Backroads Touring - October 17, 2010

October 17, 2010 .... the "perfect" Fall weather was holding, so why not gather for a ride?

Six of us made the breakfast rendezvous point in Cottonwood Falls at the Emma Chase Cafe', including; Tom Harmon - GS1200 - Durham, Jeff Jelinek - GS800 - Danville, Larry Weber - 450 KTM EXCR - Westphalia, Chris Owens - KLR650 - Garden Plain, Kent Jantzen - KLR250 - Moundridge, and Roger Baugh - KLX250S - Wichita. Tom had a few other chores to attend to, and didn't make the rest of the ride, but was kind enough to let us drool a while over his well set-up GS!

After fueling-up, we ran a "Figure S" route out of Cottonwood Falls, starting off to the southwest and running through the Spring Creek, Buck Creek, Den Creek, and Coyne Creek Valleys. We also took in the stone twin-arched Clements Bridge, stopping to visit with a lovely older couple who were also visiting the structure. It was obvious they had a deep appreciation of the hidden scenic treasures in Kansas, and proceeded to share a great deal of historical information with us.

Riding south out of Coyne Creek, we worked our way to Matfield Green, then rode to the southeast to Texaco Hill, enjoying the Little Cedar Creek valley along the way. From Texaco Hill, we turned south and rode the Fall River Road to the point where we turned west to the ghost towns Dunlap and Ivanpah. Along this leg, we encountered a motorist disabled with a flat tire. The man confided he was a recent heart patient, so we assisted in getting him mobile again by changing out his tire.

Nearing Rosalia Road, we took one last break to enjoy a scenic overlook (main 'cover shot' on this page). By day's end, we'd each covered 250 miles or more in the saddle including many miles of open range. Rides just don't get much better than this!

... rb

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