Category: Kitty Only

A scorcher.  That’s what the days were like leading up to the Krome Kitty annual overnighter.  Sometimes the Weather Gods play well with the Biking Gods and this was certainly the case the morning of Saturday, June 27^th, as the day dawned bright and sunny and MUCH cooler.  As everyone gathered in the QuikTrip parking lot, I announced that we had to make a quick detour.  Turns out the Biking Gods weren’t so kind to Nellie Taylor.  When she went to start her bike the night before, all she heard was a whole lot of nothing.  It was too late in the evening to do anything about it, so she planned to be at Alef’s Harley Davidson the moment they opened their doors on Saturday morning for a new “whatever it was she needed” to get Firecracker up and running.  The detour would take us by Alef’s to pick up Nellie and then we would be on our way.  When we arrived at Alef’s, Nellie was already biked up, her engine was fired up and she was ready to go get gassed up.  That left us with a few minutes to make sure everything was buttoned up for the trip.  About the time Nellie pulled back into the Alef’s parking lot and we’re mounting up, Maureen Stout says, “Oh, did I mention I got engaged?”  Wait…WHAT???  You throw that little piece of juicy tidbit out as we’re leaving???  Now we have to wait until at least the next gas stop to get the details.  Damn you Maureen!  Oh, and it gets worse.  She not only didn’t have her rink ON, she didn’t even BRING it so we couldn’t ooh and ahh over it!  Double-damn you Maureen!!

With Christine Allsman and Nellie Taylor in the lead and Sue Morrissey in her customary sweep position, we were on the road to Atchison, KS USA.  We made a quick stop in Cottonwood Falls for fuel, drinks and jacket shedding (still not enough time to get engagement details…DRATS!) and then we were back on the road.  Next stop…Topeka, KS for lunch.  As we neared Topeka, GPS Kari Miller took over the lead so we could find our lunch destination without too much confusion.  Like a honing pigeon, Kari led us to exactly where we needed to be – The Burger Stand, which seemed to be right in the middle of the Washburn University campus.  You know it’s gotta be good if thousands of college students says it is, right?  The answer is Hell Yes!  This wasn’t your normal run of the mill burger joint.  This was a gourmet burger joint with words like truffle and feta and sundried tomato paste being thrown around.  I suppose that’s what compelled Suz Tiede to assume a new identity.  After placing our orders, we had to give our names so they could call us when our food was ready.  Well, in a place like that, Suz felt she needed something a little grander – a little statelier – European even.  You can imagine the laughter that erupted when the name MARY MARGUERITE was called and Suz was the one who got up.  You can pretend to be anyone you want, but you’ll always be just Suz to us!

After filling our bellies, we rode the short distance to the Topeka Harley Davidson dealership.  One of the male employees was standing by the entrance and as each of us filed in, he said, “CaCHING. CaCHING. CaCHING.”  Looks like he knows a wallet when he sees one as we all loaded up with shirts, jewelry, and sexy facemasks.  Following our spending spree, we all gathered for a group photo shot, which turned out to be the only one of the trip, but a darn good one it was!  After stowing all our newly acquired goodies, it was time to ride the last 60 miles to Atchison.

GPS Kari Miller led us right to the door of the Atchison Super 8, which was not really Super at all.  After taking an exceptionally long time to get us all checked in (and a little Kitty shenanigans in the lobby), phone calls statted pouring into the front desk with comments like, “Our room is missing a refrigerator.”  “Our room has a hole in the wall.”  “Our room reeks of cigarette smoke.”  “Our room hasn’t been cleaned yet.”  To be honest, I felt sorry for the desk clerk as he normally works the overnight shift and he’s lucky to see ONE person check in, let alone thirteen all at once!  After some shifting, sorting out, and apologizing, the Kitties were all content with their rooms and changed into more comfortable clothes.  For most of us, that meant flip flops, jean capris, a clean shirt and getting rid of bandanas.  One person must have been under the impression that Atchison was a hoity toity little town because she changed into a….SKIRT!  That person was none other than Maureen Stout!  She did look pretty adorable, but one of the funniest moments was when Suz Tiede said, “Note to self…on the next overnight Kitty ride, bring a skirt.”

At this point of the day, the group splintered into three groups.  Group A (made up of Janice Friedman, Christine Allsman, Maureen Stout, Suz Tiede, Melaina Phares and Maureen Humbolt) went on a History Mystery Tour of Old Atchison; Group B (made up of Sue Morrissey, Sueanne Rugh, Kari Miller, Bobbie Cole and Christina Brown) went to a local restaurant to relax and have a few cocktails while gazing at the lovely Missouri River; and Group C (made up of Nellie Taylor and Linda Moreland) decided to call it a day.  Nellie was a feeling a little under the weather and Linda kept her company as they ordered pizza and watched a little TV.  The plan was for Groups A and B to meet up for dinner later.

Reporting for Group A…when you’re told you’re going on a “Walking Tour” of Atchison, KS…wear athletic shoes.  Not flip flops or Harley boots!  Additionally, when you’re told you’re going on a “Walking Tour” of Atchison, KS be prepared to walk up and down a LOT of hills!  People say Kansas is flat.  To all those people…I beg to differ.  Go take a Walking Tour of Atchison, Kansas and let me know what you think about Flat Kansas.  I should also add that by now, the humidity and temperatures were at their highest for the day, so in addition to all the panting and aching, we had sweat running down our backs.  Maureen Stout, on the other hand, seemed to be remarkably cool.  Hmmm, maybe she’s onto something with that skirt thing.  After what seemed like a 5K event, we finally met up with our tour guide, John.  In its heyday, Atchison was a very wealthy town so there are many mansions and stately homes.  John walked us to every single one and I do mean every…single…one.  By now, Maureen Stout had a full blown blister brewing on her foot, but she powered through the pain.  John was a wealth of knowledge as he described each home, along with the history of the original owners and current owners.  The most fascinating part of the Walking Tour (other than the fact that Maureen wore a skirt) was the “Mystery” part of the tour.  Turns out that Atchison is proclaimed to be the most haunted town in Kansas!  John reported several instances when unexplained events occurred in the different old homes of Atchison.  The most fascinating one was of the current day owners who left town for vacation.   As they were returning home, the wife mentioned to her husband that the first thing she was going to do when they got home was have a cup of tea.  Upon entering their empty home, they could hear the tea kettle whistling and cups and saucers were set out on their kitchen table.  Is that not freaky weird??  John assured us that all the reported instances were from people who were of sound mind and body and not prone to wild fantasies.  He also reported that none of the occurrences were scary in nature so it appears Atchison’s ghosts are all kin to Casper the Friendly Ghost!  (I acknowledge that some of you young ‘uns probably never heard of Casper, but you’ll have to trust me on this…he’s very cute and very friendly!)  Our 5K event had turned into what seemed like a 10K event and after two hours and fallen arches, we said our good-byes to John and walked SOME MORE to the restaurant for dinner.  (Side note: these old gals still got it going on as several trucks full of, hopefully young, men threw out a cat call or two.  Yes, I know it was dark and they couldn’t really see anything other than that we were women, but it was a cat call all the same.  I think I even heard one yell out, “Nice skirt!”)

