Ride Report: Kerrville RAT RAID , Nov 2-4th, 2007

[Jbay]

why a report? this was my first real excursion to the Hill Country, and it did not disappoint, and was an official Triumph Rat Rally at the Inn of the Hills in Kerrville

http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/data/694/medium/Welcome_mat.JPG

(these pics linked with permission to SHruuM's gallery at triumphrat.net)

the Inn was a nice launching pad for Saturday's route, as constructed by Bushwacker:

google route link (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=5420226429925626038,30.045280,-99.143130%3B13151015668987639691,30.069980,-99.333710%3B11045642487357951955,29.952560,-99.553730%3B13154498589265131159,29.758140,-99.562980%3B1654195597865243059,29.723940,-99.760150%3B2953179071666799452,30.045310,-99.840350%3B11358834628699429732,30.077500,-100.045920%3B4990253337590930771,29.729490,-100.036460%3B2672278605056052370,29.670440,-100.012810%3B10112628848084120430,29.645750,-99.522640%3B4823631174360800196,29.656710,-99.278010%3B9997489440466615858,29.731770,-99.081790%3B5333950180496841704,29.797810,-99.249590&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=TX-16+%4030.045280,+-99.143130&daddr=TX-39+%4030.069980,+-99.333710+to:TX-39+%4029.952560,+-99.553730+to:FM-187+%4029.758140,+-99.562980+to:6th+St+%4029.723940,+-99.760150+to:RR-336+%4030.045310,+-99.840350+to:TX-41+%4030.077500,+-100.045920+to:RR-335+%4029.729490,+-100.036460+to:Nueces+St%2FTX-55+%4029.670440,+-100.012810+to:FM-187+%4029.645750,+-99.522640+to:FM-470%2FTexas+Hill+Country+Trail+Rd+%4029.656710,+-99.278010+to:TX-16+%4029.731770,+-99.081790+to:TX-16+%4029.797810,+-99.249590+to:30.032244,-99.143372&mra=mi&mrcr=12&mrsp=13&sz=10&sll=29.804901,-99.276581&sspn=0.568405,0.873413&ie=UTF8&ll=29.630771,-99.420776&spn=1.138768,1.746826&z=9&om=1)

http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/data/694/medium/Bill_leader_of_pack.JPG

somehow Triumph had some crappy routes, apparently they knew not of the charm of all three of the sisters:

http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/data/694/medium/Twisted_Sisters_Reward.JPG

upon seeing this shirt, the wife’s eyebrow raises a bit followed by a frown and a scary laugh, I’m afraid this shirt is headed for its doom (hence the picture)

here are a few nice group photos (SHRuuM's):

http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/data/694/medium/Morning_stop.JPG

http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/data/694/medium/Morning_stop_2.JPG

http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/data/695/medium/waiting_for_stragglers.JPG

more to follow (if anyone wants to add to the report, please do so; I cant steal all your pics);

[scar04]

So far a good start, It had better get better....;-)

[Jbay]

So far a good start, It had better get better....;-)

much is lost in the translation; like the beer commercial

"it dont get no better than this", it was just riding and roads

no poker run, no naughty nighty contest, no burn outs until the tires explode, etc; of course all that would have been fun too :trust:

[Jbay]

going back to Thursday night, at the bar, I run into to a the RAT group from Oklahoma City, aka the Blimey Limeys and a Hog or Two, or BLHOT, despite their high standards for membership, they invite me to ride with them:

QUALIFICATIONS: Must live in, have lived in, have relatives that live in, want to live in, be born in, or be buried in Oklahoma. Motorcycle is optional. Over qualified candidates are discouraged. Applicants whose knowledge of the state can be summed up in two words, "DUST BOWL", need not apply.
Ambassadorships available to out of state members. Ambassadors must provide 12' wide trailer houses for Embassy. Camper shells suffice for Consulates. Expatriate status for those who have neither trailer or camper shell.
DUES: Cost of membership is FREE. Discounts available to those who can not afford "FREE".

so we hook up for a Friday morning ride: 2 classic bonnies , a orange 955 Tiger, a 2-up Sprint, a 2-up Bonnie from Arkansas, and a white Tiger (redbird)

as we headed down Hwy 16 toward Medina making the 15mph curves and hills we were ambushed by deer :eek2: , one coming between me and the rider ahead (who never saw it)

we were mostly taking in the scenery along Hwy 337 to the infamous guard rail section which was adorned by a cross that accomplished more than any warning sign, following a slow pick up truck through the better part of the twisties and then stopped in a work zone by a flag man; at Leaky we stopped for BBQ at a Hog shop and headed back to Kerrville along scenic Hwy 39 which runs along the Guadalupe river; all an all a nice introduction to the Hill country

in the afternoon they had picked out an “official” ride to Willow City Loop north of Fredericksburg, (despite my protests), and they soon figured out “we have roads like this in Oklahoma”; on a hunch I took them on a ride up FM 965 to Enchanted Rock, which they had not heard of; luckily this was an excellent motorcycle road as well as scenic;

at the rock I convinced the gate keeper to let us into the park for a quick look around, but maybe I was not the best tour guide “I think there was a Cowboys and Indian fight up on the rock” :yawn: “Really who won” “uuuuhh, not sure”

sensing that the day was almost over, the BLHOTs rumbled about “heading to the bar”, and there was a ferocious pace back to the Inn; and I knew I had become one of them

"Our members may lack direction in life, but that's okay, they're just along for the ride."

