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08-08-06 1:45 PM, CST
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2006
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And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
GROUP PHOTOS
2005 Photos ....
12-13-05. We had another good turnout for our non-ride dinner this month. The only sad note was the departure of Jeremy, one of our original members and a quiet nice guy. We chipped in and got him a small bell for his bike, to scare away the gremlins. The evening was brisk with showers in the forecast, so nobody braved a ride. As usual we were able to meet some of the extended family that normally is not around. We had a good time .. hope to see you all next month.
11-08-05. This was our first non-ride dinner of the off season. It was great to get the gang together again. The weather was unseasonably warm with a high near 80 F, so a few of us rode to this "non-ride" meeting. I think the best part was that a couple guys were able to bring their wives and let them meet the group. Since they do not ride this was a rare treat for us to get to meet them. We hope to see more of our extended group for these outings. We had a good time .. hope to see you all next month.
10-25-05. The "South Lake Tour" was very short this year. The temperatures were a bit brisk, so we took a slow tour around Springfield lake and went straight to dinner. I enjoyed visiting Galloway again, it has been too long. We decided to continue meeting over the winter even though we will not ride, which I am very happy about. This group has so much in common and yet has such a wonderful variety of backgrounds and personalities. I really enjoy the variety of conversations, the different perspectives, and of course there is nothing better than the laughter.
10-22 to 10-23-05 WEEKEND. Saturday ... After a chilly start to the day (40-45 degrees F) we found sunshine and warmer weather by the time we had arrived at the north end of the Pig Trail (AR-23). This is one of several scenic highways in the area, but certainly a favorites among motorcycle enthusiasts because of the curves and hills.
After a long day of riding we settled in for a nice dinner at the Weinkiller Restaurant in Altus, AR. They are known for their wine and good food, which was delicious and relaxing.
We stopped part way down the hill to checkout an overlook area at St. Mary's Cathedral (pictured above). The view of the valley is vast, but none of my pictures turned out. It is a peaceful place to soak up the view and close out our first day of riding.
Sunday ... We started another day with chilly temperatures. The actual temp was higher on Sunday morning (50 degrees F) but we had wind and clouds to make it very brisk indeed. What am I saying .. it was DAMN cold. Steve laughed at me when we left out (my orange lenses for the cloudy day did not help my defense). Here at our first stop that is him putting on a mask and digging in his bag for a half helmet with face shield. We were cold all day, and going north the whole time did not help.
In spite of chilly temps and winds that would change your lane, the ride back was beautiful. If you ever get a chance to ride AR-7 between Russelville and Harrison don't miss it. I really wish I had stopped and got a picture of the sign that said "STEEP AND CROOKED ROAD .. NEXT 63 MILES". They were not kidding. It is a area that I will return to just for the scenery and the road itself.
I posted some scenic pictures from Sunday on the Nature Page. Next time I am down there I will get some better pictures on AR-7.
10-18-05. The "North Lake Tour" is the first of our last two rides of the year. This ride is usually fairly short due to the sun falling so quickly, and I guess my pace on this evening was a bit quick as well (sorry .. it is so hard to know). We ate at Ryan's, and there was no shortage of desert, which is always a plus.
This is a watercolor painting that my sister did from one of our pictures of McDaniel lake that is on the Nature Page. I guess we are not the only people that find this spot relaxing.
10-11-05. The ride to W&W Cafe in Hurley, MO was a great evening to enjoy an Ozark sky. At least once a year we manage to catch an evening with an unusual sky. This was that ride. The sky was alive with color and produced a sunset that seemed to last forever.
This picture was a great reminder of why we all enjoy these evening rides. You just never know what you will see.
10-04-05. The ride to Grants Restaurant in Marionville, MO had a very special treat. I do not know the whole story, but the gentleman in the picture above is Dave's Dad. I understand that he rode all the way down from Iowa just to catch a Tuesday ride and see what all the fuss was about. This certainly has to be the longest commute for a ride that anyone has braved. I wish I could have been there to shake his hand.
Once again Jacque provided a great on the road picture. This one even gives a hint of fall approaching.
09-26-05. The ride to Bamboo Garden in Mt. Vernon was dry this time, which certainly made for a more enjoyable evening. I am not sure who won this cross county race, but I feel like we placed in the top 5 for sure. With Jerry in the lead the pace was brisk .. but we were fighting the clock so we all understood. Besides, in his defense .. I don't think he ever got the Hayabusa out of 3rd gear. Great route, one we need to make part of a weekend tour.
