Another Missed Club Ride

Last Sunday I missed another ride with the "Twisters".

This time it wasn't because of work obligations (like the last 2).

Max was in the shop for his 6,000 mile maintenance. Change all fluids, new filters and a valve adjustment.

I was hoping I could get Max back from the shop in time for the ride, but some parts had to be ordered, and they didn't come in as expected. I was a bit miffed that they didn't call me and inform me of the delay, but there was little I could do about it.

A high percentage of my riding is just plain old commuting. It's nice to get out with other people on occasion and go riding with some good friends, a nice change of pace and scenery.

This ride started near the "Keeper of the Plains" statue on the river in the downtown area. Hardly a cloud in the sky, temps in the 70's, little wind, ideal conditions.

There were even some birds in the water.

A gathering of Scoots There were 16 that showed up to ride. 15 scooters and this very nice old BMW R80. This bike was over 40 years old and the owner's father was the original owner. I bet there are a lot of good stories.

One guy showed up with a brand new Yamaha Majesty.

A Honda Ruckus

Today's route ws not real ambitious, just some riding along the river and meeting up afterward at a local coffee shop. The same coffee shop we met after our club's inaugural ride just shy of a year ago.

Yes, it was just a year ago when we started the club and we are glad to announce that we are doing just fine.

A lot of the "regulars" were there.

We found out that one of our member's had just recently had an accident. Another infamous left turn by a cage was the cause. He's apparently doing okay, a banged up knee and very sore. We all hope he is riding with us again soon.

I forgot the good camera, so apologize for the blackberry pictures, but hope you get the idea what a beautiful day it was. Wished I could have gone along.

Here's a little video of the sendoff:

A Lost Glove

Sometimes it is good to be lucky. This last Tuesday I was very lucky. The Saturday before I wasn't too smart, I did something sort of absent minded. The lost glove was one of my favorites. An Aerostich Hot Weather Vegan. Okay, I know, it's just a glove. I'm lucky I didn't lose something more valuable. But this glove is the greatest invention in the history of glovekind. I kid you not! On Saturday I had stopped to take a couple of pictures near the town of Sedgwick, KS. Because it was a cool morning, I was riding with my winter gloves. My summer gloves (the Aerostich Hot Weather Vegans) were in the top case. After I took a couple of pictures, I put the camera away in the top case and drove off. I didn't realize it at the time, but I apparently forgot to completely close the top case. Somewhere in about a 10 mile stretch of county road, one of my Aerostich Hot Weather Vegan gloves flew out of my top case. I did not realize it was gone until I got home. I was not happy. They are my favorite gloves. I wanted it back! On Monday I decided that I was going to try and go back the next morning to that same road and see if I could find it. Odds were probably not good, hell the odds were ridiculously low, but it was a good excuse for another ride. The glove could be anywhere on that 8 to 10 mile stretch of road. But I did have hope. Maybe more like blind faith. Have you ever ridden off and forgotten to close up something. I suspect that maybe some of you have. The gloves are not irreplaceable. A short trip to the Aerostich website and another pair could be shipped to me quickly. But they are by far my favorites. And I really didn't want to spend another $47 plus shipping, even if I consider it a good buy. I am so cheap! Tuesday morning I had an eye doctor appointment at 9:00am. I wanted to look for the glove before I saw the doctor, so I left the house well before 8:00am. (Canadian and USA time). I boogeyed out of town and reached the town of Sedgwick a little before 8:30am. This gave me plenty of time to carefully peruse and scan the side of the road as I rode back to Wichita to the doctor's office. Sedgwick KS is connected to Wichita by Ridge Road. It is a straight shot because Ridge Road is a Section line road as are many of the county roads in Kansas. I knew that it was a mile or two south of Sedgwick where I had stopped briefly to take a picture and I looked first for the place where I had stopped. I found it quickly and hoped that my task would be easy and the glove would be right there where I had stopped three days before. No such luck. I rode on, carefully scanning the side of the road on my right and occasionally glancing over to the left side of the road just in case. The glove is black and the ground was very green and I thought there was at least some chance that I would see it. But there were about 9 miles to cover and my hopes were becoming a bit dimmer. I rode a little slower than normal, but not slow enough to impede the flow of traffic. But on a road like this there is usually little traffic so that was not much of a concern. After a couple of more miles my thoughts turned to expressions of frustration at the apparent futility of my quest. How the heck can I ever find a little black glove in all this area. I imagined Darth Vader encouraging me to give in to the Dark Side of the Force and give up my quest. Images of Frodo and Sam on their way to Mordor and the obvious improbability of accomplishing their quest also crossed my mind. Ahhh, who am I kidding! I was mostly just thinking that I was a complete dummy for even being out here and doing this. Jimbo, you are never going to find that glove. A couple of miles later I saw something. About 2 feet from the right side of the road. I was riding fast enough that I rode on past about 50 more yards before I was able to safely turn around and go back to get a closer look. A faint glimmer of hope swelled within me. But as I approached it became apparent that it was just a small piece of a shredded tire. It wasn't my "precious" glove. I rode on, feeling frustrated a bit, but not yet ready to give up. I recalled how Yoda would encourage Luke Skywalker and how Galadriel and Gandalf would encourage Frodo in their battles of good vs evil. I persevered. I rode on some more. I started to realize that there were only about 3 more miles to go. If I was going to find it, it had to be soon. Traffic had increased a bit as I got closer to Wichita. It might be harder to find. I approached an area of road construction and a little while later I saw something again. This time it was a small black object in the gutter at the side of the road. Again, I had to ride past the object before I could safely turn around again to go back. Could it be my "precious"? I remember thinking that I should not get my hopes up.

