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Published August 28, 2008 09:35 pm - PITTSBURG, Kan. — For eight years, Roger Lomshek has had a goal. And when he gets up at 1 a.m. Saturday to install arrow signs along the county roads of Southeast Kansas, he will get a step closer to that goal. Pittsburg business wants to turn area into cycling mecca By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com PITTSBURG, Kan. — For eight years, Roger Lomshek has had a goal. And when he gets up at 1 a.m. Saturday to install arrow signs along the county roads of Southeast Kansas, he will get a step closer to that goal. Lomshek will get up that early to mark the route that an expected 300 cyclists will take during the sixth annual Gorilla Century, a 100-mile bike ride that is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at Pittsburg State University as part of Little Balkans Days festivities. As the owner of Tailwind Cyclists in Pittsburg, Lomshek wants to put his community and the surrounding area on the map when it comes to offering quality cycling. “My goal has always been to make this more of a cycling event area,” he said during preparations for the Gorilla Century ride, which he has helped organize since PSU’s 2003 centennial. The reason Southeast Kansas is not a mecca for skiing or mountain climbing is what makes it a premier spot for cycling, according to Lomshek. “The one thing we do have going for us is our terrain — not just for racers, but for recreational riders, too,” he said. “This is one instance in which flat is good. People in my events often tell me that they can race (here) and not be dying up a mountain. The climbs are gradual, and the straightaways are great.” Lomshek has tried to capitalize on that terrain by scheduling at least a half-dozen events each year that, like Saturday’s, draw hundreds of riders from across the Four-State Area. “The Gorilla Century certainly is our biggest event in that it brings in the most people,” he said. “It continues to grow. This year we had 150 people pre-register, all the way from Kansas City to Springfield, Mount Vernon, St. Louis. And if it stays true to form from past years, at least that many more who haven’t pre-registered will show up the day of the event to ride, which means 300 riders.” This ride — not a race — offers cyclists the chance to tour 100 miles, 60 miles or 30 miles of Crawford County countryside with support from Lomshek’s crew of 25 volunteers. They will fan out at rest stops every 15 miles to offer a literal truckload of fruit, bagels, cookies and at least 40 gallons of bottled water. “We try to really support the riders, because that is what can make or break an event like this,” Lomshek said. Supporting the event are Mount Carmel Regional Medical Center and the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Other rides 
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