Shades State Park..

Well. the day started off with trees flying down the road!  On our way to breakfast, Saturday morning, I look in my mirror see a pickup truck, followed by a bunch of trees, passing the seven of us as we rode to Elwood for breakfast.  Apparently, a tree trimmer was in a hurry and passed us all --he must have been going eighty miles per hour before he got around us.  The bed of the truck was overflowing with tree branches flailing in the wind!  I mean, we were going the speed limit.  I wish I had taken a picture!

Anyway, seven of us ate breakfast at Richards restaurant in Elwood.  Riding today-Larry Burke on his "new to him" 1993 Honda Helix scooter, "Bumble Bee":

Yeah, scooters rule!

Merle Combs, Larry Miller, John Nave, Art Adrainson, Billy Niverson, and myself, Larry Davis.

After breakfast Larry Miller had to go home to do chores so the six of us rode down to Cicero and over to Crawfordsville, where we stopped for coffee.  We took US 231 south out of Crawfordsville down to IN 234 (a great motorcycle road) and west on IN 234 through Shades State Park:

We then road north on US 41 to Attica where we had lunch at McDonald (of course!).  Merle had to leave us at Attica for a quick ride home.

After lunch, the five of us continued north on US 41 to the windmills south of Fowler, Indiana:

We turned east at Fowler and rode back home.

I got home about 4:30 so I rode about nine hours with several stops-287 miles total.

Roanoke for Lunch...

Only five of us today.  Maybe the threat of rain kept the other riders home or maybe other commitments.  Anyway, it was very hot and windy so we decided to ride to Nick's Restaurant at Roanoke and after lunch we all rode home.  It was a nice ride up and back.

I rode over to Gas City early as I wanted to stop at Staples and pick up some printer paper, which I did.  I rode over to Gas City from Staples and stopped to visit with Phil Smith for awhile.  He was mowing the church parking lot across the street from his house.  I left Phil and went over to visit with Merle and his wife Susan.  Merle got ready to ride so we went down to Jackie's to meet with the rest of the guys.  I led the riders on back roads (county roads 400 and 450) over to pick up IN 9 at Morris Chapel and then north to Huntington and Roanoke.

The five riding today were Larry Davis, Merle Combs, Larry Miller, Charley Thomas, and Billy Niverson.

I rode 96 miles today and it was hot (92 degrees).

Ride to Rantoul..

It was a dark and stormy night--actually, it was a dark and foggy morning when I headed out this morning for Jackie's Restaurant in Gas City.  We decided to eat at Jackie's, instead of riding off to breakfast, to allow the fog to burn off.  Six of showed up for today's ride--Billy Niverson, Larry Miller, Merle Combs, John Nave, Charlie Thomas, and myself, Larry Davis.

I've wanted to ride over to Rantoul, Illinois for sometime so I suggested we ride there today.  Since no one said "no", off we went.  Charlie rode with us toward Frankfort, Indiana but broke off and rode home before we got there.  We stopped at Frankfort's McDonald's for a break and coffee.  We rode to Attica where we ate lunch.  The McDonald's there was packed, as usual.  After lunch we rode the last "42 miles" to Rantoul, Illinois.

I was stationed at Rantoul (Chanute AFB) for two years, fifty years ago (1960-61).  To say the place has changed is an understatement.  The Air Force base was decommissioned in 1993 and given to the city of Rantoul.  Here's a link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanute_Air_Force_Base

I taught missile computer launch control there for the Bomarc missile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIM-10_Bomarc

They also taught maintenance on the Atlas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM-65_Atlas

and Minuteman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGM-30_Minuteman

at Chanute.

Many other technical fields were taught there also, including fire fighting, liquid oxygen production, airframe maintenance, etc.

Very little is left of what was there when I was there, mostly the hangars and administration buildings are still there.  The barracks have been turned into apartments and many buildings are now gone.  My barracks and seven other barracks stood here:

Our chow hall was still there but it used to sit in the middle of eight barracks which are now all gone:

The first place I taught was in one of the hanger annex just behind the grey airplane in the middle of the picture. This display is in the back of the Chanute Museum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_Chanute_Aerospace_Museum

I guess it's true, you can never go home again!  The town of Rantoul has doubled in size, it seems, since I was last there and everything has changed

After a quick visit of the base, we headed back home with a stop in Attica for a break, coffee, and gas.

We were on the road for about ten hours and I got home around five.  The last 10-15 miles I rode in a light rain, sprinkles actually, but didn't get wet at all due to the great weather protection my scooter gives.  I fell in love with my Yamaha Tmax scooter on this trip with 50-60mpg, great weather and wind protection, great ride, great motor, no shifting, good storage, plus easy on and off.  And, I wasn't exhausted after the ride like I always was on my motorcycles.  I'm really happy with it.

