Post your Day Rides Here!

[grandpaul]

Between Menard and Junction. Closer to Menard.

Ridden past that area many times, never stopped!

Will have to do so...

 

[Vinny]

Awesome idea

 

[AdventureSeeker]

I finally got to visit the Texas Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Johnson City. It was posted there were 108 motorcycles on display. Each cycle had a information card attached to it of which I read them all. The Bridgestone Hurricane was a surprise for me. The building was a Ford dealership originally. Well worth a visit, $7 admission.

---

 

[grandpaul]

I finally got to visit the Texas Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Johnson City. It was posted there were 108 motorcycles on display. Each cycle had a information card attached to it of which I read them all. The Bridgestone Hurricane was a surprise for me. The building was a Ford dealership originally. Well worth a visit, $7 admission.

I visited there just over a year ago, very nice place. More or less equal to the Hill Country Motorheads in Burnet, but HCM has more dirt than street bikes

 

[Rydah]

I've not been to either of these, but do enjoy visiting them. Not only a lot of fun seeing/drooling over these fine examples, but also to support them for their efforts. I'm sure they struggle too in these deplorable times.

 

[woodsguy]

Dirt roads to Drifters Ice House for burger then home. 112 miles for the day.

 

[Gravel Guy]

Nice evening pedal on the Specialized…and sunset…

 

[Simmons1]

Made a wrong turn in Albuquerque and wound up in Shell Wyoming yesterday. Had a great but too short visit with @Cagiva 549

Shell Falls

 

[LicketySplit]

Decided to head west instead. I never get tired of Gateway - 141.

Speaking of. I saw this news video today about this area:

While not a fan of the government administering it, I can see why there is a move to do it. There are many new homes popping up around the northern end, completely ruining that remote Gateway feeling.

 

[woodsguy]

Ran the Grocery Run route out of Montgomery, no idea how they come up with the names. If you're local and know the Cheeseburger Loop, it's similar although past Bedias we ran some neat stuff that was different.

 

[woodsguy]

If you're not riding this morning, you're missing out. About as good as it gets in Texas. The last picture is a grown over trail in the Sam Houston forest.

 

[AllByteNoBark]

It was so nice out this evening I had to go for a spin. Got in 70 miles and discovered I need to adjust my headlight substantially.

One of my favorite road signs.

Very pleasant and peaceful evening.

 

[woodsguy]

There's trees like this in several places on the forest service roads.

 

[woodsguy]

One of my favorite FS roads! Has a couple of gnarly spots.

Hunters rd not open this year.

 

[AllByteNoBark]

One of my favorite FS roads! Has a couple of gnarly spots.

Hunters rd not open this year.

Does that sign mean closed for good? I hope not but that is what seems to happen to often.

 

[woodsguy]

Does that sign mean closed for good? I hope not but that is what seems to happen to often.

I'd say not for good. But being a dead-end road, priority will be low. Especially if it's got a washout that'll need a lot of dirt.

 

[AllByteNoBark]

Thursday afternoon the son and a couple of friends came over and rode the turn track. I went out and rode about 1/2 hour and that was all I wanted. The youngest of the group is getting pretty fast. I took a short video of him going through near the shop and saw his foot fly off the peg so had to tease him that he had been watching Deegan to much. Here is a really short clip of what I was giving him a hard time about.

Today I went out and mowed the track as it was getting pretty grown in. Got done and decided to I was already hot and sweaty so went out o nthe GasGas and rode for about 25 minutes. IT was hot but not as bad as being in the shop working today.

 

[AllByteNoBark]

Took the 450 out for a little 85 mile ride this evening. It is a bit difficult to find anything good to ride, but any ride is better than no ride. So probably only maybe 20 miles of gravel and the rest small backroads.

Not much traffic. This was the heaviest traffic I saw.

 

[woodsguy]

Bike looking good!

 

[AllByteNoBark]

Bike looking good!

Thanks! Hard to believe the difference the exhaust made.

 

[West Texas GS]

Having battled all the recent medical issues, I couldn't resist the invitation to ride in the Ballinger HS Homecoming Parade!!

