Gobble Gobble...

Well it's that time of year again, time to get together with the family and eat way too much and then eat too much again. This year for Thanksgiving I went up to my parents house for the holiday. I headed up there on Wed and stayed till Friday. The time I spent at my parents consisted of drinking, eating and then drinking heavily. One tradition we have is to watch Christmas Story, the epic story of Ralphie and his quest for the Red Rider BB gun, what a classic movie. I think the only other movie that is just as good to watch over and over again is Christmas Vacation, I love that movie.
While I was at my parents I convinced my Dad to ride back with me to Austin and then go riding in the Hill Country and really put some miles on his bike. Back on Memorial day my Dad finally decided on which bike to get and since has only put like 1200 miles on it. Well I was hoping to change that this past weekend and I did.
Myself, the Ol' Man and a bunch of my friends went out on our typical Hill country ride, out the twisty 1431 picked up 29 to Llano, stopped at coopers for BBQ, then down 16 passed Enchanted rock and then hit Luchenbach for some beers and good conversation and then headed back home. It was a typical ride, nothing out of the ordinary but the point was to get my Dad out on some good twisty roads so he could enjoy the ride, cause lets face it DFW SUCKS for riding. There is nothing good about riding up in that area. You have to drive 50 miles just to get out of town and then, there aren't that many good rides up there.
All in all it was a GREAT weekend riding around and hanging out with friends, I think we put around 700 miles on the ol' mans bike. Pics can be found here
Till next time keep the rubber side down!

Bike Night...

Thursday night, bike night, noche del motos, Guys night out, noche de los hombres... Whatever you want to call it, in my opinion it is the BEST night of the week. It is the time when myself and all my friends get to go out and laugh, tell stories, joke around and in general have a great time enjoying each others company. Last night was no exception, I headed up to one of our local watering holes to meet the boys and when I took the exit off the highway the sky's opened up and I got soaked for the last mile of my ride. I am usually not the first person that show's up so it was very surprising to me that I got there before everyone else. I figured they chickened out cause of the rain and when I pulled up and noticed no one else was there I yelled some profanity to myself which caught the attention of everyone on the patio... whoops....
I went in and ordered a drink and visited with some of the regulars there at the bar and waited for everyone to show.
Everyone showed up and there were shots, drinks, wings, good lies and great stories. Once the last call happened it was time to be moving on. A smaller group of more rambunctious individuals decided to head south into Austin to hit another bar. When we got there one of my brothers ROBERT CONTRERAS :) had the unfortunate luck of dropping his bike and of course us being the great friends we are took pictures so we can tease him about from now until he dies. Note: I can do this cause I dropped my bike and told on myself when we took our trip to Arkansas see here
Anyway, the bike was fine and more importantly Robert was fine.
We hung out at this bar for like an hour or so watching the locals interact with each other. It is so much fun to people watch. After a while we started getting pretty board so it was time to leave. We all decided that after the holiday's we will be going to downtown Austin for the after party cause it is way more interesting. Apparently last time when I missed the after party there were fights, arrests and public intoxication downtown...what a great time!
Next was breakfast at I-hop and then it was time to head home. I ended up riding the last 15 miles of my trip home in the rain... But I wouldn't have change a thing.
I love bike night... I love my friends, they are my rock.
There are more pics here.
Till next time, keep the rubbers on the road.

My Mom....

For the past three years my family has participated in the Susan G. Komen 3 day breast cancer walk. This is the first year I have had the privileged to attend and witness this event first hand. Let me start off by saying it was AWESOME and one of the most emotional events I have attended in my life, mainly cause of my Mom. To know all that she went through and how hard she fought and to now see her walk 60 miles to bring inspiration to others... she absolutely inspires me. The sheer magnitude of this event and the amount of work that goes into this is phenomenal. I was able to get up to Dallas on Friday and my sister and I found them on the route and cheered them on!
After seeing them for a few minutes Erin (my sister) and I headed over to grab some food for them and then met them at the camp to help them get settled in and say good night. The next day me and my older sister (kelly) headed over to the walk to find my parents and again cheer on all the walkers. This time we took my bike (bacon) and drove along the route playing music and cheering everyone on. We found my parents and visited with them for a few minutes and then headed over to the lunch station to meet them for lunch.
When we got to the lunch station the first 30 or so miles were starting to take a tole on my parents. Dad had to get his ankle tapped and my Mom had to have the chiropractor pop her ribs back into place, go ahead ask why.
Cancer is a horrible disease, not just breast cancer but all types of cancer. If cancer doesn't kill you, the treatment will come close. When she was getting chemo and radiation it caused her bones and joints to become brittle and now every once in a while her ribs just pop out of place if she moves wrong.
After a brief visit to the medical tent and getting everything popped and tapped they grabbed their lunch and we found a nice spot in the shade and they enjoyed a much deserved break from the walk.
Next day was the closing ceremony which in my opinion was the best part of the whole event. All the survivors are honored by the walkers with a shoe ceremony where all the walkers raise their shoes and pay tribute to the survivors, even now as I write this the emotion starts to well up inside...
My Mom is the strongest person I know and I am so proud and inspired by her courage and determination.
Pics from the 3day

Dinosaur Valley

It has been a long time since I have been able to get outta town and go for a decent ride. Main contributing factor to this was the fact that I just got divorced and have been dealing with that but that is another topic all together. This past weekend was too PERFECT! It all started on Friday when I went by my friend Mike's house to visit and found out that he and his ol' lady canceled their trip to the coast due to heavy rain fall, so we made plans to head out in the morning to make a run up to Glen Rose and see Dinosaur Valley state park. We all met around 8:00 and by 8:30 or so we were on the road. Our plan was to take the direct route straight up to the park and then in the afternoon take the twisty back roads home. When we met the temperature gauge was reading 42 degree's so needless to say it was a tad bit chilly when we hit the road. We got on the road and headed north about 20 miles into the trip I pulled up to Tanya and basically was distracting her telling her it was coooold which caused her to drift over to the shoulder of the road and almost lose control. I was FREAKING out but being the good rider that she is, she was able to save it. It was defiantly a pucker moment for everyone. After that the rest of the trip was uneventful and went smoothly all the way to the park. When we got to the park we found out that the tracks were not visible due to the recent rain that we've been having. A little disappointed we went into the park got a ride patch took a few photo's and when hiking on some of the trails. About this time we were all starting to get a little hungry so we found a place in Glen Rose to eat. After that Mike took us down some of the twisty back roads on the way home. The weather was absolutely perfect for a ride, it warmed up to mid 70's and sunshine. What a great day to be riding...