I rode 332 miles on a mostly sunny day.  Not too hot and not too windy--just right.  I think we all enjoyed the ride.

P.S.  The "42" miles refers to--if anyone asks me how far away something is, I always say "42 miles".  Because as we all know, "42" is the answer to everything!  Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_%28number%29

What is remarkable to me, is how many times "42" (or something close) is the correct number.  As we left Attica, Indiana heading west into Illinois, I saw a road sign that said "43 mile to Rantoul".  So in one more mile, "42" was correct!

We ate at the Muncie airport..

I led the group to Delaware County Airport (Muncie Airport), Wednesday.  There were nine of us today.  The service was a little slow for one table but the food was good.  A little expensive:

 (click on pictures to make larger)

 Bikes parked out side Kacy J restaurant

.

 Inside Kacy J Restaurant

After eating, seven of us rode to Ohio while Larry Burke when into Muncie to do some shopping and Jack McCain rode home.  Larry Miller left at US36 south of Muncie.
  
Six of us rode into Ohio to Greenville, Ohio where we turned north on US 127.  I saw, as we rode past,  that Anne Oakley and Frank Butler were buried just north of Greenville but we didn't stop.  Maybe next time.

Click on link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Oakley

We had ridden past this large building that's back off the road, several times, and I wondered what it was.  I went home, after the first time we rode past, and looked it up.  It's just south of Celina, Ohio.

  Link here, click on link: http://www.st-charles-cpps.org/

As you can see by the pictures, we rode up to the seminary for a better view.

\

Next, we road into Celina, Ohio and rode along the lake-Grand Lake-Saint Mary's.  We stopped into the at Pullman Bay Restaurant for pie and coffee.

We noticed no one was out on the lake when we rode up and I remembered my friend had told me that the lake was suffering from "Black Algae" (it's actually blue-green in color).  My friend said you can't swim in the lake or eat fish taken from the lake.

Here's a link: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/jul/01/toxic-algae-takes-over-ohio-lake-ar-129349/

and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lake_St._Marys_State_Park

Really sad as it's a beautiful big lake.  All dug my hand and using mule-pulled dredges.  On average, it's only six feet deep.  Part of the problem , I suspect.

Grand Lake St. Mary's

After pie and coffee, Merle was nice enough to lead us out of Celina, (it's tricky) and home.

Riding today-Larry Burke, Larry Miller, Larry Davis, Merle Combs, Jack McClain, Jerry Cole, John Nave, Billy Niverson, and Charlie Thomas.

I rode 212 miles and had a great time.  Warm 85 degrees, little wind, a day to remember this winter!

Click route picture to make large:

P.S.

A little explanation about the GPS Boo Boo.  After reviewing the GPS track I downloaded off my GPS, I see it was my fault.  In order to make sure we go where we want and not where the GPS wants, I enter "waypoints" in the route before loading the route into the GPS.  I have to be very careful with placing the waypoints as I will be told by the GPS to go to that waypoint.  Which it did.  Which I put on the west side of US36, not the east side.  Me cuppa.  I'll be more careful in the future.

Old Truck

John Nave and Merle Combs rode with me to Warsaw to give my extra keys, to my Honda, to Lake City Honda.  I'd forgotten to take the keys there when I bought my scooter.  On the way north we stopped in at North Manchester McDonald's for a break and coffee.  There was an old truck in the parking lot on a trailer.  John wanted to look at it so we walked over to see it.  It is a 1934 Ford truck.  On the back of the truck are two flat-head Ford motors connected together with a truck rear end, differential and all.  There's a big wooden pulley on the right (far) side that a long flat belt goes on.  The owner of the truck said it was his grandfather's and they used it to thrash grain and in the winter he would remove the motor assembly in the truck bed and plow snow with just the truck.  He also used the truck to haul ice.  Pretty neat unit:

(Click photo to make larger)

Ride to Logansport State Mental Hospital..

Well, I didn't lead the group to the insane asylum on purpose but that's where we ended up!

Eight of us left Jackie's Restaurant in Gas City and headed over to The Dutch Cafe across from Grissom Air Force Base near Peru.

Getting off the bikes at The Dutch Cafe and getting ready to "put the feedbag on!".

 (Click Pictures to make larger)

What great food and service they have there!  Jack had the black raspberry pie and Billy had the peanut butter pie.  They both said the pie was delicious!

Jack McClain had to get home so he left after lunch.

