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- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 51,246
- Reaction score
- 8,254
- Location
- Huntsville
- First Name
- Scott
- Last Name
- Friday
Well, with the pretty weather FINALLY coinciding with my weekend off from work, I got in a MUCH needed ride!! I briefly contemplated a run up to Edom for lunch at the Shed Cafe with Snoopster, Ourobors, Hardy Baker, Rockmantx, and a few others, but the meet up time here in Hunstville was 8:00am... 
Instead I slept in until about noon and then had a nice ride North toward Centerville, Oakwood, Buffalo, and back. Being on the GS and having street tires on it, I mostly stayed on the paved roads... until I just couldn't stand it anymore 
I figured the recent heavy rains would make the sand fun and I could always turn around if the mud got too bad 
I ran up FM 247 to OSR and then FM 1119 North to FM 811. I really like 811 as it runs through some real pretty land and has lots of fun curves and elevation changes. Unfortunately, another group did not have a good day on that road. I came upon maybe 12 bikes on the side of the road. There was a large wide shoulder full of water and mud. A cruiser of some sort was out in the knee deep muck covered with mud and weeds. The rider was apparently not hurt, but getting that bike out had to be a MESSY affair!! Most all of the other bikes were ZRXs, VFRs, GSXRs, etc,... I don't recall seeing any other cruiser. Looks like he just ran wide in a FAST sweeper. Once off the edge of the pavement it was game over! Since they had things well in hand, I continued on up to Hwy 7 and and turned East to FM 1511. FM 1511 is another one I really like. The pavement is good and there is rarely any traffic. There are a few corners that can catch you out if you are day dreaming though. This dead ends into FM 831, which I then ran NE toward Oakwood. It is just more beautiful country and great riding. But the itch to get off the pavement was getting strong enough that I felt the need to scratch... So I headed SW out of Oakwood on US 79 a few miles and picked up CR 340, a route I have never taken.This is typical of the scenery along CR 340 and FM 489
Not dirt, but heavy oil/tar on dirt and actually quite smooth.
From FM 489 I dropped back South on FM 1848 into Buffalo for a gas stop. I replaced the battery before leaving and it reset my trip meter. Also the gauge showed I was full when I left the house. I often fill up at the end of a ride and reset the meter so I did not give it any thought. Well, like many gauges, it shows full a long time then drops quickly down to empty, which is why I usually rely on the trip meter... Sooooo... by the time I rolled into the station I was cutting it pretty close! I didn't really find much in the way of dirt on those last few roads, so I tried some promising looking country roads South of Buffalo. I ran US 75 South back to FM 831, then cut East to Brushy Cemetery Rd (CR 302 I think). This runs SE and starts out paved, but before long the pavement became broken and then dirt. I ran it down to CR 282, which loops back up NE to FM 1511. Both of these roads are fun and scenic.
If it were dry, this would be a challenge on the GS with the street tires!
It got a bit messy and slippery in places, but sticking to the cager tracks helped
Back on FM 1511, I ran South a ways to the intersection with FM 3178. Here I cut back SW on CR 207. About ten years ago I attempted this road on my newly acquired 1150 GS... on street tires. It sucked me in and before I knew it I was paddling for my life in DEEP and LOOSE sand!! It was also in the Summer and HOT! I managed to get the bike turned around and back to pavement, but I thought my chest was going to explode! Ever since then, that road has stuck in my mind as a "to do". Still wanting more dirt riding, I decided that with the recent rains the sand might be packed enough to make it passable. I was pleasantly surprised!! The first mile or so of the road now has a rock/oil surface, but then it gives way to sand and dirt. It is often very narrow and has a lot of fun elevation changes. Of course that also means a lot of low spots that are still wet, so I end up threading my way carefully through some nasty mud filled ruts. A few times I started to get crossed up and think I am about to face plant in the mud, but somehow my instinctive reactions managed to keep the bike upright and moving. The road starts out heading South but then makes a turn West. This is when the sand really starts to get fun. I can see that this road will be a blast on the KTM, especially when it gets dry and soft!!
CR 207 eventually dead ends into CR 204, which I then ran South back to Hwy 7. I ran 7 back to 811 and headed South again. It was still fairly early in the afternoon so I considered an out and back run on FM 977 to FM 3. It's a great ride, but it was not to be today...Bridge out and the "detour" is so muddy I wouldn't even attempt it on my KTM without some FRESH knobbies and someone holding a video camera
Well... I turned around at the detour and found CR 102 which runs South to OSR. It was a short hop, skip and jump, fun but nothing special. It was at least dirt though. At OSR I ran East back to FM 1119, then cut North again. About 1-1/2 miles up the road I turned East on Boseman Ferry road and ran that over to Antioch Rd. Antioch dumped me out on Hwy 21. Both of these roads are narrow single lane with broken pavement.Cool little country church
At Hwy 21 I turned NE and headed for FM 3275. The first few miles of this are paved, but then it turned to wet sand.One of the drier sections...
