Kansas Cyclist - Kansas Bicycle Guide and Reference

With Spring finally in full swing, cyclists in the midwest have plenty of rides to choose from this weekend:

Kansas:

• Tour northern Miami County, just south of the Kansas City metro, May 3rd at the Bull Creek Bike Bash starting in Spring Hill, Kansas.
• The Kansas Fat Tire Festival takes place May 3rd and 4th on the picturesque trails at Lake Wilson’s Hell Creek State Park near Hays, Kansas.
• Also occurring in Hays on May 3rd is the Rope ‘em Ride, which showcases the historical cathedrals in the area with routes from 5 to 100 miles.
• Cycle the beautiful Flint Hills on May 4th with The Great Escape, a ride to benefit the Spiritual Life Center at El Dorado Correctional Facility near El Dorado, Kansas.

Arkansas:

• In Mountain Home, Arkansas, the Syllamo’s Revenge Mountain Bike Challenge lets you test your skills and endurance on a 50-mile course in the rugged Ozark Mountains on May 3rd.

Missouri:

• The Trail to a Cure takes place May 4th on the Katy Trail at Rocheport, Missouri to benefit AIDS research.

Oklahoma:

• Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Tour de Tulsa has been a spring cycling fixture for over 20 years. It rolls on May 3rd.
• The Valley Rally Bicycle Tour takes place in south-central Oklahoma’s Pauls Valley on May 3rd.

This is one of the busiest cycling weekends of the year so far, so saddle up and hit the road (or trail)!

It’s hard to surpass springtime on Missouri’s Katy Trail, particularly near the historic and scenic town of Rocheport. You can enjoy beauty, and help to raise money for HIV/AIDS research and services in Mid-Missouri, on the Trail to a Cure, a ride/walk/run event that takes place on May 4th, starting at the Katy Trail State Park trailhead in Rocheport.

You can choose to ride from Rocheport to McBaine, a round-trip of 18 miles, or from Rocheport to Easley, a round-trip of 32 miles. There is also a 10K walk, a 10K run, and an 18-mile run. The starts for the various activities are staggered so that everyone gets back to the trailhead by about 2pm, where all participants can partake in a post-event celebration with their friends and family at the Les Bourgeois Winery.

The event is a fundraising benefit for two AIDS-related organizations: amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and Rain of Central Missouri. 100% of the funds raised by participants are passed along to the beneficiaries.

amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy.

Rain of Central Missouri is the region’s leading STD prevention resource focused on education, early detection and compassionate care facilitation. In addition to high quality education and prevention services, Rain offers compassionate case management to persons with HIV/STD and HCV in the form of counseling, physician referrals, housing, social services, nutritional planning, risk reduction counseling, and treatment adherence counseling.

The event is organized by Larry Horning, owner of the Trailside Cafe & Bike Shop, located right across the street from the trailhead in Rocheport.

Learn more: New AIDS Benefit in Missouri To Depend on Pedal Power from CampKC.com

With the weather (finally) heating up, the cycling season is starting to get going as well, with a number of events scheduled for the weekend of April 19-20:

• The Johnson County Bicycle Club’s annual early-season ride, the Spring Classic rolls on April 19th at 8am, offering 26, 46, or 70-mile routes through Lenexa, Shawnee, Bonner Springs, DeSoto, Gardner, Edgerton, and Olathe.
• The Chisholm Trail Bike Ride takes place April 20th, offering 30 and 60 mile routes starting in Newton.
• In Neosho, Missouri you can enjoy dogwoods in bloom at the Tour de Tick on April 19th (26.5, 62, and 100 mile options) and then on the 20th participate in the Tour de Tick Race, part of the Midwest Fat Tire Series of mountain bike events.
• Member of the Kansas Singletrack Society are riding in the first annual Gravel Ride Across Kansas. The ride starts on Friday the 18th at the Oklahoma state line near Arkansas City, and finishes at the Nebraska border on the 20th, with overnights in Newton and Minneapolis, plus stops along the way to ride singletrack at Miller’s Meadow and Coronado Heights. Other than that, it’s gravel roads for 280 miles.

It’s time to get out and start enjoying Spring!

