I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place for this week. I have a tentative place set up but I can't firm it up til Monday. The weather looks good and it should be a good ride. It's the Branding Iron in Goessel. They only have seating for 20 indoors but they have outdoor seating. They have to line up tables and chairs and won't be able to do it til Monday. I'll have a time when I get it firmed up.
I just got the call from the Branding Iron and we're set for 11:30. The weatherman promises a good day 
Once again we saved the world for democracy and established a departure time of 10:00 from the Sleep Inn for the trip to Goessel.
TIME....................11:30
Here it is.............. Branding Iron Cafe
106 N. Cedar
Goessel, Kansas 67053
620-367-2363
Facebook page........
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Branding ... 81?fref=ts
Map site.............
http://bit.ly/1uLkbOc
Tuesday morning came after a fitful nights sleep. I got up at 7:30 a s staggered through my morning routine. I got showered and shaved, trying desperately to avoid self inflicted injury while attempting to remove unwanted facial hair. There are times when I shouldn't be allowed to handle sharp objects. After successfully facing that peril it's time to get dressed. You know you're in for a rough day when it takes 6 tries to get your skives on. Persistence paid off and I finally did get dressed. Knowing that my pockets were empty, (too much month left at the end of the money), I was forced to raid my loose change stash. I lifted 4 quarters to ensure I had the necessary funds for my usual glass of tea. Playing my cards close to the vest and I kept silent as I slipped out the door so as to not arise any canine suspicions. As soon as I fired the bike up I could hear the plaintive barking of Fritz. I arrived at Bayrd's to find most of the usual crowd already there. While there we deliberated until it was settled that the best course of action was to meet the the Sleep Inn at 10:00. The rest of the day is a little foggy. Finally at around 11:00 PM the TV turned into a blur of swirling colors and a cacophony of indiscernible noise. It was then that I decided it was time for bed. I swiftly fell into a very deep coma. After what seemed like a long nights sleep I awoke enough to hear my watch chime the top of the hour. I pressed the button to light the dial only to see 12:00! Good Lord its only midnight?!? I felt like I was out like Rip Van Winkle! Rolling over I reclaimed the majority of the bed from the dogs and went back to sleep. 3:30 rolls around and the dogs want to get up. So I get up to let them out only to have them look at me as if to say “Why are you opening the door”? They just decided it was time to get up. At this point putting them in buns and having them for lunch seemed like a viable option. Back to bed and this time they actually let me sleep in till 8:00. I got up and checked the temperature and found it to be a frightening 48 degrees. Not looking good for Leo. All too soon it was 9:30 and time to head out to meet the others. I decided to leave Leo behind due to the cold so I gassed up the bike, stopped at the ATM and headed to the Sleep Inn. I was number 3 to arrive with others to follow shortly. It was shaping up to be a pretty good day weather wise and I started to have second thoughts about leaving Leo behind. 10:00 rolled around and Emory fired up. I guess it's time to leave. I got fired up and took the number 4 slot as we headed down 9th street to K4. I didn't take long to realize ti was going to me a motorcycle specific day and a good day was to follow. About half way to Gypsum I was lamenting not having my guard dog along. After all, you never know what kind of livestock you might encounter. After Gypsum I settled into the zone and started thoroughly enjoying the ride. The temperature was perfect, there was virtually no wind, and the pipes were barking out their musical V twin cadence. The only distraction from my nirvana was the nagging growl in my stomach. While enjoying my gasoline fueled bliss I noticed that I was now in the number 3 spot and Emory was nowhere to be seen. Eventually the terrain flattened enough that I could see an Emory shaped speck on the horizon. He had slipped into a substantial lead, not leaving us in his dust. By the time we got there his dust had settled. But as we pulled into Canton there was a train crossing the road and we were able to catch up. Pulling into Goessel I stopped to get a picture of the sign at the edge of town. I had no idea where the restaurant was so I shifted into lemming mode bringing up the rear. We pulled up to a very picturesque setting of a small cafe in a park setting with a little stream flowing by and a walking bridge over the stream. Their seating capacity was only 20 but they had several picnic tables set up outside for us. Considering the weather most of us opted to eat outside. While I was getting the pictures there were more bikes streaming in. Finally the last to arrive was Delbert in his pick up truck. His bike was in the shop for tires. While scurrying about snapping pictures I noticed someone had ordered the Chili Cheese Dog. That looks good! So I got in the end of the line and ordered two, and an order of fries. It really hit the spot. These were not the typical crummy hot dog on a soggy bun. The order of fries was like a wheel barrow full. I sat down to this feast and Joyce asked if I was going to eat all of that in one sitting. I advised her that I may have to stop for a snack on the way home. I must admit that my eyes were almost bigger than my rather sizable stomach. But it did hit the spot. Folks started to filter out and Richard had his ice cream radar on and decided to head for Hesston with plans to stop at Dan's Cycles and Scoops. I decided that would be a good idea so I followed in tow. We found to our dismay that there was a bridge out and you can't get to Dan's from there, so we pressed on to Scoops for their world famous chocolate malt. That definitely took me to my limit. I had been fed for the day. Not another bite. We mounted up and launched north on old 81. When we got to Lindsborg Richard peeled off toward home and I pressed on for Walmart where I had intended to get some dog food, since all that I had left was already in their bowl. By this time I'm swiftly burning out. Thinking that there's a meal that I want to try I figured I'd get the necessary items to make it happen. A Walmart I grabbed a cart and staggered with the cart supporting considerably more of my weight than my legs were. Over to housewares to find a casserole dish. I actually found a set of three for $10 which sounded good to me. A set of wooden spoons so I could quit melting my plastic ones while stirring things in the skillet. Off to groceries for soft corn tortillas, taco sauce, taco seasoning, black and green olives. At this point my body is dangerously close to shutting down with my brain to follow. After checking out, about half way to the bike, it hits me. No dog food! Totally devoid of any surplus energy I reasoned that the food they have will carry them through to tomorrow. But the canine low fuel light was glowing brightly. The rest of the way home I was going through all the scenarios that would allow me to get my newly acquired booty into the house with the fewest number of trips. I can't tell you how I did it but I managed to get the bike in the garage, the garage door closed and all my purchases in the house in one trip. YEA ME! The whole lot went onto the kitchen counter and any perishables went into the fridge. Anything else could wait to find a home. My recliner leaped off the floor and tackled me. An exhausted end to a perfect riding day.
We had riders from Salina, Minneapolis, Hesston, Enterprise, Hunter, Moundridge, McPherson, Lindsborg, and Canton With our long distance rider was Gaylon Seehafer from Hunter on his Harley coming 140 miles.
We were riding Honda, Harley, Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW, Kawasaki, 86 Postal Jeep Cushman, V Rod, Victory, and Moto Guzzi.
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