All packed up and ready to ride! Almost... five minutes after this photo was taken I was bitten by a brown recluse spider. It seems the angry little nerd was hiding under my seat and as I started to move my Harley he decided he didn't want me to. I should have had long pants on but it was hot so I put on a pair of shorts for the first or maybe the second time this year. What a nasty little arachnoid! The sting was like someone pinching you really hard. The bite was about three inches above my knee on the inside of my thigh. I didn't really think about it much because it felt like I had pinched my leg between the seat and the tank. Woke up early the next morning, checked the bite. It really looked like a bad bruise so I went ahead got dressed called my buddy in Nowata,OK and headed out.
Jim was waiting at his gate when I pulled up, he rides a really nice 2008 Kawasaki Concours. Jim is a retired piping designer I worked with for several years, all around good guy (who built his log cabin on his own). Jim also owns a toy hauler, fifth wheel and a motor home, this will all play out later in the story.
I'll give a highway route as we progress if for some strange reason we might want to duplicate this trip at a later date. Temperature is a critical part of having a good ride or just suffering through on a motorcycle journey. It was really nice in the mid sixties when we headed west on OK hwy 60. With Nowata in the rear view mirror and Bartlesville in front of us there was a definite anxiousness in the air. We turned north on OK hwy 75 in Bartlesville looking for a fuel stop. Quik Trip was on the right so our first fuel stop was in order. Fuel stops occurred quite often and became very monotonous so from this stop forward fuel stops won't be addressed unless something funny or memorable occurred.
Food, another necessity, is only monotonous if you don't meet a stranger while in the process of eating. It could be an unfriendly waitress (most are very nice and want to know your story) or the local sitting in the next booth questioning your origin and your finish. Three squares a day keeps everyone in a good mood. We stopped for breakfast at a cafe/fuel stop on hwy 75 about 7 miles south of the OK/KS state line. The service was good, the food was normal eggs, bacon, toast and water.
We proceeded north crossing the Kansas state line before 9:00am. Since it seems I was leading this trip I chose to run straight up Hwy 75 through Kansas to KS hwy 36. We made a quick stop at Dick's sporting goods in Topeka, I had misplaced part of my big tent and never found it. I purchased a Kelty "Yellowstone 6" which is a dome tent big enough for 6 very close people. Seems a little large for two people but we both were carrying twin size air mattresses and I don't like to leave my gear on the motorcycle at night in case of rain or whatever else. Plug for Kelty, this is a very nice tent, setup is easy taking approximately 4-5 minutes. It survived 35-40 mph winds in Colorado, rain and had good ventilation. I used a flannel sleeping bag liner without the sleeping bag most nights. I have had a North Face Cat's Meow sleeping bag for 30 years that still works at temperatures as low as 20 degrees F. and still is too warm at 40 degrees F. As noted in part one the thing I missed most was a full sized pillow. Back to the ride...
We left Topeka heading north on hwy 75. I had decided to maintain travel speed at the posted speed limit and little trouble doing that since Harley Davidson offered cruise control on my model and it works very well. I really expected Jim's Kawasaki to get the best fuel mileage of three cycles but my Glide was hanging right in there with his Concours. Every fill-up we were within 2/10's of a gallon with both of us sharing the lesser amount throughout the trip. (hard to believe but when it was over we averaged 48 mpg)
With ambient temperatures tapping the 100 degree mark we were ready to get further north. I missed the turn for KS 36 and ended up crossing the KS/NE state line on 75 North. We talked about an alternate route and decided NE hwy 4 west to NE hwy 81 would work just as well.
At this point I had been IM'ing Glen to get his location as we were progressing to the same way point. He had left a little later than Jim and I. Glen didn't have quite as far to ride but that was the intent. I had been through Nebraska numerous times and felt like highway 20 across the northern part of the state would be a less travelled route because we had agreed to stay off Interstates. We turned north on NE hwy 81 travelling the rest of the day on NE hwy 81 to our meeting point in Norfolk, NE.
Glen arrived in Norfolk earlier than we did and began the hunt for an RV park or campground. Part of the issue with no agenda or reservations occurs on Friday and Saturday nights. It can be a little complicated finding a place with an open site on the weekend. The city of Norfolk maintains a nice campground on hwy 81 just on the south side of town, it's first come first serve. The campground had two spaces un-occupied. One appeared to be being held by another camper for a buddy since he had placed a lawn chair on the site. The only other spot was identified as a disability reserved site. Honoring our guidelines we found another campground south of Norfolk in Madison, NE. Turns out the backtracking was the best thing that could have happened.
Introducing Bernie. Bernie was in his 80's, very nice and sociable. His campground was a couple of blocks west of main street in Madison on the 6th St north town. Seems there are two 6th streets in Madison one south of town one north of town. The 6th street south of town is without a doubt the wrong street. After correcting our location we discovered a gem of a campground. Bernie let us put out tents in his front yard, gave us use of a picnic table, an extension cord and a key to the showers. Bernie reminded me of my grandfather. He had jokes, stories and loved to share them with willing ears. Bernie had been a police officer in Madison for a few years before becoming a deputy sheriff for Madison County. He had a motorcycle in the seventies that he modified and put a blue flashing light on so he could use it in his patrol work. He had also operated a tree trimming and removal service which included stump grinding. He still had the equipment on site, I honestly believe he could still hook his equipment to his tractor and it all would perform as it had in the sixties except for the bucket truck which he thought was "pretty worn out". The showers were very clean, had plenty of hot water and were convenient. the only drawback occurred the next morning when a local daughter decided to visit her mother who was rv'ing about 20 yards from us at 5:00 am with no regards for our proximity. It's hard to imagine anyone talking that loud at 5 in the morning. First comment we had was it sound like a cackle fest since the hens were up before the roosters roused! Oh well, we got started early Sunday!
I believe the name of Bernie's campground was Taylor Creek campground. Glen can correct me if I'm wrong. As a side note, Bernie and his wife lost their son (54 years old) earlier this year in a motorcycle accident near Big Bear, California. He was a Harley Davidson mechanic for many years. I hope we were as good for Bernie as he was for us. Bernie, our prayers are with you and your wife.
Next Part III Norfolk,NE to Ft. Robinson, NE "Spider Bite! and Is Nebraska Closed???"...
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