09-24 to 09-25-05 WEEKEND. Our weekend ride was great on Saturday. We had cloudy skies but the temperatures were very pleasant. Matt set a nice even pace and I even had a chance to look around from time to time. We made our way to the Hodgson Mill (pictured above) before heading over to Rockbridge, MO for lunch.
Here you can find some additional details on the Hodgson Mill, and the official site of the Rockbridge Restaurant.
We had originally planned to stop at Archie Mill near Eminence on our way to dinner, but we were running behind for our dinner reservations so we decided to come back those couple miles in the morning so we would have enough time to really enjoy seeing the mill that is one of the most photographed in Missouri.
We knew there was a chance of showers on Sunday, but the storm was expected to track to the east before getting to Missouri and we would have only minor chances for rain. Well, hurricane "Rita" did not read the forecast, and never did turn as predicted. We decided to skip the tourist activities and make way for the house. The remains of "Rita" stayed with us for the entire ride home. It was a very wet ride. The most surprising part of the ride home for me was that parts of it I enjoyed. I can't speak for everyone, but once you have been in the rain for so long it becomes part of the experience and at times you feel like you are just riding and everything is fine. With that said, I will NEVER be caught without rain gear again .. or without anti-fog .. or fail to waterproof my boots regularly.
09-20-05. Steve took us on a new route to Dancy's in Marshfield that was a great change of scenery. We stopped on this bridge for a group shot but I will need to ask Steve what river it is and what highway. We were once again delighted to find a few new faces among our ranks, and had a few return visitors that don't get to make very many rides. We need to find a way to get together for a few rides after the regular scheduled season comes to an end. This group is too much fun to just shut it down each October and wait for Spring.
09-15-05. We made our first visit to the Chuck Wagon in Seymour MO. We took this Thursday ride as an opportunity to check them out because they are normally closed on Tuesdays. The buffet was buy one get one free that night, so that was certainly a nice surprise. They were busy and kept running out of fried chicken, but in general the buffet was fine. No dessert, so we stopped in at the Fountain Cafe to grab a quick treat on the way home. This was a basic ride, but still a pretty one. The cool evening made it very comfortable.
I guess you can tell I am hooked on using these "on the road" pictures that David and Jacque have been providing for us. I think these pictures often capture the mood of a ride.
09-06-05. We returned to the Fountain Cafe once again. I think everyone really likes this little out of the way place in Fordland. We always get a warm welcome and the food is just great. I missed this trip, but I heard it was another great visit.
08-30-05. We decided to make another trip to the Ole Hickory this year, and this second outing was a big hit. We had quite a big group as you can see (In fact this is our largest group ever .. 29 souls).
I think most people have an older country home in their memories that was host to big meals of family and friends. The inside of the Ole Hickory always makes me think of those simple days of good conversation and down home cooking.
08-23-05. The sky cleared up right before we took off and it looked like it would be a wonderful evening to explore the Ozark back roads. We were so wrong.
Here we are at Mt. Vernon (Spirit of 76 Park) for our group picture. About 5-10 miles before we got to Miller the light sprinkles we had seen a few times turned into a torrential downpour. Wet, wet, wet. If you have forgotten what it is like to ride in the rain (like I had), just get in all your gear and go sit on your bike in the driveway while someone sprays you down with the hose for about 30 minutes. That should do it. We stopped at Miller and talked about what to do .. and decided we were already wet so what was the point in going home with an empty stomach. Fred is not pictured here because he had some clutch cable trouble and turned back before we hit the heavy rain. I understand he got soaked on the way home as well (nobody was getting home dry on this outing). We rode in the rain over to Mt. Vernon, and had a great meal at the Bamboo Garden. Of course it stopped raining while we ate. We did what we could to get dry for the ride home, and it was a nice ride until we neared Republic. It started to pour again and we rode home in the rain as well.
I would like to see us take this ride again. It is a wonderful route and I think everyone would enjoy it (minus the rain naturally).
08-16-05. This week we revisited the "Winding Path" ride that was such a hit last year. It makes a trip to Nixa over 40 miles, but I highly recommend the trip. I think everyone enjoyed it again this year, and there is talk of making it an annual event.
We ate at the new Bumstead's in Nixa. They do not appear to have any peanuts to throw on the floor (shells I guess at that point) but the food is the same and just as good.
The following "on the road" pictures turned out great. David and Jacque once again took a good idea and turned out some great pictures. I for one really appreciate having a picture of me cruising down the road on my bike. Thanks guys.
Don and Debbie ... HD Heritage Softail Classic ??
Tom ... HD Ultra Classic ??
Fred ... Kawasaki Vulcan 800
Matt ... Yamaha TX 750
Jerry and Brenda ... Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa
Neil and Giovanna ... HD Dyna Glide ??
