11:30 Mon 2/19/07 Smithville, Plattsburg, Edgerton

Post by **troy** » 16 Feb 2007 13:41

I want to ride. I want to ride real bad. I want to ride so bad I can taste a mixture of oil and dirt.

Weather forecast:
Sunday: 44 and sunny
Monday: 49 and cloudy

Monday is President's Day, and I have it off since I work in the financial industry. Anybody else have Monday off?

Any of you want to bundle up and go for a ride either Sunday or Monday?

I'm open to about any kind of a ride other than a highway ride since my DR350 just don't play that game so well. I'm open to exploring the dirt roads north of KC, or taking the River road to Atchison and beyond---a familiar favorite, or hauling to Perry or Milford, or etc.

safiri · Post by **safiri** » 16 Feb 2007 16:02

Monday, if I can convince the wife to let me out to play ...

BTW, blizzard conditions around Topeka at 315 pm according to Brian on his way to Salina. Milford might be a mess.

MacWildcat · Post by **MacWildcat** » 16 Feb 2007 17:52

Hi guys. Milford would be pretty ugly. Things haven't thawed out since last Monday's ice/snow storm. We just got a couple more inches of snow this afternoon. I have the itch to ride too. Just got the message my bike repairs are completed. Hope to pick it up next week when things thaw out.

katbeanz · Post by **katbeanz** » 16 Feb 2007 17:58

Mine is torn down, should have new rings, cam chain etc maybe tomorrow. Have fun!

Post by **troy** » 16 Feb 2007 19:26

Yeah, we had almost blizzard conditions in the KC Northland on my way home from work. With all this snow on the ground and 44+ and sunny on Sunday, the off-road riding areas will be a total mess.

So a gravel road ride it is. We'll keep playing it by ear.

Whether I ride is also dependent on me getting my DR350 back together. It is in pieces in my garage, but I do not anticipate any issues.

JaySoy · Post by **JaySoy** » 16 Feb 2007 20:33

I'm also in iffy mode. I do need to road test my bike. I had the side cover off and I'm afraid my water pump seals will leak. It's probably ok, I just didn't replace any gaskets.

I'm staying tuned.

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 16 Feb 2007 20:51

troy wrote:I want to ride. I want to ride real bad. I want to ride so bad I can taste a mixture of oil and dirt.

Weather forecast:
Sunday: 44 and sunny
Monday: 49 and cloudy

Monday is President's Day, and I have it off since I work in the financial industry. Anybody else have Monday off?

Any of you want to bundle up and go for a ride either Sunday or Monday?

I'm open to about any kind of a ride other than a highway ride since my DR350 just don't play that game so well. I'm open to exploring the dirt roads north of KC, or taking the River road to Atchison and beyond---a familiar favorite, or hauling to Perry or Milford, or etc.

I have Monday off as well. I'm in the financial industry as well.

I am in western KS right now doing some caching in the mud. If I make it back I would enjoy riding with you. The river RD to Atchison would be a lot of fun.

Post by **troy** » 16 Feb 2007 21:18

ajayhawkfan wrote:The river RD to Atchison would be a lot of fun.

The river road would be a muddy mess because of all the snow melt we should have by that time. I know from personal experience how muddy that road gets! I'm not sure I want to work that hard my first ride of 2007.

http://home.troywolf.com/SiteAlbum/?a=. ... 2006-09-09

JaySoy · Post by **JaySoy** » 16 Feb 2007 21:56

Wow! Looks awesome!!! I'm so in for that ride....sometime.

ajayhawkfan · Post by **ajayhawkfan** » 16 Feb 2007 22:46

troy wrote:
ajayhawkfan wrote:The river RD to Atchison would be a lot of fun.
The river road would be a muddy mess because of all the snow melt we should have by that time. I know from personal experience how muddy that road gets! I'm not sure I want to work that hard my first ride of 2007.
http://home.troywolf.com/SiteAlbum/?a=. ... 2006-09-09

That is not the road I was thinking and I'm not ready for anything like that now. However, do you have the tracks for that? That looks like a great ride when dry.

