Retired and Trippin

On Tuesday, December 29th, I received an email from Gary which explained that our mutual friend, Wild Bill, wanted to ride somewhere for lunch on the 30th.  Sounded good to me but I checked the weather first.  The high temperature was predicted to be in the 60’s.  I was in. We met at 83rd and K-7 at 11:00 am.  Gary, Bill, Mel, and I took off for Louisburg shortly thereafter. It was 61 degrees. We rode south on K-7 through Olathe.  Where K-7 turned east we continued south on Lone Elm to 175 St.  We took 175 St. east and battled the 25 to 35 mph winds out of the south.  We rode south on 169 Hwy for a short distance to 223rd ST and turned east to battle the wind again.  We turned south again at Metcalf and rode into Louisburg to the Timber Creek BBQ located at the corner of 68 Hwy and Metcalf. The BBQ was good but the company was better and a great deal of wisdom was imparted over lunch. Going home we rode west through Louisburg on Hwy 68 to Hwy 69 north.  Going home was a breeze

What a great day for a ride.  After church, it was cloudy and approaching 60 degrees.  The forecasted high for the day was 65 degrees with no rain.  Chris and I could not pass up the opportunity and decided to ride to Paola for lunch.  We had no idea where we would eat but figured there had to be dining options in Paola. We rode south on I-35 and K-7 Highway to Paola.  It was 64 when we left and 69 under mostly clear skies when we arrived.  After checking out all the eateries we chose the Los Portales Mexican Cafe located on the corner of Baptiste Dr. and North Pearl St. The food was very good and reasonably priced.  I had a chicken fajita burrito and Chris had flautas.  All lunches came with rice and your choice of 3 types of beans; refried, black, or barrachos.  We both had the barrachos and they were excellent.  The chips were fresh, thin, light and tasty.  Along with the chips they provided salsa, which most restaurants do, but they also provided a white cheese and spinach dip

On Thursday, November 11, 2010, five friends (Gary, Bill, Rod, Larry, and Carl) and I departed on a trip south. Ride Master Gary was leading the ride. The tentative goal was Natchez, MS. Originally this trip was suggested by Mel but his plan was to ride to Brownsville, TX and back in four days. None of us were crazy about going to Brownsville and we were not sure we could get there and back in four days without doing a lot of interstate riding. When Mel ended up being unable to go, Gary took over the planning and the destination was changed. We departed south Overland Park at 8:15 am. It was cloudy and 50 degrees. We went south on Hwy 69 for a while and then east into Missouri to south 71 Highway. As we rode into Missouri the roads were wet from recent rain. As we approached Clinton, MO it started to drizzle and the temperature dropped to 48 degrees. We endured the cold and drizzle to around Collins, MO when the drizzle stopped. We stopped for gas south of Bolivar, MO.  As you can se

On Friday, 10/1/10, Bill & Jamie, Gary & Judy, and Chris & I took off for the Apple Festival in Versailles, MO. http://versailleschamber.com/apple-festival-2010/ The weather was beautiful.  It was sunny and 75 degrees.  Our first stop was at a Casey’s in Windsor, MO where took a butt break and gassed up the motorcycles. Somewhere on Hwy 52 east of Cole Camp, MO I rode over some debris (dirt clods, rocks, etc) in the road.  I immediately heard a loud clattering sound under my motorcycle and I thought I might be dragging some debris.  I stopped along the road and saw that the spring that holds my center stand off the ground was missing and the center stand was dragging the ground.  We returned to the area of debris to look for the missing spring.  I didn’t hold out much hope that the spring would be located or located undamaged.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found it a couple feet off the pavement and it was not broken.  I attempted to put the spring back on. After

On fairly short notice Gary and I decided to organize a ride over Labor Day weekend.  Good friends, Bill and Jamie, were able to join us so we had three couples. We took advantage of the fact that most of us were retired and left early afternoon on Friday, September 3rd.  We departed from Judy’s home at 1:45 pm.  The weather was absolutely perfect; 77 degrees under blue clear skies.  Not a cloud in sight. We rode east on Hwy 50 to Sedalia and south on Hwy 65 to Cole Camp, where we stopped for gas.   (Jamie & Bill)   (Judy & Gary) After refueling and taking a butt break we rode east on Hwy 52 to Stover, southeast on Hwy 135, south on Hwy 5 through Lake of the Ozarks, and south on Hwy 7. South of Richland, MO, between Richland and I-44, we turned east onto a gravel road that took us to The Cave Restaurant and Resort (formerly Caveman BBQ). http://www.thecaverestaurantandresort.com/ We waited at the parking area for transport to the restaurant.  While waiting, Chris

The Falken car tire I’ve been running on my Goldwing wore out at 10,000 miles.  I was hoping for more.  Still, however, the Falken was a better value than the motorcycle tires I had been running.  It lasted as long as the motorcycle tires and cost about half as much. My second try at a car tire is a Hankook which I paid $85 for.  We’ll see how long it lasts.

