Day Six
Friday, October 11, 2024
Lisa: An eventful day. Marianne had two flat tires thanks to tiny thorns that got embedded. We’d walked over five miles before we realized—she just thought she was overtired from the previous day’s epic mileage. We had no other choice but to keep going, and Marianne had to push 50 pounds on two flat tires for more than six miles before we got to Pomona. We were hoping for an auto parts store or Walmart with tire tubes and/or tire sealant. No such luck.
Marianne: Other than having two flat tires, I enjoyed the first section of the trail. I thought it was one of the prettiest sections we had been on so far. A “cathedral” canopy of trees kept us in the shade for a good portion of the day (check out the pictures!)
Pomona State Park to Pomona
Camped trailside at South Colorado Road Parking Area
11.92 trail miles, 13.79 total miles
57° at 6 a.m. with a high of 88°
Pomona
I texted my friends the Rasmussens in Topeka an SOS.
Kim Rasmussen, hero of heroes, took time out of her Friday to drive 80 miles round trip to bring us tire tubes, tire Slime, and a cooler full of ice-cold beer. (She’s the one who took the video on the Home page.) As luck would have it, after she left, one of Marianne’s tires still wouldn’t hold air.
We pushed our strollers to our trailhead campsite where—you can’t make this stuff up—we saw a man doing pushups on the trail. He said he never came to this trail but for some reason he came here today to run his ten miles. When he discovered our trouble, he said, “I’ve been a bicycle mechanic for twenty-five years!” and promptly fixed Marianne’s tire.
Click on the yellow crosses to the right to read the sections below
Downers
Lisa:
- Two flat tires.
- No Ubers.
- Having to depend upon the kindness of strangers…and friends.
Marianne:
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Not having skills or supplies to change a tire. Just reminded us to plan better for next time!
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Still worried about randos at the campsite using the restroom in the middle of the night.
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Not much in Pomona in terms of services you could walk to. A car would come in handy here…
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More trains—felt like they were right outside of our tent!
Highlights
Lisa:
- Getting to depend upon the kindness of strangers…and friends.
- Kim Rasmussen, hero of heroes, taking time out of her Friday to drive 80 miles round trip to bring us tire tubes, tire Slime, and a cooler full of ice-cold beer.
- Meeting BJ the bicycle mechanic.
- Dancing until nearly midnight beneath a brilliant moon.
Marianne:
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Learning to NOT use Fix-a-Flat inflator and sealer for car tires on bike tires. Thanks, Andy!
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Having people in our lives that are willing to give inconvenient help! Thank you, Kim! And thank goodness you brought beer! I wept.
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Listening to any songs we could think of thanks to the solar charger and mini speaker Lisa brought. We danced in the moonlight!
Fast Facts: Pomona, Kansas
- Founded in 1869
- Population 884 (as of 2020 Census)
- Named for Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees
Photo Gallery
Click on a photo for a captioned slide show to learn what you're looking at
Kim Rasmussen, dear friend and hero of all heroes, who drove from Topeka with tire tubes, Slime, and ice-cold beer
BJ the bicycle mechanic, one of our guardian angels
This is the moon we danced under until 11 p.m. in Pomona after walking 14 miles
Kenny drove us and all our gear back to the trail from Pomona State Park
Sunset at Pomona State Park
Marianne's stroller
One of our outdoor cathedrals
Notice the Osage Hardware t-shirt that Danielle and Colton gave me
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