Tourmeister
01-05-2004, 11:13 AM
Howdy,
:tab Here are the pics from this weekend:
http://twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/
:tab This is to be Debbie's first trip out of town on the bikes. Even though the distance we will be covering is less than her longest ride, she is still nervous about this ride :shrug: Newbies... go figure ;-) So we get the bikes loaded up and are ready to leave around 4:00pm on Wednesday afternoon. It is mostly overcast and fairly humid, but the temperature is up in the low seventies. It should be a nice ride over to Austin. We plan on staying at John's place.
Bikes 1 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01150.JPG) / Bikes 2 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01152.JPG)
The red VFR is mine, the blue one is Beth's and that is Debbie's GS500 in the middle.
:tab We head out of town on Hwy 30 for College Station. The wind coming out of the South is steady and humid. Hwy 30 is nothing but big fast sweepers so we make pretty good time to College Station. We head out the West side of town on FM 60 past Easterwood Airport. I used to spend time out here goofing off at the wind tunnel when I was in school at A&M getting my Aerospace Geek degree. Looking back it seems like another lifetime in another world. Once we cross the Brazos River, it gets reallll flat and open. This is farming land. We stop for gas at FM 60 and 50. Debbie gets into and loses a fight with her overstuffed tankbag. We are still working on training her to pack light :lol:
:tab After filling up the bikes and swapping dark visors for clear visors, we head up FM 50 a mile or so to the start of FM 166. This road is a favorite among the local College Station squiddies. The very first curve is a nice tight 25mph right hander with totally clear and open visibility, then a left hander, and then it starts to get back into some hills and becomes more fun! Most of the corners are 35-45mph corners and the pavement is pretty good. Debbie is lagging behind a little so I get into the mode where I putt along the straights and into the start of the corners, then zing through the corners, putt along the straights, repeat over and over. It's fun because I can really work on setting good lines through the corners and then have the fun of ripping through them. I can see that Debbie is pretty tense though and she's not riding her normal pace.
:tab There are some really beautiful homes out on FM 166. Several sit on the tops of the highest hills and look out over the valleys below with pastures, huge Live Oak trees and scattered cattle. We reach Caldwell and head through town on Hwy 21. Just outside of town we turn and head North on FM 908. There is not much tight stuff on this road. It is mostly rolling hills and smooth sweepers. The sun is getting low on the horizon but it is still quite warm. Now it is time to really start looking for beady little eyes on the road side :|
:tab We run FM 908 all the way up to the small country town of Rockdale. Texas is full of these little towns that look like they used to be hustling little empires. Farming was big business at one time. Now I wonder what anyone could possibly be doing to make a living in such desolate looking places? I'm guessing the bulk of the town population is retired. There is some neat turn of the century architecture, especially the town hall on the main square. I've often thought about doing a Tiny Texas Town tour just to check out all the cool old houses, town halls, county courthouses, post offices, etc,... I think that would be a cool ride but it would take some serious time!
:tab We follow FM 908 through town and contine on until it hits FM 486. The terrain is now low rolling hills and farmland again. About the only trees we see are those planted in yards of houses and along the fence rows. We turn North on FM 486 for a mile or so and pick up FM 1331. This road runs up along the ridges and affords us a really nice view for miles and miles in any direction. The horizon glows softly as the remaining sunlight fades. Debbie is still running unusually slow, I'm starting to wonder if there might be something wrong besides just being nervous. :?
:tab When we reach Hwy 95, I decide to pull over for a break. No one needs gas, but I have got to take a nature break! The gas station is one of those dingy run down looking places. When I open the door, cigarette smoke comes billowing out into the night air :puke: Behind the counter sits what looks to be a Mom and Daughter working the family store, both huffing away. Everything has a dingy yellowish brown to it. I hold my breath as I head for the restroom, hoping the air might not be so bad in there. Uh... yeah sure. Once back outside I breathe a sigh of relief. I thumb the starter to get going again, but the bike turns over very sluggishly :brainsnap Uh oh?! A second thumb of the starter sets things right but now I am leery of what might happen the rest of the trip :huh:
:tab We head up Hwy 95 into the darkness looking for the start of Hwy 29. When I reach the turn, I look back and notice that Beth and Debbie are no longer with me! I turn around and spot some headlights on the shoulder about a half mile back up the road. Apparently, when we left the gas station, Debbie did not have something situated right and had to stop to get it squared away. Back together, we head West on hwy 29 to Georgetown.
:tab It is starting to get a little hazy now and the temperature is getting down into the mid sixties. Hwy 29 is a nice wide and smooth road that roughly follows a river, the name of which eludes me. It makes for nice big banked sweepers through what would otherwise be flat open farmlands. When we come into Georgetown, we get into some traffic and a slight drizzle has started. I really don't want to stop and put on rain gear. We are only a few minutes from John's house.
:tab Georgetown is another good example of a Texas town with a lot of history and cool arhitecture. We pass by a college campus and several of the buildings look to be at least 100 years old, made of stone. I could easily waste a day wandering around the town taking pictures of the houses. Many of them have been restored. Georgetown is close enough to Austin that many people commute between them. There is no sign at all that Georgetown is going the way of so many other small Texan towns, in fact it looks to be growing faster than the city can keep pace with.
:tab We reach I-35 and head South for FM 1431 to make the run over the Cedar Park. It is drizzling hard enough now that I have to work at seeing where I am going. My visor keeps getting covered in droplets so small that they won't blow off but numerous enough to obscure my vision. With all the bug innards on the screen, I dare not wipe it with my glove. We cross US 183 on FM 1431 and then head into John's neighborhood. As soon as we pull into the driveway, it starts to really come down thick and soupy. Perfect timing! We cram our bikes into John's garage and head inside.
Garage 1 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01153.JPG) / Garage 2 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01154.JPG)
:tab We settle in for an evening of eating, drinking and trying to avoid becoming a fireworks safety statistic. John's roommate, Art (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01155.JPG), is working on dinner for us. I expertly wrap and butter the corn on the cob... BAM! I'm amazing in the kitchen :mrgreen: Debbie is greatly relieved to have arrived, the release of tension is visible. She seems much more relaxed after a nice hot shower, alone :P John "makes" a fire for Beth in his fake log, gas fed, "fire place" :lol: John's friends, Will and Steve, show up and we are good to go.
:tab As midnight approaches, out come the big fireworks. Art bought the monster package of the tube launched mortar style explosives. I wisely elect to watch from the driveway as John, Will and Art leave with flaming things in their hands and lots of explosives. The other Will wanders around the driveway waving sparklers and refusing to hold still for pictures, hehe.
Sparky 1 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01156.JPG) / Sparky 2 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01157.JPG)
Let's see how many we can light at once! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01158.JPG)
A good indicator of just how windy it is! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01159.JPG) / Another windy shot (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01160.JPG)
Debbie and Will looking to see if anyone is on fire yet? (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01161.JPG)
:tab The fireworks show is great! No one is seriously burned. Pics of the airburst stuff just do not come out at all. We do lots of oohhing and aahhinngg with some clapping to make the guys feel good ;-) Then it is back inside to just hang out and goof off. My kind of New Year's party, no one barfing up dinner, no law enforcement on the scene, and good friends to wile away the evening with.
:tab New Year's day arrives with a groan. I wish I could say that wild partying got the best of me, but it seems something far more sinister has it's claws in my innards... Hopefully this is not something that is going to stick with me all weekend. I've got things to do! Roads to explore! Gas to burn! I decide to stick it out rather than going home with Beth and Debbie. They have to get back because they have to work on Friday :-( They leave around noonish and John, Art and myself just lounge around watching World Rally Championship racing :dude: We catch the afternoon matinee of The Last Samurai. It's long and predictable but has lots of action. I guess that passes for a great movie now days :shrug:
:tab The rest of the day is spent just goofing off. The weather has been iffy so riding really isn't all that appealing. Beth and Deb check in around 4:00 and let us know they made it home okay. Apparently Debbie was feeling better on the ride home because Beth tells me she passed three cars at once, in the rain!! :eek: For Debbie that is astonishing. I guess she was just ready to GET HOME!
:tab Friday morning comes along and I feel 100% better than yesterday. Whatever it was, by the end of the day Thursday, I had pretty much gotten it out of my system :| Now, the weather is looking like it will shape up nicely for riding! Art has to work so it will be just myself and John. We start out hitting most of the nearby bike shops for fun and to check out the new crop of Dual Sports, hehe. The new KLR 650's look real sweet with the new red paint scheme. After checking everything out, we decide we'd better get moving if we are going to do any serious riding and not waste the day. So we head out FM 1431 towards Marble Falls.
:tab John takes the lead and I am just along for the ride for a change. It is nice because usually I am the one deciding where we're going and on what road. I guess with all the talk John has been doing lately about cool backroads he's ridden on the GS, I should have been a little suspicious. He pulls off onto a little side road at the base of a hill. He tells me it is Cow Pie.. or Cow Creek... Cow something road... All I know is that it is covered in loose fresh gravel. Thinking perhaps they have only resurfaced a short part of the road, we head into the unknown.
:tab VFR's are great bikes. They are NOT dual sports! The backend of the bike feels like it is sliding all over the place. I am concentrating on being real smooth with all my control inputs, nothing sudden. Yet as I take the corners at a blistering 20mph, I can still feel the tires sliding on the gravel. It is a little unnerving. John patiently putts along in front of me. It must be killing him.
:tab We round a corner and come face to face with a huge Longhorn standing in the middle of the road. :shock: It doesn't look thrilled to see us and I have to confess, I am not so thrilled either. Getting the VFR turned around in a hurry on this gravel will be darn near impossible. So we wait... Faced with the glaring hulk of PigZilla, it decides the best thing is to just saunter off into the woods on the side of the road. Doh!! I should have gotten a picture!
:tab Eventually we come down a gentle hill to a low water crossing. We stop for pictures and a break. Despite my best efforts at relaxing, I can feel tension buidling in my shoulders and neck.
Beauty and the Beast (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01163.JPG) / Look at all that gravel under the bike! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01163.JPG)
Poser boy (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01165.JPG)
:tab When we get ready to leave, John suggests that we swap bikes so that I can see what it's like on the GS. Uh... okay! The road remains gravel for several more miles. The GS feels really stable. I can still feel the gravel rolling around under the tires but the tires don't feel like they are squirming all over the place. I tenderly lean into some of the corners, no problems. I weave back and forth at speed, again totally stable. I could get to like this! Eventually we drop out somewhere on FM 1174. As soon as we hit the pavement, John takes off. Now I get to see how the BigPig handles on the pavement with knobbies. Interestingly, it is not until well past 80mph with some serious lean that I start to notice the tires wiggling around a little. Still, it is nothing to worry about. :)
:tab About the time I am getting into a rythm, John points to the left and hits the brakes. Apparently it is time to head back out into the middle of no where on another tiny one lane wide road. At least this one is paved, sort of... We pass some ranches, cross a few cattle guards, run through some woods, and eventually come out at Burnett on US 281. Most of these roads are little country roads and John seems to know them fairly well without needing to check a map or his GPS. I am starting to see why he enjoys the GS so much!
