Riding thru the Ozarks...

Did almost 400 miles yesterday with the Greater KC HOG group. Been a member of HOG for 2 years and I can count the number of rides I've gone on with them on the hand of someone who's lost a couple fingers in a horrible accident. It was a beautiful day for it and I was comfortable in my chaps and leather coat. I switched to my mesh jacket and summer gloves for an hour or so but had to switch back after I got a bit chilly.

I just love maps and feel the need to plug everything into Streets and Trips.

Dunno what's kept me from going on HOG rides before. Maybe it was the intimidation of meeting so many new people and feeling like an outsider because I didn't know anyone. People don't believe it when I tell them I'm a shy person (heck, I don't hardly believe it myself) But everyone I met and talked to was most awesome! I had met 3 or people in the past (and even remembered their names! :-) ) And I was plesantly surprised to see that people rememberd my name as well!

We had about 24 bikes or so with a handful of them having passengers, so in total maybe 35 people or so. I'm sure someone has an official count. We took a nice winding route down to Lebanon, where we ate lunch at Gary's Catfish and BBQ House. We took a stroll through the Route 66 museum and then headed home through Louisburg, Pittsburg an Collins. In Collins I had some most excellent pie (not as good as moms though) at Smith's Restaurant.

Came out of the restaurant after waiting in a long line to pay for my pie and most everyone was gone. Ended up riding back north with a small group. With the smaller group we were able to open it up and ride at speeds that I'm used to traveling at by myself (I usually ride alone). I did enjoy riding with the large group but it's hard to get through any kind of traffic with that many bikes.

I think the only thing I talked about was my trip to Alaska. I always seem to want to talk to anyone and everyone who will listen to me rattle on. Most people are genuinly interested to hear about the trip and a more than a few think I'm half assed crazy for attempting such a trip on a Sportster.

40 days left until we leave for Alaska. The string of bad luck which consumed Screw Loose Dan's engine (the nickname as a result of the incident), and then my bike on my way back from Ohio (Read about it here) has spread to Bootie. Bootie went down on some gravel Thursday afternoon in the middle of Pennsylvania while on his way to MA. He busted up his left mirror, highway peg and rear turn signal, and hit the ground pretty hard. He's sore and we're waiting to see how he heals. I'm sure he'll be all over fixing his bike (Louise) when he gets back.

Speeking of Bootie... he's got a nice write up on us Alaska Adventurers in his blog. Click Here.