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connick
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As we've done for the past two years, Vic and I took off on a three-day trip down south to spend the weekend riding around Hill Country. She was in Austin for school the entire week prior, so she took her gear with her, and got picked up on the way to our lodging in Leakey. I invited others along on this trip this time as well, but only got one taker, one of my riding buddies named Benny. It was his birthday on Friday as well (mine was on Monday), so he was able to use that as an excuse to sneak out and get some riding in.
This is Benny. He's a Ninja guy through-and-through, going from a 250 to a 500 to a ZZR600 to a 636, and now on a ZX6RR.
The wifey Victoria, who most of you probably recognize from my previous ride reports... she just got her MC license a few weeks ago and has been put-putting around on a Ninja 250, but she's not quite ready for a 1000-mile roadtrip yet, so this one was again spent on the pillion seat.
And, me. (Reflection on a Vincent touring bike at the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum)
I had the VFR all ready to roll for this trip... fresh oil, clean chain, new shoes...
And then, voila, blown stator a few days before we were supposed to leave. No way to get parts in time to support our trip. Renting a touring bike for the weekend was a $$$ proposition, and while a few of my friends offered me their rides, Vic said she would flat out refuse to go along if I showed up in Austin on a race replica. So, that left the final option... baby Ninja to the rescue!
Note the monsterous tankbag. I don't have mount for the Givi topbox for the 250, and the canvas sidebags I have didn't work either. The Sargent super-bag is really a **** to use, but it does have that one advantage of being big enough to haul two people's stuff for a three-day trip.
Day 1 - Friday, August 14
Fort Worth - Austin - Leakey (456 mi)
So, dark and early Friday morning, I met up with Benny in Benbrook and we began making our way south.
Weather was nice and cool as we headed down 377 with the sun rising behind us. We were on the road for maybe 20 minutes, just approaching Cresson, when I began to feel stuff hitting me. Drizzle. ***. We pulled up to the traffic light in Cresson and it started pouring. Arrrghhh! I was not prepared for this; I didn't even have my phone in a plastic bag. Quickly pull off into a gas station next to the racetrack to regroup. A glance at my phone's weather radar showed that it was just a small cell, should be gone in 15 minutes, so we decided to have a snack and wait it out.
Breakfast of champions.
We got back on the road once the rain quit, and then promptly ran into another shower in Granbury. Got a nice soak and actually got pretty chilly (and here I was worried about it being too hot), but the rain didn't last long. The roads were dry by the time we got down to the fun bit of 51 (which is freshly redone! Wheeeee!), and I was dried out by the time we made it to Cranfill's Gap.
We started looking for food in Gatesville, but couldn't find anything, and none of the people we asked had anything to recommend. So, on to Copperas Cove, where the same scenario repeated itself. Why can't we find any food? This will be a theme throughout the entire trip.
Finally, I hear a honk next to me, and look over to see Benny pointing to a giant sign reading "PANCAKES". Sweet.
A few more miles of backroads brought us to Burnet, where some old military hardware parked along the side of the road caught my eye.
Then down to Marble Falls and across 1431 to Austin to pick up Vic. I-35 through Austin sucks, even at 1 in the afternoon. However, we eventually made it to the campus, met up with Vic, did a bit of luggage consolidation, and got back on the road. Now that I've got a passenger, she can take pics while riding!
And while filling up. **** monstrous tankbag in the way.
Rolling down the road... the 250 actually handled the load of myself, Vic, and the tankbag pretty well. I was able to maintain 80-85 mph indicated cruising speeds pretty easily. the problem came when we either had to go uphill, into the wind, or, worst of all, both at the same time. There was one section I remember riding along in a full tuck, Vic down behind me, screaming along at full throttle at the top of 4th gear doing about 12000 rpm... and slowing down. I see Benny rolling along behind us, upright with one hand on his hip, laughing at us. 25mph headwinds suck.
Lunch at a little restaurant in Blanco. Eh... not too highly recommended.
Blanco county courthouse
One with me in it.
The monstrous tankbag does OK as long as the bike is fairly upright. Don't park it on an incline or you'll have an automatic turn signal / horn activation device. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
Back on the road.
Hair!
Looks almost like he's doing a stoppie.
