Biker Breakfast in Lindsborg, KS April 29, 2007

Picture: Lindsborg, KS, little Sweden, USA

Lindsborg has long been trying to establish itself as a Sunday Biker Breakfast destination and today they had a decent turnout. I counted around 50 bikes at one time. Richard, of ROMEO fame, has been instrumental in this effort and it looks like his efforts are starting to pay off.

I probably should have gotten there earlier because by the time I ordered breakfast the kitchen at The Cookery must have overloaded as it took nearly an hour to get my Swedish pancakes. Ordinarily it would be worth the wait but in this case they were luke warm. Course had I arrived early I would have missed seeing Richard and Joyce who drove by to check the turnout on their way to church.

As I was on the REB I got the usual chances to talk to folks and that is good for a shy guy like me. The only bike I saw worth noting was a Triumph Rocket III and it was good to see a handful of sportbikes. Everything else was middle aged, leather clad posers on their straight pipe Harley's and a few Yasuhonki V-twins. One entertaining event was three of said posers trying to make a show of their departure. All three took off heading South from the East side of the street, WFO, hanging on for dear life until they had to slam on the brakes for the stop sign just half a block away. I was impressed as I humbly thumped after them at subdued decibels.

Lucas, KS-Minden, NE 4-25-26-07

Picture: Ride to Minden (photo courtesy Joyce Kurtz)

The Plan: Lunch in Lucas, KS then ride to Minden, NE for an overnight stay and tour Pioneer Village, Nebraska's number one tourist attraction, according to the brochure.

What Happened: The weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday was less than pleasant, rain, rain and more rain on Wednesday but clearing on Thursday. It was overcast but not yet raining when I met up with my Salina riding buddies at Spangles for coffee. Louie, Neil, Pat and Randy quickly informed me that I would be the sole Salina representative at the weekly ROMEO lunch so with the fore-drawn conclusion that I was going to get wet I set out on the Dubya for the 70 mile ride to Lucas. Actually I was looking forward to testing the rain covers for the saddle bags and seeing if my new boots were really waterproof.

It was a sign of things to come that just five miles into my ride I had to take a detour due to bridge construction. Rather than ride four miles of wet dirt and gravel I took the longer way around to stay on pavement. I kept waiting for the sky to open but the ride to Lucas turned out to be quite pleasant with just a few sprinkles to make things interesting.

Eight hardy souls turned out. Corwin pulled in right behind me on his big Harley that he had ridden 260 miles from Chanute, KS. Richard showed up last and very nearly had the long distance crown although he just came from Lindsborg. His little detour to Russel added to his mileage He probably wanted to make the drive interesting for his wife and mother-in-law who followed him in their car.

I was about ready to back out of the ride up to Minden but Richard, Corwin, Bill and Denny were for it so I decided to tag along. Besides that, we planned to stop at the Geographical Center of the USA just north of Lebanon, KS. How could I resist that calling card?

By the time we reached the GCUSA the rain was steady and the wind was blowing at gale force out to the NE (we are going N remember). No matter, the tour must go on. The five hardy souls enjoying the famous cultural attraction. L to R: Leonard (me), Denny, Bill, Corwin and Richard with the Dub on the far right. Note the flag in the background that has almost blown off it's halyard. Back on the road I didn't think things could get much worse until we hit what passes for road construction in Nebraska, just north of Red Cloud, NE on hwy 281. I was bringing up the rear following the big H-D and determined that I could make it if he could. I've seen motocross tracks that were worse but not many highways with 60mph speed limits. Those Nebraska drivers are pretty tough. After several miles of this slurry we stopped to consult the map (see top photo) then turned West. It was a welcome change to have the wind to our backs for a few miles. Can you see in the top photo what kind of car Joyce was driving? When the ROMEOs use a sag wagon we go first class! The Pioneer Villiage motel was a welcome site and Richard and I had small enough bikes that we could park under the overhang. The other guys with the Harley, Gold Wing and ST1300 stayed in the parking lot.