Holiday Road

A few months back my sister-in-law Sandy made a suggestion about running up to Milwaukee and see the new HD museum, mainly cause she got a free ticket to the museum, plus why the hell not...
Over the past few months we plotted and schemed about the agenda of the trip. We were going to drive as fast as we could to get out of Texas and over to Hot Springs, AR. Once there we were going to shoot up Hwy 7 through Branson then I-44 over to St. Louis then finally push on to Milwaukee. The trip up was planned for 3 days. Take a few days in Milwaukee see the museum, factory, and corp HQ of HD. Then from Milwaukee we would do the Lake Michigan tour from Wisconsin to Michigan and take the car ferry back to Wisconsin.

View Larger Map

Here is a quick Summery of the trip.
Total Mileage - 3368 honestly I thought it would be longer
Damage: one lost exhaust nut from my bike, one lost seat bolt from Sandy's bike, loose bolt on my saddle bag mount, lost rain cover that flew off somewhere in Illinois.
301 pictures taken
7 states
1 bald rear tire
and lots of great memories...

Pre-ride...
After trying to figure out the best way to pack all of our stuff on the bike and have the versatility and use of the trunk I decided to get the T-bag Dekker for the top of the tour pack. This is a bag that has stiff sides and straps to secure it to the trunk lid mounted on the side of the bag. We could essentially use this bag as the trunk while we stuffed the actual trunk full of everything that would fit in it.
Pros: Lots of extra space and you can get in and out of it easily.
Cons: Puts more weight on the bike and going down the road it gets a little squirrelly.
Next time I do a long trip with the ol' lady I will have a trailer to take the load off the bike. We had so much stuff packed in and on the bike I believe that we were on the border of unsafe.
Two days before we left Sandy showed up at the house, turns out we had bike night that night up at our local HD shop. This bike night was not the normal boring night out at the bar, it was the big bike night that only happens when the ROT rally is happening. This year was the 15th annual ROT (Republic of Texas) Rally. It is one of the biggest rallies in the region however the promoters bill it as one of the larges in the country. Anyways when we went to BN we picked up some oil for Sandy's bike and then were informed there was a tornado north of us moving south. We promptly jumped on our bikes and drove as fast as we could back to our house to beat the rain and the storm. We made it just in time, when I pulled in the garage it had just started to sprinkle and the wind was blowing pretty hard.
Next day I changed the oil and checked out Sandy's bike for the trip. We noticed that her rear tire was getting pretty bald, so we ran up to the dealer to have a new one put on, which turned out to be great! They were serving BBQ and beer (due to the ROT) and we hung out and visited with all the people coming in from out of town. Best time I've had at the dealer waiting on a bike :) The rest of the day was spent packing and repacking to get everything to fit.

Day 1:
We were up with the chickens and on the road around 6:00am destination was Hot Springs AR. The day was pretty uneventful for the most part, only stopping for gas until we got to Texarkana. We stopped there for some lunch and a break at the local dealer to get out of the heat for a while. After Texarkana it was more boring interstate riding till we hit hwy 7 in Arkansas which was the only interesting part of the ride. Interstates are good for trucks, cars, cause you can get to where your going fairly quickly, however for bikers that are out for a ride they are painful but a necessary evil sometimes.

Day 2:
We woke up to the sound of thunder and rain, sounds that are not inviting to bikers on the road. We reluctantly got up, loaded the bikes up and put on the rain gear. We stopped for some coffee and to let the rain pass a little. Today's route was gonna take us up hwy 7 then cut over to Clinton and pick up 65 from there. Fortunately we were heading north and the rain was heading west so we missed the majority of the rain. The roads on this particular stretch were nice and twisty and fairly dry for the most part.
tick tick tick tick... When we came into Hot springs the day before I had noticed a ticking noise coming from my engine, I originally thought it was just cause the engine was so hot that it was pinging. I figured once it cooled off it would be ok. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple, when we headed out in the morning I heard that same ticking noise, it was worse when I would accelerated and it was pretty loud. Once the bike warmed up the ticking started to quiet down. That is when I realized that I had an exhaust leak, and figured I cracked the exhaust gasket. When we were on our way to Clinton we got just south of Russellville and pulled over for a break at a rest area in the Ozarks. That is when I discovered the source of my noise. I had lost an exhaust nut from my front header... AUUGGGHH!!! Next town we found I pulled into an auto parts store and found a nut that would fit and a lock washer. Good news is that I had the tools to fix it, better news is that it was on the front header where I could get to the nuts and tighten them down.
Next stop was Clinton where we took a short break for some lunch and gas. From there we headed up 65 and the rain started again. We road in the rain for about 30 minutes or so. Once we got north of Harrison the sky's turned blue and we had made it passed the frontal system that was moving through the region. We pushed on to Branson where we pulled off for a break and to check out the HD boutique on the river. This area in Branson was great! Lots of stuff to see and we were able to walk around for a while and stretch our legs. Next leg of the day was to St. Louis to see the arches and then spend the night. Unfortunately I didn't time this right and we got to St. Louis pretty late and didn't get to see the arches so we just snapped some pictures as we drove through.
I am sure we'll make it up that way again. I was told by a local biker that they had some of the best riding around in the St. Louis area so maybe my next trip will be up to that area to check out the sites and do some riding.



