Shout out for Kansas

[ebr898]

I guess I don't get it,AxOn. I looked at your link with the KC to Olathe route. Are you riding on I-35? Forgive me but I do not know the downtown area so the map is very genral to me.

[mcoons]

Southwest Blvd and Merriam Dr. run parallel to I-35 then there is a frontage road south of 75th that goes all the way out to 135th...

I rode home in the rain yesterday too...

[ax0n]

my route, you have to zoom in to see it's a frontage road on the highway. It runs right along the highway down to around 75th street. I take Neiman though, and catch it to another set of frontage roads into Olathe (Marshall, Santa Fe Trail Drive, Kansas City Road)

[ax0n]

I like your efforts to commute by bike axOn. I might know who you are if i see you. I live along Merriam Lane and try to ride for an hour before work a few times a week. I would try the commute thing again but i do service work out of a truck. I do a few errands now and then though and want to set up a beater appropriate for errands in my neighborhood.

FYI, I mostly use the bus, I've never commuted by bike all the way to downtown, but I've commuted home from downtown twice. You probably won't see me in the morning, but if the weather clears, I'm going to try to do the bike to work week using only my bike.

My usual schedule is to leave home around 6:00 in the morning, and ride 3 miles to the Olathe Express JO stop at the old Rhodes furniture park and ride. I take the bus downtown and either ride the last few blocks to work, or to one of the many hideous excuses for coffee shops in the downtown loop before going to work.

On Friday, I take the same bus back home.

On Monday, I either ride to the Trek store from downtown (via the aforementioned route, it's about halfway home, at neiman and SM Parkway), or I take the Antioch bus to the IHOP at Antioch and SM Parkway, then ride to the Trek store from there. The Monday night ride is usually 10-12 miles. Then I always ride home from the Trek store.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I take the Antioch bus to near JCCC where my wife works. After hanging out with her and eating supper, I either ride home (6-9 miles depending on route) or I ride to Daily Dose at 135th and Quivira, then home, or back to JCCC if my wife and I need to run errands together when she leaves work.

[Alex]

Did anyone see the article in today's Kansas City Star's Star Magazine section on commuting on bike in Kansas City? Its is a historical moment when so much space gets given to this subject in a town where 99% think cars are the only option.

The article talks about someone providing a service to find routes and ride the routes with people who want to commute in KC. It would be nice if that brought a few more bike commutes into the city.

[bantam700]

Did anyone see the article in today's Kansas City Star's Star Magazine section on commuting on bike in Kansas City? Its is a historical moment when so much space gets given to this subject in a town where 99% think cars are the only option.

The article talks about someone providing a service to find routes and ride the routes with people who want to commute in KC. It would be nice if that brought a few more bike commutes into the city.

I was amazed at that article! I don't think that it will make much of a change in this city's opinion of biking though

[brettsinnkc]

I commute to work in Overland Park. I go from 139th Street to Metcalf, head north to 137th. Hang a right at Riley and left at Metcalf all the way to 132nd street where I go to the Southcreek Office Park.

I don't know if this link will work but here it is:
http://www.routeslip.com/routes/38617

[ax0n]

I know that area pretty well. I did some consulting in that office park a few years ago, and my wife worked back in there at Gentiva for a little while.

I'm feelin' kinda BLAH today but if I feel better on Saturday, I'm going to be up for another stroll around OP/Olathe if anyone is interested.

[BSource-Wacker]

I just did a pretty bomb training ride yesterday. took 103rd from quivira to pflumn, pflumn all the way out to 175th, 175th straight into gardener. stopped at the gas station right there and headed back, but on the way, around lackman, we saw two riders about a mile ahead so we decided to challenge ourselves to reel them in. averaged about 28 for that mile and a half but finally caught them. chit chatted a little bit, ended up being a guy from our team, then we headed down switzer from what was now 179th back into OP.

All in all we averaged about 20 mph if u take out the mile or so cool down at like 14. pflumn has some pretty good hills, nothing real bad, just alot of fun. I highly recommend this ride to anyone training to race. the way we went turned out to be 43 miles, but if we wouldnt have caught those two and just turned off it probably would have cut 6.



in other news, got a new ride yesterday... Redline Monocog 29er

havent got a chance to ride it really at all, and i need to pick up another pair of shoes so i can outfit my spd's on that mug.

anyone wanna take me out on my first ride on it, feel free to lay out an invitation.

[f0s_man]

Tomorrow looks to be a great day to go riding. Nice and sunny. I wonder what the wind conditions will be...

I'll be making my Lawrence > KCK ride (One way -unsupported, on my Hybrid) tomorrow. I'll take pictures of the route, and maybe post em here. FYI, i'm going 24/40(State) - all the way to Basehor, where a stoplight the "breaks" the 24/40. I'll turn north there, and go all the way to Leavenworth road, then go back East...

[ax0n]

I'm still feeling pretty blah. Cold or post-nasal-drip allergies, I'm not sure, but after today's commute it's feeling like bronchitis. It sucks that I'm going to have to sit out a perfectly good weekend.

I tore my road bike apart and cleaned/waxed/lubed the hell out of it though.

[f0s_man]

I made it! I made it!!!
Lawrence to KCK!!
Yesterday was a super day for a bike ride! No crazy winds, no wild dogs charging me.
If anybody was driving down State Ave (Kansas Side - 24/40), between 8:30am - 10:00am, that would be me. :-)
Happy Sunday all! Today is a great riding day too! But i'll relax a little...(i didn't know you needed abs to cycle...my abs hurt!)

