Hot Pie Run in Celina - July 2008

[Hemibee]

My only minor mishap on the way to Celina was a bee that went down the back collar of my mesh jacket and stung me twice. After tearing off my jacket (after I stopped), I took perverse pleasure watching him wither and die on the ground.

Be glad it did get under your face shield, I've seen some crazy riding when that happened.

 

[Tourmeister]

This is how a Gold Wing rider (me) found a way to leave Celina and have a nice cool ride.

The truck was nicely air conditioned!!! My rear tire was flat as I was pulling out of the square.

Dang... When Snoopster and I were leaving, I saw your bike with a few others and did not think anything was wrong. I wish I had realized you had a flat. I had everything needed to fix it and get you rolling again. Sorry you had to foot the bill for a recovery, but at least you got to ride in the A/C. Our ride home was HOT!!

 

[n578md]

Dang... When Snoopster and I were leaving, I saw your bike with a few others and did not think anything was wrong. I wish I had realized you had a flat. I had everything needed to fix it and get you rolling again. Sorry you had to foot the bill for a recovery, but at least you got to ride in the A/C. Our ride home was HOT!!

Don't feel too bad, unless you had a spare tire, there was nothing you could have done. The tire was cracked and leaking from half it's circumference. You'd think for 20 Large, Honda might put on some decent OEM tires.

 

[donroger1]

Don't feel too bad, unless you had a spare tire, there was nothing you could have done. The tire was cracked and leaking from half it's circumference. You'd think for 20 Large, Honda might put on some decent OEM tires.

You would think so but didn't Mark burn through his C14 tires just as fast?

 

[busarider1]

1,200 miles later...I'm home and worn out! Another great Pie Run. It was great to see Scott and Chuck again. My bud Doug made it out for his first run. Good to see you again! The food was great. I think they had the very best rolls ever made there. The fries were excellent and the coconut creme pie made me smile! I think my two favorite bikes there were the Ural and the Moto Guzzi. Excellent turn out. Can't wait for my next one!

Here's a couple of pics:

The Ural:

One of these guys actually cuts his string beans before eating (it's not Doug or Jason):

A couple of other shots:

 

[TexasShadow]

Be glad it did get under your face shield, I've seen some crazy riding when that happened.

That happened last fall on the Cherohala in Tennessee. I sported a swollen left eye for five days. Try riding single track with one good eye.

 

[Tourmeister]

I rarely get to make any of the Pie Runs. Either they are too far away, I am on call for work, or both. Then there is the whole issue of leaving Beth at home with two crazy kids while I go out and play. So when I make a passing comment Thursday evening about how it would be cool if I could make the Celina Pie Run to see if I could sell a few shirts, I am shocked when Beth agrees!! The problem is that I am still scheduled to be on call this weekend. So Friday afternoon I casually mention the idea of Dad covering for me so I can go to the Pie Run and he said, "Sure."

Now I have to figure out how to carry as many shirts as possible on the bike I call up Snoopster at work to see what she still has in the way of GIVI bags that I might use. My top case is big but the side cases are small. If I can find two good sized side cases, I can just load the bike down. When Debbie finds out what I am up to she decides she wants to go and will help haul shirts for me!

The only thing left is a place to stay Friday night. There is no way I am getting up early enough to ride to Celine from Huntsville and then have to ride back the same day. Yes... I am lazy. A few calls to some long time friends... nothing. I can't get a hold of them. Hmmm... I decide to post up on the Pie Run thread to see if anyone in the area has room to put us up for the night. The day is getting on and time is running out. I really don't want to do a hotel but I would prefer to have a destination before we just hit the road and hope for the best. Late in the afternoon I get a PM from Jeff "Shaggy" and he has room!

