Hico Pie Run Report

[BILL N]

Well, I guess I will start things out. I know there is an Iron Butt award for endurance riding. After today, there needs to be a highest crosswind award....I have never riden in conditions as bad as today. The Austin group met up in Liberty Hill at 0830 and headed up Hwy 183. There were Ten of us. We fought a brutal head and cross wind all the way arriving in Hico at 1100. I'm not sure of our route , it was very nice but because of concentrating on keeping the bike on the pavement and not off some bridge, I didn't seem to enjoy it very much. Lunch was very good and the pie excellent. Everyone from our group headed off on their own for the return trip. I headed down 281 , then picked up 36 east. I stopped for fuel in Gatesville and my bike almost blew over at the gas station, I had to catch it. The gusts must have been near 40mph. I ended up slabbing down I-35 to Round Rock. Now I can say I rode in stupid high winds and will never do it again by choice. Bill

 

[CaroleAnn]

It was quite the battle with the winds today. I spent a good bit of time under the hot shower when I got home, to warm up and to loosen up some tight, sore muscles. I'm sure I'll be moving slowly tomorrow.

This was my first Koffee Kup pie run. They did a great job of taking and getting the orders out. I am impressed.

 

[Pooh Bear]

The San Antonio group got home just fine.

I'm with you-after being chilled all day, I just have been trying to warm up for the last half hour. However, I really enjoyed all the misery because I had good company.

What is with the sore muscles? I am REALLY feeling my 40+ years!

 

[MCRyder]

Re: Pie Run II: Hico! Hico! It's off for Pie we go! 2/28 11:00 AM

Between the high winds and it never getting above 54 degrees, the ride was almost like work.

Luckily the hot chocolate and pie revived me and made it all worthwhile, well that and the fellow riders. Got to see a Bandit like mine with some accessories installed that I was considering. that helped alot, now I know what I'll be installing.


Another successful run as usual, hope all made it home safely.

 

[JKDGabe]

I showed up but had to leave early. My brothers were in town, I get to see one of them about twice a year so it was a mini reunion for us. I didn't even get to make the brutal 9 mile ride since I was carting them along. Sure were some nice bikes there though!

 

[bmcdonau]

Re: Pie Run II: Hico! Hico! It's off for Pie we go! 2/28 11:00 AM

Home. Pooped. Wind was brutal/

Guess we need a ride report...

Yeah, it was a tough day. The ride home was definitely easier than the ride up. I'm hoping tomorrow is better to find a few FMs over by La Grange.

 

[piglet]

The San Antonio group got home just fine.

I'm with you-after being chilled all day, I just have been trying to warm up for the last half hour. However, I really enjoyed all the misery because I had good company.

What is with the sore muscles? I am REALLY feeling my 40+ years!

Well, I'm dumb, looked your bike over and never made the connection.
Wanted to see who would name their bike after me.

 

[Texason]

I rode with the Austin group on the way up. These were actually the second worst winds I've ridden in. I ate a piece of pie and drank a Dr Pepper and took off. I had some sights to see before heading south again. I had about 450 miles on the day. I enjoyed a dinner at Schoepf's in Belton before arriving home about 5:30.

I really wanted to talk to whoever had the farkled out ST1300. I think it had one of every possible accessory, maybe more. I was very surprised to see three other ST1300s in the crowd. Pretty cool.

 

[Graubart]

Yep, it was a windy one. It may have even beat the winds of the Hico Pie Run two years ago. But at least the sky today was blue and not brown.

I took the long way home......had to have my Starbucks hit.......and spotted Chuck heading north into Granbury as I was heading back south to Glen Rose.

Chuck, that jacket really really works! Now you've got me thinking that I need one.

 

[Gilk51]

These were actually the second worst winds I've ridden in.

Yep, it was a windy one. It may have even beat the winds of the Hico Pie Run two years ago. But at least the sky today was blue and not brown.

I think the wind 2 years ago was worse - I remember taking a righthand curve and still leaning LEFT!

