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Thinking about putting together some routes for June through the rest of the year. I figure Wabaunsee county is a sure thing, is there any other areas around Manhattan anyone would be interested riding? I'll try moving the start/end points eastward to accomodate riders east of me. I open for Saturdays or Sundays whatever works best for folks.
Started out with a simple base gasket repair in January and I still don't have my bike back. Needed the top end overhauled, piston, valves, etc. When I got it home, it smoked big time when I first started up. Back to the shop again to have the valve stem seals inspected. Got it back in time for the Ozark ride end of March, delaying other repairs needed - still smoked.
When the exhaust was initially removed in January, one of the header bolts broke off. The shop heated the head to remove the stud. The final verdict, they warped the valve guides when they heated up the head - new valve guides in progress.
I already missed a couple of great months of riding, hopefully I get the bike back by the end of May. Sounds like a good excuse for two bikes to me.

Any of those county's works for me Larry. All of my June and some of my July weekends are booked with graduation and a couple anniversary parties.
I'll keep an eye for any dates you post.

I'm game for Saturdays or Sundays

Keep us posted as to dates. Those are some great counties to ride.

Too bad about the bike. I hope they didn't warp the whole head with the heat they applied. Of course that should be easy to check if the head is off. Good luck.

If I can get out of the office by noon on Friday and the weather cooperates, I will be riding to Manhattan and staying the night. On Saturday I have a geocaching route planned through Pottawatomie, Riley, Clay, Washington and Marshal and then into Neb. I have not been in the area for a while so am looking forward to the ride.

What bike do you have?

Larry,
I'd love to do some riding in those areas. I grew up in the middle of Pottawatomie, and now live 50 feet east of Wabaunsee. Will try to make any rides that I can, but time is always limited and a lot of last minute things are common with work. Keep us posted here when you get your ride running and have a ride in mind.

I plan to staying at Holiday Inn Manhattan Campus Friday night. I hope to have dinner at the Little Apple Brew Pub. How is the food there? I heard the beer is great.

I'm not a big fan of it but you may like it.

ajayhawkfan wrote:I plan to staying at Holiday Inn Manhattan Campus Friday night. I hope to have dinner at the Little Apple Brew Pub. How is the food there? I heard the beer is great.

Come on ajayhawkfan! Spending money in Mancrappy??? What would Don Fambrough think? I guess it is not as bad as spending the night in Columbia...

Rock Chalk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you're in Manhattan long you can give me a call. 5329182

ajayhawkfan has taken Manhattan. Cat fans quake at the squawk of my bike.

I had dinner at the brew pub and liked what I had and liked the beer even more. I wish my motel was next door. I would still be there.

I just got your number, I wish it was a little sooner. I would have enjoyed meeting you.

Manhattan is a wonderful town in a beautiful setting. I need to come here more often.

Tomorrow I think I am heading north however, seeing Marquette and everything that is going on there does have a pull. It is great having so many choices.

Daryl Perry wrote:Come on ajayhawkfan! Spending money in Mancrappy??? What would Don Fambrough think? I guess it is not as bad as spending the night in Columbia...

Rock Chalk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did spend the night in Columbia last night. It sucked.

I drove right by Houlihans tonight around 6 or so. Did you happen to be around there?

Savage wrote:I drove right by Houlihans tonight around 6 or so. Did you happen to be around there?

I am at the Holiday Inn next to Houlihans. I check in just after 6 and went to dinner around 6:45.

What a day! I road from Manhattan, KS to Tecumseh, NE. The scenery along the route was incredible and the wildlife abundant. My trip was 225 miles on back country roads. It is 85 mile as the crow files or 125 mile by highway. I went from geocache to geocache along the gravel roads. Geocaching is a great way to get off the beaten path. I go from cache to cache and discover the route on the fly. I get on roads that make turns that don't go where I want, hit dead ends and closed roads. It is GREAT!! I would recommend caching it to anyone who like traveling roads least traveled.

Every time I ride I learn something and today I learned I HATE SAND (pea gravel)!! I was clipping along a no maintenance road and all of a sudden the gravel turned to sand. My pig wanted to lay down in it (just like it likes to do in the mud). I could not get out of it fast enough. I also found out up here there is a lot of sand or pea gravel on these roads. The "pillow" of sand between two tracks is worse then driving on newly dropped gravel. Every time I hit it I puckered up. But that would not stop me from riding around here in the future. This has been a great ride.

If anyone has an interest in learning about geocaching let me know. It would be fun doing this with others.

ajayhawkfan wrote:Every time I ride I learn something and today I learned I HATE SAND (pea gravel)!! I was clipping along a no maintenance road and all of a sudden the gravel turned to sand. My pig wanted to lay down in it (just like it likes to do in the mud). I could not get out of it fast enough. I also found out up here there is a lot of sand or pea gravel on these roads. The "pillow" of sand between two tracks is worse then driving on newly dropped gravel. Every time I hit it I puckered up. But that would not stop me from riding around here in the future. This has been a great ride.

I know this is easy for me to say as I ride a 300 lb bike that already has scratches on the plastic ... and is worth quite a bit less than a new R-GS ... but, the key to riding in sand is to loosen up (as in grip on handlebars) and keep the speed up. The front wheel /handlebars may turn a bit side to side, but the bike needs weight shift to turn. Oh yeah, stand up on the pegs. You will feel "the pig" wallow right and left under you, but this does work.

Reads as if you had a great trip. Awesome.

Thanks for the advice on riding in sand. I'm sure I will come across a lot more in the future. Loosening up is the hard part of your advice. When I pucker up I tighten up as well.

I had a wonderful weekend ride. I road a little over 600 miles much of it on minor roads and gravel. Here are a few pictures from my trip. http://picasaweb.google.com/ajayhawkfan ... 518To52007

Today I did some riding around Riverbreaks Conservation Area. It is about 15 miles NW of St. Joe in Holt County. http://mdc.mo.gov/documents/area_brochures/8114map.pdf The roads around there are wonderful. The roads around the CA are curvy and there are a lot of hills. You can also ride the levees along the river. The area would keep anybody busy riding for days.

Did you happen to see that dinosaur in Washington county?
Awesome looking bike!!