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June 2020 Kansas Flint Hills Bikepacking 06-19-2020

I just finished up a short bike tour in eastern Kansas. It ended up being just over 400 miles in 7 days. The tour was about half solo and half with a small group. The group had originally been scheduled to ride the Biking Across Kansas tour, but that event was canceled due […]

Salsa Journeyman Flint Hills Bikepacking Tour 06-13-2019

On my recent Flint Hills Bikepacking Tour, I rode my Salsa Journeyman on its inaugural tour. I have purchased and been experimenting with some bikepacking bags, but for this trip, I opted for a somewhat traditional setup with a rear rack and a single pannier. Here are some […]

The DK-ish Tour: Bikepacking in the Land of the Dirty Kanza 06-12-2019

I rolled out on a short tour with my friend Bill Poindexter last week. This was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. Bill messaged me on Tuesday: “Hey, want to do a quick local tour, 4-5 days, starting tomorrow?” I had a window of opportunity with work, the weather […]

Salsa Journeyman Checkpoint Review 02-07-2019

I’ve now put about 750 miles on my Salsa Journeyman, so I thought I’d check in and share my impressions of the bike. Longest ride was about 64 miles, along with a few gravel rides in the 20-50 mile range, but most rides have just been short jaunts around town. […]

2018 Wrap-Up 12-31-2018

2018 is in the books. As always, I did a meticulous job of tracking my numbers: 5751 miles biking377 miles running136 miles walking I hit my goal of 5200 miles on the bike (100 miles per week). With no big tours, my overall mileage was down a bit from recent years, […]

New Bike Decision-Making: Salsa Journeyman 10-25-2018

I’ve been toying with the idea of a new bike for awhile, but never really found “the one” that pushed all my buttons. It’s been a long, drawn-out process of looking up and comparing bike specs, and imagining how they might actually affect real-life […]

Woodson County Bike Overnight 07-10-2018

I slipped away for a quick overnight bike camping trip to Cross Timbers State Park in Woodson County, Kansas, along with my friend, Doug. Cross Timbers is a nice distance for a bike overnight, about 45 miles each way, with the option of either pavement all the way (US-54 […]

Weighing Panniers vs Bikepacking Bags 07-04-2018

I’m still exploring my options when it comes to traditional bicycle touring (racks and panniers) vs. newfangled bikepacking setups (soft bags). So as any self-respecting bike nerd will do, I created a spreadsheet, and started plugging in numbers. First up, my current […]

Spirit Hills Tour 2018 06-24-2018

I’m back home from a short 4-day 3-night tour on the Prairie Spirit Trail (PST) and the Flint Hills Nature Trail (FHNT). Here’s the route, followed by a narrative, and a bunch of photos! Three of us (myself, Kimberly, and Jay) took off from Iola Tuesday morning, […]

Ready To Roll Out On A Short Tour 06-18-2018

I’m reprising a short tour I did a few years ago, riding the Prairie Spirit Trail from Iola to Ottawa, the Flint Hills Nature Trail from Ottawa to Council Grove, and then pavement and gravel back to Iola via Emporia. In all, it’ll be about 250 miles over four […]