Hico Pie Run Report

[Gilk51]

OK, I met with an intrepid bunch at the now closed Minyards about 8:00 AM. Sean (Xdriver) was already there and staked out a spot by the building to block the wind. Others started showing up.

Before I knew it - I was surrounded by Hondas!
The Bedford crew was all red Hondas - 2 Nighthawks and an ST1300...

Finally, Steve and Wendy arrived with a Beemer.

Wind? What wind?

With gear on - it's hard to figure out who is who (from L to R, maybe):
Dan (DFW Dano)
Wendy (wendy and steve)
Kelly? (Skull of Energy)
Collin (Goonrider)
Jim (forgot screen name)
Steve? (Beemer Steve)
Sean? (Xdriver)

Total of 7 bikes and 8 riders.

Jim loaned Collin some winter gloves since Collin had misplaced his (at home). I think they were a lifesaver myself.

This photo was taken in the afternoon but we dealt with this all day (check the flag):

We lumbered toward Hico, making a stop in Cleburne for folks to warm up. The wind battered us even when we had tree cover on both sides.

We actually made it about 10 minutes early!

Some scattered parking lot photos:

Yeeha Stephen's group from north DFW:

Other arrivals:

including Scott (M38A1) with the Austin bunch:

That's Gabe (JKDGabe a Hico local) and his two brothers (not so local). One of the brothers was interested in looking at bikes.

The Austin crew rolls in:

Bill (Graubart - just up the road in Glen Rose) poses in front of the sign:

Scott and Gabe's bunch discuss Scott's bike and camping gear:

3 East Texas riders motoring in - Mark (MCRyder) followed by Jessica (Ninjette) and Bill (pub610)

Jessica's distinctive pink jacket:

Pretty good turnout:

The 3 ET riders again

Mark's brand new Bandit:

Bill (Blueburg) from San Antonio saved the scooter rider's face - we usually have a couple of other scooter riders:

There were a couple of Kawasaki Voyager riders, too:

Kickin' the tires - Eileen (Pooh Bear) provided a test ride for Joanne (Desertgirl). TrashySquid provides support.

Lots of plotting and discussing

Leads to sitting on it one more time...

D-girl rode the little GS and Tammy's Wee-Strom and maybe another bike. Be interesting to see what she goes for.

Inside was food and pie. Two San Antonio riders:

This smiley gal took care of Bill (Graubart) and me. She has been there as long as I can remember (since January 05). My notes have her name as Yesy. It's always good to see the same familiar faces here.

The story of the day was James (jar675) driving from Eunice, New Mexico and meeting Rebecca (Squeaky) who rode up with Brian (sparkyphotog) from Houston. They stayed in the area that night and went their opposite directions on Sunday.

I saw a bunch of FM roads on the way down so I kinda retraced my steps solo on the way back since I didn't want to subject anyone else to all my stops. Saw Bill (Graubart) returning from Starbucks on 144 and Steve and Wendy at the motosports dealership in Granbury.

Going E/NE on the way home was brutal. The wind was stronger and gustier than in the morning.

I did however ride FM917 end-to-end and most of it is in very good shape. The section between I35W and FM2280 still needs work but it is livable.

One the way home, I found where I want to go live:

Great to see everyone who braved the cold and wind.

 

[M38A1]

All righty...... I'm home now so here's my story of this adventure.

I met a group of about 9 other Austin area riders in Liberty Hill at the Shell Station at Hwy 183/29 for an 8:30am departure to Hico. Yes, it was brisk for temperatures and wind was already a steady 20mph or so right out of the North. CaroleAnn was also there, and from what one of the other riders mentioned, a 'performance award' was in the works. I'll let her chime in on that one. Anyway, the 10 of us headed North via FM's stopping in Gatesville for one rider to fuel up due do a limited range. The headwinds were fierce, but as long as you had a large windscreen, I didn't think it was too bad. We all arrived in Hico to find a lot of other bikes from all over the state already there.

Just about the time CarolAnn's and my lunch arrived, JoAnne (DessertGirl) comes waltzing in sans bike since she sold her Shadow 1100 last week. With fresh greenbacks burning a hole in her britches and a Luby's style parking lot of new 'toyz' to ooh and ahh over, JoAnne dove headfirst into meeting her virtual friends from TWT, meeting new ones and scoring a few demo rides on others bikes. Lots of sitting was going on and I saw her on two bikes out on the road to include a Suzuki V-Strom (Wee/650cc) and BMW F650 (650cc). She was all grins upon return, talked with the owners and walked away with more information on her purchase.

