100 Pictures of Kansas-Part 5

The roads, towns and people of Central Kansas

1974 Laverda SFC 750 — all photos copyright Andy Romanoff

1953 Ariel, KHA 500 cc twin — 1965 Velocette Clubman — 1948 Vincent, 1000 cc Rapide

All the next morning, I shot motorcycles. MV Agustas, Laverdas, BMWs, Vincents, Rickmans, and more. It was vintage bike heaven, each one more perfect than the last. But Dale wasn’t finished teaching us about farming. When I’d had my fill of metal, he said, “C’mon, I want to take you out to the fields.” So back we went into the pickup and headed out to where Dale’s grandsons were harvesting the Soybean crop.

One of Dale’s combines working its way through the field

These are huge machines these combines as are their attendant trailers. Even against the scale of earth and sky, they are giants. I watched one come my way from across a field growing larger and louder as it approached. This was not a train, restrained by its tracks. As much as I believed the driver knew I was there and would turn aside in time, an image of my old legs trying to run away…