Pie Run V: Black Bear Restaurant, Davis Mtns State Park

[Simmons1]

A forty minute stop, 17 over and you got a warning?

Could it be you were 2 over the actual speed limit?

Tom

Sure could have been only 2 over. I honestly don't know what the limit on that road was.

I think he figured he was going to make a big drug bust. As desolate as the road was and considering it turned in to dirt, I can't figure out why a DPS car would be on that road in the first place. The whole deal was really odd. I am laughing now but was not very happy at the time.

 

[RedPill]

That was not an ordinary calf... twas the most foul, cruel, bad-tempered bovine you ever set eyes on!

I soiled me armor I was so scared!

 

[RTScott]

I soiled me armor I was so scared!

It was just a flesh wound!

Perhaps if I had yelled "nee" the calf would have run away.

 

[Gilk51]

Saturday morning, o-dark-thirty:

Yep, the bikes are still there

I had the same idea as Scott, especially with the moon right up there...

James' family (wife and son) had arrived in the wee morning hours and were still sacked in, so he decided to take Scott's scenic loop with us. We were also joined by Josh (Texfire). Kurt slept in.

Hiighway 118 is pretty in a desolate sort of way

Coming up, we saw a javalina sow. I think I was the only that also saw the 4 or 5 piglets a little farther away since I was the caboose.

Mount Locke and the McDonald Observatory is just up the road a piece.

I was hoping that James was not really this sleepy...

Scott refused to have his picture taken. With that kind of attitude, I was very concerned about what might happen on this ride.

Wow! Josh (Texfire) has a great looking bike!

I was trailing and noticed Josh waiting for me at the observatory entrance as I rode by. He waited but the delay got us separated from the other 3 riders. We rode up to both peaks but they apparently just routed through the Visitor Center and went on. As we headed out toward Kent, we linked up with them as they returned to look for us.

Now, leaving the parking area at the visitor center, there were 4 deer grazing on the grass. I turned on my Hornet Deer Whistle to get their reaction.

They didn't even look up or twitch. This is a great device!

Scott stopped the parade to take pictures on highway 166. Is this really Texas?

That's Scott's bike on the yellow line. I tell ya, I had a baaaad feeling about this ride...

Next, we saw a couple of solitary deer, two antelope, one of which darted across the road, and the guys up front saw several rabbits - one of which appeared to cross between Scott's tires according to Ed.

Being the slow, old guy, I was taking my time and enjoying the scenery. Coming over the top of a hill, I noticed the bikes all stopped on the shoulder. I didn't see anything else but found out really quickly that Scott was quite upset. He was picking up one of the pieces from his leftside mirror/signal assembly when I found out that he had hit a calf. The calf was nowhere in sight - it was a hit and run.

I thought I had gotten more pictures but here is one of the broken mirror

Scott works on the underside while Ed records

Scott looking over the parts

The rightside mirror had been hanging off put it snapped back in just as Honda designed it to do. The lower fairing piece was dented but it popped out and I think all of the attachments were OK after some removing and adjusting. The only real casulty was the mirror/signal assembly - somewhat costly as Scott as found, but WOW! this could have been a whole lot worse! Thank goodness for small miracles!

Well, these guys were also eyeing us from afar, planning their strategy...

next... Lunch and Pie!

 

[TexasShadow]

You know, I was thinking... Since the Ride The Rio trip is in late Feb, perhaps we should schedule the Pie Run for that area then when it is not so freaking hot? Although, it was 90F when we were out there in Feb...

But...... the days are shorter, so the heat doesn't last as long in the day and it cools off at night.
Besides, there's always ice cream and water crossings.

 

[TexasShadow]

Re: Go West, not so young men, Go West....

The star party was very cool. I'm up for a return trip sometime cooler,

I'm going down in September for a Texas Forts/History tour, overnighting at Fort McKavett and ending up at Fort Davis.
Other riders are welcome to join in at McKavett, per an invitation by the curator. I'll share details closer to that time if you're interested.

 

[kurt]

Besides, there's always ice cream.

Not in Alpine. I had to eat my cobbler without. Communism, I tell you

 

[Gilk51]

Some familiar faces started gathering at the Black Bear Restaurant just before 11:00 AM.

