Pie Run VIII: Play It Again, Sam - Sam's Restaurant 8/29

[Gilk51]

Anyone want to make a wild guess what caught Kyle's eye the most in Sam's parking lot?

This one?

Hardy Baker and his BMW sidecar rig.

Yes sir, his first street ride!

Thanks Tim, he had a blast and has already been rubbing it in to his big brother.

That's what little brothers are for!

 

[Hemibee]

This one?

Hardy Baker and his BMW sidecar rig.

That be the one.

 

[GHT]

Well we survived another Pie Run!!! 425 miles, 11 1/2 hours and lots of memories!!! It was a great turnout and the gals at Sam's did a wonderful job!! I'll bet you they were alot more wore out at the end of the day than we were!!!

 

[TerriBaker]

Thanks again for a great day and meeting lots of new friends and much thanks to Robin for leading the way - we had a great group for the breezy ride down and back ( I cut off at 175 to head back to big D)...

Kurt - it was good to see you as well - I'm sorry we didn't have much time to chat!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23133&id=1590692561&l=d7134e61db

 

[james.cain]

As usual I had a blast. The food was excellent, even though I ate too much.

 

[CaroleAnn]

In Thrall, Rhodyne (Carl) and Innomate (Mark) were already there. We had expected CaroleAnn to show but she didn't.
.

My appologies for being a no show and I hope you didn't wait for me. I over slept and decided it was the study fairy telling me I needed to stay home and do my homework.

I know I missed a great time and will have to work on being better at getting the homework done so I can play.

 

[Abby]

Had a wonderful time yesterday. As always good food. great friends, and a beautiful day. Got to see some folks I havent seen in a while.
The best part was Kyle cruising along with me, Enjoyed it buddy!

 

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

Sorry for the no show too. I was trying to do some much needed maint on the old girl and the next day I went to start it the battery was completly dead. I do hope to have her in better shape for the next run. I hope. Great report guys!

 

[TLRam1]

The oldest bike I spotted was a very clean mid-70's Suzuki GT750.

I couldn't find my good digital camera, so I had to use my el cheapo. Most of my pics came out lousy. Only these came out anywhere decent:

The GT750, AKA "Water Buffalo"

Thanks for the photo and comments, that is a 74 2- Stroke as you correctly called it "Water Buffalo".

 

[Gilk51]

As usual, I start out taking a bunch of pictures and then get distracted talking and fizzle out. That, and I had been playing with the camera (a pox on the picture contest thread ) and left it in manual focus - you can't tell if the image is fuzzy looking at that 2 inch screen. double

Anyway, there were a bunch of folks at the old defunct Minyard at 8:00 AM:
(I hope I remember all of the names correctly)

Bill (wasabi)

Kaitlyn and Ben (shadow247) - scheuled to be married in 2 weeks

Hannah (KomodoreObvious) - Soozy's baby daughter

Susan (tortuga) - the wife unit

the famous Soozy (Soozy)

Leon (focus frenzy)

Willie (thunderbolt)

Dan (olhogrider)

The group before the Bedford ST boys rode up

Dan (DFW_Dano)

Kelly (Skull of Energy)

There was already a good V-Strom contingent.

We left SW Arlington with 11 bikes and 12 peeps and slabbed down US287 to Mansfield. We picked up Brian (drroccostein), along with Mike (mbrew) and Beth riding 2-up

That made 13 with another V-Strom!
Um, my wife doesn't like the number 13...

The ride down was nice and cool and FM157 was good until the slow pickup before the S-turn north of Venus.

A couple of miles north of Maypearl, I came up on a slower moving car and spotted the "STUDENT" emblem on the back. No way was I going to get our group to pass them and risk spooking a new driver (obvious from the rough stop at FM66), so I bit my lip and backed off...

We picked up James (one wolf) at the Post Office in Maypearl - yet another V-Strom!

The wife was happy with the number 14.

While we were stopped, a vicious 1% biker gang rode by and waved - I recognized a couple of the outlaw Tarrant County group...

The ride down was pleasant - the air was cool and almost chilly near the creek crossings.

We stopped for a short rest in Malone (there weren't many options there)

Someone had asked when we expected to go through Malone, but we didn't see anyone.

We did another gas stop in Fairfield before rolling into Sam's Restaurant from the 2-way service road (feeder for you Houston folks ). There was already a pack of bikes there.

Some familiar faces:

Kory (klb1122) and his wife (already forgot her name & she told it to me!)

Kory's folks - Karen and Larry (ST/SV)

Got to meet Nadya (SheNadya). Susan and I ate lunch with her & found out about pronouncing Russian-heritage names - Nadya is more like Nadza we found.

Brain memory fault - I forgot who this was

Some pitures from the parking lot:

This was a popular picture:

as was Hardy Baker's sidecar rig:

Lots of folks inside! I miss a lot of people when there is a large group and this one was no exception. I also was pleased with the service and food. It's never perfect but I think Sam's did a great job.

