- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 51,226
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Huntsville
- First Name
- Scott
- Last Name
- Friday
Howdy,
I managed to head South to Montgomery and actually hook up with a group from the Houston Sportbike Network. While chatting with Paul Lewis about his beautiful new Thunderbird at the Texaco on FM 149 and Hwy 105, the HSN group came rolling in for gas. What luck! They are planning on heading up FM 149 to Anderson and then running FM 3090. While we are at the station and everyone has their helmet off, I start running around trying to take pics of everyone before we head out.
AC and his 2002 Yamaha R1
Tommy Whittaker and his 2001 Kawasaki ZX9-R
John Corarro (sp??) and his 2001 Kawasaki EX-500
Blake Johnson on his 2001 Yamaha YZF-600
Before I get all the pictures taken, my pager goes off!! It will really suck if I have to go to work right when I meet everyone to ride :angryfir: After getting the number from the paging service, I call the person back. It's Patrick from Motorcycles Unlimited hehe, whew!! He informs me that the Ohlins rear shock for my 01 VFR is on back order until early June, doh!! I place the order anyway and then get back to the ride. Relieved that I don't have to work, I saddle up and we head out. I'll try to get more pics later.
We head up FM 149 through the Sam Houston National Forest. There is a bit of traffic but we still have fun. Cam, one of the people I never get a picture of, is leading the way on his Kawa ZX9-R. He makes sure the group stays together and that everyone knows when a bad corner is approaching. I am bringing up the rear with John. When riding with an unfamiliar group, I like to ride at the back to watch everyone. Cam stops a few times to make sure the whole group is accounted for. Then we head out to Richards and then to Anderson. John has stopped a few times ahead of the group so he can get pictures as everyone comes by him.
In Anderson, we head out on FM 149 to pick up the middle of FM 3090 and run it over to FM 244 near Carlos. At the intersection of 149 and 3090, Cam stops and warns everyone about the road ahead. This road is notorious for gravel strewn 30 mph curves. Many a bike has been destroyed or severely mangled out here. My Dad's riding career came to an unhappy end out here as well a few years back.
The group seems to be doing fine and Cam is setting a brisk but not insane pace. There is only one curve I am really worried about, a decreasing radius left hander where I have seen numerous people blow it and leave the road. The first time I came through here I almost sucked the cover right off my seat! The corner is not well marked. As we approach, Cam taps his brakes and waves his arm giving the signal to slow down and be cautious. The signal is passed right down the line to me at the end. As I begin to enter the turn and look for the exit, I see a cloud of dust rising in my peripheral vision. CRAP!! Someone has gone down... But then further up the road, I see another bike in the ditch. Double CRAP!!
I pull up in time to see Josh emerge from the weeds and stand up looking a little dazed but with no immediately apparent injuries. I walk over to him to make sure he is okay. He seems coherent but understandably excited. His hands are a little banged up but his clothes look mostly intact. The Katana is not so lucky. It hit the barbed wire fence and wrapped itself in the steel fencing line. It appears to have flipped once or twice. The forks are both completely twisted like pretzels. Most of the bodywork is in bad shape. Both mirrors and the windscreen are gone. The tank is dented and scratched. The seat has tears from the barbs. This is not gonna be cheap and is likely to be totalled.
The lead guys came back and helped AC get his R1 uprighted and out of the ditch. It suffers a small dent in the left side of the gas tank and some slight scuffing on the clutch cover. AC is fine. When Josh left the road, AC had to stand up to miss him and this made him run off the road. Fortunately, he was travelling mostly straight and slow when he fell over. No sooner than the dust has settled, out pop the cameras hehe.
We get everyone's bike up the road and out of the path of any other potential bikes running off the corner. The homeowner arrives and we have his driveway blocked. We move all the bikes so he can get in the drive. He informs us that in the last few weeks, ten bikes have gone down on this corner. Add two more. Moments later some Honda Superchickens come booming around the corner and stop to help. It takes four or five guys to get the Katana untangled. It has to be flipped over to untwist the wires before it can be freed. After all the bikes are moved to a safe location we collect our wits and take stock. Josh has a little rash up his left torso, but it is not too bad and is barely bleeding. I think Josh smokes about a pack of cigs in the next hour or so while we wait for his Dad to arrive with a truck.
The corner, it doesn't look so bad eh?
The Katana, it doesn't look so bad either, till you look closer...
Josh looking back up the road, "Where did it all go wrong?"
AC's R1, "Tis only a scratch, I've had worse!"
Don Vann on his first street bike! He's got lots of dirt riding experience. Nice ride!
A few of us head to the gas station in Carlos to get water for everyone. When Joh's Dad gets there, we load the bike in the back of the truck. It looks so pitiful laying on it's side in the bed of the truck. Fortunately, Josh has full coverage insurance on the bike! Once the bike is loaded, they drive off and the group mounts up and continues on towards the end of FM 3090. Once again I am bringing up the rear.
The pace is a little more sedate. Seeing a wreck in person has a way of doing that to you. Besides, we want to make sure AC is doing alright on his R1. I enjoy watching Vittorio on his Honda 919 gracefully arc through the corners. He is a classic rider, slow, look, lean and roll. Nice. We make our way back to Anderson and stop at the gas station there on the big curve in Hwy 90. A few guys grab a snack, Vittorio heads out on a different route home. The rest of us run FM 149 back to Montgomery.