(that's Kurt and Smiling Scott at the end of the table )

Patrick is about to say something while Ken looks at his camera. The two had been out dualsporting and had a bunch of pics on the camera to look at

The East Texas crew looks a little tired: Dan, Dave, and Lee

The Waco crew (family): Stephanie, Matthew, James.

I was a little concerned that only a dozen would show when there were over 20 on the "definite" list, but the others started wandering in...

Marty (voyagerrider) talks with Ed

The rest of Marty's group - Buck, Betty (Buck&Betty), and Kathy. They had ridden in that morning from Rankin where they had spent the night.

A couple of Wingers - David (FJR Bandit) and Jerry (Quick-Silver)

Yes, David has a Goldwing, too, but I think he tries to keep his screenname short. He was on the bandit this time. Sorry about the blink, but this is probably his expression when his 'wing hit the javalina...

Ed (Ed_Grant) talks with Rich (Simmons1). Ed was the farthest west (Abilene) participant and linked up with Red Brown for the trip. Rich kept saying he was undecided but finally convinced himself that he needed a 3-day "mental health" ride.

Fred (Red Brown) met Ed Grant and found his way here

Lunch and conversation was great, as always. Then there was pie...

Ed (ed29) had the French Silk

I had pecan

Kurt had Key Lime

I counted a total of 22 folks, let's see if I got them all:

Lee (wildebube), BMW F650 Dakar
Dave (KLR Dave), Kawasaki KLR650
Dan (NR), Harley-Davidson Ultra-glide
Ken (KenH), Yamaha TW200
Patrick (ptwohig), Honda XR650L
Kurt (kurt), Honda GL1800
Josh (Texfire), Suzuki DL650
Rich (Simmons1), Honda ST1300
Ed (Ed_Grant), Yamaha FJR1300 with extra tank
Fred (Red Brown), Honda ST1300
David (FJR Bandit), Suzuki Bandit
Jerry (Quick-Silver), Honda GL1800
Buck and Betty (Buck&Betty), Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic (2-up)
Marty (voyagerrider), Kawasaki Voyager
Kathy (?), Yamaha V-star
James (Jbay), Triumph Tiger
Stephanie (with James), 4-wheeler
Matthew (with James and Steph), 4-wheeler
Scott (STScott), Honda ST1300
Ed (ed29), Yamaha FJR1300
Chuck (Gilk51), Suzuki DL650

(sorry, I don't know my HD models)

About 1 PM or so, folks started to leave for other places, either to sight-see or even take naps!

Some more pics of folks on their mosheens:

Ed Grant and his FJR

Scott and Fred discuss Honda ST1300s

Marty and his voyager

Kathy and her V-Star

Buck (also known as Grumpy ) and Betty with their HD

Fred is ready to roll on his ST1300

Lee and his BMW Dakar

Dan is underway on his HD

Jerry on his GoldWing

one last installment left to finish up...

 

[TexasShadow]

Not in Alpine. I had to eat my cobbler without. Communism, I tell you

cobbler? What a guy!!
If you get down to Big Bend, ice cream can be had in the park (as well as cobbler) and in Stoooody Butte (Blue Bell).
Water crossing's in Terlingua

 

[kurt]

The HD is an anniversary edition (105th) Ultra Glide.

 

[Gilk51]

Thanks, Kurt, list edited...

After lunch and pie, folks scattered in all directions (OK, there is only one way out of DMSP ) - some headed toward home, finishing up on Sunday. Some went sight-seeing - Fort Davis was nearby. Some went off riding to the south...

and some went courthouse photo taking.

I took off for Marfa, followed by Alpine (I already had Ft. Davis). I understand that the Fearsome Foursome of Marty, Kathy, Buck, and Betty were doing the same after they set up camp. Oh, the campers were a tough bunch - it was hot during the day here.

Several of us had planned to go eat and then make the Star Party at the Observatory at 9:30. The decision was to go to the Longhorn Steakhouse in Alpine and leave at 6:00 PM. Kurt, Josh, Scott, Ed, and I gathered and left a smidge before 6.

