Retired and Trippin

It has been so cold around here the last couple of weeks that I was developing a case of PMS ( P arked M otorcycle S yndrome).  Today, however, I found relief.  The skies were partly cloudy and temperatures reached the low 60’s. So I was off for a little afternoon ride.  I left at 2:15 and rode north.  At Leavenworth I turned west and traveled through McLouth to Oskaloosa, where I stopped for a coffee break at a Casey’s. After the coffee break I rode south almost to Lawrence, east through Linwood and Bonner Springs to home.  It was an enjoyable ride of 113 miles that did wonders to relieve my PMS.

A beautiful day for a December ride!  Gary, Larry, Wild Bill and I met at Quick Trip in western Shawnee for a little lunch ride.  When we departed QT it was 10:45 and 50 degrees under cloudy skies. We rode north on I-435 across the Missouri River into Missouri and then north on Hwy 45.  Just north of Weston we descended into the Missouri River valley and saw the IATAN Power Plant belching steam and smoke. As we rode north we could see blue skies teasing us on the horizon.  At Hwy 59 we turned west, crossed the Missouri River and rode into Atchison, KS where the sun finally came out and blue skies ruled. From Atchison Hwy 7 took us north all the way through White Cloud, KS into Nebraska.  The northern part of this route was pretty as we rode through wooded areas with views of the Missouri River. At Rulo, NE we turned east on Hwy 159 and crossed the Missouri River (again) into Missouri.  We rode past the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge ( http://www.fws.gov/refuge/squaw_creek