Trans-Am Five - 5.2 - Lawrence to Admire, Kansas

 

5.2 - Friday July 9, 2021, 70 miles - Total so far: 119 miles

After a restful night in Lawrence, we were up and getting started early because the forecast was for another warm day.  We made breakfast in the kitchen, ate in the dining area, cleaned up, packed up and headed out.  This Air BNB was a good stop.  Patrick and Jin, the owners, told me that a local ordinance had effectively stopped them from renting the place out in the future.  Too Bad.  They are good folks and the place was perfect for us.

A little after 0700 hours, traffic seemed to be light. But it was hard to tell, in this post-pandemic world, whether or not it was the normal state of affairs.  We weren't complaining on our way out of town as we plied a series of pathways and lightly traveled roads. They ran roughly parallel to the busier Clinton Parkway.

Our route for the day would continue to take us Southward and Westward via repetitive right angle jogs through countryside that was becoming increasing more wide open, devoid of trees, and agricultural.  First, however, was the Clinton State Park with its dam and man-made lake.  Our map called for staying on a road but when a perfectly good trail showed up and was headed in the same direction, we took it.  The pathway led to E 900 Road and the state park.  We were able to stay on it and other relatively low trafficked roads for several more miles while enjoying views of the dam, the lake, and the surrounding farmlands.

Clinton Lake and State Park

Fred, on E. 900 Road, below the dam at Clinton SP

The first town of any consequence we arrived in was Overbrook, some 28  miles into the ride.  The small farming community was named by a railroad supervisor after a section of Pittsburgh where he had lived.  Finding this out was cool to me because the Overbrook neighborhood of Pittsburgh is close to where I live and ride.  It is interesting to know that someone from there had some influence here.  The Pennsylvania connection is further reinforced by the names of other communities, Reading and Scranton, through which we would pass later on.

Along Shawnee Heights Road near Overbrook, Kansas

After a break in the 'brook, our next goals for the day were the Flint Hills Nature Trail (FHNT) and the metropolis of Osage City.  What started out as even more peaceful county roads turned into a rough gravel experience as we turned onto E 173rd Street, a few miles South of town.  There is a Facebook group called Kansas Gravel Junkies who extol the virtues of riding and racing on the many unpaved roads in Kansas.  I'm not sure this kind of road would make for comfortable riding, even for those folks.  The undersurface was hard and the local authorities have spread rather large pebbles and stones on its surface that had not sunk in at all.  For many miles, we did our best to dodge as many of them as was possible but we were badly out-numbered.  The ride was a long, slow, and frustrating endeavor. Stones were pinging off into the distance as I anticipated pinch flats occurring every 10 feet.  No flats were experienced, which is a testament to the tire liner strips I put in before the trip began.  

The gravel on E. 173rd Street, SW of Overbrook, Kansas.

Further West, the dirt roads in Kansas got better but we didn't know it at this time. Fred fell way behind, no doubt because he was either walking and/or trying to find a better alternative road.  We waited for a while before John-F took the van and went back to see if he was OK.  There were some good sights and friendly cows along the way that helped ease some of the discomfort.  It was becoming very warm too, as the afternoon unfolded.

Unlike us, the cows know to get out of the hot Kansas sun.

We turned off E. 173rd Street and onto S. Berryton Road, which was also not paved but had a finer surface consistency.  It was a good road, save for the fact that there was a quarry on it that happened to be frequented by large dump trucks.  There weren't a lot of them but conditions were so dry that when one went past, there was a bit of dust in the air.  Perhaps if one is not a believer in wearing masks for the Pandemic, the face coverings might come in handy for this dusty situation.  