I could see someone stopped for a cache. Do you recall what cache it was?

safiri · Post by **safiri** » 16 Feb 2007 23:15

Yep, a couple of us have the tracks (and Troy's "route of wet dirt"). I was the guy in the yellow rain coat ... I left tracks all over Doniphan County ... and ended up bringing some of Doniphan County back to Johnson County and my driveway.

"All balled up" is a pretty good descriptor of several places in that ride. But we all had a lot of fun. I want to try it again when it is dry(er).

Hank Moody · Post by **Hank Moody** » 17 Feb 2007 08:30

I'm in for some gravel as well! I have a few maintenance issues to complete, but should be ready by Monday. Hey can anyone help me set my sag????

I will continue to monitor the site for where and when details.

Post by **troy** » 17 Feb 2007 08:36

That photo album was one of many attempts to lead people on my "Doniphan County" or "White Cloud" ride. Schedules and rain kept us from ever completing it! Actually, katbeanz, his friend Larry, and I did a version of the ride which is what caused me to create the route in the first place. I found it to be some of the best countryside and roads within riding distance of KC.

I have route files. I am sharing them in GPX format because it is the "standard" for cross-platform route files. If your unit cannot consume GPX files, it is possible for me to create about any format your device requires, but PLEASE do your own research in how to load GPX files for your device before asking me to create your special format.

This first file is titled "DoniphanCo" and is a huge loop from Atchison up to White Cloud and back to Atchison. It includes one geocache because we had a travel bug to deposit. There are a few more caches up that way, but not many. This route includes the part of the "River Road" running north out of Atchison, and it's a good ride!
http://www.rideforum.net/gps/DoniphanCo.gpx

This second file is a great route from NW KC up to Atchison that includes the infamous River Road from Leavenworth to Atchison. The route is named "KCtoAtchison".
http://www.rideforum.net/gps/KCtoAtchison.gpx

TIP #1: Depending on your browser settings, when you click these files, they will either prompt you to download or they'll actually open as text in your browser--which does not help you much. If they open as text, then instead of left-clicking the link, right-click and choose save.

TIP #2: If, like me, you use Garmin's MapSource software, you may be used to simply double-clicking your Garmin-formatted (GDB) route files and they automatically open in MapSource. By default, double-clicking a GPX file will not cause the file to open in MapSource. There are many solutions to this, but I'm just going to tell you that you can simply open MapSource then drag & drop a GPX file into it. This will open the GPX route in MapSouce.

Post by **troy** » 17 Feb 2007 09:12

I know not everybody who wants to can do this ride on Monday, but I'm strongly leaning for Monday. There is a lot more snow on the ground right now than I anticipated. It should all melt off by sometime tomorrow and an extra day of drying and warming will only make things better for us by Monday.

Now we just need a route...

Post by **troy** » 17 Feb 2007 10:41

I've created route. It's called "Plattsburg". The route combines some good roads I am familiar with as well as a lot of new stuff that looks good on the maps and satellite photos. When I route unknown stuff, there will be roads that I think are gravel or dirt and end up being narrow blacktop. This route includes plenty of fun blacktop as well as gravel.

The entire route is about 100 miles and starts in the KC Northland at Hwy 169 & Hwy 435. Just northwest of that intersection is my church, The Vineyard. (There is an access road off of Cookingham that will take you to The Vineyard if you want to avoid the hwy.) The large parking lot and the large porch with park benches and tables makes for a good meeting point. There is plenty of room for trailers for anyone wanting to haul in.

Some towns we'll touch along the way include: Smithville, Trimble, Plattsburg, Edgerton, Camden Point, Ferrelview.

It is possible that we'll end up having to route around roads that prove too muddy for the group. The Algiers Road is near the end of the route, but don't worry, Mike & Kevin, they've graveled the entire road now....which sucks.