After lunch we rode on into Peru and turned west on River Drive (W150S).  We followed the Wabash River west to Logansport.  I like to lead this ride along the river but the road surface is really getting bad.  This is what it looks like:

--Sorry about the shaking video but I was hand-holding the camera.  The bridge we went under goes north to Rochester, Indiana (US 31) and south to Kokomo, Indiana.  Did you see the squirrel that ran in front of me near the end of the video? :)   They always sit still until you get right on top of them and then they run.  You can never tell which way they are going to run.--

I don't have my GPS mounted on my scooter yet so I was navigating by "seat of my pants" when we got to Logansport.  I wanted to find the road that goes along the Wabash river going out of Logansport but couldn't find it.  Merle had taken us down that road before, after I found it by looking at my GPS.  It's tough to find.  Instead, I ended up leading the group to the a fore mentioned insane asylum!  I was afraid to turn in there and ask for directions as I was afraid we wouldn't get out.  So instead, I led the group down IN 25 to Delphi where we stopped for a break and then rode back IN 18 to Converse.  We stopped at The Big Dipper in Converse for ice cream before heading home.

Nice ride, beautiful day, a little windy.  I rode 154 miles.

Riding today was Larry Miller, Merle Combs, Jack McClain, Billy Niverson, Larry Davis, Jerry Cole, John Nave, and Art Adrianson (welcome back Art!).

Warsaw Ride..

Seven of us met at Jackie's Saturday morning.  Since Art Adrianson was there, we decided to eat with him at Jackie's.  I felt bad that we didn't eat with Phil after he rode his riding mower all the way to Jackie's a couple of weeks ago.  I just didn't think about it until later.  I decided, "Not again!"

Bad luck was rearing it's head when Dave Payne had to fill up with air in his back tire before we could leave.  This was after having a new back tire installed some days ago.

Six of us rode to North Manchester where we stopped for a coffee break.

Riding today was Larry Burke, John Nave, Larry Davis, Dave Payne, Merle Combs, and Billy Niverson.

Since we didn't have a ride planned, I led the group from North Manchester to Lake City Honda near Warsaw on US 30. http://www.lakecityhonda.com/   Larry Burke received a telephone call while we were at North Manchester McDonalds.  He had a "bite" on selling his Honda Goldwing so he rode home and the rest of us rode north on IN13 to Pierceton, where we turned west on US 30.

I had seen on The Lake City Honda website that they had a used 2009 Yamaha T Max scooter for sale:

While I love my Honda CBR250R, I'm having a little trouble getting my leg over the seat, especially with the luggage bag on the tail.  Age and all that.  Plus, I'm not all that happy to be eating bugs at my age. Nor am I thrilled to be getting stung by bees (one nailed me in Wabash, yesterday).  I like a good windshield!  There's no way to put a windshield on my Honda.

The T Max is a cross between a scooter and a sport bike--easy to get on and off and with a BIG windshield.  It has good performance (500cc) with gas mileage in the 50s and 60s M.P.G.  I just might trade.

We started to leave Honda in Warsaw when someone noticed that Dave's tire was flat again.  They took his bike inside and he told us to go on without him and he'd wait to have his tire repaired.  I led the remaining four riders through Warsaw and back to Wabash on IN 15.  I was going to take us to Wabash McDonald's but the store was packed so we went over to Wabash Gardens.  Wabash Gardens had the opposite problem as no one was there.  The place was empty.  Billy suggested we go to the "hotel restaurant" so I led the group to Ugalde's in the Wabash Inn where we had lunch.  We rode home after lunch.

I rode 127 miles on a warm sunny day.

P.S.  I rode up to Lake City Honda at Warsaw, Tuesday, and bought the TMAX.  While I was there I asked George Tubbs, the store owner, what was wrong with Dave's tire and he told me they replaced the valve stem, which was leaking.  It's always a good idea to replace the stem when you replace the tire, I guess.

Garfield Statues..Thursday August 4th and 5th, 2011

I needed a project so I got on my bike:

and rode around Grant County to take pictures of all the Garfield statues.  First I rode to Van Buren and the first statue, "Wordly Cat", that's in front of the library:

(Click on all the pictures to see larger versions)

I was puzzled at the "Wordly" part until I realized he was standing on books.  Selling "popcorn" around the "world" part is obvious.

I'll bet I'm not the only one that remembers going to Van Buren and watching the "Aces" play basketball in the gym that was there!

Next off to Upland and the "Scream for Ice Cream" Garfield:

I had a little trouble locating this statue as it's inside the Upland Town Hall.  It's easy to get to as it's just inside the front door. 87 N. Main Street..middle of town.  It should be in front of Ivanhoe's but maybe safer where it is.

