Here is the route we ran after lunch (se attached GPX file). It really is a fun and nice route, both the paved and unpaved sections. There is just the one short stretch of REALLY deep and LOOSE sand though... Debbie "Snoopster" is on her F800GS (not the DS version of the 800GS), Dave "Ouroboros" is on his 1200GSA and I am on my 1200GS. We are all on street biased dual sport tires...
We head West out of town. It is a nice paved road toward Lake Nacogdoches. Just past the lake, we turn on to a nice dirt road through the woods that cuts over to FM 1911 at a corner of the Angelina River. After crossing US 69, we cut South into the Davy Crockett NF. This is all fantastic dirt until we reach FM 358 East of Pennington. There were some pretty long stretches of sand through the forest, but it wasn't deep or loose. As long as I held a constant 35-40mph, the bike rarely even wiggled even though I was on street tires. We found a really cool old steel trestle bridge with wooden planking. I think it was at the Neches River crossing. The sign said it was limited to 7-1/2 tons. I'm thinking that is a tad optimistic!! There were also numerous little wood platform bridges.
At FM 358 we run over to Pennington and pick up CR 4200 heading toward Lovelady. It has been a while since I last road in this area and I 've forgotten that I've been down this road before. It starts out fairly straight and hard packed. But there are some sections of sand that have some good ruts in them and it gets the bike moving around a bit. Still, so long as I hold the speed constant, it isn't bad at all.
But...
And here is the part I totally forgot about...
There is a spot where there are a series of 90 degree corners, right where CR 4255 intersects CR 4200. The first one is nothing to speak of. I come around it and start accelerating away from it. Maybe a hundred yards later the road drops away into the next 90 corner, which bends left. Here the road is very wide and the shoulders consist of sand piled about 18" high. On the right is what appears to be an old stone school building with numerous chimneys and large plate glass windows. It is collapsing in on itself. When I see it, my memory of this road returns... DEEP SAND
I've been through here previously on both my 1200GS (with TKC 80's mounted) and on my KTM 530. I made it on the GS by staying on the gas and just riding it out. On the 530, it was just a load of fun! Today though... As soon as I realized where we were, I think of Debbie because I had told her we'd turn around if things got "nasty"... She thought a few stretches we had already been through were nasty but she handled them great. Anyway, no sooner than I have that thought, I reflexively roll off the gas just the
tiniest bit, which is enough to cause my front end to start plowing into the sand. I manage to flop around and bring the bike to a stop without dropping it, but I know she sees me and is likely do the same.
It takes a bit of doing, but I am able to get the bike moving again. As I get moving, I catch a quick glimpse of Debbie behind and to the right of me in my peripheral vision just as I enter the corner. Then I lose sight of her because of the trees and brush. I make it through a short straight and the next corner where there is hard ground. I park the bike and look back... No Debbie... But I do see two guys running out from behind the fence by the building and disappearing back around the corner behind the trees and brush. So I head that direction. When I get there, Debbie is laying in the sand by her bike with an unhappy look on her face. The bike is facing the wrong direction. Dave is there checking on her. He had been bringing up the rear on his 1200 GSA.
Dave and I right the bike. She's in pain because her left foot got caught under the bike and her ankle was tweaked. The bike is fine so I ride it on around to where I am parked. Debbie hops on one foot in that direction. Dave helps her on around the corner while I am parking her bike. Then we take a break in the shade to consider our situation.
I am pretty sure that if we press on, there is more of the nasty sand for at least another mile or so. I suggest we backtrack to the highway at Pennington and just ride highways back to Huntsville. Everyone agrees. That just means we have to get Debbie and all the bikes back through these two corners to where the road gets hard again. Then she will have to tough out the short ride back to pavement, which means standing on the pegs to get through the sand between here and there. She is not wild about the idea, but she agrees.
