For those interested in the group ride from Salina we'll be leaving from Spangles at 10:30AM.
TIME....................1:00
Here it is.............. Larry's Cafe ( One Way Cafe )
412 Elm Street
Natoma KS
785-885-4185
Facebook page........https://www.facebook.com/larryscafenatoma/?fref=ts
Web Page.............
Map site.............http://bit.ly/1uLkbOc
Today was one of those glorious days that motorcycles were invented for. I thoroughly believe that one day someone woke up on a day like today and wanted to go for a ride on his bicycle, but was deterred by the prospect of working up a sweat. So he found an old utility engine laying around and bolted it to his bicycle and VIOLA, the motorcycle was born. Then when he retired he found other retirees who wanted to eat out and the rest is ROMEO history. But I digress. We met up at Spangles for a 10:30 departure. There was a good turnout of a dozen or so. I stopped at the Quick Stop to gas up and saw Richard there first. Then off to the bank to get some cash for the day. After I got to Spangles people started rolling in steadily. Before I knew it engines were firing up and bikes were rolling out. Then everyone was scrambling to get on the road. Shortly chaos ensued after getting on the freeway. The leaders had such a jump on the rest of us that most of us lost sight of them post haste. We got to the exit for State Street and some of us weren't aware of the route we were taking and almost missed the exit. Might I suggest that someone give a couple toots on their horn when it's getting time to mount up. There's no point to gathering for a group ride if we cant keep the leaders in sight, and being the lemming that I am I'll get lost in a heartbeat. Along the way I I counted 9 bikes from my position and we picked up a few along the way for 13 when we rolled up to Lucas. Suddenly I saw several bikes turn into Lucas, so I followed suit. Big Jim wanted to stop at the meat market there and pick some things up. There were 5 of us who followed him while the rest pressed on to Natoma. When all was said and done we still rolled into Natoma 20 minuets early which gave me time to get Leo settled and get the outside shots. I counted 36 bikes while I was out there and a few more rolled in after I went inside. All told we had 39 bikes. A better turnout than I expected. We filled the place to about 80% capacity and the staff did a great job of serving all of us. I opted for the pulled pork sandwich and fries. They had they had their own recipe for the BBQ sauce and I was not disappointed. And they were very generous with the fries. After kicking tires and swapping lies many of us went over to the town junk dealer. He had a little bit of everything and some unique art work. He had several variants of a bicycle lawn mower hybrid. He also had a car covered in old license plates that had an attached trailer carrying an huge motorcycle sculpture. With a 100 mile ride home I figured I'd better get on the road before I run out of steam. Wandering around town aimlessly trying to find my way to the highway I fell in behind Arnie and Jean Boyd from Chapman on their Goldwing and started following them assuming they knew where going. After exploring Natoma for a while we found the highway and headed east. It wasn't long before Leigh Davenport fell in line behind me and we all headed to more familiar territory. About the time we rolled up on Lucas Arnie was slowing down. As he gradually slowed I pulled alongside to see what was wrong. Jean said they were out of gas. As luck would have it we were directly across the road from a gas station. They pushed the bike up to the pump and gassed up while I went inside for a cool drink. Leo and I needed a break anyway. Tanned rested and ready to go we started to mount up and when Arnie hit the starter, NOTHING! He tried the horn and it let out an anemic squawk that meant only one thing. A dead battery. The mechanic on duty provided an jumper box that we hooked up and the bike came to life. Encouraged we prepared to press on when the bike sputtered and died again. It sounded to me like the alternator brushes had worn out. Not being able to properly diagnose the problem the task at hand was to get the bike home. The decision was made to have Leigh give Arnie a ride home leaving Jean with the bike until Arnie could get back with his truck and trailer. The guys left and I sat with Jean and chatted til I was rested and Jean went to the restaurant to wait for Arnie's return. Leo and I pressed on eastbound. Before I knew it we came upon highway 81 and headed south the final 12 miles to Salina. We finally got home to be greeted by a highly animated Fritz who was overjoyed to discover that Leo and I actually came back and he was not abandoned to die alone. I collapsed in a heap in my recliner only to be accosted by a thoroughly overjoyed Fritz. After all was said and done it was a great ride with great friends and great food.
All told we had 41 people on 39 bikes from Salina, Russel, Hutchenson, Chase, Chapman, Cuba, Junction City, Denmark, Culver, McPherson, Lindsborg, and Canton. We were riding Honda, Harley, Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi, and an "I don't know".
The high miler was Louie Bigler with 180 miles.
- You don't quit riding when you get old. You get old when you quit riding.
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