Update:  The Upland Garfield statute has been moved and is now located beside Ivanhoe's Restaurant.


After Upland, it's just a short ride to Matthews and it's "Along The Lazy River" statue.  However, due to vandalism, the Matthews statue has been removed for repairs.  It was located down by the river in Matthews.  Hopefully, it will be repaired and moved to an uptown, safer, location.  You can see the Matthews statue at the Grant county link for the Garfield Trail here: Garfield Trail
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Edit 04/25/2012: I've added the "Fisherman Garfield" today. The statue is now located at the Matthews Community Center:

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Next I rode to Fairmount and took a picture of the "Cool Cat" (reference to James Dean, of course) that's in front of the Fairmount Historical Museum:

I rode over to John's Nave's house, who lives in Fairmount, and asked him if he wanted to accompany me on my travels.  He said OK and off we rode to Swayzee and the "Speed King" statue (my favorite) (class of 1957):

The statue stands where the old Swayzee High School building stood (tear in eye).  The score board is from the old, wooden, gym that used to stand about where the black truck is in the background of the picture.  We played dodge ball, basketball, etc. in Phys Ed and I played on the six grade basketball team in that gym.  They built the new gym, now the elementary school gym, when I was in high school.  The score showing on the scoreboard meant life and death for us then! :)  Especially when we played Sweester in basketball! :)

John and I stopped at the Swayzee cafe for pie and coffee before riding on to Sweester.

The Sweester statue, "Rails to Trails" is on the back of the railroad car.  It's to depict a person going off to college with suitcases on the train cart.

Next were the two statues in Marion, the "Fit For Life" statue on 1st Street where Adams Street turns downtown (behind the old Vogel's donut store--tan colored building in the background).  It's located by the beginning of the:  Mississinewa Riverwalk

And last, for the day, was  the "Medical Professional Garfield" in front of Marion General Hospital.

After taking this picture, John and I rode home for the day.


Next day, Friday 5th of August 2011, I rode out to Arbor Trace Golf course to take a picture of the "Love The Links" statue there.  While it isn't one of the "offical" Garfield statues, it sure is nice.  It's made of wood, unlike the others.  It's located just inside the club house:

After Arbor Trace, I rode to Larry Burke's house and while there Billy Niverson rode up in his T-Rex.  

Billy and I rode over to Gas City and the "Big Boom" Garfield statue in front of the Public Library:

Billy rode out to I-69 and I went over to Jonesboro to finish my "picture taking adventure".


"Firefighter" Garfield is in front of the city hall in Jonesboro:

It was a nice way to spend a couple days, visiting with friends and riding around Grant County taking pictures.

Anderson Power Sports Ride..

Eight of us met at Jackie's Family Restaurant for a ride today.  Phil Smith rode his riding mower down to see us off.  After making sure Phil had enough gas to get back home, the other seven of us took off for Chism's Corner (at the intersection of IN 13 and US 22&35) and lunch.

I had planned to lead the guys on a ride around Greentown, and environs, but Billy said he was going to Anderson Power Sports, in Anderson, to order a clutch pack for his T-Rex. I decided we needed to go with him so we could look at all the motorcycles at the store.  I'd never been there before but some of the guys, Larry Burke being one, had bought bikes there.  Off we went to Elwood on IN 13, over east on IN 28 to Alexandria, then down south on IN 9 to Anderson.  The rest of us looked at bikes while Billy ordered his clutch parts at Anderson Power Sports.  They have a lot of outdoor equipment and four brands of motorcycles.

We decided it was time for ice cream, after looking at all those motorcycles, so I led the riders to Gaston and then on to Upland and Ivanhoe's.  The ice cream was great on a hot summer day (95 degrees).  It really wasn't that bad as long as we kept moving and didn't stand outside too long.

We split up for home, after ice cream, and I got home about 4:00PM.  It was a very nice ride and I think we all had a nice time.  Something to remember this winter when the snow is flying! :)

I rode 106 miles.

Riding today was Larry Burke, Larry Miller, Larry Davis (do you see a pattern?:), Jerry Cole, John Nave, Charlie Thomas, and Billy Niverson.

Jerry Cole rode his new (to him) 2006 H.D. Roadking that replaced the H.D. Fatboy that was wrecked.  Really nice bike.

                                                                   Click to enlarge:

Ride video:

Click to Play:

Breakfast at Elwood

So, be careful going over the railroad track on the east side of Elwood!  It's gotten worse!  I came clear off my seat this morning going over it.  We were riding to Richards Restaurant for breakfast.  Merle Combs, Larry Davis, Jack McClain, and Billy Niverson rode down to eat. 

