RecumBum

Saturday, June 14, 2008 – 36.04 miles, 02:37:26, 13.74 MPH average

After a breakfast of pancakes and sausage, provided courtesy of BAK, we were off on the final short jog to Atchison. There was a bit of wind coming from the southwest, but with just a bit over 30 miles to go, it wasn’t a factor.

The pace was leisurely, and the hills modest, as we rolled out of Horton, through Muscotah, Effingham, and Monrovia before the route hit US-73 and the last push to the river.

Along the way, we passed a number of folks we’d seen during the week, including Handcycle Man:

Passing Mr. Handcycle Man

The countryside was lush and green, with continuous rollers, though none of them particularly long or steep. Traffic was light, even once we hit US-73. It didn’t pick up until we entered Atchison, and made our way through the historic downtown, and to the river.

Riding the Hills to Atchison

We made it!

It felt great to roll the final few feet, dismount, ceremoniously dip the wheels in the river, and take the victory photo.

At the Missouri River in Atchison

Even after hitting the river, though, the ride wasn’t quite finished. We spent some time exploring Independence Park and watching the muddy waters of the Missouri River roll past, and enjoying the view of the Amelia Earhart Bridge downstream. We saw the beginnings of the Independence Creek Trail, which I’d like to go back and explore sometime. But not today.

After the brief break at the river, we re-mounted the bikes and rode up the bluffs to the school. We found our bags, changed shoes, and grabbed an early spot in line for the celebration lunch in the school. After a nice lunch of fried chicken and lasagna, salad, and cookies, we went off to find the bus and bike truck for the trip back to Lenexa. After loading up the bikes and gear, we loitered a bit in the shady green grass of the schoolyard before boarding the bus and heading home.