The route includes a stop at the Davis Chapel and cemetery located on a high point West of Edgerton. Katbeanz was the first to show me this place. The interesting part is that the entire West wall of the chapel is laying on the ground exposing the pews, piano, and pulpit to the elements. I'm assuming the chapel is still standing.

You can download the GPX route file here:
http://www.rideforum.net/gps/Plattsburg.gpx

Even if you don't have a GPS or GPS software, you can view this route following these steps:
1. Right-click the link and download the GPX route file.
2. Open the file in a simple text-editor like Notepad.
3. Copy the entire text (CTRL-A is a handy shortcut to select all then CTRL-C will copy.)
4. Open an Internet browser to http://www.marengo-ltd.com/map/
5. Click the "Load" button at the top and paste in the copied GPX text. (CTRL-V is a handy shortcut to paste.)
Now you can zoom in and out and move around the route to see where it takes us.

A word to those who express disdain towards pre-planned routes and the use of GPS. First, it's a route "suggestion". If we see something we want to explore that is not on the planned route, we can explore--the route is not a goal to accomplish. Second, in my experience when leading a group ride, you'd better have a good idea of where you are going and approximately how many miles you'll be covering. People seem to get agitated if you stop at every crossroad staring confused at your map. The planned route loaded into a GPS allows me to pay attention to the group which means I can ride safer.

Meeting Time & Other Details
Meet at The Vineyard at 11:30 AM. We'll have a short back-pavement ride to downtown Smithville where we'll stop for lunch. From there we'll cross the Smithville Lake Dam and head up along the West side of the lake snaking our way up to Plattsburg....and continue on the route or where our whims take us. We'll never be far from hwy 169 so anybody wanting to cut out at about any point can just head to the hwy and cruise home. I hate trying to guess ride duration, but my conservative guess is the ride will be completed by 4:30PM.

In case you need it, my phone number is (816) 739-9653.

Motoracer13 · Post by **Motoracer13** » 17 Feb 2007 23:42

Sounds like fun I will be there!
Thanks Safiri for letting me know about his site!

Post by **troy** » 18 Feb 2007 07:57

Glad to hear it Motoracer13!

The weather forecast has changed a bit.

Natl Weather Forecast wrote:Presidents' Day: Partly cloudy, with a high near 57. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 19 to 22 mph decreasing to between 10 and 13 mph. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

So we should see some sunshine and relatively WARM weather for this time of the year! Wind gusts could be strong, but that should not stop us. One reason I've set the start time so late is so hopefully we won't have to dress for the 40 degree temp in the early morning.

For our lunch stop, I thought we could go to the Brick House Cafe and Pub at 111 N. Bridge St. in the old downtown Smithville. (Kevin, is this place still open? Know a better choice in your stomping ground?)

In case anybody needs this explanation....this is a road ride. It is a mixture of county pavement, gravel, and possibly some dirt roads although if we come across true dirt roads, the mud will probably have us routing around. So really, any motorcycle that you don't mind riding 40MPH down a gravel or sticky dirt road will suffice.

JaySoy · Post by **JaySoy** » 18 Feb 2007 10:55

I have to work Monday, so I'll miss this one. I am itching to ride though. I'll definitely be out this afternoon!

katbeanz · Post by **katbeanz** » 18 Feb 2007 12:05

Troy, as far as I know the Brick House is still kicking. I called down there a minute ago and got their recording, closed on sunday. The number is 532-8865.
Larry won't be able to make it either, something about a sock drawer in disarray.

I got some of my bike parts but not all. I volunteer for bike recovery duty but hope you won't need it, have fun, Dean 816-668-8516

I can meet you guys for lunch since the brickhouse is only a few blocks from my house, just need to have a time +/- an hour.

Kware · Post by **Kware** » 18 Feb 2007 13:12

I will be working from home, on Monday. How my morning phone calls go, will determine if I can meet you at the Brickhouse. I guess if you pull in my driveway on the way by, I may not be able to control myself.

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11:30 Mon 2/19/07 Smithville, Plattsburg, Edgerton

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