March 12, 2005 ... We chose to ignore the "Ides of March" this year and tempt fate with a mid-March ride in the Cassoday area of the Flint Hills. We weren't disappointed ... azure blue skies and temperatures in the low eighties .... sweet! Riding in from Shawnee, KS was Jim Foley on his KLR650. Coming in from Herington, KS was Gordon Polston on his KLR650. Dennis Gowing of Lecompton, KS made a long ride on his DR650, Mike Blubaugh of Emporia, KS rode his KLR650, and Roger Baugh rode up from Wichita on his 'clean' KLR650. We had a great lunch at the Cassoday Cafe, then rode east to Teter Rock and the wild mustang herds. The wind kept picking up speed through the afternoon, so we knew there would be little firing of the prairie this day. We then rode north to Texaco Hill .... and the exciting part of the day. The road bed had been freshly "rocked" with fist size and larger sized rocks. It was slow and concentrated riding through several sections of this open range area. Eventually, we worked our way north and west to Matfield Green, where our most distant riders turned towards home. The remaining three continued riding the backroads to the west and south of Matfield Green, eventually arriving back in Cassoday. Great day to be out in the Flint Hills. We were a little disappointed to not see the prairie in full burn .. but that gives us another reason to return later this month. 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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