May 18, 2003 .... Chase and Morris counties. It was a beautiful day to arrive in Cottonwood Falls. Sue and Sonda were working hard at the Emma Chase Cafe to feed eleven BT Kansas riders and a hundred plus road riders who had arrived for the monthly Biker Breakfast. The BT Kansas group fielded questions from a good number of interested road riders .... who knows, there may be a few more chromed machines traded in for dualsports before the season is over! The food was hot and good, the mood was festive, and we even had a large group photo of all attendees shot by a photographer from the Emporia Gazette. Great way to start the day! Making the ride this day ... Greg Mitchell of Emporia on his Honda TransAlp, Don Dorsey of Lawrence on his KLR650, and Tim Edwards of Topeka on his KLR650. Wil Locke of Derby rode his Honda XR650, Don Morgan arrived on his KTM 640 LC4, and Jim Foley arrived from Shawnee on his KLR650. Brady Allensworth rode in from Wichita on his BMW 1150GS Adventure, riding a Suzuki DR350 was Larry McGillivary of Manhattan, and Mike Krehbiel from Pretty Prairie rode his Honda XL350. Rick Schoek of Emporia rode his KTM 640 LC, and Roger Baugh of Wichita arrived on his "clean" KLR650. Greg had to leave the group to return to Emporia for his daughter's graduation (nursing degree) .... and his smiles were a clear indication of his pride in her accomplishments. Following breakfast, the group headed east to Saffordville, then north to Lake Kahola. After riding the ridgelines north of the lake, we then turned east and north towards Bushong. From Bushong, we worked our way west to Council Grove, where we paused for lunch. After lunch, the northeast Kansas riders split off for their ride home, while the main group turned south to ride the backroads to Strong City. Probably, some of the best scenery of the day was found in this remote area ... After saying goodbyes to Rick, Mike, and Larry in Cottonwood Falls ... Brady, Wil, Don, and Roger made the run back to the Wichita area, pausing to get a close look at the second of two train derailments in less than a week in the Matfield Green area. Very humbling to see so much twisted and burned wreckage. Again .... a great ride and great company to ride with! 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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