Howdy,
With the day free and the weather awesome, I decide to do a DS ride between here and College Station, ending at the hotel for the end of the year Pie Run. A last minute posts garners the eager Squeaky to join me for the ride. Saturday morning arrives followed by an on time Squeaky
We head out about 10:30am and start working our way Westward towards Bedias, a happening small Texas town.
The skies are clear and a good breeze is blowing. Given how dry it has been this month, I am a little concerned about the sand conditions on some of the roads we'll be hitting. Squeaky has no experience in sand and she's only been DS riding once before on her Vstrom 1000
We head out of town on Hwy 30 a few miles before turning North to run the dirt roads that run East/West between FM 1669 and Hwy 30. Surprisingly, the dust is not too bad
Maybe there is none left to blow away...
The nice thing about the roads we're running right now is that they are mostly straight. This lets Squeaky just get used to the feeling of the bke in the loose gravel and dirt. Some of the corners are first gear sharp 90's so she also gets to work on slowing the bike from speed on the dirt. The roads are fairly heavily travelled by the locals and thus they are well maintained by the county. This means no major potholes, ruts, or other nastiness. Squeaky hangs back but never drops back to far. She seems comfy running about 40mph or so. In less than an hour we are sitting at the little gas station in "downtown" Bedias waiting to see if Cagiva549 and HardyBaker are going to hook up with us for some riding.
After about fifteen minutes of waiting, we decide they're not coming and get back on the bikes. We head West out of Bedias a short distance and then get back onto the dirt. We're crusing along at a nice 35-40mph when a Turkey Vulture leaps up out of the brush by the side of the road... right smack dab in front of me!! The road is so narrow there really isn't anywhere to go to try to dodge it. I am hard on the brakes but my mind is making the calculation that unless something major happens in the next split second, we're gonna get real intimate
Those moments between the seconds are interesting. I'm always surprised by the things that pop in my head at times like these. This time I am flashing back to a similar encounter of the foul feathered kind when I was driving a Four Runner. The image of a bucket load of refined road kill gushing towards me from the air leaps to the forefront of my conciousness... This is gonna stink! We're about to meet with him right at the level of my headlights, a nice big FLAT surface for him to impact! At the end of the split second, the vulture manages one more mighty flap of his massive wings. Then we hit.
It's funny how the entire universe just slips away in the moment. The entire focus of my reality is confined to a very small point in time and space, my windscreen. The beautiful day... gone. The nice scenery... gone. The image of my windscreen bending over backwards towards me looms large. The wings fold on impact as the body slides up the windscreen and glances off the top of my ducked down helmet. What is that smell...
I stop and start looking myself over to make sure I am not covered in Vulture Poo... I'm clean... whew! I guess the smell is leftover from whatever it was chowing on when I surprised it. Squeaky pulls up wondering why we've stopped. Apparently she did not see a thing because she was so focused on the road! I backtrack to see if I can find the critter but it is gone. It looks like that extra flap did us both a world of good! Relieved at my good fortune, we get underway again.
Soon we are approaching the Navasota River. The last time I came through here, the road was deep loose sand for about a mile and a half on either side of the river. Getting the GS through was work. As I come rolling down the hill to the low area around the river, I am quite relieved to find the road clear of the loose stuff and hard packed! When we reach the river we stop for a break at the Channey Crossing on Long Trussel Rd. Alas, all there is now is a boring concrete bridge
Squeaky and the Strom
The obligatory GS shot
There is some steel in this bridge, it acts as the form for the concrete. Many of the newer bridges are nothing but concrete (and rebar no doubt).
You can see the remains of the older bridge poking up out of the water below.
It always depresses me to see the amount of garbage both in the water and on the shores around these kinds of crossings. They are apparently popular spots for dumping and hanging out while drinking beer. It would seem the locals around here have a thing for Keystone Light
In the few minutes that we hang out, no less than six or seven cages come blasting through...
After shedding some layers to keep from overheating, we get back underway. Eventually, this route would take us into the East side of College Station, instead we head North skirting along the edge of town until we find a nice little road to cut back to the East over the river again. After a few miles of pavement, we once again slip back into the woods and start kicking up some dust. Soon we arrive at Democrat Crossing. Don't ask, I have no idea why it is called that
Anyway, there is a cool bridge
Democrat Crossing where Sandy Creek meets the Navasota River.
Just beyond the crossing...