This is my second parade to ride and LEAD this year!! My rig is so unusual, it really draws a crowd. My buddy Isaac, my foster son's youngest brother, rode with me!! He really enjoyed the fame and waving at all the townsfolk who lined the route!!

 

[woodsguy]

It was hard but found a FEW trails that weren't foot deep sand! lol

 

[Tourmeister]

Daniel wanted to get out for an evening ride yesterday (Last Thursday). We bugged out after I was done with work and headed across the Trinity River to an area riddled with fun roads, mostly gravel, but quite a few really sandy ones as well. He even managed to show me a road I’ve never ridden that looks to be relatively new and connected some roads I am familiar with. It was a nice except for all the deer running out in front of us while we were trying to negotiate one of those deep sandy spots!! We popped out near another road I’ve never ridden because I know it is a dead end… eventually. So I decide it is time to check it out. It starts out nice and then turns into crazy deep sand. In general, I like riding sand, but lately my brain hasn’t been willing to do its part I manage to get pretty far before I hit the center berm and spin out. It is a soft easy get off, but picking up the big pig in deep sand is a real workout! Once upright I get it rolling again and make it to the end of the road where I find hard ground on which to park and take a much needed break. The heat and humidity are killing me. Daniel eventually joins me, but he cheated, running down the grass covered power line right of way He’s looking pretty worn out nonetheless. After catching my breath, we start back… taking the grassy right of way At this point I just want to get back to the main road and head home as the sun is setting quickly. The grass is MUCH easier to ride, but at a sweeping right hand corner, I am forced to get back on the road right where the sand is super deep and loose. I make it maybe 20 yards before spinning out again. Then I hear Daniel over the communicator telling some one he had to go back to help his dad whose big heavy bike is on the ground Moments later a huge truck comes blasting up the road and stops. The older gentleman looks at me like I’m nuts, but he does help us pick up the bike. He lives back here and is not used to seeing anyone on this road. I thank him and remount the bike, setting my eyes on the grass, wondering if I will be able to get up and over the high sandy hump on the edge of the road. I take off in second gear and get up on the pegs as fast as possible, hit the hump and do the Hokey Pokey, flopping all about, but stay up and start making progress in the right direction. Upon reaching a clear area with hard ground I pull over and stop because I am feeling pretty bad. The heat is getting to me. I remove my helmet and just lay on the ground, drink some water and focus on controlled breathing. We are past the bad stuff and it should be easy the rest of the way out. After five minutes or so, I remount and start the final run. It feels incredible to get the bike moving and have the wind on me. I can see the hard packed gravel ahead where the woods open up into a wide pasture, and then my front end starts tucking in a patch of loose sand I hit the gas and pick it up, my already strained heart getting an adrenaline spike, and then I am back on solid ground I breathe a sigh of relief and we cruise back to the main road. I tell Daniel we are taking the paved roads home and he enthusiastically agrees. We are both just physically exhausted and HOT. The ride home is pretty miserable and it feels great to just lay on the living room floor in tha AC once we make it home. We are sweat soaked from head to toe and everywhere in between. I think I’ll be skipping that road in the future until I get a lighter bike

You can see my track pretty good here. It was all going fine until I looked at the berm in the center... and as they say, you go where you look!

This guy lives back here and was quite surprised to see us back here on bikes, but not upset or anything, just kind of shocked! He was nice enough to stop and help us lift the bike I got to about where the tuck is in this pic and got up on the grass on the right to ride to our resting point. You can see Daniel coming alongside the truck riding in the grass. He did this going both ways instead of trying his hand in the sand!

This looks worse that it was. I had been just laying flat on my back, deep breathing, drinking some water, and just relaxing. Then I went to roll over to get up right as he snapped the pic and it looks like I am having a heart attack... which might not have been far from the truth before we stopped! It was HOT!

 

[woodsguy]

That is UGLY sand! Take care of yourself in overdoing it!