When we reach Montgomery, Tommy, Blake and I stop for lunch and ice cream at King's Cafe. It is nice to get to sit and visit with these guys after all the riding. So often I ride with people and seldom get time off the bikes to get to know them. We all had a great time despite the excitement. The best thing is that it could have been so much worse but we got lucky and there were no serious injuries, just bruised pride. Been there done that
I managed to head South to Montgomery and actually hook up with a group from the Houston Sportbike Network. While chatting with Paul Lewis about his beautiful new Thunderbird at the Texaco on FM 149 and Hwy 105, the HSN group came rolling in for gas. What luck! They are planning on heading up FM 149 to Anderson and then running FM 3090. While we are at the station and everyone has their helmet off, I start running around trying to take pics of everyone before we head out.
AC and his 2002 Yamaha R1
Tommy Whittaker and his 2001 Kawasaki ZX9-R
John Corarro (sp??) and his 2001 Kawasaki EX-500
Blake Johnson on his 2001 Yamaha YZF-600
Before I get all the pictures taken, my pager goes off!! It will really suck if I have to go to work right when I meet everyone to ride :angryfir: After getting the number from the paging service, I call the person back. It's Patrick from Motorcycles Unlimited hehe, whew!! He informs me that the Ohlins rear shock for my 01 VFR is on back order until early June, doh!! I place the order anyway and then get back to the ride. Relieved that I don't have to work, I saddle up and we head out. I'll try to get more pics later.
We head up FM 149 through the Sam Houston National Forest. There is a bit of traffic but we still have fun. Cam, one of the people I never get a picture of, is leading the way on his Kawa ZX9-R. He makes sure the group stays together and that everyone knows when a bad corner is approaching. I am bringing up the rear with John. When riding with an unfamiliar group, I like to ride at the back to watch everyone. Cam stops a few times to make sure the whole group is accounted for. Then we head out to Richards and then to Anderson. John has stopped a few times ahead of the group so he can get pictures as everyone comes by him.
In Anderson, we head out on FM 149 to pick up the middle of FM 3090 and run it over to FM 244 near Carlos. At the intersection of 149 and 3090, Cam stops and warns everyone about the road ahead. This road is notorious for gravel strewn 30 mph curves. Many a bike has been destroyed or severely mangled out here. My Dad's riding career came to an unhappy end out here as well a few years back.
The group seems to be doing fine and Cam is setting a brisk but not insane pace. There is only one curve I am really worried about, a decreasing radius left hander where I have seen numerous people blow it and leave the road. The first time I came through here I almost sucked the cover right off my seat! The corner is not well marked. As we approach, Cam taps his brakes and waves his arm giving the signal to slow down and be cautious. The signal is passed right down the line to me at the end. As I begin to enter the turn and look for the exit, I see a cloud of dust rising in my peripheral vision. CRAP!! Someone has gone down... But then further up the road, I see another bike in the ditch. Double CRAP!!
I pull up in time to see Josh emerge from the weeds and stand up looking a little dazed but with no immediately apparent injuries. I walk over to him to make sure he is okay. He seems coherent but understandably excited. His hands are a little banged up but his clothes look mostly intact. The Katana is not so lucky. It hit the barbed wire fence and wrapped itself in the steel fencing line. It appears to have flipped once or twice. The forks are both completely twisted like pretzels. Most of the bodywork is in bad shape. Both mirrors and the windscreen are gone. The tank is dented and scratched. The seat has tears from the barbs. This is not gonna be cheap and is likely to be totalled.
The lead guys came back and helped AC get his R1 uprighted and out of the ditch. It suffers a small dent in the left side of the gas tank and some slight scuffing on the clutch cover. AC is fine. When Josh left the road, AC had to stand up to miss him and this made him run off the road. Fortunately, he was travelling mostly straight and slow when he fell over. No sooner than the dust has settled, out pop the cameras hehe.
We get everyone's bike up the road and out of the path of any other potential bikes running off the corner. The homeowner arrives and we have his driveway blocked. We move all the bikes so he can get in the drive. He informs us that in the last few weeks, ten bikes have gone down on this corner. Add two more. Moments later some Honda Superchickens come booming around the corner and stop to help. It takes four or five guys to get the Katana untangled. It has to be flipped over to untwist the wires before it can be freed. After all the bikes are moved to a safe location we collect our wits and take stock. Josh has a little rash up his left torso, but it is not too bad and is barely bleeding. I think Josh smokes about a pack of cigs in the next hour or so while we wait for his Dad to arrive with a truck.
The corner, it doesn't look so bad eh?
The Katana, it doesn't look so bad either, till you look closer...
Josh looking back up the road, "Where did it all go wrong?"
AC's R1, "Tis only a scratch, I've had worse!"
Don Vann on his first street bike! He's got lots of dirt riding experience. Nice ride!
A few of us head to the gas station in Carlos to get water for everyone. When Joh's Dad gets there, we load the bike in the back of the truck. It looks so pitiful laying on it's side in the bed of the truck. Fortunately, Josh has full coverage insurance on the bike! Once the bike is loaded, they drive off and the group mounts up and continues on towards the end of FM 3090. Once again I am bringing up the rear.
The pace is a little more sedate. Seeing a wreck in person has a way of doing that to you. Besides, we want to make sure AC is doing alright on his R1. I enjoy watching Vittorio on his Honda 919 gracefully arc through the corners. He is a classic rider, slow, look, lean and roll. Nice. We make our way back to Anderson and stop at the gas station there on the big curve in Hwy 90. A few guys grab a snack, Vittorio heads out on a different route home. The rest of us run FM 149 back to Montgomery.
When we reach Montgomery, Tommy, Blake and I stop for lunch and ice cream at King's Cafe. It is nice to get to sit and visit with these guys after all the riding. So often I ride with people and seldom get time off the bikes to get to know them. We all had a great time despite the excitement. The best thing is that it could have been so much worse but we got lucky and there were no serious injuries, just bruised pride. Been there done that