Muddy backroads in Kansas

unparagoned316 · 08-10-2008, 08:38 PM

This is my second official ride report that I have shared with you FF's. The first was in June when I attended the Flint Hills Stampede in Council Grove. I hadnt been on any decent rides due to work, bike maintenance issues, etc, but was hell bent to ride today!

I had originally planned to travel from Mulvane here in Sedgwick county to Moline in Elk County with a stop in Cambridge. I wanted to do this solely on back roads, and then slab it on the way home. As some of you know, this area got some pretty heavy rainfall in the last couple of days and in some places it was upwards of 4 inches. So I didnt end up making it that far. I did end up tooling around some nasty and muddy roads in Sumner and Butler counties though. Traveled around 80 miles but it took me about 4 hours to do it in! Heres some pics of my short adventure:

The girlfriend took this of me as I was getting ready to head out from my house in Wichita. It was drizzling at the time and I had no rain gear but I was determined to ride! Being wet and muddy and miserable sounds like an adventure to me!

I headed out on 22nd Rd out of Mulvane. The roads are wet, but manageable.

When I got to 42nd Rd, things started to change.

My first real challenge of the day. This mud ran approx 200 yards long around a bend in the river. I dont see how they can call this thing a road! This is a pic looking back the way that I came.

Great view of the swollen Walnut River though.

These Mefo tires sure dont like the mud!

I finally got past that nasty stuff and took a rest on this bridge over the Walnut River. Still on 42nd Rd just east of Hwy 77.

This is 121st Rd between 42nd Rd and 52nd Rd. Starting to really rain now. The temps were moderate enough that I didnt get cold at all though.

When I got to Route 1, my helmet was fogging up so much that I decided to call it quits at this point. Face shield went up and I pointed it towards home. However, while cruising westbound on Route 2 I came upon a road that had a minimum maintenance sign. Bingo! I couldnt pass this up, that sign alone promised adventure! And thats what I got! It turned out to be 101st Rd and I took that North. Here is what greeted me:

Red mud! Imagine that! I was having fun now! But it was short lived. The next section proved to be most difficult. In the second pic I have completed the section and am looking back up the road. Look at the really nasty section on the left almost to the top of the hill and thats where I dumped the bike.

I was in 1st gear, duck walking the bike through that soup when the front tire washed out, throwing me right and almost low siding the bike. I got her stopped but the extreme lean angle and lack of traction on my boots forced us both down. I was able to get it right back up though and continued onward. This was my reward:

Riding on further, I pulled into a small cemetery. Not many headstones out there, and most of them were really old.

Still cruising north on 101st Rd and damn it sure is green out here!

If you go far enough north you will run into an oil field full of these guys. Cruising this oil field was a blast!

I eventually made my way back to Hwy 77 and then took 230th St over to Diamond Rd. There is a neat old bridge back here.

By this point I am worn out from struggling in the mud for a few hours so I just took the country roads west until I hit Rock Rd and headed for home. Thanks for checking out my ride report!

gagnaou · 08-11-2008, 11:23 AM

I miss KS, not the mud though

ajayhawkfan · 08-11-2008, 01:17 PM

Nice RR. I enjoy riding KS. Most don't have a clue how good the riding can be.

Tallboy · 08-11-2008, 01:47 PM

Looks like you made the most out of the situation! Nice RR & pics.

Bake · 08-12-2008, 08:28 AM

Thanks for sharing. There's 3 of us on KLX250's that have looked for that old bridge over the Walnut and didn't find it. We'd for sure tackle this same route with you pretty much any weekend you'd like to have another go at it. Without quite so much mud

. This bridrge looks a lot like one of your pics, it's south of Otis Creek Res. and north of 54.

KCDakar · 08-12-2008, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallboy

Looks like you made the most out of the situation! Nice RR & pics.

What he said...

unparagoned316 · 08-12-2008, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bake

There's 3 of us on KLX250's that have looked for that old bridge over the Walnut and didn't find it. We'd for sure tackle this same route with you pretty much any weekend you'd like to have another go at it.

That bridge is on 101st Rd just North of 22nd Rd in Cowley County. It is just east of the Hwy 77 and Route 2 intersection. Take Route 2 from Hwy 77 eastbound and then head North on 101st Rd from there. But I would love to meet up with you guys and try out the route in some dryer weather. It wont take very long when its dry though, so we may just have to explore some new areas while we are out there! Just send me a PM sometime, and we can schedule a date and time.

And thanks to everyone who wrote comments. I appreciate you all taking the time to read my report!

LaOutbackTrail · 08-12-2008, 11:06 AM

Man, you were just asking for it going through all that mud.... and with slicks too!

