Council Grove & Manhattan

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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bryan and Heather preparing for departureand 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 . . . . . . . . . DSCN0658 to our first stop in Pamona, KS, where we stopped at a Casey’s for a break and a cold drink.at Casey's in Pamona, KS

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 and she placed some flowers at the grave site.  After a tour of downtown Parkerville . . . . entering Parkerville, KSwe rode north to Manhattan through the scenic Flint Hills.  We stopped for the night at the Hampton Inn at about 8:20.  Before going to bed we walked to a nearby DQ for an ice cream treat.

It was an enjoyable ride of 200 miles, except for the strong wind out of the south.  The temperatures peaked in the mid 80’s and we were dry all day (except for a little perspiration).

When we woke up on Monday, May 27th, it was cloudy and dark outside.  Thunderstorms were forecast for the area.  After a nice complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn we rode south to Alta Vista, east on Hwy 4 and north on Hwy 99 to Alma for an emergency bathroom break.  This was a scenic route through the Flint Hills but we couldn’t see much scenery because of the rain.  By this time three of the four of us were pretty wet.  Bryan and Heather did not bring their rain pants and I was not wearing mine.  We decided to ride up to I-70 and ride on home.  We were hit by torrential downpours, the kind I’ve ridden through only 3 or 4 times in my 40 years of riding.  But Bryan did well and we all arrived home safely.

At one point on I-70 we hit a patch of standing water that was not obvious before  we hit it.  A wave of water went over my windshield an all over us.  My vision was completely blocked for a second or two which was a little unnerving.  Bryan said the same happened to him.  At least neither of us felt like we ever hydroplaned at all.  It was a real adventure!

No pictures were taken on Monday due to the copious amounts of rain.  We rode 150 miles, most of which were in rain with temperatures in the low 60’s, and arrived home shortly after 11:00.  Despite the wet second day we had a good time and we’re happy to report that the rain did not dampen Bryan’s or Heather’s desire to ride again in the future.

Later in the day it was bright and sunny at home. Confused smile

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/5882856078238209809?authkey=CKP_wpaK26SR-wE

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Colorado; Day 9; June 30, 2012

Image
The evening of June 29th we saw the play, “Is He Dead” at the Creede Repertory Theater ( http://www.creederep.org/ ).  It was very entertaining,  one of the better plays I’ve seen. When we drove away from Creede at 6:05 am it was 41 degrees.  A short distance south the temperature dropped to 39.  We tried soaking up the cold for what we knew would be a hot afternoon. We rode South Fork and then east to Alamosa.  From Alamosa we took a detour north up Hwy 17 to see the UFO Watchtower ( http://www.ufowatchtower.com/ ).  It is a place for UFO enthusiasts to go to watch for UFO’s.  The lady who runs the place said something about some sort of vortex existing on the property.  Weird stuff, even for an open-minded guy like me. If the UFO Watchtower wasn’t weird enough we saw a male driving a Jeep with eye lashes over the headlights at a gas station in Alamosa, CO.  Hopefully it was his wife’s Jeep and he was just gassing it up for her. We continued east to Walsenburg, LaJunta, and La
Read more

My Last Ride

On January 11th, 2017, I departed on a ride to Kelli's Korner (Paradise, MO - near Smithville, MO) for lunch with four friends (Carl, Gary, Bill and Larry). It was a beautiful day, which was all the excuse we needed for a ride. I was leading the group and we were taking a long way there. Riding north on county road N, about 6 miles north of Hwy 152 and I-435, the road turned and I didn't. I exited the road into a field. Fortunately there were no fences, trees, rocks, oncoming cars, etc. I have no explanation for this except that I was out of it for awhile. I remember crossing the center line but I was looking down at that time, which is weird. I have no memory of seeing anything after that until I was laying in the field separated from my motorcycle. I do remember a sensation of tumbling but that is all. My first thought was to drive my motorcycle out of the field and get it cleaned up so Chris would not know what I did. What a ridiculous idea that was. After I'd been up
Read more

Florida Trip; Day 11

Image
A beautiful, sunny and warm day! After our B&B breakfast we rode away on our golf cart at 9:45 AM. It was 51 degrees. We spent an hour or so exploring Cedar Key again and Chris did a little shopping on Dock Street. Morning is low tide. It was strange seeing boats sitting in the mud at the marina. This next picture is of the marina at high tide. At noon we had to return the golf cart and then we walked to lunch at Tony's. After lunch we walked the Railroad Trestle Nature Trail. We went to the Cedar Key Scrub State Park to walk but found it uninteresting so we didn't go far.  Back at the B&B we watched a movie and then watched the sun set. We drove a whopping 13 miles today (not counting miles in the golf cart) and our high temperature was 68. A very relaxing day! Tomorrow we start home. Click here to see all photos from today - Day 11 Photos  
Read more