Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Another ride, another adventure

Yesterday Cliff said, "I think we should go for another ride."  
That surprised me, since we had gone for an extended day trip two days earlier.  You know me, though. I'm always ready for a motorcycle ride!
"Do you have any ideas where we'll go?"  I asked.  
"I was thinking about Arrow Rock."  
I love that ride.  I threw a couple of cans of sardines, a roll of crackers, Diet Coke for Cliff, tea for me, two bananas and a package of cookies in our lunch boxes... and we were off.  
I was a bit confused, though, when Cliff headed south, because Arrow Rock is due east of us.  We do take a lot of back roads, so we don't always take the fastest route... but when we got to I-70, I said, "This doesn't seem like the way to Arrow Rock."  
"I thought we'd go to Warrensburg and browse the aisles of the farm store down there first."  
"Oh."  That's what I said, but what I was thinking was, "Are there enough hours in the day to do all that?"  
When we got to highway 50, Cliff saw how many miles it still was to Warrensburg and decided to forget that leg of our journey.  Here's more or less what the route looked like that he had planned. 


However, when you're on a motorcycle, it really doesn't matter if you get lost or change your mind about where you're going:  It's all about the ride!  I did mention to Cliff when we passed through Marshall that perhaps we should fill the tank with gas, because when we're cruising around in the country, gas stations can be few and far between.    
"Nah, we're all right," he said. 


We made it to Arrow Rock shortly after noon and rode around looking for the picnic area.


Since it was a weekday, we had the place to ourselves.  
As we headed out, I looked over Cliff's shoulder to see how much gasoline was in the tank.


Under the clock that says "1:00", the gauge on the right indicated there was very little fuel left.  There's no gas station in Arrow Rock, nor did we remember passing any after we left Marshall.  Rather than head back the way we came, we decided to ride to the freeway, hoping there was a station at the Arrow Rock exit.


Turns out there were two, thank goodness.  With a full tank, we turned and went back the way we had come.  We hate freeways when we're on the motorcycle.  
And now you know why we call our rides "adventures".  It's a real adventure to be in the boonies with an empty fuel tank.  You'd be surprised how often this has happened to us; so far we've always found a station in the nick of time.  I think I'm going to start insisting we take a can of gas along with us.  

8 comments:

  1. I can't think of how many gas cans I had to buy when I still rode. Nothing spoiled a day out like having to hike five miles with a gas can because I was too stupid to pay attention. **sigh**

    It's probably a good thing they don't let me out much.

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  2. Sounds like such a fun day-makes me wish I could go too : )

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  3. And with the price of gas the way it is, it doesn't take long to get low. I's been over $4.00 a gallon here for over a week now. I keep waiting for it to go down, but I don't think it will!

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  4. Might be a good idea to take a gallon at least with you from now on. That was getting a little to close for comfort. Helen

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  5. Glad you had a good and safe adventure. I had to smile about your post because I too go on adventures with one of my sisters only we don't have a motorcycle.

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  6. The RIDE is what it's all about, indeed. Looks like a scenic route. That gas gage would have bothered me too. My husband is notorious for letting his tank get low on fuel. He's been stranded a few times too. It was NOT fun. Glad you got your gas and finished your adventure with no problems. take care.

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  7. If I had a Golden Wing, I'd be all over the place too. You and Cliff are so lucky.

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  8. Oh don't get excited, us men know what we're doing. Cliff knew you had plenty of gas.
    I just hope he didn't stop and ask directions.

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