Registration is open for the 43rd annual bicycle trek across the State of Kansas, the Biking Across Kansas Tour.

Biking Across Kansas is an annual, eight-day, bicycle tour across the state of Kansas. It promotes health and wellness through bicycling, the history and beauty of the Kansas landscape, and the warm hospitality of the Kansas towns and people. Biking Across Kansas, or BAK, started in 1975 with fewer than 100 hundred riders. Forty-two years later the tour is now capped annually at 900 participants.

The 43rd year of the largest bicycling event in Kansas history—a 513-mile ride across the State—begins on Saturday, June 10th. The eight-day tour will start at the Kansas-Colorado line west of Tribune. Overnight stops will be in Dighton, WaKeeney, Plainville, Lincoln, Chapman, Rossville, and Tonganoxie. The cyclists’ final night together will be in Tonganoxie on Friday, June 16th. The following morning they will cycle to the banks of the Missouri River and celebrate the end of the ride in Leavenworth.

The tour is also routed through: Scott City, Ness City, Hill City, Lucas, Abilene, Junction City, Manhattan, Oskaloosa, and many more Kansas towns.

“The 2017 route offers BAK bicyclists a memorable tour of quintessential Kansas landscapes. Starting in the High Plains of Western Kansas, participants will enjoy easy pedaling along K-18 through the green valleys of the Saline and Smoky Hill rivers, the rolling Flint Hills and the scenic byways leading to the Missouri River at Leavenworth. Some of the highlights include the Garden of Eden in Lucas, the Eisenhower museum in Abilene and the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan,” said David Rohr, Chairman of Biking Across Kansas, Inc.

Riders will range in age from eight to 85 years old. Multiple generation families are expected again this year. Many riders will be from Kansas, but entries will also represent as many as 30 states, including as far away as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, New Mexico, Washington, and California. In addition, participants are anticipated from countries outside the United States.

The main goals of Biking Across Kansas are to promote wellness through bicycling, celebrate Kansas history and the beauty of its landscape, and enjoy the warm hospitality of its towns and people.

For more information on Biking Across Kansas 2017 or to register visit www.bak.org.