Roy’s BBQ RTE (9th Annual) - Hutchinson, KS: May 7, 2016

[roginoz]

It's a few months off, but I thought I'd post this year's RTE for those who actually do some planning of their rides. In recent years we've held the Roy's BBQ RTE on the fourth Saturday of April. Weather seems to have been a problem a lot of the time, so I'm moving the event to the first Saturday in May.

As usual, it's 11:00 AM for lunch at Roy’s BBQ (1018 Nickerson Blvd., Hutchinson - also known as Fifth Avenue,) with optional tire kicking and BS prior to lunch. It makes for an early start for those riding in the same day, but it lets us beat the crowd. (Late comers get what the early birds didn't eat, and Roy's closes when the meat’s gone.)

After lunch we’ll head to the Carriage Crossing, in Yoder, for pie. There’s a small reserved motorcycle parking area on the south side of the restaurant, and plenty of overflow parking adjacent.

If you have some additional time, the Kansas Cosmosphere, (US and Russian space capsules, various rockets, and an SR71 hanging in the lobby...) and the underground salt museum (for those who want to go 650 feet underground,) are nearby. The Kansas Motorcycle Museum, in Marquette, is a short ride north.

Anyone heading south or east (or any other direction, if you don't mind backtracking,) is welcome to stop by my garage in Wichita on the trip home. There's usually an assortment of beverages in the garage fridge, and some cigars in the humidor.

We typically have riders from five or six states. The rider traveling the farthest gets a free lunch and pie, and will have his or her name engraved on the “Mixon Cup” (named for Chris Mixon, who took long distance honors the first year.) The Mixon Cup is displayed year-round at Roy’s. Previous winners came from Arizona (twice,) California, Illinois (twice,) Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.