In the meantime, Group B had decided to call it a night as they received word that Sueanne Rugh’s father was having a serious medical procedure the next morning and they wanted to get a very early start back to Wichita.  We agreed to return separately and wished them a good-night and safe travels in the morning (Side note:  Sueanne’s father came through the procedure like a champ.)

After dining at Willie’s and yes, you guessed it…walking some more back to our hotel, we all said our good-nights and agreed to meet for the free breakfast in the morning and then point our noses home.

The 2015 Krome Kitty overnighter was coming to an end and while it was a short trip, there were still many memories made, friendships re-enforced, and 407 miles ridden in beautiful weather.  Oh, and I finally got the scoop on the engagement story.  Larri Brown, you did good!  It was fortune cookie brilliance!

A king-sized THANK YOU goes to Maureen Stout and Melaina Phares for planning a fun, eventful trip for all of us to enjoy.  You nailed it girls!

Those on board for the Thirteen Kitties and a Couple of Ghosts overnighter were Janice Friedman, Nellie Taylor, Christine Allsman, Sue Morrissey, Maureen Stout, Linda Moreland, Sueanne Rugh, Mary Marguerite aka Suz Tiede, Melaina Phares, Maureen Humbolt, Kari Miller, Bobbie Cole and Christina Brown.

All week long as I looked at the radar on my phone, I saw nothing but lots of blue, green, yellow and red.  I was certain the Kitties wouldn’t be going anywhere on Sunday morning.  When we all tucked ourselves into bed on Saturday night, it was pouring rain.  Again, I thought for sure we wouldn’t be going anywhere in the morning.  But being as optimistic as possible, I set the alarm for 8:00 so if the ride had to be cancelled, I could get the notice on Facebook well before the appointed 9:00 deadline.  And then lo and behold!  When the alarm went off, what before my wondering eyes should appear?  Sunshine! Beautiful glorious sunshine!  Sure, it wasn’t going to be one of those 80 degree days we’ve had lately, but it ain’t raining and it’s sunny!  I posted on Facebook that the Kitties needed to gear up and head out – we’re riding to Attica today!

Kitties started arriving at the QuikTrip at the designated time and did a fabulous job of backing up to the curb, although there were some weird looking, colored metal plates all over the place which made solid footing a little tricky.  Kitties started de-biking; saying their hellos; oohing and ahhing over the first glimpse of the Kitty transfers (which look marvelous!) and then oohing and ahhing some more over the helmet décor several of the Kitties were sporting.  We also bought and sold raffle tickets – each of us feeling certain we had the winning ticket in our clutches.

That’s when a gasoline truck driver had the audacity to say, “Hey pretty ladies, y’all gotta move them there bikes.  I gotta unload gas you’re sitting right on top of where my nozzle goes in.” (Be honest – how many of you just now thought, “that’s what she said.”) So, THAT’S what those metal plates are in the ground!  So, we hopped back on our bikes and moved a few yards down the curb and commenced with the visiting, oohing and ahhing, and buying raffle tickets.  In the amount of time that we had been at the QT, it clouded up but strangely enough, it felt warmer and I remember thinking, “This is gonna be a perfect riding day.”  I’ll admit I’ve been wrong once or twice before, but NEVER as wrong as I was on Sunday, April 19^th!

Given that Suz Tiede’s Mother is from Attica, Suz knew exactly how to get there so she offered to lead the group, while Sue Morrissey volunteered to be the sweep.  At precisely 11:00, we were off on the first ride of 2015 – the beginning of the Krome Kitty’s 11^th season!  MEOW!

Not long after we departed and were heading down K42, the sun popped out and I patted myself on the back for being so smart and so right about what a lovely day we had in which to ride.  The beauty was amplified when we came across fields and fields of bright yellow flowers.  From a distance, they looked like neon green and were a striking contract against the emerald green of the surrounding fields.  Who says Kansas doesn’t have stunning scenery??  We later were educated by Farmer Bobbie Cole that these were Canola fields and I began to wonder just how much Canola oil Greg and I could consume if I planted that in my entire backyard.

In lickety split time, we pulled into the Krazyhorse Restaurant and were greeted by a lady with a camera.  As natural as kitty kats are magnetized to catnip, the Krome Kitties are magnetized to cameras and we instinctually started getting into our posing mode.  After a few shots were taken, we were introduced to our personal photographer, who happened to be Suz Tiede’s cousin, Cheri.  Cheri and several members of her family had come to greet the Kitties and welcome us to Attica, Kansas!  Now that’s downright neighborly, don’t you think?

Ordering our lunch went super-duper quick as we had two options:  fried chicken and meatloaf.  If you ordered the fried chicken, the ordering was somewhat more complicated as you had to choose between white and dark meat; all dark meat; or all white meat.  Feeling a bit left out, Sue Morrissey decided she should have a choice in her meatloaf selection and demanded that her meatloaf be all dark meat.  That Sue…such a finicky eater!

“Because she loves me” was the reason Cousin Cheri gave Suz Tiede a Selfie Stick and the majority of the lunch was spent figuring out how to use it and then experimenting with it.  I’ve never actually seen one of these in person, but I have to say it’s pretty brilliant!  However, Suz was cautioned that using it to look up lady’s skirts would be highly inappropriate – like a friendly warning could ever stop Suz from doing anything!

