Well, that was fast. I mumbled the words "bicycle camping" and a few folks had jumped on it. Mark your calendars.
We're going to be roughing it this time. Middle Creek Lake in Louisburg, KS has no showers, electricity, flushing toilets or drinking water on site. There are some convenience stores on the way out and back, but nothing really close to the campsites.
People will be coming from various parts of town, but I propose those who wish to convoy to the lake meet at the Overland Park Arboretum just west of US-69 on 179th street at Noon on Saturday. I plan on riding east from the arboretum to Metcalf, then heading straight south almost exactly 20 miles to the campsite.
Other than that, there's no defined route, no actual "start time" or anything of the sort, so feel free to join us later in the day. Just get yourself and your gear to the lake on July 30th and camp with other cyclists. It sounds like some participants may enjoy an "extended" gravel detour (maybe not as hardcore as last year?) on the way to camp, while others head straight to the lake.
We'll begin our return trip after breakfast on Sunday morning.
These things are always awesome, because there are many different ways to prepare the bike, shelter, food, cooking, and entertainment and everyone has a different technique. People learn cool tricks from the other participants on trips like this. I'm actually looking forward to overcoming the drinking water challenge and seeing how others do it. You may want to think about bringing several extra bottles for water at the camp site, or peruse the various backpacking options for acquiring safe drinking water. I'll probably go the "filtered water bottle" route and boil the water before filtration.
If you've never done anything like this before, don't worry. It's easier than it looks, as long as you have a bike that can carry food and shelter. Feel free to ask questions and discuss the event in the comments. Invite friends. The more, the merrier. We had 11 folks at a similar event in 2009.
I'm calling this a rain-or-shine event. I don't mind camping in the rain, or riding in it this time of year.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Bicycle Camping at Middle Creek - July 30, 2011
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5 comments:
I'm not in the KC area, but this trip sounds awesome. I've done some bike camping before with my Montague folding bike and it was a blast.
Not at all sure how I missed this... what time-ish are you rolling out on Saturday?
NM... somehow I skippd the "noon" comment...
Noah,
Just checking, this is still on, right?
Indeed. The forecast keeps changing, but at this point, I don't care. I have to camp whether it's 100* and sunny or 80 with thunderstorms.
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