Tonight I decided to go for a short ride outside of town on a hybrid bike I recently acquired. Fields of milo, corn and soy beans, cows, barns, windmills, hay, hedge rows, hedge apples, oil wells and a animal carcass are just some of what I saw. Photos and video from my camera phone...









Video...

Saturday we drove to Kansas City to attend the 10th annual El Torreon Bicycle Swap Meet that was held today (Sunday). Once we arrived in KC late Saturday afternoon it started raining (hard) so we didn't do much other than eat and got to the mall. Sunday was better weather for the swap. It was their biggest swap to date according to several people I talked to. Seen our Kansas City friends plus a few from home that also made the drive. I bought a frame, fork and a few other things. After the swap we went to KC's Power & Light District for lunch. Had a great time.

Click here for photos.

Video...

This morning we got around early (early for me) to go ride the Prairie Sunset Trail just outside of town before it got to hot. This rail-to-trail is now open for 8 continuous miles. It was a bit overgrown but still a nice ride. Spotted a young deer, a turtle, lots of bugs, bunnies and birds. The temperature was in the mid 80s.
The trail runs East from Garden Plain to 2 miles East of Goddard. If you're riding the entire trail I would suggest starting in Garden Plain as there is vehicle parking at a park near the railroad tracks where the trail begins. Photos here.

This is our 2nd time to ride this trail. (Here) is the first.

The Prairie Travelers is the organization responsible for the trail. You can visit their website here.

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Map...

I just found this old video from 2004 of me fixing a flat on the Gandy Dancer trail in Wisconsin.

This morning we decided to brave the 90+ degree heat and go ride some new (to us) paths. We loaded the bikes in the truck and took off to the nearby town of El Dorado. There we rode the path that connects the town to the lake a few miles away.
El Dorado ride map, mileage & info. When we finished the ride we then drove over to Newton where we rode the Sand Creek bike path which connects Athletic Park and Bethel College. Newton ride map, mileage & info.

El Dorado bike and walking path...











Sand Creek Trail - Newton...








After riding in Newton we drove over to Hutchinson for a late lunch at El Potrillo.

This is Blake's 2nd night on a bike. He even rode about a mile on the path. Ethan rides pretty well and is generally trying to do some sort of stunt.



Ally's not yet riding.

Tired of waiting for the rain to stop this morning I put on my rain coat and ventured out in it to get me a creamed coffee. Took shelter at the park, drank my coffee and downloaded a application for my phone's camera that has a self timer. Once the rain let up I rode around town for a while. When lunch time approached I stopped by a Mexican carry-out, picked up a few food items, took them over to my parents house and ate with them.

Video...



This is another bike shirt I got over the weekend. It's from Udall Custom Bikes.

Today we rode the K-96 Bicycle Path in the big city. We've been putting this one off because it didn't look like that great of a ride. It wasn't. The short section that goes through Chisholm Park is the nicest. The rest goes through business areas and along the K96 bypass. The path is poorly marked at the major street crossings leaving you to guess which direction to go after crossing. Conveniently there is a convenience store at the southern end point. This is probably a great path for getting around if you live in the area.
We rode about 14 miles total out and back.
After the ride we stopped in Old Town at Old Chicago for an after ride beverage and lunch.