And then the time we all had waited for had arrived – the drawing of the 50/50 raffle!  There was $33.00 at stake and each of us wanted it…wanted it bad!  We gave our friendly and lively waitress the honors of drawing the ticket and drumroll please…DAWN MORSE was the winner!  Suz Tiede tried to trade her Selfie Stick for the $33.00 but Dawn wasn’t having it.  We all tried to get Dawn to pick up our tab and she wasn’t having any of that either.  If memory serves me correct, this is Dawn’s second time at winning the 50/50 raffle.  I have never won.  Not to make anyone feel guilty, just sayin…

After devouring some delicious fried chicken (and dark meatloaf), mashed potatoes, corn, and bread pudding, we headed outside to get one last picture in front of the Krazyhorse sign, which by the way, I appreciate the restaurant keeping with the tradition of replacing all “C’s” with a “K” in our honor.  As soon as we stepped outside, we all observed the weather had taken a turn for the worse.  Everyone grabbed their phones and started looking at radar and decided we needed to get out of Dodge in a hurry.  We made a quick stop for gas and to put on rain suits, which begs the question…is it really necessary to make these things so difficult to put on?  If it weren’t for Suz Tiede serving as my personal dressing assistant, I would probably still be in Attica, sitting on a bench at a gas station, trying to figure out that whole suspender thing.  Seriously, Harley Davidson – make these things easier.  We’re trying to put these on in a hurry for crying out loud!

We fired up the bikes and I believe we went about six feet before the raindrops started to fall.  The further we went, the wetter it got.  Before long, we were in a full-on downpour.  I agreed to take over the lead from Suz and slowed my speed to 55 mph on account of the rain.  That’s when all hell broke loose.  Mother Nature gave us all she had with wind that was blowing about as fast as we were riding and hard rain that felt just like hail.  Wait a minute…that ain’t rain… that IS hail!  Holy ice balls!  We’re being hailed on!  I quickly pulled over and cried Uncle!  Rain I can deal with.  Wind I can deal with.  But HAIL??  Yeah, I ain’t doin’ that!  So, there we were – trying to brace ourselves against the wind, trying to shield our faces from the hail and those without helmets were huddled under a true.  Just then, out of the corner of my eye I see blue and red flashing lights.  Oh thank God, the PoPo is here to help us.  Uh…no.  The PoPo said we had to get our bikes off the side of the road before we got killed.  Didn’t he realize riding in the hail would end in the same result?  Here’s where I gotta give some serious street cred to all those Kitties, who in the worst of conditions, executed perfect U-turns in the middle of the road and rode to a driveway of a farm house a short distance away.  Operating under the theory of “make ‘em tell you twice”, I stayed put because I was certain the hail couldn’t last much longer and I thought we could proceed with getting home.  After longer than I thought, the hail did finally stop and the only two people still on the side of the road were Kari Miller and myself.  I looked at Kari and asked, “Whadya want to do?”  To which she replied, “I wanna go home.”  I said, “Let’s do it then.”   Unbeknownst to Kari and I, a few of the Kitties left shortly after us and the remaining Kitties had been invited to seek shelter in the farmer’s shed.  They were high and dry and enjoying the company of Mr. and Mrs. Old McDonald and their kitty kat and puppy dog.  While the worst of the storm was over, all of us had the strong wind and rain to deal with in getting home.   What I found to be remarkable is by the time I got to the part of town where I live, the streets were completely dry.  Looks like we should have gone to my house for lunch!

After about an hour of getting home, I confirmed that every single Kitty had made it home safe and sound, a little worse for wear and whole lot wetter, but alive.  This ride will be one of those experiences that you know just by one word.  Attica.  All you have to say is Attica and 12 brave Kitties will know exactly what you’re talking about.  Every rainstorm will be compared to this and it will either be “not as bad as Attica” or “a lot worse than Attica”, but regardless, Attica will always be synonymous with thunderstorms.  And next time the weather forecast says thunderstorms possible in the afternoon, how about we just stay put?!

Those Kitties on board for the Oh Hail No! ride were Janice Friedman, Christine Allsman, Melaina Phares, Dawn Morse, Suz Tiede, Nellie Taylor, Kathryn Langrehr, Linda Moreland, Sue Morrissey, Kari Miller, Bobbie Cole and Sueanne Rugh.

Thinking outside the box.  That’s what we did this year when planning the annual Tom Kat ride.  Plan A was to ride to Elk City with the Toms, until Christine Allsman suggested we change it up this year and participate in the Shellinger Children Benefit Ride to help out the two young children whose parents were killed in a motorcycle accident earlier this summer.  So, we did the democratic thing and put it to a vote with the results being an overwhelming Hell Yeah, let’s do it!

So, Plan B was put into action and that meant setting the alarm clock for pre-dawn-thirty on Sunday, September 14^th, and meet at the Town and Country Restaurant for a hearty breakfast before heading to Hutchinson for the 10:00 departure time.  Maureen Stout and her Tom Kat, Larri Brown, claimed their alarm clock didn’t have a setting for pre-dawn-thirty and would skip the hearty breakfast and meet us at a much more reasonable time – only after mumbling something like, “I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking, Janice.  We have a wedding to attend on Saturday night and that means a late-night rendezvous with Jack Daniels!”

I wasn’t quite sure what we would be walking into when entering the restaurant.  When I called on Saturday, they were none too pleased upon hearing that 25 bad-ass bikers were going to be arriving at 7:30 sharp.  “Yeah, we can’t accommodate you” was their exact response.  After convincing them that we didn’t have to all sit together, they begrudgingly agreed to let us come.  Why thank you, Town and Country, for “allowing” us to come and give you our money.  That’s mighty generous of you.  However, my annoyance with them quickly evaporated when I walked in and saw that they gave us our own room; had tables all set up for the 25 bad-ass bikers; and gave us a couple of super sweet waitresses to dish out our hearty breakfastes.  (Merriam-Webster says that’s not a real word, but I say it is!)

After snapping a group photo in front of the restaurant, we biked up and with my Tom Kat, Greg, in the lead we were on our way to Hutchinson.  Within blocks of the restaurant, we encountered our first omen of what the ride to the departure location was going to be like.  Orange construction cones required these 25 obnoxiously loud bikes make a detour through a residential area.  Hell, it was 8:30.  It was high time these people got out of bed and by God, we didn’t mind being the ones to tell ‘em!

The ride TO Hutchinson was uneventful; the ride IN Hutchinson…not so much.  What our fearless leader, Greg, didn’t realize was when he was looking for 4^th Avenue, he needed to wait until he got to North Hutchinson and not South Hutchinson.  (Really, what is the point of having a South Hutchinson and North Hutchinson?  Shouldn’t that just be used for places like States and Countries not small Kansas towns?)  After pulling into a parking lot and having not one, not two, not three, but FOUR intelligent men, (Greg Friedman, Ken Stoppel, Daryl Miller and Dorrin Allsman) consult paper maps and cell phones, they figured out the problem and we were off to find the OTHER 4^th Avenue.  But that’s not where the saga ends.  No siree.   We found ourselves staring down the path of a dead-end street and that was the undoing of my otherwise, calm, patient, easy-going, roll with the punches Tom.  Even over the roar of 23 bikes behind us, I could hear the expletives spewing forth from his mouth and oddly enough, most of them started with exact same letter.  Yeah, you guessed it – the letter F.  However, it did seem like I heard him mention his mother in that string of expletives.  Not sure what that was all about.  After yet another detour through a residential neighborhood, we managed to finally find our way to the departure location.  Lead Biker…it’s a thankless job.  Who’s with me on that?

