In retrospect, this was the most exciting and interesting leg of the trip, mostly because of the contrasts.  Colorado Springs sits at 7000 feet elevation and is itself not mountainous, yet it is just off the front range of the Rocky Mountains.  Pikes Peak, at 14000 something feet, is clearly visible (usually) a few miles to the west.  Kansas City, the end of this day's ride, is at about 800 feet elevation, and right in the middle of the Great Plains, not a mountain in sight for hundreds of miles.  When I left at 7:30 AM the temperature was about 35 degrees F., with light drizzle and strong winds from the northwest.  In Kansas City that evening it was calm, overcast, and about 60 degrees.

    Very shortly I was out on the high plains where I again had gusty crosswinds, but this time from the northwest, and slightly to my rear.  The road was wet and because I saw snow on some of the cars heading into Colorado Springs I was somewhat concerned that there might even have been ice.  Once again the XR650L dealt easily with the crosswinds, which I explained to a local couple who were behind me all the way to the truck stop in Limon, CO, where I stopped for gas.  The snowmobile suit was water resistant at this amount of light rain - no dampness penetrated.

    The weather changed dramatically east of Limon and into Kansas, where the elevation begins to go down.  All day in Kansas it was overcast, but no rain.  No sun either, and more importantly, no tornados, although I was a little bit disappointed at that.  I was surprised to see a few scattered oil wells near Oakley, KS, and farther east.  I had never thought of Kansas as an oil producer.

    The speed limit here is 75 miles per hour all the way, so I let the XR650L do her stuff and cruised mostly at 75-80.  Thank heaven for the higher speed limits; 55 miles per hour in this part of the country made no sense at all.  I'm glad we're over that.

    It became very clear on this day that my body was definitely not accustomed to long distance riding.  It has been 13 years since my XL250 was retired.  Taking the day off on Wednesday didn't seem to make any difference and the muscles in my back and neck started cramping about mid-morning.  The extra tension caused by the crosswinds and the threat of icy roads early in the morning probably contributed to it.  I battled it by moving fore and aft on the seat every three or four minutes, by yawning, and by stretching (one arm at a time, of course).  My bottom also rebelled against the XR650L's fairly hard seat.  The cramping began to go away about the time it started detracting from my enjoyment of the ride.  For a while, though, I began to worry that my adventure might turn into an ordeal.  Fortunately, it didn't.

    At Topeka I-70 becomes the Kansas Turnpike.  Well, that was a surprise!  I didn't expect to find a toll road out in middle America.  Getting toll out is a nuisance anytime, but on a motorcycle it's worse.  Enough said.

    Because of the higher speed I arrived at the Marine Corps Activities at Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport about 17 miles south of Kansas City, MO, at a more reasonable hour of 7:30 PM.  The distance for Day Three was 613 miles.

    Completing half the trip without incident was a real boost.  I already knew I could enjoy riding a motorcycle all day because I did it 36 years ago, but now I had the evidence that removed all doubt.  This leg, as I said at the top of this page, was the best of the trip, for a variety of reasons - different terrain, contrasts in weather, surviving the muscle cramping, high average speed, and getting in at a reasonable hour. 

After checking in to the military guest quarters, I headed out to get supper feeling really great.