Day 3 Destination Milwaukee:
OMG!!! Illinois is sooooooo boring, not sure what is worse, driving through Illinois or a sharp stick in my eye. But, to make the best of the situation I discovered that in Lincoln Illinois there was the worlds largest covered wagon with ol Abe Lincoln himself sitting on top of it. For several month now I have been looking for a trailer to pull behind the bike and I finally found one that was big enough to fit all my stuff, only problem is that it takes two bikes to pull it. I guess I will still need to keep on looking. We filled up and continued north, the rest of the day was pretty boring till we hit Milwaukee and then there was 30 minutes of white knuckle riding through traffic and ended up in downtown lost without a clue. I quickly pulled out the ol' google maps from my phone and got directions over to the Museum so we could get recommendations for a hotel in the area.
Once again fortune had smiled on my lucky Irish ass and we got a room in a hotel one block from the museum! We stayed at the Iron Horse Inn. This is a great hotel, it had covered bike parking and a bike wash. After getting checked in and and unloaded the bikes I proceeded to wash the bike and visit with my buddy Jack the rest of the night. While Sandy and I were at the bar we met some guys who were on their "mancation" from Pennsylvania. The night was filled with road stories, tall tails, brats and Jack. It was a great first night in Milwaukee.

Harley Davidson Museum and other local Harley land marks...
I woke to a pounding in my skull, at first I thought it was my ol' lady beating on me, but then I realized it was just Jack. After we got ourselves together we walked over to the HD museum. This place is incredible, even if your not a fan of Harley Davidson the museum is a very neat place to tour. We spent 4 hours (could have spent more) walking around and looking at engines, bikes, reading about the company, looking at pictures and watching short video's. They had rooms dedicated to the history of the HD engine, the company, the bikes, racing, and the culture of bikers.
In the engine room they had every engine model that HD produced and you could select each one from a touch screen and hear what it sounded like, get the specifications and the years the engine was in service. They had cut aways of the engines and working models of them and you could see how all the insides work together.
The history of the Moco was great, it talked about how they started in a shed and then went public, then combined with AMF and finally the "Eagle Sores Alone" campaign they had in the early 80's. In the custom culture room they had a section dedicated to the Booze Fighters MC, the original Wild Ones. Rhine stone bike, the bikes from Easy Rider and they even had a 100th anniversary FLHTCUSE with a side car on display that had over 6500 employee signatures on it. It was bikes, bikes and more bikes. Then we went to the Archives, this is a whole building dedicated for storing HD memorabilia and every bike they have built since the beginning, a complete history of Harley Davidson. The museum is truly a historical archive of not only the bikes Harley Davidson made, but lives of the people who built and used them and how they influenced the culture of the time. From delivery trikes to the WWII messenger brigade. This was one of the neatest things I have seen.
Next on the Agenda was to run out to the factory there in Milwaukee and see how they build the engines for the Sportster's. It was quit interesting, one thing I didn't know is that Harley machines all their parts, every gear, shaft, rod are all machined right there in the plant which was a big surprise to me. I thought they ordered all that stuff and just put the engines together, but they build everything. They test 100% of the staters, and hot start every engine, run it through all gears in the transmission before loading it on a truck for Kansas City where the bikes get assembled.
After we finished our tour of the factory we ran over to Juneau Ave where the Harley Davidson HQ is. It was neat to be there knowing that back in 1903 there was just a tiny shack at that location where they built the first Harley Davidson motorcycle. Not much to see there but you can't be a Harley owner, go all the way to Milwaukee and not stop and pay homage to the HQ.
Next on the agenda was to find a HD dealer to get a bolt for Sandy's seat. Somehow, somewhere along the way she lost the screw that holds her seat on.
After that we headed back to the hotel for dinner and rest...

Around Lake Michigan and back...
Rain rain go away, next morning we awoke to the pitter patter of the rain. Sandy and I grabbed the rain gear and started heading north around Lake Michigan, we rode for about 30 miles and then the rain quit. The plan was to run I-43 to Green Bay and then pick up 41 to 35 then take M2 across the top of Lake Michigan, then cross the Mackinaw bridge and follow 31 and 22 down the Michigan side. Let me say this is one beautiful drive! It is interesting how cool the lake keeps it up there, the road runs right along the cost and keeps it around 60 degree's. When we crossed the Mackinaw bridge the temp had to have dropped at least 20 degree's.
Before we left Wisconsin we stopped at a road side cheese stop and picked up some cheese for the road :). Along this route you are literally riding right on the coast of the lake and the scenery is great! The entire route was great lots to see, and plenty of places to stop for photo ops. The towns reminded me of that little town in Jaws, Amity. There were a bunch of summer beach towns with boat docks, coves and light houses. There was a quaint touristy feel to all the places along the way. Everyone we stopped to talk with was real friendly and most of them were up there visiting for the summer. Very few people we met were local.
When we got to the Mackinaw bridge we stopped for a photo op and then we proceeded to cross. Let me state for the record steel grated bridges suck on a bike, and the entire bridge was steel grated. I looked down through the grates once and all I saw was water. After we got across the bridge it was time for some din din. We finally found a small little diner in Alanson called Pauly's. This was some good grubbing! The food was cooked fresh and it was delicious. It was a typical small town diner and all the locals were interested in what we were doing there and where we were headed. One of the best things about going on these trips is to meet the local people and hear about them. It is a great side effect of touring on the bike. It was funny when they heard we rode all the way there from Texas, their jaws dropped to the ground.
While we were eating I made a call to the SS Badger which is a car ferry that will take you across the lake. When I called I originally thought that the boat left at 8:00am and then again at 1:00pm, they told me it leaves the Wisconsin side at 1:00pm and only leaves the Michigan side at 8:00am and 8:00pm. We wanted to make it back the next day in time to go to bike night at the museum so we made the decision to drive all the way to Lundington so we could make the 8am ferry crossing. Only bad thing is that we had to cut some of the ride out to make it back in time.