Squeaky coming across
Once again, there are the remains of an older bridge underneath this one. This one is just like the construction of the one at Channey Crossing. I would venture a guess that both were built relatively close in time to each other. The half mile or so right after the crossing has four or five smaller crossings over creeks. These are the little bridges you see that are slightly higher that the road surface and have planks running their length. some are good for getting a little air time...
Eventually the dirt road gives way to pavement and becomes FM 1372 and we run it North to North Zulch. Most of this town is hidden behind the trees and sits off the main road. It is like the main road was just done as a bypass to the whole town. There is not much here. In the blink of an eye we pass through town and head West on another dirt road. I'm not sure this road will go through. One GPS map indicates that we should find Bundy Crossing and another shows two roads ending on opposite sides of the river...
After a few miles, the road starts to narrow and the trees close in from the sides. It is looking like this part of the road sees VERY little traffic, seldom a good sign when hoping the road goes through
Sure enough, the narrow section of road winds back into the woods a short way before we find this...
It would seem the river got the best of the road...
Believe it or not... I actually ponder getting the GS through for a few moments and then my sanity comes back to me. I know Squeaky has to be looking at this with a bit of trepidation... "Is he really going to try to get me to do that!!??" Instead, we park the bikes and walk around to get a look at things. The single track left of the "road" is just wide enough to walk on. There is a barbed wire fence on the left. Right at the narrowest point, there is a tree and some short scrub brush sticking out into the path. The roots of the tree protrude out from the side of the bank and dangle over the steep and long drop off. If one of use were to fall here, the risk of serious injury would be pretty high and the chances of recovering the bike exceptionally remote... So we walk.
Looking back...
Just around the bend, we see where the road used to cross the river
Looks like we're backtracking!
It is interesting to note that the poles sticking up out of the water are all broken off at about the same height. Recall the poles sticking up under the new bridges at the Channey and Democrat Crossings? These look just like them so I am wondering if perhaps this bridge was removed and there was no money left in the budget for its' replacement
It is a shame because a crossing here would make for a nice section of a route. As it is, the area around here would be a nice spot to camp and it looks like other people have had the same thought.
I spend a few minutes checking the GPS for an alternate route and then we take off again. We cut back to the North and pick up FM 1452 and head West. This is a nice road with fast sweepers and pretty scenery. I spot another little road on the GPS that looks like it might be interested and cut over to where we want to be. It's another dead end, hehe. So we get back on the FM and then drop out onto OSR, the Old San Antone Rd.. and turn back to the Southwest. Just beyond FM 1940, we stop at a small gas station for "lunch" and a break.
After a nice break, we keep heading Southwest a short bit and then pick up another dirt road that comes out in Wheelock, another tiny little town clinging to existence. We blip through town and hop on FM 391 and run West to Black Jack. Well, that is what the maps says. In reality, there is nothing more than an intersection here. So we head North on FM 2549 so we can skirt around Hearne. FM's 391 and 2549 are nice roads. They both have some good elevation changes and great curves. We cross US 79 and run some more little backroads up to Calvert. As we are passing through town I spot several nice examples of early 1900's housing architecture. It is one of the things I like about seeing the old towns.
We cross Hwy 6 and head West on FM 979. Now we are in open flat farm country. The curves are barely discernable. After crossing the Brazos river on a bridge unworthy of a picture, we turn South on another dirt county road that roughly parallels the river. It is flat and straight so we stretch our legs a wee bit
We come out on FM 485 at Branchville and cut West a short hop to yet another dirt road and continue South. Once again, the road is wide and smooth with nothing but bare farmland on each side, perfect visibility...
In the distance I see smoke rising up from the trees in some hills. The road inexorably makes it way towards that smoke... When we arrive at the Little River, there is a fire on the far bank. A few guys with shovels are down there working on containing it. While we are there, several more trucks arrive with lights and sirens blazing. Two of them are pumper trucks and everyone gets busy! There is a cool bridge here and we decide to head over to check it out. It is closed and next to it stands a bright clean new concrete bridge that still smells like wet concrete
This is a pretty good span!
The new bridge as seen from the old bridge
Looking North across the old bridge
The sandy soil in the area makes for some serious errosion along the banks of the river. The old bridge does not look like it was in danger of having its' ends erode away. The new bridge has a LOT of large rocks dumped on the banks under and around it. I wonder if erosion will be the limiting factor of the new bridge's serviceable lifespan? As we get ready to leave, it seems the firemen have things under control. We drive by Sugarloaf Mountain, a big hill with rocks on top, and there are numerous vultures perched on the rock outcroppings. No doubt they are sniffing the passing breeze for a hint of dinner...
