Christina and I woke up excited for our next cycling training ride of this new season. We have so many exciting expeditions being planed and really never stop preparing! Saturday morning rolled around bright, crisp and sunny. We milled around in the house, preparing food and packing what little we would need on the day’s ride. We decided to try a new starting point in Roe Park in Overland Park, KC. This lovely park is located on the Indian Creek Trail system in Kansas City, Missouri. This trail is a hidden Jem running a total of 26 miles with additional trails leading to different locations. We still haven’t ridden the entire trail system after four times on the trail.
Setting Off
When we arrived at Roe Park, we shammy buttered up and hit the trail. This path is tucked away following the flow of Indian Creek and its tributaries. It winds through Neborhoods and the occasional forest. You really feel like you are out in nature, and during the spring or summer, you can barely make out the houses on either side.
Getting our Groove Back
In our excitement, we forgot to start our beloved cycle mix, the music we play during almost every ride, from Bluetooth speakers located in our under-the-seat bags. Well, of course, we had to stop and fix the situation. No, this is not the “Crisis Averted” referenced in the title. Please bear with me, and I will get to that. Once we “got our groove back,” we soon found a rhythm quickly navigating this often winding trail.
Families and Fun Bikes
The rest of the ride prior to lunch was relatively smooth with few uphills. We found a small park. This trail is dotted with many to relax and have lunch. As we ate, we admired some families playing together and the different bikes passing on the trail. One stands out in our minds due to the fact that this bike had different-sized tiers. The front tire was the size of a BMX bike with the rear at 26″. This contraption was clearly a custom build, and we found ourselves very curious about the bike and the rider.
Tail Magic
After finishing lunch, we set off back the way we came. Luckily the older man on the odd bicycle was riding right in front of us for a few miles. At one point, he popped off the trail onto the road, as Christina and I later talked about, had us thinking he might be annoyed by our music.
A little later, we saw him back on the trail and right in front of us once more. Soon thereafter, he moved off the trail onto the adjacent road, warning us that the trail got very bumpy up ahead. We politely said thank you but stated that we were training for a delightfully grueling trip later this year. As the trail turned, we lost sight of our five-mile companion.
A new Frined You Will Never See Again
We decided to take a quick water stop just off the tail as this silver speckled bike and the older bearded man just happed by once more. He decided to stop and hang out with us for a bit. This man was so very nice, telling us all about his past and current biking adventures. He introduced himself as “Lucky” while proceeding to tell us the story of how he assumed that nomnugare since the late 1970s. Lucky also told us the story of how, while now in his middle 70s, he bikes two hours a day, rain or shine indoors or out. Lucky’s truly remarkable thing is that at some point in his life, he began to lose feeling in his legs from the knee down, so he built a bike that would allow him to continue cycling. He spoke with us, asking about our adventures and the pure love of biking. He offered us a paper map of local trails that had clearly been carried with him on many rides. This map offered us clues into more of KS’s trails. We will always be thankful for people like Lucky and the little bit of trail magic they bring in their wake. Hopefully, Christina and I can pay it forward in the future to tother would be adventure cyclists.
The Crisis
After our inspiring encounter with Lucky, we were less than five miles from the car. The trail bends sharply and has a short but steep hill a mile from the car. As I was shifting, I accidentally made a rookie mistake. I upshifted then quickly downshifted while applying power uphill. Subsequently, my chain became lodged between the first and second chainrings on the front cassette. Thankfully we were just about a mile from the car. I had to push with one foot or coast back. I feared the worst that my crankset might need to be replaced. While taking my Scott to the bike shop the next afternoon, the mechanic informed me that nothing was bent, and all I would need a new chain.
Crisis Averted
Thankfully, we avoided this crisis as some bike parts can be hard to come by right now. We are gearing up each ride with more weight in preparation for our next tour. So thankfully, we were able to stick to our training timetable and continue planning our next adventure on the bikes that will get us there.
