June 16, 2002 marked a fantastic day in the southern Flint Hills. Making the ride: Steve Prewitt - Kawasaki KLR650, Joe Williams - Yamaha XT350, Jim Foley - Kawasaki KLR650, Bill Stephens - Kawasaki KLR650, Tom Hamby - KTM 640 LC4, Wil Locke - VOR 503, and Roger Baugh - Kawasaki KLR650. The day started with a rendezvous in Mulvane at Laurie's Cafe. Jim rode in from Kansas City, the rest of us came in from Wichita. Although we had torrential thunderstorms the evening before, the morning was clear and mild. We proceeded south by pavement to the quarry town of Silverdale, near the Oklahoma border. From Silverdale, we proceeded east to the beginning of our off pavement section at Maple City. Bill experienced what appeared to be a minor 2 mph spill that turned out to be a major headache ... a punctured radiator. The other "stock" KLR owners made mental notes ..... radiator and coolant guards are definitely required equipment on this model! After a tow truck arrived to get Bill and his machine back to civilization, we proceeded further east, then north up to the Osage Questa area north of Grenola. Several water crossings were made along the way, and we were greeted with some fantastic scenery. The stretch of road leading to Latham was closed, but we ignored the sign and picked our way through some fairly rough conditions to arrive at one of the more picturesque overlooks in the state (see the last four frames). It was worth the effort! It was a super day riding the Flint Hills. We're all hoping Bill gets his KLR back in running order soon ... and gets to enjoy a far more enjoyable and less expensive day with us the next time out! 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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