Ride to the James River......08182012
It never ceases to amaze me of the mechanical and riding skills of dual sport riders.
Although, after reading this ride report……..some of you may be in disbelief…….but as a True Native Texan, I can honestly say……..it is all true…….…and that ain’t braggin’….…..especially since there are photos to prove it. Some of you may call this a Tall Tale……..and that’s your right……but here in Texas…….Tall Tales are legends.
It all started as a routine ride, rlcanon, Lamar568, GlockPointer and I met up at Backwoods in Bee Cave Texas……Kickstands went up at 9:05 a.m.
We were planning to meet Mudclod* and Infidel** in Eckert, Texas on Hwy 16, at 10:45 a.m.
*Mudclod was trailering from Killeen to Llano and would be riding south on HWY 16 to meet us.
**Infidel was riding from San Antonio and would be riding north on HWY 16 to meet us.
Lamar on the stealth DR650…..
We rode West out FM962 to CR301 to Hwy 281 (North)….then left on CR307 ( a nice CR that starts off paved then becomes dirt, then becomes paved again before intersecting with FM1323). After turning right onto FM1323, we rode for a few miles until we came to a place where we had some fun at on the last ride.
After checking the official ride clock (a Timex strapped to GlockPointer crossbar pad), and seeing that it was only 10:25 a.m., we determined that there was enough time to play around a little before we were supposed to meet up with Mudclod and Infidel at 10:45 a.m.
We got back to the business of heading down FM1323 into Willow City (BTW, Harry’s is for sale. Any investor types out there could buy this. It makes for a great watering hole on the Loop. I know it needs an approved septic system, that’s what got them shut down, and maybe more) and then over to Eckert.
We arrived at 10:50 a.m., a respectable 5 minutes late, but seeing that Mudclod and Infidel were nowhere in sight…….we were on time.
I pulled out my phone and had a message from both Mudclod……… and Infidel…………
Mudclod: “Dude…….. …....it’s raining really hard here in Llano and has been raining non-stop for an hour.” I’ll keep the rain up north so that y’all can have a rain free ride***.
***And rain free it was ‘til we crossed north of the wet/dry boundary later on in the ride……which was no fault of Mudclods.
Infidel: “I’m at I-10 and HWY 87……..I’ll be there in 30 minutes and I’m riding like the wind.****
****And ride like the wind he did because I received the text message at 10:55 a.m., and when Infidel met up with us it was 11:00 a.m.
After saying our Howdy Do’s and Whuz Up’s……. ……..and after Infidel telling us about his upcoming adventure riding he will be doing on the back roads and trials in Arkansas*****………..we were on our way to the Doss Country Store for lunch……………….and for desert……….we were planning to have a good heapin’ helpin’ of crossing the James River.
We were only a few minutes and a few miles into this portion of the ride, when as luck would have it, Infidel verbally expressed his sincere displeasure……i.e., words that the mods may not allow…..but words you normally hear on cable TV……and therefore the ride came to an abrupt stop.
After rlcanon’s astute observation……..Infidel had a broken clutch cable.
Many folks might see this as an opportunity to pack it up and go home……..but noooooo………not this crew.
Out came the tools from my handy dandy farm implement owner’s manual tube……and lo and behold………rlcanon has a freakin’ spare clutch cable……….yes folks……..it was pure magic…..it may not have been the OEM cable for a DR650 (Infidels bike)…….but it was a clutch cable nonetheless……..and a Barnett High Quality clutch cable at that!!!!!!!!!!!
*****Better it happen here with tools and a spare cable than the backwoods of Arkansas……which led everyone in the group to agree that a spare clutch cable and a spare throttle cable are probably good things to have with you on your bike while riding.
Once the roadside repairs where complete…….and the clutch cable adjustment was “better than stock”…………as stated by Infidel himself………we were off again……..and hungry.
But just outside Doss the ride came to another abrupt stop………but a worthwhile stop it was. As you see, we had to take pics of one of the coolest signs in Texas…..and as far as I’ve seen….these signs only exist on this road………….
First things first after arriving at the Doss Country Store………we all topped off our tanks and then went in to the Doss Country Store for some cold beverages and some grub……….and mighty fine grub it is.
