5 Days... 2069 Miles (photo intensive)

[Wildkat]

my personal best... so far...

It all started with a few XSives heading up to Bob Falter's place in Ely... and turned into an unofficial rally with riders coming in from all directions... Another opportunity to put faces to names and hang with great friends...

I left Thursday morning with 71,198 showing on the odometer and no headlight (why is it these things always wait until it's time to leave... before they decide to quit working?)
Heading up 35, I picked up trbig along the way and we made our way north with our first stop in Hutchinson, KS to check in on our resident Guru-illa, Ivan. After a nice visit... we loaded up and headed to KC to hang with the group there.
We arrived at russ79's place in time for a great dinner and some even greater socializing... I knew we were in the right place when I saw this...



My choice of riding attire for the day had been shorts and a t-shirt... By the time I had travelled over 600 miles... I was a little on the red side... never let XSives see a sunburn... They like to poke...




The plan was to leave around 10:00 the next morning for Ely... but I kind of forgot to say anything about the headlight... and what I thought was going to be an easy fix...



turned into a fuse box replacement...

Here's Russ getting ready to work magic on my bike...



then it got serious...



Harry (Bigfoot) arrives to save the day...



Meanwhile... Russ finds time to play with trbig's XJ which had once again cracked the exhaust...



After all of this... we were only an hour late getting started... but because of the work... we didn't have time to clear out Russ's fridge...
Maybe next time... but it isn't like we were going to go hungry on this trip...

With my new fuse block and working headlight (thanks guys!) and trbig's exhaust having a new weld to keep it together (until the next round of wheelies)... we headed out with Russ in the lead. Bohn was our speed limiter and with all of the LEOs we passed along the way... this was a great thing as several of us already have speeding tickets this year... ahem...


We stopped for lunch, picking up Vincer, topped off the tanks and asked Bohn to take the lead... It was during this leg of the trip that I got the BEST gas mileage I have had in a LONG time... 2 gallons for 79 miles! (thanks Bohn!)

I have to say though... that the ride from KC to Ely is not the most exciting and I had to give in and down a 5 hour energy drink (taste terrible... but they work) to keep from nodding off...

[Wildkat]

The last gas stop before arriving in Ely... Bohn broke off from the group to head on to his motel... Luckily, the LEOs weren't as prominent in Iowa as they were in the other states.. So we took the opportunity to have a little fun along the way... Nothing too major though...

When we arrived at Bob's place...



oseaghdha, cruiser and exquized1 were already there... We hung out and cleaned out a few bottles and cans from the beverage fridge before Bob, his wife Jackie and Vincer cooked up some awesome fish and sides... nobody went away hungry...

We didn't ride anymore that evening... but this little guy was sitting on trbig's bike seat like he was ready to go with us somewhere...



The next morning, we were treated to another fine meal...
Fed and rested... we loaded up with Mickey Mouse (or is it Princess Leia?) joining in the fun...



After a brief, but really nice ride... we ended up at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa...





They have their own motorcycle version of American Gothic...



Here are some shots from the museum...

[Wildkat]

Now for the more specific pics...
There were several areas of tribute... here are just a few...

Easy Rider







Steve McQueen



and one of my personal favorites...
Indian Larry










There were also several bikes that were a bit... well... they were a bit something...









This was interesting as it has 2 XS650 engines powering it...





and a few more general shots of the museum...







They even had some representation from the Maxim family...



but I regret to inform you XJ riders... that apparently... your bike was never made...



Don't worry... trbig rewrote history for them...

After the museum... we headed out for lunch



and a stop by J&P Cycles...
(no pics... but I did pick up some pretty cool riding gloves)

[Wildkat]

Back at the ranch...

The obligatory tear down of a bike... with Russ at the helm... again...



This time it was exquized1's bike... It was running MUCH better after Dr L and several others did their motorcycle magic... and no, Russ... there will never be an XSive gathering where you don't have to work on a bike...



We headed here for dinner...







with a stop by the local brewery first... this was pretty cool as the sitting area outside is covered with lattice, woven with hops...



The restaurant we ate at (the Brick Haus) had some EXCELLENT food and was served family style... bowl and plate after bowl and plate was brought to the table... Nobody went away hungry... but several of us went away miserable... I think trbig got a pic of the carnage left in our wake... maybe he'll post it later...

On the way back to Ely... one of the bikes developed a problem... ended up being a broken P/U coil wire... Thanks to Bohn and his XSive organization and electrical kit and the brains of Russ and trbig (and a long distance shout out to John) they got it figured out and fixed relatively quickly... so we headed back to Bob's place to hang out the rest of the evening...

[Wildkat]

The next day the KC crew along with Tod and I headed back to KC... We started out with Bohn... but it didn't take long for us to leave him behind (yeah... we're really great friends lol)


We made it almost 60 miles before the first drops of rain began... nothing major but we pulled into a gas station to top off and put on our rain gear... After a few minutes of verbal abuse regarding my banana suit... we headed out... changing leaders quite often as we played a bit on the highway... The rain never really got hard... but it stayed misty for another 170 miles... never too bad...

By the time we got back to KC... it was clear and pretty nice... Bigfoot and Vincer broke off to head home, leaving trbig, russ79 and myself to go back to Russ's place... We dropped the bikes off, picked up the cage and headed over to see Karla Jones... I have to say that I felt quite honored to set foot in her home... The garage is VERY XSive... with tons of parts and equipment that had belonged to Bob... of course, I was stupid and left my camera back at Russ's place...


The next stop was by Bohn's house... another opportunity to feel honored... Between Bob's garage, the Jones' garage and Bohn's garage... it was a humbling experience... Anyone who visits any of the 3 will have a terrible case of garage envy...

We headed back to Russ's and hung out a bit before turning in... I think everyone was quite beat by the end of the day...

The next morning, trbig and I loaded up and got ready to head out...

Do you think I overpacked any?


ahem...


seeing this as we prepared our steeds...



VERY cool!



The trip home was wet and cold at first... raining on us until we hit the Oklahoma border... then it got warmer... briefly... then it got HOT for a LONG time... We passed a bank sign saying the temp was 108... I SOOOO wanted to turn around and go back north... but I was missing my family, so we pressed on...

John met me in Turner Falls, OK and we hung out at an overlook for an hour or so before heading home... That was REALLY nice...


When I pulled into the driveway... my odometer read 73,267 miles... I was tired... but not sore at all... and now I'm ready to do it all again...

It was a great time and I can't thank Russ and his family and Bob and his wife for being such incredible hosts! and many thanks to all of my brothers for taking such great care of me and my bike (they even rolled it into the garage at night for me when I wasn't looking)

Truly an awesome family...
Thanks all!

[Jerry]

Nice report, Kat. I've been to some of those places...you didn't mention, but the Amana Colonies also produce some good wines. You didn't happend to stop by the tasting room, did you?

but I regret to inform you XJ riders... that apparently... your bike was never made...

When I came on this site in '99 there were only 2 or 3 XJ owners listed, IIRC. I took a lot of ribbing about it. I became the XJ guru (at the time) because there were so few XJ owners who actually had a shop manual to refer to.

Another museum that has some bikes is the National Auto Museum in Reno. Not near the quantity as in your pictures, but closer to some of us here in the hinterlands of the country.

Sounds like it was a great trip!

[XJOK2PLAY]

Looks like everybody had a great time. Great report, Kat...

Just one thing... No pictures of Bohn's man cave??? At all??
So... I guess it remains an exclusive club after all? They wouldn't even let you get a peek? LOL

I can't believe you forgot your camera when you got to go to Bob Jones's!
Would've liked to have seen those. I bet that was XSivly cool!

And I can vouch for Bohn's very orderly electrical kit... got to use it up in Durango! Love ridin' with him... prepared, disciplined, and XSivly funny!
He had us rolling most of the time.

Thanks for the report!

[oseaghdha]

On the way back to Ely... one of the bikes developed a problem... ended up being a broken P/U coil wire.....

Yeah, you know, there's always someone in every crowd that can't keep their $hit running!

[Bigfoot]

Yeah, you know, there's always someone in every crowd that can't keep their $hit running!

Makes for more interesting stories.

[oseaghdha]

Makes for more interesting stories.

Well, there was that part when everyone ran off and left us, and they had already rolled up the whole town for the night. Except for the skeeters.

Tod was thinking, "Why in the world did I have to be riding sweeps?"

[Bigfoot]

In our defense, we did eventually come back. Well, at least some did. I made sure the beer was still cold when you made it back.

[Wildkat]

Just one thing... No pictures of Bohn's man cave??? At all??

Nope... no girls allowed, remember? Couldn't possibly have proof that I was actually there... they would have confiscated my camera...
lol

I can't believe you forgot your camera when you got to go to Bob Jones's!

Yeah yeah yeah... like I wasn't kicking myself enough already about that one... It was like being on hallowed ground... pretty darn cool, really...

the Amana Colonies also produce some good wines. You didn't happend to stop by the tasting room, did you?

Thanks Jerry!

Nope... didn't get to the winery there... but did make it to the brewery.. where they produce some pretty decent beer as well...

Yeah, you know, there's always someone in every crowd that can't keep their $hit running!

It was more the bike not running that was the problem...
lol

Yeah.. what's up wth that anyway... I mean... none of the rest of us had any problems with our bikes on this trip... ahem...

Tod was thinking, "Why in the world did I have to be riding sweeps?"

He was due... We're just lucky that this was the one time he was actually riding in the back... a few more minutes and he would have been in front of you... and everyone else...

and we did come back for you... of course, all I could do was lend moral support... and fend off a few of the skeeters for you...

[oseaghdha]

I was just glad that it picked that time to crap out, rather than out in East Compost, Iowa or something.

Many thanks to Russ and Tod for gittin it back to the house. Also thanks to John, hope we didn't interupt "movie night"!

And yes, the beer was nice and cold, Harry. Well done!

Mostly Big Thanks to Bob, who threw out a terrific welcome for all!

Oh, and if anyone finds themselves on Hiway 11 East of Dubuque, turn North on 78 to Argyle at Gratiot. It'll burn the chicken strips right off of that back tire!

[Bigfoot]

Do you think I overpacked any?


ahem..

When I saw her pull in, I thought she had decided to move up north. lol

[DELL82]

Kat's bike really looks like a GIRLIE BIKE to me
Great report and ride Kat.
I can't wait for the Talimena ride in October. My chance to get a long ride in.
Dell82