Biking it

My son, Mitch, and I decided to take a bike ride this weekend - not as a way to fight back against high gas prices, but just to enjoy some nice afternoon free time. Well, I say it like we decided to go for a bike ride, and that's not quite right. My son decided we should go for a bike ride, and he persuaded my by pulling my bike out of the shed and placing it in front of the back door, where I would see it as I was preparing to do something else.
In recent years there has been talk of extending the bike trail around Hutchinson, so that a person on a bicycle could make his or her way anywhere from the west edge of town to the Dillon Nature Center on the east side, without the dangers of riding down a busy street. I really hope this happens. Mitch and I discovered how nice a trail connected to business areas can be. From our home we rode a few blocks to the Martinez trail at 11th Ave. We followed it to Carey Park and then took the Frank Hart crossing, which offers a protected cross way for walkers and bikers, into South Hutchinson. Once over the bridge, followed the new South Hutchinson trail all the way to McDonalds near the K-61/K-96 interchange. We chained our bikes together - there wasn't a bike rack anywhere - and went in to eat some lunch. While we were there, we picked up a couple movies at the Red Box machine and tossed them into Mitch's backpack. Then we headed back to town, following the same route. The only snag was a flat tire on Mitch's bike that forced us to walk part of the way.
It was a good ride, didn't take too long and was quite fun. I think Mitch and I are going to do this regularly.
A trail that could take us to Dillon Nature Center or to shopping on 30th or 17th would be a great addition to Hutchinson's trail system. Unless that happens, I don't think it's likely people will stop driving and ride their bikes instead for small shopping trips. Hutchinson roadways aren't the most biker friendly streets, particularly the busier streets like Monroe, Adams and Main. Plus, there should be more bike racks - Mitch and I had to lean our bikes against the Kwik Shop building because we couldn't find a better place to put them.