Retired and Trippin

Chris and I were headed for Council Grove, KS with Bryan and Heather, who were on their first overnight ride.  On Sunday, May 26th, we met Bryan and Heather at their house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and then took off westbound. We left around 2:00 in the afternoon under sunny skies with a temperature of 81.  We rode through Olathe, Gardner, Edgerton, Wellsville and Ottawa . . . . . . . . . to our first stop in Pamona, KS, where we stopped at a Casey’s for a break and a cold drink. After a nice break we rode west into Council Grove.  Our intended lodging for the night was the Cottage House Hotel ( http://www.cottagehousehotel.com/ ) but there was no room at the inn.  Some bicycle riders out of Topeka had all the rooms tied up. We had a nice dinner at the Hays House Restaurant ( http://www.hayshouse.com/ ), a historic location in Council Grove, and then took off for Parkerville, KS.  Heather’s paternal grandparents are buried there an...

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon so my sweetie and I decided to ride north to Weston Bend State Park for a little hiking.  We left home at 2:40 under blue clear skies with a temperature of 73.  I-435 on the west side of the KC area took us north into Missouri and Hwy 45 northbound. The park is located off Hwy 45 just south of Weston, MO.  We hiked about an hour on the Weston Bluffs Trail, which was a nice gravel path wide enough for a car.  To our east were the bluffs and to our west was a rail line and the Missouri River.  The only other humanoid we saw was a man on a three wheeled bicycle.  After our hike we rode through the camp ground and saw that all the camping spots except one were occupied or reserved.  It would be full for the memorial day weekend. I got heated up during the walk so the short ride north to Weston cooled me off nicely. Finding no ice cream vendors in Weston we were off to Leavenworth, KS and then on to Tonganoxie via b...

Time, again, for the annual Spring ride. Time for a bunch of guys to ride, eat, drink, and bullshit to their hearts’ content.  It is also called the Chicken Ride.  When anyone in the group does something wrong or makes some sort of mistake they are given the chicken to wear or display until the next poor slob does something deemed deserving of the shame. Day 1; Saturday, May 4th, 2013 The Spring Chicken Ride is normally Friday through Sunday.  This year the weather put a monkey wrench in the works, predicting snow and cold, so the departure was delayed until Saturday. The weather Saturday was nothing to write home about.  We all met at the Quik Trip at 151st and 69 Hwy, 10 bikes and riders in all.  When we took off at 10:20 it was 39 degrees and drizzling.  There was Gary (ride leader), Bill, Carl, Larry, James, Joe, and I on our Goldwings.  Ed was riding his HD, Chuck his Yamaha, and Rob his BMW.  Rob got the prize for the biggest stones be...