FRONTENAC, Kan. — Saturday was a beautiful day for a leisurely bike ride in the countryside as more than 200 cyclists gathered on McKay Street in Frontenac for the third annual Coal Miners’ Gravel, a series of four bicycle rides of different lengths throughout the southeast Kansas coal country.

The first ride was the Coal Miners’ Century, a 100-mile trek through Crawford and Cherokee Counties, looping through Cherokee, West Mineral, Girard, and Arcadia. This ride, for the first time, was a race with cash prizes of $500, $750, and $1,000 for third through first place overall.

The other rides were the Metric Century of 100 kilometers (62 miles), the 50-mile Road, all on pavement to Big Brutus and back, and the 25-mile Gravel.

All rides began and ended at the Frontenac Public Library.

Riders lined up at 7:30 and were off by 8. Most came from the Four States area of southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, and northeast Oklahoma, but many came from further out, such as Tulsa, Little Rock, Springfield, and the Kansas City metro; some from as far away as California.

The youngest rider was Bella Bean, 9, of Girard who finished the 25-mile Gravel in 3:34:23; the oldest rider, Stephen Town, 74, of Maryville, Missouri, completed the 50-mile Road in 4:43:26.

Overall winners for the 25-mile Gravel were Roman Barrett of Bella Vista, Arkansas, with a time of 1:26:24, followed by Jackie Gage of Ottawa, Kansas, and Kyle Becraft of Pittsburg.

Jordan Gronback of Lenexa took the top spot in the Metric Century with a time of 3:17:57, with David Wilcox of Kansas City and Arkansas’ David Barrett finishing out the top three.

In the 50-mile Road roundtrip to Big Brutus, top honors went to Gerado Rojas Rodriguez at 2:44:21. Isaac Suderland of Omaha, Nebraska, and Ciaran Sweetman of Overland Park finished second and third, separated by 33 seconds.

And the big race went to Paige Onweller of Bella Vista, Arkansas, completing the 100-mile course in 4:38:04 and taking home the $1,000 check. At the half-way point, Onweller was running fifth overall, but maintained an average pace of 21.58 miles-per-hour to bring it all home.

The second-place prize of $750 went to John Matthews of Bella Vista with a time of 4:40:14, followed closely by Jacob Scheller of Overland Park, clocking in at 4:40:18 and claiming the $500 prize.

Overall, event planners were happy with the day’s turnout and want to expand on it. Seth Nutt, Frontenac Library director and a member of the Explore Crawford County Advisory Board, hopes the Gravel has found a permanent home in Frontenac. The previous years were held in Pittsburg, but Nutt said that he thinks Frontenac has the better feel to fit the event.

As the library director, Nutt also oversees Heritage Hall, a small museum in the library that tells the coal mining story of southeast Kansas. Many visiting riders will not know the history of the area and are here simply to enjoy the views and pitted landscape of a quiet bicycle ride.

Easy access to Heritage Hall, however, provides riders an opportunity to gain a certain perspective and appreciation for the scarred beauty around them through the collective memory on display.

“Having the ride here,” Nutt said, “with access to Heritage Hall and the park across the street just makes Frontenac the better fit, given the theme of the ride.”

City leaders agree. Frontenac Mayor Steve Morrison said he would like to see the event grow into a more family festive event with live music and activities for kids and families.

“This was a learning event,” Nutt said. “If we can build on this, expand it and make it better, it will be a good thing for the community.”

There is even talk about holding a second ride in the fall. Riders may follow the same routes, but the landscape is entirely different in October than in May.

“We want this to be a thing,” Nutt said, “that we become ‘that’ city known for this event.”

Nutt said if the community buys in and supports the ride, it will not only directly benefit Frontenac businesses, but also Pittsburg’s, especially their hotels and restaurants, all of which benefit Crawford County as a whole.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews