LoneStar Epic Gravel Grinder

What: LoneStar Epic Gravel Grinder
When: Sunday , January 31, 2010 - 10:00 am start time
Where: 2017 Melholland Rd, Lawrence, KS 66047
Who: Any and all are welcome
Why: Because Bill Anderson says there is too much pavement in the world.

Come join Bill Anderson and friends on a nice scenic tour to LoneStar Lake and back via plenty of gravel roads. Route includes 3 long climbs and some very scenic country side. After a quick tour of LoneStar Lake we head back to Lawrence.

Ride begins and ends at Martell's house . About a mile west of 23rd street and Iowa. Here is the map to the start. The gravel fun begins shortly after our depart.

Here is the map.

Cole's Pain Cave

Today's Spring Hill Gravel Grinder was a little harder than planned. Partly due to the wind, partly due to running the course in reverse and mainly due to crazy ass ride leader Mark Cole. The gravel road conditions today were very good with mostly smooth packed down dirt making the pace very fast at times.

I would like to apologies to the riders who got dropped. The remaining rides will be at a more sane pace I promise.

Some pics.







The next gravel grinders include Smithville, Jay Hawk Delight, Chuckies Challenge and Baldwin City.

See everyone Sunday in Smithville....

Spring Hill Gravel Grinder

What: Spring Hill Gravel Grinder
When: Sunday , January 24, 2010 - 10:00 am start time
Where: 22350 S Harrison St, Spring Hill, KS 66083
Who: Any and all are welcome
Why: Because there is way too much pavement in the world.

Our next gravel grinder is again south of the metro and begins/finishes in the wonderful town of Spring Hill, Kansas. Spring Hill is Johnson Counties first historic district and has a rich history of stamina and a fun-loving spirit. Both of which will come in hand Sunday as Mr. Cole leads us on a 46 miler.

We will meet at Price Chopper off of 169hwy and 223rd Street. Address is 22350 S Harrison St, Spring Hill, KS 66083. NOTE: Do not come down 223rd from 69hwy, it's closed... Cut over on 199th, or 179th street to 169HWY.

Here is the route: Spring Hill Gravel Grinder Route Route features 95% gravel and plenty of rollers.

More info to follow.......

Mud 'n' Fog 'n' Hills

Today's Paola Gravel 'n' Hills 'n' Trail could have been called Mud 'n' Fog 'n' yea Hills. Despite the less than ideal conditions a dozen riders showed up to partake. One ride can as far away as 2 hours to "get in some riding" Many rural roads are still covered in snow/ice and not safe to ride.

Upon arriving at Wallace Park we were pleasantly surprised that a dozen liked mined riders were just as crazy as us. A good turnout and a great bunch of guys enjoyed the afternoon following Randy's ride throughout Paola and surrounding areas.

Finders were the opimal equipment choice for the day. Only Randy Rasa and Tige Lamb had sense enough to bring them. Everyone else left there at home including me. I actually had them in my hand but did not thing I would really need them. That shows you how much I know.



Randy led us out of Paola into dense fog and onto the awaiting gravel roads. Oh, did I say gravel. I ment muddy roads :-)


More pictures of our muddy little gravel grinder can be found HERE.

Until next week.....

Paola Gravel 'n' Hills 'n' Trail

What: Paola Gravel 'n' Hills 'n' Trail
When: Sunday , January 17, 2010 - 10:00 am start time
Where: Wallace Park, Paola, Kansas
Who: Any and all are welcome
Why: Because there is way too much pavement in the world.

Our next Gravel Grinder heads to Paola, Kansas for a nice 45 mile route. Below is the route in detail which features a lot of gravel and yea some climbing. Just the way we like em.

The starting point is Wallace Park in Paola, KS. The route heads west to Peoria, then onto the Flint Hills Nature Trail thru Rantoul and on to Osawatomie. From there we ride to John Brown Lookout (which should give us a great view of the surrounding countryside) and back to Paola. It's about 45 miles with lots of short but steep little hills. No services until Osawatomie at about mile 35.

Directions: From KC, head south on I-35 to US-169, then south on US-169 to the Paola exit. Turn right onto Baptiste Dr, left on Hospital Dr, right on Osage St, left into Wallace Park. Meet in the parking lot in front of the swimming pool.

Baldwin City Gravel Grinder????

Updated 1/8/10:

We have only one taker so far for tomorrows planned Baldwin City Gravel Grinder ride. Mr. Pot Pie ponied up but everyone else is hunkering down for the record cold temps that await us.

The weather looks to be improving and the roads have all been plowed for next weeks Paola Gravel Grinder. We have a great route planned so make sure you put next Sunday(1/17/10) on your ride calendar. More info coming soon.....


Who is up for a gravel grinder ride on Saturday? It will be "colder than a well diggers ass" but if anyone else is game we will have the ride. Let us know and we will make arrangements for the Baldwin City Gravel Grinder. The route is ready to ride, we just need some riders to make it happen and maybe some studded ice tires.....

1 Degree, 1 Dead Fox and 2 Fools

The extreme temps kept most riders away from the Smithville GG ride except for the most hard core including John Williams and myself. John is the proprietor of Pot Pie which offers "Home style Fine Dining in Kansas City". All I could think about during the ride was a nice hot Chicken Pot Pie. This and a a few layers of clothing was enough to keep anyone warm even in 1 degree temps.

We decided to hit the paved trails first and then work our way to some gravel roads and hopefully single track. The first 3/4 mile was not that bad with packed down snow from all the runners/hikers. After that it appeared the runners doubled back to their warm vehicles which came across our minds. This was John's second visit to Smithville with the first one being last years Bone Bender 3/6 Hour MTB Odyssey. If a person can overcome those conditions and finish then surely we could handle a little snow. The going was hard at times, but fun none the less. A combination of riding and walking was required. Times like these I kind of wished we had some XC skis instead of big old 29er tires.

The decision was made to head to Sail Boat Cove and then take W North to some of the gravel roads. But first we had to make it to SBC. Along the way we ventured into the single track when it was evident that some runners/hikers had packed down the snow. If not, then is was really hard going. At times you felt like you were not going to make it and end up like Mr Dead Fox. We happened upon this poor animal that froze to death.

Once we hit SBC we were able to pick up the speed and get some good riding in. Then we had some mechanicals. My new X9 shifter (1x9 setup) stopped working. Most likely due to the cold weather. Then while climbing one hill John broke his chain and we had to take a break to fix it. The cold really set in while were stopped and it was approaching the 2 hour mark of our ride so the decision was made to head back. I went ahead and left John to fix his chain and went to get my truck just in case he could not replace the link.

Overall the cold temperatures really did not cause us any problems. Now all that snow was a different story....

New Year's Day Ride

A great turnout for today's ride. The Gravel Grinder crew rode with the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club for a couple of hours of fun in the snow before we headed to Johnny's Tavern for lunch.

Here are some pictures.

View all

Get your own

Do not forget about tomorrow's Smithville Gravel Grinder v2.

Smithville Gravel Grinder v2

What: Smithville Gravel Grinder v2
When: Saturday, January 2, 2010 - 10:00 am start time
Where: Smoke N Davey Trailhead (off W Highway), Smithville, MO
Who: Any and all are welcome
Why: Because there is way too much pavement in the world.

We will use a combination of gravel roads, easy single track and the paved trails in and around Smithville Lake.

Bring a MTB or Cross bike and a little desire for some adventure. You might want to bring some cold riding gear also. Temps look like they are single digit tomorrow.