:tab In Burnett we hit Hwy 29 and go West toward Lake Buchanan. It has warmed up considerably. The clouds are high and wispy but thick, letting in sunlight sporadically. Hwy 29 winds lazily through the hills in a series of big long sweepers. When we reach FM 2341, we turn North and head up the East side of the lake. The hills are steeper here and the road bends to follow the contours of the lake. It makes for great riding. There isn't much traffic to speak of really. We stop at an overlook to take in the scenery. We are quite high above the water level. I can feel the cool air coming up the hillside off the water. It feels good. Maybe I should remove my liner? It is getting a little toasty.
:tab We keep heading out on FM 2341 only to find that it eventually dead ends into a resort park. It's obvious we are not here to stay so the guy at the gate invites us in to take a look around. We are thinking lunch because it is already 2:00pm. He tells us there is a little grill back down by the lake but he is not sure if it is open. It's not. On the ride back to the entrance, I spot an Armadillo in the road. John pulls up next to me and starts trying to get my camera out of the tankbag. It's too late, he's gone into the underbrush out of range. I half expect John to get off the bike and start chasing the little dude :lol: I've long since given up on being surprised when John does something, hehe.
:tab As we leave the park I take the lead on the GS. I don't really feel like hauling fanny, but I am having fun just keeping a nice steady pace through the corners. The GS has so much torque anywhere in the rev range that rolling on the throttle coming out of corners is a real hoot! :twisted: We get back to Hwy 29 in a flash and then keep heading West to the start of Park Road 4.
:tab Park road 4 is a favorite of the Austin locals. The North end of the road is nice and twisty with good pavement. However, it is usually heavily patrolled by Park Rangers and there is a massive native deer population. So we keep it sane. I am still amazed at the ease with which the big GS slices around corners and never seems to run out of lean angle. I can't quit thinking about the fact that BMW is coming out with a new 1200cc version that weighs about the same as the VFR and makes something like 100ft lbs of torque!! The VFR makes 54 at peak... Hmmm....
:tab I snap out of my dreaming and spot a Park Ranger in a suburban coming towards us. We don't really fit the mold of the typical sportbike riders he probably sees out here. Both bikes are sporting lots of luggage. He just gives a nod of the head, I wave, we part amicably. It is a close encounter of the nice kind! A few corners later I spot a guy back behind the fence row wildly waving his arms at us like he wants us to slow down. Instinctively I do, only to round the next corner to see flashing lights everywhere!
:tab There are firetrucks, wreckers, DPS, Rangers, Sheriffs, just about everyone you can think of except the Governor. It seems that some kind of cage went off the road and into a tree. There is a tree with about a 10" trunk diameter laying on the ground, snapped off about a foot up from the ground. :shock: That had to hurt. Apparently, the vehicle caught on fire because there is a charred and smoking section of ground that extends from the tree, back up under the fence and into the woods. I don't know if anyone was hurt but I say a silent prayer for them anyway. I give a friendly wave to the multitude of LEO officers standing around as we slowly pass by and then we disappear over the next hill.
:tab When we reach Marble Falls we decide it is time to stop for lunch. I have not even had breakfast and I've got a serious rumbly in my tumbly. We decide to forgoe the Blue Bonnet Cafe. Instead we stop at a place right on the river a block or two South of the Cafe. It has a large deck outback but we opt for the inside dinning room because it is getting really windy. It is about 3:00pm. After a BIG burger and a short recovery time, we head out to the parking lot. Once again the VFR is a little sluggish to start :| Just get me home!
:tab We swap back to our own bikes and head South over the river to FM 2147 and head West. There are a lot of really nice and obviously expensive homes along this road. John has brought me this way because he wants to show me a big rock...
:tab Okay, so it is a REALLY BIG rock!! This thing is a chunk of pink granite that is easily the size of several large houses and rises about 35-40 feet out of the ground to make a big dome. John pulls off the road and rides right up to the top. I am a little wary of this offroading experience. There are enough variations in the surface that I could easily bottom out the fairings behind the front wheel and do some expensive damage. I slowly pick out a path that gets me to the top without to much excitement.
King of the Mountain! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01166.JPG)
A set of knobbies and your's truly would be set to go! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01167.JPG)
A look back towards the road (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01168.JPG) / Diff expsoure of same shot (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01169.JPG)
The Beastie and the Rock. (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01170.JPG)
The Pigmeister and his favorite sow! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01171.JPG) :-P
:tab I take the slow gentle route back to the road. The last I see of John he is mumbling something about it, "being steeper over here..." I find may way to the road to wait for him and see him pop out of some trees a few hundred feet up the road :roll: We head up the road a few miles before he pulls over again. This time into a what appears to be a rather upscale neighborhood entrance. We stop when we reach this:
The only way in and out? (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01173.JPG)
Well... at least I stop...
He lives for this kind of stuff, hehe (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01172.JPG)
:tab The concrete near the water is so slimey that it is even difficult to walk on without slipping. While John is doing the adventure touring thing, I park the VFR to take pics. At first blush, it looks like I may have parked on a spectacularly groomed race track (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01174.JPG) for pocketbikes!!! Or... some people might think of it as a golf cart track :roll: What a waste! I walk over to the water crossing for a closer look to find a nice thick layer of green algea (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01176.JPG) everywhere. No wonder it is so slick!
:tab What John wanted to do was to show me a piece of property he almost bought many years ago. Unfortunately, his girlfriend at the time, Crazy Julie, talked him out of it. Now it is worth a whole lot more than it was when he was looking at buying it :lol: This has to be a small part of why Crazy Julie is a former girlfriend :-P We get back on the road and head over to Hwy 71 and keep going West. It's getting late in the afternoon but it feels incredible out today!
:tab John is leading again, I'm following like any good sheep. It seems he wants to revisit an old nemsis (http://www.twtex.com/viewtopic.php?t=645) of his, Country road 310. *que ominous sounding music in background...*
:tab John checks with me to see if I really want to venture off the pavement. The ground looks like hard packed dirt, is pretty smooth, and has very little loose stuff... Unlike my head. :roll: So off we go, out into the wilderness, a big cloud of dust rising from the back of PigZilla as it hurtles down the road. I use the word "road" lightly here. It is about a lane and half wide (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01179.JPG) and many tree branches hang out a good ways over the edges of the road, so effectively it is a single lane road. John slows for the cattle guards until he can see no one is coming from the other side and then he guns it for a slight hop when he hits the guards. I slow way way down for them. I don't want to look in the mirror and see my GIVI luggage bouncing off into the ditch.
:tab When we crest a hill, I see cowlets it the road :| There is a truck coming the other way as John decides to stop (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01180.JPG) and fraternize with the little critters. I stay way back so the whirring of the VFR gear driven cams doesn't spook them. The truck looks like this happens a lot and it slowly creeps forward at a steady pace until at times it looks to be literally pushing some of the stubborn calves out of the way! It's funny that they are not afraid of the big truck, but the big guy in the blue suit (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01181.JPG)... well now that kind of spooks them! Then I notice a lot of much larger cows (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01182.JPG) taking an interest in John's activities, could there be a bull lurking somewhere in their midst?
Hey little cow... I got something for ya! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01184.JPG)
We get back under way without seeing any bulls.
:tab Before long we stop again. Apparently this is the bend in the road where John hit a lot of wet mud and went flying off the bike. It's pretty much bone dry now, thank God! But I can see how it might have surprised him. There is a slight crest in the road right before the right hand curve hiding any potential nastiness. A little further up the road and we reach the low water crossing where he wiped out again :roll:
:tab There is water on the crossing, but it is not deep or fast moving. John shows me where he went one way into the water and the bike slid down the concrete but thankfully did not slip off into the water. We park the bikes and take a closer look before attempting a crossing:
Looking back up Sandy Creek (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01185.JPG)
Another view with a different exposure setting (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01186.JPG)
A better view showing PigZilla behind the VFR (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01187.JPG) / diff exposure again (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01188.JPG)
A good look at the water and the drop off on the sides (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01189.JPG)
:tab John walks across while I am taking pictures. It is slick, but because the water is moving slow, we decide to make the crossing. There is a large steel plate on the bridge with HUGE nuts spaced all over it.They are spaced just tightly enough that there isn't a straight path between all of them wide enough for the bike tires. This means the tires hit off center and it pushes the bike from side to side as I tip toe across, gingerly slipping the clutch. Once on the other side, we are back on the hard packed dirt and continue on our way.
:tab Soon we come to a fork in the road. John stops so we can discuss which way we want to go. The sun is getting low on the horizon and we are still at least an hour and an half from home. It will be getting colder soon. We decide to head South on CR 310A. It should drop us out onto a paved FM and then we can make time back to the civilized world. At John's suggestion, we swap bikes again. He tells me to take off and just wait for him when I get to the stop sign. Um... okay! :twisted:
:tab Now I have the chance to see what it is like to run the big GS up to speed offroad. I take the speed up in steps so that I can get used to it as I go. It seems perfectly stable and composed! I'm really digging this! When I come up to the cattle guards, I slow to make sure no one is coming from the other direction. Once I see it is clear, I whack the throttle and hit them pretty fast, launching the bike off the ground for about ten feet. No, it is nothing spectacular. But it is still farther than I've ever intentionally launched a bike before :-P And it's fun!!
:tab I crest a quick hill and spot another water crossing just ahead. I drop down to first gear and putt across. There is a lot of slime in the center track of the road. However, the tire tracks seem to be clear. I decide to stop and wait for John so I can warn him of the slick stuff. Moments later he crests the hill and sees me standing in the water pointing to either side of myself. He takes the hint and cruises on by me. I jog back up the hill where I left the GS, well... maybe jog is too strong a word? It's really more like a strained huffing and puffing trot. :oops: I fire up the big twin and get on the gas, the back tire sliding around and tossing gravel with impunity! Have I mentioned that I am really digging this bike?! Is it possible that John is taunting me with these little rides...?
:tab It does not take long to overtake John and cruise off into the dusty distance. Off to the side in some of the fields I am starting to see the occasional deer poking its' head up over the brush to see what is causing the racket as I cruise on down the road. It's time to start paying real close attention to funny reflections on the shoulders of the roads. :? I'm fairly confident the GS would come out better than a deer in the event of a collision, but I just don't want to test this belief.
:tab I reach the end of the line and find a paved road. It's time to stop and wait for John to catch up to me. It is a beautiful evening and the sky is lined with glowing clouds (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01190.JPG). It's totally quiet now, very peaceful. I can see what attracts people to live out here so far from anything else. While I am goofing off, John arrives (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01191.JPG). Time to make time! We're on FM 3347 and heading East back towards South Austin, John leading the way.
:tab The sun is fading fast and it is getting a little cooler. The dry air is a nice change from the stickiness I am used to at home in the East Texas Piney Woods. John sets a nice quick pace and we settle into cruise mode, seldom letting up for any of the corners and just holding a constant speed. It is times like this that I start slipping into my riding trances, thinking of nothing in particular, just scanning the road and shoulder for anything of concern, picking my lines through the corners, and just feeling my way down the road.
