Well, it's the 31st of July and I feel like I've accomplished quite a bit. Carol and I took off this a.m. with clouds but not really too worried about rain. It doesn't seem to happen here. We started hearing thunder and when we were at Avenue A and Main Street, Mary called and wanted to know if we were getting our "bunnies" wet. No......well, it seems she was just coming up to the south Main bridge and she was getting soaked. We went on a few more blocks and Mary called again...really getting drowned. By this time we were at about C and Main and only a half dozen blocks from where she would be. Shortly she and Jessica appeared and they'd been soaked. We were still completely dry! Noticing lightning in the west we decided to go sit it out for a few minutes in a shelter in the park. Just as we entered the park it opened up! The other three went on but at the fountain I saw a guy on a motorcycle that I know so I went back to hassle him a little. When I pulled out of that area, there were two cross-country touring guys. Struck up a conversation with them and they joined us under a shelter. Their goal for today was Cassoday.
Mary's husband called and wound up coming to pick her up, but the rest of us rode out to Highway 50 to show the way to the touring guys. They went on east and we back tracked through the park, through South Hutch, out to Crupper's Corner and on to Yoder. After a quick break we headed back on Trail West Road to Crupper's Corner. Jessica (a new rider that just joined us yesterday and is welcome back anytime!!! 23 and a total sweetie. And an excellent rider!) had an appointment at 10:30 so she dropped off in South Hutch. She needed 9 more miles which she said she'd get later today to get 700 miles for July.
Carol and I proceeded on around "the long way" at Carey Park, on out to Highway 50, and finally headed home. Carol needed about 35 miles to have 1,000 miles for July, and I needed 38 miles to get 800 miles. We all made our goals!!! I now have 2,509 miles for the year...the biggest year I've had in a long, long time...and the year isn't even done yet!
I've enjoyed riding more this year than I think I ever have. Carol is great company and the miles really just fly by. The other day we were talking and we both agreed that even though we've known each other for years and years, it's only been the past couple of years that we've really connected. She credits my ex and I for being the reason she started riding...and I have to laugh because she has so far exceeded anything either of us ever did! She's a very solid, safe rider and that's especially important when you're riding with others. There's a time for fun and goofiness...and there's a time to know that your mistake could be your LAST mistake.
And with that cheery note....I'm outta here!!! Count 'em....you know!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Hot, Hot, Hot...But Still Riding
We're still seeing three digit temps nearly every day. We got a sprinkle of rain last night so today it stayed around 98 for a high...but VERY humid. I haven't heard how much rain we got..but NOT MUCH!!! The rivers are basically dry...dry and cracked. Sad. Farmers are selling their cows because there's no feed nor water for them. Sign on the front of a church the other day: "Whoever's praying for this heat, please stop!"
Carol and I (and sometimes Mary) are still riding pretty much every day. Most days are 32 milers. We usually go either to Yoder (the long way) or over to Partridge. This morning there was almost no wind and that was out of the north, so we went to Nickerson. As we pulled up in front of the convenience store we noted there was a touring bike sitting there. We went in and got our drinks but never saw the owner of the bike.
The tables were full of "old guys" (probably our age) so we took our drinks and went back outside to sit on the curb. Shortly this gorgeous young Adonis appeared. WOW!!! Never heard how old he was..maybe 25 to 30. Dark hair..completely stirred and looked like it had been cut with an axe. Almost a Rastafarian look. The prettiest teeth..straight and white. And a totally sweet, cute personality. He's from Southern California, going east. He'd stayed at Sterling last night and was going to try to meet up with his friends/co-riders today. Thinking maybe in Eureka.
He immediately (at a glance) noticed the Rivendell that Carol rides. He was clearly a fan and knew his stuff about bikes. We commented that he's riding a Brooks saddle and we wondered how he liked it. Not an easy move!! He told us he's "totally vegan" so he had a hard time deciding to get a Brooks saddle (all leather) but that he really likes it. (Carol has had three Brooks saddles and can't get one to where it's "broke in" yet...they tend to break you before you break them!)
Carol was asking him if he was finding it hard to find stuff to eat and he said no...but he really likes French fries! He works in an agricultural industry with organically grown fruits and veggies. Interesting young man.
We wound up talking for quite a while and then we all left Nickerson together and rode 82nd back over to Plum where he turned north (for a mile) and Carol and I turned south and came back to Hutch. All in all a very pleasant experience.