Joanne (DessertGirl) on PoohBears BMW F650

Joanne on a Suzuki Wee-Strom

Joanne on a Honda Nighthawk 750

Joanne on Honda ST1300

And one of my favorites (SparkyPhotog's bike)

I was glad to see my old friends James/Squeaky/Brian from the SW Houston Bike Nights, as well as Chuck and a host of others. Met some new folks which is always good! And the PayItForward jacket for Gabes brother looks like a good fit.

After lunch, I fueled up and headed towards Junction to meetup with some Austin friends who decided to go camping. I saw some cool things on the way, riding through the metro-mess of London, Early and Grit, Texas. I also found myself stopping at one Historical marker for the Geographic Center of Texas. Now THAT is sort of cool.

I made my way to Junction and fueled up and wandered to the Llano SP where I found Spot #49, unload and setup camp for the night.

Great sunshine but WINDY still about 5pm. Turns out my friends ate at Coopers in Junction so I fired up my little camp stove for a backpack dinner. We fired up the Java-Juice machine and his 'special' honey and we were set. The sun went down, the temps dropped and we couldn't build a fire due to the Burn Ban. So in a pinch, we opened a bottle of red wine, finished it off and called it a night in true biker fashion. The stars were beautiful and the deer's eyes sort of spooky at turn-in time of 8pm.

I intentionally left out a water bottle to see if it would freeze, ie: 32*F. Sunday morning that bottle was as hard as a rock. Confirmed. Below freezing for an extended period of time. Then the park ranger comes around and says his fancy digital recording device showed a bottom temp of 19*F. My jaw hit the floor. I knew it was cold, but that's really getting down there for camping.

That's a block of ice in the cup that went from solid to boiling for breakfast.

We thawed some water and fired up the coffee pot Sunday morning breakfast, packed up and headed out stopping by the Kimble county courthouse for a picture. The ride back was nice with little wind and bright sunshine so we ducked off at Luckenbach for a quick bite. From there, we left at differing times all headed back to Austin.

Kudos to the Pie Man, Chuck (Gilk51) for another great day of pie.

.

 

[Tourmeister]

So... I was thinking. The first Pie Run was in Hico in January of 05. Maybe we can have a 5th anniversay Pie Run there in January of 2010? If there is interest, I'd even do special T-shirts if there is interest.

 

[M38A1]

So... I was thinking. The first Pie Run was in Hico in January of 05. Maybe we can have a 5th anniversay Pie Run there in January of 2010? If there is interest, I'd even do special T-shirts if there is interest.

Large, longsleeve, black please.....

 

[Tourmeister]

I am NOT taking orders at this time!

[edit]On a somewhat related note. When I did the original order for the generic TWT shirts that I have, many people said, "Do some color OTHER than black! Too many biker shirts are black!" So I ordered extras of the tan shirts. Guess which color has been more popular and which color I have lots of extras of...

 

[Gilk51]

So... I was thinking. The first Pie Run was in Hico in January of 05. Maybe we can have a 5th anniversay Pie Run there in January of 2010? If there is interest, I'd even do special T-shirts if there is interest.

I think that would be a great idea. I would like to come up with a plaque to present to the Koffee Kup aswell.

One of the folks at KK asked about TWT T-shirts. I think Pooh Bear bought a KK T-shirt.

I like the tan ones.

 

[Tourmeister]

I would like to come up with a plaque to present to the Koffee Kup as well.

This was brought up before. Maybe some kind of "TWT Pie Seal of Approval" plaque that we could give to the various places we visit.

 

[wildebube]

I'll agree with those who say the wind was worse two years ago. Much worse as I remember it. I remember seeing on the news that evening that the wind was blowing around 45-50 mph with gusts up to 70. I know I saw the shingles blowing off of a building somewhere around Cleburne. I didn't see anything like that this time.

But the cold and the wind did take their toll - mostly in route planning. Between the weather and my dead GPS, we elected a later start and a run straight across on I-20 and down 67. Not terribly interesting, but a good ride nonetheless. Dave (KLRDave) didn't have any winter gloves, so about 50 miles into the trip we stopped for a glove change. I gave him my Olympia winter touring gloves and went with my summer gloves. His KLR hand guards are bigger then mine, but the BMW heated grips make all the difference. With most of the wind blocked and the grips on high, it wasn't too bad. My hands got a little cold, but it never got to the numb or painful stage.

