The Thin Blue Ride - Albuquerque Road Trip Edition

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019

Ride Report:  HA!  These are (temporarily, at least) a thing of the past.  And by way of an update, I went to see an Ortho Doc after returning to MHK.  My shoulders were killin me and making it hard to sleep.  He says a combination of a minor degree of osteoarthritis (normal for my age) and having slightly separated both ACL joints (where the collar bone joins the shoulder) combined with 4200 miles of riding had pretty much everything in the vicinity of my shoulders inflamed.  So, I'm on some anti-inflammatory stuff for up to a month and then if it's still bothering me he'll do a couple of cortisone injections.  Riding will suffer until I get this all calmed down.

Birthday Report:  Today is Susan's birthday.  And no, I'm not telling.  If you see this timely, call her or send a text...

Today's post concerns the long promised (and no doubt much anticipated) return trip to Albuquerque, NM to retrieve the Moto Guzzi motorcycle we bought there on the way thru while enroute to the Left coast to commence The Thin Blue Ride.  Its previous owner held it in storage in his garage pending our return some 5 months later.  What a good guy.  Thanks Paul.  I was excited, as the reader is likely well aware.

But we had to get there first.  We drove 6.5 hours from Downs to Dalhart, TX (A sad but strategically located town) for a layover on Wednesday the 16th.  Then did the additional 4 hours to ABQ on Thursday to load the bike - not to be confused with a bicycle - then returned to Dalhart.  Then on Friday we returned to Downs.  After spending a couple of days there we headed back to Manhattan with our newfound treasure still in tow.  Here's what it looked like...

Two guesses where we encountered this guy - and the first one doesn't count.  If you're clueless, zoom in on the belt buckle - it says "Tex".  Also note the six shooter in his hand.

If I recollect correctly (and I probably do since my mind is like a steel trap) this little church made its first appearance on our initial foray to ABQ driving The Rig.  To quell any unease on the part of the reader - it's still there.

Something else was still there as well - Clines Corner.  Susan could hardly wait and informed me that THIS time we were stopping.  Well then.  With the largest restrooms on I-40, how could I refuse?  Now I have something to look forward to.  After all, I've always wanted to stand further away to do my business.  I dunno where she gets these ideas.

Then we started seeing all these signs for the Flying C Ranch.  Holy Cow - is there anything they don't sell at the Flying C?  This, however, caused Susan some alarm.  We weren't gonna stop at the Flying C and now she was afraid she was gonna miss out on the good stuff.

Apparently all the guy stuff is at the Flying C - not Clines Corner.

OMG!  Same with all the girl stuff!

So we bypassed the Flying C and Susan's demeanour took a decided downturn.

Until we made it to Clines Corner - where they truly do have the good stuff...

As evidenced by this wall of fake longhorn...horns...I guess.  And check out that guy in the glass box at the bottom of the pic.  That's right - none other than...

Zoltar!  Of Liberty Mutual commercial fame.  It's not every day that a guy gets his picture with a prescient automaton.  He predicted my re-entry to the Police world.  I hadn't thought of it, but I guess if Zoltar says so...

And then there was this guy.  I found him in his natural habitat.

AH-HA!  So this is what Zoltar meant.  I'll take two.

For some reason the good folks at Clines Corner asked us to leave right after that last pic.  I guess they have some sort of time limit or something for being in the store.  That was fine with me, cause I found this guy on the way out.

Then it was on to ABQ where we met with Paul and loaded the Moto Guzzi - now known as Jean.  I think he'll make a fine addition to the stable.  And don't start on me with the spelling of Jean thinking it's a girls name.  The regular reader will know that I wanted one of these because it's like the one my Dad had in the late 70s.  Jean was my Dad's middle name.  Yes, with a "J".

On the way back we flashed past this White Castle.  I knew they had White Castles in the South, but didn't realize they were this fancy.

There was also this - which is quite interesting if one takes the time to look closely.  They're pouring concrete onto both ends of the middle column and working to the left/right simultaneously.  That there, boys and girls, is some fancy engineering.