SS Badger...
Next morning we got up and headed over to the dock to catch a ride on the SS Badger, which is a car ferry that runs from Ludington MI. to Manatowoc WI. The boat ride cost around $100 for you and your bike and takes 4 hours. It is way better than the alternative which is to continue around the lake and go through Chicago, no thanks.
The boat is like a mini cruise ship. They had food, movies, gift shop, games and various TV rooms to relax in. Before we set sail we stayed outside on the deck looking around and taking pics. Once we were on the lake we ate some breakfast and then explored the inside of the ship. After that we found a comfy chair and I proceeded to fall asleep for an hour or so. When we got to the other side of the lake we headed south to Milwaukee. When we got back Sandy went back over to the museum to look around some more and Nez and I went downtown to explore Milwaukee a bit.
We all met back at the hotel and Sandy and I went over to the museum for bike night. This was truly a neat experience. Bike night up here seemed very different than the bike nights down in Texas. Maybe it was cause it was at a different location or the people, but it seemed that bike night was about the bikes up here vs in Texas it's more of a social gathering. There were so many classic bikes 47 pan head, 66 bmw with side car, 30th anniversary Electric Glide etc... Guys up here are serious about their vintage bikes, and they are all in MINT condition. While we were there I had me a basket of fried cheese curd, and a brat grilled cheese sandwich, about as Wisconsin as it gets. It was fitting to end the trip with bike night there at the museum, since we started our vacation with bike night here in Austin.
Next two days were long in the saddle getting back home, once we got to Texas we were welcomed with typical pounding Texas heat.
It was a great trip and I would recommend it for everyone. More pics of the trip are located here. Till next time keep the rubber side down.

2009 - Memorial Day Weekend

Ahhhh the official kick-off of the summer season, three day weekend, gas prices sky rocket, and the kids only have a week or so left of school. It also happened to be the weekend the Horny Toad Harley Davidson had their grand opening extravaganza!!! Of course, we (Nez and I along with all our friends) had to attend and check out the new dealership and all the cool stuff they had on hand. Wasn't much of a ride up there, except one exciting thing happened and that was a car blew out a tire on the interstate and that was fun to avoid doing 70 mph. When we got to the dealership they had all sorts of food vendors, paint specialists, custom bike builders, stunt show, concerts and drag racing...it was quite the happening place. I found out my parents showed up, this was a great surprise. We walked around and looked at bikes and then my Dad, who has been looking and looking for a bike for about a year now, decides today was the day! We went into the store, found a sales person and started the process. He ended up getting a Dyna Super Glide, nice bike. You'll probably start seeing more and more about my Dad in the blogs going forward... Now if I can just come up with a good road name for him... ;)
Throughout the weekend it rained on and off, it wasn't a big deal but it seems that the rain followed my sister in law from Brownwood all the way to Temple. When she got to the dealer she looked like a drowned rat, that is about the time when everyone started to give her a hard time "Hey can we get a mop over here?", and "what is that rain suit made of?, a Sponge?". After a good laugh at my SIL expense we headed over to the hotel to check in and grab some grub, at the same time my parents said their good byes and headed back to Dallas.

Bad, Bad Company till the day I die... One of the main reasons I wanted to go to the Grand opening and stay the night in Temple was the lead singer for Bad Company was playing and I love their music. Unfortunately the rain from earlier in the day made the field that was in front of the stage turn into a huge mud puddle, so we just hung out up on top of the hill in the parking lot. We could hear just fine. We sat there and visited and sang along with the band and had a few drinks. Good times all around.
Next morning we were planning on attending a Memorial Ride to the Veterans memorial on Hwy 195 just south of Ft. Hood. However, it was pouring rain when we got up and decided to just head home. We rode home in the rain, it wasn't too bad but it wasn't fun either. My ol' Lady got sick, she had a fever on Monday.

Mamorial day err... I meant Memorial day: It just so happens that Tumbleweed's birthday is on Memorial day, or as he likes to call it Mamorial day. Not because he is clever, he just can't spell. Anyway he sent out an invite for everyone to go on a ride through the hill country, the plan was to run down to Gruene (pronounce Green if your not from these parts) via the Devils Backbone which is a beautiful ride and eat at the Grist Mill. After we ate, we headed over to Luckenbach to hang out with Walyn, Willie and the boys. In my opinion this is one of the coolest places in Texas, they have cold beer, live music great people and is the best place to waist time. Tumbleweed had never been there and wanted to see what it was all about. After a few cold beers we saddled up and headed for home. We had a great ride through the hill country and good times for everyone. Till next time, keep the rubber side down! More pics of the weekend can be found here

Twisted Sisters

Last weekend when I got back from my ride in the Ozarks, my Ol' Lady told me that she wanted to go for a ride. It has been almost a month since she has been on any real trip, mainly because I was in India for 3 weeks and when I got back I took my "mancation". She defiantly had a point, besides, who am I to argue about jumping on the ol iron horse for the weekend.
I had heard so many people talking about riding the Twisted Sisters down near Leaky in the Rio Frio canyon, I even have seen t-shirts about running the "Three Twisted Sisters". I have been in that area several times (never on these roads) and it is absolutely beautiful country but, I never realized how GREAT the riding is down there. This passed weekend the ol' Lady and I found out what all the fuss is about.

The plan was to go down to the hill country, not the hill country west of Austin that I ride all the time but the hill country that is south of I-10, and run the three twisted sisters. We decided Kerrville would be our base for operation and we would ride from there. While we were planning the trip we asked some friends of ours (Alex and Jamie) if they wanted to make the trip with us. We have heard them talk about wanting to go down there several times but there is never enough time to run down there for a day and make the run. This time we were staying the night so we had plenty of time. Needless to say they accepted our invitation, not because of our sparkling personalities but, who would turn down a weekend in the saddle?