Event organizers packed us into a parking lot like sardines and we made our way to register for the race.  That’s when Greg had to perform his second service of the day.  No, not THAT service you nasty Kitties!  Turns out they were selling raffle tickets for prizes by a rather unusual method.  Twenty bucks got you an arm span length.  “Oh Greeeeg…bring your Albatross-like wings over here and buy my tickets” was said more than once that morning.  Time in the parking lot was spent taking lots of selfies, doing lots of posing, and stripping off layers that were no longer needed as the day warmed up to a perfect riding temperature.

The time had finally come and 405 bikes were released – and that, my dear Kitties, is when everything went terribly wrong.  While keeping everyone together in the parking lot made for a great photo shoot, it was a disaster in the making for a poker run.  Having 405 bikes leave Hutchinson at the exact same time meant that 405 bikes were all going to land at our first stop of Nickerson at the exact same time.  As I was riding to Nickerson, I thought to myself, “I sure hope they have a big parking lot for us all to pull into.”  They didn’t.  All 405 bikes were jockeying for a parking spot in a lot about as big as a postage stamp…and a gravel one to boot!  Oh wait, it gets better.  We had to do the dreaded U-turn in this postage-stamp-sized, gravel-covered parking lot.  “Dear Lord, help me not drop this bike in front of 404 bikes” was the first prayer I said, quickly followed by, “Dear Lord, thank you for making me look like a better biker than I am”, when I successfully got my bike to stop in the upright position.

And then there was the line of people waiting to get their card stamped.  I swear that line looked like it strung all the way back to Hutchinson – maybe even to South Hutchinson!  I started whining about, “This is going to take forEVER!” and that’s when the idea was first thrown out…how about we NOT do the poker run and say we did?  After all, we came, we supported, we rode 12 miles.  Isn’t that enough??  A small committee of Kitties agreed that was a brilliant idea and we started hunting down Kitties and Toms to see if they were a Yay or Nay.  We were all a Yay and agreed to re-group at yet another gravel parking lot and make our way to Stearman Airport in Benton.  Daryl Miller used his connections and paved the way for the now 21 bad-ass bikers to get tables (sadly, we lost the Stoppels and their guests, the Kemps, in the aftermath of the Nickerson debacle.)  There was talk about should we stop for gas and then talk about no, we think we got plenty.  So, Greg passed his navigator hat to Maureen Stout’s Tom Kat, Larri Brown, and off we went.

We pulled onto the tarmac of the Stearman Airport like the VIPs that we are and started counting heads.  We’re two short…who are we missing?  I consulted my wadded-up piece of paper with the roll call and Maureen Humbolt and Denise Johnson were nowhere to be found.  Come to find out if you have to think about whether you have enough gas, you probably better just get it.  Maureen had to limp into a gas station way back in west Wichita with Denise as her wing woman.  She threw some gas in her tank and joined the rest of the group in quick order.

After enjoying some beverages, some good food, great conversations, and taking lots of pictures, we called it a day.  Another Tom Kat Ride was in the history books.  Plan B may have turned into Plan C, but it was proof that it’s really not about the destination – it’s about the journey – and the people with whom you take that journey.  I, for one, can’t think of a bunch of better people to change directions with!

Those on board for The Twelve Mile Poker Run were Janice and Greg Friedman, Suz and Jim Tiede, Christina Brown and guest Mark Greer, Dawn and Gene Morse, Melaina Phares with guests Mike Herman and Paul (who seriously looks just like Ty Pennington!), Tena and Ken Stoppel with guests Tish and Laurence Kemp, Kari and Daryl Miller, Sue and Mike Morrissey, Maureen Humbolt, Denise Johnson, Christine and Dorrin Allsman, Sueanne and LD Rugh and Maureen Stout and Larri Brown.

Bursting with pride.  That was the feeling I had on the Krome Kitty’s first ride to Dexter a decade ago.  Our Club had gone from five members to a whopping eleven in the span of 30 days.  Good old-fashioned word of mouth had caused this idea we had of an all-female riding group to spread like wildfire through the biking community and new member applications were coming in faster than a stuck throttle.  Ironically, there were eleven riders on that first Dexter ride which was the exact number of riders who were signed up to go on this second Dexter ride on Saturday, August 23^rd.  However, last minute cancellations brought our number down to eight by the time we pulled out of the QuikTrip in Derby.

Aside from what we considered to be a HUGE number of bikers on that first Dexter trip, there was something else significant about it.  For members Kathryn Langrehr and Libby Beckman, this was their very, very first trip with the Krome Kitties.  I’m sure as they pulled into that same QuikTrip parking lot all those years ago, they were thinking, “OK, I’ll give this a shot and if I don’t like it, all’s I’m out is 30 bucks and a Saturday afternoon.”  Well, they hung in there with us and survived some growing pains along the way and now they’re the second and third oldest Kitties.  Wait.  That didn’t come out right.  That makes them Kitties who’ve earned some serious street cred.  Yeah, that’s much better.

Getting back to the 2014 Dexter ride, our time at the QuikTrip meeting location was spent patting ourselves on the back for a job well done at the Krome Kitty Kare Project to benefit the YWCA Women’s Crisis Center of the Thursday before; selling anniversary pins and new patches; and pimping 50/50 tickets.  With the forecast predicting 100+ temperatures in the afternoon, the decision had been made to get an earlier start and ride to Dexter first and then Winfield for lunch.  This meant we were having dessert before our meal and let’s be honest, wouldn’t we always prefer it that way?  With the route safely tucked away in my little noggin, we pulled out and were on our way.  Next stop – Dexter, Kansas.

Our outbound trip took us through some pretty Kansas countryside accompanied by some surprisingly pleasant temperatures.  After a brief separation anxiety while going through Winfield and a missed turn thanks to yours truly, we regrouped at a gas station.  I looked over at Kathryn Langrehr and said, “I think we were supposed to turn back there, but I didn’t see the Highway 15 sign.”  To which she responded, “I grew up in Winfield and yes, we needed to turn on 9^th Street.”  To which I responded, “You did?  Why the heck am I leading this ride then?  You clearly would have been the better navigator.”  Kathryn must have had more faith in me than I did in myself, because she motioned for me to go ahead and surprisingly, I managed to get ourselves to the Henry Candy Company parking lot lickety split.