But as I rode back past it again, this time more slowly, I became even more excited. This could be it! I wasn't positive until I parked and walked over to it.

It was the famous Aerostich glove. My "Precious" had been returned to its Master. I laughed out loud as I realized I had found it.

A workman working on the roadway nearby looked at me like I was crazy. He may be right. He looked even a bit more surprised whan I got my camera out and took a couple of pictures.

I picked up the glove, put it with its mate in the top case along with my camera, made damn sure the top case was closed properly, and rode on to my appointment with the eye doctor. I was 2 minutes late for my appointment.

Pure Dumb Luck? .................Maybe

I prefer to think that it was destiny and that all good things will eventually return to those people that are righteous, pure in heart, and who never give up in the face of overwhelming odds.

Ahhh, Whatever!

Sure was nice to wear those Aerostich Hot Weather Vegan gloves on the way home later that day.

Gettin' Out of Town

I just really needed to get out of the city. Max and I had mostly just been commuting to and from work for the past 3 months. All in town, and all at city speeds. It was time to see the country. Blow out a few cobwebs for both Max and me.

This field was startlingly green even if the plants were very small.

There was no plan for the ride, other than gettin' out of town.

But as I rode I kept ending up in a smaller community of some sort. Wichita has a lot of smaller communities surrounding it.

This city/community even has a slogan. Bel Aire is definately a bedroom community. No downtown area, mostly housing developments. The dog at this house was letting me know that I was "invading his territory". Up the road a little further is another city/community, also with a slogan.

Kechi is known for its antique shops. My camera batteries crapped out on me soon after the next shot, so ended up with no pictures of antiques today. Guess I wasn't prepared that well. Buying batteries would happen in the next town.

But today I encountered these beasts that didn't seem to care about Max and I stopping to take their picture.

From the sublime to the ridiculous? Another horse in the next town, Park City.

Park City, in my mind is sort of like a big truck stop. Fast food abounds. Good place to get batteries.

A Harley rider stopped here for breakfast.

. There is a dog track here that closed a couple of years ago. The owner says that if the State Legislature would let him have slot machines, then he would open up the track again. I'm not holding my breath. For now, the track is looking a bit tired.

A little further away from Wichita is a town called Valley Center. More of a real city. They have their own school system, railroads, grain elevators, a downtown and other definitive attributes.

Railroads were important to these small towns over the years as farmers brought their grains to town to be loaded onto a train.

Then the grain elevator.

And a decorated water tower. Home of the Hornets.

Max and I ride a little more out on the open road.

We eventually reach the town of Sedgwick, more railroads and grain elevators. Another pretty nice little town.

The town of Sedgwick lies in Harvey County. Wichita is in Sedgwick County. Go figure!

More beautiful country as we rode.

Then I passed by this coffee house on the way home and couldn't resist stopping to take a pic.

I personally have decided to lay off coffee for a week or so. I drank too much over the last 3 months and I now wonder what my system is like without being wired a bit.

Max and I had a great ride. I have a week off from work now. There will probably be a few more rides.