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- Joined
- Jul 11, 2021
- Messages
- 603
- Reaction score
- 907
- Location
- Ballinger Texas
- First Name
- C T
- Last Name
- Walston
As most of y'all know, I haven't had the best of times lately, especially health wise! I had only ridden twice this year, once to the Hardi Hill Memorial in January, when it was 25 degrees, and then again recently again to Brownwood for Officer David W. Bosecker's funeral when it was 113 degrees!! I REALLY needed to ride! And with dialysis port surgery coming up, time was running out.
Having kept up with Grandpaul's posts on the construction of his barndominium/hangar project, I saw where he was having his 66th birthday bash there in Bertram! A few forum post exchanges later, and I decided that I would ride down and meet Paul, and see his handy work first hand! I recently hired Wyatt, a 15 year old boy to work for me at the airport, and he asked if we were working the upcoming weekend, and I told him we were not, that I was going to a motorcycle camping trip. He asked if he could go, never having ridden on a motorcycle before! I told him if his folks had no objection, he was welcome to come along! I also warned him, Growler is very uncomfortable ride!
Not only did his folks say yes, they agreed to let him leave school early after the pep rally so we didn't have to ride in the thermonuclear heat of the 113 degree day! EXCELLENT!! I got him set up with riding gear, he packed his backpack, and by 1130 am, we departed Ballinger Bruce Field. This is the heaviest I have ever packed on my rig, with 2 up and all our gear, but a weight and balance check and handling test proved we were good, and off we roared on Wyatt's first motorcycle adventure!
We were cruising along at 75, and while it was getting hot quickly, the air across our gear made it tolerable. We managed to tick off the first 34 miles, when all of the sudden, it was time for the rodeo!! The rear tire decided that the air needed to be changed, RIGHT NOW.............and after a very sketchy 8 second ride, we were stuck on the shoulder with a rear flat!! I carry a high tech plug kit and compressor, so we set about unhooking the trailer and attempting to plug the new found air relief hole. It got hot really quickly, and my gizmo tire plug device failed miserably!! Fortunately we still had cell service, as it is pretty sparse out that way!
First I called TWT member John FJR in Eden, who lives just 10 mile down the road. Turns out, he was in San Angelo, over an hour away!! Next, I called a tire shop buddy, who informed me that all but one of his employees called off, so he couldn't send help! Wyatt called his grandpa, who set off to get a different tire plug kit, and came to our rescue!
We sat in the open, no shade on the asphalt road as the temp quickly climbed to 113 degrees!! Thank God we had hydration packs!! As it passed lunchtime, we were gonna stop in Eden for lunch, my insulin began to hit really hard!! I opened the cooler, grabbed some ham, cheese and an english muffin, and that helped solve that issue. Grandpa arrived with the tire plug kit, and after about 15 minutes of fighting, the new air relief hole was plugged!! We aired up, and on to Eden for lunch at DQ!! By now, we are in the thermonuclear heat of the day!
We clicked off the miles, stopping about every hour to stretch and refuel, as I can only make about 30 mpg with all the load, so no need to push the range, and it was Wyatt's first ride. I explained how he should remain neutral on the bike and except a few rough times getting on and off, he did great!! When we passed through Burnet, there was the start of a huge fire that took 2 days to put out!
The next adventure came about because of what I thought was an issue with the heat and my phone using the navigation mode. It was really dark due to excess heat, I surmised, so trying to see the screen was quite a challenge. Turns out, my charger cord was bad!! The GPS didn't recognize Paul's address, so it sent us to a similar address about 16 miles away in Briggs!! While in Briggs, another huge fire broke out! We asked several locals, none of whom knew where Paul's address was, but a fellow who was at the convenience store used his phone navigation to get an approximation and sent me a pin drop. I attempted to contact LaserDave for any assistance he could offer, but we kept missing each other.
We got to the general area and began looking for the elusive County Road 210B that no electronic device could find, and the closest thing we found was 210A!! Where there's A, there must also be B, RIGHT?! We rode in circles, searching in vain for the seemingly non-existent 210B, until I finally decided to backtrack and stop at a nearby home that had numerous 4x4 lifted trucks and an ample supply of kids and critters! A really big muscled up guy and a herd of kids came out to admire our rig. I explained our dilemma, and he simply pointed to to county road 100 yards away marked 210A and said it's right there!!
Confused, I reminded him that the sign very clearly was marked 210A, to which he said "Yes, but if ya go down and around about 2.5 miles to the cattle guard, it's 210B!" Who would have guessed that?? Sure enough, there we were!! Now, all of y'all who didn't take Paul up on his party invite really missed a GREAT time!! His family welcomed us like we had known them forever! Great food, fellowship, games and just relaxing!
Wyatt got to do things he had never done before, like drive a gokart, a 4 wheeler ATV and a UTV!! He really didn't want to leave when Sunday came around!! The ride home was very uneventful, and we even got to ride in some very welcome and cooling rain between Llano and Voca! I have convinced Wyatt to take the MSF Beginner's Rider class and get his MC endorsement when he gets his DL!! He has his permit now, and I'm teaching how to drive. I think he will be a lifelong rider, and maybe next year, ride his own bike out for Grandpaul's 67th birthday party!! Seriouslym everybody needs to go visit Paul and see for themselves just what really IS going on at Grandpaul's shop!!
