Backroads Touring - Apr. 21, 2007

April 21, 2007 ... It was an impromptu ride called by "Welsh Rose" on the BT-K bulletin board, and two other riders confirmed interest.

The rendezvous point was set for Augusta. Unfortunately, one rider discovered "no joy" on his engine starting that morning, and had to cancel out.

Making the rendezvous ... Mary Grabanski - Augusta, KS - XT225 and Roger Baugh - Wichita, KS - KLX250S. To our surprise, Tracy Ropp - Goddard, KS - XR650-R showed up at the same time to fuel up. He was unaware we had planned the ride, but was more than interested in riding with us. Tracy decided to take-up the tail rider "sweeper" position.

Our first stop was Bois D'Arc, to the south of Augusta. From what we could discern, the date of the iron bridge goes back to 1885. Leaving Bois D'Arc, we rode towards Latham. Somehow, we lost Tracy. Backtracking to his last seen position, we had no luck finding him, so proceeded on to Latham, then to the Green Ranch overlook.

We then rode on to Piedmont, KS and then to Severy, KS so the KLX could take on extra fuel. Both the KLX and XT were providing close to 70 mpg! Backtracking, we rode to Beaumont, and decided to take a shortcut into town by using the grass landing strip. Upon arrival at the Beaumont Hotel, we learned that Tracy was indeed still alive and well ... we had missed him by a mere fifteen minutes. Of note, the wooden water tower in Beaumont is the last of its kind ... built in the 1880s to service the steam locomotives of that era.

As we dined at the Beaumont Hotel Cafe', another BT-K rider, Kris Coleman - Wichita, KS - KLR650, walked in. After we discussed our ride plans, Kris decided he wanted to ride with us south into the wind farm. After lunch, we walked outside, only to discover that Kris's rear tire was flat. Beaumont is a town with no services, whatsoever. We couldn't find a puncture wound or nail in the tire, so aired his tire up with a hand pump. Tire pressure seemed to be holding, so he decided to beat feet back to Wichita. Kris would have gas stations every ten miles or so on the ride back to his home ... and we wished him good luck on his final leg!

Back again to the original two riders, we rode south into the wind farm. Be prepared for a sense of vertigo when a hundred-plus turbines are in motion as you're riding into the farm, it can become a bit disorienting! We then zig-zagged our way through scenic Butler county to get back to Augusta. It was a pleasant ride through the rolling countryside.

Great visuals today. I logged 174 miles on the KLX, and it performed well in all riding conditions. ... rb

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