Vacation Bike Study

Steal my bike, I dare ya...

Lawrence is a bike friendly town I'd say. Nobody wears a helmet and people are riding bikes older than Big Sexy--mostly beat up campus bikes--so I seem to fit right in except I've got a helmet on and I use hand signals. So here's an afternoon of running errands and where Little Egypt works, as of January. I've brought up her bike from Tucson so she can start to commute to work--which is just a mile from the little house she and my son Rico have rented.

I've stopped in the Starbucks to get some coffee beans to take home. And then I went to pay a utility bill among other errands.

Lawrence has sections of streets that are still brick in some neighborhoods.

The bike path.

An old railroad line was turned into a bike path and it runs about the length of the city of Lawrence. A few blocks away from the house, I can catch the path and head to the campus of Haskell Native Nations University, where Little Egypt is on the faculty.

This will take me right to Haskell.

Some of the old tracks remain--just a few hundred yards from what I saw.

I met a local bike collector, Russ Williams on the bike path. He had just finished restoring this 1948 Schwinn. He told me he has fourteen of these bikes in his collection. He said that my 1984 Raleigh Marathon was a great bike and looked in good condition. He said that there were a lot of bike collectors in Lawrence and he knew someone would want to buy it, if for sale.

Past an old grain elevator, or silo, which ever you want to call it.

Busy over pass.

The bike path ends about here at Haskell University about this over pass at 23rd Street, which is a busy street for sure!

On the bike path.

Lots of sunflowers along the tracks.

On the Haskell campus.

Haskell was founded in 1884 for Indian children. Its about where the wetlands start and the old train tracks end. Mostly it's still wetlands and swamp. Haskell's gone from an industrial arts education school, to a four-year university.

Some of the remaining farmland from the old days--baseball and football practice fields now.

Old Haskell farmland and hay fields, still cut by the students and probably sold to local ranchers.

The Federal Employees that worked at Haskell stole most of the money, rations, and medicine budgeted for the school. The first years many of the students died due to poor housing and malnutrition. Good people prevailed and saw that the school received the proper staff and Haskell students soon excelled in sports and academics.

On historic Mass Ave in Downtown Lawrence.

Big Sexy

Callie has enjoyed everyone being together, if just for a little while. She's glad I'm home as now it's time for her walk. We've been exploring the old neighborhoods in the cool late evenings.

Cheers! Bruce