Wednesday North Central ROMEO Lunch Ride for 3/30/16

[Roadpounder]

I managed to hook up with a new place for next week. So far the weather looks pretty good and its not real far. The owner seemed very happy to accommodate us and she said Wednesdays were usually not too busy. They serve breakfast all day with lunch starting at 10:00. It promises to be a pretty good ride. See ya Wed.

TIME....................11:00 AM

Here it is.............. Neighbors Cafe
204 S. Main
McPherson KS 67460

(620) 241-7900

Owner Shelly

WEB page........http://www.neighborscafe.com/welcome.html

http://bit.ly/1uLkbOc


3/30/16 We tried a new place in McPherson today. Neighbors Cafe turned out to be a good choice. I ran across this place while checking out another place on Facebook. When I called them they were enthusiastic and said they could seat up to 57.

When I rolled into the Sleep Inn there were only two or three there but a steady stream rolled in shortly. There was some time for tire kicking giving others time to arrive. All told we had 10 leave from Salina and we all got under way more or less together. We all had a little trepidation over the wind when it started to kick up just before launch time. Once under way the wind was pretty much straight on and the ride settled into a pretty easy venture. We descended on Lindsborg to find Evan Jones at Cap's gassing up greeting us with a huge wave as we cruised by. The route was pretty straight forward and I believe I could even have found it on my own. However that remains to be seen. My track record isn't too good in that regard. It wasn't long before I was was zoneing out just enjoying the ride. Before I knew it we were turning off old K81which jarred me back into reality to the realization that we were pulling into McPherson. We chugged through town pretty well grouped when a SUV pulled into the lane in front of me,without signaling, toughly blocking my view of the leading bikes. Immediately thoughts of the leaders turning and leaving me in the lurch flooded my mind. I strained to keep an eye on them, but shortly, as quickly as it appeared, the SUV turned left into a mall parking lot, easing my mind.

We found Neighbors Cafe just a few doors down from the corner. Most of us, the smart ones, chose to park on the side street, where parking was plentiful. The rest of us parked on Main street in whatever slots we could find. I was fortunate enough to find a spot in front of the cafe. Being a little early most of us stayed outside to babble on discussing such trivialities as the meaning of life, while others stuck to the more important topics extolling the the virtues of our bikes.

Eventually we all filed in and found a quaint cafe featuring both counter and booth seating with a small dining room toward the back with booth seating. All the cooking was done behind the counter and seemed to run like a well oiled machine. With breakfast served all day many opted to take that route. Somehow I never could get used to the idea of eating breakfast when it's not breakfast time. On Wednesday rides this is usually my main meal of the day, so I chose the Mid day steak. I wasn't disappointed. It was cooked exactly to order and the mashed potatoes and gravy were the perfect side. Leo really missed a good steak on this ride.

About mid meal the manager grabbed a bull horn to welcome us and thank us for coming. She seemed genuinely glad have us. They seemed to handle the crowd very well as the service was prompt and courteous. They really put their best foot forward for us.

After dining we hung around for a while for the second round of world peace talks before some of us decided to head for Dan's Cycles to drool all over the new bikes. After checking my finances and determining that there was exactly 0% chance of me buying anything in the near future I chose to head back home.

Upon leaving town and getting up to highway speed, with my noble steed galloping rhythmically beneath me I began to fantasize about all the places I want to ride to when Publishers Clearing House finally comes through. All too soon civilization caused my thought cloud to evaporate and I was pulling into my garage, realizing the ride was over. The remainder of the day was spent in my recliner in deep reflection of a near perfect, albeit all too short ride.

Total attendance 32

Our high miler this week was Steve Errebo on his Honda from Pottersburg with 112 miles.

The brands represented today were Honda, Harley, BMW, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Guzzi, and a 1945 Cushman

Towns represented were. Salina, Lindsborg, Canton, Lake Wilson, Culver, Junction City, Hutchinson, Moundridge, McPherson, and Pottersburg

Best retirement plan yet!

[Richard]

Guys - I just want to interject a correction here. Marty overlooked one guy that should be mentioned. Instead of winning the long distance honor, Harry only took second.....sorry Harry but fair is fair! The high mileage honor should have gone to Steve Errebo, out constant lond distance rider of note lately since he lives in Denmark. The town not the country! His Honda ST1300 is starting to pile up some serious miles.
Pat Shea from McPherson rode a whopping 1 miloe on his new acquistion...a gorgeous black Honda Shadow with Cobra pipes that I heard waaay before I saw him come in. Mark Unruh also from McPherson doubled Pat's mileage reporting 2 miles but came with honors of having the oldest bike on the street...a '42' Cushman with.....remember the foot headlight dimmer switch? This one had it but if it was anything like my bro-in-laws Highlander the switch didn't matter since the bulb was so dim.
After lunch a few of us took off for Dan's Cycle for what was to be a swap'in good time..........stay tuned for future photos!
Richard

[beemermark]

The little café at 204 S. Main, McPherson, KS has had quite an interesting life. The café opened around 1929. Business was helped along early by large amounts of oil drilling, supplying a steady flow of hungry workers. Local historian David Nigh remembers it as "the place" for Sunday dinners. There were tables in back and counter service in front and the traditional jukebox selectors at the booths. The original "White Swan" name stood until the 80's, changing to Barney's. In the 90's Chuck Wagon and now Neighbor's. The building that was next door north was the YMCA. Built around 1910, the building was used by the community for various gatherings, but the main draw was swimming and marbles. The pool was in the basement (YES the basement) with low ceilings providing a restriction on "high" diving and splashing so as not to get the ceiling wet. Money was tight back in the day so something as common now days as swimming trunks would have been an unnecessary expense, so yes buff swimming was the norm for years. As my father-in-law, Glen Christensen, used to tell you always brought your marble bag to the "Y", after all it wasn't always easy to come up with the 10 cents for towel and basket rental. I can remember on both sides of the steps leading into the "Y" that there were areas with no grass. Just smooth flat dirt - the perfect playing field for "shooting" marbles.

Ride safe and keep all your marbles. Mark