We left Clinton and headed north west up route 13 then to route 7. We hopped onto I-49 north making our way towards Kansas City. As we got closer to the city limits, I darted through some cars to get a picture of the Kansas sign. I even saw a pretty cool looking truck. It was older and a little rustic looking, just pretty cool.
From the city limits, we headed west out on I-435 west. We did about 100 miles since leaving Clinton before stopping for a snack break and gas. A lot of places only have a high of 91 octane out west it seems. Our motorcycles suggest 93 octane, so we have to settle for 91. Acter filling up, Gabe was hungry so we tried to go to a place called The Roost in Lawrence, KS. It was a nice looking town and all of the cafe’s were packed. The Roost had a 45 minute wait. So, we found an espresso shop, had espressos and bagels then continued onward. It was actually a really nice town. Gabe and I were even talking about going back there in the future.
We left Lawrence and headed to a small town where Stanley, a really good friend of both of ours, grew up. It’s a little town called Rossville. We stopped there to check it out and even find his house. It was a really neat experience. We did a live video chat to show him his old hose, the sugar maple he planted 40 plus years ago, and main street today. His sugar maple is now a large tree. He was telling us what he used to do as a child there.
From Rossville, we rode west on 24 and came through Manhattan. This is where Kansas State University is located. We didn’t stop but it looked quite busy. We wanted to make more ground so or trip to Boulder would be shorter on Day 6.
By this time of day, it was in the high 80’s, so we decided to stop for water in Clay. It was really awesome actually. We pulled off to the shoulder of the road and hung out drinking or water from our Nalgene bottles. Luckily, Gabe was able to pack a cooler on his bike so we can keep cold drinks. We were parked for a short while hydrating and taking pictures of the bikes. It really felt as if we were in the middle of nowhere. It was peaceful.
From there, we went a few miles up the road and stopped for gas and cool down. We stopped at the Casey’s General Store in Beloit and talked with an elderly couple for half hour. It was really neat. We found that almost everyone that lives in the area farms or works for a farmer. There really is nothing else around. They also told us that every mile is a road off the main road, creating a legit square mile. In this square mile, there is roughly 640 acres that farmers manage. I asked a question about gathering cattle. If they have cattle, the cattle to round up can be up to 15 miles away from the main farm. That is crazy!
We finished our conversation and they wished us luck on our journey. We continued further and entered what appeared to be an old empty village. At the end of this village we saw “World’s Largest Ball of Yarn” so we decided to go back while talking through the SCALA headset. We turned around to check it out. Gabe turned around before me and stopped next to this attraction. As I approached he wanted to park on the adjacent side, and then things got serious. Gabe’s motorcycle wouldn’t start. There was nothing. I thought he was joking around or the kick stand was down. Well, he wasn’t joking and the kick stand was up. It was not a good feeling. This little village seemed empty. So there wouldnt have been any help. I resorted to Google for help. We tried see several things, but all failed. We decided to take a look at some fuses. We pulled the starter fuse and it appeared fine. We put it back in, and voila! We heard The fuel pump kick on and knew it was going to work. The bike started. We don’t know what the issue was but it worked. What a relief! Luckily we had our camping stuff just in case. We’re still wondering what it was. It’s possible it was just a loose connection somehwere.
Our goal was to make it to Hays. Hays a busy little city and it was another. So, once his bike started, off we went. We arrived in Hays, found ourselves a hotel and grabbed dinner at Gella’s Diner & Lb. Brewing Co. It was a nice place and the food was delicious. We needed a good dinner after riding 425 miles and a stressful few minutes when Gabe’s bike wouldn’t start.
Butt Pain Meter: 2/10
Adventures of Matty Q 