WGreiner

Last year I really enjoyed the 2 legs I was captain on. Going from Kansas City to Castle Rock was long and hot but I had some great company. The help I got from Rick, Craig, and Tom made a difference. The only complaint I have is the cost I incurred and the heat. Of course Colorado was beautiful and Kansas was dry. Don't take me wrong if there was a fund raiser tied to it then I certainly don't mind expense but I spent over 2 thousand and most of the people we met knew nothing of it and there was no publicity to speak of from VMC and none from Victory. 600 dollars of that was my fault as I borrowed a Victory from dealer that subsequently suffered damage by this idiot along the way and I agreed to pay to fix, which they did at cost. When the dealership and I contacted Victory about their support they said their only sponsored event in that area was the AVR a week prior. I am hoping the Victory OCTANE is as good as it looks but not sure I could do that many miles on it. Last year I rode from Cedar Rapids Iowa to Castle Rock via Kansas City both ways. And my Indians are not an acceptable/approved VMC mode of transportation. :) Wayne

Thank you for the list. From somebody who needs very little excuse to ride I will look forward to visiting! What do you think Dave Anderson let's make some plans... Wayne

Rob/Dan , If you need some help in any part of this Leg, please let me know. I have that day and the one before off work. Wayne

I rode with the group from Kansas City to St Louis. I really enjoyed it and plan to do the St Louis to Kansas City this year.

Tom, I have your bag so please plan accordingly, I'm excited about this next two days. You know how much I like to ride.

Rob, Sorry for some reason I thought you were out of the Omaha area. You are sending shirts to the Overland Park area? Will they also be coming with the Kansas City group? We will be in on Friday and can pick some up if needed as we are riding a Cross Country tour and Cross Roads. Troy mentioned he could carry some also. Wayne

Rob, I can buy some to support the cause and take some to sell. Since I am taking a Friend with a cross country tour we should have some extra room. I will be getting to Kansas City Friday. Can we meet up somewhere between Cedar Rapids and Kansas City? Wayne

Of course most of you know that I am riding either a Victory Highball, Indian Roadmaster or a Indian Scout. Of course my wife's Spider is always an option. McGrath Powersports or the combination of management, Sales and Service decided they would not see me again if I attempted this V2V on the HiBall. The Indians were out of the question as I would never ask nor ruin the integrity of the Victory bike escorting the baton. So McGrath has offered me the use of any of their Victory motorcycles. I went next door to the used sales building and found a really cool Red (is there another color) like new Crossroads. So they sent that beauty to service to make sure it runs like a top. Good Dealership all the way around. Wayne

Yes Charlie it will be good to meet. One thing I am sure of......they have some good people that ride these bikes. So many have helped so much. Being up here in Iowa makes this task of being Captain in an area you don't know pretty rough. But I had alot of help and I truly appreciate it. I am planning on doing this for the long term as I have met good friends some of which I have yet to meet...I know that once I ride it and experience it things will go better the next time. Wayne :chpr

Leaving from Pear Tree Inn @ 0800. (head towards Gage Park) Take US-50W/I-435W to K-10W. Take US-59N to US-40W (which is also W 6th St.). Take US-40W to K-4South then to I-70W/US-40W. Take this to the Veteran’s Memorial. Relax Stop @ Topeka Gage Park Veterans Memorial (635 SW Gage Blvd., Topeka, KS 66606) at about 0930. After Gage Park stop, get back on I-70W/US-40W towards Junction City, KS Pick up Old U.S. 40 hwy at exit 295 (I-70W/US-40W) in Junction City, KS Gas stop @ Abilene, KS – several to choose from Lunch stop @ Abilene, KS – Ike’s Place Bar and Grill (85 miles; 1 hr 12 min from Gage Park) 100 NW 14th St., Abilene, KS 67410 (On Old U.S. 40) V2V Hotel stay is @ Fossil Creek Hotel & Suites,1430 S Fossil St, Russell, KS Dinner is @ Fossil Station Pizzeria & Pub (adjacent to the hotel). A very HISTORICAL site is being added to the ride! As far as I know, this site has not ever been visited on the V2V on the Veterans Leg. This will not add more than 15 minutes to the ride. The site honors all branches of the armed services and POW-MIA's. Plus there is a memorial that is very hard to believe to be found in Topeka, KS. I would guess 80% of the people living in Topeka are not even aware of this landmark. For those of you close enough to meet us, I will post an easy spot for us to find you, and easy for you to find on the East side of Topeka. We'll definitely take pictures to share with others. I am sure future Veterans Leg Captains will include this site on future rides, it is that cool. A special thanks to Troy and Tom who without their help I would still be wondering where in the heck is RUSSELL KANSAS.