I'm well over 2300 miles for the year now...and that's makes my biggest year since 2007...and maybe longer because I don't know where (if) my earlier records are. Carol leaves shortly for a Colorado tour and I've promised myself that I'll continue to ride while she's gone. 'Course, I'm going to work in a move to a new house in that time too....so we'll see.
Get out early and enjoy the earlier part of the day...'cause it's gonna get HOT later in the day! And..of course, count your blessings!
Carol and I (and sometimes Mary) are still riding pretty much every day. Most days are 32 milers. We usually go either to Yoder (the long way) or over to Partridge. This morning there was almost no wind and that was out of the north, so we went to Nickerson. As we pulled up in front of the convenience store we noted there was a touring bike sitting there. We went in and got our drinks but never saw the owner of the bike.
The tables were full of "old guys" (probably our age) so we took our drinks and went back outside to sit on the curb. Shortly this gorgeous young Adonis appeared. WOW!!! Never heard how old he was..maybe 25 to 30. Dark hair..completely stirred and looked like it had been cut with an axe. Almost a Rastafarian look. The prettiest teeth..straight and white. And a totally sweet, cute personality. He's from Southern California, going east. He'd stayed at Sterling last night and was going to try to meet up with his friends/co-riders today. Thinking maybe in Eureka.
He immediately (at a glance) noticed the Rivendell that Carol rides. He was clearly a fan and knew his stuff about bikes. We commented that he's riding a Brooks saddle and we wondered how he liked it. Not an easy move!! He told us he's "totally vegan" so he had a hard time deciding to get a Brooks saddle (all leather) but that he really likes it. (Carol has had three Brooks saddles and can't get one to where it's "broke in" yet...they tend to break you before you break them!)
Carol was asking him if he was finding it hard to find stuff to eat and he said no...but he really likes French fries! He works in an agricultural industry with organically grown fruits and veggies. Interesting young man.
We wound up talking for quite a while and then we all left Nickerson together and rode 82nd back over to Plum where he turned north (for a mile) and Carol and I turned south and came back to Hutch. All in all a very pleasant experience.
I'm well over 2300 miles for the year now...and that's makes my biggest year since 2007...and maybe longer because I don't know where (if) my earlier records are. Carol leaves shortly for a Colorado tour and I've promised myself that I'll continue to ride while she's gone. 'Course, I'm going to work in a move to a new house in that time too....so we'll see.
Get out early and enjoy the earlier part of the day...'cause it's gonna get HOT later in the day! And..of course, count your blessings!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
More Riding...and More Eating!!
Yesterday Carol and I rode to Inman...kind of "the long way." I wound up with a little over 40 miles by the time we got back to Hutch. Once again the Harvest Cafe in Inman has made my A list.
When we walked in the waitress smiled and said, "You gals are a day early!!" (Every other Thursday is cream puff day - see earlier post) We just said the wind was right so we came to Inman. We ordered coffee (also the best coffee around) and asked what they had for dessert. Schnetke...or something like that.
Schnetke is a German pastry...kind of like a light biscuit dough that's filled with either cherry or raisin and then baked (I think.) Online it shows all versions but what we had was about 3 x 5 inches and absolutely delicious! WOW! Carol commented on its "homemade goodness" and said, "I think the cherry filling is evidently home made too...doesn't taste like the stuff out of a can!" It was served slightly warm. Yummy..just plain yummy!
On the way home yesterday I told Carol that I thought I'd have in 2,000 miles for the year by the time I got home. I didn't. I was 3.44 miles short. Very tempted to go back out but finally convinced myself it wasn't that big a deal.
BUT...this morning Carol and I rode to Yoder and I got another 32+ miles. So NOW I have 2,028.65 miles for 2012. At the end of May I had 1,005 miles. I'm lovin' this...it's good for me in sooooooo many ways...physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually...good stuff!
Get out and enjoy your day..and you know....count your blessings!
When we walked in the waitress smiled and said, "You gals are a day early!!" (Every other Thursday is cream puff day - see earlier post) We just said the wind was right so we came to Inman. We ordered coffee (also the best coffee around) and asked what they had for dessert. Schnetke...or something like that.
Schnetke is a German pastry...kind of like a light biscuit dough that's filled with either cherry or raisin and then baked (I think.) Online it shows all versions but what we had was about 3 x 5 inches and absolutely delicious! WOW! Carol commented on its "homemade goodness" and said, "I think the cherry filling is evidently home made too...doesn't taste like the stuff out of a can!" It was served slightly warm. Yummy..just plain yummy!
