T2 D6 April 23 – Flexibility in Marysville, KS

Mother Nature changed our plans for this morning! We had planned on driving to Marysville to ride the Blue River Rail Trail to the Nebraska state line, but it was raining and the Kansas winds continued to be strong. The weather radar indicated the rain would be out of the area by mid-day, so, we decided to visit the Flint Hills Discovery Center in the morning and do our ride in the afternoon.

Located in east-central Kansas, the Flint Hills is one of the largest tallgrass prairies left in the world. The prairie continues into northern Oklahoma where it is known as the Osage Hills. The prairie is marked with few trees, wildflowers, and many species of grass. The big bluestem grass can grow as tall as 10 ft. Pioneers used to talk about riding through grasses that were at eye level! Large wild herds of bison (commonly called buffalo) once roamed the plains. Look at our photo gallery for more of the things we learned at the Discovery Center.

After the Discovery Center we ate lunch and headed north to Marysville to complete our 50 miles in Kansas.

The drive to Marysville was rather challenging because of the high winds. Sue was also getting concerned because of the dark clouds in the sky.

The first place we went when we arrived in Marysville was the Backroads Bicycle bike shop Brock Corby had recommended to get more specific directions to the Blue River Rail Trail trailhead. Interestingly, the streets of Marysville were ghostly quiet!

In fact, we found the bike shop closed in spite of the sign on the door saying the shop was open until 5:00 pm on Saturdays. As we were unloading our bikes and getting ready to look for the trailhead, Mark Hoffman, the shop owner, walked up to us and asked if he could help us.

After he had given us specific directions to the trailhead, he asked how we found out about his bike shop. Bill told him a friend who lived in Senaca, KS had recommended his shop. Mark said, “Oh, you mean Brock?” Small town America!! The heartbeat of our great country!!

With high hopes of a fun ride in rural Kansas, we started down the Blue River Trail, high wind and all.

Sue had to make several stops because the battery on her bike kept popping out of its socket. After we thought we had finally solved the battery popping out problem, Bill continued down the trail while Sue rode more slowly becaues of the somewhat unstable nature of the crushed stone surface and the high cross winds. At this point we had the 25+ mph winds at our backs. As Bill approached a bridge he turned to give some instruction to Sue about slowing before starting across the bridge, she was no where to be found. Bill turned around and headed back to find her and was hit with really strong head winds that made negotiating the crushed stone surface really difficult, especially with the serious lack of experience on this type surface in the high wind conditions. Bill immediately determined we should not be riding this trail on this particular day!! We went back in to town and decided we would ride the “silent” yet paved streets of Marysville. Marysville; a town of about 3300 people, covers a total area of 4.6 square miles. Many of the streets are made of red brick and there were several steep hills to climb (almost 1000 ft of ascent over the 20 miles we rode). It was mid-afternoon on Saturday, most of the businesses were already closed, and there were few people “out and about.” Marysville is known as the “Black Squirrel City” due to an isolated community of all-black squirrels that live there. The squirrels are said to be the result of escapees from a traveling circus.

We had fun looking for the 34 squirrel statues that are placed throughout the town.

Other “Norman Rockwell” images of “Small Town America” we saw included kids playing catch in their frontyard, a red & white striped barber pole outside the barber shop, train cars parked on the tracks running through town, mothers pushing their babies on the park swings, and people working in their yards. It must have been prom night because we watched couples, dressed to the nines, gather in the park for photographs. It appeared the whole community was there snapping pictures. Later, as we were leaving town, we saw the prom-goers riding to a restaurant on the flatbed of an 18 wheeler. We decided that must be the small town equivalent of taking a limo to the prom.

By the time we finished our 20 mile “Marysville tour,” the empty streets were coming alive as residents headed out to dinner at WagonWheel, New China Buffet, Penny’s Diner or Bite-Me Barbecue.

We really enjoyed our ride in Marysville! It was a day that reminded us of the diversity of America, the importance of community and the beauty of simplicity.