Hooterville 400 Ride - May 16, 17, 18 -SOON-

[FJRocket]

I keep reading this thread wishing there was a way i could go!
Have a great ride guys, And take lots of pictures!

What, you want pictures of petey's butt hanging off his FJR? Ugh. :dribble:

Too bad you can't make this one, Adam, wish you could be riding with us. See you at NAFO? :yahoo:

 

[wheatonFJR]

I keep reading this thread wishing there was a way i could go!
Have a great ride guys, And take lots of pictures!

We'll leave the light on for ya if you do come on down... :clapping:

 

[FJRocket]

I wouldn't think we would need to push Saturday's meal back much, if any.

Oh yeah, couple things I forgot.... I have to deal with the time change, so earlier eating is better. The other thing is that if we get to running late, we can exit to 67 and expedite, or just tell the bar we'll be late. Either way, we're good to go.

I wouldn't change a thing. Go as planned!

 

[wheatonFJR]

I wouldn't think we would need to push Saturday's meal back much, if any.

Oh yeah, couple things I forgot.... I have to deal with the time change, so earlier eating is better. The other thing is that if we get to running late, we can exit to 67 and expedite, or just tell the bar we'll be late. Either way, we're good to go.

I wouldn't change a thing. Go as planned!

Hey Rocket,

If yer still "a fussin' wid cher hare" at 7pm...we can send a pretty pink bicycle with a white basket for ya to ride to the bar. We gotcha covered. :clapping:

:lol:

 

[smitty141]

Hey SMITTY! I hate you! You KTM riding POS dawg!
Rode my buds 950 for 175 miles 2 weekends ago..and loved it.

it's all your fault..

back on thread - you guyz have a great ride!

..and Mr. Smit, I miss your FJR posts..

Don, over 11,xxx and counting since the last week in Oct. Still love the big orange bike!!! When are you getting yours??

I think we will just go to the Catfish Kettle after everyone get to town.

I got us a table for 12 for 7pm Saturday @ Crossroads!!!

Smitty

 

[FJRocket]

Hey SMITTY! I hate you! You KTM riding POS dawg!
Rode my buds 950 for 175 miles 2 weekends ago..and loved it.

it's all your fault..

back on thread - you guyz have a great ride!

..and Mr. Smit, I miss your FJR posts..

Don, over 11,xxx and counting since the last week in Oct. Still love the big orange bike!!! When are you getting yours??

I think we will just go to the Catfish Kettle after everyone get to town.

I got us a table for 12 for 7pm Saturday @ Crossroads!!!

Smitty

Smitty's BUYING!!!!!!!!!!!! :drinks:

 

[wheatonFJR]

Hey SMITTY! I hate you! You KTM riding POS dawg!
Rode my buds 950 for 175 miles 2 weekends ago..and loved it.

it's all your fault..

back on thread - you guyz have a great ride!

..and Mr. Smit, I miss your FJR posts..

Don, over 11,xxx and counting since the last week in Oct. Still love the big orange bike!!! When are you getting yours??

I think we will just go to the Catfish Kettle after everyone get to town.

I got us a table for 12 for 7pm Saturday @ Crossroads!!!

Smitty

Smitty's BUYING!!!!!!!!!!!! :drinks:

Watch out...he'll sick ol dogger dave on ya to slap yer mirrors while zippping past.

 

[KSFJR]

Weather is looking great. I should be there by mid-afternoon Friday but will be by myself. Local bud has to work and can't get away until too late. Will be on the FJR this time but hopefully will have a new 990 KTM to ride with the KTM Smitten one the next time.

This is going to be a great summer for motorcycle riding. Get back from this ride and in about a week heading for Alaska with Petey on KLR's then get back at the end of June and leaving a couple of weeks later with WheatonFJR possibly on a KTM 990 for the northern Rockies and some camping and then when he heads to NAFO I may run up to Canada to go fishing or maybe MT and WY. The next month hope to do a big West of the Mississippi ride on the FJR then follow that up in Sep with an East of the Mississippi ride on the FJR and some misc. rides weather permitting.

This fall we'll have to do a combo Dual Sport/camping trip through the Ozark roads. Smitty and I did a Dual Sport ride last Oct. and it was great.

Chester

 

[wheatonFJR]

We'll see you there Chester.

We (IL/IN flatlanders) plan on coming in about 6pm...and if we can connect via phone at Chester, IL... just meet you guys at the Kettle.

:yahoo:

 

[smitty141]

Everyone ride safe today... See you guys later today!!