:tab When we reach FM 962 we keep heading East until we reach US 281. A short hop down US 281 and we pick up the continuation of FM 962. This is one of those sections of road that I really like to hit when I am in the area. The pavement is generally very smooth and clean, the curves are nice with no nasty surprises, and the scenery is really nice. Of course right now the scenery is all dark. :| I like riding in the dark though. There are not as many distractions. It's just me and the road... and the ocassional critter. I have to confess that I like night riding on the VFR much better than the GS! The GS headlights leave a LOT to be desired!! Not what I would have expected from such a highly touted adventure touring rig :?
:tab The really interesting section of FM 962 is right at the Pedernales River crossing, also known as Hammett's Crossing. The road makes a sharp 20mph left hander, drops down into the river valley, makes a real sharp 10mph right hander on to the water crossing, makes an immediate 10mph left hander and starts up the far side of the valley. Half way up is a really really tight right handed switchback. Even in first gear, this can be a challenging corner. On the VFR, it is not unusual for the front tire to start coming off the ground as I pick the bike back up with a little application of the throttle. The big GS leans waaayyyy over, and then chugs its' way around the corner without missing a beat. Toss in a tight sweeping 25mph left hander and we are back on top of the ridge, off and running again!
:tab After the river crossing, the road becomes FM 3238, or Hamilton Pool Rd. The pavement is really nice and the corners have a nice flow to them. It does not take us long to get back to Hwy 71 just outside the Southwest end of town. A quick shot up Hwy 71 to RR 620 and we head North. RR 620 is a nice wide four lane road with a center turn. The curves are banked and beg to be ridden with abandon. Alas, there are stop lights everywhere, crazy cagers, and the speed limit is a measely 55mph or so. It is heavily patrolled as well. :roll: So we just settle in and take our time.
:tab When we reach the stop light at RR 2222, we stop for gas. John pulls off the tankbag without thinking about the dust and dirt that may be under it from all the offroading we've done today. Sure enough... the magnets drag on the paint and make a bunch of little scratches on the tank :shock: Looks like there will be some serious buffing to be done when we get home tonight! After gassing up, we head down Bullick Hollow Rd, the way out to Lime Creek Road... in the dark... on a bike with a crappy headlight... sure no problem!!
:tab John is intimately familiar with this road and rides like it. I'm not and have heard all kinds of wild tales from the locals. So here I am, chasing after John around tight little bends, over quick rises, and into the black night. Suprisingly, the GS handles this exceptionally gracefully, even with the big offroad knobbies. Groovy. :bow: We reach FM 2679 which eventually becomes Lime Creek Road. I've only been down here once and it was some time ago. John neglected to remind me about a few nasty left handers that keep getting tighter. In one particular nasty, I get the big pig hauled over so far that I am dragging something hard :eek: Instinctively, I start chanting, "look, lean, believe" over and over as I stay on the gas and just keep the bike planted. Unbelievably, it makes the corner and we keep moving. I may need outpatient help to remove the seat cover though :P
:tab Evetnually we reach FM 1431, head a mile or so East and head up Lakeline Blvd., back to his house. We park the bikes in the garage and head inside for a beer. Whew, what a crazy day! I have got to figure out a way to get my hands on a GS... Art finally gets home from work and we head out for Mexican food at a local joint before calling it an evening. Tomorrow, we ride again! :dude:
:tab Saturday morning arrives and it looks to be another spectacular day for riding. We are expecing Paul Massie to arrive around 10:00am to ride with us. Today it will be myself, John, Paul on his Triumph Sprint RS and Art on his RVF400. There will be no offroad adventure riding today. Paul arrives right on time. We give him some time to rest before we head back out. It is a bit windy so I think I'll pull the side bags off for today's ride and stick with just the topcase. I get my emergency roadside stuff transferred to the topcase and then I am ready to roll!
:tab We decide to start out by just heading West to Marble Falls on FM 1431. As is usually the case, we spend much of the time on 1431 sitting behind several cars and trucks wishing there were more passing zones out here. :roll: We pass through Marble Falls and keep going West on 1431. We pull over at an overlook that looks out over the Llano River and take some pictures.
My trusty VFR 800 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01192.JPG)
A goofy texture pic. (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01193.JPG) This is the rock wall on the other side of the road. I take pics like this all the time. Must be some kind of mental thing? :shrug:
Paul and Art looking sporty! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01194.JPG) :lol:
The whole gang (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01195.JPG)
A few cruisers pull in while we are messing around. Other than that, we really haven't seen many bikes out considering how nice the weather is today. It is around 11:00am and already its up to about 72 F!! Man I love Texas!!
:tab We get back on the road and Run FM 1431 all the way up to Hwy 29. This stretch of Hwy 29 runs along the shoreline of the river all the way into Llano. There are some really nice homes in the area. Once in Llano we pick up Hwy 16 and head South to look for FM 2323. John misses the turn off and we have to make a u-turn. FM 2323 takes off out in the middle of nothing. The hills are low and rolling with lots of short scrubby trees scattered about. I'm guessing this area is mostly cattle ranch land. There are the occasional high hills and the road bends its' way among them. John is setting a pretty fast pace through here. The corners are long and visibility is perfect. The wind is pretty bad though and I feel like I am really having to fight the bike. My neck is going to be sore later.
:tab It is starting to get even windier in the last few minutes and the temperature has dropped noticeably in the space of four or five minutes. Great!? Are we going to get rained on? It gets kind of grey and looks like we may be getting wet. By the time we run to the end of FM 2323, the temperature has dropped from 74 to 66 F. I don't really know why, but 66 feels a lot colder today than it normally would. :?
:tab We reach US 87 and stop to confer amongst ourselves. We had planned on heading into Fredericksburg for a break, then coming back out this way and running a few of the other FM's in the area that I have never explored. However, we decide to run into town and get lunch. We'll decide what we want to do on a full stomach. We pull out, John in the lead, me bringing up the rear. As we pull away from the intersection, I notice an unusual sound coming from the back of Paul's Sprint RS :? That can't be good! I pull up next to him and motion him over to the shoulder. As I suspected, his rear tire is totally flat :roll: Seems like there have been a lot of flats on the rides I've been on lately!
:tab John and Art notice that we are no longer behind them and they loop back to see what has become of us (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01196.JPG). We quickly find the hole and set about to getting it plugged. Fortunately, after the last trip with several flats, I went to Academy and bought a 20 pack of CO2 cartridges to replace all the ones we had used. Paul has the plugs, John has the cutting tools, and I have to CO2. We're set.
Paul reading up on the basics of tire repair (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01197.JPG)
Reaming the hole and getting lots of rubber cement everywhere! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01198.JPG)
:tab We let the bike sit for a few minutes after getting the plug in place. Then we start pumping the CO2 into the tire and get it up to a pressure where he can run the rest of the way into town. The cannisters are good for about 5 psi each. John gets impatient and starts riding up and down the shoulder in the weeds along the fence row :roll: Once we get everything packed away and are confident that Paul is good to go, we get back on the road and make our way to town. No rain yet.
:tab Once in town we have to stop at a gas station so Paul can finish filling up his tire. Then we set about finding a place to eat. There aren't as many bikes here as I would normally expect, but the cage crowd is out in force. We finally settle on Wheeler's Restaurant. The wait is only a few minutes. The food is hardly worth the wait :| But we're here so we just eat it and leave. Our new plan is to head South to Kerrville and hit Hwy 16 heading down to Bandera.
:tab Once again, John is leading the way. It seems that he wants to show us a cool little back road that runs down toward Kerrville. Uh oh... Could this be more surprise offroading? I got that out of my system yesterday and I don't know how excited Paul and Art will be about offroading on their bikes? As we are heading out of town we pick up a trailing sportbike of unknown type. We had passed him at a light and waved, then he pulled out and fell in with us. Cool. However, we we reach the turn off for the little side road, he keeps heading South on Hwy 16. It seems we are heading back out into the sticks on the Old Kerrville Highway. That's probably a good sign, most highways were paved at one time or another :lol:
:tab The road immediately narrows down to about a lane and a half with a fairly serious crown to the road. It is bumpy but nothing unmanageable. John is off and running! We chug along behind him, keeping a wary eye on the road. There are lots of fast little dips and twists around creeks and gullies. Longhorns sit in the pastures watching us go by with little more than a blink of curiousity. They have their grass, we have our pavement, everybody is happy, not much else matters.
:tab Somewhere along the line, the road became Bear Creek Road? Hmmm... I must have not been paying very close attention to the signs. A few more miles and it becomes Center Point Road. We are really cruising along so I am thankful there isn't any traffic and very few side roads and driveways. I'd probably not run this pace left to my own devices but it is nothing crazy and I'm not pushing, so I just kick back and enjoy the ride. Once again the road changes names, this time I think we crossed a county line. Now it is Center Front Road and stays as such until it drops us out onto what I believe to be FM 1341 East of Kerrville.
:tab A mile or so and we cross under I-10. This is definitely FM 1341, but is locally known as Cypress Creek Road. I have been on this road numerous times and it is one of my favorites in the area. The pavement is pretty good and the entire length to Kerrville has a fun roller coaster feel to it. There are lots of swooping corners and fast elevation changes. It is nice because it challenges one to really read the road, the change in camber, the tightening of the curve, etc,... All too soon we are in Kerrville. We get back on Hwy 16 and make our way through town. We get separated at a few lights, but eventually come out on the South side of town together.
:tab The real fun on Hwy 16 does not start until we pass Turtle Creek Road. South of there, the road really starts to get twisty with lots of 20mph and 15mph corners. Unfortunately, the pavement quality leaves a little to be desired. The last paving was chip seal with tar and gravel. Over the years the gravel has slid along the surface and bunched up, creating some serious ripple bumps. It's not really a problem if you are expecting it. The first time I came through here on a bike it scared the bejeezus out of me! It makes the bike skitter and hop through the corner, something that is not fun when you are already freaking out because the corner is a lot tighter than you are expecting! :eek:
:tab We hit the tight stuff and are running a very conservative pace so nothing crazy happens. Some of the tightest curves also are the steepest. The road really drops away from us as we are laying the bikes in and rolling on the throttle. Seeing the guard rail a few feet away is not a comforting sight. Once through the tight stuff, Hwy 16 opens back up into a long series of fast sweepers until it reaches Bandera. We are not going that far today and instead cut to the East on FM 2828.
:tab Even though I have been in this area many times on the bikes, I have never taken the time to run this short little FM. It is actually a really nice little ride. The road looks to be relatively new and the pavement is really good. Right about the time I start getting into the rhytm of the road, John pulls over to the shoulder. I go on by and pull off up ahead to wait. A few minutes later, everyone is back on the road, no idea why we stopped but it seems that everything is okay now :shrug: The rest of the run over to Hwy 173 is a blast.