It was somewhere right around here--in the middle of freakin' nowhere--that I felt the tankbag starting to slough to one side again.
I tried to straighten it out, but it was just flopping around like there was nothing holding it in place. Turns out, that was the case. The zipper connecting the base to the magnets that hold the aft end in place had completely let go.
Luckily, Benny had some elastic straps hidden away under his seat, and Vic was able to rig up a system to keep the bag tied down. Wait, aren't I supposed to be the engineer?
We crossed under I-10 and continued west, with visions of apple pie enticing us on. We finally pulled up in front of the apple store in Medina, hot, tired, and ready for some pie and ice cream. It was 5:10. They closed at 5. The theme continues.
Still nice to catch a break and have a stretch in the shade.
Finally, up and over 337 to Leakey. **** that's a fun road! The first time I was down here, I'd been riding for maybe a year and half, and wasn't completely comfortable with the super tight-and-windy stuff yet. Last year, miles of 337 were torn up and covered with gravel, which did alot to detract from the fun I had in the good bits. This year, though, everything was just right. The 250 really shined through the twisties, with it's light weight making it just a blast to ride. It was great to come tearing out of a corner at full throttle, grab and upshift or two, quick squeeze of the brakes, downshift, off the seat, into the next corner with Vic leaning off right behind me. What a blast.
We pulled into Leakey and checked into our room at the D'Rose, which has become our preferred lodging when we're down in this area.
It was still pretty warm, so we changed into swimsuits and hit up the pool for a while. Then back to the room to shower and change, and off to find some dinner. We're walking up to the place next-door to the D'Rose, called the Feed Lot. It's 8:45, sign on the door says they close at 9. Hrm, cutting it a bit close, but we made it. We walk in and the lady behind the corner takes one look at us... "We're closed!" Um, but you don't close till 9. "It's 9. We're closed." Well, jeez, OK, where else can we try? She points us down to the intersection in the middle of town, where there are two other places, The Lodge and Mama Choles. We walk down there. They both also close at 9. It now actually is 9. The door to Mama Choles is unlocked, so we walk in. The wonderful lady behind the counter says they were just closing up the kitchen, but they can accommodate us if we order something quick, tacos or enchiladas. We make it easy on them, 3 enchilada plates. Ah, food sweet food. We wolfed down our dinner and got out of there so they could finish closing up. They will be getting more of my business next time I'm down there... the Feed Lot will not.
This is Benny. He's a Ninja guy through-and-through, going from a 250 to a 500 to a ZZR600 to a 636, and now on a ZX6RR.
The wifey Victoria, who most of you probably recognize from my previous ride reports... she just got her MC license a few weeks ago and has been put-putting around on a Ninja 250, but she's not quite ready for a 1000-mile roadtrip yet, so this one was again spent on the pillion seat.
And, me. (Reflection on a Vincent touring bike at the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum)
I had the VFR all ready to roll for this trip... fresh oil, clean chain, new shoes...
And then, voila, blown stator a few days before we were supposed to leave. No way to get parts in time to support our trip. Renting a touring bike for the weekend was a $$$ proposition, and while a few of my friends offered me their rides, Vic said she would flat out refuse to go along if I showed up in Austin on a race replica. So, that left the final option... baby Ninja to the rescue!
Note the monsterous tankbag. I don't have mount for the Givi topbox for the 250, and the canvas sidebags I have didn't work either. The Sargent super-bag is really a **** to use, but it does have that one advantage of being big enough to haul two people's stuff for a three-day trip.
Day 1 - Friday, August 14
Fort Worth - Austin - Leakey (456 mi)
So, dark and early Friday morning, I met up with Benny in Benbrook and we began making our way south.
Weather was nice and cool as we headed down 377 with the sun rising behind us. We were on the road for maybe 20 minutes, just approaching Cresson, when I began to feel stuff hitting me. Drizzle. ***. We pulled up to the traffic light in Cresson and it started pouring. Arrrghhh! I was not prepared for this; I didn't even have my phone in a plastic bag. Quickly pull off into a gas station next to the racetrack to regroup. A glance at my phone's weather radar showed that it was just a small cell, should be gone in 15 minutes, so we decided to have a snack and wait it out.
Breakfast of champions.