I set out on Debbie's bike and flail my way to the other side. Her seat is REALLY low and the bike just feels kind of funny to me, which makes it hard to just get on the gas and go. I have a few close calls but manage to eventually get it parked in the shade beyond the deep sand. I walk back to let them know I made it and to get my bike. As I am walking back, they come around the corner on Dave's bike two up, squirming all over the place! I motion to Dave where there is a hard track, but he misses it by about 12" and runs into a nasty rut. The front end plows in the deep sand and over they go! Debbie rolls off into the sand as Dave tries to control the drop of the bike. Both are fine. Dave and I lift his HEAVY bike back upright. I steady it while he remounts and then rides over to the shade by Debbie's bike. She manages to walk most of the rest of the way on her own. I trudge back through the sand and heat, in full gear, back to my bike. About this time I am REALLY starting to notice the heat and my pounding heart!!
I get back to my bike, fire it up, and start the process of making a u-turn in deep sand on street tires. Yeah... now my heart is REALLY pounding!! I hit the first corner and get all sideways but manage not to go down. I stop, refocus, and start again. Midway through the next corner the bike starts plowing again. I stop, refocus, and start again. I've been starting in second gear to avoid the need to shift once up and moving. By the time I reach Dave and Debbie, I can smell my clutch just a tiny bit... I park in the shade with them and we take another break so I can wait for my heart to quit pounding.
The ride back to Pennington is not too bad. There is one fairly long straight stretch where the sand is kind of deep. However, so long as I stay in the wheel tracks, it isn't too bad. I run the right side track and before long I hit a few pretty good wiggle spots. This makes me worry that Debbie might hit them as well and potentially go down. I check the mirrors and see her in the left track, which is a better track. She is standing and I never see any wiggles. The dust is pretty heavy though and the next time I check the mirrors, I only see one set of headlights!!
I slow down, thinking I might need to turn around, but then I see another set of headlights slowly emerge from the cloud of dust behind Debbie. What a relief!! Once past that section, it is smooth sailing back to the highway. We pull into a little gas station there on US 287. I am thinking it will be nice to sit inside in the AC with a cold drink.
I park off to the right side of a truck. Dave pulls in on my right. Debbie pulls in between me and the truck. Before I can get my kickstand down, I hear, "Agghhh...!!" I glance left just as Debbie loses her balance and goes over on the concrete in the direction of the truck! She rolls off to the side away from the bike, laying on her back staring up at the sun. The old dude sitting in passenger side of the truck sees everything and is kind of freaked out. It doesn't help that he's WELL into a bottle of "The Recipe"...
I check Debbie and she tells me she's fine. Dave and I get the bike picked up and see that it is fine as well, just a few minor scuffs on the side bags. The old dude keeps hollering at Debbie to come over so he can talk to her, but Dave finally tells him to give it a rest. We head inside to find out that while there is indeed AC, it must be set real high... Inside is marginally cooler than outside. Even the "cold" drinks aren't really all that cold. However, they do have a little restaurant area inside with some tables. So we grab some drinks and sit down. There is also a fan nearby which I switch on and point our direction. Debbie is in good spirits despite being in pain. She gets some Alieve from Dave to help with that.
After a nice break, we get Debbie back on her bike. We run home via the paved roads back to Lovelady and Trinity. Dave peals off when we get to the turn off for my house near Huntsville. I zoom ahead to get to the driveway before Debbie does so I can help her get off her bike when she comes to a stop. It's hard for her to get off the bike when it is her left foot that is hurting. We head inside where the AC is set to COLD and it feels wonderful. She gets set up in the living room while I grab an ice pack and a cold drink for her. Once she gets her boot off, we see that the ankle is already swelling pretty good and there is a decent amount of bruising around the ankle and the top of the foot down to the toes. She spends the next hour or so with the foot propped up while she sends and receives a mess of texts and Facebook updates. Later in the evening we help her get into her car so she can head home. Then Beth heads into town to get her an ace bandage to wrap it and also to pick up one of those wheeled walkers with the bench seat and basket so she can use it to putt around in her home.
She has an appointment with her Doc for 3:45 this afternoon. So we are waiting to hear whether anything is broken or if it is just a nasty sprain.
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) The food was good and the service fast. I did not try any of the desert. Have to watch my svelte figure and all that 
But yeah, through all the other stuff she was rocking along just fine. All she needs now is better boots and maybe some knobbies 