The Sporty gets drafted: Alex and Jamie both ride, however they only have one bike. Last time they made the twisted sister run they rode two up and Jamie told Alex this time she wanted to ride her own bike. Their plan was to rent a bike however it was going to cost way to much. During bike night, I offered the use of my Sportster to them if they wanted to use it. They weren't sure if they wanted to take it cause it has ape hangers and is only an 883. (HEY! quit picking on the 883's this bike road 3,338 miles to Sturgis and back!) After bike night we ran back to the house so they could sit on it and test it out around the block. When Alex got back he was like "MAN! that is comfortable." So, the sporty was drafted into action. I have to confess I was a little nervous about letting someone borrow my bike even if I was with them. Two reasons for this, one I NEVER let anyone ride my bikes and two over the years the sporty has developed a "personality", meaning you have to treat her just right or she won't work for ya.

Saturday morning came and the plan was to meet at the Starbucks for coffee and breakfast then head out from there. The route was simple, 1431 west, 281 south, sandy road west, 290 west, 16 south. First stop we made was in Sandy Texas. Mainly cause we wanted the photo op with the sign for my S-N-L Sandy. This stop took all of two minutes and then it was on to Fredricksburg for a quick break. After our break we saddled up and headed south, we were in Kerrville in no time. We stopped for fuel and one last bio break cause it was going to be a while before we stop again.
Once we got south of Kerrville the ride starts to get good. Immediately the view turns from good to great, the road starts to tighten up, the turns get sharper, the hills get steeper, your heart starts to pound a little, and right about now that grin comes over your face. We took 16 down to Medina and that is were we started the twisted sisters loop which consists of TX 335, 336, 337. We headed down 337 and found an over look and decided to stop for a quick photo op and to grab the camera for Nez to take some photo's while we were riding. She took pictures of everything, road shots, herself, patches on my vest, her boot she got everything. I guess she was a little bored on the back of the bike.
Next town was Leaky, which is where we should have stopped. There is a place called the Motorcycle stop this is a really cool place, however we didn't stop cause if we did, we would not have had time to make the entire loop without rushing so we just drove right on by. After more twisties we got to Camp Wood where we stopped for gas and a quick snack. After gas and snacks we headed north on 55 and then picked up 335, the second sister. On this road there is some really cool wild life, camels, kangaroos, deer, and other deer family, keep your camera out for this section of the road. We didn't keep our camera out cause we decided we had enough pics of the ride already, big mistake. This road was great it was a roller coaster ride through the canyon. Once we finished 335 we picked up 41 which takes you over to 336 and then south back to Leaky. Again the ride was GREAT! and beautiful scenery, I think the best part about riding out here is the fact there is almost no traffic except for the occasional farmer running to town for supplies.
At this point it was getting to be around 3:00 and we just finished the sisters.


Next stop was Vanderpool to visit the motorcycle museum and get a bite to eat at the cafe there. When we got there we were all hungry and found out tha the cafe closed at 3:00 and it was now 4:00 ugghhh...
However they had pie :) so I had a slice of pie and we all had something to drink. After looking around and talking with Allen (the owner) we saddled up and headed north on 187 to pick up 39 which snakes along the Guadalupe river. This is a beautiful ride, lots of trees along the road and nice curves.

When we got to hunt we made a quick pit stop at Stonehenge, Jamie and Alex have never seen it so we stopped. When we got there and parked Jamie asked "What are we doing?" I asked " what do you mean?" she replied "Are we lost?" I said "no its right there" and pointed across the street. Jamie had a duuuuuhhhhhhh moment.
While we were there another group from Waco showed up and we got to talking about the rides down in the area we were at etc. One of the ladies mentioned "we even got t-shirts..." I was like huh? t-shirts? I inquired as to where they got them, and it was at the Motorcycle stop, like I said the place we SHOULD have stopped. At that point it was starting to get dark and there was no way we were going to attempt the drive over to Leaky and back in the dark. It was decided that if it's not raining in the morning then we would make the run over to Leaky and pick up t-shirts and patches.
About this time we were all getting hungry and tired of getting eaten by gnats, we headed into Kerrville and ate a great Mexican place call Mamacita's, it has good food and drink. It is located on the east bound side of 27 between Ingram and Kerrville.

After dinner we headed to the Best Western to check in, it was about 8:00pm when we checked in. I couldn't believe how late it was, looking at the map it doesn't look like it would take a full day to do this run. I am glad we planned two days for it cause we would have never made it back to Leander before the deer came out at dusk. After check in we unloaded the bikes and relaxed in the room talking about the ride, looking at the pictures and planned out the next day. We all were in agreement that we would get up early and head over to Leaky to get patches and a t-shirt if it wasn't raining. Forecast called for thunderstorms in the area and I was definatly not looking forward to riding in the rain again.

Next morning it was not raining, however it rained a little during the night which was ok with me. We got up and had some coffee and breakfast and then headed to Leaky, we decided to take the "fast" route over, but it turns out the fast route was an absolutely beautiful ride. The scenery was unbelievable great wide open spaces and hills, I love it down there.
We got to the shop and looked around a bit picked up our t-shirts and patches and just relaxed before the ride home. About this time it was getting to be lunch and we decided to head up to Llano for some coppers BBQ. As usual it was excellent food and good times. From here we headed home down 29.

This was an excellent trip and one that I would defiantly do again. We rode around 600 miles and the riding down there is excellent, it was just as good as the riding we had up in the Ozarks and a lot closer too. The trip was a great follow up to the Ozark trip, it was nice to get out and do some riding again. More pics can be found here

Ozarks 2009

I was up at 5:00am in anticipation for this ride. Mike and I had been planning this Ozark trip since late January. Ever since, it has been one long waiting game these passed few months. Let me start off with a quick summery for everyone.