We discovered there aren’t a lot of people shopping for candy at the Henry Candy Company at 9:30 on a Saturday morning as we had the entire place to ourselves.  Having been in business since 1956, several Kitties remarked about how they remembered coming to the Henry Candy Company when they were little girls.  One of those who had a long-time memory was Linda Moreland who said she used to come to Dexter with her grandparents to buy Christmas candy.  Seriously?  You came all the way to Dexter, Kansas to buy Christmas candy?  You know you can get that at Dillons, right?  “Yeah, but you don’t get to watch them making it at Dillons.”  Nuff said.  I’ll shut up now.

Miss Preparation Kitty Christine Allsman announced that she had brought a cooler with her so anyone who wanted to buy chocolate, shop away.  And shop away we did.  After sufficiently contributing to the Dexter economy, taking some pictures and checking out the Henry Candy Company’s ladies room, we wandered back out to the parking lot where lots of selfies and fun pictures were taken.  Linda Moreland made the task of “make me look skinny” in the pictures nearly impossible by sticking a helmet under her shirt making her look about 11 months pregnant.  Come on Linda, we can only do so much with Photoshop, ya know!

Not wanting to go back to Winfield from the same direction in which we came, I suggested we take the Grouse Creek Road, which I had heard was a beautiful tree-lined road with some nice sweeping curves.  “Ever heard of it?” I asked Kathryn with imploring eyes.  She read my message loud and clear and agreed to take over the lead.  Good.  No one wants to attempt a U-turn on a tight two lane road under my leadership, which was a strong possibility.

Grouse Creek Road certainly lived up to its reputation.  It’s like Augusta’s Thunder Road on steroids and Denise Johnson got her first real opportunity to practice her leaning skills, which she handled like a seasoned Arkansas rider.

In no time, we were back in Winfield and pulling into the Nieves Mexican Restaurant parking lot, which was a good thing cuz all of our bellies were screaming, “Feed me!”  We all got settled at our table and that’s when we first met our new biggest fan, Sergio.  Sergio was our waiter and he made no secret that he thought we were just about the coolest things since the invention of Nieves cheese sauce.  He entertained us from start to finish and even made me a flower from a drinking straw.  I thought he wanted to take our relationship to the next level when he asked if we wanted to see his elephant trunk.  Well, sure, but shouldn’t we have a little more privacy?  Turns out what he was referring to was a dollar bill a customer had folded into the shape of an elephant.  Oh…THAT elephant trunk!  Am I the only one who was slightly disappointed about that whole incident?  With all the attention Sergio bestowed upon us, we gave him the honors of drawing the winning ticket for the 50/50 raffle.  As I was counting out the money, Christine Allsman proclaimed she probably would be the winner since it was the smallest pot we had had thus far.  Proving the theory that if you believe it, it will come true, Christine was indeed this month’s winner – going home $20.00 richer.  Congratulations Christine!  I’m saving my win for the Tom Kat ride!

After eating as much good Mexican food as we could handle and saying our good-byes to Sergio, we filed back out to the parking lot.  Ahh, there it is.  There’s that hot August weather we were promised.  Some of the group chose to go back the way we came to end up closer to the west side while others chose to go home under the leadership of Kathryn Langrehr via the Haverhill Road route, which would lead us to Augusta.  After dumping off Nellie Taylor and Linda Moreland in Augusta, the three remaining Kitties in my group made the last leg to Wichita.  That’s when I realized the decision we made to start the day earlier was one of our better ones as by the time I got home, I didn’t think I could go one more mile without some hydration.

August 23^rd was 170 miles of pure fun and I was reminded once again why I love this Club and every single member in it.  And next time I need Christmas candy – I’m heading to Dexter!

Those on board for the Delectable Dexter and Delightful Dining trip were Janice Friedman, Linda Moreland, Nellie Taylor, Suz Tiede, Christine Allsman, Sandy White, Denise Johnson and Kathryn Langrehr.

The day started early.  Too early.  In fact, it was the first time I’ve ever left for a Kitty ride before the sun was even up.  What we didn’t know as those 13 Kitties departed on Friday, July 18^th, was that the sun wouldn’t show itself until we got all the way to Parsons, Kansas.  What these same 13 Kitties didn’t know was that it would be the coldest ride anyone had ever taken in the month of July.  Sure, it was a blessing that we didn’t have triple digit temperatures, but come on!…leather in July…in Kansas?  That just ain’t right!

I guess my stern warning (which was a proverbial finger wagging and a theme for the entire weekend, I might add) to NOT BE LATE because we WILL leave without you was effective, as all bodies were present and accounted for at the pre-determined departure time.  At 6:45 on the dot, we pulled out with Sue Morrissey leading the way.  Nellie Taylor and Linda Moreland were ready to roll as we rode through Augusta and they filed in to join the string of bikers.

Other than the mixture of cool/cold/freezing temperatures, the first half of the day’s ride was uneventful…until that is, we pulled off the highway to make our way to our lunch stop at the Cave Bar and Grill in Lanagan, Missouri.  That’s when we were snapped out of our catatonic state with up and down hills that would give any roller coaster in any theme park its run for the money.  I honestly thought I was going to be motion sick with the steep drops and then immediate ups only to be followed by more of the same.  Just when you thought you had been challenged enough, there was the restaurant parking lot to deal with.  Gravel, the nemeses of all bikers (or at least this biker!), greeted us as we pulled in and to make things even more interesting, there were inclines, boulders, and tree stumps to navigate around.  We all managed to come to a stop in an upright position and gave ourselves a pat on the back for managing to do so.

When we first decided to eat at the Cave Bar and Grill, Kari Miller made certain that there would be indoor, air-conditioned seating available – assuming we would be sweaty Kitties because that’s what we normally are in July.  Well, air-conditioning was the last thing we wanted when we arrived, so we opted for outdoor seating to soak up what would be the last bit of sunshine we would see for the next day and a half.  The Cave Bar and Grill was a fun and unique dining experience with goats grazing on the hillside right next to us.  We had fun taking pictures of each other “holding up” the low ceilings and for once, I appreciated my short stature, although I still felt like I had to duck as I walked through the restaurant and bar inside the cave.  After having a waitress take a group photo on each and every one of our cameras, we biked up and crossed our fingers that we would go from gravel to pavement without having to upright a bike.  Because we are that good, we all made it with the shiny side up.  Thank you, Lord!

