I know this place has been around for a while because I found it on my road trip planner from 2008.It looks like the weather is going to hold for tomorrow. It should take about an hour to get to Lost Springs, so if we launch from the Rodeway Inn @ 10:00 it should put us on target at 11:00.
TIME........11:00
Here it is...Al's Cafe
101 Berry St
Lost Springs, KS 66859
(785) 983-4827
Facebook Page.....https://www.facebook.com/Als-Cafe-111885225508655/
Web Page..........
Map site..........https://tinyurl.com/wd4hsez
The day started out a little sketchy with an overcast sky. But it seemed to be shaping up to be an alright day. I tried to keep the day's plans close to the vest to keep Fritz from bouncing off of the walls. I tried to hide all my prep from him as I got things ready. He knows what I do before a ride. Finally he put it together and the little fur missile started rocketing all over the house. Trying to keep him calm until launch time is almost impossible. Every time I head to the garage he freaks out. Finally I got the bike loaded and ready but we still had a little time, so I sat down to relax a little before we left. From that time on he was up in my face whimpering and whining. "Come on! Lets go!" I'm still trying to sweep the rest of the cobwebs out and he's ready to go into orbit. Finally I look at the clock and give in to his demands. We mount up and head out with that old familiar feeling of forgetting something. Book, camera, counter, cash, water and dish. It looks like I have it all. About halfway to the Rodeway Inn, it hits me. I forgot to change into my riding boots. Oh Well. I'll survive it. No time to turn around now. At least I had my pants.
I roll in and, as usual, I'm the first to arrive. I get parked and Fritz settled with water, and then I realize I left a half hour early. I now have time to go home and change shoes. Screw it! I'm here and I ain't moving! I settled in to wait for the others. About 10 minutes to 11 Terry Powell arrives. Well, at least I'm not alone. Shortly two more came in and it was launch time. I loaded Fritz up and we headed out. Terry took the lead and Ken Boss brought up the rear. Terry opted for a slightly different route than my trip planner chose, so in true lemming mode, I followed dutifully. About halfway there I noticed there was only one head light behind me. We lost Ken! We motored on happily on and the day continually improved. Pretty soon the sky was mostly clear and the temps were still mild. This is turning out to be OK. I spotted the restaurant by the line of bikes as we rolled into town. Al's Cafe seems an odd name for a Mexican restaurant. After seeing their sign I surmised that Al was short for the owner's last name ALVEREZ. Although somewhat scattered we found plentiful parking. I got parked across the street form the restaurant. Right next to the puddle that could have passed for Lost Spring bubbling up. I got Fritz on leash and dug out his water, but his dish was nowhere to be found. Damn! I left it back at the Rodeway! I got him settled and went inside to beg a to go cup for him to drink from. They were quite accommodating. I went about doing the photo thing. When I got inside I spotted Ken Boss sitting at a table. He opted for the route that my trip planner chose. While I was stumbling around taking pictures, who do I spot but Richard and Joyce Kurtz. Richard doesn't do much riding any more so he and Joyce drove up to join us. It was great to see them on one of the rides again. He was looking good and in good spirits. When I finally got seated, everyone at my table had already ordered. I managed to snag a menu. I'm not big on Mexican food, but I can usually find something I like. I opted for their Taco Burger. Waiting for my order to come up the waitress informed me that they were out of Taco Burgers. 
Well, then I went for their Mexican Pizza. Taco meat sandwiched between two tortillas and topped with Mexican cheese, black olives and a dollop of sour cream. I wasn't disappointed. 
It went down real good. Unfortunately Fritz struck out on this ride. While we were eating Diesel Dave and Richard McCall rolled in bringing us up to a head count of 30. As our bellies filled we started to filter out for the usual tire kicking. I got Fritz and we walked around joining in on some of the conversations. The day before, Denny Sexton called to tell me that Dan's Cycles had a stack of old service manuals for sale cheap so I decided to head over there and see what they had. Most were for older two stroke singles, but I did find a couple that I thought might be useful, so I picked them up. Dan has some interesting old bikes on the floor. One that caught my eye was an old Moto Guzzi Falcone. It is an old 500cc horizontal single with an external fly wheel down by the riders left ankle. Affectionately known as the "Bologna Slicer" . Fortunately the edge was smooth and well rounded. New library additions in hand, we mounted up for the ride home. My gas gauge was flirting with the lower end of the scale. I probably had enough to get home, but by this time I wasn't feeling too very adventurous about stretching the fuel supply, so I decided to top off in Canton. The rest of the trip was uneventful and we pulled into the garage, parked the bike and Fritz made a bee line for his water dish. It turned out to be a great day for a ride and all tolled I put on 194 miles.
- Moto Guzzi Falcone with"Bologna Slicer"
had a good time ! Before the lunch crowds arrived. Just fyi tap on pictures to see them right side up . My phone does whatever it wants when posting pictures 