On the way home yesterday I told Carol that I thought I'd have in 2,000 miles for the year by the time I got home. I didn't. I was 3.44 miles short. Very tempted to go back out but finally convinced myself it wasn't that big a deal.
BUT...this morning Carol and I rode to Yoder and I got another 32+ miles. So NOW I have 2,028.65 miles for 2012. At the end of May I had 1,005 miles. I'm lovin' this...it's good for me in sooooooo many ways...physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually...good stuff!
Get out and enjoy your day..and you know....count your blessings!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Horse on the Road
This is probably more endorphin or adrenalin induced biker humor....
Carol, Mary and I took off on our bike ride this a.m. Got out to Crupper's Corner and turned west. About 5 miles west (near Whiteside Road) a horse came up out of the ditch and ran across in front of us. As soon as it spotted us, it took off at a pretty good clip going south down Whiteside. We decided we should "call it in..." Not knowing exactly where one reports these things, we chose to call 911.
I pulled out my phone, hit the numbers, and when the dispatcher answered I told her we were on the corner of Trail West Road and Whiteside and there was a horse running loose...running south on Whiteside. She asked for a description of the horse. Yeah, I'm from Kansas...I'm "farmy"...but I don't know how to describe a brown horse. Sorrel, bay, roan, chestnut...I dunno!!! I know buckskin, palomino, paint, appaloosa, maybe even a dapple gray. But he was plain old brown. So I said, "He looks like an Amish horse." Carol and Mary were absolutely crackin' up!!! Finally I said, "He's a drab brown horse..kinda skinny-ish...looks like a buggy horse." The dispatcher seemed to know exactly what I meant, but Carol and Mary were both giggling like crazy!
On the way back to town Carol mentioned that she could hardly wait to get home and tell Billy (her husband) that we'd seen an "Amish horse!"
Well.... maybe you had to be there....
Another 29+ miles to log in today...skipped yesterday (stiff neck), but rode 36 miles on 4th of July (stiff neck then too...but thought I was going to wear it off riding..didn't.)
Have a great day....get out early, beat the heat, and watch the gorgeous sunrises we've been having!!! And....don't forget to count your blessings....I'm serious!
Carol, Mary and I took off on our bike ride this a.m. Got out to Crupper's Corner and turned west. About 5 miles west (near Whiteside Road) a horse came up out of the ditch and ran across in front of us. As soon as it spotted us, it took off at a pretty good clip going south down Whiteside. We decided we should "call it in..." Not knowing exactly where one reports these things, we chose to call 911.
I pulled out my phone, hit the numbers, and when the dispatcher answered I told her we were on the corner of Trail West Road and Whiteside and there was a horse running loose...running south on Whiteside. She asked for a description of the horse. Yeah, I'm from Kansas...I'm "farmy"...but I don't know how to describe a brown horse. Sorrel, bay, roan, chestnut...I dunno!!! I know buckskin, palomino, paint, appaloosa, maybe even a dapple gray. But he was plain old brown. So I said, "He looks like an Amish horse." Carol and Mary were absolutely crackin' up!!! Finally I said, "He's a drab brown horse..kinda skinny-ish...looks like a buggy horse." The dispatcher seemed to know exactly what I meant, but Carol and Mary were both giggling like crazy!
On the way back to town Carol mentioned that she could hardly wait to get home and tell Billy (her husband) that we'd seen an "Amish horse!"
Well.... maybe you had to be there....
Another 29+ miles to log in today...skipped yesterday (stiff neck), but rode 36 miles on 4th of July (stiff neck then too...but thought I was going to wear it off riding..didn't.)
Have a great day....get out early, beat the heat, and watch the gorgeous sunrises we've been having!!! And....don't forget to count your blessings....I'm serious!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Ride to Ruthie's at Partridge
What a great morning. We took off early as usual and wound up riding west from Crupper's Corner over to Partridge. Sign says it's 9 miles to Hutchinson. Don't know what part of Hutchinson they were measuring to and obviously they went via the highway (and we didn't)...but I already had 17+ miles.
There's a tiny restaurant in Partridge called Ruthie's. I think I posted something here one other time about Ruthie's. (One day Mary and I drove over and we'd heard there was a restaurant there and didn't find it, so we asked some guy walking down the street. His response was something like, "Yeah...up there on the corner....if you don't mind getting food poisoning" We skipped it that day.) Carol's husband goes to Ruthie's a lot and my ex-husband goes there quite a bit. This morning Carol said, "Well....do you guys want to risk going to Ruthie's???" We all said YES!
