Kansas!! Day 1: Olathe to Ottawa

I’ve been having an itch that I needed to scratch for a while now to do some solo touring in the wide open spaces.  So I’m heading west towards Colorado through the great state of Kansas.   I launched myself from Jimmy’s house in Olathe and started working my way southwest to intersect the Trans-America Bicycle Route.  I got a great nights sleep last night and headed out from the Dean’s home after a leisurely morning at 10am and landed in Ottawa at 4.  I had low expectations for my first day of self supported touring and they were exceeded with a nice 49 mile day. 

Thanks again to Jim and Candy Dean for letting me tramp-out at their beautiful home in Olathe. 

Oh, and yes, the Kansas winds were 10 to 20 mph today out of the southwest which was my heading for the day towards Ottawa. In sailing parlance I tacked into the wind on west and south headings today, following the county road patterns along I-35. I’m getting used to the headwinds and almost, almost, didn’t think about them very much.  My focus was to move forward and enjoy the ride, speed was secondary. 

Good advice I found on the way, my moment of Zen. 

I’ll be generally following the Santa Fe Trail for the next several days until I take a more westerly route. 

The Santa Fe Trail was established in 1821 by a trader named Becknell from Franklin, MO to open trade with the Santa Fe territory when Spain relinquished control to the Mexicans and trade with the US was permitted.  2,000 wagons a year would make the trek from Independence, MO to Sante Fe until trade collapsed in 1880 when the railroad to Santa Fe was completed. 


Speaking of trails, Google Maps Bicycle routing failed me a bit today when I reached the end of my blacktop road and was faced with gravel.   About a mile further west I would find blacktop again. Riding on the gravel on my loaded bike felt like riding on marbles. I’m glad it didn’t last too long. 

In Wellsville a little after one o’clock I stopped at the Big Bopper for lunch and to cool off a bit. 

In the early days of Wellsville the Big Bopper building was a bank and you can see the vault in this picture. In the 60’s they moved the money out and the deep fryers in!

 


Kudos to Franklin County!  All along my ride today every intersection was signed to be mindful of cyclist. 

Pulling into Ottawa I road Main St. from north  to south, passing by the Franklin County Court House.  While the streetscape was quiet it seemed to be a pretty diverse and resilient town.  

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It’s beginning to feel like summer, 89 degrees at 4pm.