Jan. 24, 2004, The Frozen Tundra ...... or should I say, "The frozen anatomy". David Hemphill, DR650, Dennis Gowing, Kaw Super Sherpa, myself ... Terry Fleming, KTM RXC620, Donnie Clausen, XR650L, Richard Hemphill, KLR650, and Matt Beyer on a brand new RED, KLR650 braved the elements on a Chris Greenhoot led ride, RXC620. Leaving the infamous Johnny's Tavern in Lawrence at 11:30 AM, we wound our way up through Valley Falls, Whiting, and on up to Holton, Kansas on gravel and dirt unmaintained roads before stopping at a coffee shop to warm up about 3:30PM. At that point, frozen digits and concerns of hyperthermia were the norm. After deciding it wasn't gonna get any warmer, and we were running out of daylight David, Dennis, Richard, Matt and Chris hammered it back towards Lawrence at a pretty brisk pace, I'll bet. As I sat in the coffee shop finishing my second cup of joe, Donnie pointed out that the temperature had dropped on the bank sign across the street, from a whopping 39 degrees to 37 degrees in about one minute. It was time to ride! As I pulled into the garage about 4:45 PM, numb extremities and all, the thermometer read 35 degrees. I had a "buck fifty-eight" on the odometer. Thanks Chris for leading the ride, and Matt, I do hope you ride with us again, as most of the rides are done when it's a little warmer. I thought you might like to know that 40 degree ambient air temperature, combined with a 50 MPH wind speed, (road speed) equates to 8 degrees. eight!!! This backroads motorcycling thing is a sickness ....... -TF Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image. Use your browser's "back" button, or the "left" arrow in the navigation bar to return to this page.

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