GS Giant's Adventure Summit, Gyspy Tour, MOA

Visian (Ian Schmeisser) sure knows how to put on an event. He is the man behind the GS Giant's Adventure Summit that concluded at the BMW MOA International Rally held in Sedalia MO. Not only is the an event, it is a party, a pig out, and competition all in one. The entire event is held over a two week time period where rider collect points that leads up to determining The GS Giant.

I was luck enough to be part of the Adventure Summit. I competed in all phases of the event and had an incredible time.

I hope this RR will give those not familiar with the GS Giants Adventure Summits some incite as to want the event is about and how much fun it is and what I did to score points.

First thing I want to clear up: This event is open to all makes and models. There are a lot of GS' but there others as well and all bikes are welcome.


Photo By Visian

The riders that signed up for the Adventure were told the Scorecard with all the information would arrive Sunday July 8th and the competition starts. The Scorecard points out all the way to collect points. There is the MO-FO Tour (Riding to four corners of Missouri), BS Points (Riding to odd and unique waypoints in MO), Adventure Detours (Getting off the beaten path on your way to the Rally), attending the Gyspy Tour in Oark, Arkansas, competing on the track at the MOA rally, and others. All have different points value and will be further explained as I go along.

I was in the county the weekend of July 6th fixing fence. I was hoping I could make it home in time to download the scorecard and chase down some points that Sunday. I got my work done early on the 8th drove home and downloaded the scorecard. Being local, I helped with the MO-FO Tour so I knew where the NW corner waypoint would be. I hoped I could pick up some BS Points points going to the corner and back. After spending some time with the scorecard I was on my bike heading N.

The first place I knew well from my Missouri travels. It was the home were Jesse James was killed in St. Joesph, MO on April 3, 1882.



"but that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard
Has laid poor Jesse in his grave"
That coward is Bob Ford and is buried in Richmond, MO.




Another BS Point not far from the James home is the Pony Express National Museum.



The original Pikes Peak stable built in 1858 was purchased in 1860 to serve as the start of the Pony Express. The original structure was wood and was replaced by this one in 1888 but some of the original post and beams were reused.

On April 3, 1860 the first rider left on a 2000 mile route to Sacramento, CA and completed in about 10 days. The Pony Express operated only 18 months.

After St. JO I headed toward the NW corner. This area of MO is called the Riverbreaks which are actually Loess Hills. This area is one of my favorites in MO. The hills are all dirt with roads cut right through them with 90 degree dirt banks. The minimum maintenance roads have are not graveled and can be impassible after a rain.



I continue heading to the NW corner. The location of the NW corner is actually a small area of land that is actually Nebraska. In 1867 the Missouri River flooded. When the water receded the newly formed channel had over 5,000 acres on the MO side of the river called McKissick Island. MO claimed the land. Although NE won a 1905 Supreme Court decision that the land was NE the state still did not agree on the boundary until a 1999 survey.

Last year the are entire area was flooded all homes and buildings were lost and the fields were all covered with sand. There are still scars from the flooding but the lands was worked and the corn looked pretty good:



In order to get to the island one had to leave Missouri, ride into Iowa, back into MO and then to McKissick Island.

<a href="%3Ciframe%20width=" 425"="" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=McKissick+Island&hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=McKissick+Island&ll=40.539724,-95.673604&spn=0.131499,0.273285&t=m&z=12&vpsrc=6&output=embed">
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=McKissick+Island&hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=McKissick+Island&ll=40.539724,-95.673604&spn=0.131499,0.273285&t=m&z=12&vpsrc=6&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</small>"><iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=McKissick+Island&hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=McKissick+Island&ll=40.539724,-95.673604&spn=0.131499,0.273285&t=m&z=12&vpsrc=6&output=embed" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" width="425"></iframe>
<small>View Larger Map</small>

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</small>To be continued:

It was another great event this year like you said. The Frog Bayou boys had an epic ride that they will never forget that's for sure. Great food, beer and friends makes it that much better.

I know how the Pennsylvania GS Event played out now I can take a seat and see how Big Mo was. Go Jay Hawks !

Truth be known, the GS Giants play a big role in this event, it wouldn't have been possible without them.

This group started after the first GS Giant event last year and are spreading like wildfire. Or maybe a bad case of monkey butt. Many are ADVriders, too, and known to cause problems around here, too.