I head home right after work and start packing bags. Beth and Debbie help me fold up shirts, get them sorted, bagged, and stuffed into the GIVI's. Debbie has to carry my overnight stuff for me in her rear seat bag. ALL of the GIVI's are stuffed! I had hoped to get away no later than 7:00pm, but it is closer to 7:45pm by the time we are geared up and ready to hit the road. As I fire up the Strom, I see a puff of white smoke from the front and smell burning plastic... It only lasts a few moments and then is gone, but that is NOT how I like to start a road trip!! Of course, it is also nearly 8:00pm and still in the mid 90's. I am not wild about starting a road trip that way either!

Since time is of the essence with our late start, we decide to just run up I-45 and US 75 to get to Jeff's. Traffic is not bad and we can hold a pretty good pace. Still, with the sheer mind numbing boredom and heat, it seems like it is taking forever just to get to Centerville. The sun has dropped below the horizon so we stop at Woody's BBQ/Shell station to swap out the dark visors for clear visors and to chug some Gatorade. On top of that, I have gone soft. It is so seldom that I get to ride for any distance that I know start getting aches and pains far too soon. Either that, or I am getting annoyingly old...

We get back on the highway and settle back into a good cruise. We reach Ennis about 10:00pm and stop for gas and a break. While I am munching a Snickers and drinking a Coke, a couple pulls in on cruisers. I walk over to chat with them. Steve and Brandy are headed to College Station for the weekend and this is her first "Big Trip". She's only ridden a few hundred miles total before this and is so excited she's about to pop! On top of that, she has a nice new Shadow 750 that she loves. We visit a while, give them a TWT card, and then part ways. I call Jeff to let him know we are running late and then we're back on the road.

Let me go on record as saying that I HATE riding in Dallas. It does not seem to matter what time of day, or what day of the week it is, traffic just sucks. I cannot recall ever having ridden here when I did not have a near death experience, at least once if not more in the same outing! Toss on top of that the smells that start somewhere down around Ennis and end somewhere around Plano... It reminds me of my years in downtown Los Angeles... Then there is the heat. 11:00pm and still in the 90's. Traffic is running a pretty good clip and I settle in at just a few mph over the rest of the traffic. I find it easier to keep people off my backside and to keep an eye on everyone else this way. When we finally reach US 380 and get off the freeway, it is a physical relief.

The last few miles to Jeff's place are done on bumpy and narrow FM's. The temperature drops significantly and in some places downright cool! When we cross a few creek bottoms, I stand up to maximize the airflow through the suit to take advantage of the cool temps. Just before midnight, we find Jeff's place without any problems and he comes out to greet us. We quickly park the bikes, head inside to cool off and enjoy a good visit. His wife has already gone to bed because she has to get up and get to the Cafe in the morning. She works at the place where we are doing the Pie Run.

Morning rolls around and I realize I just had one of the best night's sleep in a LONG time!! It might have something to do with the lack of a two year old jumping up and down on me at 6:00am yelling, "Tinkle Daddy!! Tinkle Daddy!!" After a quick shower I head downstairs and we have another good visit before Deb and I head to the Cafe to get setup. As we are coming into town, I spot a familiar white helmeted rider astride a gorgeous blue Vstrom 650 Bringing up the rear is a Piaggio MP3 Scooter. We ride into town on the tail of Mr. and Mrs. Pie Man II. It is about 10:30am and already there are quite a few bikes out front!

[I'll just go ahead now and apologize for the lack of names or the butchering of names, I'm just really handicapped that way ]

Chuck and Susan waste no time getting their TWT banner up!

Only to draw the attention of suspicious LEO moments later

Always nice to see a place enthusiastic to have us visit!

"Yeah... that's right. I rode all this way in crazy heat and I'm waiting for my pie..."

Mrs Voyagerider and Mrs Musicman

Mrs. Pie Man II and Voyagerider

Go ahead and smack me. I asked his name TWICE and I still can't recall it

I believe this is Mrs Voyagerider's ride?

This belongs to "Muppet"'s parents.

