No Man's Ride - Day 5

Day Five - Pueblo, CO to Dodge City, KS

By the fifth day the MAD crew was running like a well-oiled machine. By 7:30 all the luggage is packed up and waiting outside ready to be packed into the truck. All helmets and windscreens cleared of bug remnants, tire pressure checked, bikes gassed up and ready for riding. Only thing left to do is to ride. At the AM debriefing the riders look over the planned route for the day including possible gas stops and reconnect points.

Day five promises an easy riding day, relatively flat and straight. Not much to speak of in the way of scenery, some farmland and a tree now and then. The group made great time. When talking of lunch possibilities we realized we were only an hour out from the day’s final destination: Dodge City, KS.

Gung-ho on getting into Dodge we rolled east. Outside of Garden City, KS the winds began to pick up a bit, the girls on the lighter bikes were visibly being tossed around, as was Brick on his high profile bike. Jenny cruising? on the marshmallow, (C50T) named for its cushy comfortable ride, didn’t seem to notice the wind as she blew by the group on her way to the hotel. We arrived at the Dodge House Hotel, from the outside sign it looked as if the Dodge House were home to the Hasidic Cowboy, but upon entering, it’s most certainly an extension of the YMCA. The lobby is pretty normal, with the exception of the occasional longhorn-end table and cow-upholstered chair. Upon exiting the lobby you enter the gymnasium, or covered courtyard, ringed by the guest rooms. The courtyard was kids dream complete with a basketball court, a volleyball court, a pool & sauna, a video arcade, and a foosball table. The front desk clerk assured us that the restaurant on site was worth eating at, so we did. Rob and Brick ordered a set of Dodge Balls for the table, the vegetarians wretched and gagged, but all and all they, in their deep fried goodness, were a big hit!

After feeding time the group again split, half to their rooms to enjoy the hypnotic vibrations of the basketball bouncing on the floor and the rest to downtown Dodge City to see the gunfight. Yup, a gunfight right there in downtown, aside from the Applebee’s the old west hasn’t changed much. The museum depicting Dodge City as part of the old west was a highlight, complete with a series of life size dioramas telling stories of the past. Back at The Dodge House Hotel two more oil changes took place, on the SVS and the C50T, both bikes received the full service oil and lube job courtesy of MAD MAPS chief mechanic and the Dave’s.