Retired and Trippin

I really wanted to take a ride in March that I could blog because I like to have at least one blog post each month of the year.  March had been tough due to weather . . .  too cold and too much snow.  Today was the day. It was sunny and 68 degrees as Chris and I departed for Holton.  A GREAT day for a ride.  We rode north on I-435 to Hwy 45 north in Missouri.  It is a pretty ride, despite the barren leafless trees, into the Missouri river valley.  At Hwy 92 we turned west and crossed the river into Leavenworth, Kansas where we turned north on Hwy 7.  Not too far up 7 we turned west on Hwy 192 (note snow in the ditch), which eventually turned into Hwy 16.  These highways took us through Easton, Winchester and Valley Falls to Holton.  We had 88 miles on our trip meter. Holton has a very ordinary looking courthouse on the city square, but it is an active business area. We stopped at a Casey’s, located on the northwest corner of the squa...

My youngest son, Bryan, has been itching to own and ride a motorcycle for many years. Today half of his itch was scratched. He is signed up to take the beginning rider course towards the end of March so a few weeks ago he started to seriously look at motorcycles. For a short while he was saying he’d wait until he got his motorcycle qualification so he could test ride motorcycles before he made a commitment. Then . . . . he found a 2006 Yamaha Road Star Midnight Silverado at Reno’s Powersports ( http://www.renospowersportskc.com/index.htm ) and he had to scratch the itch. The plan was to arrive at Reno’s shortly after they opened at 8:30 this morning but . . . . . . . . it snowed last night . . . . . . . . and got very cold. Due to street conditions we waited until afternoon. Bryan bought his bad-ass bike and I rode it home. It was 37 degrees under cloudy skies so it was a chilly (and fun) ride. I’m just glad I didn’t have too far to go. Now, Bryan only has to wait 5 weeks to get hi...

WOW, another beautiful day in January. My girlfriend and I decided to ride to lunch and then to Perry Lake located north and east of Topeka. Lunch was an easy choice. We wanted to stop and visit a good friend, Gary, who recently had knee replacement surgery. He lives in DeSoto, KS so we had lunch at JT’s Grill & Sports Bar.  http://www.jtsgrill.com/ JT’s has a larrapin good tenderloin sandwich, which is big enough to split, which we did. After lunch we rode over to Gary’s, had a good visit and then we took off for Perry Lake. As you can see in the photo the lake is very low. We really need rain/snow. From Lake Perry we rode east through Oskaloosa and then east and north through McLouth and Springdale (don’t blink or you’ll miss it) to Leavenworth. In Leavenworth we stopped at a Casey’s for gas and a bathroom break. Curvy Hwy 5 took us past a portion of the Kansas State Penitentiary to I-435 and home. Before going home, however, we stopped at our son’s home where his bri...

It was 50 degrees under blue clear skies as I drove out of my driveway at 11:00 am. I met the other riders at 83rd and K-7 about 20 minutes later. Seven bikes started the ride; Carl, Gary, Bill, Greg, Larry, Rod with his wife, Maureen, and me. We were all on Goldwings except for Rod, who was riding his HD. We took off for Osawatomie, KS at 11:30.  We took back roads, hooked up with Bill and Shannon (on their Goldwing trike), just south of Paola, and arrived at the Whistle Stop Café a little before 12:30. The Whistle Stop has a buffet lunch including broasted chicken, pork chops, and a salad bar for less than $8.00 – definitely worth the price. Hwy 169 and K-7 took us back home. I rode 114 miles and the weather was great, especially for January. The high temperature on the way home was 61 !

I met Gary (Goldwing), Rod (HD), and Bill (Goldwing) at Midland and Renner in Shawnee at 11:00 am. Bill was leading a ride to Paradise, MO for lunch. His daughter, Kelli, owns and operates the Paradise General Store. It was a great January day; mostly sunny and 46 degrees when we departed. It was the type of day that motorcycle riders in the Midwest hate to pass up in the winter. We don’t get too many. We rode north on I-435. I checked my onboard thermometer as we crossed the Missouri River - it read 41. It was back up to 46 when we arrived at the Paradise General Store, 18419 Collins Road, Smithville (Paradise), MO.  This is located on the east side of Smithville Lake.                    https://maps.google.com/maps?q=paradise+general+store&hl=en&ll=39.436922,-94.543447&spn=0.035929,0.077162&fb=1&gl=us&hq=paradise+general+store&hnear=0x87c0922b0bbb5afd...

Today was a beautiful day in Kansas. The projected high was in the 60’s and the sun was shining. Chris had an afternoon date with some friends so I took the opportunity for a solo ride. I rode I-435 north into Missouri and then Hwy 45 north.  Hwy 45 goes west into the Missouri River valley before turning north. The road is paralleled on the west by railroad tracks and on the east by bluffs. At Hwy 92 I turned west and rode to Kansas across the Missouri River. Leavenworth, KS was on the other side of the bridge.  A long time ago I read Undaunted Courage , an interesting book on the Lewis & Clark expedition. Since then I’ve been curious about all things Lewis & Clark.  On numerous occasions I’ve ridden through Leavenworth and noticed a sign identifying a turn to a Riverfront Park with a Lewis and Clark site.  Today, finally, I decided to check it out. On July 1, 1804, the Lewis & Clark expedition passed here on their way north.  It still amazes me ...

It was a nice day in mid-November and I had to eat lunch so a ride to historic Council Grove, KS was in order.  I was accompanied by my good friends, Gary and Bill. We rode west to Eudora, south and west to Overbrook and then west through Burlingame to Council Grove.  This town is located on the historic Santa Fe Trail and is rich in history ( http://councilgrove.com/ ). For lunch we stopped at the Hays House Restaurant.  It was originally built by Seth Hays (great grandson of Daniel Boone) in 1857 ( http://hayshouse.com/History-Full.html ).  It was built square with the Santa Fe Trail, which was slightly askew with the current Main Street so the Hays House is at an odd angle compared to the other buildings.  We enjoyed a good lunch, gassed up the Goldwings, and then headed for home. We rode north to Alta Vista and west through the Flint Hills ( http://kansasflinthills.travel/ or http://www.naturalkansas.org/FlintHills.htm ),  Eskridge, Dover, Topeka...