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My first ride report

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scar04

scar04

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Feb 18, 2005
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Location
Laredo, TX
First Name
Oscar
Last Name
Saldana
OKay so I had about 15 different titles going through my head, from my neck of the woods, to Darth Vader rides through my past, and so on and so forth. but I might as well call it like it is, my first ride report (WITH PICS, YAY!!!)

at about noonish I decided to go a head and ride. I picked a direction and went. FIrst, I had to requisition some uhoh supplies like a tire pump and plug kit, I am gonna be out in the middle of nowhere alone, so as I run to my office to get my Ipod, 3 kids in the back of an old Taurus are peaking out the back window smiling and giving me the peace sign. I took it as a good omen, finished loading up and got ready to roll. I got some cash at the ATM and topped off my tank, and rode through town to 359 to get out of town.

The mount for the day:
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Note: My Z is covered up because I had washed and waxed it and was trying to keep the dirt off of it, as well as bird crap.

As I said I headed out on 359 east bound towards Hebbronville. It was a nice sunny day, slight wind maybe 15-20 mph, I started to realize that the one piece rims were more aesthetic than anything else, seeing as how they act as sails in the wind. I was in no major rush (id left at 330 so that should tell you my time constraints) and get to the turn to Mirando City and fm 649.
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I rode on into Mirando (which was where my paternal grandmother was raised btw) and tooled into town and stop by LaLas
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they have some dang good puffy tacos and some mean enchiladas, but get there early, or you get no rice (I dont know why, but everytime my folks and their friends go there, They're always out of rice. they were closed (not really surprised, its Sunday) and wouldnt you know it, I get caught by the train
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I stop at the historical marker on the outskirts that tells the story of Mirando, and how O.W. Killam found the first oil field south of San Antonio,and how Mirando was born of that discovery.
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so now Im off down 649 for the rollercoaster, no shoulder and the entrance to my ranch. :rider: :rider: :rider:
 
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OKay sorry, had to go to the little bikers room, trying to rehydrate a little.
OKay so I start down fm 649 out of Mirando City (sidebar: just so you know Ive been to these places hundreds of times, never on my bike so Im trying to figure out what might be interesting/make good pictures while absorbing it all from a new perspective, /end sidebar) This road has no shoulder and has a speed limit of around 60 the whole way through. it has some decent curves nothing overly challenging, but theyre good for a nice day of tooling around.
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As I proceed down the road I see this
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made a nice rainbow, but I couldnt figure out what it was, so I continued (and VRods DO NOT like being driven on gravel)
I stopped to take this pic and let a semi go by, and the first trooper Id ever seen on this road looks at me like Ive lost my marbles. I finish the pics and get going again. Its about 10 miles to the rollercoaster, its about a 1 mile stretch that has sharp changes in elevation, of a couple of hundred feet maybe.
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I get down the road and, well whaddayaknow, Im at the gate to the Saldana ranch, the whole clan comes here at Easter for our biannual family reunions.
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My neighbors cattle are staring at me, wondering why this noismaker has no hay:
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"Bring us hay you *******"

I finish on 649 and it intersects with Hwy 16, which will take me to Zapata and Falcon Lake.
 
Highway 16 runs from San Antonio straight through to Zapata by way of Hebbronville. I run about 30 miles of it and its rather empty and fairly enjoyable, a couple of nice little curves, lots of ranchland to look at, and an all around pleasant ride. I ride past several good size ranch compounds and go through Escobas, which, when my Dad was younger, was about a half days ride round trip or so to go to the store here (on horseback mind you)

This is all thats left

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I'll bet the tanks are empty.

I keep heading south and roll into
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Which also has a historical marker.
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Sorry if this is boring, but I dont know what makes good pics of things youve seen your whole life so please bear with me.

I finally hit Zapata County
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Zapata is not an actual incorporated city, but it is the county seat. I roll in, gas up, stretch, drink some water, and decide what to do next. Here is what I did.
I appeased the County Courthouse pic fans of course!!!
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I decided to go the opposite direction of Laredo and see how far Zapata had grown, and was pleasantly surprised. On my way back in (it was 6 by now) I took this pic of the sunset over the lake
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The picture really doesnt do it justice, thats for sure.
I started figuring it would be a good idea to start heading back to Laredo before it gets too late, but I had to take one last picture of things from my childhood.
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These guys have a chicken fried steak the size of a Ford hubcap. I've been eating at this place from the time it had a concrete floor and you could grab your sodas out of the coolers yourself.

I decided to hightail it back to town, blowing through Ramireno, San Ygnacio and Rio Bravo on my way in. I was in ranchland area and did not want to be out after dark, especially on highway 83, since it is a two lane road until the county line. I will take pictures of them at a later date. I will admit one thing, it was a lot of fun racing the sunset back to town, and at 90 mph, your butt lifts off the seat and you realize it is a good idea to keep it under 85. I appreciate you guys bearing with me through these idle ramblings, and hope yall enjoyed a couple of these pics. The main thought I had more than once was "man that barbed wire wil hurt if I screw up." The trip was about 155 miles from fillup in Laredo all the way back to my garage door, gas used, who cares, I had a good time. and I had to laugh, as Im on the south side of town, I stop to change to my clear windscreen on my Shoei and my trip ends the way it started, with a kid staring at and getting excited about seeing a motorcycle. :rider: :rider: :rider:
 
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you should make that VROD a bagger, maybe some knobby tires :mrgreen:
 
Jbay said:
you should make that VROD a bagger, maybe some knobby tires :mrgreen:
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I still have the original dunlops on itand they still have the little rubber threads on them
 

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Must be some serious money in Zapata county :brainsnap That is a fancy looking courthouse.
 
route

As a ride, the VROD is a solid bike, it likes to run at about 3-4000 revs at highway speeds (no surprise as it redlines at 9000). My only real gripes were the fact that I dont like forward controls, and the exhaust pipe gets real hot, I think the exhaust oughta be rerouted but thats me. My butt fell asleep after about 40 miles, and the solid wheels just love to catch wind. It is a pretty comfy bike that will let you cruise all day long at just about any speed you choose. I can get to about 55 in first, and go from there. It loves the top end of the rev range, the low end (<2500) is kinda ragged and if youre not in the right gear, you may bog a little. My favorite thing, is actually a range indicator, which is pretty close to accurate when it comes to telling you how many miles you can get out of the gas you have left. so other than a couple of inconveniences its a solid bike that does great on day trips like this.
 
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scar04 said:
Oil and Gas my friend, oil and gas.
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That's what I was about to say. Taxing entities are going after private sector business via inflated valuations while the price of oil is at such astronomical levels. You can tell that courthouse isn't more than a few years old. Gobble-gobble.

:eat:
 
Tracker said:
nice bike & nice ride report.
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I agree! Good job, Scar.

Yup, that's the South Texas I remember riding/driving through from days gone by...lots of miles and miles of miles and miles.:rider: :mrgreen:
 
Nice report and photos! That is a part of Texas I have never seen. It may be ho-hum to you because you see it every day, but it was interesting to me because I never have. :mrgreen:

Keep ridin' and keep posting - it's fun to see and learn about new places. :rider:

By the way, I like the way you included the bike in all the shots. :thumb:
 
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