The road teaches you focus, patience, and perseverance. When you face a long grassy northeast Kansas road like this you better have those qualities, or you are in for a hard anxious day of constantly looking for the end of your miles. Sometimes it is all you can do to put your attention as far out in front of you as you can see and then keep affirming to yourself " I'm going to make it to that horizon point, I'm going to make it to that horizon point". Once there, the taskmaster - "the road" - says repeat the process until the miles are complete.