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On Friday evening, my brother and his two sons rode into Troy.
A week ago Saturday, in Tribune, Kansas, these three and a bunch of others (something like 800-900 people), jumped on bikes and spent the week riding across the state.
Last night they arrived in Troy. Today, they rode the last leg, a short trip, to Elwood. They dipped the front wheels of their bikes in the Missouri River, signaling the end of a long journey.
Sam is 11. Nik is 9. And those boys made their grandma and Aunt Cheryl so very proud. Sam and Nik (and Leon) rode every inch of the way. All 500 miles. Through the sunburns and the wind and the rain and the bike crashes and the scrapes. Leon rode with them and Margaret, their mother, drove a 27′ RV on the trip which gave them a place to sleep each night.
Oh, and they came all the way from Alaska to do this Biking Across Kansas thing. Flew their bikes in, rented the RV and spent 8 days on the skinny highways of the Sunflower State.
This was Leon’s 3rd BAK: 1984, ’85, ’07.
Margaret rode BAK in ’84, ’85, ’00. (And that’s how Leon met Margaret – 22 years ago on BAK.)
BAK passed through Wilson on Tuesday and my friend Peg Britton met Leon’s family then. I think she liked them.
WOW! That’s awesome. We’ve been talking about this. Now I’m further encouraged to give it a try one of these years.
Boy, the kids will have something to talk about this fall in school.
Kids, the boys will have something to talk about this fall in school.
That is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!
You should be proud of them——–good going!!!!!!!!!!
A Family experience they won’t ever forget!!!!!!!!!
That’s amazing. How many miles per day did they do?
They went 60-80 miles per day. They had a lot of 12-hour days. Other riders finished early in the day. Leon and the boys were slower, but they made it in every night – riding the whole darned way.
Won’t tell the kids at school. Margaret home-schools them.
That has to be an incredible experience for all of them! I’m sure they’ll have much to tell/write about. …and, they really made it!! They deserve “stars!”
Wow, with the Kansas winds and the hills, especially around the Troy area, that is an amazing task! Bet those boys have some strong legs for trekking thru the snow back home in Alaska! Great job , Sam, Nik and Leon, you make Kansas and FOPers so very proud!