This old plane was near the entrance to the Dodge City, KS airport.  I've assigned the California office of the Research Department to determine what model it is.  Last time I named a model of plane, that yahoo running Research in California told me I was wrong.

And we found this jewel on the North edge of Russell, KS.  That's right - a dually Ford limo.  We're back in Kansas Toto.

As we worked our way farther North into Kansas we came across these snow capped peaks.  Either that or it's gravel.  I'm stickin with snow.

Remember when I complained about all the trees on the East coast blocking the view?

Yeah - we don't have that problem here.  This is between Russell and Osborne, KS.

After a two day layover in Downs, we finally made it back to Manhattan.  This would be White and Jean in front of our house.  (Our other two vehicles are Red and Blue.  What can I say - Susan is quite the patriot.)  Note all the green grass.  None of that nasty stuff in New Mexico.

And then there is this.

A high school classmate of mine named Jim Long had this old Moto Guzzin in storage in the barn on his family's farmstead - for 16 years.  It's a 1975 model 850 T.  A genuine barn find.  He was out for a ride one day 16 years ago when the oil line ruptured and blew hot oil on his left leg.  He shut it down immediately, brought it here and parked it.  It's been here since.  So naturally, I bought it.  Susan is beside herself with something approximating joy.  At least it looks like joy to me - and as the reader knows, I'm a keen observer of both her facial expressions and emotions...

This is it after a quick rinse.  He currently resides in the shop at Susan's parent's farmstead and the disassembly process has begun.  Once I get a clearer picture of how needy he is, I may try to get him running, or he may become a parts bike.  Time will tell.

OK reader - I might (emphasis on might) have one more post in me.  I've been considering doing a state by state report of the highs and lows for each state on The Thin Blue Ride.  I'm not committed at this point.  And if I decide to take the project on, it may be a while.  I have to think long and hard about each of the states on the list - well, except for Kentucky.

So, for now, forget about The Thin Blue Ride, and if someday an e-mail shows up in your in-box alerting you to another insightful post from yours truly, count your blessings.

Till next time - (maybe).

The Thin Blue Ride - Top 25 Random Thoughts

Tuesday, October 8th, 2019

I believe it may provide the reader valuable insight into my cognitive processes were I to publish a sampling of random thoughts for your perusal.  Scary, I know.  But - silent waters run deep, and these thoughts have never been voiced - yet.  So suck it up and give 'em a read - you just might learn something.  One never knows from whence wisdom may flow.  Enjoy...

1. When you live in a space where the living room and kitchen lights have side by side switches, and the lights are only six feet apart, it is necessary that you like the person sharing that space with you.

2.  I'm tired of my legs aching every night.

3.  You really can survive with only six forks and six spoons.

4.  Kentucky dogs suck.  And its corollary, I hate Kentucky dogs.

5.  Your house shouldn't wobble when your bride rolls over in bed at night.

6.  Oreos and Hostess Cupcakes are the biblical manna and will be had for every meal in Heaven.

7.  Angels don't get fat.

8.  75% of one’s time crossing the country is spent climbing, the other 25% of one’s time is fun.

9.  Everyone will be riding bicycles in either Heaven or Hell, but not both.  I'll leave to the theologians the argument over which.

10. Planning is important - if one rides the Trans/Am one should either be a natural planner or take one along - I chose the later.

11. Best overheard conversation of the trip, “Be sure to lock the door and feed the parrot.”

12. Appreciate random acts of kindness when they happen.

13. Ignore random acts of stupid when they happen.

14. Bumpass is a great name for a town.

15. The entire country is made of hills and their larger variant, mountains - except for Kansas.

16. As a general rule, don’t believe Verizon’s claim that they have nationwide cell coverage.

17. As a general rule, don’t believe Verizon.

18. Never again in my lifetime will I be able to eat as much and as often as I did this summer.

19. I’ve heard Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a prayer” so many times that I actually once hallucinated while climbing and thought I was Bon Jovi.

20. The day I touched Delta’s front tire against the Victory Column in Yorktown, it was all worth the struggle.

21. Staying in one place for more than a day is thoroughly enjoyable.

22. All RV Parks are located next to one of the following: train tracks, airports, or interstate highways.

23. When you encounter road kill opossum in a car, you have just enough time to determine that it may have been an opossum.  On a bike, you experience all the subtle nuances of the dead opossum.

