Retired and Trippin

My son, Bryan, and I rarely get to ride together because of his job and family responsibilities.  When he suggested a ride today I was eager to go. We originally planned a morning ride to beat the heat, leaving at 7:00 am and eating breakfast somewhere. As luck would have it, when we awoke this morning it was raining. Our breakfast ride became a lunch ride and we decided our destination would be Paola, KS. We left at about 11:30, maybe a little later. Two blocks into our ride, as were leaving my subdivision, I looked to my right and saw a deer approaching. It was very close to the road. I scared it as much as it scared me. It did an about-face and took off away from the road . . . . . thank God! A short time later, westbound in the 15300 block of Johnson Drive, we approached cars stopped alongside the road. As we passed by slowly we could see a deer in the road by the curb with all its legs folded under its body. Its head was up looking around and a woman stood by it with her h...

The last day of my ride to the Rockies.  I left La Junta, Colorado at 6:30.  It was cloudy and 60 degrees. Hwy 50 took me through Lakin, KS, hometown of my lovely daughter, Heather.  (Making points with my daughters this trip.) My first stop was in Jetmore, KS, 215 miles down the road from La Junta.  My mother grew up in Jetmore so, after gassing up, I rode around town a bit.  They were doing some major work on the main drag (Hwy 283).  I wonder if they are replacing the brick? When riding alone one thinks about many different things.  East of Jetmore I was thinking about what type of food I wanted for lunch.  I had a little snack in Jetmore so that probably got me thinking!?!?!  Chinese sounded good but if I did that I wanted a hog trough (buffet).  A Wendy’s Baconator also sounded good.  They look very good in the commercials. In Great Bend both options were present.  It was a little early though, especially since there...

Yesterday evening I made a post on Facebook saying I was in Montrose, CO.  Facebook friend, Latisha, made a comment, advising me that her parents (Mike and Jill) were camping in Ouray, CO.  Mike is my cousin.  I decided to try to see them.  I called Mike this morning and he said they were up for a visit. I departed my motel in Montrose at 7:35.  It was 57 degrees and there was a light drizzle.  Riding southbound on Hwy 550 I encountered road construction just north of Ridgway which delayed me quite awhile.  Finally I made it to Ouray where I found Mike and Jill in their campground.  They have quite a rig . . . . and  I enjoyed my visit with them. From Ouray the Million Dollar Highway (550) took me south up and into the mountains.  It is a beautiful ride. I stopped at the Molas Pass summit and took a few pictures. In Durango, CO I took Hwy 160 eastbound.  I shed my rain suit and the way the sky looked I thought the rain suit wo...

I was excited to start riding in the Rockies, despite the rain.  It was raining when I started the day, when I ended the day and several times in between.  Despite that, it was a great day of riding (353 miles) with beautiful scenery.  It is why I love riding in Colorado. When I departed Loveland it was 63 degrees.  I rode directly up to Estes Park and then into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  Despite the occasional rain and clouds it was beautiful. In RMNP I came across Lake Irene, which I am sure was named after my daughter (Molly) and granddaughter (Jenna), both of whom have the middle name Irene.  The lake was pretty, just like them. As I was leaving the Lake Irene parking lot this deer was crossing the road. From RMNP I rode through Granby, Kremmling, Troponas, State Bridge and Wolcott on my way to Eagle, where I ate lunch at the Eagle Diner. From Eagle, I rode west on I-70 to Glenwood Springs.  Even I-70 has pretty scenery (and tu...

I’m making a quick run to Colorado to ride in the Rocky Mountains while Chris and her mother are on a trip visiting relatives in Iowa and Illinois.  I couldn’t get any of my friends to go with me so I’m making the trip on my own. After gassing up this morning I departed Shawnee, KS at about 6:15 and took off westbound on I-70.  It was 75 degrees and cloudy. The clouds hung around until I reached Junction City and then it was mostly sunny until I was east of Hays. Between Salina and Hays I hit the high temperature for the day at 84 degrees.  Around Hays and then a little later I rode through two very brief and light rain showers.  There was no need to don the rain suit. I refueled and had a butt break in Salina and Oakley, KS.  I had lunch at Steak n Shake in Goodland.  It was 70 degrees when I left Goodland and by the time I reached Seibert, Colorado the temp had dipped as low as 66.  This is very unusual for July in western Kansas and eastern Co...

It was shaping up to be a great day (maybe a little hot and windy??) for riding.  Departing Hutchinson at 8:00 (75 degrees) we headed east to Cassoday. From Cassoday we changed course north on Hwy 177 through the Flint Hills, which is one of my most favorite routes in Kansas. We encountered numerous bicyclists along the way.  In Cottonwood Falls we stopped to check out the Cottonwood River. We were curious to see how it looked because we were here in May and the river was way high (see pic below). And this is how it normally looks. Our next stop was for lunch in Williamsburg, KS at Guy-N-Mae’s Tavern for some LARRAPIN good ribs. By the time we arrived home around 1:30 to 2:00 it was 97 degrees.  It was good to be home in the air conditioning.  We rode 229 miles today. For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6162864133066788769?authkey=CNOKipnlgamxrgE This trip is over.  While...

We left Elk City,Oklahoma this morning at 8:00.  It was 75 degrees and as we rode north on Hwy 34 we could see a storm to the west. We escaped without getting wet. As we rode through Leedey, OK a sign at the edge of town said that Darla Hood of Little Rascals fame was born here. A check of Wikipedia confirms that.   ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darla_Hood ) After a gas stop in Wynoka, OK we pressed on to Pratt, KS for lunch.  Carl knew a restaurant there that served spaghetti.  Marge has been wanting spaghetti the whole trip.  Inside they informed us spaghetti was NOT on their menu.  Sometimes they serve it as a “special”.  So Marge whiffed again - strike three.  We left there and went to a Chinese hog trough, which was quite tasty. From Pratt we hustled on to Hutchinson and checked into our motel.  Then we did a tour of the Hutchinson salt mine and museum.  They call it Strataca, Kansas Underground Salt Museum.  It w...