Nice pics. Looks like a messy good time!

safetywire · 08-12-2008, 07:50 PM

Unparagon,

Thanks for some great pictures an great ride report! You take it careful out there on that mud riding by yourself... Not sure I'd have tried it alone myself. Real easy to get real stuck out there in the middle of nowhere.

Have your ever tried Pirelli MT21 tires? I run those on my DRZ400 and LOVE them. A lot of Wichita folks run those Mefo tires like you do but the MT21 is real good also.

Question - were you blasting through the mud and powering through throwing up a big roost of dirt or picking your way through it?

GB · 08-12-2008, 07:53 PM

That's some serious mud!! Thanks for the report and pics

unparagoned316 · 08-12-2008, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Granitesun

Unparagon,

Thanks for some great pictures an great ride report! You take it careful out there on that mud riding by yourself... Not sure I'd have tried it alone myself. Real easy to get real stuck out there in the middle of nowhere.

Have your ever tried Pirelli MT21 tires? I run those on my DRZ400 and LOVE them. A lot of Wichita folks run those Mefo tires like you do but the MT21 is real good also.

Question - were you blasting through the mud and powering through throwing up a big roost of dirt or picking your way through it?

Granitesun,

I have not tried the MT21 tires. These tires came with the bike and are still basically brand new. So Im going to continue using them until it warrants changing them. After they wear down, I want to get some more agressive tires, and I was thinking D606 or something similar. Will look into the MT21s though! And I was not roosting through the mud, I was picking my way through it all simply because I was alone. If I were with someone else, it would be a different story! But I was trying to play it smart and reduce the chances of being stuck or injured out there with noone to help me.

deadbird · 08-12-2008, 08:21 PM

That's some greasy mud.
Keep it between the ditches.
-Deadbird

gagnaou · 08-13-2008, 05:44 AM

Not me, but on that ride I had the Michelin Baja tires and I felt that they did much better in the Kansas mud than the MT-21 just my .02

Fun fun fun!

unparagoned316 · 08-13-2008, 09:56 AM

Wow, great pics Gagnaou! Looks like fun!

Keytime · 03-24-2009, 04:05 PM

Nice thread. Found it with a "kansas" search today. Been lurking here for a long time, but just recently picked up a '01 Triumph Tiger and joined.

As for bridges, here's a cool site some may already know about: http://bridgehunter.com/

08-10-2008, 08:38 PM	#1
unparagoned316 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Apr 2008 Location: Wichita, KS Oddometer: 144	Muddy backroads in Kansas This is my second official ride report that I have shared with you FF's. The first was in June when I attended the Flint Hills Stampede in Council Grove. I hadnt been on any decent rides due to work, bike maintenance issues, etc, but was hell bent to ride today! I had originally planned to travel from Mulvane here in Sedgwick county to Moline in Elk County with a stop in Cambridge. I wanted to do this solely on back roads, and then slab it on the way home. As some of you know, this area got some pretty heavy rainfall in the last couple of days and in some places it was upwards of 4 inches. So I didnt end up making it that far. I did end up tooling around some nasty and muddy roads in Sumner and Butler counties though. Traveled around 80 miles but it took me about 4 hours to do it in! Heres some pics of my short adventure: The girlfriend took this of me as I was getting ready to head out from my house in Wichita. It was drizzling at the time and I had no rain gear but I was determined to ride! Being wet and muddy and miserable sounds like an adventure to me! I headed out on 22nd Rd out of Mulvane. The roads are wet, but manageable. When I got to 42nd Rd, things started to change. My first real challenge of the day. This mud ran approx 200 yards long around a bend in the river. I dont see how they can call this thing a road! This is a pic looking back the way that I came. Great view of the swollen Walnut River though. These Mefo tires sure dont like the mud! I finally got past that nasty stuff and took a rest on this bridge over the Walnut River. Still on 42nd Rd just east of Hwy 77. This is 121st Rd between 42nd Rd and 52nd Rd. Starting to really rain now. The temps were moderate enough that I didnt get cold at all though. When I got to Route 1, my helmet was fogging up so much that I decided to call it quits at this point. Face shield went up and I pointed it towards home. However, while cruising westbound on Route 2 I came upon a road that had a minimum maintenance sign. Bingo! I couldnt pass this up, that sign alone promised adventure! And thats what I got! It turned out to be 101st Rd and I took that North. Here is what greeted me: Red mud! Imagine that! I was having fun now! But it was short lived. The next section proved to be most difficult. In the second pic I have completed the section and am looking back up the road. Look at the really nasty section on the left almost to the top of the hill and thats where I dumped the bike. I was in 1st gear, duck walking the bike through that soup when the front tire washed out, throwing me right and almost low siding the bike. I got her stopped but the extreme lean angle and lack of traction on my boots forced us both down. I was able to get it right back up though and continued onward. This was my reward: Riding on further, I pulled into a small cemetery. Not many headstones out there, and most of them were really old. Still cruising north on 101st Rd and damn it sure is green out here! If you go far enough north you will run into an oil field full of these guys. Cruising this oil field was a blast! I eventually made my way back to Hwy 77 and then took 230th St over to Diamond Rd. There is a neat old bridge back here. By this point I am worn out from struggling in the mud for a few hours so I just took the country roads west until I hit Rock Rd and headed for home. Thanks for checking out my ride report! __________________ 2006 Suzuki DR650 2007 Yamaha YZ250F(Sold)