24. It should be illegal to put a spoiler on the back of a Volkswagen Beetle - even a new one.

25. One accumulates wisdom in many ways.  If time spent lost in thought is among them, bicycles make one wiser.

26. Bonus random thought:  Wisdom and riding a bicycle across the country are mutually exclusive.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 3 Day 28 - Glen Carbon, IL to Manhattan, KS

Sunday, October 6th, 2019

Drive Report:  382 Miles / 5:41. This would be the most miles covered in one day in The Rig during the trip.  We were ready to get home and delaying one day by halving the mileage would have made us both antsy.  So, we were up, fed and on the road by about 0915 and arrived in Manhattan at about 1700 that afternoon.  Yes, I know that this totals 7:45, but to remain consistent I’ve always provided the reader Google Maps version of drive time rather than our actual.  There are three reasons for this.  First, The Rig doesn’t travel at anything approximating what the typical driver would consider to be “regular” speed.  Don’t misunderstand - when Susan is driving, we beat the Google Maps averages.  I, on the other hand, am a more cautious sort and lag considerably behind her speed and more than off-set her panic inducing efforts.  Second, I likely won’t be able to keep track of the actual drive time - speed induced anxiety being deleterious to accurate time keeping and all.  And third, I'm the one writing the blog - lest anyone have forgotten.  So there.

My apologies (again) for this post being late.  When we made it back to MHK, our neighbors to the East (who have been helping, among others, keep an eye on things while we've been galavanting about the country) invited us over for smoked pork butt, cowboy beans, potato salad and coleslaw.  I had no idea pigs smoked, but - YES - we'll be right over.  This, of course, brought about the necessary amount of yakking and prevarication concerning our trip.  (I shall leave it to the reader's devices who was doing the yakking and who was doing the prevaricating.)  And this meant that we got home too late for me to finish the post.  So - here it is today.

And speaking of posts, following this one, there shall be one more post in The Thin Blue Ride series before the author takes a sabbatical.  So, tune in tomorrow for my top 25 nuggets of wisdom gleaned from the ride.  However, I also reserve the right to post addendum as I see fit.  For example - when we make the pilgrimage back to Albuquerque to pick up the Moto Guzzi.  It was, after all, part of the series, so I feel some obligation to report on it. Likewise, the reader should feel an obligation to read it.  Just sayin...

Now that we're done with the housekeeping chores, here's the day in pics...

T&G live a mere 25 miles from Missouri, so it didn't take us long to get here.  Yes, I know that the reader has already seen a "Welcome" sign for Missouri, but we're on the last leg of the journey today, so there's some extra weight given to these markers.

Shortly after entering Missouri we were passed by this dude.  I have never seen a bike with that much rise.  The guy literally couldn't see the road for the gas tank and headlight.  You could see him looking to either side to drive it.  An aside - try sitting on the edge of your couch and get into the position he's in while driving that thing.  Bet ya won't last long.  The girl on the back, however, looked very comfortable.  Why shouldn't she?  She had a living bug screen.  Can you imagine what that guy's forehead looks like after a ride.  Just as he peeks around the gas tank - SPLAT.  I bet he carries a hankie...  

After looping to the NW of St. Louis on I-270, we found this.  OK - now we're rolling.  

Then it was these two cool iron bridges.  While I love 'em, I think the era of iron bridges is past.

This would be the Mississippi.  The last time I saw this I was headed into Chester, IL.  Not coincidentally on an old iron bridge that had seen better days - 25 years ago.  The river looks a bit higher now than then.  The reader should note that it's comfortably muddy.  Those clear mountain streams where you could see the fish were wearing on me.  Gimme a river where you can't see your hand 4" below the surface any day...

These two barns (?) I guess were right off I-70.  I dunno who those Shyrocks are (open the pic and read sign on the right barn) but they have good taste in barns.

