Five days and then two days until reality

The sun was coming up as I left JGayle's.  It was red, and gorgeous, although this photo does not do the beautiful morning justice.

Monday (September 9) was my day to head out of town, and I left about 6:30 a.m. when Jgayle left for work. While my ultimate destination for the week would be Phoenix and Joe and Verlie's, I had five days to get there. So I looked at the map and decided to head north … mostly in an effort to get away from the heat before I entered the blast-furnace bowels of hell called Phoenix. But part of the fun is also searching for green (scenic) roads.

You just never know what interesting things you'll find along the road.  There are a lot of metal sculptures and I could not photograph all of them.  But horses always draw me.

The south end of this north-bound horse was a radiator.  How unique is that? 

There are some strange ways to welcome folks riding through various towns.

The maps say Kansas has some green roads, so I decided to head in that direction. To get there I rode through some of Oklahoma. It's so desolate in some of these areas. When you stop the bike for a photo, out in the middle of nowhere and just stand there, the wind whistles across the plains and you can imagine how it was to be a pioneer … wandering through the country alone. It's much like that now on some of these secondary roads. Sometimes there's not even a cow, a horse, and seems like there's nothing living anywhere.

I was tired, or maybe I was just hungry since I'd not eaten since 5:30 a.m. and it was now 3:30 p.m. But I felt like an Iditarod dog who just wanted to lay down and say, okay, I'm done, and not go any further. I'm staying here. Maybe it was the desolation. It was just very strange to feel that way. I never feel like that about riding. Riding always cures what ails me.

On Tuesday (September 10), I was feeling some better and hit the road. I love riding alone, but yet, I'd ridden with friends so much this summer I guess I was missing that.

On the road by Buffalo, Oklahoma, I found a memorial. I like to stop at these and take photos because Hobbs knows then I'm thinking of him.

Memorials draw me and I photograph many of them in my travels.

Our freedoms come with the price of many.  Thank you.  Many countries would stone the likes of me.

This one's for you, Hobbs.  U.S. Marines, Vietnam.

The wind was nasty. There's nothing to stop it, or break it up … no trees, nothing.



Wind generators always attract me.  And in this part of the country there are lots of them.  Lots of wind and nothing to stop it from whistling through, or turning the blades of the generators.  It's hard to hear them, though, because of the wind.

I made Kansas easily. There's a green road up towards the north that loops around and I figured that would be the one to take. I decided to call my friend, Ruth, who lives in Topeka to see if she'd like to meet me. Sure, why not.

Ruth would come west, while I would go north then east and we'd meet in a town called Osborn. I never got a call saying what her arrival time would be (think we lost cell coverage), so while I knew she'd called me there was no message. I called and told her to call and leave a message. Then I just kept going, that little energizer bunny told me to keep moving, moving, moving.

Kansas has some not very well marked roads and I ended up making a few u-turns. Actually, I made quite a few of them until I got onto the road I needed. It was not nearly as scenic as I'd hoped. In fact, it was rather boring. Maybe I was comparing them to some of those in Missouri that were gorgeous and so fun to ride. I stopped and checked my voice mail … Ruth had called and was in Osborn. I called her and we decided on a meet place. I told her I was an hour or so out.

In the Heartland there's always equipment either next to the road or on the road.  I found both many, many times and so enjoyed seeing it.  John Deere rocks!!!

Then I was running hard, avoiding showers, hitting a few. Nothing slowed or stopped me, and I arrived at the meeting place in about an hour and 15. Pretty much what I'd figured.

Ruth had brought Penny, her little Silky. What a sweetheart. She rides on the back of her mom's bike and appears to enjoy it.

Penny's a feisty little thing ... and I don't know that she realizes she's just a little girl, not a big one.

We went and had a bite to eat and then wandered to the hotel to see if they'd let a little dog spend the night. Ruth hadn't really intended to spend the night but it had gotten late so the plan changed. The hotel let Penny in and had special rooms where you could have dogs. Yay!! Ruth bought a toothbrush and we were in occupancy.



Our pet-friendly room had the perfect painting ... a Beagle.

Getting ready for bed I realized I'd lost a favorite earring, one of a pair Jgayle had given me, little stars to remind me of my Texas friend. I wear them a lot when riding and it must have caught in my helmet strap in the wind. That made me unhappy. So I've put the other in a safe place. Otherwise, it was to an enjoyable evening that ended all too soon in sleep.

My favorite pair of riding earrings, and I'd lost one of them. 

Wednesday morning (September 11), a special day in the memory of Americans. As we got on the road, I said a little prayer for all of those who lost their lives or a loved one September 11, 2001. We will never forget.