A group from Houston - that's long lost Dennis (humblerider) on the far right

The Austin group was a bit late and they lost a 'Strom due to mechanical failure but it was good to talk to Kurt and see what he was riding:

He said my pictures of his bikes were a couple behind! He also said Rhonda was still mad that he sold her bike (the GoldWing) but that she was warming up to the Beemer (literally, it has heated seats )

I haven't seen Keith (Dragwn) for a while - we still need to wire his Stebel air horn!

Finally, it was time for folks to leave:

Susan said I missed it when the scooter group rolled out as well as the Stallion taking off.

Our group split up - Susan visited her sister in Fairfield. I took the slab route to Weatherford to attend the benefit for Zac Chapman - I saw Stephen (Yeeha Stephen) and Byron (Trinity) pass me as I was running the service road but I could never catch up to them!

Brian (drroccostein) caught up to me on 287 and waved goodbye as he exited in Mansfield. 135 miles from Fairfield and 10 minutes to spare. I saw fellow TWT members Marty (voyagerrider) and Kathy (ladyrider) and Paul (st_driver) there. I also got to meet Zac's mom. It looked like a very good turnout and a sucessful eveny.

Oh, I sucessfully left with Bob and returned with Bob! A couple of new soft-shell 'dillos appeared on the parking lot!


Thanks for all who joined us yesterday - great fun!

 

[MCRyder]

Re: The TWT Get together in Fairfield Pics

What a wonderful day to have a Pie Run... anyone count the bikes?.

By my count, no less than 114. Everyone had arrived by the time I got out to the parking lot to take some pics, and I'm fairly sure no one had left yet.

 

[dukey33]

I got a lazy start and didn't leave until nearly 8:00 so I gassed up the LT and hit the interstate. When I hit Madisonville, I realized with only 60 miles to go, I was going to be early. So I made a pit stop at Buc-ees and then took a detour to Crockett/Elkhart/Sour Lake. That ended up taking a little longer than I wanted. I pulled into Sam's about a quarter after the hour.

The sea of bikes in the parking lot was impressive.

After lunch, I took a more scenic route back through Crockett again and then down to Corrigan, Cleveland, Dayton and finally LaPorte and Seabrook. That took 3h 45m and was getting a little tiring at the end as I rode through without a break. I was on my driveway at 4:15.

Bad news is I noticed the rear tire looked low on air pressure after I got home and sure enough, there was a puncture. Fortunately, I don't think I picked up the offending piece of FOD until almost home anyway.

Total mileage for the day:477
Great day for a ride and eating pie. See ya'll at the next one.

epilogue: Puncture caused by a shard of brown glass. Plugged the tire tonight and it looks like it's holding air again.

 

[Texas T]

Chuck, congrats on yet another successful P.R.

but it was good to talk to Kurt and see what he was riding THIS WEEK

Fixed it for ya.

I haven't seen Keith (Dragwn) for a while

Last time I saw him was at the Marble Falls P.R. in 2005 / 2006? I think I bought my Throttlemeisters off of him.

 

[leekellerking]

Let's see if I can remember the quote..."I smiling under the helmet. I like wearing the helmet, it makes me look younger." Did I get that right or butcher it up?

Pretty close. I think I said "I like wearing a full-face helmet because it makes me look younger."

And yes, I was smiling!

 

[leekellerking]

Brain memory fault - I forgot who this was

That be me, Chuck!

With the oldest four-stroke bike at the Pie Run. (The Water Buffalo had Bikey beat by 8 years)

Lee
(Does the vest make me look fat???)

 

[Gilk51]

That be me, Chuck!

Rats, I didn't make the connection! Sure glad you made it, Lee.

I love those old Hondas.

 

[Tourmeister]

I had a nice ride up with JacknTexas and Snoopster. Early on it was kind of chilly with the mesh suit on. We passed Hardy and Ray in Buffalo. I stopped to make sure they were heading to Sam's. They were, so we went on ahead. They were coming out of a little restaurant, having just finished breakfast. The ride up was really nice except for that stretch of US 75 between Buffalo and Fairfield. Had I known the pavement was so bad, I would have just hopped over to I-45 for that last bit to Fairfield. It was pretty bad... We arrived a little early, but there was already a pretty good crowd forming.

It was nice to see such a good turn out. I wish I could meet more folks (and remember their names ) and visit longer at these things. The kids really enjoyed seeing all the bikes and people. Beth and the kids came up in the minivan and also carted T-shirts and stickers so I could sell them after lunch. Thanks to everyone that bought stuff.

There was one person waiting for a shirt/sticker (whom I did not know), but right as he was about to step up, some other not to be named person jumped in line. Before I could regather, person one walked away. I just want to apologize to person one for that.

The ride home was fun. We went down the West side of I-45 and eventually picked up FM 3 and 977. A few minutes after we got on 977, I brain faded hard. It was weird, almost like a switch had been flipped. I could not focus and was not really with it. I slowed wayyy down and just kind of cruised the last few miles to I-45 where we stopped. Even that took all I had. We rested a bit, gassed the bikes, and I drank a coke. That seemed to really help and I was fine the rest of the way home. But man, that was kind of scary. I've only had that happen once before but it was under pretty extreme conditions: heat (100+), sick, fatigued, hungry, dehydrated, and about 400 miles into a 550 mile day.