Kari Miller was now in the lead and other than a few pull overs to latch saddle bags and let some Kitties catch up who got separated from the litter while going through Fayetteville (which, by the way, is just a kitty whisker short of Dallas when it comes to traffic)the  rest of the trip was again, uneventful.   Yours truly was always more on the freezing side of the spectrum.  Sueanne Rugh, however, seemed to be just fine.  Damn you, Sueanne, and your “I love this weather” tolerance!

Eleven hours after departing Wichita, we finally pulled into the Walmart in Mena, Arkansas.  After several Kitties huddled around my heated grips to warm up hand and faces, we made arrangements to meet up with our hosts for the weekend, Rob and Tamyra Clark, at their bike shop, Hog Country Cycles.  Rob and Tamyra are Nellie Taylor’s family, but immediately after meeting them, they became family to each and every one of us.  After doing some shopping and getting a group photo in front of an uber cool mural, we decided to all head to dinner at the Chopping Block.  Surprisingly, Mena has a number of very good eateries and the Chopping Block ranked right up there as one of the best steaks I’ve ever had.  And don’t even get me started on the coconut cream pie, which Dawn Morse and I shared, but secretly, I could have eaten all by myself.

After disrupting the restaurant as much as we possibly could and even taking pictures of OTHER customer’s food, we headed to where our bikes would spend the night.  We were told the road to the Backwoods Lodge, where we would be staying, was not biker friendly; so, our new honorary Tom Kat, Rob, had made arrangements to rent a storage unit to store the bikes.  With the precision of a moving van crew, we packed nine, count ‘em, NINE bikes in that single stall unit and the other four bikes were stored in Rob’s motorcycle shop’s service bay.   As expertly as we packed our bikes in the storage unit, we packed ourselves into three vehicles and went to Walmart to do some shopping for provisions that would be needed at the Lodge.

HOLY FUR BALLS!!!  That was my reaction when I saw the shoppers return to the front of the store with shopping carts full of muffins, soda, candy, eggs, sausage, tortillas, salsa, cheese, more soda, snacks, water, nuts, and some sort of phallic looking vegetable, which I made Christina Brown put back because after all, it ain’t our responsibility to buy a private moment for her just because she left her toy at home.  $167.00 later and telling Christina Brown, no, I’m not going to push you on the bag wheel like a merry-go-round and don’t make me use my mean Mommy voice, we packed one day’s supplies (which in reality could feed a family of four for a month) into Rob’s pick ‘em up truck and made our way to the UNDERstated “not bike friendly” road to the Backwoods Lodge.

Homey, comfy, clean, and wonderful.  That’s how I would describe my first impression of the Lodge.  Rob and Tamyra have got a good thing going here with this Lodge set in a beautiful Arkansas setting with trees and hills everywhere you look.  We unloaded all our saddle bags and T-bags and of course the food, food and more food and wait…what’s this?  Presents!?!  We got presents!  Each Kitty was given an Anniversary Goodie Bag with cat eye sunglasses, sunscreen (won’t be needing THAT on this trip!), a kitty zipper pull, KKMC post-it notes, and a MEOW picture frame.  I had sent all the items to Tamyra in advance and asked her to please, pretty please, make up a bag for each Kitty and to our surprise, she had put in a bottle coozie and a magazine in which she and Rob were pictured and they graciously autographed for each and every one of us.  Not to be outdone, Bobbie Cole ran into the bedroom and came out with a gift for this here Kitty.  I told her as I was about to dig into the gift bag that if this is a pink flamingo, I’m gonna kick your ass.  Sure nuff!  There was a card covered in pink flamingoes and a little pink ceramic one in that there bag.  Bend over, Bobbie, you got this coming to ya!

Presents, schmesents.  It’s time to get down to business!  Break out the alcohol bitches!  We all mixed a cocktail, nibbled on the wide selection of snacks and somehow managed to steer the conversation to the virtues of Brazilians…and I don’t mean the people!  I don’t know about the rest of you, but there’s only once place I want to see hot wax and that’s on a candle.  Not my hooha, thank you very much!

Partying hard wasn’t in the cards for us that night as it had been a long, long day so we discussed who was sleeping with whom and got into our jammies.  Well, SOME of us got into jammies.  One of us put on an ensemble that only a blind person, or at the very least, a color blind person would deem appropriate.  Now I wasn’t expecting anyone to come walking out in some fancy, schmancy, sexy Victoria’s Secret lingerie but come on!  I had to surmise that this was Nellie Taylor’s way of saying, “I don’t want no surprise visitors in my bed tonight!!  Period!!”

Pretty soon we all settled down and found our way to a bed or couch and before long the only thing you could hear in the Lodge was the sound of purring Kitties, or as Maureen Stout will tell you, snoring Kitties.  The only thing I heard came at 7:30 a.m. when Sue Morrissey started rustling up some breakfast burritos.  Hey, someone’s gotta use up those dozens of eggs, pounds of sausage and bags of tortillas!  While we were enjoying our very hearty breakfast, plans were made for how to spend the rest of the day.  It was agreed that some of the Kitties (Sue Morrissey, Christina Brown, Kari Miller, Sueanne Rugh, Bobbie Cole, Linda Moreland and Kelly Sweet) would take a ride on the Talimena Scenic Byway, a 54-mile ride along the crest of the Rich Mountain in the Ouachita National Forest and some would head to Hot Springs to tour the Garvan Gardens (Janice Friedman, Maureen Stout, Kathryn Langrehr, Paula Franklin and Dawn Morse.)  Nellie Taylor, who was feeling a little under the weather, decided to spend the day in the peace and quiet of a Kittyless Lodge, and maybe even lick her wounds a bit from the beating she took the night before.  Since I was in the Hot Springs group, I can’t firsthand account for the day on the Talimena Byway, but it was reported to me that the ride was spectacular: beautiful scenery, good Mexican food, perfect riding conditions and potty breaks without a potty.  I won’t mention any names, but you know who you are!!

However, before we went anywhere, we had the matter of getting our bikes out of where they had been tucked in for the night.  Rob had to get the bike shop opened so we didn’t have his help.  Maureen Stout and I looked nervously at each other, wondering aloud if we were going to be able to do this without the assistance of some testosterone.  “We don’t need no stinkin’ man!” was the response we got as we set about to unload nine bikes from a storage unit.  Oh, did I mention that said storage unit had quite a lip up into it?  My biggest fear was as I was backing out over that lip, my feet would be a dangling and over I would go.  In hindsight, I had nothing to worry about as about seven Kitties surrounded each of our bikes and all but picked each one up and carried it out.  Each successful exit was accompanied with screams of delight, high fives and yes, maybe even a little chest bumping.