Early in the week Chris and I realized that, if the weather forecasters were correct, Wednesday would be a great day for a dinner ride somewhere in the area.  I hopped on the internet to look for interesting dining options within a reasonable distance from home and located the Nu Grille Cafe in Ft. Scott, Kansas ( http://www.kansastravel.org/nugrille.htm ).  We then found out that our good friends, Bill and Jamie, would go with us.  Our trip was planned. Wednesday, August 25th, 2010, arrived with perfect weather.  We met Bill and Jamie at their house and took off shortly after 3:30 pm.  We rode south on I-35 to Olathe and then south on K-7.  It was sunny and 81 degrees.  BEAUTIFUL! We stopped for a break in Mound City, KS at the Big Dollar Store.  Bill and I walked across the street to Casey’s for a drink and then waited for Jamie and Chris to get done shopping. We continued south on K-7 to Hwy 54 where we turned east and rode 4 miles to Ft. Scott.  We found the Nu Grille Cafe. 

On Saturday, June 26, we departed Steamboat Springs, CO at 8:00 am.  It was sunny and 57 degrees.  We rode east on Hwy 24 to Kimmerling for a bathroom break and then to Granby for gas. Near the gas station was a jerky, fur, and antler chandelier vendor.  They had a bear skin outside and other types of skins inside.  It was interesting. From Granby we rode north into Rocky Mountain National Park.  The views were fantastic. We knew from watching the news the night before that there was a forest fire in Rocky Mountain National Park.  On the way out of the park riding toward Loveland, CO we saw and smelled smoke from the forest fire. We ate lunch at the Dari Delite in Loveland and then gassed up in Fort Morgan, CO.  We rode east into Nebraska and then south to Goodland, KS, where we spent the night at the Days Inn. We rode 420 miles and the high temperature was 90. On Sunday, June 27, we took off from Goodland on our final day of the trip.  It was mostly sunny and 66 degrees.  Bef

On Thursday morning, June 24, Gary drove to the Mountain Home, ID police department to attempt contact with Chief John Walter, a former co-worker of his.  Larry and I also know John from his days in Prairie Village.  John drove out to the hotel and we all got to howdy him and talk for awhile. We departed Mountain home eastbound on Hwy 20 at 8:40 am.  It was mostly cloudy and 68 degrees.  We stopped at Silver Creek for a break. Chris was impressed that this place had three bathrooms (men’s, women’s, and unisex). Further east on Hwy 20 I saw something I’d never seen before on a public highway . . . . a cattle drive. It was interesting but made for a messy roadway. Hwy 20 here is called the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway.  It was definitely a pretty ride.  The craters part of the name comes from the Craters of the Moon National Monument. We drove the 7 mile route through the park.  It was interesting to see all the lava rock. While we were driving through Arco, ID we noticed larg

After a hearty breakfast at Sargent’s Cafe in Bend, OR we hit the road eastbound on Hwy 20 at 8:45 am.  It was sunny and 64. One hundred and thirty miles later we were gassing up in Burns, OR.  Marge got a new doo-rag at the gas station.  She said she picked a pink one so her son, Joe, would not steal it from her. On Hwy 20 between Burns and Vale, OR we ran into a brief delay due to road construction. One hundred and twenty miles later we were eating lunch at the Starlite Cafe in Vale, OR.  They had very good vittles, including homemade pies. We landed for the evening in Mountain Home, Idaho.  We rode 375 miles today.  The high temperature was 93.  The pool at the Hampton Inn felt fantastic. For more pictures from today click on the attached link: http://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/CaliforniaTripDay13?feat=directlink

On Monday morning, June 21, I went to uncover my motorcycle and found a snail on top of my trailer.  He was too small for breakfast. We departed Bodega Bay, CA at 8:15 am under mostly sunny skies with a temperature of 54.  It dropped to 52 along the coast before beginning to warm up a bit. The ride north on the Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 1, was absolutely beautiful with many twisties. We got gas in Little River, CA and had lunch at LaPlaya, a Mexican restaurant, in Fort Bragg, CA.  We also got groceries in Fort Bragg.  Near Leggett, CA we all drove our motorcycles through the Chandelier redwood tree. We rode the Avenue of the Giants near Humboldt Redwood State Park and saw many big redwood trees before spending the night in Humboldt Gales Motel in Rio Dell, CA. We rode 230 miles today.  The high was in the 70’s and the low was 52. On Tuesday, June 22, we left Rio Dell, CA at 7:30 am.  It was cloudy and 55 degrees.  We stopped a few miles north on Hwy 101 at Hansen’s Truck