Joe ... Yamaha Royal-Star Venture (Midnight Edition)
Wilbur ... Suzuki GS1000
Scott and Twana ... Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom
Mark ... Honda VTX1800
Tim and Nan ... Victory Kingpin
08-09-05. Well, we finally go to a place that has tons of pie, and I miss my second ride in a row. Somebody please send me the details on this ride ... and don't mention the apple pie .. I don't want to know .. sniff sniff.
I hope to make a ride down and try the pie for myself (and get some outside pictures for the "Destinations" Page). The directions sound fairly simple. Go West on highway 96 to 97 north. Follow the signs to Lockwood, then go West on US-160 to Golden City. Cookies is on Main Street, on the left side of the road. The ride is about 50 miles, but with an eight foot wide selection of pie inside it just doesn't seem like very far to me.
Once again our "on the road" photography team of David and Jacque captured a beautiful scene along an Ozark highway that leads to Golden City. What a wonderful sight to have a string of bikes reaching out ahead of you on a beautiful summer evening.
08-02-05. I think this ride is the first time that neither Matt, Steve, or myself were on the ride (all three of us had mechanical issues with our bikes). We all three felt bad because Pete was making his debut as ride leader and Smith's is a good place to eat. Sounded like a good combo to us, and I guess it was. I don't know much about the route, so feel free to send me a summary and I will post it.
07-28-05. I rode to within about just a few miles of this spot, but had to turn for home to meet some other commitments. I did not get to eat at Longhorns but heard the food was good, the service fast, and everyone seemed to like it.
07-19-05. Matt took us back to Aurora, but you would never know we were headed to the same town as last week. The route was scenic, and the clouds knocked down some of the heat for us again. On the way back we got a few sprinkles as we left town, but it never amounted to anything and I think that suited everyone. I really need to consider getting some rain gear .. maybe next year. This was our first time to the Hawg Wild and I was pleasantly surprised that they had plenty of room for us in a side room I didn't know was there. The food was good and the service friendly.
07-12-05. I lead this particular ride, and was very pleased with all of the nice comments people shared. I tried to take us on a few back roads away from the normal paths since we were so near my old stomping ground. From the feedback it seems obvious that some of the roads were definitely new sites for just about everyone in the group. We did not call ahead to Bootleggers, which worried me a bit, but they had accommodations for 27 set up faster than I would have dreamed possible. While the prices are a bit more than we usually see on our journeys, the food was good and everyone seemed to be absolutely stuffed when we left.
We had 8 new faces join us on this ride, and it was fun getting to know a little about them and exchange some stories. Hopefully we will see them again on future rides, all were nice people.
06-28-05. Matt really out did himself on this one. This was a ride that I hope everyone enjoyed as much as I did. It was a nice relaxed pace and the roads were quiet and beautiful. There were some sections where the trees made a canopy over the road, several pleasant bridge crossings, and plenty of farm land and hidden homesteads. The folks at Gateway where kind enough to have a table set up for us where we could all sit together, which sure makes for some interesting conversations and some good laughs.
Pete and Julie on their Victory Kingpin. We may be seeing a few more of the Victory riders and that suits us just fine.
Matt on his classic 1970's Yamaha TX-750. For those that don't know, he has had this bike since high school.
Steve and Bev on their HD Heritage Soft tail. I think there may be one more spot for some chrome .. nope, my mistake.
Wilbur on his Suzuki, which I think may be a GS 1000. He has obviously worked around not having any highway pegs.
Here is ole "Cool Breeze" himself .. Fred on his Yamaha Virago. What a character .. good to have him along.
06-21-05. I am very sorry, but the pictures of this ride were lost. It was a great group, and we had some new faces, so I really hate it that the pictures are lost. We took the long way to Marshfield, and it got just a bit longer than we expected. On our way north on H Highway we usually turn off on Shelby Road and head to Fair Grove. This night the road was blocked by fire trucks and utility trucks trying to get a power pole secured. We backtracked to H and headed north to CC. I think it all turned out just fine. The line of 18 bikes that we parked at Dancy's was truly impressive, and really showed off the diversity of bikes that we can draw together for one of our rides (yep .. I know .. a picture of that would have been nice).
06-14-05. Steve sure found some splendid roads for this winding route to Rogersville. We crossed a couple of old one-lane iron bridges, but this one was certainly the prettiest. I wish I had been able to take some scenic pictures on this ride .. it was a perfect night and some of the views were just fantastic.
Here is proof that three Yamahas can be about as different as you can imagine. The chopper is John's creation, and has a 250cc motor that he has pumped up to let him cruise at 65mph in comfort. The bike is a street legal prototype he built for fun, but there may be more to come as people have really been taken with the overall package of looks and function.
