4.9.2011 Ride: Lee's Summit Day Two

Today's ride was another early one.  I met Pat downstairs at 6:30, we had some free hotel breakfast fare and pushed off by 7:00.  Today's photos actually include some that I took yesterday on my evening ride to downtown Lee's Summit.  Such as the sign below when coming into the city.  This sign reminded me of my Georgia trip when I rode through a small farming community town in what felt like the middle of nowhere, Sledge, Mississippi.  That turned out to be the home of Charley Pride.

It was still a bit on the cool side when Pat and I started as well as a bit damp from the night's thunderstorm.  The route that I had picked out ended up taking us along a road that was closed.  Thinking that it might still be open for bicyclists, we ventured forth for a mile and half to discover the road to be all torn up.  No problem, except we didn't realize that the pavement leading up to the construction was coated with a fine layer of mud which became a thick coating of mud on our tires, especially after the rain.  But, we did catch a pretty sunrise going down that road.

One of the things that I came across on my ride last evening, was a very large round water tank.  Riding by it and seeing its mammoth body against the sky was very striking. 

Back to the ride this morning.  We finally found the road that led around Lake Jacomo with the mist rising off the water making for a very picturesque scene.  Because of the humidity, my glasses would fog up as we pedaled uphill and then as we descended, the wind would clear them up.  At one point we spotted a lone turkey.  But, then, shortly after, we came across a rafter of turkeys trying to out strut one another. They were too busy looking pretty to notice me sneak up to take their picture.

I had forgotten to take the directions, so I tried to remember the route, missing a turn at one point and turning the wrong way another time.  It all worked out fine.  If we hadn't taken a wrong turn, we would have missed this small house with what seemed to be a disproportionately large fireplace.  My guess is that it may have been a smokehouse at one time.

And back to yesterday's ride.  I couldn't decide between two shots I took of the water tank. The one above emphasizes the sky while the one below draws more attention to the tank.  I like both of them equally so decided to include them both.

Despite the mud and getting lost, Pat and I had a great outing. Alas, the girls lost their other two games today, but, tomorrow is another day.

Below is a short history of how Lee's Summit got it's name per Wikipedia.


Originally, Lee's Summit was called Town of Strother.  In 1865 the town changed its name for early settler Dr. Pleasant John Graves Lea.  Dr. Lea was killed in August 1862 by Kansas Jayhawkers (or Redlegs).
When the surveyors for the Missouri Pacific Railroad came through, the local people and the railroad wanted to name the town in Dr. Lea's honor. He had a farm on the highest point and near the path of the tracks, and his murder had taken place near the site of the proposed depot. So they chose the name of "Lea's Summit", the "summit" portion to reflect its relatively highest elevation on the Missouri Pacific Railroad between St. Louis and Kansas City.  But they misspelled the name "Lees Summit."

Today's Ride:  2hrs. 16mins.  24.87 miles.  58-70 degrees  Miles YTD: 1,830.43