LDDave's annual RTE ride report

[anaconda]

I'm starting the ride report thread since it seems no one else has done so yet.
Great turnout (including a couple from Germany), great 'Q, perfect riding weather.
I apologize for not being the most social, but I'm still fighting a cold and I wasn't feeling quite well. I had a nice route planned for the ride home and I had to discard it and get the most direct route home. (Honestly, I should have sat this one down, but I hadn't had a decent ride in WEEKS!!!!...I know y'all understand).
I'll post my pics later. Hope everyone else has a safe ride home.

 

[Simmons1]

I arrived back in Fort Worth at 4:00.

I had a nice ride down from DFW with Chuck, Russ, Brad, and Janet. Janet met up with us in Whitney.

Ken arrived 15 minutes behind us on the little TW200 that could.

The food and company were awsome. I bumped into a few people that I hadn't seen since last years event.










Any guesses on who owns this bike?



We took the fast way back home. For those of you South of here the front is on its way. The temperature dropped from near 80 to 67 in about 5 minutes just South of Fort Worth.

What a great day for a ride!

 

[M38A1]

I too am home safe and sound. A terrific time again, and I say 'thanks' to lddave for organizing another December bbq run. I always enjoy seeing old friends, and meeting new ones.

As for the picture, something about the 'squeaky' wheel gets the grease comes to mind. Am I close?

 

[Tourmeister]

Looks like a great turnout! How about this weather!? I love it! We stayed home to do Sarah's 3rd birthday party, but we had some good BBQ here

That chain has to be Squeaky's or DFW Warrior's

 

[Gilk51]

That chain has to be Squeaky's or DFW Warrior's

Well, DFW was up north at LMS...

 

[Gilk51]

The weather is crazy - I actually dressed too warmly today after early morning temps in the low 40s most of the week.

The invite & prep for this event is found here - LD Daves's 6th annual BBQ Ride to Eat (RTE).

Met with 3 other guys at the Minyard in southwest Arlington.

Rich (Simmons1) opted for the ZX-11 today so he could get home faster...

Russ (nogutsnoglory) and his Goldwing

Brad (jbh) but the flash lit up his visor

The bikes

You can see that it was overcast - it was like that most of the day. Occasionally the sun came out...

Everyone blindly followed me until Brad got totally fed up and blasted into the lead on FM933 on the way to Whitney.

Being the social being that I am, I apparently waved to a stopped rider in a shopping center in Whitney. A little while later I noticed an extra headlight in the mirror. Turns out Janet (Janet) had set up an intercept and joined our group.

We made a gas/rest stop at Valley Mills. Now there are 5 bikes:

Heeeeeere's Janet (Janet) on her Road Star

Brad continued to lead and made some clever modifications to the route in Moody and again skirting Temple. He blamed the GPS. Rich's comment to me at a stop was "You need to put your **** waypoints on the road!"

However, except for a headwind, nothing kept us from getting to the BBQ place just before 11:00. Brad did find an interesting back way into the parking lot...

There were a bunch of bikes there already and a lot of the riders were inside eating. More kept pulling in. Folks were in the parking lot, talking, looking at bikes. When they got hungry, they ate.

I spotted a few familiar faces - Janet talks with Ana (anaconda)

Ana had been fighting a cold/flu but couldn't pass up a ride for BBQ!

Folks had tastes for three main types of bikes - Honda STs, Honda Goldwings, and Suzuki V-Stroms (both 650s and 1000s). There were others in onseys-twoseys - Triumph, BMW, Yamaha, etc.

Folks were enjoying the weather & looking and talking about bikes.

Dave (lddave - black shirt, second from left) was meeting folks

The back of Dave's shirt (I want one of these but I need to meet Ardys first)

Another familar face - Claire (bobcat) - from just down the road in Austin

Advertising for TWT were Linda and Mike

But the talk of the town was the custom Texas license plates on these two bikes (OK, the are really Switzerland and Germany)!

