Kansas September 18 – 21, 2017 103 miles
We had a good trip from Ouray to Kansas. We traveled through some beautiful canyons and over Monarch Pass in Colorado. We remembered traveling through Salida years ago with Heather and Erik while on our “Crested Butte adventure”. Heading into Kansas the mountains were well behind us and we drove through many small towns, wheat and corn fields, and huge feed lots with thousands of cattle.
Here is an interesting fact about a town we traveled thru: the small town of Kinsley, is best known for being halfway between San Francisco and New York City. It is 1561 miles from either city.
Our first day in Kansas was rainy so we spent some time checking out a couple campsites. We love to camp on the bike trails but that just wasn’t possible here. We decided on Hillside State Park south of Olathe, KS. Our first night we heard what sounded like a cat, a very big cat. Think maybe it was a bobcat. It made quite a sound!! Then we heard the coyotes. In the morning we could see evidence (scat) of the coyotes right in front of our motorhome.
April came from Arkansas and stayed 2 nights with us. We had a wonderful visit and she had some reading and relaxing time to herself when we were riding.
Lenny gifted me with a new bike computer for my birthday. Our rides in Kansas were the first time I put it to use. It is awesome. It gives min/max heart rate, min/max speed, calories and fat% (like to know I am burning some fat), distance, duration, ascent/descent and max altitude. Probably more info as I discover all this little wonder can do.
We spent four very hot days on the trails in Kansas. Temperature was usually between 88 – 90 degrees and there was always a strong wind blowing. While it’s plenty of work riding into a head wind we would have really suffered more from the heat without the wind. The wind is our friend!!
Most of the trails were shaded which was a relief and we tried to ride early to beat the afternoon heat. We never thought we would be riding in so much heat in September. All of the trails we rode showed evidence of flooding. I think the worst flooding was in August, about the time we had initially meant to be here. Had we arrived in August these trails would have been closed. Recent rains covered the trails with damp leaves and mud in some places. On the Gary Haller trail we saw many snakes and all different kinds. We think the wet weather brought them out on the trail. It resulted in lots of screaming on my part.
I think we may have wondered into the Three Acre Woods. We found Owl’s house and knocked at another door, but there was no response.
Our last day in Kansas we rode the Prairie Spirit Trail. It is a Hall of Fame Rail Trail. It was the only packed gravel trail we rode in Kansas. It traveled through fields of corn and cattle, hundreds of butterflies and huge grasshoppers. We did not see any other bike riders or hikers. Think maybe the wind and heat kept people inside. It was the perfect trail to complete our Kansas 100.
- Gary Haller Trail
- Indian Creek Trail
- Tomahawk Creek Trail
- Prairie Spirit Trail