Sam Houston National Forest Fire Road Run 1/29/06

Okay I am not as skilled as Tourmeister in writing ride reports so here it is short and sweet.
I got up bright and early Sunday 1/29/06 and waded through the fog as it was lifting I was on my way to King's cafe in Montgomery to meet the fellow DS riders.

I had some nice new meaty Dunlop D606's that were in need of breaking in

Here is the lineup.....GeorgiaPeach and her Suzuki DRZ 400S

Tim"Thumper" and his DR650S

Steve"Desmo" and his KLR 650

and me Bryan"dbdolan" and my KLR 650

We hit the fire roads and dirt roads that run all over the national forest

It was such a nice day for riding...the rain knocked down most of the dust and the roads were in great condition for DS riding

We even rode along the shore line of a very low Lake Conroe, it was nice and muddy and the tires really ripped it up


Checkin the GPS but the road we where on didn't show up

We eventualy made it to Shiroh and stopped for a burger then headed back, Georgia also has some pics...I can't wait to see them. I had a great time and it was good to meet everyone I hope we do it again real soon. Here is a link to a little video I made during the ride http://www.truck-web.us/albums/twtex/fire_run_small.wmv

should anyone else need hosting for something like this - PM me and I'll hook you up as well.

Was totally bummed out with the rain canceling our plans for riding the National Forest Saturday. But then I came across Thumper’s post about Scott’s gps track map and, what is this? He wants to ride on Sunday – Eureka, the game’s afoot once again. I call him Saturday afternoon and we agree to watch the forecast and touch base again. Later, we decide it looks like a go, but let’s check in with each other in the morning and hey, Desmo and dbdolan are in too. When I get up Sunday morning, the thick fog tells me we are going to have a warm day, looks like a go. Phone calls back and forth with Tim and he arrives are my house with a trailer perfect for two motorcycles on the off road variety. So we load up for the ride to King’s. Now, you know I could have ridden there, but Tim has never been, and well, I can’t pass up a free tow. On the road, darn, we are running about 15 minutes late, hope Steve and Bryan are waiting for us. Pull up to the very muddy parking lot of King’s – don’t see anyone yet. Unload the DRZ, then start on Tim’s DR and there from the lot across the road comes Steven, whoohoo, they waited!



Introductions are made, we consult the maps, come up with a tentative plan and head off to the County and Service Roads in and around Sam Houston National Forest.

As I hoped, most of the roads were hard packed with surprisingly few muddy potholes which I mostly managed to avoid (Ok, I did hit one square and the muddy water shot straight up my pant leg directly to sock!) After some stops to reconnect with the map and each other, Steve tells me we are headed to a road which may be muddy and if I want to I can pull over and wait, they will circle back. They know I still have on the stock Deathwings and they abhor mud. We soon arrive here, now I know what Steve was talking about.






I demurely pull over to high ground, grab the camera and let the big boys with their knobbies have a little male bonding time. When they started coming back in, I saw Tim get a little wiggly (which he expertly powered out of) and was confident in my decision to sit this one out. I sent my little video shots to Bryan, they are short, so I hope he can work with them.

We head back over to 1375 and pull over again to check my little gps (just to see how many roads it will show, answer none, but now we know where Huntsville is) and the boys take a little nature break.



This of course, leave me in a lurch, or a bind, maybe in a bit of a pickle, I have to go too – and I need gas. The DRZ’s odo is showing 71 miles and I’m still not sure what my range is, during break in, I hit reserve at 88 miles and we are still in the middle of nowhere according to my etrex legend. Where to now? How about lunch, I know a little gas station/hardware store/convenience store/video pokerama/hamburger joint in Shiro. Ok, Steve and Tim lead the way. After a few minutes we pull over again and Steve is waving to me. Oh heck, is there something wrong with my bike? He then points to the most beautiful little wooden building and says “If you have to go, this would be a good time.” My hero has led me to a Forest Service Outhouse! What a kind and considerate man you are Steve! Tank emptied, we head on off to Shiro. As we travel along the fire roads the seriousness of the recent dry weather manifests itself before us, the forest is black. We pass areas where the trees are still smouldering where they stand, their bark now white ash and smoking. Mercifully, the fire roads perform their function and the blackness stops at the edge of the road with green still on the other side. We make it up to Shiro and find the gas station////hamburger joint. I don’t recall seeing a sign on this building so we still do not know what this place is called, but they make huge fresh burgers and if you order the tots be prepared to share because you will get a bucketful (not a real bucket, silly) Steve and I help Bryan with his tots.





After lunch we decide to retrace our path down through Hoke Road because not one of us believes Bryan actually saw water buffalo on one of the farms we just passed. Sure enough, we see animals that one could describe as water buffalos, unfortunately we did not pull over for a Kodak moment, sorry.

Eventually we wind our way through 1791, then more dirt, around to 1097 eventually meeting back up to 149. It was during this time Bryan did his daredevil live action video holding the Olympus in his lefthand while passing us all on the left. Fortunately, this road was one of the few not pockmarked with muddy puddles and every one stayed in their track to the right.

