ROMEOS

Guys - Here's another brand spanking new place that we've never been to before. It comes courtesy of Arnie Boyd of Chapman or thereabouts. I'm sure we all recall Chapman from years past as being the largest turnout of ROMEO's short of a group get together. I've been trying to look it up from my old records to get the exact count but what I recall was a figure in the high eightys or low ninetys. A great gathering by anybodys measure.
Temps next week will be in the low 90 range and if 'ya ride fast it will feel even cooler. I'm 'gonna have to do that because Joyce is always barking at me about going too slow! I'm just a slo-poke kinda rider because...well, I just enjoy seeing the sites. Not next week.....I'm 'gonna give her something to think about. It's been years since I got my last speeding ticket and I'm about due for another.
For those around here that usually ride with me on the way over....fair warning....Joyce is gonna get her fill and no, I'm not taking the Ural.

Here's the time.............................................11:00 am

Here's the place............................................Flo's Place
417 N. Marshall
Chapman, Kansas 67431
785-922-7168

As always...........................ride careful, ride safe and I'll see you in Chapman. Richard
http://mapq.st/1FGty7L
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Guys - It's a new day around my house. As many of you know too well, I'm no computer genius. In fact, the term computer moron might be more fitting but hey, I do what I can do to get the word out about the group lunch rides.
But....things are about to improve! My friend Marty (aka Roadpounder) has graciously agreed to become my official site photographer. Many of you know Marty as Leo's faithful master. Leo being our long time official mascot, a roll he has faithfully filled for years with nary a complaint.
Marty ocassionaly chimes in with his wit and wisdom and many comment that they would like to hear more from him. In this new position, Marty will have ample opportunity to expound not only in picture but in verse.
I welcome Marty to my team!
Now for the detail of the day. The Salina bunch planned to head out for lunch at 10:00am from Caseys corner on Iron and Ohio. I've been there....done that before! Sometimes even arriving early only to find then already gone! I was gritting my teeth at 10:02am when Joyce and I pulled in and.....wala....they were still there! Wonder of wonders. Setting all the clocks in the house 5 minutes fast did the trick and Joyce didn't even had a clue.
I was trailing as we headed East on country Club Road and a rider ahead got out of line and turned left on a paved road that intersected old highway 40. That's the way I had elected to go if the guys hadn't chosen another path but since (Emory) decided he wanted to go that way I jumped at the chance to follow. It was an old favorite of mine that ai don't get to ride all that often. I particularly like the view coming into Chapman from the West with the stone wall on one side and the railroad hidden in the trees below to the South and the river just adjacent. a gorgeous setting that never fails to enchant me.
The turn North along the street at the stop sign took me back. The road was full of cycles already there and the rest of the guys that we split off from came in from a paved road behind just as we passed. We were going to have a full house!
Forty (40) ROMEO's attended the lunch today and this was the end of their first full year on operation. Where have I been to not know this place had been open that long. It was great! I had the special but I don't know what it was called since Joyce order for me as I was whisking about mothering the sign up book about so as to not lose anyone.
Junior had come up all the way from Oxford to bring brochures about the Fall Rondezvous and wore one of the special 10th anniversary shirts that are available on order for $15.00. They will be ready and available to pick up at the outing.
Let me say right hear that if you haven't been to the fall outing.....please make plans to go this year. It's always special and the roads are magnificent. Brochures are available from Harrison tourism that outline several different day rides and the scenery is spellbinding. Ride with others or take off on your own. The State has it all planned out for you. Once you go....you'll go again....guaranteed!

chrono adjustment

Here are the pics. More to come.

Woo Hoo!! Tuesday morning at Spangles found Richard appointing me our official photographer. This position comes with a 100% pay raise!! Oh! Wait! I wasn't getting paid. Oh well. Since my days of feeling under the weather my camera has been missing. I've been threatening to buy a new one ever since. This finally gave me the incentive. So off to K Mart to see what they have. I was going to peruse the pawn shops to see what they had, but I thought I could get something new for not much more money. $100 in hand I went shopping. They had 3 cameras for less than $100 and I examined all 3. Patients wearing thin with this adventure, my testosterone started kicking in and I chose the least expensive one. After all, women shop, and men buy. I'll leave it up to you as to who ultimately makes the better decision. After getting home and unpacking it the testosterone started flowing hot and heavy and I figured I didn't need the sketchy instructions, I can figure this out. How hard can this be anyway? After about an hour I felt like the proverbial baboon, staring at the camera scratching my head and aimlessly flailing away at buttons desperately trying to get something to work, until I finally get frustrated, scream, and throw it against the wall and return to the more familiar environment of the jungle gym. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmybloKuguw Swallowing my pride I perused the very sketchy quick start guide which gave me a little insight about what was going on. It was in several different languages. One of which was English. I think. At least now I can make it take a picture. I got some good shots of my ceiling and an excellent close up shot of my left thumb. However there was still a sea of icons and menu choices on the display that made only slightly more sense than Sanskrit. The package included a CD which I'm sure contained the user manual. However I couldn't use that and maintain my masculinity. So I circumnavigated that by getting on the Kodak web site and downloaded it there (Beats chest like King Kong). I'm sure there's come kind of convoluted logic in there somewhere. After spending some quality time with the user manual I was able to get a pretty good handle on most of the features of this thing. Lesson learned. If all else fails, READ THE DIRECTIONS.


Wednesday greeted me with thunder crashing and lightning flashing. This raised doubts about the ride and hopes that it would end by daybreak. Vowing not to worry about it I slipped back into a nice comfortable coma. 6:30 brought the alarm clock which is strategically placed to insure I'm awake enough to turn it off without launching it across the room. A lesson learned over many years and alarm clocks. After the alarm there was blissful silence and the subdued light of early dawn. Checking the computer the weather was all east of us and headed southeast. It looked promising for the ride. Looking at the time I started to scramble to get the bike ready for the ride and Leo. We piled on and set out for the meeting place. We arrived to find we were the only ones there. Another check of the time showed that I wasn't as awake as I thought as I was 40 minuets early. That gave Leo and I the chance to go for a walk that I'm sure did neither of us any harm. Soon Big Jim rolled in and not much longer til we had a good crowd to head for Chapman. The ride there was great with balmy temps and the only thing left wanting was a little sunshine. I brought my GPS just to avoid a replay of Enterprise. The route we took wasn't what I had planned, but that made no difference to me. It was a very pleasant ride and Leo had plenty of cows to defend us from. We pulled into Chapman to meet the others who arrived with the dawn patrol. Richard and I found parking on the same side of the street as the restaurant. As most of the other bikes were across the street. I unloaded Leo and got him settled and began to go snap happy with my new camera. After getting as many inside shots as I could I found an empty chair and waited for the waiter. The waiter was dashing all around taking orders and serving meals with a 6 week old baby in his arms. The baby seemed to be enjoying all the activity and attention. The special was some kind of tortilla and salsa dish. Not being that big on Mexican food I had the obligatory bacon cheeseburger. Soon Louie, Gary, John, Peggy, and Duane came and took a corner table by the front window. Try as I might I had a devil of a time getting a shot of them as either someone stepped in front of the camera or someone got up and left the table to visit someone at another table. Finally about halfway through the meal I got the shot. As folks started to filter out Leo was waiting patiently for me. Little Jim left a little of his burger for Leo as did I. Later I found Leo got some other left overs. All in all He had a pretty good day. After some great visiting big Jim said he was going to Russel Stover. I pondered the idea for a while and he left. I figured if I had to think that hard about it I really didn't need it. Richard soon mentioned that he might stop there also. Well I decided to follow him and if I wound up there, well so be it. When we got there and I tied Leo up I went inside and was immediately ambushed by the lady behind the counter with a dish of water for Leo. I moved him to the shade by the door and he promptly spilled the water. I got him a refill and went back in. After treats and a good visit we hit the road for Salina. Richard peeled off to go to the Harley/Honda shop and the rest of us peeled off toward our individual homes. I got home only to collapse into my chair and swiftly fell into the trance of the ceiling fan. All in all it was a great day.

Marty

Testimonial regarding Leo's effective barking: On all our rides with Leo in attendance, his brave barking to protect us from cows works so well, I have not been attacked by a cow yet. hc