Penny was in her space on her bike, ready to go.

Penny's doggles don't always stay on as she paws them off.  She did allow me to photograph her in them.

Lindsborg, Kansas, reminded me of my mom and her dad, Swedish heritage, with these horses.  My mom had some of them, the red ones, which I now have in my horse collection.

I preferred the green three-dimensional one more, but they were all beautiful.

I'd wanted to ride to Colorado and New Mexico, but the weather was not cooperative, so the plan changed. Glad I could be flexible for one more day. Ruth and I rode west and finished riding the so-called scenic route. Then we turned south then east and followed a fairly nice road to Council Grove. This is where we'd part company. A bite to eat then I turned south and Ruth continued on to Topeka.

When mom is riding slow, Penny sticks her head up.  When the speed increases she ducks and lays down.  Smart girl.  Notice that she's gotten her doggles off by this time?

I'd picked an excellent route south although I didn't know it at the time. Highway 177 south. It was the scenic road I'd been looking for and probably the most beautiful one in Kansas. It's got trees, green grass, rolling hills, lakes or rivers. Everything you want for a beautiful and easy ride.

Electrical workers sometimes make for a beautiful photo.

Riding along I noticed a group of cows all standing around either a round water trough or feeder. They were very busy doing what cows do, with their butts all facing out and their little tails wagging. It was cute and I'd have liked to take a photo but I needed to be within a thousand miles of Phoenix by nightfall so I didn't have a lot of time to stop for photos. I'd have two days to do the thousand.

This area had received a lot of water so there were trees in standing water.  It was beautiful, though.

I got to Augusta, near Wichita which put me in position, a little over a thousand miles away. I'd want to do a long day Thursday because Friday going into Phoenix and the heat would be brutal.



By the time I reached my stopping point I was riding nearly past sunset, which I don't like to do, but I did need the photo.

 Thursday (September 19) it was cold and I needed my gloves and hoodie. I could have used my chaps and electrics for a while but was too lazy to drag them out of the saddlebag.

It was an interesting day of riding. There were clouds and showers all around, but I mostly avoided them, as the roads would turn away from them almost all the time, or I'd ride under rain clouds that had already dropped their precipitation. At one point I started running into some real heavy weather and turned back a mile or two and decided to take a lunch break. By the time I'd finished lunch, the rain had moved on. A shower or two was inevitable, but there wasn't anything that soaked me, or even caused mild discomfort.

With the clouds and not much sun, the sunflowers couldn't decide which way to face.

I saw two 18-wheelers pull U-turns on four-lane roads. I was behind the first one when he pulled way over to the right, then started going left through the pass through and onto the two-lanes on the other side. What? I'd never seen that before. And then, much to my surprise, the other 18-wheeler up ahead did the same thing. All I could figure is they were together and were going the wrong direction. It made me feel good to know it's not just me that's directionally challenged. Guess it's to be expected. I'm on the truck route. Here a truck; there a truck; everywhere lots of trucks.

No matter where I've ridden this summer there's been construction of some sort.

More riding and then I came upon yet something else … two train engines and their accompanying cars sitting side-by-side on the tracks. It looked as though they were ready to race. Another photo op missed.

Passing through a town there was a four-way-stop, two lanes of traffic going each way. I sat in one lane with a truck next to me. Each of the other three stop signs had two trucks, one in each lane. It was another interesting situation as I watched the trucks turn or go straight, each waiting their turn. I don't expect to see that again.

I even found some red rock in Kansas although it was hard to see with the clouds.

I've passed a few Harley shops in the past few days. Guess I've finished because I've not even been tempted to stop. Who knew you could max out visiting shops on a road trip? I'm living proof!!!

Dalhart, Texas. I sure wouldn't want to live there. It must be the feedlot capital of the United States. As I rode through there were feedlots on both sides of the highway, with thousands and thousands of cattle in the pens. Ugh!! The smell is overpowering and I don't know how folks can stand it. It's bad enough when cattle haulers go by but it's only for a moment or two. This went on for a mile … nasty. But I'm still eating burgers.

And there's always some interesting roadside attraction.

I had a great day of riding nearly 700 miles without getting soaked, finishing in Mountainair, New Mexico, at a high altitude and a small motel that was motorcycle friendly. I had two rooms with a bed in each, a desk and chair, a kitchenette and a nice bathroom. What a find.

A little television and some pistachio nuts and I was in heaven. Although it started raining prior to me shutting out the light I figured it's okay that it rains at night when I'm in for the evening. Hopefully it would pass as I had a bit over 400 miles to finish on Friday.