December 27, 2003 - Unseasonably mild weather was all we needed. Nine riders gathered in Cassoday, KS at the 'Cowboy Cafe' (frequented by real cowboys .... huge breakfast at a modest price) for a great day in the Flint Hills of Butler, Greenwood and Chase counties. Riding KLR650s were: Jeff Edgar - Louisville, KY, Dennis Murray - Conway Springs, Kenny Houk - Wichita, Jeff Gilliland - Wichita, Joe Blanchard - Topeka, and Roger Baugh - Wichita. Brady Allensworth of Wichita rode his BMW 1150GS, Steve Starkel of Wichita rolled in on his Husqvarna TE610E, and David Hemphill of Lawrence rode his V-Strom .... well suited to the roads we chose. Riding east of Cassoday, we traveled to Teterville to see the wild horse herds found south of Teter Rock. We then rolled north to Texaco Hill, to enjoy the views from the headwaters of the Fall River. Meandering through Chase county, we worked our way northwest to arrive south of Matfield Green and back to pavement. The entire time we were off-pavement, we encountered zero automobiles or trucks .... so had the backroads entirely to ourselves. The entire area had a six to eight inch blanket of snow only two weeks prior, so it was a remarkable late December day. Nearly two-hundred miles of riding this day. A comfortable pace and frequent stops was just what the doctor ordered for those of us suffering from "cabin fever." (Kenny was so relaxed he actually took a quick nap on Teter Rock ... see below) Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image. Use your browser's "back" button, or the "left" arrow in the navigation bar to return to this page.

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