Wednesday, June 9th, Day 34
Ash Grove, Missouri to Pittsburg, Kansas (68 miles)

Last night, we had a severe thunderstorm with lightning strikes all around. We were tented in the local park and the police were aware of our presence. They came to us and suggested we head to the “safe house” the park had just for these kinds of emergencies.
We did that and after about a half hour, we were beginning to feel uncomfortable about leaving our equipment unattended, so we headed back to our camp. The rain had subsided. We went to sleep only to wake up around six in the morning with more rain and more lightning.
We got a late start leaving about 9am. After we mustered our gear, we headed to a local eatery for a hearty breakfast before hitting the road. I had mentioned earlier that my eating habits had to change because my body needed more food (and different kinds) to sustain the ride. We are burning on average anywhere from 6,000 to 9,000 calories per day. You ask what is a hearty breakfast??
First off, we usually have two breakfasts.
The first breakfast this morning (and this has become a daily thing), I had …
2 biscuits with gravy
Hash Browns
A Big Slice of Ham
Oatmeal
Milk
Coffee
A couple of hours on the road, then we stop for a second breakfast.
We have reached the end of the Ozarks. About 25 miles into the ride, there was a dramatic change. The mountains were now behind us and nothing but flat road lay ahead.
We made a pit stop in Golden City, Missouri and went to what was revered as “the bikers favorite food stop,” Cookies. The food sure was good, but the pie took the cake. Incredibly delicious.
I parked my bike in front of Parkers Barber Shop when we headed to Cookies for lunch. Upon my return, I met the owner/barber, Stanley Parker, who was curious about the bike and the outfit I was wearing. Seems that Stanley has been in the same shop and cutting hair for 54 years. He was cutting the hair of his boyhood friend…they went to school together.
There was no cell phone service in Golden City. Stanley was kind enough to allow me to use his phone to make a call. When I offered to pay him, he refused. Just another nice person that we’ve met along the way.
We continued our journey and stayed overnight in Pittsburg, Kansas. This is the fifth state we’ve been in since the start in May. And we just passed the 1,600 mile marker.
Below is a note that appears on the Pittsburg website…
STORM SIREN TESTING
The City of Pittsburg will begin testing its storm warning system beginning on Wednesday, March 17th, and will continue every other Wednesday through September 29th, at 12 noon. Should the weather not be favorable the sirens will not be tested and will be rescheduled for testing again in two weeks. The sirens will be sounded twice; once should be a continuous tone for storm warnings and the second should be an on/off tone for air attack warnings.
The City of Pittsburg will have spotters at each of the 12 siren locations, but encourages citizens of the community to contact the Department of Public Works at 231-4170 to report any siren that is not functioning properly.