In Paper Guy’s Katy Trail Adventure!, in the The Lawrence Journal-World, Joyce Stevens writes about a trip she and her husband took on Missouri’s Katy Trail.

After driving to Sedalia, they rode the Katy to St. Charles, enjoying overnight stays in bed-and-breakfasts in Rocheport, Hermann, and Defiance. At the end of their trip they took the Amtrak train from St. Louis back to Sedalia.

Accompanying them was a little friend called “paper guy”, created by their six-year-old son, which served as as the mascot for the trip. Paper guy was ferried along by the Stevens’ the entire length of the trail, surviving to tell a harrowing tale.

Harrowing? Yes, the little fellow survived, but not entirely intact. A rainstorm on the second day turned out to be a little more than he could handle. Joyce reports: “Paper Guy lost part of his left arm and his colors were a bit runny. He had to rest and have some chocolate when we arrived at the Yates House Bed and Breakfast.”

The next day brought further challenges, as a bike malfunction led to the trio shortening their ride and taking a shuttle from Jefferson City to Hermann. The following day the old bicycle was replaced with a new touring bike at Scenic Cycles in Marthasville. The rest of the trip went smoothly, and it was over all too soon.

All in all it was a fun trip and, even though he was a little worse for the wear, I think Paper Guy enjoyed his adventure as much as we did!

Thanks for sharing your charming story, Joyce, and please, if you (or Paper Guy) have any more cycling adventures, please let us know!

March 29th is the date for the 4th annual Cabin Fever Challenge, one of the first organized rides of the year. Celebrate the coming of Spring with a trip to Pottawatomie County, Kansas, and enjoy the scenic beauty of the northern Flint Hills.

The Cabin Fever Challenge offers routes of 18.5, 34.5, and 57 miles on paved, rural, low-traffic roads. The ride begins and ends at Wamego Middle School, 1701 Kaw Valley Road, in Wamego (see map). Check-in time is 7:30-8:45, with a mass start at 9:00am.

The ride has a $25 entry fee, which includes breakfast before the ride, snacks and drinks at the rest stops, and mechanical and SAG support along the route. The proceeds from the ride will help to fund the WAM-SAG-MAN Recreational Trail that will begin in Wamego and connect with Saint George and Manhattan’s Linear Trail.

There will also be a drawing for eight $15 Road ID certificates, and massage therapists will be available after the ride to soothe your sore muscles. In addition, the Pottawatomie/Wabaunsee County Safe Kids Chapter will give away free bicycle helmets from 8am to 10am (or until supplies last) at the Wamego Middle School.

For more details view the registration form, visit ecodevo.com, email brandi@ecodevo.com, or call 785-456-9776.

Gene Bisbee runs a web site called Biking Bis, which covers an incredible variety of bicycling news and information. His site maintains a comprehensive list of multi-day bicycle tours, and in compiling this year’s list, Gene noticed “the amazing artwork that some tours use to publicize their events. I’m particularly impressed by ones that keep the bicycle motif, but also lend a flavor from the state they represent.”

In 10 amazing logos for across-state bicycle tours, Bis puts Kansas’ own Border Raiders logo at the top of his list, saying that it is “probably the most unforgettable. John Brown is hoisting a wheel and a tire pump, looking a lot like an angry dude who has suffered his 5th blowout of the day.”

Other logos Bis finds striking include those for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, Oklahoma FreeWheel and RAGBRAI.

Biking Across Kansas doesn’t appear to have a logo this year (or at least it’s not readily apparent on their site), so they didn’t make the list.

Read the full article for the entire list.

(Also worth reading: Gene cycled across the country in 1984, coming through Kansas along the way. Read his TransAmerica Bicycle Tour Journal for details.)

Biking Across Kansas, the annual bicycle tour across the state of Kansas, has announced it’s route for 2008:

The 466-mile route crosses the northern tier of the state, starting in St. Francis and ending in Atchison,with overnight stops in Atwood, Norton, Smith Center, Beloit, Washington, Sabetha, and Horton.

