Streamway Park ride

I finally got a good solid block of miles in with my friend Tim. Oddly enough, I met Tim through a car club about 4 years ago. I've posted his picture before, and he's the one that got me into going to the Monday night recovery rides at the Trek store. We decided to go for a spin on the northern 3/4 of the Mill Creek Streamway Park.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Streamway Park, it's a long strip of land containing (among other things) a paved multi-use path that's probably about 15 miles from one end to the other. For the most part, it follows Mill Creek. The southern-most end is near my apartment but it's closed a mile or two up the way. The northern-most end of the trail is on an island out in the Kansas River. Along the way, there are a few other access points -- parking lots with picnic areas where one can start walking or riding either direction. It ties in with a few other smaller paths and trails along the way, as well, including some horse trails and Shawnee Mission Park.

We got on at the 95th street access point, and went north. I'd only ridden about a mile past the point where we got on, and that was with my dad back in November, shortly after I got my Sorrento. From our entrance point to the end of the trail was almost precisely 10 miles. The photo was taken at the very end of the path, out on the island.

About halfway between the entrance we used and the end of the path, there's a stretch, I'd say about a mile and a half worth, of relentless hills. Well, 3/4 mile uphill and 3/4 mile downhill, give or take. Either way, once I got to the apex of the course (both times, going out and coming back) I just about wished I was dead. I didn't bonk. I didn't even have to dismount and stop, but I did have to spin in "True Granny(tm)" mode for a good part of it. Bottom gear, small chainring, 2 miles per hour.

The wind was out of the south the whole time. As Streamway spends a lot of time winding through very mildly-hilled prarie land, the wind gets a chance to really get up to speed. By the time I got back to our starting point, I'd had just about enough of the wind.

All in all, it was a really fun ride that let me pack on some more miles this month, as well as getting my butt used to being back in the saddle. Total distance was 20.3 miles.

More information: Mill Creek Streamway Park