Yesterday was pretty nice. It was approaching 80 degrees, which is about 20 degrees above the normal high of 58. Even 58 seems like it is high for February. I guess that winter is sort of winding down.
Most my gang here in Topeka is sick-ish. Bill, Catherine, my brother Kris, all feel bad. Bill has been sick on and off for nearly a month I think. Catherine just for a day, so maybe it is just the flu and she’ll be feeling better by the weekend.
I’ve been feeling off for a while too. Kind of the same thing as Bill has. TIght chest, mucus in my throat, etc. But not sick enough to skip riding when it is so nice out.
So I got on my bike and rode gravel over to Lawrence. That is pretty much my favorite ride around Topeka, so I try to do it sort of often. It was a little windy and I was riding solo, so a little shelter on gravel is always good.
I stopped for coffee in Lawrence. The students were sitting outside in shorts. I liked that.
KU basketball had a milestone yesterday by winning the 13th straight Big 12 title in a row. Pretty incredible streak. They are ranked 3rd in the country now, but need to improve a tad still if they want to play a bunch of games in March. They still have nearly a month before the Big Dance, so it should be fine.
Today it is supposed to rain a little this morning, then heat up to the upper 60’s. Tomorrow it is going to be a high in the 30’s. Then a couple days of mid 50’s, then the 60’s and 70’s again. Not bad weather.
Here are some photos from yesterday.
The view along the river is nice. It is hilly on and off.
Lots of the road has Hedge trees, which is super hard wood that was planted to protect and divide the fields.
Lots of the road yesterday was smoother than cement.
KU students at Starbucks in Lawrence.
This is a memorial right near where the road turns gravel. I saw this boy, riding his three-wheeler, just a couple days before his accident. So sad.
I like this barn.
And this one, even though it has concrete blocks.
There are lots of these in Eastern Kansas.
My favorite house on the River Road.
A really old stone building on the Santa Fe property in Topeka.
A railroad bridge, coming back into Topeka.
Frank Mason wearing the Championship T-Shirt last night.
Tucker was a little bit crazy this morning.
In Chicagoland, we haven’t had measureable snow since Mid December. Today will hit the mid 50’s, with rain after 3:00. Tomorrow, cold and rain.
Steve,
I really enjoy the commentary and photos! It is nice to be able to relate them to your adventures.
Ditto – I really enjoyed all the photos
“KU needs to improve a little.” And stop having players get arrested. Another one this morning.
I like that barn too. A lot.
I thought 3 wheeler ATVs went the way of Lawn Darts a long time ago.
Ralph-I thought the same thing when those kids drove by. There are obviously very unstable and dangerous. As Justin found out the worst way possible.
Rod-Arresting a kid on his birthday for an expired tag violation? It wasn’t his car. Says a lot about our society.
http://m.kusports.com/news/2017/feb/23/ku-mens-basketball-player-arrested-after-teams-big/?templates=mobile
that house is amazing. there are more than a few former Underground Railroad houses in the area, from what I recall.
Brother Steve, Thanx For All The Photos!!
Cheers
In Kansas City I see that the winter weather is now one extreme or the other. In 2012-13 we had about 40 inches of snow and some very cold temperatures. The last two winters it is less than three inches total, much more mild temperatures. The past two Februaries have been more like late March or early April. I was explaining to my new neighbors what normal temperatues were but had to end with there is no normal anymore.
A lightly traveled gravel road and this little boy got hit and died? Holy crap! This sucks . Any news on this accident?
Mike-He didn’t get hit. I think he just rolled it on a small off-camber section. Those three-wheelers are so dangerous. I’ve ridden a true tricycle, a Colnago, way back, and it was nearly impossible to corner because the rear inside wheel didn’t allow the bicycle to lean. I always feel bad when I ride by his shrine. He had lots of real friends that miss him.
That’s horrible about Justin. That Frank Mason is an incredible athlete. I bet he could ride the heck out of a bicycle if he wanted.
Well its a blowin bout 40mph here in Land of “Entrapment” Enchantment thus you can haul ass tomorrow on some normal Kansas Tailwind like 50mph?! Have somebody pick you up in Mizzou somewhere! Great Barn Fotos! Test those basketball players for LA LA Juice haha!
Hey Steve, it’s the LAW. Laws are to be enforced…or removed from the books. This picking and choosing as to which laws will be enforced or who they apply to has to stop.
I spent a night in jail once when I was about his age. Similar violation. Lesson learned. No pity here.
finally winter is nearing hopefully… way up at the 49th parallel, the snow is slowly melting as its 10oC today (50oF)… its been a hell of a winter with over 50cm of snow just last week and it went down to -30oC which is brutal, so no snow biking for the past week. But, now the temps are perfect in the morning (near 0oC) which means the snowshoe trails are bone hard… great fun!
Hate spring though, it brings rain and mud. Love summer!
as for that old barn, tear it down the wood is worth 7 bucks a sqft… I’ve used a lot of old barn wood in my corridor and next up kitchen…
bring summer! can’t wait for summer – bike, beach, bike…
Old 3 wheelers are around in abundance and will remain in circulation for those who like them. They can be somewhat more unstable than a 2 wheeler or 4 wheeler, but you gotta ride like you want to ride as always.
Can we all stop using the phrase “The Big Dance” please?
darkcloud-I agree it is probably a law. But, not, it isn’t time to enforce all the laws and have no leeway. I can give you a ton of examples where that should be the course. You know them too. Arresting a college student for an expired license tag, after a basketball game, is ludicrous. That isn’t the way our police should perform. Just go to practice and talk to the coach. That would have done it.
ok.. I thought it was a small boy on a tricycle.. sad no matter who or how… sad….
There is a correction at the end of the article, circumstances surrounding arrest are unclear or something like that
Steve, I was the lone white guy in a huge holding cell surrounded by latinos. In the middle of the cell was a toilet. No privacy.
It left an impact on me. Lol
The River Road photos make me homesick. That was always one of my favorite stretches of gravel around Lawrence. That, too, is my favorite house along the river road.
The first time I rode the flat section along the tracks must have before they started regular maintenance; it had rained heavy the night before and the road was a virtual quagmire — some spring in the early 90s.
Of course Steve thinks the KU player should have been shown some “leeway”, KU basketball fans think the same thing is true about referees calling fouls on their players.