Paola Welcomes TransAm Recumbent Cyclists

Two cyclists riding recumbent bicycles visited Paola recently, stopping for rest and repair on their way across the nation. Ricky Koelsch and Jesse Corbett, both of North Carolina, are following the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail from Virginia to Oregon. Although Paola is located a bit north of the TransAm route, one of the riders had a special reason for the detour.

Ricky and his sister, Marsha, who’s also driving the team’s support vehicle, are children of former Paola residents, so their stay was also a chance to revisit old haunts and meet with family who still live in the area.

The cyclists stayed at the home of a local resident, and used their brief layover to rest up for their push across Kansas, and also to repair the seat on Ricky’s recumbent. “I want to tell you Brandt’s Shoe Repair did an excellent job repairing the seat,” Ricky said. “He dropped everything and got it right out for me, and it works wonderfully.”

Koelsch and Corbett, who are planning to ride about 3,700 miles, call this trip their “biggie”. Though they’ve completed other bicycle tours, none have been as challenging as the one they are on now.

The cyclists, who both ride RANS Stratus recumbent bicycles, said that their biggest challenge so far, has been cycling through the Ozark Mountains, but they know they’ll soon be facing the Rocky Mountains as well.

Read more from Recumbent bicyclists’ goal is coast to coast from the Miami County Republic.