Who should be at Richard's eating breakfast but Larry Burke and his daughter.  They were there with Larry's Christian riding group before going to Indianapolis for a charity "ride around the 500 mile racetrack" event.

Jack went home after breakfast.  I rode north with Merle and Billy, on IN 13 from Elwood, for a couple of  miles and then I turned off east and north on country roads until I got north of Sweester and then turned east for home.

I like to ride out in the country (slowly) and look at the scenery.  This time of year it's interesting to see how the crops are doing.  This spring was so wet that some farmers didn't get their crops planted until late and a few fortunate ones got theirs in early.  I saw some field corn over by Swayzee with ears on it that had silks out already!  But some corn is only three feet tall.  It's been a weird spring.

Montpelier..

Merle lead us to Montpelier were we ate at "Uncle Leo"s Cafe":

We then road over to Warren where Larry Burke led us along the Salamonie River on Belleville Road.  We left the river, after a few miles, and road up near Huntington where we picked up Division Road south of Huntington.  We road west on Division Road over to Andrews and then west on East Blue Star Hi- way to Lagro.  Out of Lagro we rode "Old 24" to Wabash.  After having a cup of coffee at Wabash Gardens, we rode home.

Riding today: Merle Combs, Larry Burke, Charles Thomas, John Nave, Larry Miller, Larry Davis, and Billy Niverson.

I rode 109 miles and had a pleasant ride in upper 70's temperatures.

Short Ride today..

Only had four show up at Jackie's today.  Merle Combs, Billy Niverson, Jack McClain, and myself, Larry Davis. We left Jackie's at 8:00AM and rode to The Mill Street Inn in Gaston, Indiana.  After breakfast Jack rode home and I rode with Merle and Billy to Portland where I turned off for home.  I didn't want to ride much farther so I headed off home.  I assume Merle and Billy went on to Berne before they rode home as that was the destination.

I rode 103 miles today and that was plenty for me.

No GPS (I'm in between a Garmin Zumo 220 and a Garmin Zumo 660 like I had on the Harley-I miss the MP3 player in the 660).  No pictures as I forgot my camera.  I was late last Saturday morning so I left the house at "0 dark 30" this morning (7:00AM) so I would be there on time and I was half awake.  Merle said we were going to Gaston for breakfast and for the life of me, I couldn't think where Gaston was!

Been Away For Awhile..

I've not blogged for over a month as I lost interest, for awhile, in blogging and riding.  I've traded bikes and that's restored my interest in riding (and blogging follows) so I'll try to record "The Over The Hill Gang's" adventures, again.

We're meeting at Jackie's Restaurant in Gas City, now.  Same time--7:00 AM on Saturdays and 11:30 AM on Wednesdays.

Only five of us, yesterday, at lunch -July 6th, 2011.  Four of us rode to Wabash, after lunch, and visited the Wabash County Historical Museum.  One of the reasons I wanted to go there is Brant's (Wabash Harley Davidson dealer) has a display of old motorcycles there in the museum. It's a nice museum considering how small it is.  Here's a link: http://wabashmuseum.org/

After the museum, we rode out east of Wabash looking for the Canonball Race Track.  The track was a "big deal" back in the 30's and 40's as many races were held there.  It's now called "The Cannonball Motorcycle Club" and they race dirt bikes and four-wheelers.

Here's a link: Cannonball Motorcycle Club 

We found it without too much difficulty but there was a "No Trespassing " sign at the entrance so we turned around in the driveway and left.  Some of us turned around in the gravel with more difficulties than others! :)

Next, I found the  Hanging_Rock_National_Natural_Landmark along the Wabash River.  We got off the bikes and sat in the shade in a wooden deck-like structure that's right on the river.  It is very peaceful there in a pretty setting.  We didn't see a "hanging rock" there, but it was nice place.

I tried to find a McDonald's, on my GPS, near Huntington, with no success, so we rode to "The Country Post Inn" on the north side of Huntington and had coffee and pie.  As it was after 3:00PM we rode on home.

What a nice ride!  I really enjoyed myself and I hope the other three riders did, too.  No camera today so no pictures.

Here's what our ride looked like:

                                              (Click to enlarge)

At lunch today were Billy Niverson (who, along with Charlie, put me on the trail of a cheap cell phone deal), Charlie Thomas, John Nave (who, I think , fell in love with an old truck we saw at the Wabash Museum), Art Adrianson (who's suffering from a bad back and can't ride), and myself, Larry Davis.

I rode 96.8 miles on my new 2011 Honda CBR250R bike.

