December 30, 2004 ... and temperatures in the 60s! It was a day that had to be ridden. Jeff Jelinek of Danville rode up on his Triumph Tiger, Roger Baugh of Wichita rode his KLR650. Our rendezvous was Arlington, KS ... located in the southern part of Reno county. Our goal was to ride the Ninnescah river valley all the way to the Cheney wildlife refuge ... and catch an abandoned rail bed along the way. We dined in Arlington at the Crazy Horse. A great $3.00 hamburger and fixings, including chips. We stopped and spoke with another dualsport rider who had to work this day. There was a degree of envy present! The North Fork of the Ninnescah River valley is sand. The roads are sand. The closed roads are axle deep sand. Oh boy! In other words, we had a good workout on several sections. We found the abandoned rail line and rode north into Castleton, KS. Unfortunately, sections of the line to the north of Castleton have been claimed by farmers, so our "riding the rails" adventure was brief. The entire ride went well ... no mishaps or mechanical problems. For me, about 120 miles of riding this day ... with Jeff probably logging a dozen or so more miles. What a way to end the year! 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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