RideForum.NET

Newbie here, and to the area.
I will be moving to either Olathe or Gardner KS next month for a new job. Hopefully before it gets too cold I'd like to find some folks that ride in or around this area to show me around.
Coming from Hot Springs, AR, there are tons of places to ride gravel, etc. I have no idea of any place to ride off road in the KC area.

Thanks everyone!

Jason

2003 KLR 650

You came to the right web site for information! There are others that will chime in as well. Welcome!

Several rides originate in the KC area and head out from there. Some ride down to Arkansas. There are also rides out of Lawrence and Manhattan. Watch for posts on those rides. Jim Letellier at Letko Cycles in Shawnee has set up and run several rides. You can contact him and discuss some of the trails he has taken.

Troy, the site admin, is a total basket case for DS rides and will drop everything but his pants to take one with anyone so contact him as well. (Well, perhaps he will drop his pants. He's a bit weird.)

The more hard core riders, and I fall in that category, can show you some good off road riding. It would be a workout with the KLR 650, though.

Stay tuned....

Stu

Good to hear. I am a fanatic when it comes to riding. I love to pack up the bike and camp. When the sun drops, I like my beer too.
Have a couple of friends that will meet us in the ozarks.

Stu wrote:You came to the right web site for information! There are others that will chime in as well. Welcome!

Several rides originate in the KC area and head out from there. Some ride down to Arkansas. There are also rides out of Lawrence and Manhattan. Watch for posts on those rides. Jim Letellier at Letko Cycles in Shawnee has set up and run several rides. You can contact him and discuss some of the trails he has taken.

Troy, the site admin, is a total basket case for DS rides and will drop everything but his pants to take one with anyone so contact him as well. (Well, perhaps he will drop his pants. He's a bit weird.)

The more hard core riders, and I fall in that category, can show you some good off road riding. It would be a workout with the KLR 650, though.

Stay tuned....

Stu

Welcome, Jason!

And now the bad news....um...we all go to Arkansas to ride! Seriously, I (we) love Kansas and there are lots of places to ride that have their unique beauty, but relative to Arkansas, it kinda sucks around here for riding!

Oct 9 offers this ride
http://www.rideforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1127

It's one of the longest days in the saddle we do around here. It's one the boys run a fast pace on, but if you are comfortable riding Arkansas forest roads with the KLR, you'll have NO PROBLEM. I had a 2003 KLR650 for a couple years--great machine.

My main flavor of riding is tight woods on my KTM 450 EXC, but I also try to put the miles in on my Vstrom 650.

The Kansas Flint Hills cover a large part of the state and offer rugged and remote gravel roads.

Another great place to find Kansas dualsport rides is backroadstouring.org, but the site is off-the-air right now...hmmm...hopefully just a temporary issue.
http://www.backroadstouring.org/kansas/

Arkansas rocks for riding! Unfortunately I'm starting my job on oct 11th. Will have to miss that one, but would love to contact you guys for a ride somewhere afterwards.

Sounds like you are the kind of guy who does not mind putting on the miles in a day and is comfortable camping off the bike. With that attitude, you'll find plenty of good riding. Last year, I packed the camping gear on my Vstrom and did a couple solo weekends into Arkansas camping along the way.

No doubt you'll run into Eddie on his BMW 1200 GS Adventure. He goes by ajayhawkfan here on the forum. Eddie is a blast to ride with because he always has a great attitude and knows so much about the history of things like Civil War battles, river towns, etc.

You probably already know about AdvRider, but I should also have mentioned earlier, about AdvRider. The Central Region forums including some KC area focused one are found at http://advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=27