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Bike Across Kansas participants battle pouring rain to achieve goal
new kl BAK
Curtis Waite of Leavenworth, 69, rode the entire route from Spearville to Ellinwood on Monday during the downpour at his fifth Bike Across Kansas trip. There are 900 riders this year, ranging in age from six to 88, coming from as far away as Australia to ride. Quite a few came from California, Colorado and Texas, as well as from Kansas. - photo by KAREN LA PIERRE

LLINWOOD — Bike Across Kansas became an Extreme Sport on Monday when participants faced four inches of pouring rain that some said felt like hail scouring the face, semi’s blasting water from both lanes of traffic, slippery railroad tracks, falls, cold, and head winds, all to be able to say, “I did it.”
BAK usually means searing heat and winds and in the best of circumstances, is not for the faint of heart as bikers ride across the state in a week. This year, total mileage was 555.
For those that rode the entire 80 mile Spearville to Ellinwood route Monday, they arrived with blood shot eyes and standing upright, but some shivering with cold near hypothermia.  However, most were still smiling as they spoke about the day.
“It was rough,” admitted Carl Davis of Wichita. “I’m glad there wasn’t thunder (and lightening). There were times I couldn’t see.” Even with glasses, his eyes were stinging.
“It was cold, wet, life changing,” said Dace Winkelman of Lawrence who rode the whole route. “You’re on your own by yourself. You find the grit and just go.
“You have to find it within,” he said. “I wanted to give up so many times.”
The railroad tracks near Larned held special danger, and several riders fell on the tracks. Help eventually arrived in the form of a plywood bridge. Riders said they had to ride at an angle to stay upright as the day progressed.
Others reported falling. One rider dislocated a shoulder and a few were treated at the hospital.
The Ellinwood School District stepped up and offered all of the riders’ places indoors to sleep in the gyms, hallways and a few classrooms. The district also sent a school bus to pick up riders who had enough and were sheltering in restaurants and businesses in Great Bend. More than 200 riders were picked up overall.
Patty Robben of Salina, who drove a Support and Gear vehicle, picked up eight riders, the most she had ever picked up in the ten years she had been driving a SAG vehicle for her husband, a ten year veteran of BAK.
Yet in the afternoon, the barbershop quartet that formed among riders who become like family, stopped at Woodhaven Nursing Home in Ellinwood to perform and meet with the residents.
“The majority at least started the day,” said Sherry McKee, BAK route director.
Still, at the evening meeting and after warming up and eating, the bikers were optimistic about the next day.
“You’ll all have a BAK story to tell,” said one of the sponsors. “You all have an incredible spirit of adventure.”