I can tell I don't do much distance riding anymore. Even a simple 250 mile ride with a long lunch had me feeling a little sore by the end of the day The days of ripping off several 500-600 mile days in a row without a second thought are gone... for now...

 

[hardybaker]

The "gathering" was great, as it is always nice to meet people the love motorcycling as much as we do. Thanks to those that posted up pictures of my sidecar rig. Perrys in FT.Worth built the rig and him and his crew come very highly recommended. Perry does most brands of cycles and he is very easy to work with. He does restoriations too. A neat thing that he offers is a pay as you go plan. Since he takes several months to build a rig such as mine,the installments come slower and are more "bearable." Sidecars add another deminsion to the equation. Lessons are highly recommended to anyone considering "hacking."
I heard several mention that Sams was good place to gather since it is half-way between our major Texas cities. Jack, and any other ride orgniazers, don't forget Hilltop Lakes out of Normangee on highway three. (possibly for a RTE.)
A week from this morning, I will get up at three or four in the morning and ride to land between the lakes in Kentucky and meet a bunch of my "old" Army buddies (still riding.) Anyone want to eat a late lunch in Kentucky next Monday? Ya'll ride and enjoy this cooler weather. Ride as often as you can. Hardy

 

[leekellerking]

They were coming out of a little restaurant, having just finished breakfast.

Hey! There's an idea! Ride to Breakfast AND Pie Run.

There was one person waiting for a shirt/sticker (whom I did not know), but right as he was about to step up, some other not to be named person jumped in line. Before I could regather, person one walked away. I just want to apologize to person one for that.

Oops! I hope that wasn't me jumping in line.

I had a great time on my first Pie Run. Hope to repeat, often.

Lee

 

[euromedic]

Hardy Baker and his BMW sidecar rig.

It was a hard decision among some of the very nice bikes there. But my favorite too.

 

[TLRam1]

For a cool effect he needs controls so he can drive the bike from the sidecar and have the MC riderless. He could perform a RH turn catching some air.

 

[euromedic]

Here is my contribution

I worked the day/night before, and we did not go to bed until about 1230 that morning. Some pesky thunderstorm parked itself over Bellaire and caused all sorts of havoc. This included our firetruck being hit by a car, it had been hit by another car and came to rest against the truck. Luckily, everyone was ok and damage to the truck is minimal.

Needless to say, I was a bit late leaving work that morning. I planned on meeting the Conroe contigent, but based on the shortened sleep cycle decided to just take it easy and not rush

Had me a light breakfast ....

....and had a brisk walk with Ajax. He's been with for about 3 weeks now, and a worthy successor to our late Labrador Hasso.

I picked IH 45 as the first part of the journey.

Literally, it was refreshing to feel a chill as I travelled out of Conroe. Quite the opposite from the Ingleside run last month I then hopped onto US 75 north of Huntsville and followed it into Fairfield. What a change to have almost no other motorist share the road with you And being on the Dakar, I did not mind the rough pavement before Fairfield

Arrived at Sam's. A sight to behold

Quite a few cool bikes there

I think this is DixonDuke's ?

HardyBaker's immaculate rig I see a sidecar in the future for the Dak

Dick's Alaska Cruiser

Ron's immaculate F650.

I last saw him in Mena 2 years ago at the Chain Gang rally. Good to see him again.

Nice Sportster

This could be a MPS contender

The Moto Guzzi motor, along with its integration into their bikes is a work of art IMO. O my!

Very nice Bonnie!

Ron and Jerry were kind enough to share a table with me.

Thanks for the good conversation and company gentlemen

But alas, all good things end at some time. Mingled in the parking lot for some time. I was honored to capture the Atlantic and Pacific boots together

Thanks Soozy and Scott

After most of the contigent left, Scott "Tourmeister" invited me to ride along with him, Snoopster, and a third rider (did not have chance to introduce) to tool on some of the county roads. 'Twas nice to revisit FM 80 again

Alas, a minor detail (that I conveniently forgot among mingling and bike drooling) was the fact that there is only a finite amount of petrol that one can travel with. Needless to say, the reserve light came on soon after our departure. Since i did not have a good yardstick as to how long reserve lasts, I wisely split off towards Jewett for fuel while Scott and company turned towards Mexia. Lesson learned: Top off fuel before arriving at pie run destination. Sorry about that Enjoyed the group ride though

Caught IH 45 at Centerville, and slabbed it home at a good clip just a hair above 70 mph

'Twas a beautiful day all around. Looking forward to the next one

 

[leekellerking]

A few photos from my BlackBerry:

The aforementioned Water Buffalo:

It was the oldest bike there. (1974)

A nice TransAlp:

And a gratuitous cute cat picture!

 

[Tourmeister]

And a gratuitous cute cat picture!

"I'z tird fer shedinz on ur cleenz cloz..."

 

[1 wheel peel]

Dan? (I was sure I would remember but now not so sure)

Yes that is Dan (olhogrider). He and I shared a table at lunch.

Ron and Jerry were kind enough to share a table with me.

Thats us in the backgound. Dan is on the left he had some VERY intresting storys.