• Total Miles: 1874 ( give or take a few miles)
  
• Damage: 4 - Dropped Bikes
  1 - lost nut
  1 - fuel line
  1 - carburetor gasket
  1 - bent break lever
  1 - head light
  1 - broken kickstand
  
• Favorite Quotes:
  "I feel like a freshman at camp, I can't find shit" --Flounder (Chris)
  "Whats the matter Chris, can't get it up?" --Tape Worm (Jim)
  "She can put stiletto's on and walk all over me..." -- Boots
• Roster:
  Mike (Capie - road captain)
  Kevin (Pelon)
  Steve W.
  Steve H. (Princess - cause it is the only thing he answers to...)
  John (Boots - we all know the story)
  Jim (Tape Worm - cause the dude never stopped eating...)
  Chris (Flounder - because he is...)
  Robert
  Jason (Tumbleweed - cause he like to hit them on the road...)
  myself
  

Finally the departure day came, like I said I was up at 5:00am ready to go. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, I couldn't wait to get going. The plan was to meet at Starbucks and then head out at 7:00am. Well I got there at 5:45 got me a coffee and donuts and waited for everyone to show up. Finally the boys started to trickle in one by one, as each person showed up the energy and excitement level built until we were all ready to burst (kinda like a virgin at the prom ;-) ). We had a quick rider meeting, kickstands were up and we were off on five days of freedom. Freedom from the MAN!!
Getting out of town was interesting, as we rode along I noticed the other people around me rushing off to work, the stress in their faces from daily life. Sad part is we (the 10 of us) will probably look the same when we get back home and go back to work. It amazes me how rarely "we stop and smell the roses" and enjoy the day.
The first half of the day was pretty uneventful and boring, long straight roads with little to see along the way. The first stop along the way (besides for gas) was in Paris Tx. to see the Eiffel tower, while we were riding in we were all looking for a huge tower with a cowboy hat on it. Turns out, not as big as you think, wonder how many woman think that... anyway. After we took pics we headed to the HD dealer for a quick look around and then we went to a restaurant called Ta Molly's. It was good eating, we tried to get the new guys to pick up the tab but we couldn't convince them that it was a good idea.
We gassed up and headed north in to Oklahoma, about an hour after we got into the Ouachita National forest the ride got GOOD! I'm talking about 25MPH U-turns taken at 40MPH, 15MPH S-turns that snake you up and down a mountain taken at 30 MPH this was what we came for, the TWISTIES!!!! We climbed up the mountain about 2500 feet and pulled off to the side of the road for photo-op and to take in the scenery, it was beautiful up there. The air was crisp and cool and the valley below had beautiful green trees that you can see for miles. After our breather, we saddled up and headed over to our camp site for the night at Queen Wilamena state park. This is a very nice park, however it sits on top of a ridge and the wind blows constantly. I'm not talking about a nice breeze, I'm talking 20-30mph winds. Fortunately our camp sites were in the trees at the bottom of a slight hill so the wind was blocked a little but it still made for some challenging tent pitching... (clean up your dirty minds).
After we got our camp sites setup and ourselves cleaned up we headed up to the restaurant and ate.

Princesses brush with death: While we ate dinner and talked about how great the riding was the second half of the day I found out that one of our guys was almost hit by a car head on. While riding the twisty roads through the mountains the majority of the roads are 2 lane with limited visibility most of the time so when you have the opportunity to pass a slower vehicle you take it quickly. With 10 bikes spread out over about an 1/8th of a mile the last few riders sometimes don't make it and the guys in the front will radio back whether the road is clear or not, so the people in the back can catch up with the group. On this particular incident Capi radioed back and said "I'll let you know when it is clear" what Princess heard was "...it's clear" so he gunned it coming over a blind hill passing an 18 wheeler. He was almost passed when a car was coming head on. Fortunately he clear the truck safely with inches to spare. After this a couple things happened, Capi no longer said "I'll let you know..." anything he just said it's clear or not and Princess had to change his shorts after that.

After dinner we sat around the camp fire, the lies and stories started. One of the best parts of this trip is the comradery at camp. Two of our guys brought tents that were smaller than they were. Matter of fact the biggest guy (6'3") on the trip brought the smallest tent. His toes stick out the end. Of course, we all mocked them the whole trip. Our two new guys (Tapeworm and Flounder) were heading off to bed, and Flounder was hanging up his bag of food on a post to keep it away from the critters and we hear "Whats the matter Chris, can't get it up?" You could of heard a pin drop followed by an outbreak of laughter and loads of jokes about them. They deserved the ridicule that they received. After some Jack and cigars we all turned in for the night. That night while I laid in bed all I heard is the wind blowing through the trees, it was great to finally unplug and relax.

Next day we woke up to low hanging clouds and a heavy mist on the mountain. We broke camp and ate breakfast and we all thought we were in for a slippery ride down the mountain, however we got about a 1/4 mile down the hill and it cleared up. Immediately the road started to twist and turn we were already in for a great ride for the day. We drove for about an hour or so and Capi pulled the group over cause Flounder lost a nut that held his shifter linkage together. We borrowed a nut from another part of his bike and got him back on the road. As fortune would have it, in the next town there was an O'riellys parts store we stopped and picked up some extra nuts to fix his linkage and discovered that his fuel line was leaking so we picked up a couple feet of fuel line to fix his bike later when we got to camp.

B - double E - double R - U -N Beer Run: I have come to the conclusion that we are all a bunch of alcoholics. While driving through Arkansas there are a lot of dry counties. When we got to Russellville we found out that 40 miles down the interstate was the next county which was NOT dry. So we drove 40 miles out and 40 miles back to pick up beer and whiskey. We are a sad bunch.

