Mike’s ride report for the 2024 Flint Hills Stampede. Early forecasts had indicated that there could be a repeat of last year’s wet weather. That was not to be! We had wonderful weather and a record crowd ready to ride!
First things first – a huge thank you to Roger and Jacqueline for their work in putting together the event. Events like this don’t just happen! It takes a lot of planning and coordination. Thank you! Next are all the other ride leaders that stepped forward. With the number of leaders we had, riders could be paired down into really nice sized patrols.
I had an intermediate level group of riders, and the route was perhaps 70% all-weather gravel and 30% minimum maintenance roads. Among the group was; James (KLX400), Mack (KTM 690), Robert (XR 650L), Robert (KTM 690), Jason (Yamaha Super Tenere 1200, Keith (Honda VFR 1200X), Doug (Suzuki 650), and the sweep rider was Nick (KTM 790). With myself included, there was nine of us to begin the day.
We left Beaumont to the north and then turned east with a nice mix of some minimum to moderately maintained roads mixed in. At about 25 miles we arrived at the Severy convenience store where we bought gas and made sure everyone had plenty of water. From there we moved south of US-400 and turned east again. I previously posted pictures of us at the low water bridge for Fall River. It was clear, if we had been just a few days earlier we would not have crossed the bridge. There was debris on the bridge and still a slight amount of water running across the bridge, but not hazard.
I was beginning to smell the hamburger and fries at the Tri-Mee Drive-In in Fredonia. They were very good, and we had a great conversation over lunch. We did, however, lose one rider at lunch. Kieth had lost a pannier from the side of his bike and so he set out to find the missing luggage. He was successful, but was unable to rejoin us.
After lunch we took a quick trip to the top of South Mound where the City of Fredonia has a park and a notoriously large American Flag flying proudly above the community. Thank You to Fredonia.
Leaving Fredonia, we turned south and west as we began our return trip. We stopped at a shady spot along road 26 for a break and we began to anticipate the final obstacle to the journey. After the stop there we made our way into Howard. No one needed fuel or supplies so we kept moving.
We arrived at the final minimum maintenance road of the day. It begins as Turkey Rd. and finishes at US-400 as Blodett Rd. The GPS said we were 16 miles from Beaumont. As we made our way through, we became very spread out over this rough terrain. Not far into this last leg, Jason riding the biggest bike I the group had fallen over and decided that he would back track to a better road and meet us back and camp.
As I brought us out to the junction with US-400 and a scant 2 miles from Beaumont, I had four riders with me. We were missing James and Nick. Shortly, I received a call from Nick. James had gone down, and I needed to return. They were about 3.5 miles back. I sent the remaining group on into Beaumont, and they said they would remain “on call” should we need to retrieve a bike or rider. When I arrived back at the location. It was clear James was in pain and would not be able to ride out. I called Mack who offered to bring his 4-wheel drive truck and additional help. They arrived and we loaded James in the truck and Mack rode James’ bike back to camp.
Once at camp, Randy (certified EMT) did some initial observations and they decided to drive James to the nearest hospital. At that time there was only speculation as to his injuries.
The Postscript is that on Sunday afternoon I spoke with James by phone. He was still in the hospital at that time but anticipated release on Monday. He sustained 6 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a broken collarbone. In spite of that his spirits were high, and he said he would see us at next year’s Stampede.
Many thanks to Mack and Robert for returning with the truck. Many thanks to Randy for his medical assistance and transport to the hospital.
Although James sustained some serious injuries – this event ended well because of great teamwork. That’s part of why I enjoy this community so much. We know no strangers and we are willing to help whenever needed. Thank You!
James, get well soon!
Ride Leader – Mike