They belonged to this couple - Andrea on the left, Thomas on the right. Graeme (Calgary Yogi - middle) was talking with them. We got all the Europeans in one place. A & T had been touring the States since July and were headed to Big Bend next. I got sketchy details on how they heard about the BBQ ride, but it was great that they made it!

They update a diary (blog) online that is currently just in German here: http://www.miles-to-ride.de/
There is a link to the blog at the bottom of the page. Eventually, they will have a version in English (yes, they speak it well!) here: http://www.miles-to-ride.com/ Watch for it! I gave them a TWT card and an "Everywhere Texas" DVD to remember Texas by.

More folks - that's Ken (KenH) on the left

That's Rita and Dwayne (DwayneInfo) in the middle

Some other bikes (Triumph, for instance)

I don't think I have ever seen as many ST1100s in one place.
(I forgot to write down who this was but I really should know )

Bikes had interesting slogans, labels, and stickers, not to mention accessories!

The last two were from LD Dave's bike, also an ST1100.

Another familiar face (late, of course!), Rebecca (Squeaky):

Here's Jim (Langly), ready to go.

Oh! Yeah! There was food, too!
And it was good! Sliced beef sammich was very good.
Here is Rebecca and Janet at the table:

At lot of the riders left to go to the open house at Lone Star BMW in Austin.


We had a couple from our group of 5 that needed to make it home for other parties and activities, so we got some gas and took off north. Brad blamed the GPS again when 290 split off 95 at Temple. But he suggested staying on the "loop" and taking I35 home. That's what we did - quite a change in traffic levels from the morning...

Janet and Russ split off on I35E and Rich, Brad, and I took I35W. When I exited US287 in Arlington, I noticed a marked drop in temperature. But it was a great day and I enjoyed it immensely!

Thanks, Dave!

 

[Gilk51]

Yep, I picked on Brad a bit much - but he did a great job and can handle the abuse!

And he has a nice bike - FJRs are popping up everywhere this year...

 

[Squeaky]

I don't even think the chain is that bad! It wasn't what was making the noise after all (I think it's the engine guards at the forward connection). I'll clean the chain tomorrow and show y'all how NOT bad it is!

Had an almost 12 hour day, and it was great. Like Ana, it's been a while since I've had a good, long ride - and today's BBQ run certainly hit the spot. Thanks to Graeme for escorting me most of the way back home.

I'll get to the pics a bit later.

 

[Janet]

I enjoyed the ride with the guys, enjoyed the conversation and the food. Thanks to everyone for a great day.

Janet

 

[anaconda]

Great report Chuck!!

I hope you get to meet Ardys, she's a really sweet down to earth lady. I would be happy to get to her age with half her health, let alone the stamina for all that riding.

 

[jbh]

Yep, I picked on Brad a bit much - but he did a great job and can handle the abuse!

And he has a nice bike - FJRs are popping up everywhere this year...

I am still going to blame it all on Chucks GPS file I used. Waypoints should be on the road, not in a field next to the road.

Actually I had to consult Squeaky to have my GPS reverse Chuck's route to go back home. Once I was leading back I noticed it was telling me to go straight through the grainfields because it was a more direct path than the roads we were on. At that point I decided I needed to get home quickly and everyone else seemed to agree so we slabed it home. I guess I should just be glad it did not fall of the bike since she had touched it.

Rich, I welcomed the cool weather because like Chuck I was dressed for cooler temps and I was getting rather hot. I-35 was not impressive but it does get the job done of getting you back quickly.

Had a great time leading everyone on a interesting route. Chuck anytime you want to play more GPS games let me know. Oh and thanks for the deal on the fuse box.

 

[Squeaky]

I guess I should just be glad it did not fall of the bike since she had touched it.

See if I help you next time!

Oh, and you have it setup all funny with the automatic fields on the screen. I'd help ya get it to where the info on the side is useful and all, but then you might blame me for you getting lost or something...

 

[jbh]

See if I help you next time!

Oh, and you have it setup all funny with the automatic fields on the screen. I'd help ya get it to where the info on the side is useful and all, but then you might blame me for you getting lost or something...

I guess I have not spent too much time messing with it. I did customize the boxes on the right when it is not in route navigation mode.

