How interesting is it to ride a bike across Kansas? You decide….

Posted on by Debs and Jo (brakesandcakes.org)

Kansas. The state everyone wanted to tell us about when we talked about our ride West. Boring. Cornfields. Flat. Windy. Empty. Mind-numbing. None of which filled us with excitement. But could it really be that bad? It would be almost 500 miles from East to West. We hoped not. Writing this in retrospect, reading this blog post may be similar to riding across Kansas. Starts off well, creating some optimism, but soon fizzles out. Once finished you are filled with the satisfaction of sticking it out until the end. Then you might look back fondly and hope in time you remember the good bits, but you know you won’t be repeating it in a hurry.

A mile into day 1 we crossed the imaginary line that is the state border without even a welcome sign, and were pleasantly surprised that the land didn’t instantly flatten out, turn yellow with corn and the wind didn’t smash us in the face. So far so good Kansas. For the first few days the land rolled nicely, everything was green, we rode through the Flint Hills area and visited the Prarie Tallgrass Reserve (where we were disappointed to find only regular height grass, apparently it isn’t tall until the end of the summer). Towns were evenly spread and felt welcoming; we stayed in Council Grove and Hillsboro, both nice, small places full of friendly people. Council Grove had a load of historical sites to visit and Hillsboro, a college town, had a nice feel and lots going on (the first thing that happened to us in town was a guy shouted out of his car window that we should go to the farmers market for dinner, so we did, then as soon as we sat down a family came over to chat to us and bought us food). We were finding interesting tourist attractions. Though Kansas needs to work better at selling them.

Only if you need your water bottles filling up with ice
Those Council Grove ruffians…

Was all the negative talk an elaborate ruse by those within the state to keep tourist numbers down? Would we get to the Western border full of enthusiasm for Kansas and be hauled into a room, be forced to sign the official secrets act and promise to tell everyone that Kansas is dull, flat and empty? This wasn’t helped by the fact that every town we went through – this even started in Missouri – people would say “oh it really opens out now, there’s nothing West of here, it’s just empty”. And then it wasn’t. Until it was. We were invited in to the conference room of the McPherson visitor centre for an air-conditioned lunch, to be told “oh it really opens out now, there’s nothing West of here, it’s just empty”. And finally they were right. The road was also busy, and the combination of big fast trucks and wind made it the most unpleasant stretch so far in the USA. A truck passing on the other side feels like a slap in the face – you brace yourself for it and a second later it hits, causing a big wobble. In the same direction, the force is like a huge slap on the back, and sometimes so powerful it lifted my shirt up at the back.


So finally we had the long empty vistas that we had been expecting. The towns dwindled and became less interesting and more buildings became derelict. Farmland ruled. We saw more signs for churches than we did for towns. The wind picked up and it got hotter. We had been told that to beat this, it is best to get on the road before 6am. Reluctantly this became our routine, only for it to be roasting by 12 noon with us miles from our intended destination. We spent the evenings trying to get to sleep in a pool of sweat. But it was still not empty. Farm buildings were regular enough and close enough to the road that we were confident of finding shelter if storms came over. The scenery didn’t change much but there is a certain beauty in open space. And the early morning starts provided colour. Life on a bike was still good. 


There’s no point giving a day by day breakdown of the 8 days we spent in Kansas. So here’s some interesting things that happened: (interesting is of course open to interpretation)

– We stayed in a motel for the first time. And the second time.

– After the wildlife extravaganza on the Katy Trail we were back to dodging dead animals in the shoulder, including armadillos. Still not seen a live one, but they are pretty big.

– In a town called Lyons, their baseball team is called Lyons Lions. Come on.

– People actually greet you by saying “howdy”. I enjoyed this.

– We stayed in a house that had been built by a guy especially for his wedding, with a great curved staircase in the centre of the room for her to walk down. They are now divorced. But the house is still cool.

– One day I realised our bike pump was missing half of it. Despite (or maybe because) of only having one puncture in the first 7000 miles of the trip I was convinced we would get one before we reached the next town big enough to have a pump (40 miles). We did not.

– Whilst camping in Lyons I got 25 mosquito bites on my back through my t-shirt. Why did nobody mention mosquitos when they talk about Kansas?

– I fell down some stairs in a house and my head broke my fall. How I did not hurt myself seriously I do not know. But I was grateful that I didn’t.

