Report: My Big Tyler Exploration

[John Bennett]

This weekend I explored Tyler and the Tyler area.

I wanted to make a Southern Cruisers meet'n'eat in Edom on Saturday, but I had some problems getting away early enough. I didn't leave Lufkin until around 1:00pm.

Previously all I knew of Tyler was how to get through it on my way to Dallas. Lately I've become interested in moving to a downtown area, so I wanted to see what Tyler's looked like.

Saturday I spent the day exploring west and north of Tyler around Lake Palestine, the Tyler airport, Tyler State Park, and Hawkins. I saw the Cossacks 1%'er clubhouse. Nice clubhouse!

Next I began exploring downtown Tyler. I started at the courthouse rode in concentric circles around downtown, moving out about 2 blocks on each circle. Eventually I was circling Tyler on Loop 323.

I now KNOW Tyler! :-)

I really enjoyed Tyler's downtown area. It's MUCH better than Lufkin's. It has much better prospects for repopulation after petroleum becomes too expensive for the continued existence of suburbia.

Tyler has many, many beautiful old, REAL houses in walkable neighborhoods. They refurbish more of the old houses there instead of turning them into seedy rentals like they do in Lufkin.

The Tyler historical district has REAL mansions and nice houses, not fake McMansions built in a swamp like Lufkin's Crown Colony.

I ate (and drank a lot of English beer) at a place downtown on Erwin street called Rick's. It had beautiful wooden tables and leather upholstered chairs. Very comfortable!

I spent the night at the Rose City motel at the intersection of 64-West & Loop 323. It was old, but clean and well kept with cable and a fridge and microwave. Not bad for $35! Much better than the drug infested motels further inbound on west Erwin for $25.

Today (Sunday) I looked at more of the Tyler historical districts, both colleges, and explored out west and southwest of Tyler around Lake Tyler and Troupe.

The only bad parts of the trip were UT Tyler and the Kiepersol Winery development.

UT Tyler was hideous! If you like Soviet style architecture and acres of parking lots forcing students to DRIVE from class to class, that's the school for you.

The Kiepersol Winery development south of Tyler just made me sad. It's a sick joke of "elegant country living" built in nowhere around a fake winery. ( http://www.kiepersol.com ) Blyech!!

Other than those two places, it was a good ride. Almost all roads and places I'd never seen before.

[kurt]

Nice write up! Tyler has old school charm if nothing else. People always come away impressed. Having grown up there, I couldn't wait to escape to the big city. Dallas, Houston and Lubbock all lost their charm and I settled on Austin for its laid-back style. My mother still cringes when she comes down and I inform her that shorts, Teva sandals and a t-shirts constitute formal wear in Austin.

Now that I'm over 30 (and 40), Tyler would be an ideal place to live and raise kids, if they would just do something about the Sherriff, J.B. Smith. He was in office when I was growing up in the late 70's and 80's and one of the main reasons I left. Every time I go back I'm always struck by how small Tyler seems to be. You'd never guess it had almost 100,000 people. By the way, watch out for my 93 year-old grandfather. He and all his friends are still out there on the roads.

[Dudley]

How strange. I just found this site while looking for a VFR for sale. I grew up in Tyler and went riding there for the first time in years this weekend. Tyler has a little of everything for everybody from back country folk to wealthy socialites. I will post my Aug 14-15 ride shortly. We mostly rode around Lake Palestine. It was wonderful so I've gotta write it up properly in case anyone wishes to follow.

[Tourmeister]

Howdy Dudley,

:tab Glad you found your way here! Have you found a VFR yet? I'm certainly looking forward to the write up. I try to encourage others to do write ups so it is not just me making up all the stories ;-)

Adios,

[STCPO]

How strange. I just found this site while looking for a VFR for sale. I grew up in Tyler and went riding there for the first time in years this weekend. Tyler has a little of everything for everybody from back country folk to wealthy socialites. I will post my Aug 14-15 ride shortly. We mostly rode around Lake Palestine. It was wonderful so I've gotta write it up properly in case anyone wishes to follow.

Hmmm..still looking for a VFR?

My 2003 is going up on the sale block.

OR

You could always take a look at Scott's '01

Pete

[Dudley]

Here it is:

