5.22.21 - Feed ‘em and Eat ‘em Ride Review
By Wanda Carlisle
Photo Credits: Kevin Irwin, Maria Weisgarber, and Mike Johnston
It may not be the question that keeps you up at night, but have you ever wondered how big a bison’s tongue is? 21 chapter members and friends found out the answer to that burning question and so many more when they followed our President down to the Boss Bison Ranch outside of Cadiz. Yes, Virginia, there are bison in Ohio.
Mother Nature came through once again and delivered a perfect day, full of mostly blue skies and sunshine, lots and lots of burning sunshine! Wanda had pre-ridden her planned route the day before, but after several hours of playing a game known as “you can’t get there from here” she trashed the whole route and started over. (This is why we pre-ride!) So, with a shorter, simplified route, after a short jaunt on the freeway, 19 bikes made their way down 800, then twisted through the Atwood and Leesville Lakes regions on 212, jumped on 151 in Bowerston for more curvy fun and took 9 into Cadiz for our date with the bison. The folks at the Boss Bison Ranch (the Sticht family: John, Karen, Duncan and Shenan) couldn’t have been more accommodating. They cleared a paved parking area for us and even provided pucks for the second half of our adventure.
Once we arrived at the ranch, the real fun began. Most of us piled into the bed of a pick-up, with the overflow in an open-air Jeep (safari-style) to head out to the pastures to see the bison. After all, the bison don’t come to you, you go to the bison. We’re pretty sure the suspension on that Chevy pick-up will never be the same! Fortunately, no one fell out. The bison started heading over immediately, knowing their new biker friends would have treats for them (the ranch provided bread for us to feed them and some of us brought apples). Our tour guides Duncan and Shenan proceeded to introduce several of the bison to us by name. There was Bobbi, she’s the oldest and Buddy, he’s pretty friendly and so many more. We even got to see some newly born calves, but only from a distance. Mama bison are pretty protective of their young and began moving the calves further away once they saw us. You can see pictures of the calves on the Boss Bison Ranch Facebook page, though.
So, here are some quick bison facts. The male bison is “finished” for processing in about four years and will yield around 700 pounds of meat. The females are kept for breeding unless they cannot calve. They are very smart animals and react differently to each of the family members who care for them. When they pant, they rock slightly forwards and backwards (no tongue). Oh yeah, and they particularly love apple slices from McDonald’s and have a disdain for Hawaiian bread…who knew?
After buying up most of the supply of bison jerky in the ranch store (YUM!), we hopped back on the bikes for a 45-minute ride down 22 to the Salt Fork Stables and the second half of our adventure, the 5th Annual Native American Gathering (PowWow) in Honor of Chester L. Gray and featuring the Boss Bison Ranch Lunch Wagon. Chester Gray was an area resident and honoree member of the Munsee Delaware Indian Nation. As soon as we parked our bikes, the tribe elders appeared to greet us and welcome us to the festivities. We truly felt like honored guests. A ceremonial cleansing was even performed on the chapter through Wanda as chapter President. While we enjoyed our mouthwatering bison burgers, we took in Native American tribal dancing, drumming and singing and took the opportunity to learn a little about Native American symbols and customs. A special thank you to all who shared their history with us.
What a day! But it wasn’t over yet! There was still ice cream waiting for us in Strasburg. So back on the bikes we went, cutting through Salt Fork State Park up to Old 22, across the beautifully repaved (and twisty) 258 and back up 800 to 250, ending at the DQ at the south end of Strasburg, where we cooled off over blizzards.
Don’t worry Chris - we won’t take your ice cream!
Next up for Chapter 1963 - Last of the Mohicans Ride on Sunday, June 6th. See you there!