The other highlight of the trip was Glen Rose. There was a spot along the south side of the road a couple of miles west of town that looked awfully familiar. It looked like the kind of place a guy could really enjoy spending a few hours on a lazy afternoon. OK, not really. Actually, it was kind of nice going through Glen Rose on two inflated tires - twice in one day even.

 

[Squeaky]

Glen Rose was a nice little gem - we stayed overnight at the La Quinta right there on 67 and it was a quick drive down to the square for dinner. Quaint little down - and tons of retreat centers, B&B's, inns, cottages, etc. What is it about Glen Rose that draws that type of crowd? The river? All we could think of what it's "near enough but far enough away to feel like a vacation" proximity to DFW

We alo got to see the big rock park - it looked just like Soozy said it would!

 

[sparkyphotog]

Glen Rose was a nice little gem - we stayed overnight at the La Quinta right there on 67 and it was a quick drive down to the square for dinner. Quaint little down - and tons of retreat centers, B&B's, inns, cottages, etc. What is it about Glen Rose that draws that type of crowd? The river? All we could think of what it's "near enough but far enough away to feel like a vacation" proximity to DFW

We alo got to see the big rock park - it looked just like Soozy said it would!

My son and I stayed in Glen Rose when we went to see nearby Dinosaur Valley State Park. Now that the kids are into camping, I'll probably do that next time we go back there. But, I agree, it's a quaint little town - I like it a lot.

 

[Gilk51]

The other highlight of the trip was Glen Rose. There was a spot along the south side of the road a couple of miles west of town that looked awfully familiar. It looked like the kind of place a guy could really enjoy spending a few hours on a lazy afternoon. OK, not really. Actually, it was kind of nice going through Glen Rose on two inflated tires - twice in one day even.

I like you better when you don't generate a lot of drama...

My son and I stayed in Glen Rose when we went to see nearby Dinosaur Valley State Park. Now that the kids are into camping, I'll probably do that next time we go back there. But, I agree, it's a quaint little town - I like it a lot.

Good places to eat in Glen Rose, too!
Hammonds BBQ
Ranchhouse BBQ
Loco Coyote
several other places...

 

[equipment junkie]

Well...ugh...someone (me) forgot to bring a camera...so...ther are NO pics But, We (equipment junkie, my riding buddy of 20 + years J.C and my next door neighbor in Wimberley <Ed>) left Wimberley at about 6:30 am. Ed ran out of gas (I am not making this up) 4/10ths of a mile from my driveway on RR3237. So...I gave Ed a ride back to his house on the 'wing. He grabbed a fuel jug (that was sitting in his garage...with fuel in it... next to the bike....well, you get the point ) We lost maybe five minutes at most...Ed was embarased enough...teasing was not required! So AFTER fueling, we rode out 2325 to Blanco and had breakfast at the Bowling Alley.

Now, when we left the gas station in Wimberley, I hit the display on the wing which indicated an ambient air temp of 43 degrees. "No problem" I said to myself, the sun's coming up, and it'll warm up in no time...

When we stopped at the Bowling Alley in Blanco, I commented to my fellow riders..."You know, my electric vest just isn't working. The heated grips and seat seem to be working O.K....but NO JOY on the vest..." This did not draw ANY sympathy from either of them...in fact...rude comments were made

Breakfast was good (Ed had ICED TEA! - He allways drinks ICED TEA!) WE hit 281 and turned North. I was in thelead, and had asked both of my compadres about their fuel mileage (didn't want another gas can run...). We rode a leisurely pace (posted speed limit) to Burnet and stopped for fuel. I had calculated that this stop would allow enough reserve for the shortest legged of the three bikes to make Hico without an additional stop. I usually ride at a little faster pace, but figured we'd be burning enough fuel with the headwind AND we didn't need any more windchill factor any way...

