It’s a countdown this week for a big bicycling ride that’s coming up.  We’re planning to do the 35th annual Bike Across Kansas (www.bak.org).  For someone who grew up in Kansas, there are so many parts of the state I’ve never seen or been to.   It’s strange, but I’ve explored more of my new-home state of Minnesota than I have of Kansas.  To help remedy this situation, last January we signed up to ride from the western edge of Kansas to the eastern edge — a distance of over 500 miles.  Of course, it was subzero temps and a foot of snow on the ground in January, and June seemed a long time away.  So we dreamed of sunny summer Kansas weather for about 3 months.  Once the snow melted in Minnesota we began our training in earnest.  It’s been a long time planning, but now we’re in the home stretch.  The ride begins on Saturday, June 6th in the west Kansas town of Syracuse,  and concludes 8 days later in Louisburg, at the Missouri border.  It will be a trip of great scenery, new friends, lots of pedaling, and lots of miles.  This trip will, however, be about bicycling and not about photography.  While I will have a camera with me, my main goal is to enjoy the countryside and the experience, and to not obsess about the perfect photographic opportunity and/or scene.  Check back to my blog in a couple of weeks for a report on the ride!