Chris Conk, wife Julie Grenier and their children, Leo and Charlotte, rolled into Iola, wet and weary, on board their bicycles about 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Little did the Canadian visitors know, they’d be donning costumes less than two hours later, as the guests of honor at a local Halloween party. Julie was Cleopatra, Chris a pharaoh.
“We introduced ourselves as cyclists,” Chris laughed. “They asked, ‘You ride wearing that?’”
Yes, it was quite an introduction to Iola and Allen County for the intrepid travelers.
The cyclists left Iola Sunday, as they continued their journey from Montreal en route to Panama City, a total 6,700 miles. Iola is about one-third of the way.
The trip began June 28, and could take as much as a calendar year, Chris said.
Why such a long route?
“It’s the end of the road,” Chris explained. “That’s as far as we can go.”
The Pan-American Highway goes from Alaska to Argentina, but it gets cut off in the Darien Gap, a dense jungle area surrounding the Panama Canal. (It starts back up south of the Canal in Colombia.)
Conk figured it was a natural stopping point — for now.
THE FAMILY of self-described “adventure cyclists” has done similar excursions in the past — going 1,200 miles as a family, while Chris has done a 5,000-mile trek solo — but never this long with all four family members aboard their own bikes.
Daughter Charlotte, 8, had been riding with her father on a tandem bicycle, but began complaining about 1,500 miles into the trip that she didn’t get to ride on her own.
“It took some mental gymnastics,” Chris said. “Do we want to bicycle with an 8-year-old sharing a road with drivers? But she showed the drive to do it, and it’s gone great.”
The foursome has since ridden about 600 miles with few troubles aside from an occasional flat tire.
“It’s not a challenge,” Chris said. “It’s been almost the opposite. We’ve been fortunate to run into good luck.”
While staying the weekend with Iolans David and Beth Toland, the family was treated to a number of Iola’s points of interest, including a trip to King’s Sandwich Shop, visits to Riverside Park and other highlights.
But more importantly, they met several locals, which tended to overshadow tourist-related points of interest.
”It’s become a people-interaction trip more than a trip to see attractions,” Chris said.
Conk echoed other cyclists in praising the Prairie Spirit Trail, which the family rode along Friday to get to Iola from Garnett.
“That’s what we look for when we use Google Maps,” Chris said. “We look for sections with a green route (marking rail trails). We just drool over this. Rails to trails is probably one of the greatest things on earth.”
He was equally as effusive in praising Iola’s appeal.
“When we get chances to share our experiences, Iola is going to be on the tips of our tongues,” he said.
“We won’t forget Iola,” Julie added. “It’s going to be one of our top cities.”
Iolans can keep track of the family’s progress by searching for “bicycling family” on Facebook.
“We have a website, too, that we barely touch it,” Chris laughed.
THE FAMILY will have some choices to make when their excursion ends.
They sold their house in Quebec, partially to fund their trip, and partially because they want to take stock in their lifestyle before they return home.
“We’re looking into an adventure into sustainable living,” Chris said. “We don’t need to buy a big home. We want to purchase something that’s reasonable to maintain. We’re looking into living an alternative lifestyle, where we’re not just consuming with a 1,000 square feet house.
“Who needs 1,000 square feet?” he asked. “We’ve been living in our tent, which is 4×6. Anything bigger than that will feel spacious.
Conk, Grenier and childrendiscovered the Tolands via “Warm Showers,” an online network that sets up potential hosts for cross-country bicyclists looking for temporary lodging. (Asn an aside, David Toland said the weekend visit illustrates why Iola should develop a campground area for bicyclists near the Southwind Trailhead at Riverside Park.)
Through the network, the family connected with Iola cycling enthusiast Randy Rasa, who put them in touch with the Tolands.
The couples’ children — Leo is 11; Charlotte 8, similar ages to the Toland children — bonded instantly, spending much of Saturday sauntering about while their parents visited.
“We definitely have free range children,” Chris said.
“This was a really good weekend for them to visit,” David Toland said. “We just happened to have this party when they arrived, and they met half the town there. With all of this (Halloween activity) going on in this neighborhood, I feel like our community showed very well.”