Lake Palestine Ride

I haven’t been on a long ride in years. First, due to a wrecked bike, then due to a broken back. This was my first chance and the weather could not have been better. I ride a 2001 Shadow ACE 750. My buddy followed on an early 90’s FZR 1000 (Talk about dissimilar combat). We met in and left downtown Dallas about 9 am. Rode I-20(what a drag) East to Canton (Something is really wrong, all the calendars say August, but I am cold in this t-shirt. Better keep my eye out for fire & brimstone from the sky.).
We got off on Hwy 19 at Canton and turned South to Hwy 64, maybe 2 miles. East on 64 to FM 279. This is where you feel the metroplex fade away as you are done with freeways till you head back. Pass through Ben Wheeler to Edom on FM 279. Edom is a quaint little town. I’ve seen some posts around this site about it. Didn’t stop there, but looked like there was good cafe there. The conversation ought to be good as there is always a bike in the parking lot, sometimes several.
From there are a few options. We headed south on FM 314. The road isn’t incredible but enough to make you relax and think about how much it stinks living in the metro-plex.
This dead-ends in to FM315. From there South is a great ride that takes you through a mix of piney woods, creek bottoms and across wide open hilltop pastures. About halfway down FM 315, you will cross Hwy 175 at the little town of Poyner. This is a mandatory stop for me. The café (and gas station and convenience store, they proabaly sell bait too) on the Northeast corner makes homemade fried fruit pies. They make several flavors, and every time I’ve been there are always some that are still warm from the oven. The coconut can't be beat, but the apple and blueberry are good too.
With our taste buds happy, we finished out FM 315 south to the town of Brushy Creek. There once used to be a good place to get a burger in Brushy Creek, but all that is left now is a 4 way stop at the intersection of FM 315 and FM 837. We turned east on FM 837. This part of the ride is wonderful. There is one really long downhill run under a cool green tree canopy that feels like you are slowly stepping in to a spring fed swimming hole. There are also a few parts that split hillside pastures having the feel of the English countryside. If you ever take this ride, whatever you do, slow down for the last curve, it’s a sharp, sharp 90 degree turn before the road dead ends into Hwy 155. Upon reaching 155, we turned North and headed into Frankston. Since my parents live close by, we had lunch plans already. Otherwise, Frankston makes the perfect stop. There is a little town square complete with Gazebo next to the refurbished old train station. This would make the perfect picnic stop if you packed lunch. Of course, you can always run by the Dairy Queen and bring it back too. If you’re riding two up, there are some great small town antique shops worth visiting.
In Frankston, we took a right on Hwy 175 and headed East. This will take you to the town of Cuney, which is nothing more than a bunch of liquor stores. Right after is the turn-off for FM 855. A total of just under 6 miles from Hwy 155.
Take a left, or North on FM 855.
FM 855 is without doubt best road on this ride and arguably East Texas. If it were longer, it could be on the list of best motorcycle roads in Texas. That’s why I ran it twice.
It is a roller coaster in the woods. There are steep grades and sharp turns and little creek crossings to drop the temp a few degrees. To top it all off, the county just finished giving it a fresh chip-seal. They haven’t even finished striping it yet. Great traction, but it ate on my buddy’s sticky sport bike tire which already needed replacing.
This ended the riding for us around 3-4 in the afternoon. My folks live on Lake Palestine, so we just had a few miles to go for an afternoon siesta. If you’re from the metro-mess and don’t feel like driving back (who does) there are a bunch of options really close by. There is a “resort” community on Lake Palestine called the Villages that rents everything from Condos to cabins. There are a few B&B’s in the area, Bullard, Frankston and Jacksonville would be your best bets. And for the truly cosmopolitan biker, you can head into Tyler. I hate to pick on John Bennet, but I wouldn’t stay in a hotel North of the South Tyler Loop. There is a decent multi-story hotel on Broadway(US 69) in South Tyler. But my recommendation is either the Holiday Inn or Residence Inn located near Hwy 110 South & Loop 323. South Tyler has enough restaurants to make just about anyone happy. The downtown square is the latest hotspot though for nightlife. There are a couple good bars on the square.
Depending on where you land, you can re-travel some of the roads (314-315) to get home, or you can take a more northern route, such as Hwy 110 west out of Tyler or visit Tyler state park North of town before heading West.
Any questions, e-mail me. Just don't forget to stop for a fried fruit pie.

[buck000]

Dudley: nice report and welcome... :chug:

John, looking at your interest logos on your post, I'm wondering if Tyler has any good Brazilian JJ dojos?

[Dudley]

Haven't found a VFR yet. I'm still not sure if it's the right bike for me. I want something more sport oriented than a cruiser(not hard to do there) but I need a pretty upright seating position. I like my cruiser, but I am dissappointed with the lack of control and loose handling. I rode an FZR 600 for several years. Gotta like that instant response of a sportbike. A concours seems to be the right fit for ergos and handling, they just look so old. The VFR has got the sex appeal.

[Bagwell]

Haven't found a VFR yet. I'm still not sure if it's the right bike for me. I want something more sport oriented than a cruiser(not hard to do there) but I need a pretty upright seating position. I like my cruiser, but I am dissappointed with the lack of control and loose handling. I rode an FZR 600 for several years. Gotta like that instant response of a sportbike. A concours seems to be the right fit for ergos and handling, they just look so old. The VFR has got the sex appeal.


What about an FZ1 or an FZ6?

:)

[Rocket_Cowboy]

Personally, I've found the Busa to have a more upright seating position than the VFR, but maybe that's just my ergos. It's been a great sport tourer for me.

[Tourmeister]

A VFR with Helibars is almost upright for me. I am 5'10" with a 34" inseam. Very comfy for me. Barely any weight on my wrists or strain on my lower back. Of course, the GS is even more upright, hehe. It rails through the twisties as good as many sportbikes. It just gets left behind when the antics go over 120mph :eek: But that is not much of an issue for me ;-)

Adios,

[John Bennett]

I'm wondering if Tyler has any good Brazilian JJ dojos?

I've always found it unbelievable that a town the size of Tyler doesn't have even ONE Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club.

There are over 100,000 people concentrated in that area. You'd think someone there would be traveling to train with Carlos Machado in Dallas (link (http://www.carlosmachado.net/home.asp)) and bringing it home to their own local club like I did.

No one has.

Strange. Maybe Tyler is too much of an "old person's town".

I checked the yellow-pages there. They had 3 McDojangs, 1 McDojo, and the obligatory lethal clop-sockey Kung Fu nerd school.

I've queried all my contacts in the Texas BJJ community. They know of nothing there. It's weird.