Early morning shadows

In the middle of all of this my younger sister got married back in England. I got up at 4.30am to Skype home before the ceremony and see her in her dress, feeling very far away. Wedding thoughts occupied my mind through the open scenery for the whole day, wondering what was happening back home at particular times, sad to be missing the day. The following morning I looked through the photos and was suddenly filled with overwhelming sadness at missing such an important day for my family. For the first couple of hours that day I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. It’s easy to forget that by taking trips like this, we miss things back home – not always as important as a wedding but snippets of a life that is going on without us. This is tough sometimes.

The best wedding greeting we could come up with considering our possessions

But life on the bike went on. Kansas went on. One day I entertained us by reading from a “fun facts about farms and ranches” leaflet we had picked up (part of a Kansas scenic byways fun facts series). The road was so quiet I could ride and read. We learnt some interesting facts about cattle, and some less interesting facts about fence posts. This killed about 5 miles. Small towns were very proud of their school achievements, and we looked forward to reading about these which were always advertised on entering the town. The High School in Scott City had an illustrious history; we were particularly impressed by their 2010 achievement (to be repeated in 2013).

Every day is a school day in Kansas

So how interesting is Kansas? It’s not going to win any awards for a variety of scenery, but there is a beauty in emptiness for sure. We liked it. But on the final day we rode towards the border with Colorado excited about a change of scenery – there would be mountains, lakes and gorges as soon as we crossed the border right?*


*Spoiler alert. This did not happen.

Thanks to: the staff at Knights Inn Ottawa for getting up with me at 4.30am to make sure I could Skype home; Paul and Sharon; Del, Debbie and Alison and the farmers market crew; the McPherson visitor centre staff; Sarah. 

We caught the Katy

Posted on by Debs and Jo (brakesandcakes.org)

Along the route of an old train line, the Katy Trail is the longest rails-to-trails bike route in the USA. It was a big change from riding Route 66. Less cars, burgers and neon, more trees and wildlife. I had an important internal radio change, Chuck Berry to the Blues Brothers. Both great songs that became a little annoying after a couple of days. 

Having visited the Lewis and Clark Centre on the banks of the Mississippi we would now be following the intrepid duo as their Corps of Discovery journeyed up the Missouri River. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, Lewis was selected to lead the expedition to find navigable trade routes through the West. He in turn recruited William Clark and the two led a band of merry men on a testing two year trip to the Pacific and back. 

Old railway bridgeon the Katy Trail

Similarly intrepid, on the first afternoon on our well-surfaced and fit-for-purpose bike path, I scared myself by riding over a snake assuming it to be a stick. It was black and over a metre long. We would meet a lot of wildlife on the trail, especially where it was sandwiched between bluffs and the huge Missouri River. It was mostly scenic, mostly flat and has plenty of accommodation options so makes a great trip should you be in the area with a bike. We camped at a ball park and watched some intensely supported softball, and loved the Turner Shelter in Tebbetts. The snake incident inspired the invention of a new on-the-road game and there were information boards every 10-15 miles, so the Katy Trail kept our interest for it’s 240 mile length. 

Wildlife on the trail. Yes I know there are rabbits everywhere but everything else moved too quick for a photo!
Cycling alongside the Missouri river – bit easier than Lewis and Clarke found it

A fun day off in Columbia meant that one of our days in Missouri coincided with the eclectic Pedaller’s Jamboree, a cycling and music festival that moves along a thirty mile stretch of the trail. Invited to join some locals for the day, we shared the path with 3000 cyclists, including any number of tandems, papier maîche animal-ed bikes and inventive ways to carry beer. 

Margheritas, bikes, music and good company at pedjam

As the cycling got more wayward and the falls more frequent we left the revellers and continued west, arriving to camp in a small and seemingly deserted town. At the park we met English cyclist Nigel, and found out why the town was empty. Everyone was at either a 60th wedding anniversary or a birthday party, or it might have been a 60th birthday and a wedding party, both of which were in earshot of the park. The birthday wrapped up early, but the wedding celebrations carried on into the car park courtesy of car radios, and eventually (worryingly) drove away. So Jo and Nigel told me. I was asleep.

Sunday was the least scenic and most hilly trail day, but the turtles, frogs and snakes still kept us on our toes. They were also some great stories on the info boards, including some underhand tactics by the the Katy builders to win the race to Indian territory against a rival railroad. They employed spies and disrupted the others progress by a number of methods. The best of these was sending an ‘official’ stocked with drink supplies to tell the rivals crews their construction was complete and it was time to party. The aftermath of the celebrations cost several days work time and the Katy company took the lead and the right to build the railroad through the territory.