Ride to Adams Mill

We left Marion at about 11:30 for a ride-to-lunch at Burlington, Indiana.  Eleven of us today for a nice, warm, ride.  We rode IN 18 west to Converse, Bennett Switch, Young America, and turned south on IN 29 to Burlington. 

We dismounted and had lunch at the Dinner Bell:

After lunch we rode west to Adams Mill:

After studying the water going over and through the dam, we rode through the covered bridge that is north of the mill.

We rode west over to Cutler, Indiana and then south on IN 75 to Frankfort, IN.  Upon leaving Frankfort we once again had "separation problems" and somehow lost three of our riders.  We stopped as soon as we noticed but alas, it was too late.  Nine of us continued on until we lost Jack McClain, who had to go home for a previous engagement.  Eight of us continued to Tipton were we stopped at McDonald's for ice cream.  We rode east from Tipton to Elwood and then home.

A map of our trip:

Click on map to enlarge.

Riding today were Merle Combs, Larry Davis, Larry Burke, John Nave, Larry Miller, Jack McClain, Jerry Cole, Art Adrianson, Bill Maynard, Charles Thomas, and Billy Niverson.  The last three were "lost" in Frankfort.

I rode 167 miles and it was warm (90 degrees) and little wind.

Nice Ride to Cammack Station

Eight of us left town on a ride to Cammack Station for lunch.  That's in Cammack, Indiana...  I know, I had never heard of it either.  Cammack is located 2.5 miles north of Yorktown and 2.6 miles north west of Muncie.  There's a restaurant there that looks like a old time gas station with gas pumps out front.  They have a 1940-1950 theme to the place with old gas pumps and globes inside.  Good food and 1950's music playing while you eat.

 Click on picture to enlarge:

 Click on videos below to view on YouTube:

Outside Cammack Station

After leaving the restaurant we stopped at the nearest gas station so Billy Niverson could buy gas.  We left the gas station and rode on in close to Muncie.  Our intrepid leader, Merle, lead us around Muncie and we headed east. At this time Art rode up to the front to tell us Billy was no longer riding with us.  After much palavering, we decided to ride on and see if Billy joined us--he didn't.

Just a gentle reminder:  We should join the ride with a full gas tank and an empty bladder, not the other way round!

We proceed to ride over every road in Delaware County with potholes until we got to IN 36.  We rode IN 36 to US 27 and then on to Mrs. Wicks Pie Store in Winchester, Indiana.  Of course, being old men, we forgot that Mrs. Wicks Pie Store closes at 2:00PM on Saturdays and it was 2:30PM.  We'd been there before under similar circumstances but had forgotten (that's the old men part).  We decided to go back to US 27 where there was a McDonald's to get a cup of coffee and pie.

We rode on to Portland where Dave bought gas.  We came home from Portland on IN 26.


I rode 154 miles.

Riding today was Bill Maynard (a new rider), Billy Niverson (at least part way), the three Larry's (Larry Burke, Larry Miller, and myself, Larry Davis), Art Adrianson, David Payne, and our leader, Merle Combs.

Click on above map to enlarge.


P.S.  Just so you know, you can comment on this blog (I'd really like that) using your Gmail account.  You can setup a Gmail account here: https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount?service=mail&continue=http://mail.google.com/mail/e-11-1162a682c5f753bbc47e48f9cc338a-805a157ddbcce2d189a97de8fa4018ee074af1ac&type=2

Even if you never use Gmail, having an account will allow you to log on to lots of internet sites.

When is it going to warm up!

No one rode Wednesday as it was too cold.  Six of us ate at Gabriel's.  Merle shot this video:

I thought I would add videos to this blog as we ride this Spring, Summer, and Fall.  We'll see how it goes.

Meeting today were Merle Combs,  Billy Niverson, Charles Thomas, Larry Burke, John Nave and myself, Larry Davis.

Hopefully we will ride next meeting but the forecast is not good.

Lunch at Gabriel's

Too cold and rainy for a ride today so we just ate lunch at Gabriel's Pancake House and then went home.

Attending today was Steve Smith, Charles Thomas, Billy Niverson, Larry Burke, John Nave, and myself, Larry Davis.

Most of the world problems were discussed and just so you know, solutions were found for most of the problems!

It looks like we will ride Wednesday as the forecast is for sun!

