Public Trip Summary – KromeKitty

Kold Kar Kitties: Burrton, KS – October 14, 2023

Posted on October 15, 2023October 15, 2023 by kkadmin

Two words: cold. windy. One more word: thankful. That’s how the day started yesterday for the October Ride or Drive to Burrton. When we all arrived at the meeting destination, it was super windy and cold and we were thankful to be driving to Burrton. Well, everyone except for two “intrepid” (quoting Tina) Kitties who arrived on motorcycles. Who were these crazy, uh, I mean intrepid Kitties? Stella and Beth! They slapped on all the leather they could find and said, “We ain’t scared of no cold wind, we’re riding!” And ride they did! They said it wasn’t that bad. I said, “Really? Because I was cold in the car!” Way to be tuff Kitties Baby Gap and Beth!

It was so cold out when we arrived at the QuikTrip that I looked at Tina, who was one of my car-sheltered buddies and with imploring eyes, said, “I don’t know how I’ll take roll call from inside the car.” Tina picked up what I was throwing down and said, “I’m not as bothered by the cold as you. Do you want me to go around and check Kitties off your list?” I responded, “Well, if you insist.”

Thank you Amish!

It was so cold out, that I didn’t know how I was going to take pictures of the intrepid Kitties and those few brave enough to stand outside before departure time. Fortunately, Stella telepathically knew Janice wasn’t leaving the shelter of the car and went into action snapping pictures of Kitties inside and outside of cars. Thank you, Baby Gap!

The weanie Kitties consolidated ourselves in cars and at 10:30 sharp, we pulled out headed to Burrton with the car I was in, driven by Pat, leading the caravan. It was a short, easy drive to The Barn (said the person who was comfortable in the backseat of a car sipping hot tea) where we met up with Kathryn, Donna, Sheryl, Dawn and her guest, Karen (who was not a “Karen” at all!) who drove directly to the restaurant. Speaking of guests, Serena also brought a guest and Brandi was an absolute delight! The Barn was ready and waiting for us and we were immediately seated.

Because it was so cold outside at the QuikTrip, we decided we would sell the 50/50 tickets at the restaurant. Houston, we have a problem. Jennifer has the tickets. Where is Jennifer? Has anyone seen Jennifer? Has anyone heard from Jennifer? It was time to face reality…Jennifer is MIA, along with the tickets. Lily and Donna Crays snapped into action and confiscated a couple of sheets of order tickets from the hostess stand and started ripping them in pieces and selling them. One ticket cost you $5.00. We wrote our names on the ticket and threw it in a baggie, that somehow magically appeared. Congratulations, Julie, on your $53.00 windfall!

The wait staff were super quick and awesome and food came flying out of the kitchen. While we waited, there was lots of lively chatter and I had a very interesting conversation with Sonja and Kim about unusual things that have been found by medical personnel in “nature’s pocket”, which ironically became a topic of conversation at my lunch table. What is a “nature’s pocket” you ask? Well, let’s just say only ladies have one. We’ll let it go at that.

I spent some time chatting with both our guests, Karen and Brandi, and I REALLY hope they decide to join KKMC because me loved them so much! They fit in beautifully!

After filling our bellies with good food and asking Karen to draw the 50/50 ticket, we piled outside to get the group picture. It had warmed up just a smidgen, so I put my big girl panties on and braved it. Our waitress snapped several pictures and before everyone scattered to cars and two bikes, I yelled “Don’t leave! I have an important announcement to make!” On October 7, 2018, Sheryl joined KKMC and she was presented with her 5-year patch! Congratulations Zipper! It’s been a joy and pleasure having you as a member and friend these past five years! I can’t wait to make more memories with you!

Thank you to all the drivers yesterday! We appreciate you stepping up and “taking the wheel!”

And that’s the proverbial mic drop! I wish we could have wrapped up our 19th season with ALL of us on bikes, but the important thing is we all were still together. 2023 was a great season of rides and mad props go out to our Excursion Kitties Kathryn, Tina and Donna for planning and executing them for us. They were at the top of their game each and every month. I am, we all are, so grateful for your outstanding organization and leadership! I also would like to thank all the Lead Riders and Sweep Riders who served this year, along with those who volunteered when the scheduled Lead Rider couldn’t attend the Road Trip. For those of you who are newish to KKMC, getting Lead Riders each month used to be such a painful process but not anymore! So, thank you for that!

We welcomed six new Kitties to KKMC this year and each of them fit in right away and became valued and important additions to our Club. Thank you, Diane, Cina , Joanna, Adelle, Carol and Beth for taking a chance on us and saying Sign Me Up! We can’t wait to make more memories with you and get to know you even better!

Thank you to Stephanie and all her assistants who took pictures over the entire season. Our events and rides are forever memorialized by your amazing photos, and we all appreciate you, especially Stephanie, for always being on the job!

And, of course, thank you to each and every one of you for showing up! I know there are a million things that demand your time and attention. The fact that you set those aside on Kitty Day is what makes this Club so successful. Your loyalty and love for KKMC and your Sisters is clearly evident and it truly touches my heart. Thank you for coming with great attitudes and whatever may be going on behind the scenes at home, you all also put that aside and arrive with a smile and “Let’s have fun” spirits. Thank you all for that!