We made it to Hico at approx 10:30 to 10:45. The temp had NEVER risen above 46 degress the entire ride... There were 3 or 4 bikes allready in the parking lot...we fuelede at the gas station across the street before parking at the Koffee Kup. Then we rushed inside to eat and warmup. Beeftips on the special were great. Peanut Butter Reeses Pie was even better! I wish that I would have seen some of those orders of onion rings that the wait staff was delivering BEFORE I ordered! They looked really good! (Next time!) Dukey33 (David) wandered in after having ridden in from CLear Lake (South of Houston) that morning. He joined us at the table. Stories and lies were swapped amongst new friends and old friends...a good time.

We went outside, spent some time looking at bikes and kicking tires. We were glad to see (more importantly FEEL) that it had warmed up while we were inside. We geared up and headed out - not directly home. Time for a small side trip. The temp had risen to a balmy 56 degrees or so. With the wind to our backs, we felt much warmer, and fuel mileage was improved...

We fueled at Burnet again, continued South to Lampasas (sp?). We made a right turn onto Hwy 29 towards Llano. Souht on 16 at Llano. We rode the Willow City Loop. I'd read about this little gem for years, and had just never ridden it. We had a good time! Rode FM1323 back to Johnson City and fueled again (It was late in the day, and I figured a little "insurance topping off" wouldn't hurt!). Back down to 281, West on 290, South on RR12 back to Wimberley. Back in the barn at 5:30 just before nighfall. 11 Hours, 420 to 450 miles or so. It was a good ride. It was great to see all of the TWT folks.
I too want to thank Chuck for his hardwork! See you folks in New Ulm!

Craig aka equipment junkie

 

[Graubart]

What is it about Glen Rose that draws that type of crowd?

One word...... Graubart

 

[Squeaky]

On one of our (many) get-fuel-and-defrost stops on our way to Hico I snapped this of me in the window

And one of my companion for the day, Bryan (SparkyPhotog)

The hack job I managed to throw together so I'd have GPS power and a heated jacket liner for the weekend

Once I got to Hico I did some greeting, hugged Papa Chuck, and ate a wonderful lunch - but apparently I didn't take the camera out of my tank bag

After lunch, Jamey and I were 2-up on the FZ as we joined the coneheads (Steve and Wendy) and their group for a ride around some local roads that would have us back in Hico before too long.

Notice the straight-riding-lean

Then we did some of this

I didn't have enough luggage space to pack a pair of riding pants for him, so Jamey decided he was too cold in only jeans. We had to split from the group and headed back, taking the same curvy roads

We found a room in Glen Rose and drove around the quaint little town, finally settling on Anderson's Restaurant for a late dinner.

Dinner was delicious, but all I remembered to take a picture of was the salad

The waitress was kind enough to snap a pic for us

We walked around the square for a few minutes, but the cold finally got to be too much and we headed back to the hotel.

But we made sure to take some pie to go for dessert

 

[piglet]

OK, I met with an intrepid bunch at the now closed Minyards about 8:00 AM. Sean (Xdriver) was already there and staked out a spot by the building to block the wind. Others started showing up.

Before I knew it - I was surrounded by Hondas!
The Bedford crew was all red Hondas - 2 Nighthawks and an ST1300...

Finally, Steve and Wendy arrived with a Beemer.

Wind? What wind?

With gear on - it's hard to figure out who is who (from L to R, maybe):
Dan (DFW Dano)
Wendy (wendy and steve)
Kelly? (Skull of Energy)
Collin (Goonrider)
Jim (forgot screen name)
Steve? (Beemer Steve)
Sean? (Xdriver)

Total of 7 bikes and 8 riders.

Jim loaned Collin some winter gloves since Collin had misplaced his (at home). I think they were a lifesaver myself.

This photo was taken in the afternoon but we dealt with this all day (check the flag):

We lumbered toward Hico, making a stop in Cleburne for folks to warm up. The wind battered us even when we had tree cover on both sides.

We actually made it about 10 minutes early!

Some scattered parking lot photos:

Yeeha Stephen's group from north DFW:

Other arrivals:

including Scott (M38A1) with the Austin bunch:

That's Gabe (JKDGabe a Hico local) and his two brothers (not so local). One of the brothers was interested in looking at bikes.

The Austin crew rolls in:

Bill (Graubart - just up the road in Glen Rose) poses in front of the sign:

Scott and Gabe's bunch discuss Scott's bike and camping gear:

3 East Texas riders motoring in - Mark (MCRyder) followed by Jessica (Ninjette) and Bill (pub610)

Jessica's distinctive pink jacket:

Pretty good turnout:

The 3 ET riders again

Mark's brand new Bandit:

Bill (Blueburg) from San Antonio saved the scooter rider's face - we usually have a couple of other scooter riders:

There were a couple of Kawasaki Voyager riders, too:

Kickin' the tires - Eileen (Pooh Bear) provided a test ride for Joanne (Desertgirl). TrashySquid provides support.