The road heading South away from the bridge is fun, but of the roads we have been on today, it has the worst sand. It is not bad, but there are patches where it is deep and loose that could catch an unwary rider in a moment of lapsed concentration. We hit FM 2095 and turn South to Gause on US 190. We cross the highway and keep heading South on more dirt roads. The sun is starting to get low on the horizon and the shadows are stretching across the roads. I love the soft glow that everything takes on in the early evening sun. Although, with a visor caked in dust, it makes seeing where I am going a bit challenging at times! We cross numerous creeks and finally come out on the edges of Caldwell. We skirt around town and head South to FM 166.
FM 166 is one of the roads that all the Bryan/Colege Station riders come out to ride. It has some really nice curves and for the most part, the pavement is still in pretty good shape. Just outside Tunis we get stuck behind a car. It has several young guys in it. All I can see is their heads barely sticking up over the seats as they seem to prefer the lowrider style of seating... As I follow them into town, they seem to be slightly weaving. In town, there is a sharp 20 mph corner. This guy totally blows it, nearly runs off the road, over corrects and then nearly runs off the other side of the road. Thankfully, no one was coming the other way!! Then he proceeds to just drive away like nothing happened. A minute later when I got the chance, I got around him and got away from him. Squeaky had a bit more of a challenge getting around him as his swerving is so bad she's afraid he might hit her as she tries to pass. She eventually finds a good spot and get's around them.
We are on the far West side of College Station at Hwy 50 and 60. We stop for gas at the Exxon there at the intersection. There are several nice Harleys parked out front with their owners. I wave and they refuse to even acknowledge me despite direct and obvious eye contact
I just don't get it
When they leave, the racket is deafening. I can hear them for several minutes as they rap out there engines between shifts. Yeah... they're cool
With full tanks, we roll on into town and find the hotel where the Pie Run is being held.
We arrive to find most of the people already here. Tim "HiSPL" is busy setting up the video/sound equipment and WCzimmerman and Blazin Momma are setting up everything else. After quick hellos, I head up to my room to clean up. Beth and I come down and find most everyone has arrived. The food shows up right on time and we get busy eating! The food is great! The caterers are well worth their money. Brisket, Sausage, Twice Baked Potatos, Potato Salad, Green Beans, Sauce and DESSERTS!!
While eating, we played the DVD put together by AustinTrophy. It was fantastic!! He really did a top notch job and everyone loved it. It had a great soundtrack, tons of good pics from all the Pie Runs and extra pics and video lifted out of posts on the TWT site. I will be pestering him for copies
The kids watched their shows and played with LEGO's. I have to say, all the kids were exceptionally well behaved all evening. Beth's parents called Thursday wanting to come up and babysit Saturday so we left Sarah at home with them. After the food, we settled in to watch Dust to Glory. I just never get tired of seeing this movie, hehe. Then Squeaky player her powerpoint presentatino with tons of photos taken from various threads on the TWT site. It was great.
We spent a great evening visiting with everyone. After midnight, we popped in Faster. Most of the local folks had gone home by then. About half of the rest went upstairs and straight to bed, hehe. I'm amazed they made it to midnight
Here are the people pics.
Scott "bluedogok" and his wife Naomi
Ron "vfer" & Melissa Owens
Jenn "Blazin Mama" and Cassie?
Blazin Mama's other kiddo, Savannah
Steve "RockmanTx" and his wife (sorry can't recall her name
)
Will "birdwh"
Miss Vicki and Stephen "Yehaa! Stephen"
Steve "CruzinTexas" & Rita "Hurricane Rita"
Tim "HiSPL" and his wife Daniela - Joseph and Grace not shown
Don't know how I managed to do it, but I did not get pics of Snoopster, Rainmaker, Skid, Squeaky, Wczimmerman and Gilk51
Pratt and ZZR-Chuck also showed up for a while before leaving to make other commitments.
The ride home Sunday was nice. I came back solo on some of the same roads we did heading out, just the ones directly between College Station and home. I had not seen Sarah since Friday evening and I missed her, so I wanted to take a fairly direct route home
She was suitably excited to see me as well when I pulled into the driveway
I've attached the GPS file for anyone wanting to see the tracks. Requires MapSource to view.
Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! 
Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to 
after spending 15 hours on the road. It was great to put more names and faces together. Thanks to all involved in making this happen! 
Chris got up several times with her until she vomited 
Very nice job on the slide show & music. 
It's been a while since I rode with you & forgot how fast you can go. I don't think riding 2-up makes any difference.
And he was telling me how slow he was going...