This now begins the Winter Event season beginning with the Soup Potluck on November 4th.

Submitted by

Janice “Queenie”

KKMC Founder

Tom Kat Ride: Sedan, KS – September 16, 2023

Posted on September 17, 2023September 17, 2023 by kkadmin

41. That was the official count for how many Kitties and Tom Kats attended the Tom Kat Ride. 216. That’s how many miles I logged; some did a lot more with further to go to get to the departure location and back home. Two. That’s how many Kitties made their debut ride today. Two to three. That’s how many times I thought we were going to get wet on the way to Sedan, but thank goodness, we never did. Although, one Kitty and Tom Kat did get wet. Krisi and Blake met us in Sedan and they ran into rain in Winfield. 103. That’s how many dollars were up for grabs in the 50/50 drawing. Dozens. That’s how many curves we enjoyed on the way home. One. That’s how many non-moving trains there were blocking our path. Too many to count. That’s how many great memories we made today!

When NoFacebookGreg and I walked in the door, he said and I quote, “That was a very successful Tom Kat Ride! What a great day!” Were there some missed turns by several groups? Yes. Did anyone die from said missed turns? No. So who cares, right?!

We got to meet our newest member, Beth, and her Tom Kat, Bob. It takes some grit to join a club and make your debut ride on the biggest ride of the season. We’re so glad you did Beth! The good news is you met a lot of Kitties today!

I gotta give Buck’s BBQ some mad props! Having 41 people arrive all at the same time is a tall order for any restaurant. Buck’s was prepared, extremely friendly, wicked fast with food orders, and the food they delivered was outstanding! At least that was the case for my table, I hope everyone had the same experience.

There are so many people to thank. Let’s start with the Excursion Kitties, Kathryn, Tina and Donna, for coming up with the idea to go to Buck’s. Not a lot of places can accommodate such a large group. They nailed it with this destination. Thank you Excursion Kitties!

Tina made a pre-trip last week and provided the Lead Riders with helpful information on the route and gas stations. Thank you, Amish, for all your recon!

NoFacebookGreg, Christine, Tina and Kathryn. These were the Lead Riders and we appreciate you getting us to Sedan and back safely!

Cindy, Jennifer and Jason, Melaina and Stuart and Angie. These were our Sweeps and we appreciate having capable riders at the back of the pack!

The more people, the harder the job. As our Club Photographer, Stephanie had to cover a lot of territory in the meeting location parking lot; had to skitter all over our private room at the restaurant and had the perfect fancy schmancy setup for getting our group pictures. Thank you BadA$$ for a job well done!

To those who couldn’t make it on the ride, you were missed! To those who did attend, I hope you shared the same sentiment as NoFacebookGreg!

Submitted by:

Janice, Founder

Heart Kitties – August 27, 2023

Posted on September 17, 2023September 17, 2023 by kkadmin

A year or so ago, the Kitties were inspired to recreate a picture that had been found on the internet. The pictures was a group of bikes positioned into a heart shape. Hey, we could do that and we did! It was so much fun doing this! Following are the people who were responsible for making it all happen.

Angie is who found the original inspiration picture and was the one who suggested we recreate it. Thank you, Angie, for sharing it, suggesting it and taking part in it!

Pat and Maureen. As the Events Kitties, they were responsible for coming up with a venue to have enough space to have us gather for the picture. They worked with Hartman Arena to get permission and met there with others to work out the logistics. Pat kept us well informed through Facebook and because of that, we knew exactly where to go. Thank you Ice and Moonshine for a well-executed plan and superb communication!

Dawn and Gene. Sure, it wasn’t the 107° that we had had all week leading up to this day, but standing in the hot sun was still…well, hot. Gene knew we were going to be some thirsty Kitties and brought a cooler full of ice-cold water. That quite literally was a life saver! Thank you, Dawn and Gene, for knowing what we needed even when we didn’t!

All the Heart Kitties. To all those who participated in the Heart Picture, thank you for your kind cooperation, your great attitudes and never once saying “How much longer is this going to take? I’m hot!” Even having to move bikes several times to get the right placement was always met with a can-do attitude. Thank you Sweet Kitties!

Stephanie and Donna. While I was in the parking lot taking pictures of the bike placements, BadA$$ and Frogger were taking their own pictures. Thank you both for providing some great shots of the day!

And most importantly, Jennifer and Justin. Where do I even begin in thanking you for dedicating a Sunday afternoon to this project; the planning of how to get us in the shape of a Heart; the calm, cool approach to getting us all in position and the time you spent editing all the videos and pictures. At one point after we were all in position, Stephanie looked over at me and asked, “Aren’t you glad you aren’t organizing this?” I responded, “Oh my God, I’m so glad!” The amount of thought and planning this took for getting 24 bikes in a heart shape was mind boggling! Jennifer and Justin had it all worked out in their heads, right down to where the three-wheeled bikes would go and where the two-wheeled bikes would go. It was perfection! Jennifer and Justin were the ones who thought to also add some creativity with Kitties by having us stand inside the Heart. I would never have thought of that and it was brilliant! Of course, the drone had to be operated by someone and that someone was Justin! Thank goodness we had a master on the stick because Justin was outstandingly good at getting shots and videos without a million takes. Nightingale and Justin, we can’t thank you enough for everything you did for us! I think we can all agree Justin has earned himself the title of Tom Kat of the Year 2023! Kitty Kisses to you both! (With Jennifer’s permission to Kitty Kiss Justin, of course!

