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Landon Nature Trail out of Topeka KS

42K views 417 replies 9 participants last post by  slakjak 
#1 ·
Anyone ride this lately? I lost track of where the trail ended and the pasture started around 89th, around mile 12 or so.
 
#228 ·
26.7 miles on Landon this morning. Strong southerly headwind on the way out. Trail covered all conditions. Dry, snowy, icy, and soft going out to 89th. Took a 10 minute water break and adjusted the seat and heading back looking forward to the wind pushing me back.

Well, everything was thawing on the way back. Got down right muddy in many places. Was like riding through wet concrete. Anything I gained from having the wind at my back was lost on trail conditions. Me and the bike are a muddy mess. Will try and get a picture of the bike before I hose it off and clean it.

Guess that is the story with most trails. Going to drive over to the Mansion Wednesday afternoon to check to see if it is dry enough to run on that night.

Daughter wants me to train with her for a half marathon in Iowa coming up some time this year. If the doctors aren't trying to kill me, she is. I might make her agree to ride to Lawrence and back with me as part of the deal. She kicks my a$$ running and I kick her's biking.
 
#229 ·
Sounds fun! I was wondering if you ended up riding today and how it went!

I'm starting to feel like myself after being sickly this weekend. Hopefully by Thurs I will want to ride again.

I gotta get my squealing front brake issue taken care of though. That's just downright annoying.

I've been thinking about getting back into running if the weather cooperates. I want to get to 200lbs by my birthday in March. I'm at 216-217 now. I think I can do it!
 
#230 ·
Well, good luck with that. Start out slow and certainly wait until you feel good. I hate running more than about anything but it serves my purpose.

the crosstrails doesn't look bad in the picture. Too bad I couldn't just throw it in the laundry basket like I did my clothes.
 

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#232 ·
Rode almost 7 miles today on Shunga Trail (Paved). The dirt trails just looked like soup. Just couldn't get a good rhythm today. I think the LBS messed with my seat. However by messing with my front caliper and adj it some more it no longer squeals. 7 miles with no squealing brake = good to me!

I think the flu kinda took some energy out of me though this weekend. I just felt kinda weak today. I played around on the skate park a little bit. Jumped off some boxes but I was afraid to drop in on the bowl yet.

Link to my ride.

Mountain Bike Ride Profile | 7miles near Topeka | Times and Records | Strava
 
#233 ·
Takes a while to get back into it after you've been out of it. I'm still working on getting back to normal speed.

Glad you got the brake quieted down. I've been trying to adjust the rear shifting on the Schwinn I ride to work. Seems I can either downshift or upshift smoothly but not both. Gives me something to mess with while I am waiting for the mud to turn to dirt again.

Just got back from checking out the mansion trails. They are muddy. Hasn't stopped some as there are quite a few tire ruts on it. Noticed a guy unloading when I was leaving.

Will be running on the Shunga tonight. Probably going to stay on the concrete myself this weekend and probably Monday with the possibility of rain tonight and tomorrow. Dirt might be mud for a time yet.
 
#235 ·
If you want a chance to ride dirt w/ the conditions like they'be been, Perry is going to be your best bet. That's a long drive out there if you find that you're going to be turned away.

Until we get some warm, windy, dry weather, I'm staying off the trails. Part of our job as people that "know better" is to be trail stewards. That entails staying of the trail when it's even borderline muddy, and it also involves keeping others off the trail when it's iffy as well. >rant over<

That said, I will likely be riding the Southern part of Ol' Lando' just to get some off-pavement fun.
 
#237 ·
Things were quite mushy south of 45th Monday. Probably still that way. The wind would kill you today.

I am going to wait a bit for things to dry up before heading out to Perry. I don't mind the drive but need to test the SJ on some local trails before I take it out of town.

I was thinking of stopping and saying something to that guy unloading his bike at the mansion when I was on the way out but he looked so pretty, I don't think he was going to get muddy. Thinking about it, if you stayed on the brown trail all the way and the rocky stuff on the west side, it would probably be ok, just not my cup of tea.