I took the long way home......had to have my Starbucks hit.......and spotted Chuck heading north into Granbury as I was heading back south to Glen Rose.

After I recognized you on 144, I figured that you had run off to Granbury for Starbucks. I didn't know if you went with the DFW group (+ James and Reb) up that way or not...

Chuck, that jacket really really works! Now you've got me thinking that I need one.

I like it. Lots of DayGlo orange and yellow being used lately.
Only problem is that it doesn't help at night - need the sun's UV rays to light it up.

-------

I thought that the wind was a LOT worse in the afternoon. It was out of the North-northwest - you could tell from all the flags stretched straight out. I did some East-west roads both times and I had more trouble in the afternoon. The Austin and SA groups should have gotten a boost on the way back.

There were groups of:
7 bikes from SW Arlington
9 from Austin
I think 7 from San Antonio
A couple from Waco
At least 2 from Bryan - Ken and Tam on 'Stroms
2 crazies from Sugarland (glad Sparky escorted Squeaky today)
3, I think, from Clear Lake area
3 from Kilgore-Lindale (east Texas)
3-4 from Wills Point/Terrell/Forney
1 lone driver from Eunice, New Mexico
a bunch of lone wolfs from several places (FW, Glen Rose, etc. etc.)
Gabe + two brothers, kinda local
Oh, I forgot Stephen's bunch from north DFW...

-------

Some observations:
1. Wearing summer gear on Thursday does not mean Saturday won't be cold.
2. Goldwingers with extra gloves for young riders on Nighthawks are cool. (Jim )
3. Hugs from Squeaky are great!
4. Squeaky needs to have that finger checked.
5. Lots of sport touring bikes out today!
6. DesertGirl (DessertGirl) got several rides in from generous owners. I hope she reports on her bike search findings.
7. It was windy.
8. Windy usually means cold. Basking in the sun is good.
9. There are a lot of 2xx FM roads around Glen Rose...
10. I still didn't get to meet everyone that I wanted to.
11. Seemed more sport touring bikes were out today (OK, fairings, heated gear, etc.)
12. The Koffee Kup took care of us again!
13. Regardless of the temperature and wind, we had a great turnout for the Febryuary Pie Run!
14. Bill (Graubart) is a sneaky guy and I still owe him lunch. (thanks, tho)

I'll have some pictures later. Can you tell I took a nap after I got home?

 

[sparkyphotog]

Re: Pie Run II: Hico! Hico! It's off for Pie we go! 2/28 11:00 AM

Squeaky and I met up this morning and rode up together. It was brutal this morning, but pleasant this afternoon. 526 miles for me, including about 30 or so miles on dirt roads this afternoon. Bosque county has a lot of dirt/gravel county roads to play on. They're mostly all paved down this way.

 

[Tourmeister]

Re: Pie Run II: Hico! Hico! It's off for Pie we go! 2/28 11:00 AM

Squeaky and I met up this morning and rode up together. It was brutal this morning, but pleasant this afternoon. 526 miles for me, including about 30 or so miles on dirt roads this afternoon. Bosque county has a lot of dirt/gravel county roads to play on. They're mostly all paved down this way.

How's that final drive?

 

[dukey33]

Let's see...
Left the house at 06:20. Temp was 57F with mixed fog and rain. That was the warmest temps I'd see for the rest of the day.
Winds in the morning weren't too bad. When I turned due west on Hwy7 at Marlin, I got a full taste of crosswinds. Even the gravity-challenged LT would get pushed over a few feet when a big gust hit (I found moving forward on the seat to put more weight on the front tire helped reduce that).

Arrived in Hico at 11:30. Lot was full of bikes.
Bike computer showed gas mileage averaged 33mpg going up.

Headed back, I stopped in Hewitt to visit a friend from college. Hung around for a couple of hours and started back at 4:30. One more stop for fuel in Bryan and I was back on the driveway just before 8:00. Odometer shows 601 miles.
Return gas mileage was better at 45mpg.