Submitted by:

Janice, Founder

Arkansas Kitties – August 11-13, 2023

Posted on September 17, 2023September 17, 2023 by kkadmin

WHAT. A. TRIP! The 2023 Overnighter was a huge success, despite several rain delays and one bike who refused to go one mile further past Grove, OK. Most importantly, everyone arrived in Harrison, AR and back home safely. Sweaty, but safe. The Arkansas Kitties had a fabulous time; enjoyed the rides that Arkansas is famous for; laughed until we cried; met and got caught up with family and one special stray Kitty; shared some TMI stories (if you know, you know!); had their Kitty Sisters’ backs by making sure they were safe and loaning out items they needed; and got to know each even better. After all, there is no better way to REALLY get to know someone than by spending a weekend with them! With this being her first Overnighter, Cina got to learn that firsthand!

So, how did the weekend go? Well, let’s start at the beginning….

We all met at the QuikTrip in Derby with loaded bikes and excited attitudes. Brenda, who had to cancel at the last minute due to her daughter’s health, still joined us at the QT to ride with us as far as Winfield. Maureen pimped out the 50/50 tickets with possibly some assistance, but I’m sorry I didn’t pay enough attention to that to burn it into my pea-sized brain. We drew the winning ticket at lunch and lo and behold, Brenda won! This proves you don’t have to be present to win! NoFacebookGreg showed up at the QT because he wanted me to check my oil when I got there, but after further reflection, he didn’t trust that a) I would do it and b) I would know what I was looking at. That turned out to be a good call! Of course, as always Stephanie snapped into action and took pictures of everyone. Thank you BadA$$!

After I took roll call and confirmed everyone was presented and accounted for, I led the group in the prayer, we biked up and were off! Donna led the first group with Tina in the sweep position and Kari led the second group with Cindy serving as sweep. Let’s just take a minute to talk about these ladies. Leading a group of bikers even on a day trip is a great responsibility. Taking them across state lines on a multi-day trip takes it to a whole new level. There are highway signs to watch for, gas stations to look for, speed to keep consistent, and the safety of everyone behind them to take into account. Donna and Kari expertly mastered all of it! We split the group into three on the way home to make the gas stops quicker and Kim stepped up to lead the third group home. There were two groups who went on different excursions on Saturday. With only one Lead Ride under her belt, Kim led one of the groups and nailed it! Again, with only having ever led a Kitty ride once before, Tina led the second group and handled it like a pro! Thank you, Kim and Tina, for giving Kari and Donna a break from the Lead Rider duties! I can’t thank all of the Lead Riders for first of all, agreeing to lead and secondly, being prepared and getting us to and from safely! The Sweep positions also have a great responsibility on rides and THANK YOU to Tina and Cindy for being at the back on the long hauls making sure there weren’t any stray Kitties left behind and being there if we needed you. Kitty Kisses to each and every one of you!

Our lunch stop on Friday was in Grove, OK where we ate at Drake’s Restaurant. We had the pleasure of being joined by two family members! Conn is the brother-in-law of Stella, who lives in a town very close to Grove and Sarah is the cousin of Jennifer, who lives in Grove. Drake’s was on top of their game by quickly gathering tables for 16 Kitties and two guests. The food came out of the kitchen lightning fast, which was very important as we still had a lot of miles to cover. Once again, we were celebrities and guests of the restaurant were intrigued by this “girl gang” of bikers. One guest in particular, Claudine, was very interested in us and asked lots of questions and took pictures of us. One of her comments in particular really stuck with me. She said, “You girls are so different than the normal bikers we get here. You’re all so cute, polite and friendly!” Way to break the stereotype Kitties! We cooled off in the glorious air conditioning; filled our bellies full of good food; Drake’s refilled our traveling water cups with ice water, Stephanie took lots of pictures (again, thank you BadA$$!), we said goodbye to Conn and Sarah and headed to the nearest gas station to fill our tanks and hit the road.

After getting gas and while still at the gas station, one bike said, “Nope, I’m done. I’m not going one mile further. I don’t know how you’re getting to Arkansas, but it ain’t gonna be on me.” That uncooperative bike belonged to Stephanie. Stephanie wasn’t in my group, so the way we left it was she was going to call for help to come get her and the bike. Christine and Angel would stay with her until help arrived and then finish the trip together. Plan B was equally as good, if not better. Remember how I said Jennifer’s cousin, Sarah, lives in Grove? Well, how about we take advantage of her, uh, I mean ask her a favor?! The whole group rode to Sarah and her husband Matt’s house, along with Stephanie and her bike who agreed to go that far, but no further. Everyone stayed with Stephanie until they knew that help was on the way and then knowing she was safe and sound at Sarah and Matt’s house, they hit the road to finish the trip. The help that was on the way was a friend named Tommy and Mitch from Bike Wurks, who is a bonafide bike mechanic. I gotta give mad props to Mitch, who not only agreed to drive to Grove, OK with a bike trailer, but agreed that if he could fix it there, he would load Stephanie and her bike onto his trailer and bring her the rest of the way to Arkansas. If he couldn’t fix it, then he would bring Stephanie and her bike home. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened. The bike couldn’t be fixed on the fly so Stephanie, her bike and her rescuers made the trip back to Wichita. Stephanie, we missed you like crazy!