The remainder of 3275 over to FM 230 was a bit of a challenge. In some places the track was the width of my wheel. To either side of it was slick red mud and sand. In a few other places there was nothing to do but try to maintain momentum and keep the front end pointed the right direction until I came out the other side. TKC 80's would sure have been nice, but I came through it unsoiled. Besides being heavily rutted, it was also pot holed like crazy where it wasn't rutted. Eventually it turned to pavement before reaching FM 230 and the last few miles of the pavement are quite nice. I do think a few folks in trucks and a jeep were a bit surprised to see a bike like the GS tucking down the road at them. I got some strange looks. Once on FM 230 it was getting late enough that I decided to just run pavement home even though there is a fun section of dirt on the way. The light was fading and I did not want any close encounters of the deer kind. I ran 230 over to FM 3478 and cut South to FM 980. As I crossed over the Trinity River I noticed that it was definitely up from its regular level. At 980, I cut back West a few miles and rolled into our neighborhood just before dark. Snoopster had also just returned from her ride (she keeps her bike at our place). So we all hooked up with my folks for some BBQ dinner. I got out Sunday as well, but the weather was definitely NOT as good as Saturday. Both days were windy, but Sunday was even worse. It was overcast most of the day and there were scattered light showers. Once again I did not get out early like Snoopster and Ouroboros. I got out after noon and generally worked my way toward Richards, Anderson, and eventually out to Yankee's Tavern in Carlos on Hwy 30. Despite the iffy weather, the place was PACKED. Drifters, the bar just East of Richards on FM 149 was just as packed when I rode by there earlier. I stopped and got a drink, checked out the bikes, and visited with various other riders. I called Snoopster and let her know that I was at Yankees. Her and Ouroboros were coming back toward Navasota from Brenham. I figured I'd head that way shortly and try to intercept them.Grabbed a few shots first... First time I've seen these
Bandido bikes. Interesting how many had real full face helmets!
While I was taking pics, LOTS of bikes started leaving. Needless to say, it was a LOUD affair. EVERY bike had to rev their engines like crazy and then hammer down as they pulled away. It was deafening. I eventually wound up out on FM 3090 heading toward Navasota when I passed Snoopster and Ouroboros coming the other way. We hooked up and ran back to Yankees so they could take a break and grab a drink. So more pics...Classy!!
Can you name the bike this belongs too...?
While we were hanging out, some light rain was rolling in to the area. It was getting dark and gloomy looking. Radar showed scattered showers all about. Ouroboros asked which way? I mentioned that if I lead there is a good chance we might be back on some dirt... Snoopster was fine with that so we headed North on FM 244 so I could show Ouroboros the road that crosses the Navasota River and runs into College Station. This would be CR 162, about 2/3 the way up to Iola. It is normally a hard packed surface with sand patches. At one time, it used to be deep river bottom sand but the county has been bringing in gravel to "improve" the road 
Snoopster is still new to the whole dirt road thing, having only purchased her 650 GS (the 800 version) back in March. So we ran a nice easy pace. Ouroboros was on his 1200 GSA. The recent rains REALLY pot holed the road and much of it was quite rough, though mostly dry except for a few small spots. It seems Snoopster hit one of those spots right when she was next to a tree that had a cow hiding behind it! I saw it when I went by, but fortunately it did not spook and run. It spooked Snoopster though! We didn't run all the way across the river. Shortly before the river we turned Northeast on CR 103. This was much smoother. It eventually comes out on FM 244 just North of FM 1696. It is a really nice ride, all dirt. We hit FM 1696 and hauled East through Bedias to US 75 and back into Huntsville. Once we got off the dirt and onto 1696, it started to actually rain and continued raining the rest of the ride. I really enjoy my Klim Badlands Pro jacket and pants in such conditions. No messing with liners. Just zip up vents and keep riding! We rolled into the driveway right before dark. The kids were outside waiting for us. Sarah could hardly wait for me to get off the bike because she wanted to show me something "cool". It was prefaced with, "I left my brand new bike laying out in the rain..." My Dad mode kicked in and I said, "WHAT!?"But it was kind of cool... so I let it slide... this time
