Lunch 11 AM, June 3, Home Plate Cafe, Seneca, Ks

[schoolmaster]

I'm posting this a little earlier than usual because I'm headed out of town for the State Track Meet in Wichita this weekend. I guess it's the nature of the business but the first two restaurants I tried were out of business ((Bern (sorry Hozer), Circleville)) and the 3rd is only open on the weekends now (Hog Holler Saloon at Lake Perry). So when I finally got one scheduled on the 4th try I was really pleased that they are very excited to host us. We have never been there and it's a bit north for us, but it's supposed to be clear and a high of 82 with just a light breeze, so it's about time we stretched it out a little bit. So this week we're going to give them an impressive ROMEO appearance at the:

Home Plate Cafe
811 North St.
Seneca, Kansas 66538
785-336-0059
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I told him to expect between 40 and 50 so I hope we can make a decent showing for this one. They are open for breakfast and they start serving lunch at 10:30 so that would be a pretty good time to show up. I've not eaten here but I've been by it and it looks like a great place. My wife ate here last week with her parents and she said it was great food and friendly service and I believe everything she tells me!
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Here is the link to all scheduled Romeo Rides:
http://mapq.st/1FGty7L
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So I hope to see you next Wednesday in Seneca at Home Plate!!

[schoolmaster]

Bump

[schoolmaster]

I decided I was going to ride this morning come hell or high water so I didn't even check the radar, I just looked at the sky and fired up the Indian and took off north. Well, I didn't go to hell, but I got awfully close to high water! Just north of Topeka the sky was dark and the lightning was sharp and bright (in contrast to me, a little dull and dumb), so I stopped and put on my rain suit, cinched it up and proceeded to ride through about 50 miles of the hardest rain storm I have ever ridden in. As I neared Seneca, I was fully prepared to take a "selfie" to put in the ride report but when I rode into the parking lot I didn't see any motorcycles, but I did see these two smiling faces.[attachment=10]DSCN4840.jpg[/attachment]
So the next thing I quickly asked was, "Where are your bikes?"[attachment=9]DSCN4839.jpg[/attachment]
Swanee quickly explained that he just bought a new Mini-Cooper and wanted to test it to insure it was water tight! Santa Greg doesn't get quite as many points for being there, (although close) when he explained that his girlfriend lives in Seneca and he just had to come a few blocks!

So we waited in the parking lot until 11 and decided we'd just request a table for "a party of 3". I had to sheepishly explain to the owner (who had brought in extra help for our crowd? that we were only 37 short of what I'd predicted But he was a good sport about it and we told him we'd give it another try when the monsoon season ended later this year.
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It was actually fun to ride in the rain and it turned out to be a great day to be a ROMEO! Plus I got to eat lunch with 7 of my ROMEO buddies!! A huge pat on the back and THANK YOU to those guys for making the effort to show up under such adverse conditions. I even did a little scouting for future eating opportunities on the way home.

On a personal note, I was supposed to go in for a surgical procedure tomorrow to clear out a little debris in my heart left there from too many ROMEO lunches over the years. However, the surgeon has the flu so it has been postponed until next Tuesday. So Swanee is going to be taking over EK Ride Coordinator duties for awhile until I get back on my feet. Hopefully the damage can be cleared up with stents but if not, they may have to open me up which could keep me out for a little longer. So ride safe and I hope to see you sooner than later. A big thanks to Swanee for being willing to step in.
Mick

[TomK]

Hope all goes well Mick. Keep us posted.

[Ole GW]

The K.C.Trio set out from McD's on SM Pkwy a little after 9:00, at least we started to start, but someone that looks like Don was whining about leaving his rain suit at home. HELLO, it's already raining! Anyway, after a detour to aquire said rain suit, we headed towards Lawrence, and then on to Topeka, hoping to miss the storm that was looking to engulf Atchison. All was good until we headed north on 75, then all was not so good. That's where we encountered the torrential down pour, and lightening. We had donned our rain gear and zipped up earlier, so we were ready. Did I say "zipped" up?, yes I did----BUT, you know those little flaps they put on the rain jackets that snap down and cover the zipper, well, they don't work very well if they're flapping in the breeze (but then again, they are "flaps" aren't they). Your t-shirt gets really wet when the flap isn't closed. I thought I was getting water down my neck because of the driving rain, but when my belly button filled up, I wondered if there was a different problem--and there was, the flap that SHOULD have been covering the zipper, wasn't. I did get if folded over, but with rain soaked gloves, wind, and rain, was unable to snap those damn little snaps. Anyway, just folded over helped, I think, but at this point, who could tell for sure.
At the start I said this wasn't a good idea, but nobody listens to me. It was a down pour of epic proportion--you really couldn't see the road, only the white lines, when they were about 6 feet in front of you, and the taillights up ahead. Here is a real case of the "blind leading the blind"--Don was in front, trying to stay within sight of the taillights of a car, Rod was behind him, and I was bringing up the rear. I think we were all in the same boat( probably should have been in a boat), trying to stay between the white lines, and behind the taillights in front of you--more fun! The Goldwings have some pretty awesome lightening rods on them (and some even have 2). but I wasn't worried. I wasn't concerned because mine was about 1 1/2 in. shorter, do to garage door concerns, so I figured if there some "bolts" in our area, the longer "rods" would attract them ( I wouldn't wish harm to anyone, but---).
After we got out of the rain, it was a decent ride on the Seneca. Rod had a neat setup with his rain pants--they were set up like a funnel, but where the water ran down the outside, instead of the inside. And it worked perfectly, right down the leg, and right into his boot, and when they get full, you just dump them--heck of an idea! Had a good lunch, lots of laughs, and all wondered about the sanity of those involved! The trip home was dry, for the most part, and uneventful, which after the trip up, was a good thing. Hope the other attendee's made it home OK.

[ksubrad877]

You boys are my idols!