Hot Springs is 76 miles from Mena, but it’s not 76 Kansas miles.  This was a twisty, turny road that took about an hour and 45 minutes to travel.  By the time we stopped at Burl’s Smoked Meats for lunch and had a photo opp with a deer, deer man, we realized we really didn’t have time to give the Gardens justice.  We opted to do a little shopping and take in the sights of historic Hot Springs, which by the way, is a really cool town and one I would have liked to spend more time in.  Known for the abundant hot springs which are perceived to have healing powers, this band of Kitties decided to take a dip ourselves.  Never mind that there were no hot springs or really water of any kind in the tub, it still made for a great photo opp!  We also enjoyed some ice cream from a darling ice cream parlor while listening to some outdoor entertainment.

All too soon, it was time head to the bikes to start the trip back to Mena, albeit a tad bit later than we should have.  You see the agreement was that we would all meet at Hog Country Cycles at 6:00 sharp to ride to Papa’s Mexican Restaurant in Mena for dinner.  When we gassed up to make our trip back to Mena, I did a quick calculation in my head and I knew we weren’t gonna make it on time.  I also knew there would be hell to pay since I was the one who kept telling people “Don’t be late!”  I gotta give Kathryn Langrehr credit as she led as back as fast as a biker can go on those roads, but alas, we walked into Papa’s about 30 minutes late.  Just as I suspected, as we walked into Papa’s private dining room, where they knew they needed to put us all by our lonesome after the disturbance we created at the Chopping Block, we were met with jeers and finger wagging and “Don’t be late!” mockery.  That’s alright Kitties, bring it on!  Enjoying that ice cream was totally worth anything you gotta dish out!

After taking family photos at Papa’s and tucking our bikes in for the night once again, we made the trip back to the Lodge where cocktails began flowing faster than the hot spring in well…Hot Springs!  Paula Franklin had passed out candy cigarettes and there we were, sitting in the Candy Cigarette Smoking Section of the deck, enjoying our third or fourth cocktail, when all of a sudden I realized perhaps I had had three or four cocktails too many because right there before my very eyes was a life-sized Sock Monkey!  We were relieved to find out that said Sock Monkey was really none other than our new BFF Rob Clark!  I’m not sure if we were more relieved that it was someone we knew or thankful that we weren’t as drunk as we thought we were and could keep on drinking!

And drinking we did!  But none more than our very own Maureen Stout, who believed there was no good reason to carry back the bottle of liquor she had brought with her so might as well drink every last drop.  I wish I could be more specific about the things we talked about and laughed about, but I was sworn to the code of “what happens in Mena stays in Mena” (that’s my way of saying that I, too, was partaking of the Devil Juice and things are a tad bit fuzzy, but I know I have never laughed so hard or enjoyed a group of girls as much I did that night.)  But alas, all good things must come to an end and after debating about what time we needed to leave in the morning, we called it a night.  Well, everyone but Maureen, who with her WAHOO! Let’s party some more!! enthusiasm, had to be toned down with an Ambien and tucked in.  Bobbie Cole was more of a hindrance than help in that process as she continued to “play” with Maureen, which might have been one of the funniest moments of the evening and even caused other Kitties who were already tucked in to get out of bed to see what all the commotion was about.  I finally had to wag my pink finger-nailed finger at Bobbie and banish her to her bedroom so we all could get some sleep.

All too soon that gawd awful alarm went off on Sunday morning and the Lodge became a flurry of activity of getting ready, stripping beds, eating muffins, drinking coffee, cleaning up the kitchen, and having one last photo shoot with, of course, the cat eye sunglasses.  Although, as I was carrying stuff out of the Lodge, I did see that Bobbie Cole and Paula Franklin found time to hold their own private photo shoot with their cat eye sunglasses and some leftover candy cigarette butts (EWW!) from the night before.

We all met up at Hot Country Cycles where more pictures were taken; we loaded up all the luggage that we felt like had just been taken off the bikes; and watched Sueanne Rugh hook up an air conditioning unit to her bike.  Seriously, wherever Sueanne went…that fan went.  (Reference my comment earlier about how much she loved the cool/cold/freezing weather.  Damn her!)

And then sadly, we had to hug our good-byes to Rob and Tamyra Clark, who I just can’t say enough nice things about.  These people, along with Nellie Taylor’s brother, Grayden – Jake – Wayne (seriously, the guy goes by THREE different first names!) and Rob and Tamyra’s daughter, Kaitlyn, made this trip not only EXTREMELY affordable, but convenient and over the top fun!  They hauled us back and forth from Mena to the Lodge and whatever we needed, they provided.  They are the epitome of southern hospitality and are truly wonderful people.  If you are looking for a great great-away in some of the prettiest country in these here parts, PLEASE consider the Backwoods Lodge as your home away from home.  You will NOT regret it!

The ride home started off cold, but by the time we got to Joplin, we FINALLY were able to shed all our layers and ride for the first time on this whole trip in short sleeves.  By the time we got to our last gas stop in Parson, Kansas, I was bitching about being hot and sweaty and yes, I do realize that makes me look like I’m never happy.  They don’t call me a prima donna for nothing, ya know!

It was everything I hoped it would be.  That’s how I would summarize the Anniversary trip to Mena, Arkansas.  The memories we made will be talked about for years to come and I think the Kitties will be talked about for years to come in Mena.  We made new friends, (Rob, Tamyra, Grayden-Jake-Wayne and Kaitlyn) and forged deeper friendships with friends we already had.  Thirteen ladies traveled over 1,000 miles and as Bobbie Cole would say, every one of those miles were smile miles.  I wish every single Kitty could have been with us, but those who were able to make – thank you.  Thank you for making this Anniversary Trip one that will never be forgotten!  Kitty Kisses to each and every one of you!

Kitties on board for the Kitties in Hog Country ride were Janice Friedman, Dawn Morse, Nellie Taylor, Linda Moreland, Maureen Stout, Sueanne Rugh, Kari Miller, Sue Morrissey, Bobbie Cole, Paula Franklin, Kathryn Langrehr, Christina Brown and Kelly Sweet.

We darn near went to Coffeyville on June 21^st.  You see, back in 2004 the “C” ride was actually at the tail end of the season since the inaugural ride didn’t occur until August.  Coffeyville was the pre-selected destination…until that is, we woke up that October morning and could see our breath outside.  It took us about a nano-second to pull out the map (there was no such thing as Mapquest or Google maps back then) to point to some other town that started with a “C” that required less miles to travel.  That “C” town was, you guessed it, Council Grove.