Then it was time to pull into a gas station called "Pyro City" to fill up the tank.  Now normally if I were to tell a tale like this, there are at least some among you who would doubt my veracity.  I proffer this pic as proof (yet again) of my forthrightness and transparency.  But really, "Pyro City"?  There's something incongruous about a gas station with a pyrotechnic nomenclature.  Susan walked out with a huge pile of Black Cat firecrackers holding a lit punk between her teeth.  Good Lord!  And then she gets all cranky when I hit her with a blast from The Rig's handy fire extinguisher.  She says they sell 'em by the pound?  This was Missouri, BTW.  Figures...

We hit the road and before we knew it, we were rolling into Kansas City.  Fortunately the Chiefs game today had the late start and traffic wasn't too bad, even tho we went right past the stadium.

This would be the Kansas River.  Only the cool states have rivers named after them.   I checked and there's no "Texas River".

Plus - Kansas has Dwight D Eisenhower, war hero, President, golfer extraordinaire, driving force behind the Interstate highway system, the list goes on.  This is way better than Indiana bragging up Benjamin Harrison on their state line sign.  What'd that guy ever do?  And could anybody even name him before they read the sign?

Shortly, we pulled in at the Lawrence rest stop to change drivers and get three chocolate chip cookies at McDonalds.  I'll give ya three guesses who got two and who got only one.  I saw this info board there.  Having previously mentioned the Flint Hills, I thought I'd point out to the reader that purple section running N and S in the Eastern third of the state.  That's the Flint Hills.  Given how wide it is at the top, and that Manhattan sits at the widest point, it is clearly the predominant geological feature where we're headed.

They had this at the rest stop also.  I've heard of these.  I've believe it's a chicken of some sort.  Given what I've read about the decline in prairie chicken numbers and that I've never seen one of these before, I concluded that it must be a prairie chicken.  They're also kinda fat and pathetic looking.  No wonder they're in decline...

Westward ho - on to Topeka.  This is the state capital dome.  It looks a bit dreary right now.  Not too long ago it was re-cladded in copper and it retained its coppery sheen for a time.  Now it's starting to age.  At some point it will regain that green patina we all know and love. 

We're nearing the finish line now.  About a three mile section of I-70 lies in Riley County - where in my previous life I worked for RCPD.  So this is clearly my old stomping grounds. 

But to get there ya hafta take the 313 exit to see this...

The Bill Snyder highway.  If ya hafta ask - well...don't.  Just Google it.  He was apparently a great slayer of prairie chickens and is almost single handedly responsible for their disappearance and near extinction in the fall of each year.

This is a great shot and a pretty sight all at the same time.  Highway K-177 just topping the last hill before descending into the Kansas River Valley where Manhattan is located.  It is also the site of the highest speeds ever reached on a bicycle by yours truly and the Mrs.  Twice on my single bike I hit 59 mph on this downhill.  Once with Susan on the tandem.  On both occasions we had a significant tailwind.   My all time high speed is on the tandem - by .1 mph.  On that occasion we coasted all the way to the viaduct over the Kansas River and the Manhattan City Limits - some 3 miles distant.  

Finally, we're home.  Well - almost...

OK - now it's official.  We walked in and Susan said the house smelled funny.  I told her it wasn't me.  (Susan read this and said, "REALLY!  That's our big ta-dah!!")

Author's note:  I'm just not a big ta-dah kinda guy, I guess.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the final episode of The Thin Blue Ride.  (Barring, of course, any future addendum.)

Till next time.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 3 Day 27 - Glen Carbon, IL

Saturday, October 5th, 2019

Drive Report: None - We goofed off with Tim & Glynda Gasser all day.

This is a quick pic of The Rig at T&G's place - it's final layover before reaching MHK on Sunday.  It was a slow morning, which fits Susan and I just right.  As an added bonus, Glynda made pancakes.  I like Glynda - just don't tell her.

In the afternoon T&G took us on a tour of local areas of interest.  This was our first stop.  Given my prior life at RCPD, they thought of this.  Perfect!  Unfortunately, they were closed.  Not perfect!

So it was on to the next donut place.  These are some really good friends - no?  I wanted the t-shirt from this one, so in we went.