08-11-2008, 11:23 AM	#2
gagnaou Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2004 Location: FLint Hills Oddometer: 1,101	I miss KS, not the mud though __________________ Luc French vacation house for rent! Great riding area! 450 KTM exc 950 Adventure S

08-11-2008, 01:17 PM	#3
ajayhawkfan Rock Chalk Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Kansas City, MO Oddometer: 3,171	Nice RR. I enjoy riding KS. Most don't have a clue how good the riding can be. __________________ "Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper." Thomas Jefferson 2011 BMW GSA Texas Hill Country Badlands and Black Hills Riding the T.W.A.T Photos

08-11-2008, 01:47 PM	#4
Tallboy hiding in the tallgrass Joined: May 2005 Location: out past the west forty Oddometer: 12,332	Looks like you made the most out of the situation! Nice RR & pics. __________________ If worms had daggers, birds wouldn't fuck with them. Todd Snider

08-12-2008, 11:06 AM	#8
LaOutbackTrail Certified Smartass Joined: Feb 2005 Location: Denton, TX Oddometer: 5,009	Man, you were just asking for it going through all that mud.... and with slicks too! Nice pics. Looks like a messy good time! __________________ The Mexican Titty Bar Tour Mexican Non-Adventure-Adventure. Louisiana Outback Trail

08-12-2008, 08:28 AM	#5
Bake adventurer Joined: May 2005 Oddometer: 10,487	Thanks for sharing. There's 3 of us on KLX250's that have looked for that old bridge over the Walnut and didn't find it. We'd for sure tackle this same route with you pretty much any weekend you'd like to have another go at it. Without quite so much mud . This bridrge looks a lot like one of your pics, it's south of Otis Creek Res. and north of 54.

08-12-2008, 07:50 PM	#9
safetywire Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City Oddometer: 424	Unparagon, Thanks for some great pictures an great ride report! You take it careful out there on that mud riding by yourself... Not sure I'd have tried it alone myself. Real easy to get real stuck out there in the middle of nowhere. Have your ever tried Pirelli MT21 tires? I run those on my DRZ400 and LOVE them. A lot of Wichita folks run those Mefo tires like you do but the MT21 is real good also. Question - were you blasting through the mud and powering through throwing up a big roost of dirt or picking your way through it?

08-12-2008, 07:53 PM	#10
GB Mod Squad Joined: Aug 2002 Location: Toronto, ON Oddometer: 53,498	That's some serious mud!! Thanks for the report and pics __________________ ADV decals, patches & flag? Here

08-12-2008, 08:21 PM	#12
deadbird Very Large Bird Joined: Jun 2002 Location: santa cruz,ca Oddometer: 141	That's some greasy mud. Keep it between the ditches. -Deadbird

08-13-2008, 05:44 AM	#13
gagnaou Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2004 Location: FLint Hills Oddometer: 1,101	Not me, but on that ride I had the Michelin Baja tires and I felt that they did much better in the Kansas mud than the MT-21 just my .02 Fun fun fun! __________________ Luc French vacation house for rent! Great riding area! 450 KTM exc 950 Adventure S

08-13-2008, 09:56 AM	#14
unparagoned316 ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Apr 2008 Location: Wichita, KS Oddometer: 144	Wow, great pics Gagnaou! Looks like fun! __________________ 2006 Suzuki DR650 2007 Yamaha YZ250F(Sold)

03-24-2009, 04:05 PM	#15
Keytime Adventurer Joined: Mar 2009 Location: Derby freakin' KS Oddometer: 85	Nice thread. Found it with a "kansas" search today. Been lurking here for a long time, but just recently picked up a '01 Triumph Tiger and joined. As for bridges, here's a cool site some may already know about: http://bridgehunter.com/

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