My group arrived in Harrison right at dinner time and while we had reservations at Colton’s Steakhouse for 16, we explained that a large part of our group had a problem on the way and couldn’t make it. Given that Stepanie’s group had such a long delay, they decided to go right to the hotel when they arrived and they would order in a pizza. By the time my group got to the hotel, the second group had arrived and were gathered at the pool and just getting ready to start eating their take-out dinner. After my group got checked in and ditched sweaty biker clothes for bathing suits and shorts, we all joined them. Well, except for me. Apparently, I like sweaty biker clothes and joined them in what I arrived in, minus the boots. We worked on what the plan would be for Saturday and it was agreed one group would do the Mountain View Run and one group would go to Eureka Springs. One teeny tiny group of two would stay behind at the hotel. Nellie wasn’t feeling well and decided to take a break from the heat and riding on Saturday. On our way to Harrison, we went through a town called Springdale, Arkansas. Turns out Springdale is one congested town. The traffic was horrendous! At one point as we were inching our way through traffic, I looked over at Nellie and said, “This is like going through downtown Sturgis at Bike Week!” By the time we finally made it through that awful ordeal, my poor arthritic hands were shot. All the clutching and braking did them in and my concern was if I did a ride on Saturday, they would be in such bad shape, I would have a hard time getting back home on Sunday. When I couldn’t get the lid off the Jello shot Maureen had brought because my hands were so sore, I made the decision to stay at the hotel on Saturday. That turned out to be a good decision as on Saturday morning, I could hardly get the cap off my toothpaste! Now that plans were made, lead riders were in place and everyone knew what time to be in the lobby to leave with their groups, some of the Kitties stayed at the pool to chat and some said, “Stick a fork in me. I’m done.” and returned to their rooms.

The Saturday Plan – the Mountain View Run group was leaving at 9:00 am Saturday morning. The Eureka Springs group was leaving at 10:00 am. The Reality – it was raining Saturday morning. Nobody was going anywhere anytime soon. That gave everyone plenty of time to eat hotel food minimal breakfast, chat and marvel over the sparkly hoodie string that Angel had. I bet we’re going to be seeing a whole lot more of those adorning hoodies now! After consulting radar, everyone estimated what time they could leave and eventually they all did. Given that I wasn’t on these excursions, I can’t write about it, but I sure heard some great stories and the Kitties did a great job in sharing their pictures.

So, what did Nellie and I do all day? Well, after everyone left, we continue to sit in the lobby and chatted for a long while and then we went to our rooms to relax. We could have gone to the pool, but it was still very cloudy and cool, so that was a hard pass for me. I got all my stuffed packed up for the next day’s return home and chilled out until I got a text from our special stray Kitty – Barb! Barb lives in Arkansas about an hour and a half away and she had already signed up to have dinner with us on Saturday night. She knew that I had stayed behind and arrived much earlier, which gave us some quality chatting time. By then, the sun had come out and we sat by the pool and reminisced about old times and got caught up on what each of us had been doing for the last 11 years since we’d seen each other. I tried to call and text Nellie to come visit, but apparently her phone was as dead as Stephanie’s bike and she never got the message that we were at the pool. I had to temporarily say goodbye to Barb so I could get cleaned up for dinner and she went in search of something cool to drink at the Dunkin Donuts, which was very close by.

We had dinner reservations at Roma’s Italian Restaurant at 7:00 pm. I had told everyone that had left on day trips to be sure to be back by then and they were, but barely! Having fun on Arkansas roads trumps Italian food! Some were able to grab a quick shower, and some had to go as they were, which was still beee-u-ti-ful! I counted heads to make sure we had 16 Kitties in the lobby, and we made the long 700 feet walk to the restaurant. You know how we are loud everywhere we go? Well, we WAY outdid ourselves at Roma’s! Sorry to all the patrons who were just trying to have a quiet, romantic dinner. You picked the wrong night for that! I formally welcomed Barb and told the group how I had first met her way back in 2005 and how she came to be a Kitty that same year. We gave Maureen a hard time about how she went on not one, but two dates, on the Overnighter in 2021, because we don’t ever let a good story die. Jennifer mimicked a guy the Eureka Springs Kitties had met by smearing food on her teeth and saying “corn caaaaab” about a dozen times. That’s when we really owed an apology to the other guests because we were roaring with laughter! Christine tried to help the wait staff out by making sure we paid attention to food and drink orders that were coming out of the kitchen. Sorry Christine, you had to know that would be included! It was a purrfect night! Given that we were leaving bright and early, we said our goodbyes to Barb and went back to our rooms to get packed up, oh wait, I already did that!, and go to bed early.