Glad you could make it out today.

 

[anaconda]

My photos....

It was really overcast when I left in the morning, but it later cleared up a bit.

Less than 10 miles from the destination, I bumped with two riders with what was obviously european license plates. I stayed behind them to look for an opportunity to talk to them and invite them to the RTE, but someone had already beat me to the punch.

Bikes...

...and more bikes...

hmm... caption contest, anyone?

 

[Dirtrideroader]

Had an almost 12 hour day, and it was great. Like Ana, it's been a while since I've had a good, long ride - and today's BBQ run certainly hit the spot. Thanks to Graeme for escorting me most of the way back home.

Well, I feel bad now. Rebecca was late because she was trying to get in touch with me. I was still putting my bike together this morning. I ended up riding straight to Austin to the Lone Star Triumph BMW party.

I met my brother and another friend and we rode the one lane "goat" roads west of town. It was fun.

Hope everyone had a good time in Taylor. I will make it to another TWTEX ride one day.

 

[Squeaky]

Ok, some pics...

Wandered to Taylor the not-so-direct way. I had a route planned, but I broke away from it more than I followed it. I tried to add some dirt here and there, but generally just picked roads that looked like they were off the beaten path. Riding alone, I just did what I wanted as it happened.

These pre-steaks blocked the roadway and then started lazily walking down the road. Every attempt to rev the engine and honk the horn only caused more confusion, not the "startled and running away" effect I was going for. It took almost ten minutes for me to get enough space to get past them.

Something about two paths in the woods comes to mind. I went right.

And it brought me here (eventually)

(yeah, I've been playing with AutoStitch lately)

I followed Graeme back to Houston, but about 80 miles into the ride I realized we were only twenty or so miles from where we started. I hadn't even noticed we'd made a big loop!

The weather couldn't have been nicer!

This beastly machine was nice enough to move over a smidge so we could get by in one piece.

We stopped for a long break to talk and rest as the sun was starting to set, then headed back for home.

I ended up with 418 miles door-to-door.

 

[Squeaky]

Well, I feel bad now. Rebecca was late because she was trying to get in touch with me.

Yeah. Um, I'll go with that excuse...
(can I blame the dirty/rusty chain on you somehow too?)

It actually kinda worked out that I was alone - it gave me a chance to explore my "wanderlust" without worrying about when I'd get there or who I'd be inconveniencing. I'm sure we'll get a chance to ride together again soon.

 

[lddave]

The weather for December was good, the BBQ was great, and it was good seeing everyone plus meeting new folks.
Fred won the shirt contest, plus his wheelchair was neat.
Bob Hall ( 2001 Iron Butt Rally winner) won the long distance award, 1410 miles round trip from Albuquerque .
Bob said something about a great burritos place in New Mexico, so their might be a New Mexico RTE in the future.
The folks from Germany got prizes for the best craftsmanship on their bikes.
I want to thank everyone who made it to Taylor Saturday for making this another great BBQ RTE.

 

[DFW_Warrior]

That chain has to be Squeaky's or DFW Warrior's

Ummmm, excuse me?!?!?!?!?!

My bike has seen more maintenance in the past week than Squeaker's has seen in it's life time!!!! I just don't wash it. But she does get taken care of.

 

[DwayneInfo]

Wife and I had a good time as usual, 530 miles and 45 lbs of Pecans got us home around midnight. We enjoyed meeting some more new folks and we look forward to attending more of the local weekly outings.

Dwayne

Squeaky - How did you get that screen shot of you map?

 

[Mick]

Ok, some pics...

I see you took the same road we did between Caldwell and Rockdale (908). That road was a nice surprise.

We took a pretty round about way getting to Taylor. Started off for Breakfast at Montgomery then on to Carlos, Navasota, Indepence (via La Bahia Rd) then made our way north on 50. There was a bad 18 wheeler vs car accident on that road which caused the DPS to block off the road so we wound up having to double back and take an alternate route through Snook. We eventually got back on track and got on the "Aggie Road" that winds it's way into Caldlwell. Haven't been on that road in quite a while. It was a good day of riding!