We didn’t have a party, but we did eat a lot of pasta at the end of the trail in Clinton. Our final day in Missouri was the seemingly mythical Memorial Day. Since we have been in the USA people have kept telling us that things (attractions/campsites/shops/roads) will be open after Memorial Day. It was finally here and everything was closed for it. Alanis would see the irony I’m sure. It was a beautiful day of rolling hills, swamps, rivers and only two scary storms to hide from. We enjoyed some great company and pork chops in the evening. From the Museum that wasn’t to a bike party day via a wildlife-d trail Missouri was a lot of fun. A sign told us that we had entered Tornado Alley and we hoped to avoid a trip to Oz as we continued West and into Kansas.

Trying to out-ride the storms

Thanks to: The Turner Shelter, Adrienne, Adam, Loki & everyone, Ian, Ellen and the Jamboree crew, Kelly and Delora.

Gettin’ some Kicks: Cycling Route 66 in Illinois

Posted on by Debs and Jo (brakesandcakes.org)

Everyone should drive on Route 66 at some point in their life. You don’t need to take it the whole way from Chicago to LA to get a flavour of its iconic status and enjoy the touristy fun. Especially if you love 50s kitsch, burgers and ice cream, giant statues and bumpy roads. The route is crammed full of things to stop and look at, some good, some not so good, some bizarre. Even four days by bike is enough to see why so many people flock to the USA to drive on a route that doesn’t really even exist anymore. 

We didn’t start in Chicago – riding through miles of city suburbs isn’t that appealing – so joined “historic Route 66” as it is officially called just south of the city. This day marked quite a change in the trip, as it was the first time we had ridden for a whole day on busier roads. Straight away the noise of the interstate that runs alongside the route was noticeable after being accustomed to peaceful bike paths. The heat had also been cranked up a few notches, to the point where sweat dripped from various bodily locations for the first time. The scenery opened out and we could see for miles and miles. I’m not sure where the mid-west officially starts but life felt different in more than one way from this point on.


Day 1 highlights (or lowlights, everyone is entitled to their own interpretation) included a large spaceman holding a large fish; burgers and milkshake in a diner that had comedy mirrors and more Elvis memorabilia than you think could fit in one building; a small jail; a restored train dining car; and a couple of restored gas stations where the women who worked there could not have been more different in their welcome. First up was a Route 66 enthusiast who complemented Debs on her shorts (yes they are Lycra) more than once, and then when she insisted on taking a photo of both of us in an old car only managed to turn the camera off rather than take a photo, despite having very clear instructions to press the large button to shoot. We took the first opportunity to escape (after at least 20 minutes) without even making use of the toilet. Further down the road her oppositional counterpart barely looked up when we entered, and definitely did not have any drinking water for us. Pick your Route 66 attractions carefully.


Our final stop of the day was Pontiac, home of many Route 66 murals (including the largest one in Illinois) and a museum that couldn’t have fitted more old stuff in. The main attraction is a VW van owned by Bob Waldmore, a guy who spent most of his life driving Route 66. Such was his iconic status that the makers of Disney Pixar’s “Cars” modelled the character Filmore on him, and initially wanted to name the character Waldmore. The museum has some interesting letters between Bob and Pixar as to explain why this didn’t actually happen. It’s a good story, google it. It was so hot outside we sat in the museum foyer and ate sweaty cheese sandwiches until they closed. That night we ended up between campsites and were saved by an invitation by a friendly family to sleep in a their trailer (caravan to the Brits).

Day 2 continued in much the same fashion, though without the sunshine which cooled things down a little. More old signs, more old diners, more big things, more museums. And then day 3 too. There’s not much variety. It could get repetitive, but it’s all good fun for a few days. We ate burgers, ice cream and cream pie. It’s fun travelling the route at cycling speed because there is something to stop at every 30-45 minutes to break up the monotony of what is a fairly unexciting road to ride on, often right alongside the interstate. Maybe in a car it would get annoying stopping every ten minutes, I don’t know. Another reason that bikes are best 🙂

The final day riding into St Louis was a short one at only 45 miles but we still made it take all day by stopping for a long bakery breakfast on the way. As we got closer to the end point of our Route 66 adventure, the attractions dried up and we switched to Lewis and Clarke information, the explorers who set out from Missouri to ‘discover and claim the West for America’. We crossed the mighty Mississippi River into Missouri on the old chain of rocks bridge, now closed to cars and famous for having a 22 degree bend in the middle. It had got really hot, and it was hard to believe that just seven days (and 500 miles) previously we had been sat watching it snow from a window in Michigan.


