Josiah writes in with his first metric…
“I knew I wanted to get one in the cup right away, and I had already mapped out a course to visit some landmarks, just about the perfect distance, on roads mostly new to me. There is a monument marking the passing of Zebulon Pike’s expedition that I’d never seen, as well as an old Czech dancehall, and of course, a nearby historic bridge (thanks, bridgehunter dot com). I’m trying to visit all the historic bridges in my county, and those nearby, and I may work up a map w the old bridges and country cemeteries and churches, too, for future bike tours.
The weather was gorgeous; windy, but warm. I took a lot of photos the first half, but the second half I guess I was a bit more fatigued. The Zeb Monument was right about halfway, so I stopped there for a little lunch of local lager and homemade cookies.
I deviated from my Garmin course a couple of times in order to avoid mud hiking / bike carrying, but did end up walking a couple of times, once across a RR bridge, as the road was washed out. I stopped three or so times to clean out mud. Overall though, the roads were in great shape.
I’ll probably tweak the route just a bit and definitely ride it again. There were some very nice North Central Kansas hills.
Soft sand saps strength
Sweet sun soothes soul
Warm winter, weakness wanes
Wild wind, homeward gains”
Cup O' Dirt Challenge 