Finally, we are again on 149 joining all the non-dirt specific motor vehicles of the two wheeled variety and roll back into the parking lot of King’s. Tim wants to stay and find a coke, but I want to head home and decline his generous offer of a return tow. Besides, Steve, Bryan and I are heading the same way. We say our farewells and head south on 149, with Steven infiltrating a pod of loud cruisers as we exit King’s. What’s he trying to do? I hope he can extricate himself unharmed, ahhh past the light of 105 there’s our Steve. At 1488 we wave off Steve on his way to Magnolia, Bryan takes me down to 149 spur where we turn on to Huffsmith-Dobbin(?) which is a delightful little country road which finally intersects with 2978. At 2920 Bryan and I say so long as he turns West, I head South to Boudreaux which now intersects with Champion Forest Bvld which delivers me to Spring Cypress via Glennloch Farms. Come home to find Mark in the driveway installing his new XM roady on the Wing (the old one just broke and this one was only $30!) So I give the DRZ a little shower, a light scrub, shook her off to dry and put her to bed all before nightfall. (Hey, the days are getting longer!) It was a beautiful Spring day in the middle of Winter – ahhh the joys of living in SE Texas. Thank you Tim for getting us all together for a delightful day, and we look forward to exploring with you again in your neck of the woods.

What a great day for a ride. It started of foggy, damp and cool. But the sun came out and by the time everyone made it to Kings it was beautiful. I must give props to Georgia, She had never met Tim and now her bike is in his trailer and she was in his truck on the way to whoknowswhere. You got guts girl!

We decided to explore the National Forest a little before we set out on Scott’s map. Unfortunately, most of the gates were closed in the forest, probably because of all the rain the day before. We did make it to the lakeshore but it was really too muddy. They must have fixed the Lake Conroe dam because the water in the lake is much higher than before.

We headed north past the east trailhead. This is where we saw all the smoldering tree stumps. It is hard to believe the forest rangers are burning undergrowth when it is so dry. Maybe they planned it so the rains that were forecast for Saturday would put out the fire. We saw miles of charred underbrush but it will probably be beautiful in the spring. With all the pine needles gone, it gives the new seedlings a fighting chance.

We had a little trouble finding the correct dirt road to Shiro and I was a little concerned about Georgia running out of gas. We were in the middle of nowhere. However, she said she had a siphon tube and could “borrow” some gas from one of our giant gas tanks. Fortunately it was not necessary.

We made it to the gas station/restaurant/general store in Shiro without any problem. The burgers were huge and juicy. They have an unusual ordering system. You tell the girl at the back what you want cooked. Then you wander through the store and pick what you want to drink and then pay the girl up front for everything. Then go have a seat in the back by the video slot machines (which are labeled “for entertainment only”). This store had a little of everything. From meat and milk to 5 gallon buckets of hydraulic fluid and a big selection of nuts and bolts. Everything a farmer could want. Not the same as the convenience stores in Houston.

We retraced our steps for the most part back to Montgomery. Tim stayed behind at Kings to load his bike in his trailer. When we got back on 149, I found myself in the middle of a pack of cruisers. We were going along at a good clip when I noticed Bryan and Georgia were not keeping up. I slowed down and let the rest of them pass. One of the few times I have been passed by Harleys. Oh the shame.

It was good to meet you Tim, you need to come riding with us more often. Great pics Bryan and Georgia. We need to do it again soon. Someone needs to lead an expedition down to the coast. Now we know someone with a big bike trailer (hint, hint).

Steve

Sounds like a great ride! I hit some of those roads coming home from Austin this morning. I LIKE the knobbies on the KLR I just gotta get the front end wiggly thing worked out. I had a few scary moments this morning when I was trucking along and hit a small bump and the front end tried to tank slap on me Not good.

Alright I re-edited the video and added Georgia's clips, enjoy. http://www.truck-web.us/albums/twtex/fire_run_small.wmv

You guys passed up some cool little side roads. Were all those gates locked? They are usually open even when all the other gates are closed

Bryan, the video clip is even awesomer than before. You did a superb job! I had no idea when I saw you holding the camera, that you were shooting behind you.

Scott, we came across a couple of roads which were closed off, to our surprise because at the gate you really couldn't tell why. Must have had something to do with the fires. I was pretty surprised when we came across the first area which was still smoking and then continued to see more.

nice pics. and video Bryan. did you put the d606's on the front and rear or just the rear? and howd you like um ?

It was good to meet you Tim, you need to come riding with us more often. Great pics Bryan and Georgia. We need to do it again soon. Someone needs to lead an expedition down to the coast. Now we know someone with a big bike trailer (hint, hint).
Holler when ya'll are going again.The coast sounds great.It's an interesting change of scenery.I've passed through High Island but I've never ridden offroad in that area.A weekend ride sounds good[ the trailer can hold three].

stevenspring said:

nice pics. and video Bryan. did you put the d606's on the front and rear or just the rear? and howd you like um ?

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I have them on the front and rear, so far I love them they are awesome off road. On the street they are noisy and howl but I don't mind, people hear you coming. They seem to handle very well, course in the rain you have to take it easy, so far i give them 2 thumbs up.

WOW!

Bryan, that video was great! I'm going to download a copy of that to my archive. Nice job!

Man I want to join in on one of these local DS rides BAD. I have to work weekends until further notice though.

Nice job on the write up, photos and video !!

Looks like a fun place to get dirty.

klrno2 said:

Nice job on the write up, photos and video !!

Looks like a fun place to get dirty.

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Thanks Sandy, I have read some you and your husbands adventures, ya'll really take the KLR's on some nice trips. You guys have better scenery up there, all we have is woods with minimal hillage.