[scar04]

much is lost in the translation; like the beer commercial

"it dont get no better than this", it was just riding and roads

no poker run, no naughty nighty contest, no burn outs until the tires explode, etc; of course all that would have been fun too :trust:


Oh thats right, it was a Triumph Rally, very staid and conservative:rofl: . Had it been Harleys, there would have been kegstand competitions and drunken bike surfing contests. :lol2:

And I really like the last line "Our members may lack direction in life, but that's okay, they're just along for the ride."

[whoa]

Triumph had a booklet with maps for local rides and amazingly didn't included the sisters! Fortunately Bill (Bushwhacker) brought maps and soon had a large contingent. Because of the number of riders, we split into Okies and Texans. This is not a setup for a joke. We stopped off at Stonehenge but the Okies passed us by. I caught the sweeper and tried to get him to pull over, but thinking I wanted to pass and kept motioning me by. So this ended up putting a good split between the groups.

Before leaving Stonehenge, the Texans (two 1050 Tigers, Bonnie, and four Thruxtons) agreed on a moderate but enjoyable pace. The fastest rider in our group (Willie aka redthruxton) said he would hang with group, so I figured I would too. As we neared the sweet section, one of our group had lagged behind so I held up. He was fine, and as a bonus, I was pretty far behind the pack giving me a free run through the pass of tight curves.

We stopped at the next town, but I was ready to split off. Willie was ready to pick up the pace, so I told Bill that we'd meet them at the next stop. Nearing the curves, I noticed one of the Houston Thruxtons, and a good rider (SHRuumM on triumphrat) had joined us.

Unknown to us, another rider followed believing he'd been left behind. Two more thinking the same took off. The only rider remaining was the group leader, Bill. One of the folks he was visiting with alerted him that his group had abandoned, so he put the Tiger in pursuit.

He quickly caught and stayed with the last rider planning on a re-group at the turn 25 miles ahead. Only problem, each was convinced they were falling farther behind, had picked up their pace, and didn't wait at the turn. With the next section safe for higher speed, Bill took advantage of the triple and began closing the gap, or so he thought. He didn't realize he wasn't even keeping pace with the fleeing Bonnies.

So this was our group, spread all over the Hill Country, but thanks to Bill's maps each knew the route. Our lead pack ran hard in the twisties, but stayed at the speed limit on straights leaving us nowhere near the lead we believed we had.

At the SH 55, I decided to take a detour to enjoy the sweepers for a contrast to the tight curves. At the top of the sweepers, we turned around for the return pass, and hopefully allow the rest of our group to catch up.

This time SHRuuM fell behind. Trooper or mechanical? We held up and soon he slides up saying he's low on fuel. We all are on Thruxtons and I have another 50 miles in the tank, so I'm confused. He points down to his mods. He's running almost 20mpg worse than me! We'er close to fuel so head into Camp Wood. As we rolled up, we see the trailing pack already there and wondered how the heck the guys beat us.

[CBAT]

Looks like a good group. I'll have to attend some time.

[Jbay]

Oh thats right, it was a Triumph Rally, very staid and conservative:rofl: . Had it been Harleys, there would have been kegstand competitions and drunken bike surfing contests. :lol2:

Harley rally is like this:

http://www.youtube.com/v/H44Oa0XRLOM&rel=1

Triumph rally is like this (except on motorcycles):

http://www.youtube.com/v/NGZ7cOZ0Kr8&rel=1

[scar04]

:rofl: :rofl: :clap: Heck that first ones just a weekendhangout

sounds like a lot of fun regardless.

[Jbay]

here was some civilized riding back and forth along 337:

guy on the hill taking photos (http://jwimaging.exposuremanager.com/g/11-3sport_bikes)

apparently we have killboy's cousin or something in Texas; at least he doesnt jump out at you, what a bunch of posers :mrgreen:

[CBAT]

No steamers in that group? :tears:A shame. :shame:

[whoa]

shame. :shame:
Are you wagging that finger at yourself?

Shoulda been there to represent the old iron. Tigers were well represented though. Some talk about a Tiger ride-in, stay tuned.

what a bunch of posers :mrgreen:
Did you notice me smiling and waving as I rode by? I went by several times so he could get that perfect shot.

[CBAT]

I rode with the cruiser crowd down to Galveston for the rally and bike show in Houston. So many bikes and so many rides. Can't do them all.

[whoa]

I rode with the cruiser crowd down to Galveston for the rally and bike show
OK, thats an excused absence. You owe the RATs one now though.

[CBAT]

OK, thats an excused absence. You owe the RATs one now though.
:thumb: