Home again, Home again.....

Today was a very nice day. The weather was pretty chilly, but we had our cold gear. Basically, it was a quick loop through the hill country, and then the long way home. I will post a bit more detail after I get some sleep, here are some pics to distract you till then.

Stonehenge II:



Finally got around to getting a picture of Mike and I next to our bikes:



Here is the nice couple that took the picture for us. Opus and Rebecca. They are on a road trip from Seattle to North Carolina on an R100RS. Yes, two up.




Finally, here is our route:


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TTFN

Dave

Surfing the cold front.

The goal today was to make it to Kerrville. Nothing fancy just get there before the cold front catches us. We ended up leaving Stephenville about 9:00 this morning. The weather wasn't bad, but we could see the front moving toward us. as long as we were moving, everything went smoothly. When we stopped for gas, or just to stretch our legs, we could see it catch up. We managed to keep ahead of the front all the way to Fredericksburg. We stopped and had lunch at Hondo's. When we came out, the sky was dark and the wind had picked up a lot. The 22 mile stretch of TX-16 to Kerrville was hell. We hit during the topsoil rotation period. 40+ mph winds blowing the dirt from one field , across the highway, to another. The wind was bad enough that the trucks were staying below 60 mph. In the end, we made it, we are alive.

Here is today's route:


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TTFN

Dave

An exercise in random stupidity.

Today we ran from the nasty cold front coming in from the north. Originally, the plan was to go up to pops, then a bit of riding on Route 66. The nasty cold front is beating the hell out of OKC, and we are heading southwest. We made it into Stephenville, TX this evening.

Before we left Paris, we had to go and take a look at the Mini Eiffel Tower. It was a tower...of steel tubing.......and it was very Eiffel-ey.

Here is the pic of the bikes in front of the tower.



We also had to stop at the Paris Cemetery to see "Cowboy Boot Jesus". It turns out it was not exactly what I was expecting. If anyone has the urge to go see it, you kind of have to search for it. Enter the Cemetery from evergreen street, follow that gravel road past 3 intersections, and the grave is on the left. It turns out that the statue is actually a very large grave marker with a statue of Jesus carrying a cross. It just so happens that his robe is riding up on one side to show his cowboy boots.

Here is a shot of the statue:



The leg of the trip to Denton was actually not bad. Quite a bit more traffic than we would have liked, but survivable. The leg out to Jacksboro was horrible. The leading edge of the front was coming in, so we had about 25-30 mph cross winds the whole way. Once we made the turn onto 281 and headed south, it was actually kind of nice. The only real excitement was the rock that was thrown up by a truck in front of me. It hit my fairing hard enough to crack it, and then hit my left bicep hard enough to leave a small bruise.

Here is a shot of the crack in the fairing:



Looks like tomorrow, we will make the run to Kerrville, then spend the rest of the trip playing around in the spagetti bowl.

Here is today's route:


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TTFN

Dave

The mid-life rideout......

My midlife crisis present to myself is a road trip. Like I need an excuse...... Dragging Mike along with me on this one. He is a road trip virgin. This is gonna be fun. Since this was the first day, I decided to make it a grind. We pushed a little over 300 miles today. I have to say, there is some gorgeous scenery out in east Texas. We have made the first leg of the Texas World Tour. Today we went through Palestine, Athens, and Paris.

I have to say, if you ever find yourself in Paris,TX the Hampton Inn is a very nice hotel. Mike and I actually got to meet the desk clerk that Vern and Glenn met when they stayed here back in June, and she remembered them. Like any self respecting Parisian woman, she wasted no time tempting Mike and I into a world of vice by giving us cigarettes while listening to stories about riding. I will not mention her name here, but if you happen to stay there, you can ask the desk clerk if she is the one.

It looks like the weather is not going to agree with us on the original plans to go up to pops 66. There is a massive cold front with rain and 30mph winds headed into Oklahoma on Wed. We could still make it to pops ok, but we would end up having to burn a day in Edmond, and delay our arrival back in Austin. We have a couple different ideas about where to go from here. We still have no idea where we are going to end up, you will find out tomorrow.....about 6 hours after we do. We are actually planning on being back in Austin Thursday night, or Friday morning. Still don't know which.