Once again, our plans were derailed by rain. We were SUPPOSED to be on the road at 7:30 am on Sunday. Rain kept us huddled under the awning until nearly 9:00 am. That gave everyone plenty of time to get some food in their bellies as we were not stopping for lunch. If you gotta eat, then it’s gonna be gas station food! People were anxious to get home and several had afternoon/evening obligations. Even with the rain delay, we made great time and despite the radar saying we were going to run into rain in eastern Kansas, we only got a few sprinkles in the Parsons area. We were all rain suited up so we were prepared for whatever came our way. By the time we got to Fredonia, our last gas stop, we all were able to peel off the rain suits and finished the ride without worry of getting wet.

And there you have it! As long as this is, it’s still the condensed version! I want to give a big shout out and thank you to Kathryn, Donna and Tina for planning this awesome trip for us! You guys are wonderful and I’m especially sorry that Kathryn did so much work on this and then couldn’t go because of her brand-new knee. We missed those who couldn’t make the trip with us. I know going on an Overnighter is a big commitment and I understand that’s not always possible for everyone. Just know that we missed you!

Arkansas Kitties! Thank you a million times over for the laughs and the memories! Each and every one of you were perfect traveling buddies and I loved every minute I spent with you. Kitty Kiss to you all!

Submitted by:

Janice Friedman, Founder

An Egg-celent Day! – July 16, 2023

Posted on July 19, 2023July 19, 2023 by kkadmin

What an awesome day! We had very pleasant weather on the way to Wilson; hot, but not unbearably hot weather on the way home; everyone rode their own ride with zero issues; the Lead Riders led us to Wilson as if they knew the area like the back of their hand; we saw a Kansas landmark and we made new friends. I would say that was a purrfect Krome Kitty Road Trip!

When I first arrived at the QuikTrip, there wasn’t a bike in sight. I had a moment of panic and had to really think about whether I was at the right QuikTrip. Fortunately, as I was about to pull my phone out to check the departure location, Kathryn pulled in. “Oh, thank God. I’m in the right place, I was just early.” I guess someone has to be first, it’s just never been me.

As we were waiting for the last of the Kitties to arrive, a lady on a bike pulled into the QuikTrip. We all were trying to figure out who it was. Is it Cindy? No, her bike is white, this bike is silver. I did a mental check on who was left to arrive and this gal did not match the missing Kitties. That’s when she pulled up to our group and I could see she was no one. Well, she wasn’t no one, she was someone, but she wasn’t a Kitty. I guess we didn’t consider there could be a lady biker who wasn’t a Kitty! 😄 Several of us chatted with her, and she was riding from College Station, TX to Iowa by herself. She thought we were pretty cool and she was not wrong!

With 15 Kitties present and accounted for, I divided up the groups with Group 1 being led by Nellie, with Stephanie as Sweep. Group 2 was led by Cindy, with Donna as Sweep. Miss Safety Officer Christine gave us some advice on staying hydrated, we said the Kitty prayer, biked up and we were off!

We went backroads all the way and it was a nice, relaxing ride. My favorite scenic moment was crossing over Kanapolis Lake. I’ve been to several Kansas lakes in my day, but never this one, which led me to ask myself “Why haven’t I?” What a beautiful lake surrounded by lovely countryside! If I was more of a lake person, this would be at the top of my list.

About 20 miles from Wilson, my cup holder screw came loose and my Yeti-esque cup, which was full of ice water, did a topsy turvey into my lap. Nothing gets your attention like ice water in your crotch! Fortunately, we stopped at a stop sign very shortly after the ice water bath and I was able to hand screw it enough to get to Wilson. Before we even got off our bikes in Wilson, I dug in my windshield pouch and proudly announced to everyone that I was going to fix the issue all by myself with this here wrench I had. Christine said, “Oh, that’s wonderful Queenie, but that’s not a wrench. Those are pliers.” I was slightly less proud of myself, but I did get it fixed!

We all burst through the door of Made from Scratch ready to plow into some fried chicken. What’s that you say? Other customers took over our reserved tables? They clearly don’t know who they’re dealing with here! We’re the Krome Kitties for crying out loud! Some of the poachers must have heard us because they vacated the area lickety-split and we managed to get enough tables and chairs to accommodate all of us, which had grown in numbers by two with the arrival of Danielle and her friend, Rachel, who met us at the restaurant.

Time for the 50/50 drawing! Wait. Where is the flamed bag with the tickets? Oh dang. Jennifer was out of town and not on the ride. Now what are we gonna do? Donna said, “I got this” and she did! She tore up little pieces of napkins and instructed us to write our names on them. She collected the money and put the napkin bits in a large zip lock bag Christine had. We had previously met a couple, George and Susan, who were fellow bikers and now our new friends. We gave Susan the honors of drawing the winning napkin bit. Donna felt the money should be rightfully hers given her creative Plan B, but the universe had a different opinion. She was not the winner.

After filling our bellies full of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and several sides and chatting noisily, it was time to go see what put Wilson on the map. It was egg-celent!

