Friday, July 17: The first part was getting unwieldy, so Part 2 will cover the trip home. I was up before 6 this morning just in time to see the sun rise over the Walmart across Jefferson Ave. in Indianola.
After a full breakfast at the Pommier I loaded up the bike and was on the road heading south on US 65/69 just a few minutes after 8. I followed a combination of the notes on an index card that I’d written, the GPS, and my map - south on 69 to Osceola, then I-35 for 20 miles to Decateur, then NE 2 east to Bedford and US 148 southeast to Hopins and NE JJ east to US 71 south to my old friend US 136 east. A note on the 20 miles of JJ: This is a well-maintained roller coaster of a road that goes by farms with blind corners, hidden driveways, and gravel from those driveways in many of the corners. A lot of fun but quite dangerous.) I chose the slightly out of the way 136 to my destination for the night because I like 136, which is a little-traveled and scenic road that follows the path of the Republican River although you never actually see the river. Mainly, though, I wanted to stop and visit the Montz Motorcycle Museum in Tecumseh, NE, which is only open from 10-4 on Friday and Saturday. When I arrived at noon I was distressed to see a closed sign and one of those “will return at” signs with a clock indicating 1:30, by which time I’d be long gone. However, there was another sign saying to call the number below, which I did and Bill Montz said, “Don’t go away. I’m done with lunch and I’ll be right there.” which he was after about 10 minutes. He’s an old guy like me (older, even - he’s 84) and very enthusiastic about his collection, which he was proud to take me thru. There are maybe 60 motorcycles on the floor and another dozen or so smaller machines on shelves on the walls of the three 20 foot buildings that make up the museum. Every one of the bikes has a story and I heard most of them from Bill.
He has two machines that were purchased from the Steve McQueen estate in Las Vegas back in the 20 teens, a French Peugeot and an American Henderson with a sidecar.
The pink sheets in the frame are the bills of sale for the machines.
And, finally, an Art Deco Harley VL (flathead) from 1936. Note the design on the tank, the horn, and the paint design on the front fender.
Back on the road after an hour and a quarter, I continued on US 136 west and began looking for a place to eat. Many of the small towns are open for breakfast and lunch until 2, and then close for the day, or ones 5 when they open for dinner. Beatrice, NE is a sizeable town and I thought that I could find a place that was open but no such luck. I stopped in front of a bar, The Rail, where a guy was smoking outside an asked him if there was a place that was still open for lunch, and he said to come in that there was a kitchen inside. Well, there was but it closed at 2, but the lady behind the bar called ahead to Michael J’s down the rode any they were open, so I went there and had a late lunch, but not before snapping a picture of the behind-the-bar scene at The Rail, where a surprising number of people were day drinking at the bar and at tables.
My other mission on US 136 was to stop in Red Cloud, NE and discover if it had been revitalized since the last time I saw it a few years ago when it was looking very worn. Unfortunately, 136 was blocked before Red Cloud both from the east and north, so I will have to wait until the next trip. After a lot of jostling around on minor roads following the detour signs and my GPS I joined US 34, which took me to McCook, NE and the Horse Creek Inn, another place that, while adequate, doesn’t live up to the promise of its elegant name. Dinner was across the highway at a Subway. (470 miles)
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