I also acquired a 2 seat go kart frame today, and will order parts to get it up and running so the boys can zip around the airport! I had almost forgotten just how much fun a go kart really is when yer a kid!! I haven't told Wyatt yet!
Having kept up with Grandpaul's posts on the construction of his barndominium/hangar project, I saw where he was having his 66th birthday bash there in Bertram! A few forum post exchanges later, and I decided that I would ride down and meet Paul, and see his handy work first hand! I recently hired Wyatt, a 15 year old boy to work for me at the airport, and he asked if we were working the upcoming weekend, and I told him we were not, that I was going to a motorcycle camping trip. He asked if he could go, never having ridden on a motorcycle before! I told him if his folks had no objection, he was welcome to come along! I also warned him, Growler is very uncomfortable ride!
Not only did his folks say yes, they agreed to let him leave school early after the pep rally so we didn't have to ride in the thermonuclear heat of the 113 degree day! EXCELLENT!! I got him set up with riding gear, he packed his backpack, and by 1130 am, we departed Ballinger Bruce Field. This is the heaviest I have ever packed on my rig, with 2 up and all our gear, but a weight and balance check and handling test proved we were good, and off we roared on Wyatt's first motorcycle adventure!
We were cruising along at 75, and while it was getting hot quickly, the air across our gear made it tolerable. We managed to tick off the first 34 miles, when all of the sudden, it was time for the rodeo!! The rear tire decided that the air needed to be changed, RIGHT NOW.............and after a very sketchy 8 second ride, we were stuck on the shoulder with a rear flat!! I carry a high tech plug kit and compressor, so we set about unhooking the trailer and attempting to plug the new found air relief hole. It got hot really quickly, and my gizmo tire plug device failed miserably!! Fortunately we still had cell service, as it is pretty sparse out that way!
First I called TWT member John FJR in Eden, who lives just 10 mile down the road. Turns out, he was in San Angelo, over an hour away!! Next, I called a tire shop buddy, who informed me that all but one of his employees called off, so he couldn't send help! Wyatt called his grandpa, who set off to get a different tire plug kit, and came to our rescue!
We sat in the open, no shade on the asphalt road as the temp quickly climbed to 113 degrees!! Thank God we had hydration packs!! As it passed lunchtime, we were gonna stop in Eden for lunch, my insulin began to hit really hard!! I opened the cooler, grabbed some ham, cheese and an english muffin, and that helped solve that issue. Grandpa arrived with the tire plug kit, and after about 15 minutes of fighting, the new air relief hole was plugged!! We aired up, and on to Eden for lunch at DQ!! By now, we are in the thermonuclear heat of the day!
We clicked off the miles, stopping about every hour to stretch and refuel, as I can only make about 30 mpg with all the load, so no need to push the range, and it was Wyatt's first ride. I explained how he should remain neutral on the bike and except a few rough times getting on and off, he did great!! When we passed through Burnet, there was the start of a huge fire that took 2 days to put out!
The next adventure came about because of what I thought was an issue with the heat and my phone using the navigation mode. It was really dark due to excess heat, I surmised, so trying to see the screen was quite a challenge. Turns out, my charger cord was bad!! The GPS didn't recognize Paul's address, so it sent us to a similar address about 16 miles away in Briggs!! While in Briggs, another huge fire broke out! We asked several locals, none of whom knew where Paul's address was, but a fellow who was at the convenience store used his phone navigation to get an approximation and sent me a pin drop. I attempted to contact LaserDave for any assistance he could offer, but we kept missing each other.
We got to the general area and began looking for the elusive County Road 210B that no electronic device could find, and the closest thing we found was 210A!! Where there's A, there must also be B, RIGHT?! We rode in circles, searching in vain for the seemingly non-existent 210B, until I finally decided to backtrack and stop at a nearby home that had numerous 4x4 lifted trucks and an ample supply of kids and critters! A really big muscled up guy and a herd of kids came out to admire our rig. I explained our dilemma, and he simply pointed to to county road 100 yards away marked 210A and said it's right there!!
Confused, I reminded him that the sign very clearly was marked 210A, to which he said "Yes, but if ya go down and around about 2.5 miles to the cattle guard, it's 210B!" Who would have guessed that?? Sure enough, there we were!! Now, all of y'all who didn't take Paul up on his party invite really missed a GREAT time!! His family welcomed us like we had known them forever! Great food, fellowship, games and just relaxing!
Wyatt got to do things he had never done before, like drive a gokart, a 4 wheeler ATV and a UTV!! He really didn't want to leave when Sunday came around!! The ride home was very uneventful, and we even got to ride in some very welcome and cooling rain between Llano and Voca! I have convinced Wyatt to take the MSF Beginner's Rider class and get his MC endorsement when he gets his DL!! He has his permit now, and I'm teaching how to drive. I think he will be a lifelong rider, and maybe next year, ride his own bike out for Grandpaul's 67th birthday party!! Seriouslym everybody needs to go visit Paul and see for themselves just what really IS going on at Grandpaul's shop!!
I also acquired a 2 seat go kart frame today, and will order parts to get it up and running so the boys can zip around the airport! I had almost forgotten just how much fun a go kart really is when yer a kid!! I haven't told Wyatt yet!