Hoping you got a discount. Looking forward to meeting you. We have 4 bikes so far.

Thanks Tom. I have heard that the hotel is nice. I guess I need a head count. If you are thinking of going on this leg. Wayne

Well it looks like we are getting closer to finalizing this leg.I have been waiting for the hotel manager to get back Thursday so I can attempt to get better rate. For now the rate is 89.99 with some discounts available. The information on the hotel is listed below. PLEASE MAKE NOTE THAT WE HAVE CHANGED THE ENDING CITY FROM WILSON KANSAS TO RUSSELL KANSAS. Fossil Creek Hotel and Suites 1430 South Fossil, Russell, KS 67665 AAA and AARP rate: $84.99 Regular rate: $89.99 1.785.483.4200 I will be finalizing the regular rate and should be posting them Thursday night. We will depart the Pear Tree Hotel at 9am. The information on the Pear Tree is listed below. Pear Tree Hotel in Overland Park KS 10951 Metcalf Avenue Overland Park Kansas 913.451.0200 please let us know if you will be With a meeting setup for dinner and Baton exchange to be held at the Pear Tree BBQ. For more information please refer to the thread for the St Louis to Kansas City leg #7 Any comments or questions feel free to contact me.

We are going to go to Russell Kansaa and shorten up the ride for the next leg. 246 miles will be fine and like Troy reported there are more options available. I want to get Robs Ok on everything and then will post it tomorrow on Memorial Day. Thank you for your patience and look forward to having any riders join up anywhere along the route. Wayne

Thanks Troy and all the other Bob, Tom and Rick that have helped out. I need to get ahold of Rob and see where we are at with a leg Captain and get the reservations taken care of. Russell is where I am going to set up the hotel and meeting as that will shorten up the distance for the next leg Captain. I'm on vacation the following week and we will get the baton where it needs to be. Again thanks again to all who gave me so much help and offered help should I need more. Exactly what makes VMC such a great group of people.

Robb, I guess I am not sure of which end of the leg I need to set up for the people needing a room and a dinner. Wayne

Ok I rode last year with the St Louis Group from Kansas City going the other way but what the heck. You have a captain if you will accept me.

Read my post in the leg 8 section. I'm sure I can help I was also told by the dealer maybe he can let me push them at our booth at Bike Night. To bad I did not have them before this Thursday bike night. Oh well . Wayne

Of course most of you know that I am riding either a Victory Highball, Indian Roadmaster or a Indian Scout. Of course my wife's Spider is always an option. McGrath Powersports or the combination of management, Sales and Service decided they would not see me again if I attempted this V2V on the HiBall. The Indians were out of the question as I would never ask nor ruin the integrity of the Victory bike escorting the baton. So McGrath has offered me the use of any of their Victory motorcycles. I went next door to the used sales building and found a really cool Red (is there another color) like new Crossroads. So they sent that beauty to service to make sure it runs like a top. Good Dealership all the way around. Wayne

