Biking Across Kansas retuning to Holton
Bicycle enthusiasts from across Kansas and the region will hit the road on their bikes for the 50th-annual Biking Across Kansas (BAK) event this June, and Holton will once again be the site of an overnight stop in this year’s event.
BAK officials announced Saturday, Jan. 20 that this year’s event, an eight-day, 489-mile bicycle ride from the Kansas-Colorado state line near Tribune to the Kansas-Missouri state line at Atchison, will feature Holton as the ride’s final overnight stop — the fifth time the city has been featured on the tour in its 50-year history — on Friday, June 14. Holton has also hosted BAK riders in 1981, 1997, 2002 and 2019.
Registration for this year’s event will open on Monday, Jan. 29 — Kansas Day — and BAK organizers are looking for anywhere from 400 to 700 cyclists for this year’s ride, starting on Friday, June 7 and ending on Saturday, June 15 at the Missouri River in Atchison. In addition to Holton, overnight stops are planned in Tribune, Scott City, Ness City, Hoisington, Lincoln, Concordia and Frankfort, it was reported.
Bryan Toben, executive director of BAK, said he was looking forward to the tour’s visit to Holton, noting that he had visited with the 2019 tour and that he and ride participants were pleased with the reception of the community, prompting organizers of this year’s ride to want to pay another visit.
“Holton is a beautiful community, and the end-of-the-ride celebration is very important to the community of riders, participants and volunteers,” Toben said. “Holton just absolutely knocked it out of the park in 2019.”
BAK, the second-longest running statewide bicycle tour in the country, promotes health and wellness through bicycling, the history and beauty of the state of Kansas and the hospitality of Kansas towns and people, it was reported.
BAK Board President David Rohr said the 2024 event will mark “an amazing half-century” of the statewide bicycle tour.
“As we pedal into our 50th year, we want to invite new and veteran BAK cyclists to help us celebrate this milestone,” Rohr said. “Whether you crossed Kansas with us 50 years ago, last year, or sometime in the decades in between, we welcome you back to ride in 2024. Participants will enjoy the fun of traveling with this friendly community of bicyclists, taking in the beauty of the Kansas landscape and experiencing the warm hospitality of the Kansas towns and people.”
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