Pratt, KS

At 1:43 PM, Rick checked into TS 26 at Pratt, KS.  His average speed on this segment was 15.7 MPH — a very fast result we haven’t seen for several days.  Along with his 282-mile effort yesterday, these are very promising signs that Rick is making a good recovery and working through all the aches and pains.  His overall average speed is just short of 10.5 MPH, and very close to the 10.6 he needs to maintain.

It looks like Rick kept riding right through the time station at Pratt without stopping.  The motivation to keep moving, was that the half-way point to the finish is just 15 miles beyond Pratt —  and as he reached it, George Metzler sent me the following message: “… Please send a shout out to the blog  that Rick has reached the halfway point (in miles) of his RAAM  journey. Only 1,502 miles to go.  Rick says thanks for all the  interest that you have shown throughout this adventure.  This has  been a good day so far…”

Bep and John with Rick at halfway point

Congratulations to Rick and the crew for reaching this fantastic milestone!
Rick is now on a 77-mile stage to Maize, KS:

Pratt, KS to Maize, KS

This is another stage that trends downhill, and another one with endless corn and wheat fields on long straight roads that keep going as far as the eye can see:

Rt 54 east of Pratt, KS -- half-way point

Current weather conditions in Pratt are: mostly sunny, temperature 81F with a high of 85 predicted.  Winds are currently calm, with 10-13 from the south in the forecast.   This is much better weather than what the lead riders endured earlier, when they came through here.