:tab It is getting late in the afternoon. The clouds are still pretty high up in the sky so I'm not real worried about it raining. The temperature has climbed back up into the 70's again and it feels great. What a fantastic way to spend a weekend!? We run up hwy 173 to Camp Verde. 173 is a nice wide four lane highway. Once again, John misses his turn off and we have to make a u-turn to get to FM 480. Steve Duncan would be proud of John. Steve is the master of missing turns. :lol: John has spent a lot of time on other trips chasing him down to get him turned around and pointing in the right direction.
:tab FM 480 is a nice short blast over to Hwy 27. Once on hwy 27 we head for Comfort. It looks like a lot of the original planned route is going to be dropped off. John has to get back around 6:30-7:00pm to meet some friends from out of town. At the pace we are running, we'll be doing good to get back in time, even taking a fairly direct route. So we are cruising through the small town of Comfort looking for the start of FM 473. I've been here and missed that before so I am watching for it. John misses it and does not see me waving and pointing. A mile or so up the road I get his attention and we get turned around again. :roll:
:tab Once on FM 473, John takes off again, Paul in hot pursuit. I am running behind Paul and Art is bringing up the rear. I just happen to glance out the side of my right eye and catch a glimpse of some old bikes?? Huh?? A second glance reveals a LOT of old bikes in various states of disrepair. I point it out to Art and then keep going. A little further up the road, I notice that Art is no longer behind me?? I pull over to wait, no sign of him. So I turn around and head back to where I saw all the bikes. There sits Art talking with the property owner as the owner is moving a chain so Art can drive his bike back up near the shop. What the heck? This could be cool... I pull in with him.
:tab As we are pulling in, Paul comes zooming up and spots us. John goes zinging by moments later. Paul starts to head out after him but then we hear him turn around and he comes cruising up into the driveway shortly. We have stumbled upon "Mike's Bikes", what looks to be a graveyard for old and forgotten bikes. This is not the case. They may be old, but they are anything but forgotten.
:tab Mike is an interesting fellow. He is quite friendly and loves to talk about bikes. He's quite interested in all of ours. He invites us to take a look around. How can we refuse? Sitting just outside the door to his garage are several beautiful vintage bikes that look nicely restored.
A 1949 B31 BSA 350cc Single (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01200.JPG). Ready for the auction block in Las Vegas.
1972 B50 BSA 500cc Enduro (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01201.JPG). Also ready to be auctioned.
An early model Goldwing in desperate need of some serious TLC! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01202.JPG)
Paul, Mike and Art looking over the inventory (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01203.JPG).
An old Honda 175 wasting away into oblivion (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01204.JPG).
It's a huge shop and full of more parts than you can imagine! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01205.JPG)
Another view of the inventory (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01206.JPG).
:tab We spend about thirty minutes hanging out looking things over and shooting the breeze with Mike. Seems he is going out of business and will be getting rid of his entire inventory :( The city has passed a few new taxes that are so expensive he can't afford to operate at a profit. He seems to have a soft spot for Honda V4's as there are numerous examples all over the place. John has his eye on a little VF500. Apparently, this was John's first street bike and he still has a soft spot in his heart for it :-D Well, time is ticking and daylight is fading. It is pushing 4:30pm so I don't think we are gonna be getting back to North Austin by 6:00pm :roll: It is worth the stop though.
:tab The rest of our ride is up FM 473 all the way over to US 281. There we cut up North to Blanco and pick up FM 165 over to Henley. FM 165 is a nice little road with some really fun sweepers. Once on US 290, we head East into Dripping Springs and head North up RR 12 to FM 3238 and on to Hwy 71. It is about dark now and starting to get a bit cool. When we reach RR 620, we stop for gas and a break. John informs us that he plans to run up RR620 and then take Lime Creek Road over to FM 1431 like we did last night. Hey! Been there done that! No sweat, especially on the VFR with its' killer headlights. Art and Paul are not so enthusiastic :lol: Paul has heard lots of stories about LCR, is not real familiar with it and has never run it in the dark.
:tab When we reach the turn off, John has to stop way short of the intersection in the left turn lane. It seems that the people coming off RR 2222 think they can cut the corner totally and don't have to worry about coming into our turn lane. I thought John was gonna get T-Boned!! :eek: Of course the idiot in the car glares at us like we are the ones that are doing something wrong, morons. :shooter:
:tab Once on the start of LCR, the fun really begins. John is on his GS so naturally he is flying! Art is hanging right on his tail. From my vantage point behind Paul, I can clearly see that the RS has really lame headlights. My low beams are shining further up the road than the RS beams and I'm behind the RS!! Accordingly, Paul has to back it down to a safe pace and just let John and Art go ahead. This lets Paul use his high beams most of the time which really helps both of us. We eventually catch up to John and Art, they are sitting on the side of the road waiting for us. We reach FM 1431 and within a few minutes are back at John's place relaxing. What a great day of riding! :dude:
:tab Since John is having his friends stay with him, Paul and I head over to Will Bird's house to spend the night. He lives a few blocks from John and has plenty of room in his huge new house. Art comes over shortly and we head back to the same little Mexican restaurant for dinner. The waitress, Eva, is a real cuttie and takes real good care of us! We make sure to leave a healthy tip ;-) After a late night viewing of the Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, we call it a night.
:tab Sunday morning rolls around and it looks pretty gloomy outside :| I really don't want to ride home in the rain, but after such a great weekend of riding, it would be a small price to pay, hehe. We get loaded up and ready to leave. I roll the VFR out of the garage and thumb the starter... it makes a short pathetic grunting noise before going deathly silent. Uh oh... This can't be good.
:tab Will's driveway is on a slight incline so I get the bike turned around, in what I thought was second gear, and then start coasting. When I reach the street I dump the clutch hoping to bump start the motor. What actually happens is that the bike starts bucking like a ticked off rodeo bull until I pull the clutch back in and let it die with a wimper. Apparently, I had it in third gear, DOH!! I paddle walk it up to a slight coasting speed and dump the clutch again, in SECOND gear this time, and the engine roars to life. Whew...! With a wave goodbye to Will, Paul and I are off for the run back towards Huntsville.
:tab Paul has talked me into taking a different route back on some roads he is familiar with, I agree. So we head East on Hwy 29 out of Georgetown. It is grey and overcast. However, it is getting rather warm, actually kind of hot!? Man Texas has some goofy weather at times. :roll: We cruise up Hwy 95 to the small town of Bartlett. The old downtown strip here looks like it is destined to be revitalized as a touristy shopping area. The main street is paved with bricks. Many of the buildings have the date of their construction displayed prominently in the original brick work. Most are from 1900 - 1905. It makes me wonder what kind of promise this little town had back then? It will be interesting to see what becomes of it in the years to come.
:tab We head East out of town on FM 487. The road is nice and smooth with wide lanes. This is all farming area out here and relatively flat. I guess the only reason the road curves so much is to get around all the property lines? Whatever the reason, it makes for some fun riding! Every mile or two there are several back to back 40mph corners with perfect visibility. It is a blast to watch Paul hit the corners and roll through. Then I come behind him downshifting and doing the same, flipping it over for the next one. I guess if the corn were all growing now there would be next to no visibility in the corners!
:tab Before long we arrive in the town of Davilla. It is a town in name only. There isn't much here. However, Paul surprises me by pulling over at what looks like a run down General store. The kids across the street sit on their horses watching us with a keen interest. I'm still not sure why we have stopped. Once off the bikes, Paul tells me that there is a cafe here that he has been wanting to try. Uh... sure? Left to my own devices I would never have stopped here. I cannot help but wonder if a town this small even has a health inspector :?
:tab We go inside and are immediately met with a bunch of blank stares from the locals. A quick glance around shows that there are three tables, two are occupied and the third has one chair despite being large enough to seat maybe seven or eight people. I ask if they are open for business and just get more blank stares. Now I am wondering what we have got ourselves into. About the time I am contemplating walking back out, a short stout little Hispanic kid comes up with menus... huh? One of the people at another table graciously offers us another chair so we can both side down. Then this little kid, maybe ten years old, proceeds to take our orders. Wanting to play it safe, I just order a bacon, egg and sausage breakfast taco with water. How bad could that be? The food finally comes out. It is edible but not worth a trip back for seconds.
:tab Afterwards, we head outside and saddle up. The kids on the horses are trotting by checking us out. Then they head out of town. A few minutes later we pass them on our way out of town and they wave. We run FM 487 the rest of the way to Rockdale. It is a nice ride. Off in the distance I can see the skyline growing ominously darker in the direction we are heading. Not good. Once in Rockdale we pick up FM 908 for the run back toward Caldwell. It is nice coming through here at a quick pace, but I am starting to see a few spots on the road where it looks damp. Has it already been raining here?
:tab When we reach Caldwell, the skies really don'y looking very inviting. We head out of town on FM 166. Now there are definitely wet spots on the road and in some places the entire road is glistening with a slick looking coat of moisture. Grrr... One of the most fun roads on the ride home and it is wet. Not wanting to risk a slide in a corner, we take it down a notch and just cruise. It starts to mist a little, not enough to run off the visor in the wind, just enough to make a mess and make it hard to see. We reach FM 50 and head South to FM 60. I stop for gas here. Paul pulls up and let's me know that this is as far as he goes. He will be heading North to Hearne where he garages the bike. A glance over my should towards College Station makes me think I might want to go ahead and get out the rain gear. I get lazy and leave it packed. Not good.
:tab A few miles out the East side of College Station on Hwy 30, it starts to drizzle pretty hard. I pull over where there is a wide shoulder and put on my 3/4 rain jacket and rain gloves. I leave off the pants because I am hoping the rain won't get any harder. Bad idea. While I am standing on the shoulder, a large 18 wheeler blows by and hoses me with a cloud of spray :x
:tab Scant moments later I am trailing behind him looking for a chance to pass. Then the rain really starts to come down. My riding pants have long ago stopped pretending to be rain proof. Now the think they are made of quilted paper towels so that they can store as much liquid as possible :evil: I can already feel water getting close to places I'd prefer stayed dry. I manage to get around the truck and get clear of all the spray. A few more miles and I spot a gas station with covered pumps where I can stop again and put my rain pants on. This takes a few minutes and I see the truck come by again, DOH!! Now I have to do it all over again.
:tab It is getting cold now and I am not a happy camper. With all the gear on I feel like the little Pillsbury Doughcyclist. Sure enough I catch up to the truck, but now we are in a loonnnggg construction zone with no where to pass. I just have to suck it up, hang back, and enjoy the constant muddy spray for the next twelve miles or so. Once I reach the county line, the construction stops, the road gets real straight and I take off. Now I just want to get home. I'm sure anyone that sees me, and the people I am passing probably think I am some kind of crazed nutcase. Who cares!?
:tab I finally roll into the driveway and Beth has the garage door open and is waiting for me. It feels great to get inside, dry out and warm up. It just gets nastier and nastier all evening as the temperature continues to drop. Winter has reared it's ugly head again. I wonder how long it will be before we get another one of these awesome weekends? Typically, we get one or two near the end of January or the middle of February. I have to go make plans for the next time!
