I got out Sunday for about 7 hours. I think I rode around 200 miles or so, much of it dirt, but also some fun pavement. There is a lot more loose stuff now that it is so dry and the dirt has been chewed up by the trucks. I had one corner with pretty deep sand that made me think I was going to face plant. I stayed with it though and managed to ride it out. I'm running a TKC 70 rear and it just doesn't hook up in sand like a TKC 80 rear, so using the throttle in sand is more challenging! The dust is just crazy. I had a few times where I had to power through it to catch up to some one. Then I had to wait until they realized I was behind them and they were willing to move over and let me pass. Most folks are pretty good about this, but there was some guy dragging a worn out RV with the side extension hanging out so he couldn't see behind him and he was taking up the whole road and then some! He eventually turned off, but man, even hanging back it was hard to see!
I started out heading East toward Lake Livingston on what used to be dirt roads between Hwy 19 and US 190. Now they are mostly paved. I am sure the locals love that because it keeps the dust down and the dirt off their vehicles. I can't really blame them. It seems like every time I head out, another road has been paved. I wandered around on dirt roads South of US 190 and along FM 946. I jumped over to FM 224 along the West edge of Lake Livingston. The Southern half of this road is a lot of fun with nice curves and fast elevation changes. I cut back West on FM 945 to Hwy 150 and then headed backup into the SHNF, eventually working my way over to New Waverly for a gas, Gatorade, and an ice cream sandwich. I then worked my way further West to Richards and stopped at
@AggieVFR 's parent's house for a nice visit on their awesome front porch. I used to stop and visit with his grand parents when they lived there and they'd always feed me a bowl of Blue Bell while we watched cruisers try to navigate the tight corner in front of their house. They kept the cordless phone on the porch with them so they could call 911 when someone blew the corner, which happened with an alarming regularity!
I spent more time visiting than I had intended, so it was getting late, 6:00pm, and I still wanted to make a loop out toward the Navasota River before heading home. To make some time I just ran FM 149 out to Anderson and then some dirt that brought me out on FM 3090. From there I ran up some more dirt along the East side of the river up to Hwy 30. I stopped for a cold lemonade at Yankee's, and then headed North toward Iola on FM 244. A few miles North of Yankee's, I hit dirt again and started running NE over toward Bedias, then back East on more dirt South of FM 1696. I eventually dropped back out onto FM 1696 and just ran pavement home because it was getting dark and the deer were coming out in force. I had already had a close encounter with a few spotted fawns earlier in the day and seen numerous larger deer crossing the roads in front of me. I didn't want to push my luck.
I thought about taking pictures frequently. But it was hot! As long as I was moving, I was actually quite comfortable and not all sweaty. But if I stopped...
So no pics
Highest temp I saw was 99.5 F according to the bike thermometer.
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