We all had dinner together and sat around a shot the breeze for a couple of hours in the rerestruant before calling it a night. Thursday was a lot better looking than Wednesday with blue sky showing and sunshine. The Pioneer Village was an interesting place with lots and lots of old things to see. It was a little run down but folks were friendly and they did have a few old bikes among the hundred of autos. Such as this 1908 Flying Merkel

By 11:00 am I had seen all the old stuff I wanted to see and the other guys were still looking so I saddled up the Dubya and headed home. It was a fantastic ride compared to the day before and a joy to see white clouds and blue sky.

Oh yes, the rain covers filled with water and my shorts got wet. The boots were OK with only a little water getting from the top. I should have worn my Frog Togs I guess.

I don't know what Yahoo's problem is today. The photo albums have dissappeared, the photos on this entry come and go, words change......we had a term for it in the Navy....FUBAR

An Observation

I rode along with my wife on her way to work this morning so I could bring home the pickup which spent the night in the SRS parking lot. On the way there and back home I observed about eight motorcycles and there was only one Harley. The rest were older smaller Japanese sport bikes, trail bikes (dual sport?) and one CB-750. If you want to see the old stuff watch what people ride to work. Oh yeah, only one person had on a helmet and that was a shorty. Jackets, boots, gloves.......fergetaboutit.

Speaking of boots, I got a new pair of Bates Enforcers. They were on sale at Vanderbilt's, supposed to be waterproof, goretex, yada, yada. I'm wearing them around the house now and they are pretty comfortable.

Longford, KS Part Two

Picture: Brand new Suzuki Bergman (thanks to Pat for the pictures). There are more pictures under "Longford Part Two" in the photo albums.

After what seems like weeks of nasty weather yesterday's lunch ride to Longford was a delight. By the time Pat, Randy and I covered the easy 40 miles and pulled in the place was packed with around 40 bikes. The first thing I did was to shed some clothes as the tempature was climbing.

Lunch at the Coachlight was the usual excellent quality, price and service. This is becoming a yearly vist for the ROMEOs and is one for my favorites. The outside gazebo and patio make for a tempting place to hang around and BS long after the meal is over.

Several of us rode back to Salina together and stopped in at Salina Powersports to take a look at the new Piaggio MP3 three wheeled scooter. Joyce was all excited about it until she found out that it wouldn't stand up by it's self at a stop light unless you flip a switch or something. Don't know what she is worried about, she couldn't possibly drop it as often as her husband drops his. It is quite the marvel and according to Richard (the husband) who has taken a ride, it handles like a dream.

Ending the ride with a Frosty at Wendy's is rapidly becoming a tradition with some of the ROMEOs. A small Frosty provides 1/3 of your daily calicum requirement you know.

Entry for April 13, 2007

I've been in Virginia since the 7th. Crappy weather, 40-50 and rain. No bike so it doesn't matter much. Kansas is getting snow tonight so it wouldn't matter where I was. Guess I'll enjoy laying around playing with my grandson.

Entry for April 06, 2007

My friend Robert now has a website for his magazine www.ridingsouthmagazine.com . Not much on there just yet but he will be adding content so check it out. I find his bike reviews very honest and understandable. Not at all like what you would read in the slick cover mags.

It's a bit too nasty to do any riding around here, we had 6 inches of snow yesterday and it was snowing again this morning. It won't sick around long though and by the time I get back from Virginia it will be bad memory.

White City, KS April 04, 2007

Picture: Hard Core ROMEOs: Joyce, Richard, Neil and Louie

Riding in 40 degree weather with the wind blowing takes dedication or lack of common sense I don't know which. At any rate around 20 ROMEOs showed for lunch at Kelly's Bar & Grill in White City, KS. I suspect some of these guy are plugged in but none of the crew in the picture or behind the camera have succumbed to the lure of heated clothing. Besides that warmer days are just around the corner.