Hi everyone. I was just curious about the state of riding in NE Kansas these days. I grew up there and rode quite a bit before moving to Colorado. Now, work may bring me back to the Lawrence, KC area and I was wondering about trails these days. Anything new being planned? I used to ride clinton, shawnee mission, perry, landahl, gov mansion (Topeka), and the river in Lawrence. I was home for christmas and managed to get some riding in and found that the gov mansion now has no trespassing signs in the west half and the river trail in Lawrence had motorcycles on it the day I was there. Are other trails reaching this point? Are motorized vehicles allowed now in some areas, or were those guys just poaching it. Are trails being closed? Also, I think I remember hearing something about a bill to basically outlaw trails and trail building in Kansas. Surely that can't be true...can it?
If any of you can help me out with some info, I would greatly appreciate it. I am in mountain bike heaven right now and I want to make sure that I can "get my fix" if I do move back. :D
Thanks a lot

if your into freeriding check here www.freeridelounge.com

if your into freeriding check here www.freeridelounge.com


Cool site, thanks for the link. That gives me some hope.

Hi everyone. I was just curious about the state of riding in NE Kansas these days. I grew up there and rode quite a bit before moving to Colorado. Now, work may bring me back to the Lawrence, KC area and I was wondering about trails these days. Anything new being planned? I used to ride clinton, shawnee mission, perry, landahl, gov mansion (Topeka), and the river in Lawrence. I was home for christmas and managed to get some riding in and found that the gov mansion now has no trespassing signs in the west half and the river trail in Lawrence had motorcycles on it the day I was there. Are other trails reaching this point? Are motorized vehicles allowed now in some areas, or were those guys just poaching it. Are trails being closed? Also, I think I remember hearing something about a bill to basically outlaw trails and trail building in Kansas. Surely that can't be true...can it?
If any of you can help me out with some info, I would greatly appreciate it. I am in mountain bike heaven right now and I want to make sure that I can "get my fix" if I do move back. :D
Thanks a lot

Answering some of your questions:

We have about 100 miles of new trail on the plate in the KC area.
The motorcycles on the Levee trails were poaching.
The Gov's mansion trails weren't ever really official, but we're working with the KDWP to set up a trail system in Topeka that may incorporate them. The Menniger facility will become a new state park and will have about 15 miles of trail or so along the Kaw River.

In addition, there are new trails at Wilson Lake SP (East of Russel) and Fancy Creek SP just North of Manhattan.

Clinton and Perry are still decent trails. Perry has just added another 4 miles of singletrack and the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club is doing a fantastic job with Clinton.

Shawnee Mission Park is adding 16 brand new miles of singletrack and should have some elevated trails in the next 5 years.

There's a new park between Lawrence and KC called Kill Creek that has about 5 miles of trail from intermediate to advanced.

There is 15 miles of trail at Blue River Park (Minor Park) that has become some of the best trails in the area.

There is 9 miles of singletrack at Smithville Lake.

Crowder SP in Chillicothe MO has about 20 miles of trail and if you talk really nice to the Trail Steward, he'll guide you around another 9 miles or so of more trail.

There's about 30 miles of trail going in in St. Joe in Krug Park.

There are city singletrack trails in Independence and Lee's Summit.


So, to answer your question, there's plenty of riding. Obviously riding in Kansas isn't going to offer you the same type of trails that you have now, but there's plenty to ride. In addition to Freeride Lounge, you can also check out:

www.earthriders.com
www.mountainbikekc.com

There are a group of guys in Manhattan that have some ladders skinnies and dj's. They have some crazy stuff down there. Most of them hang around the freeridelounge, but here is the official site www.ksfreeriderz.20m.com I have been down there and they are great guys, and they have some fun stuff.

Thanks for the information everyone! I had no idea that so much was happening there. A couple of people that I spoke with while I was back there made it sound like the mtb scene was drying up fast. Ken, do you know anything about this "making trails illegal" stuff that I heard about a while back? I think I read it on the IMBA site actually. I assumed it stemmed from farmers not wanting the rail trails going through there property.
Thanks again guys. I really do appreciate the information. :D

Thanks for the information everyone! I had no idea that so much was happening there. A couple of people that I spoke with while I was back there made it sound like the mtb scene was drying up fast. Ken, do you know anything about this "making trails illegal" stuff that I heard about a while back? I think I read it on the IMBA site actually. I assumed it stemmed from farmers not wanting the rail trails going through there property.
Thanks again guys. I really do appreciate the information. :D

Yes, I know quite a bit about it, actually. I testified in front of a KS House subcommittee over House Bill 2583. HB 2583 would have allowed private land owners to bring litigation against volunteer organizations, not for profit entities and individual volunteers for not complying with their written agreements with land managers on public lands.