After our quick run for beer, we jumped back on our original route and twisted our way into the Ozark mountains. We reached our camp site early afternoon, we stayed at a place called The HUB which caters to bikers. It was a neat place that has a hotel, a big field for camping and a restaurant on site. After setting up our camp sites and unloaded the bikes, we relaxed for a bit and then walked up to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Turns out the food was very good, and the service was great. The place is fairly new and we (the 10 of us) were pretty much the only ones on site. The owner of the place had a cooler full of ice cold beer that he set out for us and just asked for donations which was very cool cause the county was dry.
While we were setting up camp Flounder and Tumbleweed gave up on their tents, mainly cause they brought tents that were smaller than they were and couldn't fit their stuff and themselves in the tent. Also they had those cheap tent stakes that wouldn't hold the tent down. They decided to split the cost of a room so their sensitive selves had a place to sleep. After we got settled in Flounder was going to work on his bike and change out his fuel line. I told him that if he pulled his bike into the shade I would help him work on it, then I told him to pull it right into the "circle of trust" where we were all sitting. This allowed everyone to mock him while he worked on his bike. We got the fuel line changed fairly easy, when I say "we" I mean Flounder who worked and the rest of us drank beer and managed his work. Once we got the bike back together it wouldn't idle right and it sounded like there was a vacuum leak. At first we thought it was a cracked head gasket, after pulling everything off and troubleshooting the noise we found out that the gasket on the back of the carb was not seated properly. Finally after fixing that it was more beer, horse shoes and conversation about the days ride.

Next morning, it was breakfast and then off for some killer rides through the Ozarks. When we got to Branson we looked for a HD dealer so we could pick up a new gasket for Flounders bike. Found out there was not a dealer in Branson like we thought so the next closest was up in Springfield. We blasted up to Springfield to the dealer and picked up the part and then headed back down to Branson to pick up where we left off. We went on a ride called "The Perry's Ferry" ride. Basically the ride took us north into Missouri and then back down into Arkansas. Besides the KILLER twisties on this ride there was a unique feature of this ride where you have to take a Ferry across a lake up there to get to the other side. While we were leaving Branson we were waiting at a light and an old lady was coming around the corner and she slowed down and told myself and Pelon "I love you" our jaws dropped open and then Pelon yelled back, "I love you too!" It made for an interesting story around the camp fire later that night.

Watch out there is debris on the road, oh wait it's not: While we ride in a big group we use hand signals to pass information about road conditions and stuff using hand signals. One of our signals that we use is to kick our foot off the left or right side of the bike to let the person behind us know that there is debris on the road so they can avoid it. While we were riding Flounder say someone put their foot up on their highway pegs and he thought it was a debris signal so he kicked out his foot but then realized what the guy in front did so he created a new sign. He took his hand and waved it down by his foot as if to say "never mind, no debris" He waved it off. He then proceeded to make up several more hand signals like "look at the dear" which is when he makes antlers with his hands on his helmet. Freshmen, they are entertaining to say the least...

After we got back to Harrison we stopped off for some lunch and planned our next ride. We decided to head over to Eureka Springs and loop back to camp. The ride was nice and twisty, when we got to Eureka Springs we found out that there was a rally there so the place was packed with bikers from all over. We saw a HD store so we stopped in to look around and rest for a minute. After a break we started to head back to camp which was about an hour or so ride. It was an AWESOME ride back to camp.

That night while we were all hanging around camp, Robert had walked over to the parking lot to call his wife, while he was on the phone a couple drove in and the girl on the back was topless. WTF!!! NICE! She stopped and asked him if she needed to "put these away". Not sure what his response was, but I am sure his mouth was open and he was drooling on himself. After he got off the phone he walked back over to camp and told us about the whole thing. Later on we built a fire and hung out. The topless girl and her boyfriend walked over and hung out with us along with some other locals. After a while everyone started to leave and it was just the 10 of us again.

Jack Ass Award: I hesitate to tell this story, but it is only fair. Next morning it was time to to pack up and start heading south. After I got my camp packed up and on the bike I was pulling my bike out of the field onto the parking lot. I thought I was gonna be cool and spin my tire on the wet grass, and if you haven't guessed it yet, I lost control and dumped my bike on the ground. I don't feel too bad, I wasn't the only one that dropped my bike however, I am the only one who deserved it. Other honorable mentions in the bike dropping category was Capi on the first day he was waiting on Pelon and forgot to put his kickstand down and his bike fell over. The Tape worm parked his bike on an incline and his kickstand doesn't lock so his bike rolled forward and fell onto Capi's bike. Final drop goes to Robert who parked his brand new ultra on a hill and dropped it. Fortunately for everyone there was no major damage to any one's bike. Tape worm tore his seat, Robert bent his break lever and my engine guard got a bit tweaked.

The next stop was in Hot Springs where we would spend our final night. Instead of taking the direct route over to Hot Springs we took the scenic route down which ended up being around 200 miles. The ride down was great, just like every other ride we took this weekend. The original plan was to camp at the KOA there which is just a few miles out of town when we got there we setup our tents and then we went into town for a bit to eat. While we were in town we found out that there was a 60% chance of thunder storms that night. We got on the phone and called the KOA to see if they had some cabins available. Fortunately they did so we booked them and packed up our tents and stayed in the cabins that night.

Billy Bob is that you?: While we were in town we ate at a cafe there on main street and for the life of me I can't remember the name of that place. Anyway it was pretty much the only place open down there, so we went in and sat down. Our waitress showed up and started to take every ones order.l Our waitress sounded like Billy Bob Thortons character on Sling Blade. "What can I get you to drink mmm hmmm..." Not sure what her deal was, she was all jittery and shaky, must have been from all the crack she smoked that day. When she started to bring out our order every thing was a cheese burger and she got everything mixed up . It was actually kind of humorous after a while. Then when we went to pay every ones total was different, not by a lot but it was off just a couple of cents here and there. We just left it alone and headed over to the bar across the street. After a few rounds we headed back to camp to pack up the tents and then move into the cabins. That night we relaxed and hung out talking about the great ride and great time we had. I believe that Flounder said that it was the best riding he has ever done. Granted the furthest he has ever taken his bike is down to the Wag-a-Bag and back home, regardless I am glad that everyone had a good time. It got to be around 10pm I guess when we all started to get a little hungry so we order some pizza from Domino's and Boots placed the call to order them and put on his thick Brooklyn accent (where he's originally from) and proceeded to give the girl on the phone a hard time, while we were all laughing in the back ground. The pizza hit the spot, after that it was off to bed.

