U.S.?
This is a question that I receive often, and I wanted to touch on it briefly.
Anywhere you go, and in all of our respective communities, there are people in who are poor, sick, and in great need. As followers of Christ, we are commmanded to love, serve, and be of help to the poor. But when we talk about poverty in the U.S. in relation to poverty overseas, we are talking about two very different realities. It's important to note that EVEN THE POOREST PEOPLE IN THE U.S. ARE IN THE TOP 20% OF THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. There are people who do need help in the U.S., and we should help these people. I do think that God calls people to different missions in different places.
As far as the Hunger Ride goes, HIV/AIDS in Africa is the greatest global crisis in the history of mankind. It far surpasses any plaque or war that has ever occurred. Over 26 million are infected in Africa right now. Over 9,000 die per day. That's 3 1/2 times 9/11 every single day. I think that a common response to this might be, "That's so many people, and so overwhelming, does it really make a difference whether I do anything or not." One thing that I hope and pray comes out of the Hunger Ride is that people would not see HIV/AIDS in Africa as "just another need." Instead, my prayer is that we in west would realize the importance of rallying together to bring about change. Progress has been made, and progress can continue to be made. Food for the Hungry's moto is "ONE AT A TIME" ........meaning this.......instead of being overwhelmed at the mass numbers that die everyday, if we shift our way of thinking and consider the individual orphan, father, mother, grandma or grandpa that dies from HIV/AIDS.........and see that each one of these individuals is a human being that God deeply loves and is concerned for........when our thoughts go to one human life instead of some gigantic number.......we then see that each person dies "one at a time." But more importantly, we also see that one person can be saved "one at a time." I can't save the world, and neither can you. But I can help one, two, or three human beings. When I was in Ethiopia in December, I was blown away as I visited home after home and talked to families who are part of the child sponsorship program. (individuals in the U.S. who give $28 a month to support a child in another country) The homes that I saw were sometimes the size of a walk-in closet here in the U.S. I would always ask each family, "How do you survive?" Every single family without question said that they get by......they literally survive because of their sponsor through Food for the Hungry in the U.S.

Day 15: Clinton, MO to Kansas City,MO

Miles covered: 67
Route: Hwy 7 to Harrisonville, Hwy 71 to Kansas City
Temperature: 89 degrees
Terrain: flat, a few small rolling hills
Road Kill: several turtles, a very large racoon and a few oversized birds
Swallowed bugs: 1
Cars that honked their horn: 6
Average Speed: 16.9 mph without gear


SUMMARY OF DAY 15........
This was by far one of the best days of the trip simply because of the person that I had the privledge of riding with. My close friend, CJ Behnke, from Hortonville,WI, drove down from Cheeseland all day on Friday to ride with me on Saturday. Then, at about 12:30 am on Sunday morning, he took off to drive back to WI. Now that's loyalty and devotion. More than 24 hours in the car for one day on the bike. I definitely felt honored. CJ hung in their like a champ too. He surpassed his longest day on the bike by more than 20 miles while making it look effortless. Also, on Saturday night he let me skunk him THREE times in cribbage. Man, what a friend I have!

SAGWAGONER OF THE WEEK........
This award goes to CJ's father, Leon Behnke. Leon made the long drive with CJ on Friday, and he carried my B.O.B. trailer while we rode on Saturday. He also helped us navigate the busy, construction filled roads of K.C. And quite possibly the most important thing that he did was he made sure that the Berryweiss stayed cold throughout the day.

SHOUT OUTS........
-Ann at the Hampton Inn of Clinton for the quality hotel room
-Subway of Harrisonville for the subs
-Alisa at the Macaroni Grill of K.C. for hooking us up with a fine dinner
-The carload of girls that screamed at us on Hwy 71