 

[KenH]

Well, the ol' camera killed the batteries again, so no pics.

On the road at 5:15 AM, stopped at an ATM a for fuel, so actually began this route at 5:45:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=...931,-96.970825&spn=2.292409,5.108643&z=8&om=1

Leakey to Taylor
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=...748,-98.572083&spn=1.163377,2.554321&z=9&om=1

Humidity was very high, the roads were wet and very slick, but not enough size to the drops of fog/mist/drizzle/whatever to soak through gear. Quite odd, actually, but this is Texas.

I had never ridden the part of the route across the north end of Benbrook Lake and on down to Joshua and picking up US174. Lots of curves, bumps, elevation changes, and railroad tracks in corners. It was a grand ride, what with the water on the road and a brand new tire not yet scuffed in.

From Joshua to Taylor I intended to follow the route Chuck recommended. Things went well to Valley Mills, where I put 1.8 gallons of gas in a 1.9 gallon tank. What little headwind there was early in the morning didn't amount to much since I was riding along at a sedate 50-55mph, you know, slow down and smell the road kill and all that.

Since I was a little distracted by the fuel situation, I didn't notice a sign indicating Highway 317. I asked the blonde high-schooler behind the counter how to get to 317 and followed her instructions. Therefore, I ended up taking this route instead:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=...044,-97.264709&spn=1.093213,2.554321&z=9&om=1

While riding down 6 I got I figured I was heading too far east, so I submitted to the nagging voices and started heading south and west as opportunities permitted. I didn;t see a single open gas station from 6 all the way to Temple. I ran out turning north on 190 from 363. Laying the bike on its side got me started, and to the Shell station on 190. The 1.9 gallon tank held 2.02 gallons. Makes me wonder if the pump is 5% off or what?

The ride from Temple to Taylor was uneventful, except into the wind, down on the tank, 55-60mph was all the TW would do. I finally arrived at the meet at 11:15, none the worse for wear.

It is always nice to put people with handles at meets. I was surprised at the number of women who actually rode their own. Way to go, ladies!

The ride north along the secondary highways was mostly pleasant. With fair winds I was able to ride sitting up and maintain 70-75mph without pinning the throttle. Somewhere between Crawford and Valley Mills I was in a line of vehicles tooling along about 70. A car hood flew up from the bed of a pickup, over the car behind him, bounced on the next car's roof, then over my head. It missed by a good 15 feet, but it was still scary. The car the hood hit pulled over. I saw the driver of the car behind the truck pick up a cell phone. Four or five miles up the road a LEO was waiting and pulled the truck over.

I detoured up 174 from Cleburne to Soozy's for dinner. About a mile south of Mrs. Baird's I hit the cold front. I was tooling along at 75mph minding my own business when it felt and sounded like someone popped the front of my helmet with the palm of their hand. The temperature change was immediate, a drop from high 70s to low 60s in an instant. T-dub also dropped about 10mph of speed about as quickly as quickly as chopping the throttle--the tailwind was now a headwind. That's the most rapid change in conditions I've ever experienced.

Anyhow, I straggled my happy self home about 10:00PM after a grand ride of 455.3 miles. I suppose I need to go ahead and deal with T-dub's fuel capacity issues as that is what consistently causes problems on long rides.

 

[Squeaky]

Squeaky - How did you get that screen shot of you map?

That's the track log out of my GPS loaded in MapSource, then I used Ctrl + Alt + Prt Scrn to copy an image of my screen. Paste that into any photo program then crop out the edges.

I see you took the same road we did between Caldwell and Rockdale (908). That road was a nice surprise.

Graeme found that one - and I loved it! No traffic and wonderful sweeping curves!

 

[Squeaky]

You guys got all worked up over my chain being rusty - when in reality NONE of you can tell the difference between dirt and rust.

Apologies will be accepted at the next RTE.

I don't know why I didn't just wipe a finger across it in front of everyone...

After a cleaning:

 

[Quick-Silver]

Why does a chain need to be clean? Just squirt some oil or chain wax on it and ride the dogs out of it.