We would follow the Lewis and Clarke route for a few days out of St Louis but first we had to explore the city. Doug and Marta our amazing warm showers hosts met us at the Gateway Arch (gateway to the West of course) and took us on a bike tour of the city. The next day was the most tiring rest day imaginable as we went to the St Louis City Museum. This place bears little resemblance to a museum but is more accurately a huge adventure playground for adults and kids, with pretty much everything made from salvaged material. There’s an old FBI plane to climb through, a school bus perched on the roof top, a large ball-pit, underground caves and mazes of climbing frames made from old industrial factory cast-offs. We spent four hours hauling ourselves through small holes and climbing over things (including small children), to the detriment of our arms the following day. It’s a very cool place. But it’s not a museum. And It’s definitely not a rest day activity.


Before leaving St Louis we just about had time to try some local delicacies. On the way we had already experienced concrete, a frozen yoghurt that does not move when you turn it upside down. Second up was gooey butter cake, a cake that was very gooey and buttery. Finally we went out to Blueberry Hill, a very cool place where Chuck Berry still plays once a month, for burgers. Yes these are everywhere but as a side order we tried deep fried ravioli – though it’s called toasted ravioli for some reason. I prefer it’s abbreviation of T-Rav. Sounds much cooler. And it tastes ok too.



Big thanks to Neil; Theresa and family; Tom, Martha, Alex and the rest of the family; and Doug, Marta and friends.

Motoring across Michigan

Posted on by Debs and Jo (brakesandcakes.org)

Before entering Michigan we weren’t quite sure what to expect from the state. Other than Detroit and Flint, where we were not planning to go, and miles of shoreline, which we were keen to sample at least some of, we had no idea what to expect as we crossed West. What we got were super friendly people (continuation of a theme) and miles of quality off-road bike trails that were converted rail lines. Well done Michigan. Oh and the lake shore is nice too.

Just us popping over to the USA then

It was a short ferry ride from Canada to the USA and we were the only people on the boat. This hindered us a little at US customs as it gave them the time to double and triple check everything in our passports and ask us as many questions as they wanted. Eventually we were let out of the door into the pouring rain and made the short ride to our warm showers host who happened to own and live above a great little restaurant. Time to cash in my birthday treat – beer and burgers – safe in the knowledge that we only had to walk upstairs afterwards. 

Birthday burger treat

The next morning, after hearing that we were once given lucky rocks that we then felt obliged to carry on our bikes, Cheryl gave us lucky bananas instead as a more useful gift of luck. Much appreciated. We set off, took a wrong turn, turned back to find the road we should have been on, found it was gravel, so turned back to where we were before we turned back. At this point we stood and ate our lucky bananas a little disappointed in their power so far. 

Lucky bananas? Give us time….

But the day picked up, we had the wind at our backs and joined together bike routes that took us West. With no plans of where to stay that evening, after starting bike trail number 3 of the day we noticed some activity under a marquee, a baseball game and a BBQ. Following our noses we ended up at a private boys school freshman event, there was loads of food left so we were told by the school nurse to sit and watch the game and have a hot dog. The assistant principal had cycled across the country 20 years ago so we got chatting to him and he invited us to camp on the school grounds. Not any old school grounds of course, they had their own lake, grotto, and perfectly mown grass. Yes we would like that a lot. Ten minutes later the school nurse returned with an improved offer – would we like a dorm room instead? Yes, we would like that even more. After being shown to our room we went for a walk around the school grounds and returned ready to cook some pasta on the stove only to find two meals boxed up for us waiting outside our door. Sitting watching the sun set over the lake and eating chicken and pork with our dorm room waiting we thanked our lucky bananas at how the evening had turned out.

Thank you lucky bananas!

The next couple of days continued in much the same fashion – good bike routes, not so good roads (including my least favourite, the horizontal-crack-every-ten-metres which involves the whole weight of the bike jarring first through the upper body as the front wheel runs over it followed a split second later by the same jolt through the backside). The friendliness continued. Sheltering from a thunderstorm under a gas station forecourt we were offered three lifts and a place to stay during 30 minutes and got chatting to a guy who was about to visit Europe for the first time and had concerns about whether he could use the term fanny pack. We said probably not. Debs had to explain why, good job we had a teacher on hand to clear that up.

The calm after the storm

Three days riding got us to Portage, home of Debs’ old friend Tracy and her two boys. We had a great weekend off the bikes playing capture the flag, soccer, battleships, and old arcade games at an actual arcade. We cooked hot dogs and s’mores over a fire and were sad to leave. 