From start to finish this was a beautiful ride ... I didn't want it to end.
06-09-05. Steve took us on another back road journey past this farm that has a small herd of mules. The area is really peaceful and pretty. We got just a smidge off course on this one, but I didn't know it at the time. I found out later that Steve missed his turn and just made due until he could get back on the trail. For anyone that was curious why we crossed a gravel creek bed .. it was not part of the plan.
We all took a good look at the mules .. and they sure took a good look at us. These pictures just almost lined up to show the whole scene.
05-31-05. Well .. the picture turned out fuzzy, but the ride was just great. We took a round about route to Crane, but the evening was warm and clear so the ride was peaceful and scenic. Dinner was just a hoot. I can't remember us all laughing as much. Fred was in rare form (I don't know if "rare" really applies) and everyone seemed to have a good time cutting up. The Ole Hickory is perfect for feeling at home, we had a room to ourselves, and it was like being at someone's house for dinner. A fun ride I think everyone enjoyed.
05-24-05. This stop is one of my favorites for many reasons. I like the idea that a piece of old 66 highway is still around (this section still has the "curb" on it in places, and just down from the bridge is a forgotten store building that was once on the front row of the American highway). I grew up not too far from this spot and as a young man knew it was here but was too busy to take a closer look. Now I see it with a nostalgic charm that escaped me until a bit later in life.
Dave G. provided us with these wonderful on-the-road photos. We hope to get a few more as the weeks roll by. It certainly helps capture the feel of a ride I think.
Tim and Nan .. Crusin' on 66 .. on a Victory .. how appropriate.
Russell and MaryAnn .. New friends to the group.
Scott and Ann .. old friends on a new bike .. and looking much more comfy I might add.
05-22-05. This is our weekend trip to Arkansas. We came back on Arkansas 23 which is well known as a fantastic motorcycle road. The ride out of Arkansas that morning was simply one of the most peaceful and beautiful rides I have ever been lucky enough to enjoy. The entire route that Steve and Bev laid out for this weekend trip was fantastic .. lots of unique things to see and good stops all along the way (we even got to hear some small town bluegrass, which was not planned but certainly enjoyed). Thanks for a great tour!
05-21-05. This is the gang at an overlook area on Mt. Magazine. There is another photo from this same area posted on the Nature Page (after looking at the map .. it is really more west-central)
05-17-05. I took the lead of our rabble this time, but we managed to arrive at our intended destination anyway. Actually, I prefer to be back in the pack just watching the bikes and soaking up the scenery, but so do others so we share the duty. This was a basic ride, but a pretty one. The folks at W&W always take good care of us. I had planned to show off Pete's blue Victory in this photo, but it got cropped out (I will get a good shot of it on a future ride .. great looking bike).
05-10-05. Steve took us on another beautiful ride along the back roads that lead to Fordland. I really enjoy going to the Fountain Cafe. Seems like each time we go we get great food with great service and everyone enjoys the visit. We should really consider making a second trip this year.
(Neil ... please send me that pic when you can)
05-03-05. This was a short ride due to the cool temperatures and it still being a bit early in the season. We usually end up going to Bumstead's more than once so we will save the longer route for later in the year.
04-19-05. We have always talked about a ride out East of town where we can explore some of the back roads and see some new sights. It seemed like a good way to get in a short ride and still get off the beaten path a little. The only problem was that most of us are not familiar with the roads out that way. That is the beauty of a diverse group, we were able to talk Neil into leading our pack this time. He took us all over creation .. I have never ridden for so long and not gone anywhere. The ride had lots of very interesting sights and some choice real estate that makes my house look like an old shack. The only problem is I think we must have crossed US 60 one time too many, as we lost the last two bikes in our group due to a mix up at the traffic light. I know everyone felt awful about it and we will make some arrangements to avoid the likelihood of any repeats. Thankfully our "exiled" riders knew the destination and were able to meet us there. Galloway was closed for remodeling, so we ate at Fudruckers.
04-12-05. Once again we made our first ride of the year to Whimpy's. The new year started out with a bike breakdown .. well almost. Don and Debbie had bike trouble before we got very far and had to drop out ... with Randle and his delightful mother as their rescue team. Jerry C. picked up the lead position and took us over a wonderful selection of back roads that make up the long way to Willard. I actually found myself on some unfamiliar roads, which is no small task for this boy. We finally found our way to Whimpy's, and imagine our surprise and relief to find our 4 lost souls waiting for us. Randle had figured out the problem and got them back on the road. Great save ... and a beautiful ride.
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