Today I took a short trip to La Cygne, KS to explore the area by bike. I’ve had this on my “to-do” list since last October when I rode a bit of the area (Rutlader / LaCygne Lake Loop).
I had a great little route map all printed up and ready to go, but when I went off and left it setting on my desk at home. So I winged it. I though I had a half-way decent map in my head, and that turned out to be about right. I did fine for the first 20 miles or so, then got off track as I began to see road names that didn’t sound familiar.
At one point I stopped at the Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge office to ask for directions, but they weren’t too helpful. The only routes they knew were on paved roads, and I was looking for back roads.
Oh well, I bumbled through. I got onto US-69 Highway for a few miles until I hit gravel again. This is a 4-lane semi-limited-access highway, but it had wide shoulders. It wasn’t too bad.
I ended up going too far west on the gravel roads, until I hit a north-south paved road, but I eventually found my way back to La Cygne. The total ride was about 53 miles.
Friends have been bugging me for awhile to get a GPS, but I’ve been reluctant to spend the dough (I’m a Frugal Cyclist), but perhaps this is the ride that’ll push me over the edge. It certainly would have been handy today…
Some pictures from the ride:
I’ll need to go back sometime, as I was unable to find several of the attractions I’d picked out on my map. Oh well, I don’t mind — this is a nice area to ride and explore!
Beautiful ride and photos. I especially like the sunflower shots, very nice!
I was hesitant to get a GPS too, but I found a Garmin eTrex Venture HC for around $120. That’s not chump change, but it’s pretty reasonable. It’s a very basic unit, but the receiver is quite accurate. But, you need software/maps on top of that.
It still doesn’t help if you leave it on your desk, though.