I'm Not Built Like That

  Fedex delivered my new River Road Mojave Mesh Pants Tuesday morning so I was anxious to give them a try on the Wednesday lunch ride to Leon, KS.  It's 125 miles to Leon so I figured it would be a good test.  These are warm weather riding pant but they come with a waterproof liner but the liner was uncomfortable against my bear skin so I decided to wear long underware without the liner.  My reasoning was that it might be a little cold in the morning but the ride home should be just right.  A little cold hell!  It was a lot cold with the mesh doing it's job and blowing a steady breeze up my legs.  About half way there it had warmed enough that it was bearable.

  These are pretty neat pants, meaning they have pockets.  My Mossi's don't have pockets and a guy need someplace to carry his change.  I noticed the first problem with the Mojave's as I pulled them on.  With just the thin long Js they were snug in the legs and seat, but hey they made my butt look small.  The waist was too big but was adjustable so that was no problem.  Problem number two showed up the first time I had to brake and slid forward on the saddle.  The seat of the pants was too slick.  Number three was embarrassing because I had no clue how long I had walked around with the fly down.  The zipper on the fly just wouldn't stay up and that was a real deal breaker.

  The final straw manifested its self on the way home in that tightness I mentioned earlier.  That fabric doesn't stretch and my legs started cramping from the slightly tucked riding position on the Dub. 

  Now to the crux of the problem.  See those models up above?  Well I don't look like that.  I'm fairly well proportioned in that my legs and butt are about right for my 38-40 waist, meaning I'm on the chubby side.  But seriously how many motorcyclists do you see that are as trim as those models?  Guess maybe I'll check out the H-D dealer, they understand old fat guys.

  Oh yeah, www.newenough.com said they would be glad to take them back and they pay the return postage.  One other point....the pants retail for $99, newenough sold them to me for $55.  I noticed on the web site that they are now $49, maybe I'm not the only one with a problem.

Leon, KS, Leon Cafe

  Little Leon, KS could quite possibility have the most active police force, per capita, in the nation.  True to their widespread reputation they were busy as Richard, Dale and I slowed down for the 50mph speed zone nearing town.  Leon is just off of the busy highway 400, a super two lane running from Wichita to SE Kansas, and their speed trap is operated to perfection.  One car had someone pulled over and another was parked in the middle of the painted median that would turn on his light every few seconds to slow down traffic.  He must have been on coffee break and didn't want to write any tickets.

  We made it safely to the cafe and hope the rest of the 24 ROMEOs did too.  It was a very efficient little eatery, my drink order was taken before I found a place to sit.  I ordered the special without knowing what it was.  You just can't go wrong at these little places.  Thank goodness it was meat loaf and not liver. 

 

  Some interesting bikes showed up today, among them was Ron's Moto Guzzi and Junior riding a pristine 750 Honda Automatic.

 

 

 

  Before heading for Scoops in Hesston for an ice cream Richard, Bob and I provided some amusement for one of the local cops while he waited for his next traffic stop.  We stopped at their favorite hiding place to search for a geocache.  Richard found the cache in short time and we made our way to Hesston with a short stop at the Kawasaki dealer in El Dorado.  Nice shop, I was asked several times if I needed any help which is a switch from some dealerships I've been in lately.  You know those........you can walk in with your check book in hand and can't get anyone to sell you a bike.

  The weather had warmed up nicely when I pulled back into Salina at 5pm, a far cry from the frosty start to the day at 8:30am.

 

Leon, KS 3-19-08

Lunch at the Leon Cafe

Maintenance Woes

  Got an email recently from my friend, Richard, who has recently purchased an new 2007 Suzuki Boulevard C50T.  The following is an account of his first oil change.

 

Leonard - Remember the motorcycle insurance ad with all the gremlins? They came to visit me yesterday while changing my oil.

 

  First, I wanted to check the oil level one last time to see if any had been used. I got on straddled to lift it and was surprised with the heavy way it felt then it seemed to release and went upright easily. Not thinking anything about it after finding the oil level OK, I got off went around the other side of the bike and found my quart of oil under my lower muffler with the cap pushed waaay down into the bottle where the muffler had apparently squashed it when I set the bike up. Took some doing to extract it out to where I could use it.

 

  Next, after draining the oil and taking off the old filter and putting on the new one I was in the process of pouring in my first quart of new oil when I happened to look over to my creeper and there set my .... oil plug. Oh, crap. Fortunately I had just started and it hadn't worked its way down yet and I saved a near disaster. I'm really proud of that save by the way.

 

  Third, after finishing the oil change and still patting myself on the back over the near mess, I got on the bike, turned the key and she started right up. Naturally, I wanted to take her down the street and see just how she would sound with the new semi-synthetic oil in her so I tripped her into first gear, let out the clutch to maneuver myself out of the garage and immediately ran slap dab over and thru the old oil which I had forgotten to remove from under the bike.

 

   I can barely explain the mess three quarts of old black smelly oil makes on a garage floor but the fact that Joyce drove up just as I was contemplating how I could get this cleaned up before she could see it will be ever locked in memory. And.......how did your day go?

Wilson, KS 3-12-08

ROMEO Lunch at the "Made from Scratch" cafe

Wilson, KS "Czech Capital of Kansas"

  Eleven of us on ten bikes made the ride together from Salina.  Wilson probably hasn't had so much excitement since the last Czech Festival as today when around 30 ROMEOs descended on the Made from Scratch cafe for lunch.    It's a good thing they had us in our own room because it was a pretty loud bunch.  Like old mountain men at the spring rendezvous we greeted each other and caught up with what everyone had been doing over the long, hard winter. 

  The ROMEOs Have Arrived 

 

 

Most everyone made for the daily buffet, at $6.50 it was hard to beat fried chicken, ham, real mashed potatoes, veggies and salad and rolls.  For the more discerning there was the menu and I spotted potato chips that looked home made.  The buffet line was a little confusing for some of the older ROMEOs and at least one was seen eating his meal out of a bowl.  No one noticed if he was using a spoon or a fork.

  Before leaving the Czech capital I stopped by the local Post Office to visit an old friend who is the postmaster and on the way back to the cafe I meet Richard and Joyce on their way to capture a virtual cache in Joyce's never ending quest to become the queen of geocaching. 

 It was the old Wilson Jail, a unique building built out of native limestone.  These little rides are always more enjoyable if you can soak up a little local history.

  It's a good thing I had passed on the delicious looking pies after lunch because a few of us couldn't pass by the Dairy Queen in Ellsworth without stopping.  It was definitely feeling like nap time as I rolled back into town.

Hard Winter

  I have proof that it has been a hard winter here in central Kansas.  Yesterday I changed the oil in the REB and noted that I had logged a whopping 188 miles since the last oil change on November 26, 2007.  Hell, I've ridden further than for lunch on many occassions.

  Finally, we have a little break in the weather and it is supposed to hit the mid 60's today and tomorrow.  Never mind the possibility of snow on the weekend, we take what we are given and make the best of it.

Wishful Thinking

  Went for a little ride on the REB yesterday...........yeah I wish.  So what else am I going to do when the weather is too crappy to ride?  Actually I got a good ride in last Friday.  Rode the Dubya down to Hutchinson, KS for BBQ at the Salvation Army.  One of the ROMEO guys cooks up the pork loin and brisket for them once a month.  Richard, Louie and I rode down together, it was a little cool going but the trip back was delightful.  Good BBQ too.

  In case you were wondering the photo was shot someplace in Peru (I think) by a guy touring on a REB.  Photoshopping my bike in the scene is the wishful thinking part.