The 50th Biking Across Kansas tour, the annual celebration of bicycling and the Sunflower State, will hit the highways and byways June 8-15.

Organizers revealed the special golden anniversary route at 2 p.m. Jan. 20.

Online registration will open at 6 a.m. Jan. 29 at bak.org.

“This year marks an amazing half-century for our annual bike tour across the state of Kansas,” BAK Board President David Rohr said. “As we pedal into our 50th year, we want to invite new and veteran BAK cyclists to help us celebrate this milestone.

Whether you crossed Kansas with us 50 years ago, last year, or sometime in the decades in between, we welcome you back to ride in 2024.”

The route begins just west of Tribune where the first tour began in 1975. Riders will cover approximately 489 miles in the span of a week, staying overnight in Scott City, Ness City, Hoisington, Lincoln, Concordia, Frankfort, Holton and concluding in Atchison on the banks of the Missouri River.

Riders pedal between 50 and 80 miles each day.

Executive Director Bryan Toben said state and local law enforcement will be helping keep everyone safe.

“This is about observing an historic event and the awesome experience of riding a bike and the joy and freedom it brings,” said Toben, who is starting his first year as BAK’s executive director after taking over for longtime executive director Stefanie Weaver who retired in 2023. “Cyclists and drivers alike need to be alert and attentive to the rules of the road.”

Each year riders represent a wide age span and multiple generational families’ participation. In 2023, the youngest rider was 13 and the oldest was 87. Entries are anticipated from all over the United States, including as far away as New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, New Mexico, Washington and California. In addition, Biking Across Kansas often attracts participants from countries outside the United States.