What a day...or days

The last 2 days have been a blast. 

We started our day yesterday with breakfast at Panera.  Very good!  Then we went to Justin's dental practice for some work on my messed up teeth.  He pulled 2 teeth and filled another.  What a mess!  My teeth that is...not his practice:)

A little ibuprofen and we were off on another bike adventure.  The riding crew consisted of my older brothers Stephen, Ken, John and my nephew Justin.  Stephen was on a borrowed Kawasaki Meanstreak.   Ken on his V-Rod, John on his V-Star, Justin on his Harley and me on my V-Star.  We took off into the countryside.

Amazing is the only way to describe the ride.  The roads here were built for motorcycle riding.  Lot's of hills that peak at near zero G's when you top them at 70mph leading into blind sweepers.  Turn after turn of great riding. 

We went through Amish country and passed several horse and buggies on the road.  It was interesting to watch a young man about 16 yrs old hot rodding a horse and buggy just like a 16 yr old boy would hot rod a car (albeit a little slower). 

We rode out to a Mennonite restaurant for lunch.  The food was awesome to say the least.  Everyone ordered burgers except me.  I didn't think I would be able to eat a burger with the holes in my mouth where teeth once lived.  I ordered a hot beef sandwich.  I wish I had taken a picture of it.  It was out of this world.  At the bottom of the plate was a slice of freshly made bread.  It was covered with a thick layer of the most tender and flavorful roast beef ever.  The whole thing was topped with a monster helping of freshly made mashed potatoes and gravy.  I will put this place on the I have to eat here again list.

After lunch we hit the road again.  The rally was happening down at the lake so we went to check it out.  To call it a rally is a bit much:)  No venders and a couple of builders.  That was it.  But that's OK.  The riding was awesome, food amazing and the views of the lake well worth the hours in the saddle.  We hung around the lake to watch the bikes ride through for awhile and then headed for the casa.  I was beat tired and happy to get some rest.  We made plans for the next days ride and crashed for the night.

Morning came quickly.  We hopped on our bikes and headed to Larry's Yamaha/Honda to get helmets for Justin's kids.  Headed back to Justin's and loaded the kids on our bikes.  Brandon road the first leg with me.  Brandon is 6 yrs old and loves bikes.  We met up with one of Justin's friends that was to be our guide for the day.  And what a guide.  He took us 60 miles through the most scenic riding you can imagine.  Our destination was Herman, MO (not sure if spelled correctly).  We stopped for lunch at a German restaurant.  I had German brats over sourkrout with a side of German potato salad and applesauce.  Yummy!

After lunch we headed back to Jefferson City.  On the way back Austin rode with me.  He is also 6 yrs old.  In Jeff as the locals call it we stopped at an ice cream shop.  I had a taste of ice cream (OK...maybe a little more than a taste).  After some great peppermint ice cream it was time to return Stephens borrowed bike back to it's stable. 

Just so happens that the stable has all kinds of fast toys.  Hyabusas, GSXR 1000, the Meanstreak, others and a Ducati 999 Testastretta.  The Ducati was absolutely beautiful.  Before you know it I had traded my bike for his Ducati for a couple of hours.  It is Ducati red and prepped for racing.  WATCH OUT MISSOURI!!

Quick jaunt (and I mean quick) to Justin's then headed back out for a little fun on the "Duck".  Let's just say it is fast and handles extremely well.  How cool is a guy that lets you run on his Ducati having only known him for a day.  VERY! 

Now the day is ending with a great BBQ at Justin's, a tour of his property on a Kawasaki Mule and packing our bags for the ride back to San Antonio tomorrow.  I will miss this place but I miss my family. 

Thank you everyone here in Missouri for the hospitality.  For my first long distance bike ride it has been amazing. 

I will update our return trip when we arrive in good old San Antonio.