Adios,
:tab Here are the pics from this weekend:
http://twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/
:tab This is to be Debbie's first trip out of town on the bikes. Even though the distance we will be covering is less than her longest ride, she is still nervous about this ride :shrug: Newbies... go figure ;-) So we get the bikes loaded up and are ready to leave around 4:00pm on Wednesday afternoon. It is mostly overcast and fairly humid, but the temperature is up in the low seventies. It should be a nice ride over to Austin. We plan on staying at John's place.
Bikes 1 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01150.JPG) / Bikes 2 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01152.JPG)
The red VFR is mine, the blue one is Beth's and that is Debbie's GS500 in the middle.
:tab We head out of town on Hwy 30 for College Station. The wind coming out of the South is steady and humid. Hwy 30 is nothing but big fast sweepers so we make pretty good time to College Station. We head out the West side of town on FM 60 past Easterwood Airport. I used to spend time out here goofing off at the wind tunnel when I was in school at A&M getting my Aerospace Geek degree. Looking back it seems like another lifetime in another world. Once we cross the Brazos River, it gets reallll flat and open. This is farming land. We stop for gas at FM 60 and 50. Debbie gets into and loses a fight with her overstuffed tankbag. We are still working on training her to pack light :lol:
:tab After filling up the bikes and swapping dark visors for clear visors, we head up FM 50 a mile or so to the start of FM 166. This road is a favorite among the local College Station squiddies. The very first curve is a nice tight 25mph right hander with totally clear and open visibility, then a left hander, and then it starts to get back into some hills and becomes more fun! Most of the corners are 35-45mph corners and the pavement is pretty good. Debbie is lagging behind a little so I get into the mode where I putt along the straights and into the start of the corners, then zing through the corners, putt along the straights, repeat over and over. It's fun because I can really work on setting good lines through the corners and then have the fun of ripping through them. I can see that Debbie is pretty tense though and she's not riding her normal pace.
:tab There are some really beautiful homes out on FM 166. Several sit on the tops of the highest hills and look out over the valleys below with pastures, huge Live Oak trees and scattered cattle. We reach Caldwell and head through town on Hwy 21. Just outside of town we turn and head North on FM 908. There is not much tight stuff on this road. It is mostly rolling hills and smooth sweepers. The sun is getting low on the horizon but it is still quite warm. Now it is time to really start looking for beady little eyes on the road side :|
:tab We run FM 908 all the way up to the small country town of Rockdale. Texas is full of these little towns that look like they used to be hustling little empires. Farming was big business at one time. Now I wonder what anyone could possibly be doing to make a living in such desolate looking places? I'm guessing the bulk of the town population is retired. There is some neat turn of the century architecture, especially the town hall on the main square. I've often thought about doing a Tiny Texas Town tour just to check out all the cool old houses, town halls, county courthouses, post offices, etc,... I think that would be a cool ride but it would take some serious time!
:tab We follow FM 908 through town and contine on until it hits FM 486. The terrain is now low rolling hills and farmland again. About the only trees we see are those planted in yards of houses and along the fence rows. We turn North on FM 486 for a mile or so and pick up FM 1331. This road runs up along the ridges and affords us a really nice view for miles and miles in any direction. The horizon glows softly as the remaining sunlight fades. Debbie is still running unusually slow, I'm starting to wonder if there might be something wrong besides just being nervous. :?
:tab When we reach Hwy 95, I decide to pull over for a break. No one needs gas, but I have got to take a nature break! The gas station is one of those dingy run down looking places. When I open the door, cigarette smoke comes billowing out into the night air :puke: Behind the counter sits what looks to be a Mom and Daughter working the family store, both huffing away. Everything has a dingy yellowish brown to it. I hold my breath as I head for the restroom, hoping the air might not be so bad in there. Uh... yeah sure. Once back outside I breathe a sigh of relief. I thumb the starter to get going again, but the bike turns over very sluggishly :brainsnap Uh oh?! A second thumb of the starter sets things right but now I am leery of what might happen the rest of the trip :huh:
:tab We head up Hwy 95 into the darkness looking for the start of Hwy 29. When I reach the turn, I look back and notice that Beth and Debbie are no longer with me! I turn around and spot some headlights on the shoulder about a half mile back up the road. Apparently, when we left the gas station, Debbie did not have something situated right and had to stop to get it squared away. Back together, we head West on hwy 29 to Georgetown.
:tab It is starting to get a little hazy now and the temperature is getting down into the mid sixties. Hwy 29 is a nice wide and smooth road that roughly follows a river, the name of which eludes me. It makes for nice big banked sweepers through what would otherwise be flat open farmlands. When we come into Georgetown, we get into some traffic and a slight drizzle has started. I really don't want to stop and put on rain gear. We are only a few minutes from John's house.
:tab Georgetown is another good example of a Texas town with a lot of history and cool arhitecture. We pass by a college campus and several of the buildings look to be at least 100 years old, made of stone. I could easily waste a day wandering around the town taking pictures of the houses. Many of them have been restored. Georgetown is close enough to Austin that many people commute between them. There is no sign at all that Georgetown is going the way of so many other small Texan towns, in fact it looks to be growing faster than the city can keep pace with.
:tab We reach I-35 and head South for FM 1431 to make the run over the Cedar Park. It is drizzling hard enough now that I have to work at seeing where I am going. My visor keeps getting covered in droplets so small that they won't blow off but numerous enough to obscure my vision. With all the bug innards on the screen, I dare not wipe it with my glove. We cross US 183 on FM 1431 and then head into John's neighborhood. As soon as we pull into the driveway, it starts to really come down thick and soupy. Perfect timing! We cram our bikes into John's garage and head inside.
Garage 1 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01153.JPG) / Garage 2 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01154.JPG)
:tab We settle in for an evening of eating, drinking and trying to avoid becoming a fireworks safety statistic. John's roommate, Art (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01155.JPG), is working on dinner for us. I expertly wrap and butter the corn on the cob... BAM! I'm amazing in the kitchen :mrgreen: Debbie is greatly relieved to have arrived, the release of tension is visible. She seems much more relaxed after a nice hot shower, alone :P John "makes" a fire for Beth in his fake log, gas fed, "fire place" :lol: John's friends, Will and Steve, show up and we are good to go.
:tab As midnight approaches, out come the big fireworks. Art bought the monster package of the tube launched mortar style explosives. I wisely elect to watch from the driveway as John, Will and Art leave with flaming things in their hands and lots of explosives. The other Will wanders around the driveway waving sparklers and refusing to hold still for pictures, hehe.
Sparky 1 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01156.JPG) / Sparky 2 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01157.JPG)
Let's see how many we can light at once! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01158.JPG)
A good indicator of just how windy it is! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01159.JPG) / Another windy shot (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01160.JPG)
Debbie and Will looking to see if anyone is on fire yet? (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01161.JPG)
:tab The fireworks show is great! No one is seriously burned. Pics of the airburst stuff just do not come out at all. We do lots of oohhing and aahhinngg with some clapping to make the guys feel good ;-) Then it is back inside to just hang out and goof off. My kind of New Year's party, no one barfing up dinner, no law enforcement on the scene, and good friends to wile away the evening with.
:tab New Year's day arrives with a groan. I wish I could say that wild partying got the best of me, but it seems something far more sinister has it's claws in my innards... Hopefully this is not something that is going to stick with me all weekend. I've got things to do! Roads to explore! Gas to burn! I decide to stick it out rather than going home with Beth and Debbie. They have to get back because they have to work on Friday :-( They leave around noonish and John, Art and myself just lounge around watching World Rally Championship racing :dude: We catch the afternoon matinee of The Last Samurai. It's long and predictable but has lots of action. I guess that passes for a great movie now days :shrug:
:tab The rest of the day is spent just goofing off. The weather has been iffy so riding really isn't all that appealing. Beth and Deb check in around 4:00 and let us know they made it home okay. Apparently Debbie was feeling better on the ride home because Beth tells me she passed three cars at once, in the rain!! :eek: For Debbie that is astonishing. I guess she was just ready to GET HOME!
:tab Friday morning comes along and I feel 100% better than yesterday. Whatever it was, by the end of the day Thursday, I had pretty much gotten it out of my system :| Now, the weather is looking like it will shape up nicely for riding! Art has to work so it will be just myself and John. We start out hitting most of the nearby bike shops for fun and to check out the new crop of Dual Sports, hehe. The new KLR 650's look real sweet with the new red paint scheme. After checking everything out, we decide we'd better get moving if we are going to do any serious riding and not waste the day. So we head out FM 1431 towards Marble Falls.
:tab John takes the lead and I am just along for the ride for a change. It is nice because usually I am the one deciding where we're going and on what road. I guess with all the talk John has been doing lately about cool backroads he's ridden on the GS, I should have been a little suspicious. He pulls off onto a little side road at the base of a hill. He tells me it is Cow Pie.. or Cow Creek... Cow something road... All I know is that it is covered in loose fresh gravel. Thinking perhaps they have only resurfaced a short part of the road, we head into the unknown.
:tab VFR's are great bikes. They are NOT dual sports! The backend of the bike feels like it is sliding all over the place. I am concentrating on being real smooth with all my control inputs, nothing sudden. Yet as I take the corners at a blistering 20mph, I can still feel the tires sliding on the gravel. It is a little unnerving. John patiently putts along in front of me. It must be killing him.
:tab We round a corner and come face to face with a huge Longhorn standing in the middle of the road. :shock: It doesn't look thrilled to see us and I have to confess, I am not so thrilled either. Getting the VFR turned around in a hurry on this gravel will be darn near impossible. So we wait... Faced with the glaring hulk of PigZilla, it decides the best thing is to just saunter off into the woods on the side of the road. Doh!! I should have gotten a picture!
:tab Eventually we come down a gentle hill to a low water crossing. We stop for pictures and a break. Despite my best efforts at relaxing, I can feel tension buidling in my shoulders and neck.
Beauty and the Beast (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01163.JPG) / Look at all that gravel under the bike! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01163.JPG)
Poser boy (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01165.JPG)
:tab When we get ready to leave, John suggests that we swap bikes so that I can see what it's like on the GS. Uh... okay! The road remains gravel for several more miles. The GS feels really stable. I can still feel the gravel rolling around under the tires but the tires don't feel like they are squirming all over the place. I tenderly lean into some of the corners, no problems. I weave back and forth at speed, again totally stable. I could get to like this! Eventually we drop out somewhere on FM 1174. As soon as we hit the pavement, John takes off. Now I get to see how the BigPig handles on the pavement with knobbies. Interestingly, it is not until well past 80mph with some serious lean that I start to notice the tires wiggling around a little. Still, it is nothing to worry about. :)
:tab About the time I am getting into a rythm, John points to the left and hits the brakes. Apparently it is time to head back out into the middle of no where on another tiny one lane wide road. At least this one is paved, sort of... We pass some ranches, cross a few cattle guards, run through some woods, and eventually come out at Burnett on US 281. Most of these roads are little country roads and John seems to know them fairly well without needing to check a map or his GPS. I am starting to see why he enjoys the GS so much!