Ride to Roann

There were nine of us at lunch today. We ate lunch at Gabriel's Pancake House, as usual, and six of us rode north to Roann through Wabash. We rode through the covered bridge at Roann and then headed west on IN 16 to Denver (Denver, Indiana that is!) It was time for a break so we rode to McDonald's north of Peru on U.S. 31. After a cup of coffee, we left the McDonalds/truck stop and rode to the exit where it enters US 31.  The light was red and we must have sit there for 5-6 minutes with no light change.  I tried a "trick" I'd heard about, which was to turn off the motorcycle engine and then restart the engine to get the traffic light to change.  The idea is, that starting the engine over the pick-up loop in the pavement will produce an electromagnetic pulse (current to the starter) that will trigger the pick-up.  I restarted my bike three times ( I couldn't see any pick-up ring in the pavement so I don't know where the rings were) and I don't know if the last time did it or the traffic light timer finally "saw the light" (pun intended) but the light changed.  Meanwhile, Merle suggested I turn right (I was leading the ride) so we could get away from the stuck traffic light.  No sooner I had turned right than the traffic light changed.  So, I rode north to Rochester while the rest of the guys went across US 31 and turned south. I turned around at the first "cross over" and rode south, where we got back together.

On a side note:  I read that some states were passing a law that states if you're riding a two wheel vehicle and you are sitting at a traffic light for over five minutes, if the way is clear, you may proceed.  I believe Indiana needs such a law.  There isn't enough metal in most bikes to trip traffic lights.

Anyway, we rode home on U.S. 31 to IN 218 to IN 19 and home by way of Converse.

It was a nice ride to break the winter chill. It got up to about 60 degrees and with it being sunny, made for a nice ride.

Riding today: Merle Combs, John Nave, Jerry Cole, Larry Davis, Larry Miller, and Charles Thomas.

I rode 91 miles.

                                                                        Ready to ride!

Off For The Winter

I'll be off the blog until next spring.  No new entries until it warms up!

Ride for Pie!

Seven of us rode today for pie!  We rode over to Rachel's Restaurant, at Alexandria,  for lunch.  It's a nice place to eat with good food and prices.  Merle took us on back roads to skirt around Anderson and to eventually get us down ond over to Winchester.  I had to stop once as all the farmers are getting the last of the corn and soybeans out of the fields and they are really raising a lot of dust.  I started sneezing and my nose started running so I had to stop and get it all under control (I just got over a rotten cold so that didn't help).  After I caught back up with Merle we rode some pretty roads toward Winchester.  Daryl stopped to buy gas without letting anyone know so we got separated for awhile.  We finally got back together and rode on into Mrs. Wicks Pie Shop in Winchester.  I had apple-walnut pie (warmed up) with a dip of ice cream on top and a drizzle of caramel syrup over it all.  Yum yum!  Some of the guys had peach pie while others had cherry-berry pie.  It was all good.  After pie, we rode to Portland, Hartford City, and then home.

A nice ride on a warm sunny day in the 60s and 70s.  I rode 162 miles.

Riding today (in order of riders): Merle Combs, Larry Davis, John Nave, Jerry Cole, Art Adrianson, Darrel Royal, and Billy Niverson.

Chism's Corner for Breakfast

We went to Chism's Corner for breakfast, Saturday.  Five of us rode over there--corner of US 35&22 and IN 13.  Saw my niece and her husband in there along with my Great Grand Niece that I'd not seen before.  David Simpson, who I went to high school with, came over and said "hello".  Seemed like "Old Home Week" at Chism's as I saw a couple other people I knew.  We rode from there over to Knox Chapel Cemetery (north east of Point Isabel) to check on my Grandmother's grave (I promised my Mother I'd check on it once in awhile and we were near the cemetery.)  It looked in great shape, so we headed north up around Mississnewa Reservoir and beyond.  Merle Combs and Larry Miller left us at Peru and rode back home as they had things to do.  John Nave, Billy Niverson, and I rode along the Wabash River to near Logansport where we crossed the river and went in to Logansport on Division Road and then High Street.  High Street has many older homes with great architecture.  I really enjoyed looking at the older homes along the way.  We headed north to Rochester and stopped in at The Twiddle Dee Cafe across from the Fulton County Airport.  Nice lunch and nice people run the place. After lunch we rode over to the airport as I wanted to check on a friend that's based there with Parkview Hospital's helicopter.  The helicopter was out on a run so no one was there.  Since the sky was getting dark, we decided to call it a day and head home.  It was a nice little ride.  I rode 155 miles.

Riding today were Larry Miller, John Nave, Billy Niverson, Merle Combs, and Larry Davis.

Ride to The U.S. Air Force Museum

The long awaited ride to The U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio was accomplished yesterday, Tuesday, 14th Sept., 2010.  Seven of us assembled at The Outpost Restaurant for our ride.  Phil Smith came out to see us off.  The seven riding were Larry Burke, Larry Miller, Larry Davis, Merle Combs, Billy Niverson, Jerry Cole, and John Nave:

Here's the route:

Pictures I took:

The guys looking at some of the exhibits.