We tried to call Fred in town but couldn't get thru on his phone. David had also expressed interest but we didn't have a way to contact him.

We passed him on the way - he was mixed in with some other riders. A couple of minutes later, I see a motorcycle behind me. David said later that he thought that was our group, turned around, and caught up. Of course, me trailing again & my license plate gave us away...

I think everyone ordered a ribeye (different sizes) and dessert. I have already complained about this in the Monday Morning Weigh-in as I succumbed to peer pressure.

Oh, it's interesting to have dinner with law enforcement (Scott and David), fire (Josh), and EMS (Kurt) folks - these guys have some stories!

We talked with a family of riders going in, and two young gals were eyeing the V-Stroms soooooo....

They were familiar with bikes and said their dad rode a HD fat boy. The older gal sat on my bike while her sister took a picture with the phone. I gave them a card and told them to look for a Black Bear thread.

Now, they say that red is the fastest color but blue gets the chicks!

We then made a dusk run back the 25 miles to Fort Davis. Kurt opted to skip the Star Party but the rest of us forged ahead. Ken and Patrick were there as well as the Fearsome Fousome. I think James and his clan were there but it was dark and hard to recognise anyone.

The program was very good. Watching the sky as daylight disappeared and having it fill slowly with stars was awesome! We even saw the Hubbell telescope traverse the sky as well.

One more trip down cool highway 118 and we were back at the lodge.

Sunday morning saw breakfast with Kurt, Josh, Scott, and Ed. Kurt and Josh were planning to slab on I10 to Kerrville. Ed was head to the mountains for a week of riding vacation (God speed, bud!). Scott and I decided to slab it home by way of 17 and I20.

We left about 8:15 and were home about 4:30 after 485 files. I had 1252 for the weekend. I think I need a new front tire now...

Oh, and for all of ya'll, here is a reminder to wear your sunscreen:

That is what happens when the sleeves of your mesh jacket don't reach to your gloves. If they had, all that would have shown was the funny little half-moon marks from the gloves.

All in all, a great weekend!

(some of the photos in my report have larger images available - if the mouse pointer turns into a "hand" when over the image, a larger one is available)

 

[TWTourist]

A couple of Wingers - David (FJR Bandit) and Jerry (Quick-Silver)

Yes, David has a Goldwing, too, but I think he tries to keep his screenname short. He was on the bandit this time. Sorry about the blink, but this is probably his expression when his 'wing hit the javalina...

Being just 15 miles from home after a 1100 mile Saddle Sore. I think that was my expression just before the javelina.

 

[RTScott]

I think I need a new front tire now...

There is a "gently" used Bridgestone 021 in Bill's garage as we speak......

 

[Tourmeister]

Kurt gets the big land yacht and Rhonda does not even attend?

 

[wczimmerman]

Looks like another very successful Pie Run with fun roads, good company, good pie, and interesting adventures!

Should I mention that the temps here have been in the low to upper 40's as late as this past weekend? I'm still using my winter liner for my morning commute to work in JUNE!! High's in the 60's!

 

[Sleepy Weasel]

"Nah, it's not new, I've had it since March..."

The crazy thing is that actually made sense to me. After all a two month old bike owned by Kurt is almost extinct.

Ah, NOW this picture makes sense finally.

He's telling us there's one month left before he trades it in.

 

[RTScott]

Did anyone else keep track of how much they spent on gas?

I totalled up $86.14 in gas for this trip.....and it was worth every penny!!!

 

[Texfire]

$74.74 here, but I paid cash in Sanderson, so call it $80-90ish. Throw in the room, food and odd and ends and it was probably about $350-400. Not shabby.

Of course that doesn't include the money spent shopping for odds and ends before the trip but I'll get to spread those cost over a couple of trips. Heck the new boots probably saved me more in doctor fees than I spent on them.

 

[kurt]

$107 on fuel. I remember when fuel was an incidental expense, not second only to lodging.

 

[voyagerrider]

Ok, everybody is posting about their trip so here is our tale.
We rolled from home in Burleson about 1:00 PM, and hooked up with Buck&Betty in Whiskey Flats on 377 just north of Cresson. We rode down thru Ganbury, Stephenville, Comanche, & Brownwood. We got on 67 there and then on to Ballinger. In Bangs on the side of the high school we saw this neat mural. So we stopped for a couple of pics

The court house in Ballinger

We had geocache at this neat old building also in Ballinger. It is currently being used as the public library. So fellow stopped and gave us quite of bit history on it, none of which I remember.