Next morning we were all pleasantly surprised that there was no rain yet. We finished loading the bikes and headed out. Everyone was in agreement to get as far as we can as fast as we can to we can reduce the amount of time we would spend riding in the rain. We had a quick gas stop and then jumped on the interstate and started home. We got to Texarkana without any rain so far, so we stopped for some gas and for a quick bite to eat. For a while I thought we were gonna be lucky and make it home without hitting any rain. I was dead wrong, we got about 60 miles east of Dallas when it hit and it came down hard. We drove about 30 miles and finally had to pull over cause visibility was so bad for everyone we could only see the tail lights of the person in front of us, it was bad! After we regrouped and filled up we took off again, fortunately the rain let up right before we got to Dallas and held off until we were south of Dallas. It actually stayed clear until about Hillsboro when it started up again. We made it to Waco and pulled off for a break and to have a final dinner together at the Elite Cafe before we spit up and headed our separate ways. After dinner we hit the gas station and then pressed on in the rain. It pretty much rained the entire way home till we got to Georgetown where we got a break. From there people started to split off from the group heading in different directions until it was just the guys who live in the same sub-division as me.

This years ride was awesome, we experience every type of riding you can on a trip, twisty, rainy, long and straight, it was a good time for everyone. Friendships were made and the bond between brothers grew stronger. I can't wait for next year and the time we will have then. More pics of the ride are here.

To Gruene and Back

This passed weekend my friends and I took a ride down to Gruene, Texas. That is pronounced green if your not from these parts. This is one of my favorite rides in the area, it has lots of curves and when you get out on Hamilton pool road the traffic is lite. Once you're there let your throttle open up and enjoy the ride, the scenery is great and the twisties keep you leaned over and having a good time.
The plan was to head over to Gruene, have lunch at the Grist Mill restaurant and do a little shopping and then make the run home. Gruene is a great little town, it has a lot of history, if your a history buff you could spend quite a bit of time looking around at all the historical markers and old buildings. The other thing about Gruene is that it has had many a famous person through it. The movie Michael with John Travolta was filmed at the Gruene Dance Hall, also any Texan knows that Gruene Hall is where George Strait started out.
After we ate and walked around a bit we headed over to the Dealer just around the corner from where we were at to see if there was anything there was we couldn't live without. From there we took River Road and then hit the Devils Backbone on our way back home. It was a great ride, great weather and great friends. Can you think of a better way to spend the day?
Route Map

Rattle Snake Round-up

Well it was time for our yearly pilgrimage up to SweetWater Texas for the annual rattle snake round-up, not just any round-up it's the worlds largest one. As we packed our cats were protesting our trip and did everything they could to prevent us from packing, including sitting on our luggage.
This year like last year our plan was to run up there on the ol' iron horse. Days before we were to leave the weather was BEAUTIFUL! Seventies during the day and clear blue skies. However, it never fails, every year the weather is great before and after the round up and this year was no exception.

The 4 days we were there in sweet water it was cold and rainy. It was horrible weather to be riding in, however we braved the weather and went up to visit friends and family anyway. We showed up on Thursday and we were lucky cause it was only cold and there was a break in the rain, however our friends Mike and Clyde (Tanya) went up on Friday and it rained on them all the way up. We were promised blue skies on Saturday for the ride we took out to Odessa however it was gray and cloudy all day until we started to head back to the hotel.
While we were in Odessa we stopped by the HD dealer there (of course) to see if they had anything that we couldn't live without. Turns out, we road for an 1.5 hours in the cold and didn't buy anything. After the HD shop we went to the Petroleum Museum and looked around outside, cause it was already closed by the time we got there. On site at the museum is one of the oldest wells in the permium basin, Santa Rita #2. Midland/Odessa is also the home town of G.W. Bush.
After looking around the outside of the museum we grabbed a bit to eat and then headed back to the hotel where we warmed ourselves with some whiskey and good conversation.
Sunday was uneventful, we ate breakfast with the in-laws and then headed home. This time at least the weather was nice. More pics of the trip are here.
Until next time keep the rubber side down.

What were we thinking?

It has been a while since I wrote anything about any MC trips that I have taken. Today the wife and I along with some friends decided to take a ride out to Bryan/College Station to the Independence Harley dealer and then over to a place called Yankee Tavern . However, today was not the best time to ride, although I enjoyed the time we spent with our friends. Every time we go out it is an adventure and every adventure has good parts and bad parts. In Texas if you don't like the weather stay around for 10 minutes and it will change. That is what happened to us. We left the house to meet everyone and it was humid and balmy. While we drank our coffee and waited for everyone to show up for the ride, the wind picked up and the rain started, then the cold front blew threw. So now it was windy, rainy, and cold. None of us wanting to back down we headed out for good or bad. The ride would have been fine except we all drove sideways because of the 30-40 MPH cross wind that we battled on our way over there. Regardless of the weather we made it to the dealer and we took a break to warm up and look around. As usual I didn't get out of the store without spending my standard $100 on stuff.


Then it was on to the tavern, this place is really neat, they have several acres out back with several BBQ pits, a pond, lots of tables for eating and drinking. I talked with one of the locals and he was telling me they let people camp out on the land and they have showers for people who stay the night. It is only a short 2 hour drive from Austin and would be a nice place to go for a night out with the boys or just to stop in and have a burger and good conversation. All in all we had a great time and are looking forward to going back.