CheapSToc Report

[Simmons1]

CheapSToc was a great weekend as always. Dave's low key approach makes for a fun but relaxing weekend for Linda and I.

We left about 8:30 Friday morning and routed through Hico for Linda to pick up some coffee at the store across the street from the Coffee Kup. Our next stop was in Llano at the DQ up the street from Coopers. Coopers was out as there were about 200 Harley's in the parking lot and we didn't want to be there all afternoon for lunch. We arrived in Junction at the Legends around 3:30pm.



The Legends scene:







Coop showing off how he maintains his physique:



More Legends:





Since there was no formal ride planned for Saturday, everyone headed out their own separate ways for they day in small groups. Linda and I decided to head over to Sanora and tour the Caverns of Sanora. We had a nice time with the exception of the 98% humidity in the cave.







After the tour we had a quick lunch in Sanora and made a loop down to Rocksprings and then back to Junction. On the way back Linda took a couple over the shoulder pictures of Ralf in action on his ST.





After we arrived back it was time for a little more bench racing and then dinner at Isaacks.







The ride home today was uneventful. On the way home stopped in Strawn for one Mary's Cafe's world famous Chicken Fried Steaks. It was awesome.



I am glad I only ordered the medium sized plate!

 

[Ed_Grant]

Great pictures Rich!! You didn't capture the beauty of the mean green machine (my klx250s) though.

 

[IDR]

I am glad I only ordered the medium sized plate!

I woke up Friday morning and knew your were going to have a good ride the weather was beautiful and I wished I was there.

However after reading the "RIDE" report it sounded like it should have gone in a culinary magazine. There were 4 resturants mentioned, 5 photos of people with food in their hands (beer is a food group isnt it) and 2 photos of plates of food.

Are you sure this wasn't a Goldwing gathering?

 

[Simmons1]

There were 2 Goldwings present.

 

[sherob]

Are you sure this wasn't a Goldwing gathering?

 

[lddave]

Great pictures Rich.

 

[BMWbabe]

I went last year with Squeaky (yes, I'm well connected now) and had a blast so this year I was excited to be able to go again.

Scenes from last year (cheapSTOC 07)

With Squeaky on her solo ride to Maine, I got to ride there with Tom and Scott. We left early Thursday morning, and took a fun route there, hitting some great roads like the Devil's Backbone and went through a few sleepy towns where you get a sense of what it would be like to be away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities.

Devil's Backbone Overlook and Scott

Scott and Tom

Small Town on the way

One of my favorite ways to ride is to go through the farming communities and small town squares to see how other people live. I like getting that little slice of life that different from mine. We had such pretty weather and the company was so good, I knew this trip was going to be wonderful.

The closer we get to Junction, the more hills we come to...this is why its called the Hill Country. No one around for miles besides the people I'm riding with

We stopped at Altdorf's in Fredericksburg, thinking it was a good german name so it must be a good place to eat. This was my first time to have weiner anything....I chose schnitzel. Tom said it's normally better so next time we're gonna go to the really big german restaurant just a little further down....can't think of that name though. (THIS is why I take pictures, so I can remember stuff)

Fredericksburg was already crowded with riders

We got to Junction (mind you, this is my second weekend in a row there...I've even got the same room as before so I feel right at home)

and are met by Sherob, who moved away last year. Looks like he's glad to see me too....NOT!

I unpacked and we went to dinner at the mexican food place just caddy corner...its within walking distance and its yummy. I left the camera in the room but there are so many pictures in this thread already, I doubt you'll miss them. I can recommend the chili relleno.


My route on Thursday

alt 90 to 155 north
532 West (really fun one) to Gonzales
183 north and west to Luling
80 north and west to San Marcos
Hwy 12 (tricky intersection) west to 32 west
left on 473 (fun road) to 281 north to Blanco
1623 west to 1888
north on 1376 and left on 290 through Fredericksburg and Harper
North on 479 and connect to I-10 West to Junction

 

[BMWbabe]

Like last year, we ride the three sisters one day and also like last year, I've got the same three great companions, Scott, Tom and Rob.

This time it wasn't raining though so we didn't have to creep along the way. We weren't in a big hurry, and there was a small matter of Tom's rear tire to attend to, so we spent a little time getting that taken care of.

This was an educational experience for me and I watched how the tires are removed, mended, and re-fitted.

the offending nail

It's no big deal, Tom

All fixed and ready to be put on again

We got on our way and had a marvelous time. We had a plan to end up at Mac and Ernie's for dinner so we didn't really make too many stops along the way. In all the planning, I think we forgot to tell Rob we were saving our appetite for dinner...oopsie.

Here we are parked at the Motorcycle Spot, along with a ton of Harley riders. We would see a large number of them throughout the weekend.

We arrived at Mac and Ernie's just as it opened and had some really wonderful gourmet quality food. Again...I didn't bring my camera....but you'll just have to trust me here. Like the weekend before I had quail for an appetiser, a large pork chop for the main course and dessert...this time I had coconut cream which I liked even better than the chocolate cream from the week before.

* You will have to ask Rob to tell you about the almost obscene pleasure he found in devouring the chocolate cream pie, and there were small children near us....


My route on Friday

 

[BMWbabe]

The last day, no real plans had been made as to what we were doing but I had ridden the Willow City Loop and knew it was very fun. We also thought of going to Enchanted Rock and since I had the computer and could download a route...and it was MY turn to lead...Tom helped me figure out a good route and I led the way.

First we stopped at Enchanted Rock; It is a pretty popular tourist attraction so some time was spent in just getting admission. Scott was the only one who tried to climb to the top and I, for one, was very impressed that he not only made it there and back without getting too tired, but we could watch him do it and photograph his progress.