Overall, nice day. Any day on the bike is better than a day in the office.

 

[wbrisett]

This was my first pie run to Hico. I had planned to go to the last one, but got a call to work on film project at the last moment, so I had to bail out at the last minute. However, I still had the GPS route I planned for that trip on my computer. I posted in the Austin group and trl5791 mentioned they took a slightly different route last time. (Sorry, forgot your name already... did I mention to folks that I'm horrible with names?).

Apparently the new route had some nice curves, so I rerouted us to use that section. However, with the wind being what it was, nobody was really enjoying it. Riding the BMW for this particular trip, I had a slight advantage over most of the Austin group since it has some weight to it (except for James with his Honda ST), but it still wasn't all that pleasant.

Starting in Liberty Hill means that we only has about 130 miles or so to Hico using the route I planned. This meant that we would have to make one stop so those who don't have the range of the larger touring style bikes could make it without worrying about fuel. We made our stop in Gatesville. There we dropped on rider (Richard??) on his Voyager. He wanted to take it a bit more leisurely than the rest of us. He said he knew the way, so I wasn't too worried about him. Hey, anybody riding a well worn touring bike is rarely anybody you have to worry about.

When we arrived at the Koffee Kup, there were a bunch of bikes already. I noticed a very high concentration of BMWs in the parking lot. Then I noticed Greg's K1200GT (Limecreek on some BMW boards) from Austin. Turns out he and bunch of his riding buddies stopped off in Marble Falls at the Bluebonnet Cafe where my wife and I's normal Saturday morning crew, the Hill Country BMW Riding Club, was having breakfast. They then blew up to Hico, had some coffee and were heading out for more riding. It was a nice surprise running into somebody else I knew.

The Austin group, as pointed out, went our own way back home since several of us had other things we needed to do. For my wife, daughter, and I, that meant visiting family in Waco before heading home.

GPS Trail: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=137919

A few photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/82683679@N00/sets/72157614528467171/


Ride home:

I wanted to take some roads I hadn't taken before. What I didn't realize looking at the map was that a lot of the smaller county roads east of I-35 were nothing more than loose dirt and gravel! Imagine my surprise when I discovered this two miles into a road that started out as tarmac. Of course I know my daughter has been watching too much of Long Way Around and Long Way Down when she knows and uses tarmac correctly!

After the third or fourth county road that was mostly dirt, my wife was ready to get back home. There were multiple reasons for that including a show we had to be at that evening, but I think a lot of it had to do with her bike. Her lowered R1150R simply isn't designed for those types of roads. Not that my nearly $20K RT is, but I'm a bit more confident riding in the dirt (I better be, I plan on riding a good section of the Trans America Trail this summer).

 

[Bandera]

Friday afternoon I am in my shorts checking the tire pressure in preparation for the ride to Marble Falls for breakfast and then onto Hico for pie; it is 4:00 and 91 degrees out...yes I said 91.

Saturday morning I get up and check the local Weather Bug here in Cedar Park and now the temp is 42 and winds are out of the NW 15-20 mph with a recorded gust since midnight of 37 mph....only in Texas, eh?

I don't get on the board too often, nor do I get out to many of the events, but everytime I do I am met by outgoing, fun, and kind folks and the Hico Pie event was no different.

I arrived at 10:20 and at that time there were just a handful of bikes, but that handful soon multiplied to a parking lot full.

The Dallas crew rolled in and I got a chance to visit with Stephen, Byron, and a few new guys from their riding group and I got to meet about a dozen new folks too, along with a quick visit with Wayne and his family from Austin.

The trip home with the wind at my back improved my gas mileage by 5 miles per gallon. And speaking of the wind and the cold; the solution is a BMW. Heat grips, seat, gerbings and a 600+ pound motorcycle made the trip enjoyable to and from Hico.

The worst wind conditions I've ever ridden in were several years ago right in the middle of an Iron Butt ride. I was in New Mexico with sustained 25-35 mph winds with gusts of 50-60 mph. That got a little scary.

