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L
lonestarrider
Guest
Well it is officially done and now I am ready for another journey on my bike. As I go through my fuel receipts and mileage log I am getting flashbacks as to where I was and the roads that lead me there.
The start of the journey was nice and cold with morning temps in the 20-30 degree range. Even with the sun out and a light unusual wind it never did get much warmer. I like to refer to the panhandle as the polar region of Texas.
From Childress to my right turn in Texarkana the ride was uneventful. Around Sherman I started noticing what was left of the big snow on the highway. I bet that surprised the homegrown folks of north Texas. As I was approaching Paris the sun was sliding out of the sky behind me and the temperature started to go south, so to speak.
I stopped in Texarkana at where I was going make my turn and grabbed a bite at a Wendy's. This was my first full stop to take off my helmet and have a hot meal in 14 hours. Plus I needed to check in at the home front. So with the 1# selection of the menu board in my belly I headed south into the darkness of east Texas piney woods. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance movies pop into my head as my lights were absorbed into the night. The plan was to ride to Kirbyville for the night but when a large "something" had ran out in front of me around Marshall and then again outside of Tenaha. I decided stop in Center after traveling 16 hours and 28 minutes for 968 hours.
When the phone rang for my wake up call at 5:00 am I was already up and half suited up. I was getting in my "git down the road" mode when I noticed the clock on my bike registering 4:15. I started to get bent, but then when my GPS tuned in, it showed that it was 5:15. I forgot about the stupid time change.
So again into the dark and bitter cold I continue south for the coast.
Man, that is a big bridge I crossed over from Bridge City to Port Arthur. I wished I could have stopped on top for a quick picture of the view across the Gulf. At the intersection of highways 124 and 87 I could see the beach. I was finally going to start back toward the west, but first I had drive out on the beach for a quick picture.... the first picture of the trip.
Then another one at Port Bolivar riding the ferry across to Galveston. While on the ferry I watched a momma dolphin and her pup swimming beside the boat. I tried to catch a picture of the two but they didn't resurface when I had the camera ready.
Somehow I decided that I was smarter than my GPS and refused to follow it's directions into Houston on I-45. Instead I went to Alvin on highway 6 and it was stoplight after stoplight, with a bunch a stinking traffic. I think I heard my GPS call me a ******* at one stoplight.
I stopped in Victoria for fuel when the wind started to blow hard off the gulf. There was a couple of times a gust of wind would make my helmet twist and push my sunglasses off. It did start to calm down a little when I started to get closer to South Padre Island. I crossed over the long bridge at Port Isabel and came upon this historical marker on the island.
The sun was setting again on me as I made the trip back across the bridge and headed for the Texas/Mexican border towns. It became apparent to me in San Benito that you better bring your "A" game in defensive driving in this area. Traffic lights are just for a few that choose to follow them. It just didn't happen once it happen a bunch :protest: folks blasting thru intersections ignoring the the red stop light. The traffic was thick with booming cars and trucks with Mexican plates, plus being on the phone so they can really get the full distraction effect. Yikes, I was never so glad be outta there when I left that mess behind in Laredo.
It was again late in the evening as I motored to the north on US 83 with a ton deer watching me go by. Somewhere along the way I pulled over for a nap at a roadside picnic area for about a hour. I rolled out my pre-k napping mat and knocked out an hour's worth of REM. Feeling refreshed I took it on in to Del Rio but before Sanderson my eyes where wanting to slam shut again and it just so happen that I was coming on up to another picnic area too. This time I only needed about 20 minutes because I was good to go until I was in my own little bed. After the little nap I rode into the early morning darkness with lighting flashing out in front of me in the distance. I even got to ride in the rain for a little ways.
Welcome to the Big Bend.
It was 8:00 am when I stopped at the gas station in Panther Junction located in the Big Bend National Park. The morning sun felt good and I had my second day behind me by about 1300 miles.
Feeling good in the desert air.
This section is one of my favorite parts of the route, Highway 170. This is the funniest road in Texas I have been on :icon_thumright:. It's 50 miles of tight twisty roller coaster two lane road that goes between Presidio and Lajitas. It is worth the trip just to ride that thing. I had to think long and hard not to ride it again from the other direction.
The ride into Marfa from Presido is a good one but watch out for these two, the big one spits!
I made a left turn at Van Horn and hotfooted it to El Paso and to then Anthony; the farthest west Texas town you can get. I hit El Paso just right as far as traffic goes because I could tell it would have been a pain if I had arrived any later. At Anthony I gassed up and for the first time I encountered a vapor guard on the fuel nozzle. What a pain in the ***.
Thie last part of a long ride always seems like the longest. At least I was there during daylight hours or I would have missed this.
The tallest point in Texas; Guadalupe Peak 8749 ft.
The highway heading east out of EL Paso is a good one that goes thru the Franklin Mountains and then on into the Guadalupes. The high desert scenery is righteous.
When I hit Kermit the sun was gone from the sky and the temperature was falling. I was finally on the backstretch of this lap around Texas and I was ready to get home. There wind had picked up out of the south and helped me along as I was pointed north. The indicator on my thermometer started it's counter-clockwise movement from cool, to cooler to cold. In Andrews I changed over to my electric gloves and my balaclava to get comfortable for the cold weather ride. I got as far as Littlefield when my hands started getting cold. My gloves weren't keeping up, something was wrong. I checked fuse and the power connection, everything looked good. Then I checked each of the gloves' connections and sure enough I had missed a prong on the connector. Woo hoo happy days.
It was bitter cold when I finally made back to Vega. The time was 2:00 AM Tuesday morning and I had finished my quest, 3100 miles of Riding Around Texas in less than 70 hours. It was fun and worth it. I hope to ride it again sometime but maybe go the other direction and do it in June.
