DK 100 Finisher!

Emporia put on a great party last weekend! One we finally got to enjoy (block party that is, sitting at SAG cities is it's own kind of party). The past two years Lance has done the DK 200 and this year he opted to ride the DK 100 with a friend. I was glad for two reasons. 1. Training for the 200 mile route takes more training time 2. We would get to enjoy the festivities of Emporia! We had a great time and I might even get Lance to talk about his "experimental DK 100 bike". It was a great time watching friends and top racers hit the finish line!

Gypsum Hills

Gypsum Hills hit my radar sometime over the winter. The pictures I found online were impressive, but I had not heard much about this area before. I quickly put this area on my "To Ride" list and forgot about it until after tax season. We had originally scheduled to ride this area in April but April showers got the best of the weekend we had planned so we called in a rain check. 

Friday night we loaded up our van and drove as far as Chase County Fishing Lake. We rolled in well after dark but miraculously found a spot even though it was Memorial Weekend. Chase Fishing Lake has been a go to spot for us the past few years. It seems to be a good in-between spot. Friday night did not disappoint. The stars were so clear & plentiful & there were so many lightening bugs that it almost felt like the paparazzi were out in the fields. It was one of those beautiful moments that you couldn't capture on camera even if you wanted to.

Early Saturday morning we headed south to Medicine Lodge and were on our bikes by 10:30 am. Our plan was to ride south of Highway 160 Saturday, overnight in Coldwater, KS and ride north of Highway 160 on the return to Medicine Lodge. Our friend, Brad had a route saved that he road in 2015 so we took his route out of Medicine Lodge via gravel roads and range land towards Coldwater. 

We were impressed with the area and roads from the moment we started pedaling. Oklahoma red dirt, Colorado cedars, but here we were in Kansas! We spent about 8 hours wandering around the Gypsum Hills on day 1, ending in Coldwater. Once in town, we stopped at Dave's Pizza Oven for dinner and then headed out to Coldwater Reservior to camp for the night.

Day 2, our route took us north of Highway 160. It was more a mixed terrain day which I was glad for. Just enough gravel to make it interesting and blacktop to allow me to rest. We went through a few small towns which meant we didn't have to worry about water so much. Sun City was a highlight. We ate great barbecue and got all the local history from the proprietor at Busters. We made great time the second day and made camp at Barber County Fishing Lake. Another gem. 

We called this our "Kick off Summer Tour". We highly recommend touring this area. We just barely scratched the surface of a beautiful part of Kansas!

 

Routes and notes...  

Day 1 Brad's Gypsum Hills Gravel Rte

Top notch route Brad! Open Range land, friendly farmers, interesting terrain.

Day 2 Gyp Hills Northside Day 2 was half gravel, half paved. There are more stops in the road on the Northside so water wasn't as much a concern.

American Frontier Productions and a Bike Date

Last weekend we had the opportunity to go out to the American Frontier Productions studio in Easton, KS. For the first time that I know of, they open to the public and wowed everyone with their back lot and reenactments! We missed the reenactments but we did get a chance to see for ourselves what this Old West studio had to offer. It was SO COOL! 

After wandering around in the old West, we meandered our way home on some of the best gravel roads Easton has to offer. A lot of what we road followed  Stranger Creek and was very mellow. However, you eventually you have to climb out of the valley! I was hill walking some of Shawnee Rd! 

It was a great day to be on the bike.

We've added a route to the Intermediate Gravel Routes tagged Bike Date. 

Little Stranger Church Route

This Sunday the temps were higher than a normal February day so we got the band together and went to ride a little gravel. I've not been doing much outside my normal commute so this was a perfect route. We road from home so our overall mileage was over 18 miles and I wore myself out. 

This route was a mix of smooth  and rocky roads. You never know what you're going to get depending on the time of year and road crew schedules. There is so much to see in the winter with the trees bare. The highlight of this route is the Little Stranger Church which was established in 1867. It has recently been placed on the KS Historical Register and they are trying to get it on the Federal Historical Register. The community has been raising money for basic repairs. It's slow going. - Jennifer