Possible lunch stop: …if taking the US-40W route… FYI, Oakley, KS to Sharon Springs, KS is part of the Kansas Historic Highway (53 mile route) Stephens Restaurant (approx. 165 miles; 2 hours 40 minutes) PO Box 202 Sharon Springs, KS 67758 Several options in Colby, KS (the I-70 route) – approx. 134 miles; 2 hours 5 minutes Goodland, KS (the I-70 route) – approx. 169 miles; 2 hours 26 minutes On The Bricks Café Crazy R’s Bar and Grill McDonald’s/Dairy Queen/Subway Westport Grill Double Barrel BBQ Buddy’s BBQ Gas Stop options (choices available depending on what frequency to stop): WaKenney, KS (exit 127) – approx. 57 miles Quinter, KS (exit 107) – Conoco and Sinclair - approx. 77 miles Grinnell, KS (exit 85) – Cenex – approx. 99 miles Oakley, KS (exit 76) – Shell – approx. 108 miles (this is also the exit to decide if staying on I-70 or taking US-40 Original Victory Highway) Gas stops (if continuing on I-70) Colby, KS – (exits 53/54) – approx. 131 miles Casey’s General Store, Love’s Country Store, Pilot Travel Center Goodland, KS (exit 17) – approx. 167 miles – Conoco Travel Shoppe Kanorado, KS (exit 1) – approx. 183 miles – Cenex (last gas stop before crossing into Colorado) Burlington, CO (exit 437/438) – several options Stratton, CO (exit 419) – Cenex and Conoco Siebert, CO (exit 405) – Siebert Travel Plaza Flagler, CO (exit 395) – several options Limon, CO (exit 359) – TA Limon Travel Center, Phillips 66, Flying J Fuel Stop, Shell Gas stops (if continuing taking US-40) Sharon Springs, KS – Mitten Truck Stop plus a couple others – approx. 53 miles from Oakley, KS Arapahoe, CO – Sinclair – apprx 76 miles from Oakley, KS Cheyenne Wells, CO – has a couple options Hugo, CO – Loaf n Jug #68 Limon, CO Again I need to thank Troy, Tom and John who helped me so much in getting this done. I found out that it's the ride that's easy it's getting everything set up that makes you wonder if there really is a place called Castle Rock. Thanks to all and l am looking to having a good time.

Charlie look forward to riding with you. If you need anything let me know, I'm reviewing both threads and compiling them into one message in each thread. Wayne

Borg, Not being one for recognition who will be the 2nd up on your bike?

Well I thought I had written a post here to,you Troy but your email works perfectly as we will be taking the Kansas City leg to Russell. And I look forward to meeting up with you there and we can continue on to Castle Rock. Did you find a motel in Russell. I was given some suggestions from the guys at Vito but if you can find one near 70/40 that works. I certainly don't want to overstep here and sound rude but I have to walk that youngin of mine down the aisle and entertain in laws for 3 days then I'm free to lock stuff in. So if you could kindly help out an ex Air Force Victory riding guy and find us a hotel I would be beholding. I will be checking this always on my phone but I have no issues with you making Contact with a motel and if it sounds good to you it will be damn good for me. if you so chose to do that please let me know and I will get it posted in the Kansas City to Wilson (Russell) #8 thread. Please don't feel obligated as I can certainly get it done Sunday. Of course I won't tell you I am also an FFL holder and could bring along some of that precious 22 or 9mm for that smith. :chpr

And I'm guessing you will either be meeting up with me or riding with me out of Kansas City.

Thank you and you have already been alot of help. I will get started on all,of that tonight. I am marrying my daughter off next Saturday and getting ready for that has slowed me down some. I was not to worried about the lack of scenery, In Iowa all we see for miles is corn. Having company along is always welcome. I will accept the McDonalds suggestion as golden and that will be a stop For a break and gas. The Victory I own is Hiball. I traded my CCT for an Indian Roadmaster as it is shorter and easier for my short legs. The General Manager was just a salesman when I started buying bikes from Mcgraths and he is a good friend. Should be that was eleven bikes ago. Anyway knowing I can't do the V2V on an Indian they are going to let me pick one of their Victory bikes. When it came time to thinning the herd so to speak it was not going to be the HiBall but it has caused some moments when I'm riding long distance and showing up to Victory event on an Indian. :) Again Thanks for the help