The start of the journey was nice and cold with morning temps in the 20-30 degree range. Even with the sun out and a light unusual wind it never did get much warmer. I like to refer to the panhandle as the polar region of Texas.
From Childress to my right turn in Texarkana the ride was uneventful. Around Sherman I started noticing what was left of the big snow on the highway. I bet that surprised the homegrown folks of north Texas. As I was approaching Paris the sun was sliding out of the sky behind me and the temperature started to go south, so to speak.
I stopped in Texarkana at where I was going make my turn and grabbed a bite at a Wendy's. This was my first full stop to take off my helmet and have a hot meal in 14 hours. Plus I needed to check in at the home front. So with the 1# selection of the menu board in my belly I headed south into the darkness of east Texas piney woods. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance movies pop into my head as my lights were absorbed into the night. The plan was to ride to Kirbyville for the night but when a large "something" had ran out in front of me around Marshall and then again outside of Tenaha. I decided stop in Center after traveling 16 hours and 28 minutes for 968 hours.
When the phone rang for my wake up call at 5:00 am I was already up and half suited up. I was getting in my "git down the road" mode when I noticed the clock on my bike registering 4:15. I started to get bent, but then when my GPS tuned in, it showed that it was 5:15. I forgot about the stupid time change.
So again into the dark and bitter cold I continue south for the coast.
Man, that is a big bridge I crossed over from Bridge City to Port Arthur. I wished I could have stopped on top for a quick picture of the view across the Gulf. At the intersection of highways 124 and 87 I could see the beach. I was finally going to start back toward the west, but first I had drive out on the beach for a quick picture.... the first picture of the trip.
Then another one at Port Bolivar riding the ferry across to Galveston. While on the ferry I watched a momma dolphin and her pup swimming beside the boat. I tried to catch a picture of the two but they didn't resurface when I had the camera ready.
Somehow I decided that I was smarter than my GPS and refused to follow it's directions into Houston on I-45. Instead I went to Alvin on highway 6 and it was stoplight after stoplight, with a bunch a stinking traffic. I think I heard my GPS call me a ******* at one stoplight.
I stopped in Victoria for fuel when the wind started to blow hard off the gulf. There was a couple of times a gust of wind would make my helmet twist and push my sunglasses off. It did start to calm down a little when I started to get closer to South Padre Island. I crossed over the long bridge at Port Isabel and came upon this historical marker on the island.
The sun was setting again on me as I made the trip back across the bridge and headed for the Texas/Mexican border towns. It became apparent to me in San Benito that you better bring your "A" game in defensive driving in this area. Traffic lights are just for a few that choose to follow them. It just didn't happen once it happen a bunch :protest: folks blasting thru intersections ignoring the the red stop light. The traffic was thick with booming cars and trucks with Mexican plates, plus being on the phone so they can really get the full distraction effect. Yikes, I was never so glad be outta there when I left that mess behind in Laredo.
It was again late in the evening as I motored to the north on US 83 with a ton deer watching me go by. Somewhere along the way I pulled over for a nap at a roadside picnic area for about a hour. I rolled out my pre-k napping mat and knocked out an hour's worth of REM. Feeling refreshed I took it on in to Del Rio but before Sanderson my eyes where wanting to slam shut again and it just so happen that I was coming on up to another picnic area too. This time I only needed about 20 minutes because I was good to go until I was in my own little bed. After the little nap I rode into the early morning darkness with lighting flashing out in front of me in the distance. I even got to ride in the rain for a little ways.
Welcome to the Big Bend.
It was 8:00 am when I stopped at the gas station in Panther Junction located in the Big Bend National Park. The morning sun felt good and I had my second day behind me by about 1300 miles.
Feeling good in the desert air.
This section is one of my favorite parts of the route, Highway 170. This is the funniest road in Texas I have been on :icon_thumright:. It's 50 miles of tight twisty roller coaster two lane road that goes between Presidio and Lajitas. It is worth the trip just to ride that thing. I had to think long and hard not to ride it again from the other direction.
The ride into Marfa from Presido is a good one but watch out for these two, the big one spits!
I made a left turn at Van Horn and hotfooted it to El Paso and to then Anthony; the farthest west Texas town you can get. I hit El Paso just right as far as traffic goes because I could tell it would have been a pain if I had arrived any later. At Anthony I gassed up and for the first time I encountered a vapor guard on the fuel nozzle. What a pain in the ***.
Thie last part of a long ride always seems like the longest. At least I was there during daylight hours or I would have missed this.
The tallest point in Texas; Guadalupe Peak 8749 ft.
The highway heading east out of EL Paso is a good one that goes thru the Franklin Mountains and then on into the Guadalupes. The high desert scenery is righteous.
When I hit Kermit the sun was gone from the sky and the temperature was falling. I was finally on the backstretch of this lap around Texas and I was ready to get home. There wind had picked up out of the south and helped me along as I was pointed north. The indicator on my thermometer started it's counter-clockwise movement from cool, to cooler to cold. In Andrews I changed over to my electric gloves and my balaclava to get comfortable for the cold weather ride. I got as far as Littlefield when my hands started getting cold. My gloves weren't keeping up, something was wrong. I checked fuse and the power connection, everything looked good. Then I checked each of the gloves' connections and sure enough I had missed a prong on the connector. Woo hoo happy days.
It was bitter cold when I finally made back to Vega. The time was 2:00 AM Tuesday morning and I had finished my quest, 3100 miles of Riding Around Texas in less than 70 hours. It was fun and worth it. I hope to ride it again sometime but maybe go the other direction and do it in June.
How big is that "beer keg" looking gas tank?