Cheers!

 

[voyagerrider]

Well, Kathy(ladyrider) and I didn't make it yesterday for the PR to Hico. We just didn't have any desire to fight the wind. I am glad that all who went made it there and back home safely.
We did have pie yesterday and thought about all of you guys. We had our pie at this place in Burleson.

Sorry we didn't get any pics of the pie. Kathy had Turkey Tetrazzi pie followed by piece of Butterscotch Cream. I had Farmers Pie which was kind of like quiche with Buttermilk Pie for dessert.
Again we missed seeing all of you guys, but look forward to the next one.
Marty

 

[MusicMan]

That's too bad you missed the Pie Run. It would have been a pleasant surprise to meet you and Kathy.

Maybe another day!

 

[KawRider]

Great another Voyager! My wife and I missed this Pie Run but we did ride the Voyager from Dallas to Corpus Christi yesterday. Believe me, the wind was just as bad going south!

We missed everyone but will catch up with y'all on future runs.

 

[sparkyphotog]

Re: Pie Run II: Hico! Hico! It's off for Pie we go! 2/28 11:00 AM

How's that final drive?

They replaced the bearing seal, and all is well.

 

[Pooh Bear]

Well, I'm dumb, looked your bike over and never made the connection.
Wanted to see who would name their bike after me.

That's hilarious! The Piglet sticker on the top of the tank should have given you a hint! Sorry I missed you.

 

[sparkyphotog]

Squeaky and I met up at the McDonald's by my house at 5:30. I had a quick bite while Squeaky looked for gas. Turns out everything is closed around here at 5:30 in the morning - they even shut of pay-at-the-pump things. We hit a gas station I knew would be open a little ways out on 90A, then started the long, windy, cold trek northwest. It was a pretty brutal morning and we made more frequent stops than we would have otherwise to warm up, but we made it to Hico around noon.

Here are some of my pics...

Jamie and Squeaky....

Crowds at the Koffee Kup...

Chuck showing off his Pie Run t shirt...

DesertGirl doing a test ride...

Chrome...

M38A1's GS....

Chuck out visiting...

Nice paint job on this FZ...

M38A1 (Scott) in a doo rag...

And of course, pie...

This is probably my favorite shot of the day - Scott and Chuck reflected in the chrome of a Honda Shadow....

I stayed around and took photos of folks leaving...

I was the last one to leave, and I decided to hit some of the dirt roads around Bosque county. On the way up I had noticed that most of the county roads were dirt or gravel. Down here in the Houston area, virtually every county road I've seen is paved, and you have to ride up to the National Forest an hour away to find any dirt roads. Bosque County was quite a treat for me!

Due to time constraints (didn't want to get home to much past dark) I only did about 30 miles or so of dirt/gravel. Bosque county road 1035 was my favorite of the day. It took off south off of HWY 6 then wound back up in the hills and ran roughly parallel to HWY 6 for 10 or 12 miles. Near the beginning, I came upon a roadblock...

Must have blown down from the high winds. After clearing it, I continued riding and really enjoyed the solitude of this fun, winding dirt road. Didn't see another vehicle or person the entire time...

It was getting late, so I blasted down HWY 6 to FM 359 to HWY 90A and was home by 7:30. 526 miles total, and I was very tired - it was a great day!

 

[STILLSMOKEN]

Well those watching to see Squeaky home can relax now as it appears she pulled in to home several minutes ago. That was some ride even for one tough gal. Barn

 

[Squeaky]

It was worth every minute of wind & cold torture.

I guess I should turn off the Spot now, huh?

 

[STILLSMOKEN]

Glad to see you home safe and sound. You made that ride home Solo did you not? You sure didn't take much in the way of rest stops. OH YES how is the finger Chuck was checking out when I left and what was the matter with it? Barn.

 

[Marc B]

I didnt make it this time but tell me it hasnt already been a year since the last Hico pie run, "Im not a smart man" Wait I remember it was like 100+ at the last one, OK Im good thanks. SZ.