North Lawrence Gravel
a map for local explorers
The North Lawrence Gravel Map is a deeply customized, precise map of the lands to the North of Lawrence, Kansas. I produced the map because I wanted something I could use to navigate on my bike when I didn’t have a GPS. After showing the maps to several friends, I made some tweaks, added some extra features, and here we are!
Currently the map has Strava segments, aggressive dog locations, camping spots, and greenways. Not too much clutter, but just enough to make every corner of the map worth exploring.
The Strava segments shown on the map were picked from the available local segments. Routes which had many attempts from other riders, and passed along gravel roads were prioritized.
The camping locations sprinkled throughout the map could be useful for local bikepackers. I work at a bike shop and I can’t tell you how many times we get folks asking if we have good maps to describe the area.
How to use the maps
I very intentionally did not specify any recommended loops on this series of maps. You can certainly draw all over the map — make notes for your own perfect routes. My intention was to have folks use the maps to make routefinding choices on the fly and spend more time just enjoying the ride.
The Strava segments are there to serve as a little carrot. Here’s a link to the KOM/QOM times for the displayed map segments: link.
You’ll find some other tidbits on the map such as “chaser dogs.” The aggressive/chaser dog locations was the very first request I got from folks in Lawrence when I started sharing the map around. Those dog locations are not always dangerous, but could help with some routing decisions along the way. If you or anyone you know have a location you’d like to add, please contact me and I’ll make sure it’s on the map.
Adding in local bike shops and my favorite restaurants was a must. For some of the areas in more rural areas, I had to add in a Casey’s here and there. I sure do love gas station pizza though. Full disclosure, I work for Trek and live in Lawrence. I do have some preferences amongst our local shops, but I greatly prefer to show everyone equally on my maps. A good shop is absolutely essential to good rides afterall.
