Friday


Director's Report

Today was my birthday and everywhere I stopped I had to listen to those that were in attendance sing "Happy Birthday" I am very fortunate to have so many friends sing to me each birthday. No I am not telling how old I am! I had really nice BAK breakfast in Onaga served Sr. Class Parents. Scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy along with a coffee cake, juice and coffee. Really good. Shortly after leaving Onaga, about 10 miles, I stopped at Bucks Grove Church where the ladies served sloppy joe's, sandwiches, cake, pies and coffee and tea all for an free will offering. It seemed that they collected a lot of money. And you can be assured that my piece of apricot pie with REAL pie crust was one of the highlights of my day.

Shortly after leaving Bucks Grove we were stopped not once but twice for road construction. The cars had to wait for the pilot car but the bicyclists just road through. Not too bad. Then I received a call from Gaylen at about 9:05 and he was wondering when I would arrive at the M&M stop. So I had to hurry and miss those things in Holton that I had planned to visit. When I arrived at the M&M stop they already had a few bikers that had been by. We kept that stop open until after 4:00 to be assured that all the bikers had a bag of M&M's.

Tonight is the last meeting and we will announce the Spirit Award Winners for this year. This year it is a tough decision so many that have the BAK spirit. This last meeting is also sort of sad because we know that tommorow all of us will return to our normal lives and maybe not see each other until next year. There are many long faces. I will write a final wrapup later this week.

Norma Christie 's Report

I started my day today at St Marys doing one of my favorite things - eating - and not only that, I was eating breakfast with a lot of my friends. The Youth Group of the United Methodist Church in St Marys served a 5-star breakfast - including homemade cinnamon rolls that were wonderful. Our oldest son, Doug, joined BAK last night in Wamego and will participate in the rest of the ride. Joyce Kurtz, a rider from Lindsborg, was enjoying BAK to the fullest, when a rider in front of her decided to tackle a hill again that he had just mastered, and turned in front of Joyce. Joyce went down and suffered some abrasions, and damage to her helmet. An ambulance took her to the hospital, checked her out and released her - no broken bones or head injuries, but the doctor warned her she would be very sore. So what did she do but climb back on her bicycle to finish the ride. I have no doubt she will come out a winner. The end of BAK 98 is drawing near - and it will be both a happy time and a sad time. A happy time because so many people made new friends, saw friends made on previous BAKs, and enjoyed Biking Across Kansas. The sad time comes when one has to say goodbye to both new and past friends, but with hope that the friendships will not be lost.

BAK Photo Gallery
Photos from today's ride.