Smitty

 

[wheatonFJR]

Just got back from Hooterville..others..please post up as well so we know you got back safely.

Hooterville was a good/great riding time for me. :clapping: Great weather, great roads, great food, and great people. :yahoo:

However, we had a sad happening as Chester/KSFJR went down. :huh:

From what I understand, he is recovering in the hospital from some broken ribs and a punctured lung. I don't have any other details. Send your well wishes to Chester. I need to find contact information for him so I can call and send a card.

He went down in the morning just before lunchtime. After a long time during lunch getting word on Chester...some of us finished the ride. Others stayed and tended to Chester's situation. Obviously, it was sad for Chester and those of us that know him...he is such a good guy. Some of us did not let the rest of the good weather and good roads go to waste and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon as best as we could. It was hard to keep focused...but worth it. :clapping:

I will have a few pictures of my part of the Hooterville trip in the next day or so. Others...post up pictures as well when you get a chance.

 

[griff]

Got back from Hooterville about the same time as Wheaton - 5:45. Like that cold wind coming out of the north Wheaton? Had a great time. Chester's unfortunate accident is another reminder for me to ride my ride and not try to keep up with people way faster than me. That's not saying Chester was riding over his head - I don't know what the circumstances were.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Got back from Hooterville about the same time as Wheaton - 5:45. Like that cold wind coming out of the north Wheaton? Had a great time. Chester's unfortunate accident is another reminder for me to ride my ride and not try to keep up with people way faster than me. That's not saying Chester was riding over his head - I don't know what the circumstances were.

Yep,

We don't know the circumstances like you said..so yer right so we aren't gonna be jumping to conclusions. He is a good rider - for all we know he avoided something far worse and did the best possible.

I'm glad you got home safely...it was great riding down there. :clapping:

 

[zzzzip]

Got back from Hooterville about the same time as Wheaton - 5:45. Like that cold wind coming out of the north Wheaton? Had a great time. Chester's unfortunate accident is another reminder for me to ride my ride and not try to keep up with people way faster than me. That's not saying Chester was riding over his head - I don't know what the circumstances were.

Yep,

We don't know the circumstances like you said..so yer right so we aren't gonna be jumping to conclusions. He is a good rider - for all we know he avoided something far worse and did the best possible.

I'm glad you got got home safely...it was great riding down there. :clapping:

PM'd you.

 

[panayoti]

I got home about 6. My route added about 100 miles and several hours but it was worth it.

I was nice meeting everyone.

That was too bad about Chester, hope he heals quickly.

I haven't been able to get through on Petey's cell phone, I hope it didn't meet the same demise as his FRJ hat!

Looking forward to riding with everyone again soon. NAFO ?

 

[wheatonFJR]

My Hooterville trip pictures...

Friday - the Ride down... 500 miles

on the way...finding a little road through farmland, just north of Martinsville, IL

meeting griff and FJRocket near Moonshine, IL at the famous(?) Moonshine Store for a cheeseburger

In Chester, IL (home of the creator of Popeye) ....along the Mississippi River

Saturday...day of the ride...375 miles

route- EDIT - for general info only. The actual route differed from this route slightly.

getting prepped for the ride at the Super 8 in Hooterville

definition of fun: finding your tire has 11 psi and a nail 10 minutes before kickstands up :dribble:

Bixby, MO gas stop

Smitty

dogger dave (R6 rider) and Smitty with his KTM

some of the gang at Bixby...

(L-R...petey, Dogger Dave, Chester/KSFJR, Paul/paniyoti, Smitty, Smitty's other brother Daryl(sp)

After Chester's accident...I wasn't in the mood to take any more pictures of the ride. I did take a couple on the way home on Sunday

Sunday - the Ride home...500 miles

Winfield Ferry across the Mississippi...north of St Louis

At noontime...we stopped for gas...and I was needing some lunch...so against Rocket's better instincts we stopped at "The Friar Tuck" restaurant in downstate Illinois.

In honor of Chester (KSFJR), I rode all the way to Kansas on my way home from Missouri.

Finally, my last gas stop in Kankakee, IL...back to reality and gas sticker shock :dribble:

Hope you feel better soon Chester.

 

[petey]

Got home about 7:00 pm Yesterday, was on some great roads and had a good time. Sure shocked me to hear about Chester....he called me this morning and was in pretty good spirits, considering. Unfortunately, this puts the kabash on the AK trip, but I'm thankfull that Chester wasn't hurt worse and hope he'll heal quickly.

Paul, I did get your message when I stopped for gas....all I lost was my FJR cap.