:tab In Burnett we hit Hwy 29 and go West toward Lake Buchanan. It has warmed up considerably. The clouds are high and wispy but thick, letting in sunlight sporadically. Hwy 29 winds lazily through the hills in a series of big long sweepers. When we reach FM 2341, we turn North and head up the East side of the lake. The hills are steeper here and the road bends to follow the contours of the lake. It makes for great riding. There isn't much traffic to speak of really. We stop at an overlook to take in the scenery. We are quite high above the water level. I can feel the cool air coming up the hillside off the water. It feels good. Maybe I should remove my liner? It is getting a little toasty.
:tab We keep heading out on FM 2341 only to find that it eventually dead ends into a resort park. It's obvious we are not here to stay so the guy at the gate invites us in to take a look around. We are thinking lunch because it is already 2:00pm. He tells us there is a little grill back down by the lake but he is not sure if it is open. It's not. On the ride back to the entrance, I spot an Armadillo in the road. John pulls up next to me and starts trying to get my camera out of the tankbag. It's too late, he's gone into the underbrush out of range. I half expect John to get off the bike and start chasing the little dude :lol: I've long since given up on being surprised when John does something, hehe.
:tab As we leave the park I take the lead on the GS. I don't really feel like hauling fanny, but I am having fun just keeping a nice steady pace through the corners. The GS has so much torque anywhere in the rev range that rolling on the throttle coming out of corners is a real hoot! :twisted: We get back to Hwy 29 in a flash and then keep heading West to the start of Park Road 4.
:tab Park road 4 is a favorite of the Austin locals. The North end of the road is nice and twisty with good pavement. However, it is usually heavily patrolled by Park Rangers and there is a massive native deer population. So we keep it sane. I am still amazed at the ease with which the big GS slices around corners and never seems to run out of lean angle. I can't quit thinking about the fact that BMW is coming out with a new 1200cc version that weighs about the same as the VFR and makes something like 100ft lbs of torque!! The VFR makes 54 at peak... Hmmm....
:tab I snap out of my dreaming and spot a Park Ranger in a suburban coming towards us. We don't really fit the mold of the typical sportbike riders he probably sees out here. Both bikes are sporting lots of luggage. He just gives a nod of the head, I wave, we part amicably. It is a close encounter of the nice kind! A few corners later I spot a guy back behind the fence row wildly waving his arms at us like he wants us to slow down. Instinctively I do, only to round the next corner to see flashing lights everywhere!
:tab There are firetrucks, wreckers, DPS, Rangers, Sheriffs, just about everyone you can think of except the Governor. It seems that some kind of cage went off the road and into a tree. There is a tree with about a 10" trunk diameter laying on the ground, snapped off about a foot up from the ground. :shock: That had to hurt. Apparently, the vehicle caught on fire because there is a charred and smoking section of ground that extends from the tree, back up under the fence and into the woods. I don't know if anyone was hurt but I say a silent prayer for them anyway. I give a friendly wave to the multitude of LEO officers standing around as we slowly pass by and then we disappear over the next hill.
:tab When we reach Marble Falls we decide it is time to stop for lunch. I have not even had breakfast and I've got a serious rumbly in my tumbly. We decide to forgoe the Blue Bonnet Cafe. Instead we stop at a place right on the river a block or two South of the Cafe. It has a large deck outback but we opt for the inside dinning room because it is getting really windy. It is about 3:00pm. After a BIG burger and a short recovery time, we head out to the parking lot. Once again the VFR is a little sluggish to start :| Just get me home!
:tab We swap back to our own bikes and head South over the river to FM 2147 and head West. There are a lot of really nice and obviously expensive homes along this road. John has brought me this way because he wants to show me a big rock...
:tab Okay, so it is a REALLY BIG rock!! This thing is a chunk of pink granite that is easily the size of several large houses and rises about 35-40 feet out of the ground to make a big dome. John pulls off the road and rides right up to the top. I am a little wary of this offroading experience. There are enough variations in the surface that I could easily bottom out the fairings behind the front wheel and do some expensive damage. I slowly pick out a path that gets me to the top without to much excitement.
King of the Mountain! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01166.JPG)
A set of knobbies and your's truly would be set to go! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01167.JPG)
A look back towards the road (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01168.JPG) / Diff expsoure of same shot (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01169.JPG)
The Beastie and the Rock. (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01170.JPG)
The Pigmeister and his favorite sow! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01171.JPG) :-P
:tab I take the slow gentle route back to the road. The last I see of John he is mumbling something about it, "being steeper over here..." I find may way to the road to wait for him and see him pop out of some trees a few hundred feet up the road :roll: We head up the road a few miles before he pulls over again. This time into a what appears to be a rather upscale neighborhood entrance. We stop when we reach this:
The only way in and out? (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01173.JPG)
Well... at least I stop...
He lives for this kind of stuff, hehe (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01172.JPG)
:tab The concrete near the water is so slimey that it is even difficult to walk on without slipping. While John is doing the adventure touring thing, I park the VFR to take pics. At first blush, it looks like I may have parked on a spectacularly groomed race track (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01174.JPG) for pocketbikes!!! Or... some people might think of it as a golf cart track :roll: What a waste! I walk over to the water crossing for a closer look to find a nice thick layer of green algea (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01176.JPG) everywhere. No wonder it is so slick!
:tab What John wanted to do was to show me a piece of property he almost bought many years ago. Unfortunately, his girlfriend at the time, Crazy Julie, talked him out of it. Now it is worth a whole lot more than it was when he was looking at buying it :lol: This has to be a small part of why Crazy Julie is a former girlfriend :-P We get back on the road and head over to Hwy 71 and keep going West. It's getting late in the afternoon but it feels incredible out today!
:tab John is leading again, I'm following like any good sheep. It seems he wants to revisit an old nemsis (http://www.twtex.com/viewtopic.php?t=645) of his, Country road 310. *que ominous sounding music in background...*
:tab John checks with me to see if I really want to venture off the pavement. The ground looks like hard packed dirt, is pretty smooth, and has very little loose stuff... Unlike my head. :roll: So off we go, out into the wilderness, a big cloud of dust rising from the back of PigZilla as it hurtles down the road. I use the word "road" lightly here. It is about a lane and half wide (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01179.JPG) and many tree branches hang out a good ways over the edges of the road, so effectively it is a single lane road. John slows for the cattle guards until he can see no one is coming from the other side and then he guns it for a slight hop when he hits the guards. I slow way way down for them. I don't want to look in the mirror and see my GIVI luggage bouncing off into the ditch.
:tab When we crest a hill, I see cowlets it the road :| There is a truck coming the other way as John decides to stop (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01180.JPG) and fraternize with the little critters. I stay way back so the whirring of the VFR gear driven cams doesn't spook them. The truck looks like this happens a lot and it slowly creeps forward at a steady pace until at times it looks to be literally pushing some of the stubborn calves out of the way! It's funny that they are not afraid of the big truck, but the big guy in the blue suit (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01181.JPG)... well now that kind of spooks them! Then I notice a lot of much larger cows (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01182.JPG) taking an interest in John's activities, could there be a bull lurking somewhere in their midst?
Hey little cow... I got something for ya! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01184.JPG)
We get back under way without seeing any bulls.
:tab Before long we stop again. Apparently this is the bend in the road where John hit a lot of wet mud and went flying off the bike. It's pretty much bone dry now, thank God! But I can see how it might have surprised him. There is a slight crest in the road right before the right hand curve hiding any potential nastiness. A little further up the road and we reach the low water crossing where he wiped out again :roll:
:tab There is water on the crossing, but it is not deep or fast moving. John shows me where he went one way into the water and the bike slid down the concrete but thankfully did not slip off into the water. We park the bikes and take a closer look before attempting a crossing:
Looking back up Sandy Creek (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01185.JPG)
Another view with a different exposure setting (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01186.JPG)
A better view showing PigZilla behind the VFR (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01187.JPG) / diff exposure again (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01188.JPG)
A good look at the water and the drop off on the sides (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01189.JPG)
:tab John walks across while I am taking pictures. It is slick, but because the water is moving slow, we decide to make the crossing. There is a large steel plate on the bridge with HUGE nuts spaced all over it.They are spaced just tightly enough that there isn't a straight path between all of them wide enough for the bike tires. This means the tires hit off center and it pushes the bike from side to side as I tip toe across, gingerly slipping the clutch. Once on the other side, we are back on the hard packed dirt and continue on our way.
:tab Soon we come to a fork in the road. John stops so we can discuss which way we want to go. The sun is getting low on the horizon and we are still at least an hour and an half from home. It will be getting colder soon. We decide to head South on CR 310A. It should drop us out onto a paved FM and then we can make time back to the civilized world. At John's suggestion, we swap bikes again. He tells me to take off and just wait for him when I get to the stop sign. Um... okay! :twisted:
:tab Now I have the chance to see what it is like to run the big GS up to speed offroad. I take the speed up in steps so that I can get used to it as I go. It seems perfectly stable and composed! I'm really digging this! When I come up to the cattle guards, I slow to make sure no one is coming from the other direction. Once I see it is clear, I whack the throttle and hit them pretty fast, launching the bike off the ground for about ten feet. No, it is nothing spectacular. But it is still farther than I've ever intentionally launched a bike before :-P And it's fun!!
:tab I crest a quick hill and spot another water crossing just ahead. I drop down to first gear and putt across. There is a lot of slime in the center track of the road. However, the tire tracks seem to be clear. I decide to stop and wait for John so I can warn him of the slick stuff. Moments later he crests the hill and sees me standing in the water pointing to either side of myself. He takes the hint and cruises on by me. I jog back up the hill where I left the GS, well... maybe jog is too strong a word? It's really more like a strained huffing and puffing trot. :oops: I fire up the big twin and get on the gas, the back tire sliding around and tossing gravel with impunity! Have I mentioned that I am really digging this bike?! Is it possible that John is taunting me with these little rides...?
:tab It does not take long to overtake John and cruise off into the dusty distance. Off to the side in some of the fields I am starting to see the occasional deer poking its' head up over the brush to see what is causing the racket as I cruise on down the road. It's time to start paying real close attention to funny reflections on the shoulders of the roads. :? I'm fairly confident the GS would come out better than a deer in the event of a collision, but I just don't want to test this belief.
:tab I reach the end of the line and find a paved road. It's time to stop and wait for John to catch up to me. It is a beautiful evening and the sky is lined with glowing clouds (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01190.JPG). It's totally quiet now, very peaceful. I can see what attracts people to live out here so far from anything else. While I am goofing off, John arrives (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01191.JPG). Time to make time! We're on FM 3347 and heading East back towards South Austin, John leading the way.
:tab The sun is fading fast and it is getting a little cooler. The dry air is a nice change from the stickiness I am used to at home in the East Texas Piney Woods. John sets a nice quick pace and we settle into cruise mode, seldom letting up for any of the corners and just holding a constant speed. It is times like this that I start slipping into my riding trances, thinking of nothing in particular, just scanning the road and shoulder for anything of concern, picking my lines through the corners, and just feeling my way down the road.