Afterwards, we grouped back into our groups and pointed our noses home. And once again, our Lead Riders performed their jobs flawlessly!

Speaking of Lead Riders, a big thank you to Nellie and Cindy for remembering all the turns. Not one glitch! Nellie wasn’t taking any chances and taped the directions to her windshield. That’s actually kinda brilliant!

A big thank you to Stephanie and Donna for being the Sweeps. Fortunately, everything went so well, they weren’t called into duty, but it was a comfort knowing they were there…and they knew the difference between a wrench and pliers.

This post would be nothing without pictures. We have our Club Photographer to thank for that! Stephanie, thank you for always capturing the best of us and the ride in your awesome photos!

And thank you to each of the Kitties who came out to play today! Speaking for myself, I’ve missed the last three events due to being ill for the Tutu Ride and then being gone in June. Better friends and riding partners cannot be found!

Janice

Founder – KKMC

One Ride – Two Towns – June 10, 2023

Posted on July 10, 2023July 11, 2023 by kkadmin

It was a beautiful day for a ride! Eleven Kitties met at the QT at 21st and K96.

We had a guest rider today. Susan brought her friend, Dally (Dallas). Kari said it would be great if she joined our club we could call her “Dilly.” Obviously I got a kick out of that. Lol

Unfortunately, poor Maureen’s battery died after getting gas. Melaina and Brenda stayed back with her as they waited on Christine’s husband, Dorrin, to come to the rescue. I’m not positive on all the details of how everything worked out. All I know is we were happy to see the three of them roll into the parking lot of Genova’s safely.

Sheryl took lead on this 4-hour ride. From east Wichita to Council Grove with a quick gas up, then went back the way we came and dropped south to Newton from Cassoday. She did a phenomenal job getting all of us to our destination! Thank you, Sheryl. Donna swept and was helpful on the way to Genova’s when Dilly’s glasses went flying down the road. Luckily, they found them and were able to catch up quickly!

Genova’s had our back area ready for us. We walked in and was instantly greeted with “Kitties, how was your ride? It’s good to see you!” from our favorite waitress.

Kathryn, Bobbie, Stella, Cina and Tina met us at the restaurant.

Did I mention it was a beautiful day for a ride? Just making sure.

It actually got a little chilly during our ride, but we were so thankful the rain stayed away.

We definitely missed our club photographer!

Thank, you ladies, for a wonderful day!

Submitted by Jennifer

KKMC Member

Tutu Cute! – May 21, 2023

Posted on May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 by kkadmin

All the Kitties were TUTU excited for our ride today! 19 Kitties arrived at the QT looking their fanciest and ready for a beautiful day of riding.

Tina immediately hopped off her bike upon arrival with her notepad and pen taking attendance! She took her job very seriously, Queenie!

Christine huddled us up to go over the ride, weather, and of course, lead us in our riding prayer. She introduced herself to our newcome, Cina, as “Bossy Pants.” She kind of lived up to it today, but in a GREAT way! Thank you, Glitter, for always keeping us safe and informed.

Kim took her maiden voyage as lead rider today. She led eight Kitties safely to our destination, with Frogger (Donna) as her sweep. I know for a fact she couldn’t get lost because I mapped the directions on Google maps and sent them to her while I was at her house last night. Then I gave her a sedative and told her it will all be ok! You did great, Lol Pibble!!

We got word that Deborah was in route after having trouble with her bike. I may or may not have frowned a little. having studied the map and knowing it better than the back of my hand. Deborah made it just in the knick of time and fell in the back of the line quickly. Deborah, you made my day!! I’m sorry you had so many troubles with your bike, but we’re so glad you made the ride! So, with me (on my maiden voyage as lead rider as well) leading the second group, we rode off. We did get a little off course since Stephanie got a little antsy with the gas stop. I’m sorry, Steph, I had to. LOL! We arrived at the ASSIGNED gas stop right as the first group was leaving, so I guess we still made great time. Tina ran sweep for the second group.

Kathryn and Danielle, along with her father, met us when we all arrived at Dave’s Pizza Oven in Coldwater, KS. They were super quick getting our orders and getting them out to us. I think we were all impressed at how quick it went. Great choice Excursion Officers! Christine and Melaina had to leave early so Christine could make it to a graduation, so we decided to take our group pic before our food got to the table. I had to wrangle Tina from passing out Kitty loot to the patrons. You’ll see in the pics that we literally just landed where we could in the group photo.

The Northern Kitties scampered off and the rest of us all took off shortly after. Some of us decided to take another route home and ran into a bridge that was out. We took a short detour and made our way back on course.

We missed our Queenie. Janice, you would be proud of your litter for being on top of their jobs you assigned them!

Stephanie, thank you as always for capturing the best pictures and making us look MEOWvelous!

Submitted by Jennifer (Nightingale)

KKMC Member

International Female Ride Day – May 6, 2023

Posted on May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 by kkadmin

We could not have ordered up a better day to celebrate International Female Ride Day! Abundant sunshine, super warm temperatures with a little wind, but not too bad. After lots of chatting time, even more pictures taken at the QuikTrip and everyone “buttoned up” with Krome Kitty custom made IFRS buttons, we biked up and took the scenic route to El Dorado.

Stephanie made her debut Lead Ride and she did GREAT leading the first group right to the door of True Lies Ranch Hand and Steakhouse, with Donna serving as Sweep. Kari led the second group, with Tina providing Sweep. We all poured into the restaurant and kept the sole waitress, who did an awesome job, hopping with drink and food orders. For the return trip home, it was agreed that Kari and Stephanie would lead one group the “fun” way home and I would lead a group the “fast” way home.

Everything went textbook perfect today….with two mishaps. Pat’s bike battery decided today was the day to take its last gasp and left her stranded at the QuikTrip at Ridge Rd. and 21st St. She called her Tom Kat, Larry, who picked her up on his trike and they dropped by to see us off on the way to Twister City to get a new battery. What we didn’t know until much later is this ended up being an all day battery installation. In their “let’s make this as difficult as possible” wisdom, Harley Davidson decided to change the location for the battery with lots of bits and parts to have to remove and more than a few cuss words!

The second mishap required some creativity and a lot of duct tape! Brenda lost the solitary screw that held her entire dash onto her bike. With the assistance of a LOT of bright red duct tape, the dash was held securely in place to get Brenda through the ride. Now to get that screw replaced.

THANK YOU to the Leads and Sweeps for getting us to El Dorado and back safe and sound!

THANK YOU to Pat and Larry for mapping out the scenic route for us!

THANK YOU to our Club Photographer, Stephanie, and secondary Club Photographer, Kim, for taking oodles of great shots! These posts would be very boring without your pictures!

THANK YOU to all the Kitties who took time out of your day to celebrate International Female Ride Day! You all make being a female and a rider so much fun!

Kar Kitties – April 22, 2023

Posted on April 23, 2023April 23, 2023 by kkadmin

Whenever we have to switch gears and go by car, I ALWAYS am second guessing myself the morning of. This morning was no different. As soon as I woke up, I looked outside and the sun was starting to shine and the second guessing began. “Could we have ridden today?” “Is it really that cold out?” It only took about 60 seconds of standing in the QuikTrip parking lot for all my second guessing to be put to rest. It was flipping cold and windy! So cold and windy, in fact, that the small group I was chatting with and I collectively decided to high tail it into the store, where all of the Kitties stayed until it was departure time. I wish we could have been on motorcycles, but if we made the decision to not ride, then it darn well better have been for a good reason and it definitely was.

We all, with the exception of Dawn, Angel and Donna who drove directly to the restaurant and Sherri and Stella, who stayed in their car, gathered around near the door of the QuikTrip. We occasionally allowed customers to enter and exit and get drinks from the fountain area. There were several police officers who threaded their way through our large group and I held my breath each time, hoping they weren’t going to shoo us outside with a stern warning to stop loitering inside the store. They didn’t. Whew!

Jennifer sold 50/50 tickets and devised a new and improved way of handling the tickets and money at the same time. That’s what you call being smart and creative Nightingale!

With everyone present and accounted for and everyone previously grouped in vehicles, we “carred up” and headed to Durham, KS. The one advantage of being in cages, other than being toasty warm, was getting the opportunity to have lots of chatting time. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of the ladies in my carpool and I’m sure the other Kitty Karloads felt the same.

We all arrived safely at Main Street Cafe and were united with Dawn, Angel and Donna. Christine had brought the safety items we had made for the Cars and Coffee events and it was like a feeding frenzy of Kitties grabbing items to pass out at work and other opportunities to share the “Watch for Motorcycles” message. At the time we were doing this, there were only two gentlemen in the restaurant so I grabbed two koozies and two eyeglass cleaning cloths and interrupted their meal with my spiel of we are a female motorcycle club and we would love for them to help spread our message. They gladly accepted the gifts and one of the gentlemen even asked for a yard sign and said he would proudly display it in his yard. The other one said he would, but he lived in the middle of nowhere and no one would ever see it. That’s fair.

We ordered food, we ordered more food, we ate, some ate pie before their meal (brilliant move!), we chatted, we made the wait staff earn every single penny of their tips and we enjoyed each other’s company, as always.

Dawn had previously told me that we were only a few miles from the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, so I announced to the group for anyone who wanted to make a stop to possibly spot bison or elk on their way home, this was a great opportunity.

Jennifer was ready to pull the winning ticket and there was such a hullabaloo about no fair if Janice wins, I think it’s rigged if Janice wins, I refuse to buy tickets again if Janice wins that I promised if my ticket was drawn, we would have a redraw. I didn’t say I PINKY promised, so would I have really?? 😂 Well, we’ll never know because my ticket was not drawn. Pat was the lucky winner of $63.00!

We all gathered outside for the group picture and just as Stephanie was getting ready to rig up a remote control camera on the hood of Dawn’s car, a very nice, very tall gentlemen intercepted and said how about I take the picture? Yeah, how about you do that? He even told us to say Here Kitty Kitty! I loved that he saw our shirts and said that!