During the day you can click the "Where is Dave...." link on the right.....


Here is the route for the day:


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Have fun,

Dave

Made it home again......

Today was the return trip. Woke up this morning and just decided that I wanted to bee-line home. I followed I35 to the TX95 bypass through Taylor so I could avoid the traffic and construction in Temple, but it was a straight shot home. Only about 230 miles today. I only stopped once in Waco for gas and lunch. The R90 only has about 120-140 miles before it is time to get off and stretch a bit. Today was a very nice ride. No excitement, no startling revelations, no grand epiphanies......just a bit of quiet time spent in my head with the hum of the engine. It still suprises me how soothing that drone is. I guess this one will be short, I will post a wrap up after I crawl in the shower, shave my head, and knock the road grime off.


Here is the route:



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TTFN,

Dave

Downhill run.....

Today was the relaxing day. Absolutely no plan, no direction, really didn't know where I was going to end up. The real point of humor in the whole thing is that I ended up in the hotel that is immediately behind the hotel I stayed in Thursday night.

I started with the knowledge that I needed to at least be back in Texas by the end of today. I started heading east out of Norman, OK. Turned south on us377 in OK and started heading south. That is where I lost my mind. I ended up taking a wrong turn at Ada, OK, and ended up going southeast on OK Highway 3......whatever that is supposed to be. The road is actually gorgeous.....when you are not in a podunk town with a 20 mph speed limit. The most interesting thing that I noticed out there is that the casinos have taken over. I probably passed 15 casinos while on the road in OK. I am sure it does wonders for the economy, but I think it is kind of pathetic that I saw more large casinos in OK than I did actual industry. But I digress.....Once I hit Atoka, OK, I got on US75. Who would have guessed that Central expressway went all the way from a small town in Oklahoma to the middle of Dallas. I just kind of followed 75 back to 35, and turned north looking for a hotel .

I actually decided I wanted a beer in my hotel room. That means I needed to hit a hotel with a bar....... I headed for a relatively inexpensive hotel that might work out in Denton, where 35E and 35W meet. I get there to discover that it is closed. Poop. This is where the decision was made that I am sore and I need a hot tub......now. This was the next hotel up the road, and here I am. I still have not decided if I am going to bee-line it home, or piddle extensively. Either way, I will update one more time when I get home.

Here is the route:



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All that way, and I got a Jolt cola......

I am a dork.....just a flat out dork. I rode 400+ miles to Pop's Route 66 and i froze up while looking at the selection of drinks. I got a Jolt cola.....I am a dork.

The ride started out fairly well, it was very cold this morning and pretty windy. I made it to the OK border at around 10:00. Here is the shot as I leave holy ground:




The first thing that I always see that lets me know I am riding in Oklahoma is the red dirt that washes over the road and leaves all of the bridges stained red. The big sign saying you are now entering Oklahoma is a big clue too......

The other thing that clues me in that I am in Oklahoma is the incredible amount of bug goo that appears on my visor:




When I finally called it a day at the Hotel, this nice little girl behind the gounter pointed out that my visor was covered with bugs......I can't believe she actually had the nerve to say something about it. After she got me situated with a room, she cleaned my visor for me. Now that is service......


I stopped off at the OKC BMW Dealership. There is actually a very nice dealership there. It kind of makes the one in Dallas look....dinky. The staff is very nice, and they have a great decompression facility. I have noticed that I am pushing about 120 miles between gas stops. Here is the bench in front of OKC BMW:




I finally came to understand how the very short stopping distance for a motorcycle is not really a benefit. I almost took a pickup up the tailpipe on I35 coming through OKC. The truck in front of me decided that it would stop short and I didn't have much of a choice but to follow suit. The pickup behind me, however, did not have a very good stopping distance. I have determined that the most disturbing sound in the world is anti-lock brakes doing their job heard echoing in your helmet. I managed to get onto the shoulder before the pickup went through the spot that I was sitting just before. He missed me by a mile, but I don't think he even noticed, he had his arms locked and his eyes closed. Wow. I am a lucky SOB. I love solo roadtrips.......they are so good at providing perspective.

oh well.....Here is the route for the day:


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