 

[dcarver]

Uhh, Excuuuse me, Mr. Smitty? What the hell is on the front of that dirt bike of yours?

..[SIZE=8pt]a street pussie tire?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Geesh dude..

[/SIZE]

ps - love the flyin' petro emblem... last time I saw that, gas was .99 per gallon. :angry:

Edit - Chester, dude, heal up.. glad to hear you're still with us. Med up, mend up, come back twice as strong.

 

[FJRocket]

I got home around 3 yesterday. Bright blue skies for riding all weekend made me wonder why my electricity was off. :blink: Decided to take a nap and wait for it to come back on. Woke up about 7, I guess, when it came back on. Weird.

With the exception of Chester's mishap, it was one of the best riding weekend's I've had. The weather was nearly perfect, and the roads were washed clean by all the rain we've had over the last months. Traffic everywhere all weekend seemed to be very light, and down south of Hooterville traffic was practically non-existent. Couldn't ask for better conditions over all.

Friday was actually my first time to eat a Moon Burger at Moonshine, IL. Not bad. The ambiance was... eclectic? From there, Wheaton, Griff and I zigzaged through southern Illinois over to Chester to cross the river. We made good time, despite hitting several small town school zones just as the buses were getting out. But the roads were great, albeit mostly straight until we made it to the route changes suggested by Griff. Those county roads we ended up going into Chester were really fun... and curvy!

Saturday was kickstands up at 8. Fortunately Griff found that his tire pressure was down due to a nail. He plugged it with a gooey string and we were off in a matter of minutes. The route was the same as last year, although the stops were changed a little. Most of us had ridden the route together many times, some fast, some slow, so we got spread out a bit. Regrettably, that's when Chester went down. He was between the faster group heading for lunch and the slower group smelling the roses (or barbecue). I had that ominous feeling when two troopers and an ambulance went by the opposite direction, but shook it off quickly and pressed on just another mile or so to the lunch stop. We figured that Chester laid back to let the back of the pack catch up. Everyone was sort of shocked at how fast the police and ambulance reported to the scene because we weren't all THAT separated apart. Fortunately, some good Samaritan put in the call and the responders were on site in just a few short minutes. Kudos to the troopers and ambulance crews at Doniphan, MO!

After a quick, subdued lunch, part of the group split up. Smitty stayed with Chester, a couple guys went on home. The rest of us pressed on in a more sedate mood. The pace slowed and after about another 100 miles, we all decided to cut the ride short and head back to the barn. So the Hooterville 400 was closer to 375. We decided to quit while we were ahead, and take it easy.

Sunday AM, Wheaton, Griff and I were heading back for the flatlands. We decided to do my "Ferries" route. It was simple, head up 47 all the way until it ends, then ride across the Mississippi on the Winfield ferry ($4) and then across the Illinois on the Kampsville (free) ferry. The ride up 47 was actually quite nice. Mostly rural, not straight and small hills and hollars. Even at the north end it wasn't bad, not nearly as boring as I thought it would be. And it was fun riding the short trip across the rivers on the ferries. The ride between the ferries was on what we like to call "farm roads". Considering the territory (kind of a peninsula between the rivers), I'm surprised the roads weren't dirt. Do I hear banjos playing? :blink: Wow, now that area just east of the Winfield ferry is RURAL! And the rest of the ride after the ferries was typical Illinois roads. We stayed on the state highways and forged through the open ground with a pretty stout quartering tailwind (for me, anyway). It was a really nice ride home in partly cloudy, cool weather. I had the easy part, Wheaton and Griff had to turn into the cold wind and go probably another 150 miles or so. I was glad that when Griff and I split, I only had about 1 mile. All in all, though a great three days of riding.

Feel so bad for Chester having gone down. I'm certainly glad to hear that he'll be back up and around again pretty soon. Going to suck to be him for a while though. I can imagine it's going to be weeks of painful breathing and movement. OUCH! Goodbye to what's left of his FJR. Chester, now you REALLY have a good excuse to get that 990!

Heal fast and well, Chester. Hope you get up and around for more riding yet this summer. Maybe you'll make it to AK yet this year!

 

[zzzzip]

I just talked to Chester on the phone. He sounds in good shape, all things considered. About talked my leg off, if that is any indication.

He doesn't remember what happened. He did say maybe dying may not be so bad... he remembers everything went black; no light at the end of the tunnel thing.... I'll take his word for it.

He is making plans for a KTM990.... so forget about sending memorials for now. <_<

B)