It's been great getting to know everyone, and if you ever need to know where all the weird stuff in Missouri is, ask Ajayhawkfan.

The more I heard the story of Frog Bayou the more I laughed.

Rock Chalk!

Ian, you assembled a great group of people. I really enjoyed being part of it all. I hope to do it again and soon and am proud to be considered a GS Giant.

Eddie

Wish I would have had time to do the MO FO corners.

It was great to meet you Jayhawk and you're right a Giant time was had by all.

By the way, just so everyone knows, Ajayhawkfan won the overall competition that included the points & the track event. He's to modest to tell ya.

Congrats Eddie!

Kevin

Thanks Kevin, It was nice meeting you and hope to ride with you again. When the dates of March Moto Madness is set I'll get it on my Calender.

In order to collect points for the MO-FO tour you have to go to all four of the waypoints. That is going to be a lot of miles.

From the NW corner I head SE to pick up some additional BS Points and head to a wind farm. As tall as the wind mills are they are not hard to find.



In King City, I saw this, a blade on display:



Some facts about the turbines in the King City wind farm:

Brand Name: Suzlon
Rated output: 2100 kw
Tower Sections: 4
Height: 262.5 ft
Rotor Diameter: 289 ft
Length of Blades: 139.5 ft
Weight of Each Blade: 14771 lbs
Weight of Rotor with Blade: 77541 lbs
Weight of Nacelle: 158821 lbs
Weight of Tower: 398971 lbs
Diameter of Blade: 7 ft 3 inches
Widest point of Blade: 10 ft

I use to think the windfarms were pretty but I now see them as a blight to the landscape. When looking at a wind farm all you see are the mills and not the natural beauty of the landscape. Also the sound of the towers is extremely annoying. They are not extreamly loud but the sounds never quits. I would compare it to a train a far enough away that you can easily talk but close enough you can't here the sounds of nature. In addition to the sound the shadow of the blades is quite bothersome when working around them.

Also in King City is The BIG PUMP, another BS Point was next to the turbine blade.



The Big Pump was built as a filling stating in 1937 in Maryville, MO and was one of the first discount gas stations in the area. The Big Pump was moved to the Tri-County Museum Grounds in 1990's, where it was resorted to is original look. The Big Pump is in the National Register of Historic Places.

From there I headed home. I rode over 350 miles, collected 1 of the 4 needed waypoints of the MO-FO Tour and a number of BS Points.

I needed to work the following week, I hoped I could get out of the office around noon on Friday the 13th. The Gypsy Tour started on Sunday the 15th (and ran until the 18th). Over the next few days, I spent a lot of evenings putting the other 3 corners and BS (way)Points to my GPSr. I also added the location of the Gypsy Tour location near Oark Arkansas to my GPSr.

In addition to loading the waypoints, I and worked on routes and routes and routes. I needed to figure a way to get from Kansas City to the other 3 corners of the State, pick up BS Points and to Gypsy Tour (Oark, AR) on minor roads in 2.5 days. It was a total of over 1300 miles and all but the last 50 miles were in Missouri. I knew I couldn't do that many miles in such a short time so decided to go after just the eastern MO FO corners and get to the Gyspy Tour but 5:00 on Sunday. That cut my route to Oark, AR down to 1100 miles, something that was possible.

To be continued....

Looks like a great event....hopefully it is something I can be a part of in the future!

I'm in...

I'm in, I really like riding in Mo, nice pics.

Thursday night I pack up the bike and load my GPSr with all the routes, tracks and BS (way)Points I have. I hope to leave my office around noon. Of course noon comes and goes and I'm still in the office. I do get out a little before 1:00, rush home, change and head out the door.



I'm going to head to the NE Corner of MO, around the town of Memphis, MO. I do plan on picking up additional BS Points along the way.

First stop is a little outside of MO in Excelsior Springs and the Hall of Waters:

I have not been there in years, it is a pretty cool place:



I always like history so here is a little history of the Hall of Waters:



From here I head east and start following the Missouri River. I'm heading to another familiar site. It is a site I came across over 10 years ago while boat. A few friends and I decided to take a boat trip from KC to St. Louis on the Missouri River. One late afternoon we were looking for a place to stay the night and pulled up the Grand River looking for a place to dock and we came across the USS Aries.