The shirt below and to the right of the bank robber mask is the one I was after.  Unfortunately, the only size they had left was 2X.  Odd - one would think those would be the first to go at a donut shop.  Even more problematic, Susan was intrigued with the bank robber ski mask.  Given the proclivities she demonstrated at Plymouth (see Part 3 Day 13), I left.  I don't want to have to testify.  

When I saw that the town with these shops was named after a pastry, I wasn't surprised.  I'm pretty sure they call those leclaires.  It's French - who knows...

Then they took me to a place where I could pick out my own steak for grilling tonight.  WOW!  I need to come here more often.

And the same place sold THESE!  Unfortunately, after being treated so shabbily by the Hostess legal department, I've sworn off anything from Hostess.  Regardless of whether its heaven in a cellophane wrapper or not.

And they were on such a roll.  I didn't know T&G were closet vegetable consumers.  What a pity...

Us with Tim and Glynda.  Tim is the tall one.  Friends are friends, now matter the years, the distance or the frequency with which you see to see each other.  Even if they do eat vegetables.

We head home tomorrow.  It'll be a big day - the post for which may show up a day late given the time we expect to reach MHK.  We'll just have to see.

Till next time.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 3 Day 26 - Greenfield, IN to Glen Carbon, IL

Friday, October 4th, 2019

Drive Report:  246 Miles / 3:45

There were several official "final times" to The Thin Blue Ride as of last night: final time sleeping in The Rig, final shower in a box just big enough to stand in, final stay in an RV park, etc.  All this because by close of business today we'll be in Glen Carbon, IL visiting friends from BK (Before Kids) and staying at their house for two nights before heading out on our final trek in The Rig - the trek to MHK.

Today started a little slow, but turned out to be an adventure from which I am still recovering.  But the reader hadn't ought to feel bad for me, I knew what I was getting when I signed up...

OK - admittedly, this pic would be a lot better if there wasn't a high voltage power line in the background, but it's pretty good all the same.  This is a small Methodist Church we passed shortly after leaving the RV Park this morning.  The medium blue sky as a backdrop is pretty slick.

We decided to take the long road to Glen Carbon, IL (a St. Louis suburb) today so we went via Brazil.  In the recent past we've been to all sorts of exciting places; Paris, Russia, Macedonia, etc - but I didn't want to be seen as bragging.

We also passed back into Illinois again today.  We haven't seen Illinois since crossing the Mississippi River while headed East during the ride portion of the trip.  I thought I'd include this shot so the reader could appreciate the...simplicity...of Illinois' sign compared to, say, Indiana's from yesterday.  Additionally, the only other Illinois sign the reader saw was the one just outside Chester, IL when I was riding.  You may recall that it was plastered with stickers from passing T/Aers.  Ya can actually see this one.

Buckle up - this is where things went south.

I took this one as Susan was driving down the Interstate.  (Note:  Professional Driver on an open course, do not attempt this at home.)  She wanted something from the back.  I can't recall what it was - wait, it was lip balm - so I went to get it.  As I made my way back to the front, I heard her mumbling under her breath, something about "...shoot the gap."  I'd no idea what she was talking about until I got back up front and saw...

...this.  Aaaaaaaggggghhhhhhhh!  As we went thru, Susan pulled out the lip balm I had just given her, rolled down her window, and tagged the FedEx guy's lead trailer with the Teamster's Logo.  Apparently there is still some animosity between Teamsters and the Fed Ex guys stemming from FedEx drivers in Charlotte voting to de-certify the Union in 2017.  I'm caught up in an internecine war...

Shortly after Susan's road rage incident there was this.  I didn't say anything - just hoped that she'd note that it was 100 feet tall and reflect on her recent behaviour.

As we got closer to Glen Carbon, scenes like this became more common.  The reader should note how far they can see in this pic.  We certainly did.  There's something about being in the East with your sight obstructed for so long by all those trees.  It leaves one feeling almost claustrophobic.  We both prefer our spaces a little more wide open.

We're close to home now.  Our intent at this point is to be back in Manhattan by Sunday evening.

Till next time.