I always love the wide variety of rides that show up for the Pie Runs

Since it is hard for me to go riding and leave Beth home with the kids, I have been toying with the idea of getting a Ural side car rig so I can take Sarah out riding with me. Together, the kids are enough to make you question your sanity. Apart they are a pleasure to be with. So maybe if I had this Beth would happily see me leave the driveway to go riding? Sarah certainly seems keen on the idea

And then I see this!! Very nice and just what I am thinking of...

I swear, no one else does red justice like Ducati...

Just looking for trouble... Non hooligans need not apply...

And then there are the dirty people that show up...

The view from inside looking to the back

Tom, Ceedoo69(?) and her hub lost in my weak flash...

Speedfreak101?, his wife and "BethAnn" (Tom's wife I think).

Pie Man II's brother and Musicman

It is funny, I was hanging out on the sidewalk checking out bikes and visiting with folks when I started talking with Chuck's brother. He was totally surpised at this side of his brother that he claimed to never have seen. I mentioned that Chuck is quite the social butterfly/organizer on TWT and he mentioned that he was anti-social with his real family I have to hand it to Chuck though. He is a great example of many TWT users that understand that if you are friendly, you make friends. If you are not, well...

I don't think Mrs. Voyagerider's expression is food related

Digging in!

, Ham and Son of Ham

? and Elzi "Texasshadow"

Ed29 and Eltee

This is Mrs. Shaggy, Prea, in action. She makes a mean Carrot Cake!!

I got to get a bird's eye view from upstairs

We had the place pretty well packed. Nonetheless, it did not scare the locals away. So either the food is really good or they are the only game in town Given my tasty Grilled Cheese and Carrot Cake, I know where I'm putting my money By this time, quite a few folks have already eaten and hit the road. It always drives me nuts that I never have enough time to get around too visit with folks before they start leaving. However, I'm sure many have other things they have to attend too and cannot afford to sit around talking bikes all day By 1:00pm, folks were pulling out and the parking areas were soon emptying.

No clue who this is but they have a schweet Guzzi!!

This is Jeff and Prea, our gracious hosts for Friday night and today!

These are the owners, I think that is "Lucy" in the middle bracketed by her husband and daughter.

They were delighted to host the TWT Pie Run and cannot wait for us to return! Very nice folks! When Deb and I arrived bearing loads of shirts, he helped us get some tables set up in the back where we could lay out shirts on display and create a bit of a booth for selling them. I tried to give him a shirt but he claims not to be much of a T shirt kind of guy.

Don and Ramona Davis.

It was a great surprise to see Don and Ramona. He is still recovering from recent neck surgery. I stayed with them last weekend when I came up for the TWT/RideSmart meet and greet and he was in a lot of pain. It was obvious that there was NO comfortable position to relieve the pain and sleep came in very short moments. So seeing him out and about is very encouraging. Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery so he can join us at more Pie Runs... on his bike!

The following two pics are of the ZREX squiddies...

and one of their bashful companions that really made me work for a pic!

The following are just a sampling of what was available. Prea also does custom cakes and deserts

Just looking at these makes my heart quiver in fear...

For the cookie monsters among us...

And the cupcake lovers like me

One of the custom birthday cakes

And another...

About 2:00pm, most folks are gone and Deb and I get everything packed back onto the bikes. A big thanks to all those folks that attended and also bought shirts and stickers! I am not looking forward to the ride home in the heat of the day, but there isn't any way around it. Deb is not wild about riding back through downtown Dallas and I am inclined to agree. So we decide to head East towards Greenville and then start South. With no particular route in mind, I just look for a spot on the GPS that looks like there are fun roads between here and there and tell the GPS to "go to"!

Almost immediately the heat feels oppressive. FM 455 is an okay road, but I suspect it was much more fun before it got chip sealed There is also a lot of car traffic so even if it weren't chip sealed, I doubt we'd be able to really enjoy it We eventually work our way over to Floyd and head South on FM 36. It is nice to get off of US 380. We run down to Quinlan, hit FM 751 and 47. The heat is really on! I am chugging on the Camel-bak in an attempt to stay hydrated. Even with mesh gear, I just feel like I am sitting in front of a big hair dryer on high!