I have been back numerous times sense and have sent people there as well. It is in Brunswick MO.

Here are some pictures of the boat from before so you can see it better:









The USS Aries is a guided-missile hydrofoil developed by the Navy in the early 80's. This ship was the 5th of 6 Pegasus class ships and the only one remaining. She spent most of her time in the Key West, FL waters and assisted the Coast Guard in chasing down drug smugglers. This boat's top speed is 12 knots (14 MPH) while cruising on it hull. On it hydrofoils its top speed is 48 knots (55 MPH).

The owners are trying to find a place to move the ship and make her a museum. I hope they succeed.

Additional information on here can be found here:
http://www.ussaries.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Aries_%28PHM-5%29

Not far from the Aries, also in Brunswick, I saw another boat.



It looks like a WWII DUKW but those had 2 rear axles. If you know anything about this ship please let me know.

From the Aries I headed NE to the NE waypoint of the MO-FO Tour.

I'm very fortunate, I have traveled Missouri a lot for business and pleasure. Because of that knowledge I was able to help the organizers of the MO-FO Tour pick the waypoint for each corner. This is one of the waypoints I recommended. It know know as the Soldier In The Field and it moves me every time I'm here. This time not in a good way. I WAS PISSED!



I'm still upset someone vandalized the statue by cutting off the head. Here is a picture from an earlier visit:



This statue is a memorial to Pernell Barnett, an only son, that died in the service of the country. It was placed in the country, along a gravel road, where he liked to hunt. There is nothing around but rolling hills.

All for sides are engraved. This is what is on the front:

Purnell Batts Barnett
Born at Memphis, Mo.
January 20, 1891
Died at base hospital Ft. Riley, Kan.
November 16, 1917 of pneumonia
A soldier in his country&#8217;s service
43 Days Co. 59 164 Depot Brigade
World&#8217;s war with Germany
We gave all the child we had
and it broke our hearts
What did you give?
Son of J.F. & M.K. Barnett
He was a great lover of nature
And of all animals
He loved hunting dogs the best

I'm getting steamed now seeing the picture again and thinking how some lowlife came along and destroyed a memorial to a soldier, lovingly placed by parents almost 100 years ago. My Karma visit the jerk 10 fold.

After collecting my pictures for the Soldier (NE Corner of MO) and I headed to Memphis for the night. It was about 6:00 at this time. The motels are booked because the County Fair is in town. I have to ride another 60 miles to find a room in Keokuk, Iowa.

Total miles this afternoon a little over 300.

Hi Eddie
Great to see you're doing a RR about this rally as it was such a great event, I had a fantastic time and I know a lot of people reading the reports would enjoy it.

This was me trying to find an adventure route through the Ozarks to reach the Rally



Some attempt at anonymity is maintained by keeping my helmet on for the picture. As you can imagine, it took me quite a while to get Thelma upright again

Many thanks to Ian, BMW MOA, all vendors and all the volunteers that made this event possible. I didn't have time to pull off the Gypsy Tour, but the track competition was AWESOME with a field full of solid international riders. I had a blast and very much look forward to the next one!

Grip it and rip it!

Sonny

Special thanks to:
http://www.giantloopmoto.com/collections/giant-loop-gear-collection/
http://www.gsmmotorent.com/
http://www.touratech-usa.com/
http://www.horsepower-farm.com/
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Experience/Events/PDS/ProgramsandCourses/Motorcycle.aspx
http://www.aerostich.com/
http://www.machineartmoto.com/shopsite_sc/index.html
http://www.youorskiphotography.com/

Thanks for posting this up Eddie. I was signed up and counting down the days. Then on a ride in the woods while getting ready for the big event I "messed up". So under Doctor's orders not to touch a bike for months, I had to settle for following everything on the interent. Sorry I missed meeting you, and congratulations on winning. I played this game last year so I know what an accomplishment it is, well done

Can't wait for the rest of the story.

Also tuned in.
I was already committed to something when I heard about the affair in Ozark. Even without hearing your report I'm sorry I missed it.
Jim

Thanks all, I'll get back to the report as soon as I can. I'm moving steers this weekend. Like Arkansas and Missouri, Kansas is burning up in the heat.

It was nice seeing you ride. Next time maybe we will have a chance to chat