Around 1000 bikers and support personnel involved in the annual Bike Across Kansas event are scheduled to pedal into Goessel on June 10 where they will have a meal, perform a program, and stay overnight before they depart early the following morning.

BAK is tour of the state, not a race. Families are typically encouraged to ride together. Riders range from 8 years old to 80 and over, and come from all over the United States and some foreign countries.

“Mayor Schrag and Pastor Ewert and I wrote a letter to BAK’s executive committee issuing them an invitation,” USD 411 superintendent John Fast said. “They accepted our invitation to come to Goessel on their annual trek across Kansas.”

Fast said food is extremely important to the riders.

“They come to town very hungry,” he said. “Feeding this crew is where we will need to pull together our community resources and develop a good plan.”

The group typically spends $20,000 in towns where they stay overnight stays, Fast said.

“They will need a substantial supper and an early breakfast,” Fast said. “This is not a partying crowd. They are too tired to party.”

Half the riders will sleep in Goessel schools. The other half will sleep in tents.

He said the group has strict lights-out policy of 10 p.m., and most usually wake up for breakfast at 5:30 a.m. and leave by 8 a.m.

“This will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase our town, community, museum, churches, and school,” Fast said. “We will put together a planning committee very soon.”

To find out more about event planning, call Fast at (620) 367-4601. For more BAK information, and to register for the event, visit www.bak.org.