Lots of plotting and discussing

Leads to sitting on it one more time...

D-girl rode the little GS and Tammy's Wee-Strom and maybe another bike. Be interesting to see what she goes for.

Inside was food and pie. Two San Antonio riders:

This smiley gal took care of Bill (Graubart) and me. She has been there as long as I can remember (since January 05). My notes have her name as Yesy. It's always good to see the same familiar faces here.

The story of the day was James (jar675) driving from Eunice, New Mexico and meeting Rebecca (Squeaky) who rode up with Brian (sparkyphotog) from Houston. They stayed in the area that night and went their opposite directions on Sunday.

I saw a bunch of FM roads on the way down so I kinda retraced my steps solo on the way back since I didn't want to subject anyone else to all my stops. Saw Bill (Graubart) returning from Starbucks on 144 and Steve and Wendy at the motosports dealership in Granbury.

Going E/NE on the way home was brutal. The wind was stronger and gustier than in the morning.

I did however ride FM917 end-to-end and most of it is in very good shape. The section between I35W and FM2280 still needs work but it is livable.

One the way home, I found where I want to go live:

Great to see everyone who braved the cold and wind.

I guess I won't go by myself anymore, not one mention of solo Gold Wing riders.

 

[Gilk51]

I guess I won't go by myself anymore, not one mention of solo Gold Wing riders.

Solo Ft. Worth riders were mentioned...
(see post #10)

 

[piglet]

I stand corrected,and severely chastised O Great Leader.

 

[Gilk51]

I stand corrected,and severely chastised O Great Leader.

Don't let it happen again!

-------

Did anyone in the SW Arlington group see the roadrunner zip right in front of me just after we turned onto FM200?

Those are cool birds. Fortunately, there wasn't a coyote following him...

 

[Deleted member 10404]

I really enjoyed meeting every one and was just floored by how nice ya'll are and in letting me try out your bikes.
I've narrowed my decision making down to either BMW R1200R (preferred), R1150R or Suzuki Vstrom.
I'm actively looking, so if anyone wants to make a deal with me let me know!
Thanks again and see you on another run, hopefully I'll be on 2 wheels instead of 4.

 

[wbrisett]

I've narrowed my decision making down to either BMW R1200R (preferred), R1150R or Suzuki Vstrom.

You might talk to this individual. Don't know anything about this bike, but I'm sure the folks at LS can give you some insight since they've done the service on it.

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/1048497567.html

There is also one or two on the R1150R board, but you would have to do some traveling or have them shipped.

Wayne

 

[Hemibee]

[edit]On a somewhat related note. When I did the original order for the generic TWT shirts that I have, many people said, "Do some color OTHER than black! Too many biker shirts are black!" So I ordered extras of the tan shirts. Guess which color has been more popular and which color I have lots of extras of...

I like my black shirt plus my tan one.

 

[aharbi]

If corn oil is made from corn... what is baby oil made of

An interesting market study is one in which Gerber baby foods started to market in Africa. If you buy a can of peas or corn or beans what is pictured on the label? What picture is on Gerber baby food? Took them awhile to figure out why it wasn't selling.

 

[Deleted member 10404]

You might talk to this individual. Don't know anything about this bike, but I'm sure the folks at LS can give you some insight since they've done the service on it.

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/1048497567.html

There is also one or two on the R1150R board, but you would have to do some traveling or have them shipped.

Wayne

Thanks for the info, Wayne. I'll give it a shot.

 

[Pooh Bear]

Finally uploaded my pictures. I really need that photography class. I've got no eye beyond what I see.

Nobody pities you Mr. Heated Grips and Butt!

Can you say weight loss?

The brave San Antonio TWT'ers!

Musicman, Retrorider, Trashysquid, Blueberg, and Pooh Bear

Other pictures may be seen at photobucket http://s410.photobucket.com/albums/pp186/ninja500eh/Hico February 2009/, guest password f650gs

 

[MusicMan]

Man, is that ever a good looking group of humanity! San Antonio really knows how to grow'em!