“Kansas always seems to have trouble making up its mind when it comes to weather, so you are always on your toes and never trust the weatherman! However, every so often it seems to get it just right and when that happens you have to drop everything, get outside to enjoy it!
With the forecast calling for temps in the 70’s on Saturday, a couple of us planned on a 65-70 mile ride south of town towards Louisburg. On top of the abnormally warm February day slated for Saturday, Friday night had numerous celestial phenomena including a full moon, lunar eclipse and comet passing by that would make for a great moonlit gravel ride. Although I couldn’t convince any of my friends to join me Friday night, I wanted to get another 30 miles in to add to what was on the docket for the next day, and also try for a Strava segment that has been evading me for quite some time… I finally got the KOM with the help of a little south tailwind!
I missed the eclipse, but once the moon peaked through the clouds it was bright enough to cast shadows when you were beyond the light of the suburbs. If I would have let my eyes acclimate after taking this photo, I might have been able to ride just fine without my light!!
The next day we headed out at 9 in the morning south towards Lousiburg. A slight headwind from the SE made the ride out a little annoying at times, but on the other hand gave us a nice push back home when the legs were beginning to complain.
At the southernmost point of the route one of my comrades got his inevitable flat of the ride, but at least there was interesting scenery to capture while he threw a new tube on.
Some of the roads, like Antioch heading north, were smoother than most paved roads back in Wisconsin! I’m sure they will however be laying down fresh gravel any day now.
All said and done we ended up with just over 66 miles on Saturday, and I did indeed get sunburnt! Now I have a good base started for the cyclist tan lines! (Sorry no photo)… And a big kudos to my friend Aaron on the route!!”
– Alex F.
Cup O' Dirt Challenge 