Where FM 47 dead ends into 198, I take Deb down a few little back roads near Purtis Creek State park. She's ridden with me enough to know to expect a few "surprises" and I have developed a feel for her risk tolerance on the SV650S The roads are "paved" but that is a stretch. Actually, one is freshly oiled with a thick layer of pea gravel. However, there has been enough traffic that the deep stuff is off to the sides and the tire tracks are good. The other sections are nothing more than a never ending sea of filled in potholes that all join together to form a continuous "pavement". It's bumpy... really bumpy... Deb has to be taking a beating I just stand up and all is good However, the roads are nice and shady and it feels good to be out of the sunlight.

We soon reach Eustace and decide to stop for gas and another break. We also touch base with Beth to let her know we will be getting home a little later. She informs me that my bank has called about suspicious charges on my debit card. I've never used the card at all until this weekend and then the first charges that show up are all at gas stations other than in the town where I live, hehe. I call the bank and let them know all is good. Thankfully, they did not just shut down the card! I hate when they do that in the middle of a trip (which has happened). It's already 5:00pm and I am ready to be home... NOW!

After leaving Eustace, we head South down the West side of Athens and Palestine on a string of FM's: 2329, 3054, 198, 3441, 59, 2706, and 645. These are all nice roads with not too much traffic. I have picked up the pace a bit just for some fun and also to just "get there". At US 79 we head West to Oakwood where the real fun starts! FM's 831, 1511, 811 and 1119 are great roads through some really nice scenery. I fall into a nice rythm and enjoy myself. Debbie is right behind me most of the time. When we reach the end of the fun, I give Deb a questioning thumbs up and she responds enthusiastically. The run down FM 247 into Huntsville seems to take forever. We finally reach town, top off the bikes, and head to the house. We cannot get out of the riding gear fast enough. She unloads the remaining shirts from her bike and heads home for a cool shower (and probably a good nap!). I grab hugs from Beth and the kids and a nice cool drink.

It was fun, but I could really do without the humidity. The highest sign temp I saw was only 90, but I know it was easily over 100 in many places. The roads are more fun out in the East Texas woods, but the humidity really gets up there into tropical forest territory I'm ready for October... It was great seeing everyone and meeting some new folks as well. I hope I can make another before the big end of the year event.

And now for a postscript to the day... Some time back, a stray Mommy cat and her new kitten adopted us. The kids have been DESPERATE to play with the cats but the cats are quite skittish and will have nothing to do with the kids. Some time last week, Momma went missing but kitty stayed put. While the kids remained inside with me, Beth went outside and managed to get close enough to pick up the kitty. Sarah was thrilled!

It occurs to me that I really need a camera with a better flash. In too many of the people pictures, the closer people show up great and the people next to them just black out I just don't want to carry a big camera because then I'd be much less likely to take any pictures to begin with. Quite the dilemma...

 

[Gilk51]

Susan and I pulled up to a traffic light about 5 miles from home at around 3:00 PM and I told her that my usually inaccurate stick-on thermometer was reading 110 - which I thought was way too high.

She told me that her onboard temp gauge said 111!

my stick-on thermo (Formotion) "popped" sometime during the Ft. Davis Pie Run - I thought I had splashed gas during a stop but it sure looked like all the leakage was from the thermometer.

 

[texascat]

No clue who this is but they have a schweet Guzzi!!

well, that would be me (Stefano) and my lovely wife (Ira) .....

 

[Shaggy]

Scott, it was a pleasure to have you and Debbie stay here. Goes with out saying that anyone is welcome to stay if they come up this way.

On that shot of the owners... Its Steve and Krys (pronounced Chris) and their daughter Haven. Lucy is actually the name of the Longhorn that watches over everyone

 

[annab]

Scott, I'm sorry I missed the opportunity to meet you! I convinced my sister and fiance to come with me, so we got there late and most everyone was already sitting down...we didn't want to stand over people while they were eating adn pester them hehe. Besides the heat wore us out, so we just grabbed some pie to go. Thanks, Chuck for organizing everything as usual!

