Road bikes are best ridden on the road, but I know a lot of riders (particularly beginners) are intimidated by city streets. I still don't like riding in traffic. I suppose nobody does. Besides, the bike path is pretty fun, but it is limiting in that it's just not safe to pour it on and ride fast. Too many obstacles such as strollers, inattentive walkers (damn cell phones), rollerbladers and unicyclists. I'm not making that up. I once had to pass a guy on a unicycle and it he almost took me out. If you have ever seen someone riding a unicycle, you know what I mean. Plus, there is typically little or no elevation change on these manicured bike paths.
Most large cities have at least one mega park. There are several in our area. In fact, Swope Park in Kansas City, Mo., is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. I live across the state line in Johnson County, Kan., and there are a few large parks over here too. The biggest and best is Shawnee Mission Park, which is located west of Interstate 435 at about 79th Street.
Inside the park is a 4.5 mile loop that includes nearly 200 feet of climbing, including a Cat 5 climb. It's just enough climbing to get a good workout, but still be doable by just about everyone. If you want to increase your workout, just do more laps or go faster. Couldn't be more simple.
I mapped the course in case anyone wants to try it.
Map My Ride Shawnee Mission Park Loop.
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