:tab When we reach FM 962 we keep heading East until we reach US 281. A short hop down US 281 and we pick up the continuation of FM 962. This is one of those sections of road that I really like to hit when I am in the area. The pavement is generally very smooth and clean, the curves are nice with no nasty surprises, and the scenery is really nice. Of course right now the scenery is all dark. :| I like riding in the dark though. There are not as many distractions. It's just me and the road... and the ocassional critter. I have to confess that I like night riding on the VFR much better than the GS! The GS headlights leave a LOT to be desired!! Not what I would have expected from such a highly touted adventure touring rig :?
:tab The really interesting section of FM 962 is right at the Pedernales River crossing, also known as Hammett's Crossing. The road makes a sharp 20mph left hander, drops down into the river valley, makes a real sharp 10mph right hander on to the water crossing, makes an immediate 10mph left hander and starts up the far side of the valley. Half way up is a really really tight right handed switchback. Even in first gear, this can be a challenging corner. On the VFR, it is not unusual for the front tire to start coming off the ground as I pick the bike back up with a little application of the throttle. The big GS leans waaayyyy over, and then chugs its' way around the corner without missing a beat. Toss in a tight sweeping 25mph left hander and we are back on top of the ridge, off and running again!
:tab After the river crossing, the road becomes FM 3238, or Hamilton Pool Rd. The pavement is really nice and the corners have a nice flow to them. It does not take us long to get back to Hwy 71 just outside the Southwest end of town. A quick shot up Hwy 71 to RR 620 and we head North. RR 620 is a nice wide four lane road with a center turn. The curves are banked and beg to be ridden with abandon. Alas, there are stop lights everywhere, crazy cagers, and the speed limit is a measely 55mph or so. It is heavily patrolled as well. :roll: So we just settle in and take our time.
:tab When we reach the stop light at RR 2222, we stop for gas. John pulls off the tankbag without thinking about the dust and dirt that may be under it from all the offroading we've done today. Sure enough... the magnets drag on the paint and make a bunch of little scratches on the tank :shock: Looks like there will be some serious buffing to be done when we get home tonight! After gassing up, we head down Bullick Hollow Rd, the way out to Lime Creek Road... in the dark... on a bike with a crappy headlight... sure no problem!!
:tab John is intimately familiar with this road and rides like it. I'm not and have heard all kinds of wild tales from the locals. So here I am, chasing after John around tight little bends, over quick rises, and into the black night. Suprisingly, the GS handles this exceptionally gracefully, even with the big offroad knobbies. Groovy. :bow: We reach FM 2679 which eventually becomes Lime Creek Road. I've only been down here once and it was some time ago. John neglected to remind me about a few nasty left handers that keep getting tighter. In one particular nasty, I get the big pig hauled over so far that I am dragging something hard :eek: Instinctively, I start chanting, "look, lean, believe" over and over as I stay on the gas and just keep the bike planted. Unbelievably, it makes the corner and we keep moving. I may need outpatient help to remove the seat cover though :P
:tab Evetnually we reach FM 1431, head a mile or so East and head up Lakeline Blvd., back to his house. We park the bikes in the garage and head inside for a beer. Whew, what a crazy day! I have got to figure out a way to get my hands on a GS... Art finally gets home from work and we head out for Mexican food at a local joint before calling it an evening. Tomorrow, we ride again! :dude:
:tab Saturday morning arrives and it looks to be another spectacular day for riding. We are expecing Paul Massie to arrive around 10:00am to ride with us. Today it will be myself, John, Paul on his Triumph Sprint RS and Art on his RVF400. There will be no offroad adventure riding today. Paul arrives right on time. We give him some time to rest before we head back out. It is a bit windy so I think I'll pull the side bags off for today's ride and stick with just the topcase. I get my emergency roadside stuff transferred to the topcase and then I am ready to roll!
:tab We decide to start out by just heading West to Marble Falls on FM 1431. As is usually the case, we spend much of the time on 1431 sitting behind several cars and trucks wishing there were more passing zones out here. :roll: We pass through Marble Falls and keep going West on 1431. We pull over at an overlook that looks out over the Llano River and take some pictures.
My trusty VFR 800 (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01192.JPG)
A goofy texture pic. (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01193.JPG) This is the rock wall on the other side of the road. I take pics like this all the time. Must be some kind of mental thing? :shrug:
Paul and Art looking sporty! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01194.JPG) :lol:
The whole gang (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01195.JPG)
A few cruisers pull in while we are messing around. Other than that, we really haven't seen many bikes out considering how nice the weather is today. It is around 11:00am and already its up to about 72 F!! Man I love Texas!!
:tab We get back on the road and Run FM 1431 all the way up to Hwy 29. This stretch of Hwy 29 runs along the shoreline of the river all the way into Llano. There are some really nice homes in the area. Once in Llano we pick up Hwy 16 and head South to look for FM 2323. John misses the turn off and we have to make a u-turn. FM 2323 takes off out in the middle of nothing. The hills are low and rolling with lots of short scrubby trees scattered about. I'm guessing this area is mostly cattle ranch land. There are the occasional high hills and the road bends its' way among them. John is setting a pretty fast pace through here. The corners are long and visibility is perfect. The wind is pretty bad though and I feel like I am really having to fight the bike. My neck is going to be sore later.
:tab It is starting to get even windier in the last few minutes and the temperature has dropped noticeably in the space of four or five minutes. Great!? Are we going to get rained on? It gets kind of grey and looks like we may be getting wet. By the time we run to the end of FM 2323, the temperature has dropped from 74 to 66 F. I don't really know why, but 66 feels a lot colder today than it normally would. :?
:tab We reach US 87 and stop to confer amongst ourselves. We had planned on heading into Fredericksburg for a break, then coming back out this way and running a few of the other FM's in the area that I have never explored. However, we decide to run into town and get lunch. We'll decide what we want to do on a full stomach. We pull out, John in the lead, me bringing up the rear. As we pull away from the intersection, I notice an unusual sound coming from the back of Paul's Sprint RS :? That can't be good! I pull up next to him and motion him over to the shoulder. As I suspected, his rear tire is totally flat :roll: Seems like there have been a lot of flats on the rides I've been on lately!
:tab John and Art notice that we are no longer behind them and they loop back to see what has become of us (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01196.JPG). We quickly find the hole and set about to getting it plugged. Fortunately, after the last trip with several flats, I went to Academy and bought a 20 pack of CO2 cartridges to replace all the ones we had used. Paul has the plugs, John has the cutting tools, and I have to CO2. We're set.
Paul reading up on the basics of tire repair (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01197.JPG)
Reaming the hole and getting lots of rubber cement everywhere! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01198.JPG)
:tab We let the bike sit for a few minutes after getting the plug in place. Then we start pumping the CO2 into the tire and get it up to a pressure where he can run the rest of the way into town. The cannisters are good for about 5 psi each. John gets impatient and starts riding up and down the shoulder in the weeds along the fence row :roll: Once we get everything packed away and are confident that Paul is good to go, we get back on the road and make our way to town. No rain yet.
:tab Once in town we have to stop at a gas station so Paul can finish filling up his tire. Then we set about finding a place to eat. There aren't as many bikes here as I would normally expect, but the cage crowd is out in force. We finally settle on Wheeler's Restaurant. The wait is only a few minutes. The food is hardly worth the wait :| But we're here so we just eat it and leave. Our new plan is to head South to Kerrville and hit Hwy 16 heading down to Bandera.
:tab Once again, John is leading the way. It seems that he wants to show us a cool little back road that runs down toward Kerrville. Uh oh... Could this be more surprise offroading? I got that out of my system yesterday and I don't know how excited Paul and Art will be about offroading on their bikes? As we are heading out of town we pick up a trailing sportbike of unknown type. We had passed him at a light and waved, then he pulled out and fell in with us. Cool. However, we we reach the turn off for the little side road, he keeps heading South on Hwy 16. It seems we are heading back out into the sticks on the Old Kerrville Highway. That's probably a good sign, most highways were paved at one time or another :lol:
:tab The road immediately narrows down to about a lane and a half with a fairly serious crown to the road. It is bumpy but nothing unmanageable. John is off and running! We chug along behind him, keeping a wary eye on the road. There are lots of fast little dips and twists around creeks and gullies. Longhorns sit in the pastures watching us go by with little more than a blink of curiousity. They have their grass, we have our pavement, everybody is happy, not much else matters.
:tab Somewhere along the line, the road became Bear Creek Road? Hmmm... I must have not been paying very close attention to the signs. A few more miles and it becomes Center Point Road. We are really cruising along so I am thankful there isn't any traffic and very few side roads and driveways. I'd probably not run this pace left to my own devices but it is nothing crazy and I'm not pushing, so I just kick back and enjoy the ride. Once again the road changes names, this time I think we crossed a county line. Now it is Center Front Road and stays as such until it drops us out onto what I believe to be FM 1341 East of Kerrville.
:tab A mile or so and we cross under I-10. This is definitely FM 1341, but is locally known as Cypress Creek Road. I have been on this road numerous times and it is one of my favorites in the area. The pavement is pretty good and the entire length to Kerrville has a fun roller coaster feel to it. There are lots of swooping corners and fast elevation changes. It is nice because it challenges one to really read the road, the change in camber, the tightening of the curve, etc,... All too soon we are in Kerrville. We get back on Hwy 16 and make our way through town. We get separated at a few lights, but eventually come out on the South side of town together.
:tab The real fun on Hwy 16 does not start until we pass Turtle Creek Road. South of there, the road really starts to get twisty with lots of 20mph and 15mph corners. Unfortunately, the pavement quality leaves a little to be desired. The last paving was chip seal with tar and gravel. Over the years the gravel has slid along the surface and bunched up, creating some serious ripple bumps. It's not really a problem if you are expecting it. The first time I came through here on a bike it scared the bejeezus out of me! It makes the bike skitter and hop through the corner, something that is not fun when you are already freaking out because the corner is a lot tighter than you are expecting! :eek:
:tab We hit the tight stuff and are running a very conservative pace so nothing crazy happens. Some of the tightest curves also are the steepest. The road really drops away from us as we are laying the bikes in and rolling on the throttle. Seeing the guard rail a few feet away is not a comforting sight. Once through the tight stuff, Hwy 16 opens back up into a long series of fast sweepers until it reaches Bandera. We are not going that far today and instead cut to the East on FM 2828.
:tab Even though I have been in this area many times on the bikes, I have never taken the time to run this short little FM. It is actually a really nice little ride. The road looks to be relatively new and the pavement is really good. Right about the time I start getting into the rhytm of the road, John pulls over to the shoulder. I go on by and pull off up ahead to wait. A few minutes later, everyone is back on the road, no idea why we stopped but it seems that everything is okay now :shrug: The rest of the run over to Hwy 173 is a blast.
