Rest day -- only 21 miles

Day 16, May 8 Day off in Topeka

Data: 21 miles Riding time 1:45 (12.0 mph)

I woke up late. Did laundry. I added photos to yesterday's blog posting (at 10 am). Then I rode to the bike shop 6 miles away to get my pedals greased, then did some sightseeing at the State Capitol with Jerry.

New entry at 9:45 pm: We had a wonderful day today. We could sure see that there had been flooding; I rode through mud that got all over my bike that I had to clean off later. We rode around the Capitol, where we got this photo:

We then stopped to eat at a small BBQ joint that turned out to be very famous; Jerry and I were celebrities there with our bikes and biking outfits. It was called Lane's, and was owned by descendants of a famous James Lane who was instrumental in Kansas politics prior to and after the Civil War.

The restaurant itself was a museum, with historical documents and photos all over the place, plus old farming implements, old TVs, old radios, old advertisements (Babe Ruth pushing Chesterfield cigarettes), etc. The old man behind the counter was about 85, and he turned out to be the owner (named Lane), and his son was there who is currently the state Representative for that district. They were celebrities, we were celebrities (we brought our bikes right into the place), and we were each asking each other all sorts of questions. In this photo, there's the legislator in his muscle shirt, his dad, some "museum" artifacts on the walls, and my bike behind us.

We rode through beautiful neighborhoods and parks on the return ride, and later rode to the Kansas History Museum. Their special exhibit was on sports stars from KS, so I saw Jim Ryun's track shoes that were EXACTLY like the ones I wore in high school. They also featured Al Oerter, Wilt Chamberlain, Wes Santee, and Glenn Cunningham, and they had a continuous showing of when Kansas won the NCAA basketball championship about 10 years ago. I took this photo since it was weird to see something in a museum that was in my own kitchen growing up (and it's still the only mixer in Mom's kitchen to this day). They also had our VegeMatic, my sisters' hair curlers, and our Polaroid camera in their display of "ancient" artifacts.

Here's a funny sign we saw on our ride back to the motel. Later I took a whirlpool to massage my legs, and played on the indoor water slide.

I decided NOT to leave well enough alone, and actually changed my rear tire. I had a brand new one with me anyway, so I decided to make a preventive move to help retain my "no flat tire" status. And after two weeks, don't you think I should change a tire just so I can be "one of the guys"? hahaha

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