Day 50: The Geographic centre (Mon 14th July)

On the road for 6.30am. An absolutely beautiful morning. Caught a gorgeous sunrise as I left town. The air was really cool this morning, almost chilly. I enjoyed it though, as the forecast was for mid-90's an 25mph winds. There wasn't a cloud in the sky so the day would heat up fast.

The first 31 miles to Mankato went by fine. The land looked vast in the early morning sun. At one point, while mulling over my top 7 greatest football matches, I was taken out of my daydream by the cry of an eagle. I looked around and saw an eagle flying parallel to me being chased by a small bird. The little fellah would land on the eagle's back and peck at his neck before breaking away. The eagle landed on a telegraph pole 50m ahead of me and watched as I cycled towards it. Just as I got close to the eagle it cried out again and flew off, back the way it came.

It was quiet on the road today, not much traffic. I stopped for 20 mins at Mankato, a small village and had some drinks before heading on. About 10.30 the winds rose and so did the heat. 20 miles down the road I stopped to read an information sign. It told me I was very close to the geographic centre of America. The actual point was about three miles away just outside the village of Lebanon. As the crow flies I am 1,603 miles from both Boston & San Francisco. To be honest I was gutted. I really thought I'd gone further than that. Fair Play Mike G you were spot on. If I hadn't stopped the extra days that I did last week I'd have passed that spot on Saturday. You were bang on.

12 miles down the road was Smith center. That last stretch was tough and by the time I rolled into town my energy was low. I stopped & ate in a small Diner where the lady who owned the place told me she was a McLoughlin. I didn't enquire any further!! I went ot to the road to continue on but I still felt very tired. The heat was strong by now as well. I think I was a bit deflated by that half-way sign I'd seen earlier. With the winds whipping up I took the easy option & stayed in Smith Center.

I'm disappointed I stopped but if I don't regulate my energy levels I'm in trouble. I've mucked up my schedule for the next few days so I 'm now checking the maps to reroute myself slightly to suit the daily mileages.