Kansas Cyclist - Kansas Bicycle Guide and Reference

This June, Andrew Henrichs begins an extraordinary journey. He’s planning to ride his bicycle to, and then climb, Colorado’s “fourteeners” — 54 mountain peaks, each at least 14,000 feet high.

Andrew will ride an Xtracycle-equipped mountain bike to the trailhead of each peak, and then climb to the summit on foot. This completely human-powered journey will entail biking over 1,400 miles and hiking over 350 miles. He hopes to accomplish this feat in 52 days.

Andrew is undertaking this project to raise funds for World Bicycle Relief’s Project Zambia, which provides bicycles to community home-based care volunteers, disease prevention educators and vulnerable households affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis in Zambia.

Each bike provided by World Bicycle Relief costs $109, and Andrew’s goal is to raise enough money to buy two bikes for each of the 54 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado, a total of $11,772. You can support this cause by making a donation on Andrew’s web site.

Andrew is an athletic trainer for Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale, Colorado, and he plans to begin in Carbondale and heading west toward Minturn. From there, he’ll travel south down the Sawatch Range, then up through Breckenridge and on to peaks along the Front Range. He’ll then turn south to the Sangre De Cristo Mountain Range before traveling through Alamosa and the San Juan Mountains before finishing with the Elk Range.

Read more: Man plans to ride to, climb Colorado’s fourteeners for cause from Summit Daily, Biking to and climbing Colorado’s “fourteeners” from Biking Bis.

The Oklahoma FreeWheel is Oklahoma’s premier bicycle touring event. It starts June 8th at Marietta near the Texas border, and ends at Caldwell, Kansas on the 14th. This year will be the Oklahoma FreeWheel’s 30th anniversary.

Along the way the tour passes through numerous small towns, and with over 1000 cyclists, as well as hundreds of support people, the tour creates a major impact in the communities it passes through.

For most of the towns, FreeWheel is the biggest event they have each year, FreeWheel’s director, Ellen Proctor, said. “We have many towns that request us to come because we’re a huge economic boost to some of these little towns. We probably come in with about 1,200 to 1,300 people to their town, and eat and fuel vehicles. They’re going to spend money,” Proctor said.

“It’s a week with nature and good people; it’s the best way to see Oklahoma. This is how you can meet the wonderful people of Oklahoma. This is like the best-kept secret of 30 years you’ve never heard of — it’s a great family vacation, great entertainment, and that’s what we want it to be for everyone who takes part.”

Read more: Bicyclists bring a boost from Tulsa World.

Aaron & Laura Beese are Oklahoma natives that have embarked on a unique bicycle tour — to visit and document each of the geographic centers of all fifty U.S. states on their tandem bicycle.

This two-year journey started in central Oklahoma in June 2007, and from there they headed east and north, reaching the centers of Arkansas, and then Missouri. The rest of the year they ambled through the northern states, finishing New England in October.

Winter was spent in Hawaii, and the trip resumed in March in Florida, and will wind it’s way through the remainder of the east coast and the south this spring. By June, the Beese’s will arrive in Kansas, on their way north to Nebraska, Iowa, and beyond.

The plan is to spend winter 2009 in Oregon, before wrapping up their adventure by making their way back to Oklahoma by May 2009.

Their web site, Fifty by Bike, documents their journey, and you can follow along as they meander around the nation.

So where is the geographic center of Kansas? About 15 miles northeast of Great Bend, in Barton County (see map).

How about the geographic center of the contiguous United States? That’s located near Lebanon, in northern Kansas. They don’t mention it on their site, but it would seem to be along the way from Great Bend to Broken Bow, Nebraska, so that’s most likely on their itinerary as well.

So if you see someone on a strange bike (a Hase Pino) passing through central Kansas in June, say hello and wish them well. And if you can offer them a place to stay (a couch/guest bedroom/garage/yard/barn), please contact them and make them feel welcome.