The court house in San Angelo. When got there they were having a huge news conference with national coverage all about the hearings for the folks and kids of the FLDS sect from El Dorado.

Took this neat pic of the reflection in windows of the building next door.

We rode on from there to Big Lake where we stopped at a place called Grandma's Kitchen. I am sorry I didn't take any food pics, which goes against the TWT tradition. I keep forgetting, and we were starving. The place is great and the portions are huge. We rode on the Rankin where we had a room booked for the night at a place called the Riata Inn. I cannot recommend this place however. The price was ok about $70 for the 4 of us with 2 full sized beds. It was clean, but there was nothing else. No Coffee in the rooms or even at the desk until 7 AM. No continetal Breakfast, not even a ice machine or cold drink machine.
The court house in Rankin the next morning after we rode down to the convenice store for coffee.

The court house in Fort Stockton

At the Black Bear resturant just in time. The ususal suspects . . .

It was a good crowd, more than I expected since it was so far from the metromess. Also so far from other major areas. We are off riding after we made camp in the state park.
Fort Davis courthouse

Alpine courthouse

Marfa courthouse

Back to the state, at the top of Skyline Dr inside the park. Looking down at Ft Davis

Looking towards Marfa

Looking towards Alpine

Indian Lodge

Back at camp

Fixing dinner

Dinner . . . mmm Good!!!

I didn't take any pics at the Star Party at the observatory. There were quite a number of Pie Runners there. We rolled about 9 the next morning, I think we were probably the last ones to leave. You know how old folks are . . . slow and gradual. We stopped on Wild Rose Pass for a photo op on the way north.

Our ride home was pretty uneventful rode up to Pecos and caught I-20 all the way in. We made it to Burleson about 8 PM.
It was a great trip, and we really enjoyed seeing everyone again. The was the first Pie Run we have been able to make this year. I know we can't make the June run, but we hope to make July and August for sure. See you all down the road.
Marty

 

[Quick-Silver]

Pictures??? I don't know what happened to the camera, but the few pictures I took were not up to the standards to the ones you guys have already posted so I'll just give stats. I have tinkered with the camera setting recently and that may have been the problem.

I pulled out Friday morning at 7:30 and was back home Saturday night at 8:30 completing a 37 hour run.

Total Miles Traveled - 837
Avg. Miles/Gal - 37.84
Avg. Cost/Gal - $3.96
Total Cost for Gas - $87.46
Total Cost for Lodging - $42.94
Total Cost for Food - $46.16
Total Cost for Trip - $176.56

Cost per mile for two days and one night = $0.21+.

I had great tacos and super good pecan pie and ice cream for lunch at the lodge. I will definitely eat their again when I am in the neighborhood.

I enjoyed the ride and the opportunity to visit with everybody.

Thanks too all of you that made the ride. I hope to see y'all again on the next pie run.

 

[Buck&Betty]

What a great ride, Grumpy (Buck) got a little hot, but after a stop at the water hose he was fine. The food was goood love that PECAN PIE with Ice Cream. Enjoyed the Star Party!!! Will post pictures later.
Betty

 

[kurt]

Kurt gets the big land yacht and Rhonda does not even attend?

She had to work Sunday and hasn't built up to that kind of mileage. So far, her best day is 150 miles. The good news is that for the first time ever she is bringing up the prospect of going places on a motorcycle. I guess the security of the big seat and permanent trunk on the Wing made the difference. Not even a top case on previous bikes did that for her. The best proof is that she has forbidden me to sell it and refers to it as "hers".

 

[AusFletch]

she has forbidden me to sell it and refers to it as "hers".

Paige tried that. She even cried when she saw it for the last time. I justed waited until she was not home to sell it.

 

[KenH]

Since the weekend was full of adventure I'm just going to post the pie eating stuff here. The rest of the adventure will go in the Adventure forums so as not to bore the street riders.

That's it!