Even though I was somewhat pressed for time to be back at the house by 5:30 p.m. ……… (it was already 2:00 p.m. when we finished eating. You can do the math if you want to, but true “numbers” people have already figured it out)…………..to let the little pup out of her kennel to go outside…..and the big pup out of the house so he could go outside as well******……….I was severely pressured by my peers to ride on to the James River.
However, I am not one to succumb to peer pressure….and therefore I refuse to be subjected to such nonsense no matter how harsh it is.
So I did what any upstanding respectable Texan would do…….I owned up to my obligations and responsibilities.
Now......if you have been paying attention to this Tall Tale………..the title of which is……all together now......”Ride to the James River”…….so “Ride to the James River” we did!!!!!!!!!!
******Upon arriving home at 9:15 p.m. the dogs were real troopers……… not poopers…….for being in the kennel and house for over 12 hours. Good thing I have kennel trained them to hold their…….uuuhhhhhhh…..what’s a word the mods will let me use…….oh there it is……”bodily functions” for up to 16 hours.
Now folks……… this is where the story gets exciting…… …..the part you have all been waiting for…… ..…and believe me…………the very part most of you, if not all of you, will not believe……….yes that’s right…….you will not believe this next part.
This fine outstanding group of men, with untold talents and skills proceeded to ride the James River crossing backwards……..yes……..backwards…….Some folks may tell you that only 2 out of the 5 riders dropped their bikes in the river. But actually, 2 of the guys just layed their bikes down in the river to wash them.
Now if you don’t believe me that we rode backwards across the James River……the proof is in the pics below.
As a side note……while taking these pics, a local rancher stopped his pickup next to me at the rivers edge. We exchanged greetings and then his exact words were “I love a good comedy show”…..in which I responded……..”And this is the perfect place for it.” Isn’t it nice to know that there are people that are not in such a hurry that they can’t enjoy a little laughter and humor in life……..especially at the expense of others, like ourselves?
Lamar568 washing his bike in the river when he got about half way across……then proceeded to keep riding backwards to the other bank of the river……..
After seeing how clean Lamar568’s bike was….rlcanon decided he would wash his bike too…..sorry Robert, I didn’t get any photos of your clean bike.
Like myself………Infidel and GlockPointer decided to leave the dirt on their bikes……..because it adds character……..
Then………..to get back to the other side………and not wanting to show-off…..we rode forward across the river………..you know…………like everyone else.
So on down the road a piece we stopped briefly at a cool little place where the water flows across the road and into a little canyon draw. The water crossing was pretty much dry…..but the draw the water flowed into was really awesome and had some awesome natural habitat……….
There is a confession that I feel I must make to my riding compadres……After riding James River Rd and few other paved and un-paved roads on the way back home……..Remember when we turned from CR110, left onto FM2323, and we rode past CR112 and turned around at CR106 where I said I went the wrong way??????…….I didn’t really go the wrong direction…..I just wanted to see some of the other CR’s we usually ride………Just wanted to get that off my chest……and keep this Tall Tale true to form.
So once we were back on track, after our impromptu excursion mentioned above, we turned onto Keese Rd/CR111 and the rain came down. Yes, as Infidel mentioned earlier……there was some lighting……and ok….a couple of them were a few hundred (maybe a couple hundred) yards away…….I knew we would be out of it eventually……..I just didn’t know when and where eventually would be.
We gassed up again in Freds’burg where Infidel headed back to SA and the rest of us decided to take 290 east…….rlcanon would take it all the way to Austin………and Lamar568, GlockPointer and I would take it to Johnson City/FM2766.
Lamar568, GlockPointer and I went down FM2766 and it eventually becomes Fitzhugh Rd in Hays County……where “eventually” it finally stopped raining and the rest of the roads on our way home were dry…………. (well……we found where eventually is)
So here’s to ya guys……………. ………….another mighty fine ride….and that will be truly a legend in our own minds.
Infidel, I'm really glad you didn't have to ride in the stuff we went through......it was wet, windy, dark and cold......which makes everything else we did easy and fun.