THANK YOU to all those who joined us on a Kitty Ride that turned into a Kitty Drive! I was concerned we would lose a bunch of people when we switched to cars, but only three Kitties had to cancel for other reasons. ❤️

THANK YOU to all those who raised their hands and offered to be a driver! We all appreciate you using your car, your gas to do that for us! ❤️

And of course, THANK YOU to our Club Photographer, Stephanie, for once again, making sure she got all of us in a picture. You’re the best BadA$$! ❤️

Those on board for the “Kar Kitties” drive were Janice, Brenda, Lily, Nellie, Kristi, Stella, Melaina, Pat, Tina, Alice, Bobbie, Stephanie, Kari, Kim, Christine, Julie, Donna, Jennifer P., Sherri, Diane, Dawn, Angel and Cindy.

Janice

Founder – KKMC

Bike Blessing – April 2, 2023

Posted on April 6, 2023April 6, 2023 by kkadmin

What. A. Perfect. Day!! I commented at lunch that we always manage to have a good weather day for the Bike Blessing (for the record, I did knock on wood when I said it), but today was the warmest of them all! It was super windy when we first arrived at the meeting location, but it did seem to die down even before we left for the church.

Shortly after Greg and I arrived, we had a man approach our gathering group on a bicycle and at first, I thought he was coming to admire the bikes. It didn’t take long to realize he was not admiring the bikes, but rather went into attack mode and started shouting accusations at us for being the root cause of all the problems in the world. He wrongly assumed that since we had motorcycles, we were all “rich M….F….ers” and went all cra cra on us. Greg immediately tried to tell him to move on and blocked him from getting any closer to our group, which were all ladies at the time. I tried to tell him he didn’t want a piece of what was about to show up (meaning Jennifer’s Tom Kat Justin and all the Fire and Iron riders), but he was on such a roll about murders we were responsible for etc. etc. etc., that I don’t think he heard me. He eventually wandered off, but decided for his next cry for attention, he would throw his bicycle right into the middle of West St. Well, he got lots of attention alright…from the PoPo as that’s when Greg called the police. Now that he was in the capable hands of the Wichita Police Department, we could get back to more pleasant business. Like looking cute for parking lot pictures, selling 50/50 tickets and exchanging lots of hugs.

I gathered everyone together for some brief instructions and with Kathryn blocking traffic in her car, our huge line of bikes poured out of the parking lot headed to the church.

Hold up! We have a problem Houston. Brenda’s bike wouldn’t start so Melaina offered to stay and see if she could get it running and would try to meet us at the church. Turns out that bike wasn’t good anywhere soon, so Brenda’s husband was called, but by the time that all happened, it was too late to join the blessings. Thank you, Wrench, for staying with your Kitty Sister!

The first little surprise we had when church services let out was a dadgum bagpipe player! Try saying THAT five times!

He entertained us for a few minutes before Pastor Clayton and Pastor Bob came out of the church. Pastor Clayton welcomed everyone and said a prayer for the group. We were then treated to another bagpipe song and then the individual bike blessings began. Photographer Gary scurried around like the Energizer Bunny getting pictures of blessings and candid shots.

After all the blessings were completed, we gathered for the Kitty group picture and then the ALL group picture. Gary said, “Hold up! I gotta switch to the wide angle lens!” What are you trying to say Photographer Gary??

Then it was time to draw the 50/50 ticket and Jennifer gave Pastor Clayton the honors. I said, “Be good to your Mom boy!” Was he? He sure was! I went away $63.00 richer!

And then there was this! Jennifer and Justin made the most amazing momento for all the Kitties who had signed up for the Bike Blessing! Jennifer had asked permission to use the Kitty logo and asked that I trust her. “I promise you will love it!” When she got them finished, she asked if I wanted to see them and I said no, I DO trust you and I want to be surprised. Man, we ALL were surprised! Check out the picture to see what we got. THANK YOU, Jennifer and Justin, for the time and patience you put into making these wonderful keepsakes and for praying over them before they were given to us. This was far more than I imagined and I love it! Oh yeah, big ole biker dude Justin was the one who thought of this idea. I think he just earned himself the title of King Tom Kat!

The Kitties then rode to Spears for lunch and the rest of the bikers went their own way. After filling our bellies full of every kind of diet cheat food imaginable, we waddled out to our bikes to make our way home.

Another Bike Blessing, one of my favorite events of the year, was over. Thank you to Pastor Clayton and Pastor Bob for doing this for us every year. We always feel a lot safer after the blessings! Also, thank you to Gary for always always saying Yes when I ask him to take pictures! He manages to be everywhere at once; has a smile on his face the entire time; never gets flustered with shouts of “Gary, take a picture of this!” and spends HOURS going through hundreds of photographs to edit and make sure we have the best shots. I’m so glad Gary is in my family so I can abuse his good nature and photography skills!

With the Safety Meeting reminders and our bodies and bikes blessed, we are prepared for a fun and SAFE riding season!!

Those on board for the Bike Blessing were Janice, Brenda, Kathryn, Stella, Melaina, Pat, Tina, Alice, Bobbie, Stephanie, Kari, Kim, Susan, Maureen, Christine, Donna, Jennifer, Cindy, Angel, Lily, Linda, lots of Tom Kats and Fire and Iron Motorcycle Club members.

Janice – Founder