:tab It is getting late in the afternoon. The clouds are still pretty high up in the sky so I'm not real worried about it raining. The temperature has climbed back up into the 70's again and it feels great. What a fantastic way to spend a weekend!? We run up hwy 173 to Camp Verde. 173 is a nice wide four lane highway. Once again, John misses his turn off and we have to make a u-turn to get to FM 480. Steve Duncan would be proud of John. Steve is the master of missing turns. :lol: John has spent a lot of time on other trips chasing him down to get him turned around and pointing in the right direction.
:tab FM 480 is a nice short blast over to Hwy 27. Once on hwy 27 we head for Comfort. It looks like a lot of the original planned route is going to be dropped off. John has to get back around 6:30-7:00pm to meet some friends from out of town. At the pace we are running, we'll be doing good to get back in time, even taking a fairly direct route. So we are cruising through the small town of Comfort looking for the start of FM 473. I've been here and missed that before so I am watching for it. John misses it and does not see me waving and pointing. A mile or so up the road I get his attention and we get turned around again. :roll:
:tab Once on FM 473, John takes off again, Paul in hot pursuit. I am running behind Paul and Art is bringing up the rear. I just happen to glance out the side of my right eye and catch a glimpse of some old bikes?? Huh?? A second glance reveals a LOT of old bikes in various states of disrepair. I point it out to Art and then keep going. A little further up the road, I notice that Art is no longer behind me?? I pull over to wait, no sign of him. So I turn around and head back to where I saw all the bikes. There sits Art talking with the property owner as the owner is moving a chain so Art can drive his bike back up near the shop. What the heck? This could be cool... I pull in with him.
:tab As we are pulling in, Paul comes zooming up and spots us. John goes zinging by moments later. Paul starts to head out after him but then we hear him turn around and he comes cruising up into the driveway shortly. We have stumbled upon "Mike's Bikes", what looks to be a graveyard for old and forgotten bikes. This is not the case. They may be old, but they are anything but forgotten.
:tab Mike is an interesting fellow. He is quite friendly and loves to talk about bikes. He's quite interested in all of ours. He invites us to take a look around. How can we refuse? Sitting just outside the door to his garage are several beautiful vintage bikes that look nicely restored.
A 1949 B31 BSA 350cc Single (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01200.JPG). Ready for the auction block in Las Vegas.
1972 B50 BSA 500cc Enduro (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01201.JPG). Also ready to be auctioned.
An early model Goldwing in desperate need of some serious TLC! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01202.JPG)
Paul, Mike and Art looking over the inventory (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01203.JPG).
An old Honda 175 wasting away into oblivion (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01204.JPG).
It's a huge shop and full of more parts than you can imagine! (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01205.JPG)
Another view of the inventory (http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/123103NewYears/DSC01206.JPG).
:tab We spend about thirty minutes hanging out looking things over and shooting the breeze with Mike. Seems he is going out of business and will be getting rid of his entire inventory :( The city has passed a few new taxes that are so expensive he can't afford to operate at a profit. He seems to have a soft spot for Honda V4's as there are numerous examples all over the place. John has his eye on a little VF500. Apparently, this was John's first street bike and he still has a soft spot in his heart for it :-D Well, time is ticking and daylight is fading. It is pushing 4:30pm so I don't think we are gonna be getting back to North Austin by 6:00pm :roll: It is worth the stop though.
:tab The rest of our ride is up FM 473 all the way over to US 281. There we cut up North to Blanco and pick up FM 165 over to Henley. FM 165 is a nice little road with some really fun sweepers. Once on US 290, we head East into Dripping Springs and head North up RR 12 to FM 3238 and on to Hwy 71. It is about dark now and starting to get a bit cool. When we reach RR 620, we stop for gas and a break. John informs us that he plans to run up RR620 and then take Lime Creek Road over to FM 1431 like we did last night. Hey! Been there done that! No sweat, especially on the VFR with its' killer headlights. Art and Paul are not so enthusiastic :lol: Paul has heard lots of stories about LCR, is not real familiar with it and has never run it in the dark.
:tab When we reach the turn off, John has to stop way short of the intersection in the left turn lane. It seems that the people coming off RR 2222 think they can cut the corner totally and don't have to worry about coming into our turn lane. I thought John was gonna get T-Boned!! :eek: Of course the idiot in the car glares at us like we are the ones that are doing something wrong, morons. :shooter:
:tab Once on the start of LCR, the fun really begins. John is on his GS so naturally he is flying! Art is hanging right on his tail. From my vantage point behind Paul, I can clearly see that the RS has really lame headlights. My low beams are shining further up the road than the RS beams and I'm behind the RS!! Accordingly, Paul has to back it down to a safe pace and just let John and Art go ahead. This lets Paul use his high beams most of the time which really helps both of us. We eventually catch up to John and Art, they are sitting on the side of the road waiting for us. We reach FM 1431 and within a few minutes are back at John's place relaxing. What a great day of riding! :dude:
:tab Since John is having his friends stay with him, Paul and I head over to Will Bird's house to spend the night. He lives a few blocks from John and has plenty of room in his huge new house. Art comes over shortly and we head back to the same little Mexican restaurant for dinner. The waitress, Eva, is a real cuttie and takes real good care of us! We make sure to leave a healthy tip ;-) After a late night viewing of the Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, we call it a night.
:tab Sunday morning rolls around and it looks pretty gloomy outside :| I really don't want to ride home in the rain, but after such a great weekend of riding, it would be a small price to pay, hehe. We get loaded up and ready to leave. I roll the VFR out of the garage and thumb the starter... it makes a short pathetic grunting noise before going deathly silent. Uh oh... This can't be good.
:tab Will's driveway is on a slight incline so I get the bike turned around, in what I thought was second gear, and then start coasting. When I reach the street I dump the clutch hoping to bump start the motor. What actually happens is that the bike starts bucking like a ticked off rodeo bull until I pull the clutch back in and let it die with a wimper. Apparently, I had it in third gear, DOH!! I paddle walk it up to a slight coasting speed and dump the clutch again, in SECOND gear this time, and the engine roars to life. Whew...! With a wave goodbye to Will, Paul and I are off for the run back towards Huntsville.
:tab Paul has talked me into taking a different route back on some roads he is familiar with, I agree. So we head East on Hwy 29 out of Georgetown. It is grey and overcast. However, it is getting rather warm, actually kind of hot!? Man Texas has some goofy weather at times. :roll: We cruise up Hwy 95 to the small town of Bartlett. The old downtown strip here looks like it is destined to be revitalized as a touristy shopping area. The main street is paved with bricks. Many of the buildings have the date of their construction displayed prominently in the original brick work. Most are from 1900 - 1905. It makes me wonder what kind of promise this little town had back then? It will be interesting to see what becomes of it in the years to come.
:tab We head East out of town on FM 487. The road is nice and smooth with wide lanes. This is all farming area out here and relatively flat. I guess the only reason the road curves so much is to get around all the property lines? Whatever the reason, it makes for some fun riding! Every mile or two there are several back to back 40mph corners with perfect visibility. It is a blast to watch Paul hit the corners and roll through. Then I come behind him downshifting and doing the same, flipping it over for the next one. I guess if the corn were all growing now there would be next to no visibility in the corners!
:tab Before long we arrive in the town of Davilla. It is a town in name only. There isn't much here. However, Paul surprises me by pulling over at what looks like a run down General store. The kids across the street sit on their horses watching us with a keen interest. I'm still not sure why we have stopped. Once off the bikes, Paul tells me that there is a cafe here that he has been wanting to try. Uh... sure? Left to my own devices I would never have stopped here. I cannot help but wonder if a town this small even has a health inspector :?
:tab We go inside and are immediately met with a bunch of blank stares from the locals. A quick glance around shows that there are three tables, two are occupied and the third has one chair despite being large enough to seat maybe seven or eight people. I ask if they are open for business and just get more blank stares. Now I am wondering what we have got ourselves into. About the time I am contemplating walking back out, a short stout little Hispanic kid comes up with menus... huh? One of the people at another table graciously offers us another chair so we can both side down. Then this little kid, maybe ten years old, proceeds to take our orders. Wanting to play it safe, I just order a bacon, egg and sausage breakfast taco with water. How bad could that be? The food finally comes out. It is edible but not worth a trip back for seconds.
:tab Afterwards, we head outside and saddle up. The kids on the horses are trotting by checking us out. Then they head out of town. A few minutes later we pass them on our way out of town and they wave. We run FM 487 the rest of the way to Rockdale. It is a nice ride. Off in the distance I can see the skyline growing ominously darker in the direction we are heading. Not good. Once in Rockdale we pick up FM 908 for the run back toward Caldwell. It is nice coming through here at a quick pace, but I am starting to see a few spots on the road where it looks damp. Has it already been raining here?
:tab When we reach Caldwell, the skies really don'y looking very inviting. We head out of town on FM 166. Now there are definitely wet spots on the road and in some places the entire road is glistening with a slick looking coat of moisture. Grrr... One of the most fun roads on the ride home and it is wet. Not wanting to risk a slide in a corner, we take it down a notch and just cruise. It starts to mist a little, not enough to run off the visor in the wind, just enough to make a mess and make it hard to see. We reach FM 50 and head South to FM 60. I stop for gas here. Paul pulls up and let's me know that this is as far as he goes. He will be heading North to Hearne where he garages the bike. A glance over my should towards College Station makes me think I might want to go ahead and get out the rain gear. I get lazy and leave it packed. Not good.
:tab A few miles out the East side of College Station on Hwy 30, it starts to drizzle pretty hard. I pull over where there is a wide shoulder and put on my 3/4 rain jacket and rain gloves. I leave off the pants because I am hoping the rain won't get any harder. Bad idea. While I am standing on the shoulder, a large 18 wheeler blows by and hoses me with a cloud of spray :x
:tab Scant moments later I am trailing behind him looking for a chance to pass. Then the rain really starts to come down. My riding pants have long ago stopped pretending to be rain proof. Now the think they are made of quilted paper towels so that they can store as much liquid as possible :evil: I can already feel water getting close to places I'd prefer stayed dry. I manage to get around the truck and get clear of all the spray. A few more miles and I spot a gas station with covered pumps where I can stop again and put my rain pants on. This takes a few minutes and I see the truck come by again, DOH!! Now I have to do it all over again.
:tab It is getting cold now and I am not a happy camper. With all the gear on I feel like the little Pillsbury Doughcyclist. Sure enough I catch up to the truck, but now we are in a loonnnggg construction zone with no where to pass. I just have to suck it up, hang back, and enjoy the constant muddy spray for the next twelve miles or so. Once I reach the county line, the construction stops, the road gets real straight and I take off. Now I just want to get home. I'm sure anyone that sees me, and the people I am passing probably think I am some kind of crazed nutcase. Who cares!?
:tab I finally roll into the driveway and Beth has the garage door open and is waiting for me. It feels great to get inside, dry out and warm up. It just gets nastier and nastier all evening as the temperature continues to drop. Winter has reared it's ugly head again. I wonder how long it will be before we get another one of these awesome weekends? Typically, we get one or two near the end of January or the middle of February. I have to go make plans for the next time!
Adios,