I think we can all agree that volunteers and volunteer organizations should follow through with their commitments. The problem with this bill is that it was so vague and generalized that a landowner could have sued an organization if a tree limb were on a trail, assuming that the agreement stated that a trail should be kept free of debris.

KS HB 2583 was aimed specifically at Rails to Trails and the volunteer organizations who maintain them. After I met with the Kansas Division of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) lawyers, they indicated in no uncertain terms that HB 2583 would and could be applied or expanded to include any type of trail maintained by volunteers. Paved city trails, singletrack and any type of trail in between.

If this bill would have passed, it would have eliminated any volunteer group association with trails in the state. The potential cost to defend against any and all litigation brought by anyone who wanted to would have made entering in to agreements to maintain trails unfeasable.

The opposition to HB 2583 was immense. Basically every outdoor group or organization and every municipality that had any sort of trail system opposed it. The problem was that the most powerful lobbying groups in the state supported it: The livestock and farming industries.

Ultimately the bill died in the Senate but we expect it to crop up again in 2005. There are a whole slew of us that are keeping our eye on it and will rally the troops should it be reintroduced in the 2005 legislative session.


This is the short version. There's more to it that I would be happy to share with you if you're <i>really</i> that interested. Most people's eyes glaze over long before this, though.

When are you moving back?

Ken

Yes, I know quite a bit about it, actually. I testified in front of a KS House subcommittee over House Bill 2583. HB 2583 would have allowed private land owners to bring litigation against volunteer organizations, not for profit entities and individual volunteers for not complying with their written agreements with land managers on public lands.

I think we can all agree that volunteers and volunteer organizations should follow through with their commitments. The problem with this bill is that it was so vague and generalized that a landowner could have sued an organization if a tree limb were on a trail, assuming that the agreement stated that a trail should be kept free of debris.

KS HB 2583 was aimed specifically at Rails to Trails and the volunteer organizations who maintain them. After I met with the Kansas Division of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) lawyers, they indicated in no uncertain terms that HB 2583 would and could be applied or expanded to include any type of trail maintained by volunteers. Paved city trails, singletrack and any type of trail in between.

If this bill would have passed, it would have eliminated any volunteer group association with trails in the state. The potential cost to defend against any and all litigation brought by anyone who wanted to would have made entering in to agreements to maintain trails unfeasable.

The opposition to HB 2583 was immense. Basically every outdoor group or organization and every municipality that had any sort of trail system opposed it. The problem was that the most powerful lobbying groups in the state supported it: The livestock and farming industries.

Ultimately the bill died in the Senate but we expect it to crop up again in 2005. There are a whole slew of us that are keeping our eye on it and will rally the troops should it be reintroduced in the 2005 legislative session.


This is the short version. There's more to it that I would be happy to share with you if you're <i>really</i> that interested. Most people's eyes glaze over long before this, though.

When are you moving back?

Ken

It will probably be 6-12 months. I will let you know if/when it happens and maybe we could ride? At the very least, I would be happy to help fight this bill however I could. Thanks again for all of the info.

Ron

It will probably be 6-12 months. I will let you know if/when it happens and maybe we could ride? At the very least, I would be happy to help fight this bill however I could. Thanks again for all of the info.

Ron

What's that? Of course. The mtb scene in Kansas is unbelievable alive and well. PIck your poison. As Patrick mentioned, there is a very strong, talented group of freeriders. Plenty of XC riders as well. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Even if you don't wind up moving back here, let me know the next time you're in town and we'll hit the trails.

Ken

What's that? Of course. The mtb scene in Kansas is unbelievable alive and well. PIck your poison. As Patrick mentioned, there is a very strong, talented group of freeriders. Plenty of XC riders as well. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Even if you don't wind up moving back here, let me know the next time you're in town and we'll hit the trails.

Ken


Sounds like a plan! I appreciate the hospitality.