Riding and running on concrete sucks, but it is better than sitting around in the house. (Like I get to sit around in the house)
 
#241 ·
Oh I imagine! Friday evening I rode in shorts and an athletic dry fit tee! It was awesome to be able to wear that gear in Jan. However when I went home from Expo's around 2am it was stupid cold! I wanted to ride this morning but just didn't get out to do it.

Supposed to warm up at the end of the week so we'll see how it goes.
 
#242 ·
Took the SJ out for a 10 1/2 mile ride this morning to test the new shifter. Way too cold. Stayed on the civilized stuff. Shifter worked perfect and now with a little back brake adjustment, will be ready for the trails. Missed riding the thing even though it certainly isn't a road bike. Saw a couple of other diehards on the eastern part of the Shunga.

Will drive out to the Governor's place sometime Wednesday to see if we can run on it that night.
 
#246 ·
I rode Dornwood this morning. It was mostly frozen. With a little bit of mud on the freshly cut trails. I had the bike come out from under me on the West side bank of the creek. Smacked my hip pretty good. It didn't hurt then but it sure hurts now. I'm sure i'll have a good bruise later.

I love those drop in's on Dornwood I rode them 2-3 times in a row. Even rode ol' rooty twice! (Expo will know what I'm talking about!)

I'm gonna ride tomorrow. I'd be up for another Night Ride Friday if it stays 50ish like it did last Friday.
 
#247 ·
Rode the Mansion today. It was a little sticky and some places and dusty in others. I crossed the road after riding the skills area down by the railroad track. Then tried to ride up the west side that was made for DH. I ended up walking the bike up that trail. Then i made it to some pea gravel with really wide bridges and such. Rode 4.5ish miles and burned all sorts of calories.

I think today my nickname should have been Sir-Crash-Alot. I just couldn't get my lines and my tires kept slipping and the bike kept coming out from under me. I let some air out of the front and rear tire but I don't think that helped much. I almost let too much out of the rear. When i started riding I thought for sure I was gonna get a pinch flat.

What are you guys running for a rear tire? I've about had it with this Kenda no model I got.

It also seems like my clipless pedals tend to make me crash more than when I rode flats. I still gotta get used to getting clipped in yet. I haven't mastered that yet...

Ok enough of my Rants. I'm planning on riding tomorrow. Not sure where. Jack if you wanna ride in the morning hit me up. You have my number.

Link to my ride.

Mountain Bike Ride Profile | Gov. Mansion Solo Ride 01/17/2013 near Topeka | Times and Records | Strava
 
#248 ·
Spent a lot of time on the ground at the Mansion. Even fall down running it sometimes. It's the nature of the beast and it requires a lot of time on it. Every once in a while, I will get a near perfect run around the place that makes it all worthwhile.

The west side of the road requires a lot of wheaties! There are many people that treat it as a downhill course. I don't know what is worse; riding up or riding down widowmaker. Somedays, I do a lot of walking over there, others I can ride it.

When I crash the most there, it is because I am only looking 1 1/2 to 2 feet ahead instead of the 6 or 8 feet ahead I need to be looking at. If you look at some of those bad roots, you are going to smack them for sure.

I have to run in the morning. If I got anything left afterwards, will give you a call. Sounds like you could use a dose of LRT, something fast and furious. If I can't hack it tomorrow, will switch up my ride days next week. Sounds like it will be too cold to do my regular Monday ride so maybe can catch some trail next Thursday or Friday. Don't know if I will be able to do my regular Mansion this Sunday a.m. due to possible other plans.

In other words, don't worry about falling down at the Mansion. As long as you don't have to crawl down one of those gullies to retrieve your bike, you probably had a good day. And you are certainly right about burning calories there.
 
#250 ·
Oh I rode the S*** out of my rear brake. Leaves and a few muddy spots made it kinda slippery. It seems like sometimes my bike just won't go where i point it. I get off the beaten path sometimes and I bite it. I haven't had much saddle time on this bike so it will take me some time to learn how it handles I guess.

Strava says says I've put 46ish miles on it so far. Ya sure if you want to do LRT tomorrow let me know. I'm totally game! I think i'm gonna go give my bike a bath in a bit. Is this photo Widowmaker? If so I see why they chose the name. It'd be a heck of a DH ride. I couldn't stay pedaling going up it. I only got about half way before I had to walk it.
 

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