photo by: Biking Across Kansas Inc.

Cyclists participate in a previous Biking Across Kansas event.

Cyclists interested in pedaling across the state and celebrating Kansas can register for the popular “BAK” event beginning Sunday.

The 49th Biking Across Kansas will run from June 10 to June 17. The full route from Colorado to Missouri will cover 542 miles, with riders pedaling between 50 and 80 miles each day.

Overnight stops this year include Elkhart, Satanta, Spearville, Stafford, Newton, Eureka, Chanute and Garnett, with a celebration picnic in Pleasanton. Cyclists will pass through Hugoton, Sublette, Dodge City, Kinsley, Partridge, El Dorado, Toronto, and Iola, among other towns.

“BAK … promotes health and fitness through bicycling, as well as the history and beauty of the Kansas landscape, and the warm hospitality of the Kansas towns and people,” said David Rohr, BAK board president, in a news release Thursday.

In recent years, riders have represented all ages from 7 to 87, the release said. Entries are anticipated from 30 or more states, and BAK has attracted participants from countries outside the U.S.

“It is not an endurance contest, a race, or a test of stamina. Each rider should set a pace agreeable to his or her own degree of expertise,” BAK’s registration page notes.

Registration costs are $335 for a full-time participant, ages 18 and over; $225 for a junior participant, ages 6-17; $95 per day for a part-time participant (anyone riding one to three days).

Registration opens on https://bak.org at 6 a.m. Sunday, which is Kansas Day.

For more information, visit https://bak.org or contact BAK Director Stefanie Weaver at 913-735-3035 or email director@bak.org.