Rain

Day 14 Friday, April 30, 2010

Chuck and I almost got us together. I was up first and Chuck got up soon after. We got dressed and packed. We took a couple of bags to our Motors and loaded them. Off to breakfast we went. The other guys soon followed and had breakfast. It was cloudy and we were expecting rain today. The Weather Channel and local radio stations were reporting that we may have tornadoes also. We all finished packing our Motors and we left Cuba at 8:34 AM with Chuck leading.

We rode north on SR 19 from Cuba. It was a two lane road with farms on either side. We came to a town called Owensville at 8:57 AM and Chuck decided to get gas. We had ridden 24.8 miles. It was cool, at 72 degrees. We considered taking our jackets off, however, the threat of rain was there and we didn't want to take the chance. C.E. and Bruce were prepared. When we left the hotel, they had their rain pants on. We left at 9:07 AM with Jan in the lead.

We were headed to Kansas City, MO. We were going to meet Suzy at a BBQ Restaurant for lunch. Jan took the lead and we continued on SR19. We were going north on SR19 and turn onto US 50. I was next in line with Ken, C.E., Chuck and Bruce. We were enjoying the road, I was rocking on my tunes and then Jan started to make a smooth left turn at a "Y" in the road. I saw the ST19 sign that went straight and didn't notice the US 50 sign that indicated the sweeping left turn. Jan was making his turn as I downshifted and braked. I made a left turn as Ken passed me. I accelerated and got behind Ken. I couldn't pass him on the curve. Once the road straightened out, I accelerated and quickly got ahead of Ken and behind Jan. That will teach me not to pay closer attention! We continued on US 50 and, at times, were going 75 mph. We were driving so fast that we ended up in California...MO. The city's name is California, MO. We stopped and made a pit stop. As we were waiting, an elderly man came riding up on his lawn mower to the gas pump. He filled it up with $1.40. What great gas mileage! He was a funny old coot and tried to get Jan to buy his gas. An older lady came up to us and admired our Motors and the old coot tried to get her to go to dinner with him and he would buy. The town was almost as fun as watching cartoons. We looked north at the sky and considered putting on our rain gear. We didn't. We left at 10:51 AM.

We entered the next town and I felt a few drops. I was hoping that Jan would pull over so that we could put on our rain gear. Chuck got me on the CB and asked me if I thought it be a good idea to stop and put our gear on. I agreed and told Jan to pull over. Jan pulled over to a mini-mart. Just as we stopped and got some of our rain gear out, ii started to rain harder. Chuck, Jan, Ken and I rode next door to a Sonic Drive In and got under the awning. We put on our gear and we were ready for what was going to hit us. We left, all bundled up, at 11:51 AM.

Just as we left, the rain came down harder. We were riding through the city and it was pouring! The visibility was poor. It poured for about 10 minutes and then is slowed. We were out of the city by this time. It rained off and on for about an hour. Chuck was low on gas so we were looking for a place for him to get gas. We also had to stop and call Suzy. Chuck had told her that we would call her when we were about an hour away. Just before we arrived in Lee's Summit, Jan pulled over to the side of the road at 12:58 PM and Chuck called Suzy. We had ridden 63.8 miles. Chuck said that he was OK on gas, but to stop at the next town. We left at 1:03 PM.

As I wrote earlier, we were approaching Lee's Summit. We rode into Lee's Summit and found a gas station and stopped at 1:07 PM after riding 3.8 miles. We gassed up and now it was Ken's turn to lead. I told Ken that I would lead for him, since I had a navigation system and I had plugged the address of the restaurant into it. Ken was relieved. We left at 1:26 PM.

I followed the directions of the navigation system and we made this turn and that turn and this turn and finally got to our destination at 1:49 PM after 19.1 miles. The name of the restaurant was B-B's Bar-B-Q. When we were parking our Motors and getting off, a familiar voice greeted us. Suzy was already there waiting for us. She should be, after all she was only coming from Gladstone, MO. and we were coming from Phoenix, AZ. We went inside and had a good meal and good company with Suzy. We all talked for a while and had a picture taken with her in the restaurant. It was good to see her again. It was time to leave so we picked up all of our gear, which we had taken off and set on the stage. The clouds looked friendlier so we packed away our rain gear. I was fortunate to have Suzy help me take off my pants. That was fun! J.B., you need to come back home. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. We had to leave. We took a Group photo with Suzy and said our good-byes. We each took turns hugging Suzy. I kissed her good-bye and she told me that it was the best she has had in a long time! J.B., you need to get home! Love you Suzy! We left at 3:36 PM.

Ken wasn't sure how to get back to US 50 so I told him I would get him there. I led him to I-435/US 50. Ken moved in to the lead. We missed an exit that we should have taken and we got off the freeway. I told Ken that I wasn't sure which interstate was also US 50, whether it was I-435 or I-35. We got back on I-435 to get back on I-35 (US 50) and Ken missed the turn and got on I-435 North. I move up ahead and got off of the interstate. I led the Group on a quick adventure and got back onto I-435 South. We eventually got back on I-35 (US 50). We were headed for Emporia, KS. I motioned for Ken to take the lead again. Ken did and we were off on I-35.

Ken stopped in Gardner, KS at 4:24 PM after riding 33.9 miles. That was a good stop because we just had lunch. We had a good break. Ken cracked the whip on us and told us that the break was over. We left at 4:35 PM.

Ken continued leading us on US 50 towards Emporia. We rode and we were all getting tired. We stopped at the Holiday Inn Express at 5:50 PM after riding 83.9 miles. Chuck and Jan went in to "make the deal." They did and we all checked in. We unpacked our bags from our Motors and took them to our rooms. We secured our Motors and tucked them in for the night.

Today, we rode 351 miles. We also rode in the rain with poor visibility. It was fun! We were able to have lunch with a good friend, Suzy. J.B., thanks for letting us use your credit card to pay for lunch. Keep on working and paying the balance. J.B., come back and rejoin our Group! Tomorrow we will continue to go through Kansas and we should get into Colorado. We will see. So, until tomorrow...