 

[Tourmeister]

Embrace the wiggle! This is the life lesson I am always trying to get the kids to take away from adventure bike riding. My last few outings on the bike involved some seriously nasty sand and I was failing to heed my own advice Fortunately, I was not riding alone and had help picking up the big GS. Daniel got home about 5:30pm this evening and immediately said, “Get your gear on! We’re going riding!” Walking outside I realize it is indeed a spectacular evening and perfect for a ride, cool temps and remarkably low humidity. Daniel has a minor snafu that slows us down, a missing bolt on the bike’s dash is letting the display bounce around. After a few zip ties are applied we head out to cross the Trinity River where the sandy roads abound. I have to prove to myself that I still know how to ride sand!! It doesn’t take us long to find the deep rutted stuff that makes the bike squirm like a snake that’s just be run over. Tonight I am committed to keeping the eyes up and staying on the gas. I know it’s coming and I make sure to let Daniel get far ahead of me so I don’t have to worry about riding into heavy dust while also riding into the late evening sun. I hit it running about 45 mph and take the right side rut. The bike immediately begins to squirm and wriggle. My lizard brain is screaming that I am about to die and I need to chop the throttle, tense up on the bars, sit down and put out the legs… all the things that ironically would cause the bike to crash if I were to do them. I spot Daniel in the distance on the side of the road. He’s got his phone out and it’s pointing at me. No doubt he’s waiting for another wipe out Then I spot his bike further in the distance and it is parked in my rut!! I can’t really slow at the moment, so nothing to do but shift my weight back, give the bike some throttle and power over the center berm into the left rut. I cross over right in front of Daniel and manage to just keep on cruising, missing his bike and eventually clearing the sand for firmer ground where I stop to wait for him. My heart is racing, but in a good way, not an, “OMG! I am going to die of a heat stroke and heart attack!,” way On the other hand, the sounds coming over the communicator from Daniel are slightly concerning! He’s trying to run in the sand in dirt riding boots and sounds more like me when I am super winded With my sand confidence restored, we continue hitting more sandy backroads and enjoy the golden hour as the sun gets lower in the sky. We work our way toward Lovelady and turn South on Hwy 19. We want to run Trinlady Road, the old road through the woods between Lovelady and Trinity. It looks like we’ll have just enough daylight left to make it and then we can run the paved roads home from Trinity. I stop for a few pictures as we head into the woods and then hear Daniel saying something about the road being blocked… !? Sure enough, I come around the corner and there is a stopped train on the tracks we have to cross. The lights are flashing and the bells are clanging LOUDLY! We wait a few minutes but it is obvious this train is waiting for another track to clear before it can proceed, and it is getting hot just sitting here with no breeze. We’re also losing daylight fast now. We head back to Hwy 19 and run South to Ellis Springs Road, which takes us back into the woods toward Chalk Cemetery Road, a fun one. Sadly, all my little favorite rarely traveled roads in the woods are being “improved” because so many people are buying rural property and moving out of the cities. This also means the tree tunnels are starting to disappear as well By the time we reach the end of Chalk Cemetery Road at FM 230, it is almost dark and deer thirty. As we pick up speed I have the big flood lights on the bike fired up and am scanning for any sign of eye balls peeking back at me We soon reach FM 3478 and head back across the Trinity River. The bugs are THICK!! My face shield is getting plastered. As we head back towards home on FM 980, I spot the giant cross at Northside Baptist Church and decide to try to get a few picks against the late evening sky as the last light of the day fades. I spend a LOT of time praying when riding, and it’s not just the, “Oh God keep me from dying and incurring expensive bike repairs!!”, kind of praying either. Something about riding just puts me in that mindset where I realize how good I have it at this moment in time while there are a LOT of people not so fortunate at this moment: family, friends, even total strangers. So I pray for all the folks I can think of. Hopefully, others might be so inclined when I am in need, not if, because at many times in life, we are ALL in need. Tonight as I am rolling into the driveway with Daniel, I have been blessed to be able to spend a beautiful evening with my son doing something we both love. These days, months, and years are going by so fast and I am immensely grateful for each and every one of them. The cross makes me remember, never leave home without Him