Lawrence cyclist aims to break record crossing Kansas from west to east

Ashton Lambie

Thursday morning, hopefully with no rain and a good back wind, Ashton Lambie will hop on his Specialized bicycle and race across the state of Kansas faster than anybody has done before.

The idea came to Lambie several months ago, when he stumbled upon the Ultra-Marathon Cycling Association’s (UMCA) cross-state records and noticed that the west-east record for Kansas looked beatable, he said.

The current record for the 417-mile trip, 29 hours and 52 minutes, was set by Tim Parks of McPherson in July 1993. Lambie said he hopes to make the trip in 24 or 25 hours, with an average speed of 17 to 18 miles per hour.

“We’ll maybe take a 10-minute stop every few hours, but even then it’s still riding for like 22 hours,” he said. “I’ll have a car behind me the whole time, and they’ll have food and water handouts, so that will help, too.”

Ashton Lambie

Lambie said he’s been training for the expedition for the past two months, riding anywhere from 150 to 400 miles per week.

At Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop, 804 Massachusetts St., where Lambie has worked for the past 10 months, they call him “Nebraska Tree Trunks,” because he came to Lawrence from Lincoln, Neb., and because his leg muscles resemble, well, the trunks of trees, said Dan Hughes, the shop’s owner.

Hughes said Lambie’s mission won’t be easy, but the two recently rode together and he should be fit and ready for the attempt.

“It’s going to be flat-ish on the western edge, but it’s going to be getting hilly approaching the Missouri border. It’s a daunting challenge, but I think he can do it.”

Keeping an eye on the weather radar, Lambie said, he’s simply hoping to avoid the rain during his attempt.

“I mean, the wind could be challenging, but overall I think the weather looks great,” he said.

UMCA rules dictate the attempt’s beginning and end points, Lambie said, but otherwise he was able to pick his own route, which spans 417 miles. He’ll begin on Kansas State Highway 96 at the Colorado-Kansas border and end on State Highway 68 at the Kansas-Missouri border, just east of Louisburg, he said.

Lambie said he chose Friday as the official day for the attempt, but the rules allow him to start either the day before or the day after. So, weather permitting, he plans to start his adventure at 6 a.m. Thursday, accompanied by a crew of family members and two officials who will track his progress.

“My wife is my crew chief, and my mom and my dad are drivers. I’ve got a good crew,” he said. “I think it will go pretty well. I’m feeling good about it.”

Follow Lambie’s attempt on Twitter via SunflowerBike: