Why Not the Wichitas

The first order of business today was a new skin for the Maj. I had called around to find out the price for the replacement tire, and the best deal was Motorcycle Superstore. Their price was at least $40-50 less than the next nearest quote. I threw the tire in the PacSafe and rode over to the local dealer to have it mounted.

They still raked me for the install though $78.00................ouch.
Makes a fellow want to buy a bead breaker and a set of tire irons, but considering the bike is a 2005 model, I may buy something else before I need to replace another.....

After a quick lunch at Hong Kong Buffet we came home and Scooterchick suited up for our ride.

We rolled out into a rising wind at about 2:30. As we rode west we saw a new housing development called Stonebridge Gate. We cruised the neighborhood and snapped a couple of pictures. Some of these homes are a pretty good size.

Gotta be lawyers I suppose. This reminds me of a palazzo in Italy. Molto bella!
The styles range from palacial to the merely opulent in this neighborhood.

Here's another example of the type of home located here.

Rounding the corner we came across another house that has a rather interesting feature. I suppose the owner has guests frequently, because the guest suite looks rather roomy. I would like to be able to treat my guests to quarters like this.

Scooterchick suggested that all this picture taking might have the residents thinking that random scooter folk were "casing the neighborhood." We took our leave and headed west.

We continued riding until we got to the town of Cache. We have alluded to the size of some of some of the small towns we have ridden to, past and through in this neck of the woods and now we're in a position to prove it. This is C Ave. which the Main Street in Cache.

Just in case you have doubts, believe me you can't make this stuff up, and so we offer as incontrovertible proof a look in the other direction at the other half of Main Street.

We didn't see anything of real interest in Cache so we turned right and headed north. we stopped at a defunct Amusement Park and trading post. The place is just as well tended as the signs which announce it. Here is example number one.

There is more information about this facility which was called Eagle Park located here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf7k-FfaTZE  The fellow who operates what is left of this location, mainly a gas bar and an odd smelling "trading post" was born here in 1961 and has been here ever since.

I noticed one window that seemed out of place, and he explained that off hour customers used it to pay for their gas, so that no one had to go outside when there was only one employee after dark.

I believe that this window shows signs of being out of service for some time.

The owner and operator of this place gave us a pretty cool reception and I believe it was because we are a mixed race couple. I bought a can of soda from him, and when he inquired if we "just wanted one", I replied "yes we married folk, like to share."

We sat and shared our root beer, and he chatted with us as he did some chore work in our vicinity. He realized we were just regular people and warmed up to us a little, then we saddled up and headed out when we finished our soda.

There was an old stone house across the street which he said was initially a stage stop, from the stagecoach days, then it became a gas station, and the widow of "Joe Old Guy" still lived in the house.

We continued north and into the Wildlife Refuge and Wichita Mountains. The first thing to catch my eye was this pile of rocks which looked as though they had been stacked this way on purpose.

I rode about another hundred feet and saw another shutterworthy sight. Scooterchick kindly reminded me that she didn't really want to stop every second minute for pictures. I grabbed this and we rolled on....

I asked Pat if she wanted  to stop at the lake, so we pulled in to Jed Johnson Lake to take some pictures and relax in the breeze. It was pretty warm, about 90F. and even the breeze was warm.

 Jed Johson is an impounded lake and the water was very low at the dam. The depth gauge showed the level to be about 4 ft. Pretty low, but the rains will come soon. 

This is a picture looking from the parking lot at the road we came up to get here. It's a great scooter road in this land of few curves or elevation changes, and we saw a couple sportbikes zipping along while we were here. If you don't mind dodging the occasional buffalo, it's a cool ride, even on a hot day.

Here's a picture of Scooterchick on the path that leads to the steps down to the dam. Finally a little shade. Though the day was warm, it was warmer yet riding in the sun and it was nice to get the jackets off and feel the breeze drying the skin off.

I walked down the stairs and out on the dam to get this picture of the Chick at the top of the stairs. There are several flights of stairs to walk down, and it was easier climbing down than walking back up, but I managed.

This is a picture of the outflow from the dam. Though there was no water going over the spillway it made for a pretty picture, of the creek at the bottom.

Here's the view of the dam and the lake. It has it's charms, but they were somewhat tempered by the climb back up....hahaha.

Her is a picture of my beloved, resting at the top of the stairs. Taking the helmets and jackets off to "take the air" was nice, but we needed to saddle up and head back towards town.

Here is Scooterchick, regarbed and ready to roll. I hurried to get ready before she overheated again. It was warm and we were ready to feel the "breeze past the knees."

We made a quick stop at Lake Elmer Thomas, which marks the boundary of Fort Sill and the Refuge to use the facilities. I saw a picture waiting to be taken, so I took it from a couple of angles. then hoked it up in Microsoft picture gallery to see if it could be improved as the original looked a little insipid in the late afternoon light. Perhaps you could compare and tell me which you like better.

Number 1

 Or Number 2

Well that's about all I have for now, we hopped on the freeway and rode the 10 miles back to town. I had claimed the first shower while we were still up in the hills so I wasted no time in jumping in and rinsing off the dust of the day. Until next time..........

A Tender Tushie Tale

As everyone who has been following our peregrinations knows, the dreaded and long-standing nemesis of riders around the world, the ubiquitous "Monkey Butt", has been an ongoing challenge for myself and for Scooterchick.

My first attempt at remediation had been humorously referred to by myself as the "hillbilly seat mod". I started with 2 seat cushions from the local whatnotery, laminated them with double faced tape and used shrink wrap to attach them to my seat.

This ridiculously shaped and incongruously coloured solution actually served 2 functions. Not only did it provide a softer ride courtesy of the addition of an extra one and a half inches of cushioning, it also gave me about two and a half extra inches of legroom.

The lack of legroom on the Maj had proven problematic on rides of longer than an hour.  The extra legroom was very welcome....but there was still room for improvement.

I wasn't the only one that felt that improvements could be made. When we came across a sheepskin car washing mitt Scooterchick felt this could be an ideal solution.

We started with the mitt, and the first order of business was to remove the elastic cuff.
The stitch ripper and razor knife were quickly called into play.

The cuff having been removed, the next item on the agenda was to rip the stitching down one of the side seams, and thus the glove would be opened to it's full (and "tush sized") glory.

The next chore was attaching the skin to the seat of the scooter. Fortunately the elastic cords the Chick used in her last mod were still on the bike and proved to be just the right size to attach the new skin.

Here's a picture of the new skin on the scooter. It has yet to be "road-tested" for comfort and efficacy but high hopes abound. We intend to test the new farkle tomorrow and I believe the dreaded "Monkey Butt" may have at long last been vanquished.

This will undoubtedly lead to longer, more comfortable and I confidently predict 58.2% more enjoyable rides. Admittedly this is an estimate, but I don't believe I'm being overly optimistic.

Here we have my beloved Scooterchick taking a memorial picture of the newly enfarkled "Miss Vicky" ready to roll.

A full report on the immense success of this modification is to follow. I wish you a cheerful good night.

A Fun Sun Run

Yesterday morning was sunny and warm. I thought I would stroll around the neighbourhood prior to a little ride and take a few pictures. It is usually the case that if you have pride in your surroundings and try to make the place look nice, the nieghbour has cars up on blocks and trash strewn around his yard. This is one of the nicer fall displays visible from the road a couple blocks away.

Out of deference to the poor sod's sensibilities, I won't show you the appalling condition of the yard of the house next door. It is clear that this fellow is just happy to bring a little joy and pleasantry into his little neck of the woods.

As I carried on walking  I spied a tree with what looked like oranges on it. It could have been kumquats I'm not sure, and I was sure that I wasn't walking up on their lawn to take a closer look. 

Depending on their mood it could be a "Howdy-do", or a tail full of buckshot. Discretion being the better part of valour, I continued on after snapping my picture.

A couple blocks later I came to a small lake. This one is called Liberty Lake, and is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. I believe it is spring fed, and also serves as a catchment for runoff stormwater. The city aerates it and stocks it for fishing under 15 or over 65. I took a picture of some ducks,

and some geese, now I know where they go for the winter......hahaha

I will say that one must tread carefully on the sidewalk  to avoid the plethora of Goose Poo. Everytime I see these guys, I can't help wondering how they taste roasted.....hmmmm.

Here's a shot looking from the Goose beach area towards the end of the lake, showing the fountain which aerates the lake itself so it doesn't stagnate.

There were a couple young fellows fishing at the end of the lake, so I inquired about their luck and they said they had 2 catfish and 1 turtle. I looked in the bucket and the cats seemed to be about 10" long. I didn't see the turtle. I have had catfish before, and it's not bad if a bit bland. I cannot report on the edibility of turtles however! Here's a closer look at the fountain at the south end of the lake. Quite pretty.

Heading back to the house, we got ready to head out for a little ride. Scooterchick has done a "hillbilly seat mod" to her scooter similar to mine in an effort to improve comfort and legroom. Time for a shake down cruise. Here she is garbed and ready to roll.

First  we had to partake of a little sustenance. Where better than to head down to the mall and hit up Charlie's Cheesesteaks. Yeah, I know the only real cheese steaks are in Philly, and Charlie's seem to get a little skimpier every year but there you go.

We decided to ride out to Geronimo, a town named after the legendary Apache warrior. there are 1282 people in Geronimo, and judging from the look of the town many of them are infrequent residents. I think we saw a half dozen people while we were there, and some of them we saw twice. We had put a little seafoam in the tanks for good measure and filled up on the way home.

Here's an on-the-road picture of my beloved. I had pulled over to take a picture of some Pampas Grass at the side of the road, and couldn't resist a pic o' the Chick. Here by the way is the grass in question.

So ended another nice little outing. I would show you pictures of Geronimo, but there wasn't anything picture worthy there. Sad but true. In the evening we went to a local coffee house where our daughter was singing. She was all the way on, and she can sing! The other guys backing her up....not so much!

So I sign off for the nonce, wishing you a pleasant evening.