Partridge is a tiny town...dirt Main Street...and the cafe is ultra-small. Lots of stuff piled everywhere and lots of signs and newspaper articles posted here and there on walls and refrigerators. Toast is $.40....yeah....that's 40 cents!!! Oatmeal is $.75. And everything is really, really cheap. I didn't see this first hand but I've been told if you want jelly for your toast, you get a jar with a spoon in it! You want a can of pop? They're in the refrigerator..help yourself. Same for cream for your coffee. This a.m. Mary and I each had a Diet Coke and Carol had coffee. No charge for the coffee and Carol paid for the cans of Coke and I think it took $1 to pay for both of them. :) Awesome, huh?
We were the only ones in there at the time and Ruthie stood/sat and chatted with us. She's a charmer!!! She got "good old common sense" and is a true gem. She keeps her prices low because she has a lot of farmers that come in there and they're having to pay double for seed and fertilizer these days. She said she's heard of places that charge $2.39 for a piece of pie. Can you just imagine that!?!?!
All in all...and this comes from others more than first-hand knowledge...I'd recommend Ruthie's Cafe. She cooks and thinks like your mother used to...if it's got mayonnaise in it, don't keep it too long. If it needs to be cold, keep it cold! I've heard the food is really good and I know the prices are absolutely ridiculously low. And Ruthie herself is wonderful. (And...watch for this in your local uppity joint: she swings a mean flyswatter too....away from the tables, away from the food....but she keeps the flies down!)
When we left we all said goodbye and that "we'll be back!"....and we all meant it. Cool place! Neat lady! I'm kind of thinking we just might try to go back tomorrow!! And I may even try the pie.
I got in 35.72 miles today....which gives me 98.08 for the first 3 days of July....and 1807.41 for the year! I'm happy! It's SO good for me in so many ways!
Count your blessings...I do..every day!!!!
There's a tiny restaurant in Partridge called Ruthie's. I think I posted something here one other time about Ruthie's. (One day Mary and I drove over and we'd heard there was a restaurant there and didn't find it, so we asked some guy walking down the street. His response was something like, "Yeah...up there on the corner....if you don't mind getting food poisoning" We skipped it that day.) Carol's husband goes to Ruthie's a lot and my ex-husband goes there quite a bit. This morning Carol said, "Well....do you guys want to risk going to Ruthie's???" We all said YES!
Partridge is a tiny town...dirt Main Street...and the cafe is ultra-small. Lots of stuff piled everywhere and lots of signs and newspaper articles posted here and there on walls and refrigerators. Toast is $.40....yeah....that's 40 cents!!! Oatmeal is $.75. And everything is really, really cheap. I didn't see this first hand but I've been told if you want jelly for your toast, you get a jar with a spoon in it! You want a can of pop? They're in the refrigerator..help yourself. Same for cream for your coffee. This a.m. Mary and I each had a Diet Coke and Carol had coffee. No charge for the coffee and Carol paid for the cans of Coke and I think it took $1 to pay for both of them. :) Awesome, huh?
We were the only ones in there at the time and Ruthie stood/sat and chatted with us. She's a charmer!!! She got "good old common sense" and is a true gem. She keeps her prices low because she has a lot of farmers that come in there and they're having to pay double for seed and fertilizer these days. She said she's heard of places that charge $2.39 for a piece of pie. Can you just imagine that!?!?!
All in all...and this comes from others more than first-hand knowledge...I'd recommend Ruthie's Cafe. She cooks and thinks like your mother used to...if it's got mayonnaise in it, don't keep it too long. If it needs to be cold, keep it cold! I've heard the food is really good and I know the prices are absolutely ridiculously low. And Ruthie herself is wonderful. (And...watch for this in your local uppity joint: she swings a mean flyswatter too....away from the tables, away from the food....but she keeps the flies down!)
When we left we all said goodbye and that "we'll be back!"....and we all meant it. Cool place! Neat lady! I'm kind of thinking we just might try to go back tomorrow!! And I may even try the pie.
I got in 35.72 miles today....which gives me 98.08 for the first 3 days of July....and 1807.41 for the year! I'm happy! It's SO good for me in so many ways!
Count your blessings...I do..every day!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)