Day Seven – Another Kansas Crossing

It was only a few months ago that I traveled east across Kansas in crosswinds that almost cured me of the desire to ride. Having never experienced anything like that I was tossed about, blown across freeway lanes and generally pummeled by the fierce wind for hours. With that experience I was mentally prepared for this trip across Kansas which started out in Denver a little earlier in the day than my previous one.

The day started well with me waking up in that comfy bed. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do that day but had not yet set a route so I wanted to take a look at the weather and use that as a guide. I had no idea how drastically that weather check would change my plans!

It was snowing in the Vail area, as it was in Dillon, my intended destination at the end of the day. I checked my itinerary and learned that my hotel had a cancellation policy of 4:00 pm the day BEFORE! At first I was going to say heck with it but I called and they were very nice and understanding and cancelled my booking with no charge.

My next call was to Michelle, my travel agent to let her know what I had done and also to give her the cancellation number so that she could put it in her system. I got her voicemail but I left a message with the news. I also let her know that I would be in Kansas City a day early and would need a hotel; could she see if she could get me in the place we had booked for the next day.

She called me right back and let me know that she had taken care of everything and I was expected in Kansas City that evening at the same rate and everything. If you are planning travel and want to use a good travel agent and have someone looking out for you make sure to book though Michelle. The link to her website is in the menu to the left. She does hotel, air, car rentals, cruises, packages and will even research a destination for you to the extent of finding restaurants, making reservations, booking shows, getting passes to amusement parks, etc.

I came upstairs to grab a quick bite and let my hosts know that my plans had changed and also to thank them for their wonderful hospitality. After a quick shower I got ready for the road (And made Terry late for work!). Terry gave me directions that routed me around the congested freeways in the downtown area and I was very quickly on the interstate headed east.

The weather forecast called for rain along my route so I rolled my eyes at the computer and mentally prepared for a long wet day.

That good night’s rest really helped and covered the first two hundred of the day’s total six hundred in one shot before stopping for gas. At my first stop I met a couple of guys on KTM multi-terrain bikes headed home to Kansas City; they had also been riding in the Rockies and had also been hit by snow the day before except that they came through Independence Pass and later in the day than me and they hit their snow before getting to the top and also had to wipe their visors free of snow. They left ahead of me and a couple of hours later I saw them as I passed a rest stop so I honked and waved, a as I sped past.

A couple of hundred miles later I stopped for gas and grub. I grabbed a quick lunch at Subway, tanked up and got back the road. The day was going well. There was a crosswind but it was nowhere near as bad as last time and I was making great time. Up to this point I had not seen any rain; some dark clouds here and there but no rain. East of Topeka I stopped to tank up and put my rain gloves on because the sky looked pretty threatening ahead. A couple of westbound Harley Davidson Road Kings pulled in and I planned to chat with them a little after they had gassed up; they were wet and I wanted to know how far back the rain was and how heavy, etc. I used the bathroom and when I came out I chatted with them and they let me know that the storm was moving east and the worst of it was already past Kansas City so I would only hit the tail end of it if it had not already passed through the area. As I was getting ready to saddle up the two guys on KTM bikes pulled in and I chatted to them for a little, sharing the news I had just picked up and learned that they would be riding to the east coast in a couple of months so I showed then a couple of good roads in West Virginia if they wanted to avoid the freeway. One of them had a GPS unit with weather radar! Holy cow, that guy was traveling like an airplane!! It confirmed what the Harley riders had told me and I bade them farewell.

The road was wet coming into Kansas City and there were a few sprinkles in the air but it was okay and what made the ride into KC really special was a complete rainbow with the full color spectrum. It has been many, many years since I saw one and I was grinning like a kid inside that helmet. It is the simple and free things in life that make it great!

At the hotel I found that Michelle had made sure I got a ground floor room so that I would not have to lug my stuff upstairs (Told you she was great!). I ate, reluctantly, at Steak and Shake, grabbed a couple of beers from the gas station next door and settled in for the night. Though the weather took my day in the central Rockies Mother Nature did keep things clear for me and all in all it was a good day. I made good time, I was not too tired and the bike ran well. The next day was 200 miles longer so I turned in with the intent of starting out early.