Scott making his way up

Scott at the very top

Scott, having returned no worse for the climb

I also got pictures of the motley crew that joined us.

We had a lot of fun meeting some new people and hearing stories about how they love to ride too.

Next came the Willow City Loop. The first time I rode it, it was very foggy and I couldn't really tell what it looked like. Be careful what you wish for because this time, I got to see every turn and slope up close and personal because we were right behind some of the slowest people ever on two wheels. UGH

It took a lot of waiting to get a shot of the clear road with no slowpokes in view. I'm not sure but I think the other people in the group were sick and tired of the Willow City Loop by the time we finished it...lol.

It was almost 1 before we left to make our way to lunch at Cooper's in Llano....but, we heard that Salt Lick was better. What I should mention here is that when you're looking for some place to eat on my gps, it just tells you the distance to the restaurant, not the direction. Cooper's was 30 miles away and The Salt Lick was only 32 miles away.

We ended up at the Salt Lick and it is really good food. But its not in Llano, its close to Austin That made for a long day and that's most likely why I lost Rob, Coop and Fred on the way back into Junction. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, anyway

the pit

Not everyone enjoyed the band, but I thought they were good.

Outside after eating

We made it back in time for the banquet. This is my table..lol

I'm not sure they are ever going to follow me again..it was a pretty long day.


My route on Saturday (the one I led )

 

[BMWbabe]

My trip back home was a solo ride and I took my sweet time. Since my original plans fell through, I was left with a whole two days to do whatever I wanted. That just felt so good to me too. I could go as close to home as I wanted and I still had whole 24 hours after that to pull into the driveway.

Normally, if I don't have a route, I'm starting out from home and I tend to go places that I've already been so it was a new experience for me to be able to think about what I most wanted to do and then look for ways to make it happen. I made some interesting choices too...

The first of about 20 deer I saw. I guess they don't know they are only supposed to come out at dusk and dawn

I didn't want to spend any time on the main highways. I have enough "straight as string" roads in and around Houston to last me a lifetime so I wanted to go on the tight twisties and find some new sweepers. One road I knew I wanted to take was 16 from Kerrville and out. It's got some of the more fun hairpin curves in it and I'd never been in front on that one.

This time I stopped to take pictures.

You know its late in the wildflower season when you see coreopsis

About 2, I was getting hungry. For some reason, I forget to eat when I'm riding; having too much fun, I guess. The more I thought about it, the better the idea became to just stop for the day when I stopped for lunch so I punched up some places to stay for the night. One really interesting place came up, a bed and breakfast.

However, this one (and maybe all of them for that matter) was a little too steep for my pocket, so I resorted to the Holiday Inn Express. Within walking distance was a Quiznos so that took care of my late lunch.

Since I was free and easy, I decided to stay in and veg in front of the tv and computer. For dinner that night, I had beef jerky and trail mix and gatorade. I'm wondering if that makes me look bad but it is what it is...



I got to use my new motorcycle cover that night. I really liked how you can just cover up the bike, panniers and all and not have to worry about rain. It just so happened that it did rain so I got to see how well it protected the bike and it did wonderfully well.

After checking out the next day, I couldn't make up my mind which way to get home but I knew I wanted to hit 532 coming out of Gonzales. So, I plugged Gonzales as my next destination, and picking the shortest distance, I got some interesting choices of roads. That was exactly what I wanted.

It's not every day you see a large metal chicken

I got home about 3 pm. It was great trip as always and CheapSTOC 2008 lives up to the wonderful memories from last year.

My tracks from Sunday

My tracks from Monday

 

[Manfred]

For really good German food, it's http://omashaus.com/ in New Braunfels.

 

[sherob]

You will have to ask Rob to tell you about the almost obscene pleasure he found in devouring the chocolate cream pie, and there were small children near us....

Hey... it was good pie I've never had pie that good before

 

[Pooc]

I wonder if the guys "singing" at the Salt Lick have a cd out yet? LOL!!

 

[sherob]

I wonder if the guys "singing" at the Salt Lick have a cd out yet? LOL!!

 

[Squeaky]

Hey... it was good pie I've never had pie that good before

must... resist... joke... family... site...

 

[sherob]

must... resist... joke... family... site...

 

[lddave]

Looks like all had a good time , I guess I need to start planning and organizing for next year.
I think I will mix up so margaritas this weekend get the darts out and throw them at the Texas map on the wall and where ever it hits that's where cheapSTOC 2009 will be.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of cheapSTOC.

 

[sparkyphotog]

Great pics and write up Rich and Mollie! Maybe I'll get to go next year.

 

[BMWbabe]

Thank you

 

[Tourmeister]

Did I see Steve "CruzinTexas" behind the ST-Owners banner?! Did he get rid of his FJR for an ST?

 

[lddave]

Scott not all the folks behind the banner were on ST's and Steve is still on the FJR.

 

[Simmons1]

Looks like all had a good time , I guess I need to start planning and organizing for next year.
I think I will mix up so margaritas this weekend get the darts out and throw them at the Texas map on the wall and where ever it hits that's where cheapSTOC 2009 will be.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of cheapSTOC.

Make sure one of the darts hits Junction. A few of us were talking about other options at dinner Saturday night all agreed that Junction works as good as anything for roads, convenience, and most of all Cheapness.

 

[lddave]

Make sure one of the darts hits Junction. A few of us were talking about other options at dinner Saturday night all agreed that Junction works as good as anything for roads, convenience, and most of all Cheapness.

Rich you are right about Junction might just try another hotel to change things up.

 

[sherob]

Rich you are right about Junction might just try another hotel to change things up.

Do that AFTER we get the blender