From S. Berryton Road, we turned onto another gravel road, E. 189th Street, and rode out to US-75 and pavement, at last!  The next phase of the day would begin there.  But first, a short video of Fred finishing up this gravel portion of the ride.  I called him the Dust Commander, after the winning horse in a race I once watched.  I'd never bet against Fred.

https://youtu.be/FcizHYxvaL4

US-75 had more traffic than we had seen so far but it also had a wide shoulder, so we felt relatively safe.  After having been on quiet roads for most of the day, the noise of speeding vehicles on US-75 was a bit much.  For approximately 6 miles, we had no choice but to tolerate it and them.  At Lyndon, we stopped briefly at a gravel road intersection which sat on a small rise in the landscape. During our brief break, Fred decided he was done riding.  That left it up to me to be the sole finisher of the entire route for the day.  Ahead was the bridge carrying the Flint Hills Nature Trail over US-75.  I was looking forward to returning to the peace and quiet we had earlier in the day.  What could be better than a traffic free trail?  Kansas, however, had its own ideas.

That overpass ahead is the Flint Hills Nature Trail.

I swallowed some liquid refreshment and took the turn onto W. 237th Street and what I thought would be a short jog onto the FHNT. The trailhead was further down than it appeared to be from US-75, the ride was uphill, and there was choking dust from an adjacent field that was being "mainpulated" by a large and slow moving piece of equipment.  I decided I could ride faster than the vehicle was going so I did, in order to outpace the thick dust.  A right turn was needed to get to the trailhead, which again seemed further away than anticipated.  Finally, we reached it and turned onto an isolated and rougher than desired trail.

Looking rough, at the beginning of the Flint Hills Nature Trail.

Surely I thought, now that we had reached the trail, the last 21 miles of this ride were going to be better.  Don't get carried away cowboy! The initial part of the trail was as rough as some of the dirt roads we had ridden earlier in the day.  But after a few miles, it appeared that some improvements had been made to the surface, which became much wider and smoother. This status continued almost all the way to Osage City, where the last 2-3 miles were again rough.  We popped out onto a paved road and noted a grocery store and small plaza down the road a piece. As the sun was bearing down and the temperatures rising, it looked like a good place for a break, so we went for it.

After a few rough miles, the trail surface improved tremendously.

Jerry's Thriftway, on Lakin Street, proved to be a good stop.  The Air Conditioning was wonderful, selections abundant, and the people friendly.  We should have paid closer attention to some of the friendly folks inside who were asking about our ride and offering advice.  One fellow lamented about the poor condition of the trail in Osage City.  He offered directions for getting around the rough part, as he referred to it.  I thought he was talking about a continuation of the rough sections of trail we had already encountered.  Resigned to my fate, I didn't pay close attention to his proposed alternative routing.  Turns out I should have because what he meant was the trail through Osage City is not built.  Apparently, the current "town fathers" decided not to improve the trail inside their boundaries.  Some other folks we met later on said a younger generation of leaders is going to get it done.  But all that didn't help as as we wandered into denser bush and had to whack our way back out amidst what looked like a poison ivy jungle.  Surely, we were all going to be in the local hospital later on to get steroid injections while being covered with Calamine Lotion!

We ended up bushwhacking after leaving the air conditioned store in Osage City.

Eventually, we found our way around the problem and back onto the FHNT on the other side of town.  Lesson  learned for the day: Listen to those locals who are trying to help you!!!  The afternoon was wearing on, heating up, and we still had about 14 miles to go.  The speedsters, John-F and Chuck, took off and I was alone on a ribbon of shadeless trail, with two bottles of bath water, where even the cows were hot. At this point in the ride, I was experiencing a long hot day, the discomfort of which was being amplified by a caloric deficit and fatigue. I was ready to get off the bike!

I gave some consideration to joining the cows as they cooled off.

After several more miles, I reached our destination for the evening, the Admire Community Center.  We were allowed to camp there, free of charge, after checking with a fellow named Mike, who was in charge, in some capacity.  He stopped by to check on us that afternoon and again the next morning.  Nice fellow.  We set up shop under a huge pavilion that proved to be a very good location.

Admire, Kansas, as seen from the Flint Hills Nature Trail bridge.

We were able to take improvised warm water showers, thanks to Fred's ingenuity.  We made a good evening meal, and bedded down under the expansive park pavilion.  At some point during the night, some strong winds kicked up.  Lightning and thunder were followed by a rather strong rain storm.  The pavilion was large enough that we did not get wet at all. Even though I didn't get much sleep, I was grateful the storm was not worse. We all stayed safe and dry, and the roof stayed on the pavilion!