This journey actually began many years ago as a dream of a 15 year old kid who was always curious as to what lay over the next hill. Somewhere I obtained a map of Colorado and Kansas and came up with the idea of riding a bike (preferably a 10 speed) to Rocky Mountain Park in Colorado from Winfield, Kansas. This would have been a one way ride of some 700 miles, which by today’s weeklong rides would have been quite a feat. Probably, in my good fortune, this remained a dream although there is a challenging thought…

About 5 years ago I was introduced to long distance bicycle rides by a co-worker at work who talked about her husband riding across Iowa with a large group called RAGBRAI. This is the annual Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper. I found it very interesting to know that there were organized rides across a state like Iowa. I didn’t know at the time that BAK (Biking Across Kansas) had been doing this same thing for over 20 years, but then again I had never lived in a location where they had come through my town.

Again this idea arose and this time caught fire 3 years ago when Linda, at KUMC, where I work mentioned that one of the pediatricians in her department had ridden across Kansas on a bicycle. I found this hard to believe because the doctor that she was referring to was the last person I could imagine riding a bicycle 400 miles across this hot and windy state. Dr. T was a 60+ lady, small of stature and looked like a breeze would blow her halfway to Nebraska! Sure enough though, she and her husband had ridden from the Colorado/Kansas border to the Kansas/Missouri line several times on a tandem bicycle. I figured if she could I could! So the fire of ambition was lit!

Two years ago the idea began to seriously evolve into a passion, but nothing came of it. I broached the subject to my wife last year, but was informed in no uncertain terms that this would not be a possibility then. Our oldest daughters' wedding date was set for the weekend after the BAK ride ended and she did not want to set in the church at her wedding a widow! We did come to an acceptable agreement last year though in reference to BAK 2000. She said that if I still wanted to go in 2000 and I put forth the effort prior to the ride to get in shape for pedaling 400+ miles in a week and the money was forthcoming then I could go. My wife is not a controlling person, she just wants to keep me around for another 28 years or so – we do kinda’ like each other (quite a bit in fact)!!!

So toward the end of 1999 I began to watch the BAK website to see the routes and other information. I finally selected the "B" route sent my money and application in and waited. And waited and waited. Just when I was about to despair that maybe I had been to late in getting my application in I received confirmation of my route "B". In the meantime I had surfed the Bicycling Magazine website and found a bike that I thought would be right for me – a 1999 Raleigh R300 touring bike. I purchased it from a bike shop here in KC and set about getting everything else that was required. Talk about spending money – did I ever! My wife kept track of everything I spent and we soon realized that this would have to be my 50^th birthday present. I guess hers will be a trip to Jamaica, where she spent 7 years as a child, in a few years!

Anyhow with the support and love of my wife I achieved a dream that had first developed some 35 years before of doing a long distance bicycle ride. This account is therefore dedicated to Pamela Robinson - my wonderful wife of 28 years!!!

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