The Road Less Traveled

Bike Across Kansas is an eight-day excursion that lets cyclists see the countryside from a new perspective.

Every summer since 1978, Charlie Summers has traveled to the Colorado state line, mounted his bicycle and started a 450-mile trek across northern Kansas with a swarm of fellow riders. While traveling across rural Kansas on his bike, he’s watched scenic sunsets, battled 45-mile per hour winds and made lifelong friends.

Today, the 61-year-old cyclist organizes Bike Across Kansas, an eight-day bicycling adventure from Colorado to Missouri. The event has grown from a group of 87 people to more than 800 riders and support personnel last year. During the week-long event, riders travel at their own pace, break for lunch and sleep in eight small towns scattered across the state.

Larry and Norma Christie started the event in 1975, prior to when Summers first heard about it at a Newton bike shop. “It was kind of unusual at the time, so I decided to give it a try,” he says.

Many people expect the ride to be fairly easy because Kansas is known for being flat. Not so. Steep inclines in the east side of the state pose a challenge. Riders also sometimes face strong winds, though they try to take advantage of prevailing southwest winds by traveling west to east. In previous years, storms have flattened tents and brought the threat of tornadoes. One year, cyclists ran for cover when they heard sirens in a small town, but they quickly learned the sirens were from the local fire department. “We were all doubled up in the hallways,” Summers says with a laugh.

Discovering such small towns and hidden back roads is a big draw for many riders. Along the way, they often stop to chat with locals, buy drinks from old-fashioned soda fountains or read historical markers. At the end of each night, the entire group gathers inside small-town school gyms to share stories and review the next day’s route.

It’s hard to peg the typical B.A.K. cyclist. Riders range from 5- to 85-year-olds who make the trip with families, friends or by themselves. “We’re a pretty diverse group,” says Summers. Although the crowd’s size has grown over the years, returning riders make up half the group. The participants’ skill levels also widely vary, though B.A.K.’s website recommends cyclists are able to ride 50 to 70 miles per day. (There are vehicles with support and gear, however, for emergencies or if someone is unable to finish.)

Some riders push themselves the entire way as quickly as possible, like Summers did one year, while others make it a leisurely ride. “Everybody gets a different buzz from it,” he says.
Participants pack their own tents, sleeping bags, meals and personal items. During his first year, Summers came with just sweatpants and riding shorts. “Now I look like a tricked out Trekke with a state-of-the-art bike, tights, leg warmers and gloves,” he says. “But I kind of long for those days when I didn’t know anything.”

For all of the complicated gear and planning involved, Summers says B.A.K.’s concept is fairly simple. “For the most part, you just point your bike east and start pedaling,” he says.

Wanna Go?
When: June 7 to 14
Where: St. Francis, Kansas to Atchison, Kansas
Cost: $145-$165 adults, $135 seniors, $130 kids
Contact: 316-283-7528, bak.org