Met Carol and Bill in downtown Iola this afternoon. They are bicycle touring across the country on their Salsa Fargo touring bikes, camping and staying in hotels along the way.
The retired couple, originally from Indiana, started their trip in San Diego, rode north along the Pacific Coast to Oregon, and are roughly following the Trans-America Bicycle Route across the nation. They stayed in Eureka last night, are staying in Iola this evening, Fort Scott tomorrow, and then on into Missouri.
Technically, their residence is Florida, though they say they don’t spend much time there. “Too many old people,” according to Bill.
They said they’d found the drivers in Kansas to be very considerate, and the people open and friendly. They had an adventure a few nights ago, seeing the Hutchinson tornado up close, or at least close enough. “It was huge,” Carol said. “It filled the sky, seeing it from four miles away.”