P-40 Warhawk

British Spitfire

F-22 Raptor

Cockpit of F-117 Nighthawk

P-51 Mustang

We had a really nice ride.  I rode 285 miles and enjoyed every bit of it.  Great weather.  All the walking in the museum got us all tired but still very nice.

Rained out!

Once again we were rained out on Saturday.  Larry Miller and Daryl Royal rode to breakfast but the other four of us drove our cars.  It turned out that it started raining as we ate, so driving turned out to be a good choice.  Before we could eat our wait-person dropped our meals on the floor behind us and gave us a start.  It turned out O.K. as three of the six meals were saved and only three of us had to wait for our breakfast to be made over again.  Of course the three that had meals waited on we three who did not.  NOT! :)

Attending were John Nave, Daryl Royal, Larry Miller, Billy Niverson, Merle Combs, and me, Larry Davis.

It was decided that the group would ride to The National Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio next Tuesday, the 14th of September.  We are going to leave The Outpost Restaurant (IN 26& IN 9 near Fairmount) at 8:00AM.  Anyone wanting to eat at The Outpost should be there at 7:00AM or sooner as "the train leaves the station" at 8:00AM sharp.

We'll ride down US 35 to Interstate 70 and then go east on Interstate 70 to Ohio 4&235 north of Dayton.  We'll then ride southwest on Ohio 4& 235 to Harshman Road.  Then southeast on Harshman Road to Springfield Street where we will turn northeast on Springfield Street to Bong Street then southwest on Bong Street to Spaatz Street.  Then southeast on Spaatz Street to the museum.

About 126 miles and about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

We'll try to stop near Richmond for a bathroom and fuel break.

It should be a "fun ride"!  Hope to see everyone there!

Decatur Hi-Way Airport

Seven of us rode to Nick's Restaurant in Roanoke, IN for lunch.  Nick's is becoming one of our favorite places to eat as they have good food, fast service, and good prices.  After lunch Merle led us over to I-469 around Ft. Wayne and over to roads along the Maumee River.  We had a nice ride along country roads and traveled through Woodburn, Monroeville, and down to Decatur.  I asked Merle to go over to the Hi-Way  Airport buildings at Decatur as I wanted the guys to know about the place.

The Hi-Way Airport, outside Decatur, was a very important airport as many of the famous pilots of the 1930s had landed there on their record-setting coast-to-coast flights.  The airport was owned by Josephine Richardson and her brother.  Josephine was a member of The Ninety-Nines, an association of female pilots.

Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-Nines

Leon Garrett and I flew our Challenger ultralight airplanes there in 2001 and landed.  The buildings are still there but the runway is now a cornfield.  Sad.

The "gang" in front of the old airport building:

Here's some information about the airport and Mrs. Richardson's obituary:

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Decatur Hi-Way Airport serves Decatur and Adams County and is owned by Josephine Richardson. The turf runway extends for 2562 feet. The facility is at an elevation of 842 feet at a distance of about 3 miles east of Decatur.



News-Banner Obituaries, July 1-7, 2003

July 1, 2003

Josephine M. Richardson, 88

Owner and operator of Decatur Hi-Way Airport, Josephine M. Richardson, 88, of rural Decatur, died at 8:15 p.m. Monday, June 30, at Adams County Memorial Hospital in Decatur.

Mrs. Richardson also was a scientific massage and physical therapist.

She was a member of Crossroads Church, Silver Wings, Three Rivers Ninety-Niners and past member of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association.

She was born in Chicago, Ill., to James and Helen Zivider Ivetich. Her marriage on Feb. 15, 1959 and was Alden Wesley Richardson, who died March 15, 1994.

Surviving are one niece and one nephew. A brother and a sister are deceased.

Services will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Crossroads Church in Decatur with Rev. Anthony Stidam officiating. Interment will be in Covington Memorial Gardens at Fort Wayne.

Visitation times will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Zwick and Jahn Funeral Home in Decatur and Thursday at the church for one hour prior to services.

Memorials to the donor's choice.

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I told the guys she was in her nineties but she was 88 years old when she died.


After we left the airport we went to McDonald's in Decatur for ice cream.  We then rode home through Berne (saw the new clock tower but didn't get a picture) and then home through Montpelier.

I rode 166 miles.  It was hot (90 degrees) and windy.  Nice ride, thanks Merle.

Seven who rode were Merle Combs, Jerry Cole, Larry Miller, John Nave, Art Adrianson, Charlie Thomas, and myself, Larry Davis.