Ride 11: Kansas
The Sunflower State
State: Kansas (#11)
Area: Johnson County (suburban Kansas City)
Route: Starting at Roe Park and looping around the county via Olathe, Lenexa, and Overland Park
Final Mileage: 52.10
Date: December 24, 2021 (Christmas Eve!)
Up to this point in our project, we had stuck almost exclusively to the East Coast (or, at least, the Eastern time zone). The lone exception had been our home state of Missouri. So, as we approached the 2021 holiday season, we began eyeing our calendars to see if we could put together another Midwest ride while we were both home—possibly in neighboring Kansas. Given our crisscrossing travel schedules, we soon realized there was only one day that would work for this one: Christmas Eve. Of course, in addition to coordinating it around family activities, we also braced for the possibility that we could be facing bitterly cold weather.
Thankfully, though, everything worked out perfectly. We woke up early and met at Alex’s parents house, where they were kind enough to once again loan us bikes. We were also joined for a second time by Alex’s friend, Bing, who accompanied us for a small stretch of our Missouri ride and decided he wanted in on the full thing this time around.1 The weather was gorgeous, too, starting around 56 degrees and working its way up to a high of 70.
Since we wanted to finish in a reasonable amount of time and get back to our families for Christmas Eve festivities, we decided to stay in the KC area. Using a couple of Johnson County’s myriad trails, we built a route that allowed us to explore them and trek through many of the suburban communities we visited at various points in our childhoods, such as Lenexa, Olathe, and Overland Park.
For those who are unfamiliar with Johnson County, the writer and Kansas native Thomas Frank once noted its reputation as a place called “Cupcake Land,” adding, “You know what it’s like even though you haven’t been there. Smooth jazz. Hallmark cards. Applebee’s. Corporate Woods.” Although we both spent much of our childhood rolling our eyes every time we heard the county’s name, the areas we explored on this ride admittedly helped change our perspective for the better. We came away seeing it as a very lovely place (even if its drivers are still notoriously awful).
The three of us took off around 8:30 am, beginning our adventure at Roe Park.
The first two-thirds of the ride were spent almost entirely on trails, including Indian Creek Trail and Mill Creek Trail. These took us primarily through suburban terrain, with a few rural patches in the mix as well.
Minus the sudden realization at one point that our phone batteries were quickly draining as we used GPS to follow the route, the ride was fairly uneventful (in a good way). It was simply a beautiful day with a great crew, good tunes, and an all-important stop for snacks at QuikTrip. Though one thing that did make the day interesting at times was elevation gain, which was the third most we had experienced to date (after Missouri and New York). One stretch of the ride, in particular—which came after we’d already completed 40 miles—included several massive, prolonged climbs in a row.2
But we survived, and the views the route offered made the numerous hills we conquered entirely worth it. (Okay, Bing might disagree.)
Oh, and we also happened upon Ted Lasso’s elementary school.
To top it all off, we started ringing in the holidays in perfect fashion: with kabobs from Kansas City’s premier Iranian restaurant, KC Grill ’N Kabob.
And that’s about it! Short and sweet. As skeptical as we were about touring Cupcake Land for State 11, it turned out to be a great adventure. If we both end up in the Midwest down the road, we may just have to run this one back.
Cue thunder and lightning and ominous laughter
Michael takes the blame for this oversight!