Well, I've already been through Ontario, OR so why not Toronto, KS? Only this one has a slightly smaller City Hall! We camped out last night under a sheltered picnic table area near the pool in the city park of Eureka, KS. Good thing, since it rained most of the night. I'm learning all sorts of new camping techniques out here and it's not always necessary to pitch your tent. If it's warm enough, the bugs aren't too bad and you have some sort of roof over your head (like a metal shelter with picnic tables) you can just unroll your sleeping bag and pad right on top of the table. I slept on the table that my bike is leaning against (notice my cool yellow rain covers!). I prefer to sleep on picnic tables so as to avoid any ground-crawling bugs. However, my buddy Brent and his dog don't mind being on the ground so that's another option. This all saves time and effort since I don't have to go through the trouble of setting up and then taking down my tent. No small thing when you wake up so early to beat the heat. Today was mostly cloudy so we slept a bit later and got going around 8:00AM. I rode with Heather and Hazel since Brent and Todd had to wait in Eureka for delivery of Todd's new wheel. Seems his rear wheel has developed many cracks to the point where some of the spokes were coming out! A friend back home has mailed him a new wheel by "general delivery" to the Eureka post office. They shouldn't be far behind us and we hope to see them here in Chanute, KS. Only a few more miles left in Kansas and then I'll be riding into Missouri, my next new state. I'll take a short detour and visit the city of Springfield where I plan to catch a Greyhound bus to Kansas City, MO for my flight back home to Philly. Then, on to Prague for my vacation with Lucia. Can't wait to see her. I've missed her terribly out here and, although we talk about twice each day and she's been amazingly helpful and supportive while I'm on this trip, it's still tough not seeing each other for 2 months. I hope this break will allow me to reconnect with her and other folks back home, and also recharge my emotional batteries so that I can come back out here after Labor Day and continue on to Florida with new determination.

Total mileage so far: 2,285

Please consider making a small donation to help cancer survivors (sadly, my mom was not one of them) http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/steveonhisbike