Myself and some friends rode a short bike tour this week: Iola-Osawatomie-Lawrence-Topeka-Melvern-Iola. About 290 miles, a mixture of paved roads, gravel roads, and trails (bits of the Prairie Spirit Trail, the Flint Hills Nature Trail, the Shunga Trail, and the Landon Nature Trail).
There were a few hills, some wind, heat, and rain, but we kept the pace casual. The great thing is, this type of tour is very accessible to nearly all cyclists, and you see so much from the saddle of a bike, just cruising along at 11 MPH. See a pretty flower, an interesting barn, a cool old sign? Stop and check it out!
Bike touring is a wonderful way to experience the world. Life gets simple: ride, eat, sleep, repeat. Just get out and go!
Here was our route:
(The “gap” in Lawrence was me forgetting to start my Garmin Cyclometer.)
There were five of us on this little tour: two from Iola, two from Parsons, and a part-time rider from Garnett. We were mostly self-supported. The overnights in Osawatomie and Lawrence were in private homes, but there are public options as well. In Topeka, we were at Lake Shawnee, and at Melvern Lake we were in Coeur D’Alene Park.
Some photos from the trip:
Bicyclists and equestrians on the Flint Hills Nature Trail near Rantoul. With mutual respect and care, it’s easy to share the trail!
On the River Road / Kansas Capitols Trail between Lawrence and Topeka. What a wonderfully scenic low-traffic route.
At the state capital in Topeka.
We biked to the capital!
Appreciating The Great Mural Wall of Topeka.
Taking shelter and waiting out an early-morning storm in Topeka. Weather is just part of the deal when travelling by bike. You make the best of it.
Preparing to tackle “Puke Hill” between Topeka and Overbrook.
The March 2007 issue of Bicycling Magazine named Puke Hill as one of the Favorite Climbs in Kansas.
Black-Eyed Susans near sunset at Melvern Lake.
More hills to climb near Melvern, Kansas.
A rowdy crew of touring cyclists on busy Main Street in Waverly, Kansas.
Biking through a wind farm near Waverly.
Our group formed a pace line heading east out of Leroy. A pace line is seldom used when bike touring, but it can be a handy technique to handle a stiff headwind.
Post tags: Bike Camping, Flint Hills Nature Trail, Lawrence, Topeka
Interesting & inspiring – thanks for the post. I was particularly encouraged by your 11 mph comment — I am reluctant to do group tours because I’m pretty slow, but I think I could average 11 mph (maybe)! Really neat photos & the map is helpful. The Bicycling mag excerpt prompts me to ask — did you encounter many dogs on this route?
Nice post! Very enjoyable to live vicariously through you.
On our 5-day tour we averaged 12.4, 11.5, 10.3, 10.3, and 11.6. So it’s definitely not about the speed. Just a steady pace. People will naturally go at different paces, so there needs to be an understanding that there will be periodic regroups, particularly at turns.
No memorable dogs. A few came out to chase, but none were a real hazard.