You’ve probably heard that old biker saying…you know, the one that says in cold weather whatever the air temperature is outside, deduct about 20 degrees and that‘s how it’ll feel when you’re at highway speed.  Well, no one ever bothered to explain that to the three “brand new to cold riding” riders who showed up at the meeting location with nothing but a single layer long-sleeved Kitty shirt; a leather coat; chaps; and summer weight gloves.  Not one person thought to advise those three Kitties that you’ll need Under Armor (or something similar) in addition to probably TWO more long-sleeved shirts; winter weight gloves, something around your neck and probably even something around your face.  The other two more experienced riders (Regina Scuffman and Monika Barshney) came well prepared for the weather with all their layers, and hoodies under leather, and heavy gloves, and neck protectors and facemasks, etc. etc. etc.  Now in looking back, I understand why they were snickering at myself, Lori (Resnik) Gibbs and Jeananne Hampel when they eyed our barely more than summer gear choices.  My response to them?  Hell, it’s only 100 miles…how bad can it be?

Bad.  Really bad.  Really, really bad.  By the time we got to Newton, we were three frozen Kitties who no longer had any feeling in our hands, feet, faces, boobies and bellies.  Lori and I decided a stop at the Newton Walmart was the only thing that was going to save us from ourselves.  Regina and Monika schooled us on what we needed that could be purchased at a Walmart: woolen scarf around our neck; a sweatshirt to put on under our leather coat; Hot Hands to insert into our flimsy gloves and a bandana to wrap around our faces.  After a quick cup of coffee, we biked back up and were on our way.  I recall that we stopped twice before we got to Council Grove to warm up, but had it not been for our two educated riders, the “C” ride quite possibly would have been right back to our Couch.

Weather was not an issue on the more recent Council Grove ride.  Sunny skies, warm, but not unbearably warm, temperatures and no wind made for a perfect riding day.  Did I mention there was no wind??

It was a flurry of activity at the departure location with Lily Nordyke selling raffle tickets; me selling new anniversary shirts; anniversary pins being sold faster than I could keep up with; everyone oohing and ahhing over not one, but TWO, new bikes that made their debut Kitty ride; hearing about Melaina Phares’ dilemma with a locked storm door that caused her whole family to be locked out and quite possibly being forced to spend the entire day in the garage with only a single bottle of water with which to survive; and welcoming back former Kitty Sueanne Rugh to the Litter.  After I closed up shop for the day, we divided the group of 14 Kitties into two and off we went, but not without incident, mind you.  In Group One, we had Nellie Taylor throwing hardware at Sue Morrissey when her heel shifter lever came flying off (and yes, Eagle Eye Sue Morrissey found it and returned it to its rightful owner.)  In Group Two of which I was a part, lead rider Christine Allsman pulled over to lead us in some spontaneous Yoga exercises.  Really?  Here?  Right now?  Not getting any takers and with her back sufficiently stretched out, we got back on our way.

After 100 miles of seriously perfect riding, we approached the sleepy, quiet town of Council Grove, Kansas.  Wait…what the hell?  I had already been imagining the easy “even Janice can do it” parking in the slanted stalls right outside the historic Hayes House restaurant when we arrived.  What is going on?  Why are there cars in my stalls??  Why are there people and bicycles and baby strollers and tent vendors ever-y-where?? Why is there even a flippin’ traffic jam, for crying out loud??  Are they all here to see us??  I’m not naming names, but I’m pretty sure I heard someone say, “No, Miss It’s Not Always All About You, of course not.  It’s their annual Founders Day Festival or something like that.”  In the end, the Kitties managed to squeeze 14 bikes in spaces that should have held five and we put our bikes’ and helmets’ safety into the hands of the closest vendor and went in search of the Hayes House.

The crowds of outside spilled into the inside of the Hayes House and it looked like a Mexican restaurant on Cinco De Mayo.  There probably hasn’t been that many people in that restaurant since well, the last Founders Day, or whatever it was, Festival.  Fortunately, I had the good sense to have made a reservation and we were escorted like the Princesses that we are to our waiting tables.  Score one for the Kitties!

The more than usual large crowd caused a more than usual long wait for our food, but we kept ourselves entertained with admiring Suz Tiede’s fabulous bling job on her KKMC bandana ( I understand she would love to do this for anyone who asks because she loves tedious, time consuming projects like this) and listening to the quite frankly, frightening story of how Linda Moreland terrorized a family in a black Suburban while she chased them down on her Moped with its horrifying horn that goes “beep beep.”

And of course, the highlight of all the Kitty lunches is revealing the winner of the 50/50 raffle.  I counted out the cold, hard cash and announced there was a total of $66.00, so one very fortunate Kitty was going home with a full belly and $33.00.  Linda Moreland had the honors of pulling the winning ticket who belonged to….drumroll please….Kari Miller!  Sueanne Rugh had an Aha moment (or maybe it was more of a senior moment) when she realized she had both sides of her tickets and therefore, had about a snowball’s chance in hell of winning.  Oops!

After splitting pieces of pie or wishing you had split a piece of pie instead of eating the whole thing, we went downstairs to recreate the 2004 moment of being photographed sitting on the bar.  Turns out you really can’t fit 14 Kitties as easily ON the bar as you can five, so we more like just gathered around it.  Our photographer/laundry person gave us a little history lesson about the Tavern, which interestingly enough, had installed the old brick from Main St. onto the floors.  Sue Morrissey provided some important information on group riding, such as commonly used hand signals, maintaining consistent and appropriate speed, keeping a tight pack, and how to avoid flying metal parts.  Thank you, Sue!

All too soon, it was time to leave the chaos of Council Grove behind and return to peaceful Wichita.  Altering our route for the return trip, we travelled on Highway 177, which has to be some of the prettiest scenery in Kansas.  The abundance of recent rain has painted everything a brilliant emerald green and it reminded me why I love riding so much.  In that environment and seeing all the wonderful women ahead of me, I was bursting with pride for what we’ve created and kept alive for 10 years.  I want to thank each and every one of you for that.  Kitties Rock!

Those on board for the Chaos and Craziness in Council Grove were Janice Friedman, Kari Miller, Maureen Humbolt, Suz Tiede, Nellie Taylor, Lily Nordyke, Dawn Morse, Christine Allsman, Linda Moreland, Paula Franklin, Denise Johnson, Sue Morrissey, Sueanne Rugh and Sandy White.