Another day in Great Bend, today I mostly took it easy again, which was really my only option. Great Bend has a free zoo in the park so I wandered over and took a walk through. I saw a pair of grizzly bears playing together in a water pool not more than 6 feet in front of me behind a thick glass pane. Who would have thought the first time I’d see a grizzly bear would be in Kansas. And I didn’t even need bear spray. Their teeth and claws were still terrifying despite being on the other side of the glass.

I also have a working bicycle again! And it works even better than it did before. I have two new wheels, new bar tape, and a new right brake lever. Unfortunately I didn’t know there was an issue with the rear wheel so we didn’t order the part, but the mechanic noticed too much play in the freehub when indexing the shifter and was able to borrow a suitable replacement wheel from a showroom bike. I gave my bike a test ride around the block and it felt so good to have wheels again.

I’m still healing, my lip is still swollen and making it challenging to eat, but the weather will only get hotter the longer I sit here, and I think I exhausted the recreational activities in downtown Great Bend, tomorrow I plan to start riding early in the morning to beat the heat and take it as it comes.