Though the exact details of the route have not yet been released, it appears to follow US Route 36 across most of the state. Although 36 is a major US highway (running from Uhrichsville, Ohio in the east to Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado in the west), in Kansas the road is primarily a two-lane rural road with moderate levels of traffic and paved shoulders. It has been designated as a cross-state bicycle route by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

This year’s Biking Across Kansas tour runs from June 7th through June 14th. The cost is quite modest, only $145-165 per rider (less for Juniors and Seniors). The price includes transportation of your luggage, lodging at overnight stops (typically in school gymnasiums or in tents on school grounds), a commemorative t-shirt, and rest stops, support vehicles, and mechanical support along each day’s route. You’re responsible for your own transportation to the starting point and from the ending point, although chartered bus service is available from Kansas City and Wichita (at extra cost).

Online and mail-in registration is open now, and runs through the start date (late fees apply after May 7th). Registration is limited to 800 riders.

View our Biking Across Kansas page for additional information and links to ride reports from previous years.

Hope to see you there!

It’s that time of the year when all the cross-state bicycle tours announce their routes. Here’s what’s been announced so far:

• Bicycle Tour of Colorado - This 403-mile tour starts and ends in Durango, with overnights in Ouray, Montrose, Telluride, Naturita, and Cortez. It runs June 22-28, and registration closes May 15th.

• BRAN - The Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska travels from Callaway to Yutan, with overnights in Ainsworth, Butte, Creighton, Petersburg, and Shelby. The 454-mile tour runs from June 8-14, and registration will open in February.

• Border Raiders - A 8-day, 4-state tour June 21-28 that starts and ends in Lawrence, Kansas, with overnights in Atchison (KS), Falls City (NE), Nebraska City (NE), Hamburg (IA), Maryville (MO), Savannah (MO), and Weston (MO).

• Katy Trail Ride - The 2008 Katy Trail Ride will be held June 16-20, and will follow the popular trail from St. Charles to Clinton. Registration opens in March.

• Oklahoma FreeWheel - Takes place June 8-14, covering 448 miles, starting at Marietta in the south, and traveling to Caldwell, KS in the north, overnighting in Sulphur, Seminole, Henryetta, Drumright, Perry, and Tonkawa. Registration opened on January 24th, and registration is limited to 1000 riders.

• RAGBRAI - Iowa’s annual tour crosses the state from west to east, from Missouri Valley to Le Claire, with overnights in Harlan, Jefferson, Ames, Tama-Toledo, North Liberty, and Tipton. The distance this year is 471 miles, and the tour runs from July 20-26. The registration deadline is February 15th for mail-in entries, and April 1st for online entries. Participation is limited to 8500 riders.

• Tour de Nebraska - A 5-day tour June 18-22 that starts and ends in St. Paul, with overnights in Burwell, Atkinson, Neligh and Genoa. Registration is open, and limited to 175 people.

Biking Across Kansas is scheduled for June 7-14, and the route is usually announced around the end of January. Suspense is building!

A few Kansas cyclists celebrated the new year by getting on their bikes:

• The Lawrence Mountain Bike Club hosted its annual New Year’s Day Ride on the Lawrence River Trails which draws as many as 50 riders.

• Chris Locke attended the LMBC New Years Day Ride and offers this report: The Cow Town Cycling Team was well represented at today’s annual Lawrence Mountain Bike Club New Years Day Ride. Held since 1996, this ride starts off each new year no matter what the weather. This year the temperatures were in the 20’s with gusting winds around 20+ mph making it a cold day in the saddle. Trail conditions were varied between great to icy to 2 foot snow drifts. A few crashes were had by all, some even before they left the parking lot.

• Riders in Salina have an annual New Years Day ride they call the Red Eye Bicycle Ride that takes place the afternoon of the first day of the year. More than a dozen riders took part in this year’s event, with some getting in as much as 20 miles. Although there was snow on the ground, the streets were clear, and the temperature was in the mid-20s.

• The Oz Bicycle Club of Wichita offered a a 6- to 24-mile bike ride starting at noon, followed by food and social time at a local restaurant.

• The Tailwind Cyclists Annual New Year’s Day Ride in Pittsburg provides a “hardy few a chance to spit in the eye of Nature and shake their fist in the face of Father Time,” according to Tailwind Cyclists owner Roger Lomshek. This year, a group of 13 riders pushed off at 9 a.m. with the temperature hovering near the 20-degree mark and the wind blowing steadily out of the northwest at more than 15 mph.

How about you?