We got back on the road once the rain quit, and then promptly ran into another shower in Granbury. Got a nice soak and actually got pretty chilly (and here I was worried about it being too hot), but the rain didn't last long. The roads were dry by the time we got down to the fun bit of 51 (which is freshly redone! Wheeeee!), and I was dried out by the time we made it to Cranfill's Gap.
We started looking for food in Gatesville, but couldn't find anything, and none of the people we asked had anything to recommend. So, on to Copperas Cove, where the same scenario repeated itself. Why can't we find any food? This will be a theme throughout the entire trip.
Finally, I hear a honk next to me, and look over to see Benny pointing to a giant sign reading "PANCAKES". Sweet.
A few more miles of backroads brought us to Burnet, where some old military hardware parked along the side of the road caught my eye.
Then down to Marble Falls and across 1431 to Austin to pick up Vic. I-35 through Austin sucks, even at 1 in the afternoon. However, we eventually made it to the campus, met up with Vic, did a bit of luggage consolidation, and got back on the road. Now that I've got a passenger, she can take pics while riding!
And while filling up. **** monstrous tankbag in the way.
Rolling down the road... the 250 actually handled the load of myself, Vic, and the tankbag pretty well. I was able to maintain 80-85 mph indicated cruising speeds pretty easily. the problem came when we either had to go uphill, into the wind, or, worst of all, both at the same time. There was one section I remember riding along in a full tuck, Vic down behind me, screaming along at full throttle at the top of 4th gear doing about 12000 rpm... and slowing down. I see Benny rolling along behind us, upright with one hand on his hip, laughing at us. 25mph headwinds suck.
Lunch at a little restaurant in Blanco. Eh... not too highly recommended.
Blanco county courthouse
One with me in it.
The monstrous tankbag does OK as long as the bike is fairly upright. Don't park it on an incline or you'll have an automatic turn signal / horn activation device. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
Back on the road.
Hair!
Looks almost like he's doing a stoppie.
It was somewhere right around here--in the middle of freakin' nowhere--that I felt the tankbag starting to slough to one side again.
I tried to straighten it out, but it was just flopping around like there was nothing holding it in place. Turns out, that was the case. The zipper connecting the base to the magnets that hold the aft end in place had completely let go.
Luckily, Benny had some elastic straps hidden away under his seat, and Vic was able to rig up a system to keep the bag tied down. Wait, aren't I supposed to be the engineer?
We crossed under I-10 and continued west, with visions of apple pie enticing us on. We finally pulled up in front of the apple store in Medina, hot, tired, and ready for some pie and ice cream. It was 5:10. They closed at 5. The theme continues.
Still nice to catch a break and have a stretch in the shade.
Finally, up and over 337 to Leakey. **** that's a fun road! The first time I was down here, I'd been riding for maybe a year and half, and wasn't completely comfortable with the super tight-and-windy stuff yet. Last year, miles of 337 were torn up and covered with gravel, which did alot to detract from the fun I had in the good bits. This year, though, everything was just right. The 250 really shined through the twisties, with it's light weight making it just a blast to ride. It was great to come tearing out of a corner at full throttle, grab and upshift or two, quick squeeze of the brakes, downshift, off the seat, into the next corner with Vic leaning off right behind me. What a blast.
We pulled into Leakey and checked into our room at the D'Rose, which has become our preferred lodging when we're down in this area.
It was still pretty warm, so we changed into swimsuits and hit up the pool for a while. Then back to the room to shower and change, and off to find some dinner. We're walking up to the place next-door to the D'Rose, called the Feed Lot. It's 8:45, sign on the door says they close at 9. Hrm, cutting it a bit close, but we made it. We walk in and the lady behind the corner takes one look at us... "We're closed!" Um, but you don't close till 9. "It's 9. We're closed." Well, jeez, OK, where else can we try? She points us down to the intersection in the middle of town, where there are two other places, The Lodge and Mama Choles. We walk down there. They both also close at 9. It now actually is 9. The door to Mama Choles is unlocked, so we walk in. The wonderful lady behind the counter says they were just closing up the kitchen, but they can accommodate us if we order something quick, tacos or enchiladas. We make it easy on them, 3 enchilada plates. Ah, food sweet food. We wolfed down our dinner and got out of there so they could finish closing up. They will be getting more of my business next time I'm down there... the Feed Lot will not.