[ax0n]

Abs are a must, and if you think they hurt now try spending a bunch of time riding in the drops!

I was sad to be sick yesterday. I'm going to do a shakedown run on my road bike today, and tomorrow I plan to ride Olathe to downtown, and back, INCLUDING the Trek Store recovery ride. Metric century anyone?

[cradduck]

Glad to see all the posts from Kansas. Graduated high school in Lyons (about 30 miles NE of Hutchinson) and then went off to Lawrence for college.

The first new bike I ever bought was down on Mass Street (can't remember the name of the shop...Sunflower Bikes I think) and the salesman there talked me into a Giant DS9 for my commute to campus and back...I must have had SUCKER written all over me. Needless to say it was a slow commute to class although I had legs like a comic book hero after my freshman year.

[mcoons]

Don't forget to ride your bike to work this week!

There are lots of events in KC to motivate you, including the afterwork meetup at McCoy's in Westport on Wed, the Tour de Cowtown -Alleycat downtown at Acme Saturday at 5 and the wrapup party at the Boulevard Brewery on Sunday, the 20th.


Log your miles and sign up your workplace here...

http://kcbike.info/bike2work/2007/

Full Calendar of Events here...

http://www.bridgingthegap.org/PROGRA...ute_b2ww07.htm

Mike in KCK

[mcoons]

McCoy's is on Tuesday after work...

Tuesday, May 15

4:30 PM Rendezvous at McCoy’s Public House
Ride your bike to McCoy's and meet up with other cyclists to enjoy a pint and share your bike commuting stories! (Remember to drink responsibly)
McCoy’s, Westport Rd. and Pennsylvania, Kansas City, Missouri

[ax0n]

Well, I did it! I got all the way downtown on my bike from Olathe. Now I'm at Scooter's relaxing before the Bike2Work Monday Night Trek Store ride. My dad will probably show up for this one, too

[BSource-Wacker]

i decided to bike into downtown today for fun, so if u saw a kid on a tarmac E5 wearing an skc kit, it was me.

rainbow boulevard hill blows.

btw, got a new Redline Monocog 29er, anyone wanna hit the mud?

[Alex]

There is a study going on by the city of Overland Park concerning what they will do with Metcalf Ave area. Thats what all those vision Metcalf signs are all about. I don't know what difference it makes but I filled out the survey since there was questions concerning bike lanes in it. Incase it does make a difference here is a link.

http://opkansas.org/_Gov/Vision_Metc...dex.cfm#Survey

[mcoons]

The Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation presents:

833rd annual Tour de Cowtown

alley kat races
and the Everything Bicycle Swapmeet

Saturday May 19th

hosted by

Acme Bicycle Company 412 East 18th Street
KCMO

816 221 2045
or
acmebicycle@kcnet.com

swapmeet starts at sunrise

alleykat at 5p

http://www.acmebicyclecompany.com/tourdecowtown.htm

[Speed_Racer]

Repping the dub-K(wichita). I am not much of a leader type, but I would like to organize a critical mass in Wichita or at least be part of it. We need to show these people here in town wassup! I saw a group of riders on Maize road a few sundays ago, but I think they are in a bicycle club. Our city should become the Portland of the midwest.. I wish there was a bicycle lane that runs across town on central.

[Warden11]

Anyone else hope the weather here in KS straightens out in the next couple of days? I haven't been able to ride without either rain or a 20 mph wind in the last week!

[solveg]

Don't laugh, but I just bought a winter home in Conway Springs, southwest of Wichita.

I was just online, trying to see what it was like to ride the highways out in farmland. Apparently you get a lot of things thrown at you. I don't know what to do about it. There's often no shoulder, traffic goes 80, and they're not expecting to see a bicycle. I'd be traveling alone. I'd probably end up in a wheatfield.

The back roads are at least noisy so I can get out of the way of a semi or Mobile Home mover, but I don't know the area well enough to know what the small roads are like. I suppose I can drive a route first, to check it out, but that seems pretty lame.

Anyone else in that area? I'm not good enough to ride with you, but at least I'd know you're there...

[rob3rto]

Don't laugh, but I just bought a winter home in Conway Springs, southwest of Wichita.

I was just online, trying to see what it was like to ride the highways out in farmland. Apparently you get a lot of things thrown at you. I don't know what to do about it. There's often no shoulder, traffic goes 80, and they're not expecting to see a bicycle. I'd be traveling alone. I'd probably end up in a wheatfield.

The back roads are at least noisy so I can get out of the way of a semi or Mobile Home mover, but I don't know the area well enough to know what the small roads are like. I suppose I can drive a route first, to check it out, but that seems pretty lame.

Anyone else in that area? I'm not good enough to ride with you, but at least I'd know you're there...

I'm from a little further north, but have you considered trying MTB or cross? Another suggestion is to hook up with the local club there so you can have someone show you the ropes. Here are a couple of links:

A MTB trail nearby: Horizon Trail

Oz Bike Club

Best of luck!

[DerekWP]

Hey everyone. I'm originally from Overland Park, but am in Manhattan attending KSU at the moment. I've decided to pick up cycling again after a long haitus after a series of accidents and over sea 'vacations.'

Sounds like some on here have a good idea of where to go in their city. If anyone knows good routes in Manhattan, let me know. Thanks.

Derek