Thanks for the relaxing weekend 🙂

Kal Haven trail

Our route 40 miles all the way to Lake Michigan took us on probably the best bike trail of the lot, the Kal Haven route, nice packed gravel, cheery people and loads of wildlife (though we had to be careful to avoid the suicidal chipmunks that run across in front of the wheels). Before we knew it we were on the shores of one of the Great Lakes watching the waves wondering how this is not the sea. That night we camped at a state park by the shore. The lack of bears so far on the trip meant we were a little casual over food and we woke to find a whole pack of tortillas had been half eaten. Half of every tortilla that is, I don’t know why the (assumed) squirrel couldn’t have carefully pulled the top few out of the pack to eat whole rather than digging into every single one. There were also a surprising number of torn mint tea bags amongst the scene of destruction, I can only imagine it’s disappointment scratching around in the pannier for food only to keep pulling out tea bags. As we packed up that morning we were on the lookout for a fat squirrel with minty fresh breath.

One big bit or many small ones?

The fifth day of riding took us into Indiana (state number 6) for a night camping on the National Lakeshore. We cooked up our typical exciting pasta dinner on the camp stove by the lake and watched the sun set over Chicago – the closest we would get to the city. Not a bad way to end the day, We have cranked up our daily average to around 75 miles given what lies ahead in the mid west – very little if we believe what we are told. Next up for us is a few days riding south west on old Route 66. 50s kitsch, old school diners and Cars (Disney Pixar) memorabilia awaits!

Sunset over the Chicago skyline

Thanks to Cheryl; Orcard Lake St Mary’s High School; Scott, Karen and family; and Tracy, Ben and Levi.

Slow travel and fast food

Posted on by Debs and Jo (brakesandcakes.org)

It was about two weeks into the USA cycle trip, whilst riding through another small town where fast food restaurants seemed to fill around 50% of the buildings, that we realised that we had not yet set foot in one of these seemingly North American icons. No McDonalds, no Dunkin’ Donuts, no Subway, no Starbucks, not one, not even to go to the toilet. At the time I was about 90% pleased with that realisation, 10% disappointed with myself – we are burning up calories in the centre of the fast food universe, with every excuse to tuck in to a different chain every night. But then two weeks turned to three; we spent over a week in Canada and cycled past approx 3500 Tim Hortons (ok that might be a slight exaggeration) without entering one. Back in the USA we are now over a month into the trip and are starting to wonder whether this is something we should actively try to keep up as long as possible. How far can we get across North America before we spend money in a fast food chain restaurant? I say spend money, because it’s close to miraculous that I haven’t needed to go in to one to use the toilet yet, and this can’t possibly last much longer.

Typical lunch

Maybe the health conscious reader wonders why this is even a big deal. After all I never eat in McDonalds at home, so why would I start here?! As it happens the big Golden Arches are every cycle tourists best friend during difficult times. Toilets, water refills (with ice if you are lucky), air conditioning/warmth and wifi; one place to satisfy so many basic needs (admittedly wifi is a luxury – until you see a storm ahead and want to find a place to stay without riding around for ages first). And cheap calories if that’s what you want; or a cheap coffee if you just want to spend a bit of cash to access the basic needs. While we were cycling in Canada during the 2012 Olympics they often had the action on the big screen and we’re giving away coffee during the games so they became our daily break locations. As we again cycle in North America in an Olympic year, we will have to see if we can resist this pull.

Lunch purchases from a menonite store

Who wouldnt try snickerdoodle cookies?

Avoiding fast food chains won’t mean that we will be on some kind of health kick. This is North America after all, even the brown bread tastes of sugar. We do our best to eat as healthily as possible, but we also need volume and low cost. Our options for calorie dense snacks are limitless. We will not be wasting away, don’t worry. What it does mean is we can give our money to local/independent businesses where possible. Such as these delightful snicker doodle cookies from a small Mennonite house.

How our low quality bread looks after a day squashed in a pannier

Certainly not on a health kick. Little Bar independent restaurant, Marine City MI

I almost gave in to temptation on our final day in Ontario last week after seeing an advert for cake batter flavoured milkshake at Mac’s, a kind of fast food chain but also a gas station brand. We had ridden 60kms with no shops and I was thirsty and hungry and clearly a bit weak at the knees. And who doesn’t like the sound of a cake batter flavoured milkshake? I told myself it wasn’t really a fast food chain; it was my birthday treat; I needed the sugar to keep going; and if all else fails, this would be a Canadian purchase so the challenge to not eat in fast food places in the USA could continue unscathed. Into Mac’s I went convinced that I was doing the right thing, only to find the milkshake machine broken. My heart sank. But then my mind cleared. It was a sign from the universe. I had come close to succumbing to a moment of weakness and only a mechanical problem had stood in the way. This was a let off. Be stronger next time!

Really definitely not on a health kick….

So how long can we keep this up?