Oh, and this pie run was fun for me because it marked the first time I took a passenger anywhere other than playing in a parking lot Kev was taking pictures while driving beside me & angela on the highway

 

[Shaggy]

Ack! She is getting paw prints on the paint!!!!

 

[Gilk51]

I like the matching jackets!

Any chance of ever getting Kevin on a bike?

 

[annab]

Ack! She is getting paw prints on the paint!!!!

That was entirely my fault...she rides w/her BF a lot, so she is very comfortable as a passenger. Maybe too comfortable lol. She barely ever holds on, but we had to brake quickly on a side road on the way home and she slid into the front part of the seat with me. There's a reason that part of the seat is only made for one Anyway, so after that she tended to hang on to the bike every so often hehe

I like the matching jackets!

Any chance of ever getting Kevin on a bike?

Thanks! Kevin actually has his M endorsement, but any free driving time he has he puts into his corvette. He would probably ride mine occasionally, but he hasn't found a helmet that he likes enough to invest that much $$ in yet. Plus he's more interested in photography, so he likes trying to get interesting/artistic pictures of me riding. I don't mind, it gives me something fun to look at!

 

[Shaggy]

That was entirely my fault...she rides w/her BF a lot, so she is very comfortable as a passenger. Maybe too comfortable lol. She barely ever holds on, but we had to brake quickly on a side road on the way home and she slid into the front part of the seat with me. There's a reason that part of the seat is only made for one Anyway, so after that she tended to hang on to the bike every so often hehe

Uhm, I do hope then that is your sister on the back.... based on your original post I had assumed it was your fiancee.

 

[annab]

hehe I guess I should have made that clearer...sister and fiancee being 2 different people. and maybe I should have pointed out that I'm female

so....i was driving, sister was my passenger, and my finacee kevin was driving his truck =)

 

[Deefer]

What is this? I've never seen one like it?

 

[wonder91178]

What is this? I've never seen one like it?

That would be Tortuga's (Susan/Gilk51's wife) Piaggio MP3ie

 

[Shaggy]

hehe I guess I should have made that clearer...sister and fiancee being 2 different people. and maybe I should have pointed out that I'm female

so....i was driving, sister was my passenger, and my finacee kevin was driving his truck =)

Ahhhh I see now.... said the blind man.

 

[Deefer]

Thanks for the info. That's really nifty.

 

[pacman]

What is this? I've never seen one like it?

That's Susan's nifty little Piaggio MP3.

Here she is pulling into Celina for pie:

 

[Gilk51]

What is this? I've never seen one like it?

Read about her story here...

Elzi (TexasShadow) also had a picture in post #49:

 

[pacman]

A few have expressed some interest in the cargo that Chuck delivered to me in Celina. Little did you know, ol' Gilk51 is a bootlegger from waaaay back.

He trucked in some vintage 1995 Schlitz Beer. The collectors pack was given to me by forum member Janet, and Chuck was kind enough to provide transport. Don't worry, he didn't cross any state lines, so I think the transport was completely legal. That puppy was wrapped like a pro, too. So if you ever need some hooch toted home, I'm sure Chuck can help you get it there safely.

Amazingly, the 12er made out of the restaurant safely, despite being surrounded by a bunch of ZRX-riding hooligans. I did get a little nervous about the hungry stares they gave me when I told them that it was a 12 pack of beer that was wrapped up in the newspaper. They looked like a pack of hungry wolves about to pounce.

The 12 pack is in nearly perfect condition, not even the perforated handles are punched in.

 

[Shaggy]

Ewwwwww....skunky beer........

 

[RedPill]

I'm sorry I missed this one. I've been hearing about Mrs. Shaggy's pies for a while now. But we left Monclova at about 8:30 AM, and didn't cross the border until after you were all sitting down to eat.

Ham and Son of Ham--that's classic. It reminds me of "Tater Salad" and "Tater Tot" for some strange reason.