Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Scenes from a motorcycle trip.

Thanks, it is interesting that as a bike rider you (we) pay much more attention while riding (survival requires this)and I believe the pay off is we are less prone to those [surprise's] that inattentive drivers find themselves faced with.
Glad you were ok.
Rick

She dropped her cell phone.

Great thread - I wanna be like Mike.

Easy... in your wardrobe, channel Ulysses S. Grant... before he got famous... Buy an inexpensive motorcycle and ride it 'till the wheels fall off... Spend far too much time on the internet.....

Oh wait, ya already got that last part nailed

Rick... technology marches onward, if you're a Lefty (clutch hand) you can ride AND text while riding, otherwise yer gonna need a throttle lock or cruise control. Given that the younger generation can text by feel without looking, it is only a question of time before we start seeing that.




OK... about a hundred quick miles down I 20 to Tyler... which exit to take to cut across to Waco, like lots of folk must need to do?

We were stymied here by the famously obtuse Texas highway signs, even having problems finding signs for Highway 31. I think Aggies (Texas A&M graduates) are responsible, I'm quite serious, if you've ever ridden or driven through College Station around that famous highway engineering school you'll note the WORST traffic light timing you have ever seen. Must be a sort of mindset that extends to highway signage too, like if you don't know the way already its probably your fault.

Lost a great deal of time getting through Tyler, where the "loop" is probably slower than straight through. But then, outside of town on Highway 31, 80 to 90 miles an hour in spots, running with traffic.

Texas Law Enforcement... a complex entity. Out of staters are often flat amazed at the speeds we take for granted here.

Yet at other places we have speed traps like no other, given that fines can be a major source of revenue for rural townships. Best thing to do is do as the locals do... and never be the guy in front, in case all the locals slow down and you don't notice.

Even with the fast spots, the 130 miles between Tyler and Waco was psychologically the LONGEST part of the trip.... speed-killing towns along the highway every 10-20 miles, and without the saving grace of pretty like around the Smokies or in Northern Georgia.

My brother has little experience with Tropical Storms, but fer me, every minute lost here could be more minutes we might well have to deal with absolutely drenching rainfall later that day. If it got too bad, dropping in unannounced at Tommy�s house in Austin again en-route ( ) was always an option, but then, worse-case scenario, we could be stuck there by the weather for 24-48 hours, and for my brother this conference in San Antonio was a big deal.

Corsicana was the worst; there we came upon the Dallas-to-Houston Interstate 45, of absolutely no use to us, even though we went right under it. Instead, tedious, crawling, stop-and-go Corsicana traffic, right along the main drag, from one edge of town to the next.

I should have remembered, there are no shortcuts in the Eastern half of Texas (West Texas is different, there ain't no towns ). 190 miles to Waco via Dallas on the Superslab might have been faster, and less aggravating.

All this time we were looking at the sky off to our left, expecting rain, the sky sure LOOKED like rain. But we lucked out, and mercifully, Highway 31 cut directly to Interstate 35 just north of Waco proper, with only about five stop-and-go traffic lights.

Actually, we palpably weren�t into the tropical weather system yet. When you are within the aegis of a tropical depression, even the far fringes, there�s a steady breeze, stronger at times, but constant, and the whole overcast and rainy sky moves in unison in response to the distant eye. It looks sorta like the special effect in that alien invasion pic Independence Day.

What was unusual here were the clouds and occasional sprinkles. In our experience, outside the edges of a tropical storm the skies are clear and the air oppressively hot. It�s the Chinook effect: All that air that spiraled up into the sky inside the storm (hence the low barometric pressure), dumping all that rainfall as it climbed, has to come down somewhere, and it does, right outside the storm, warming at it falls, the relative humidity also dropping as it warms.

A couple of times we have been absolutely sweltering under sunny skies in San Antonio under such conditions, the clouds of the adjacent system clearly visible moving along the horizon.

Not this time, and after Waco we would be running south-southwest, right towards the system.

Anyhow, we arrived at Interstate 35 at last, and just as we had done 24 hours earlier inside the Mississippi state line, we got onto the interstate without delay and hammered straight away down the fast lane.

Just about 200 miles from my front door. Practically home in Texas terms.

Birdwatcher

Color me paranoid, but that last sentence sounds like the tale of the last 200 miles might be a bit exciting...

this almost sounds like the script from a reality show.

first episode: Tom and Birdwatcher Take On Alaska from South Texas.

second episode: Birdwatcher and Tom go to Costa Rica from Texas.

third episode: Tom and Birdy tour France just behind the Tour de France.

fourth episode: Birdwatcher and T-man in the Ukraine. (my fave!!!)

when you have wit on tap, anything's possible...

-tom

Naah... nothing happenned really. Maybe I should make something up....

OK, so nothing did happen, but perhaps the trip holds some interest, presented here as we experienced it at the time...

....back into the familiar dash down Interstate 35... Waco.... Temple... Round Rock... 80-90 mph at times, 70 at others, depending upon what the traffic was running.

We was all running south like migrating wildebeast on the Discover Channel...

...and the predators were out in force as usual.... pulling over the unlucky and the unwary, one at a time.... red and blue lights flashing.

100 miles to Austin, and stopped for gas at this half-way point, and to call ahead, to check upon the weather...

Cloudy where we were, with occasional showers, in Austin the first telltale signs of that steady breeze.

Not living on a floodplain, I actually love being out in tropical depression rainfall, its like taking a shower, not cold enough to be cold, you could lather up and wash in it. Plus these things hit like rare treats in our hot season, a welcome break from far too many days of too hot and too sunny. Fer me anyhow, but like I said I don't get flooded.

My wife said it had just rained heavy where she was, and a guy coming northbound at the gas station asked if we were going to San Antonio. "Good luck" he said, saying how that there was a major rain band just south of town heading north.

After all this way, we were just ninety minutes from my front door, so we got back on right away and headed out.... along the fast lane with fast-moving traffic, heavy in places.... Buda (past Cabela's).... San Marcos... New Braunfels... Schertz.... only getting rained on once en route... though there were patches of rain all around.

Coming into town, we could see it was raining heavy downtown so we ran around the Loop, just missing a rain area or two on the way.

Well hey, exactly four o'clock in the afternoon and back safe in my own driveway at last , rain closing in.... both of us not too wet....

..whereupon I learned that my daughter-in-law had a dead battery across town, and my wife and son were both working so could I go and get her? ....plus I had to run my brother downtown....

Hey, back to business as usual without missing a beat...

Anyhow... here's the mileage in that same driveway three weeks earlier....



...and here's another fuzzy pic of the mileage upon our return....





48,616 miles on the odometer upon departure....

53,977 when I got back....


5,361 fast miles on that eighteen-year old KLR (after six years of neglect, never been rebuilt, never even had the carburetor cleaned), and it ran like a Swiss watch.

Turns out I own a great motorcycle....



Birdwatcher

That's truly a major ride and accomplishment.

Dang Bristoe, thanks fer the kind words, but if I knew it was THAT easy to win accolades, I woulda just gone out and rode around the city loop 165 times.

Anyhow, if it helps any, I actually saw a hot chick riding on the back of some guy's Bergmann yesterday.

I hadn't thought that was possible.

(no idea if the guy was actually heterosexual or not)

Birdwatcher

Better watch that!

You too have a Burgman and a rubber donut in your future.

Me?

".....A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.

An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down...... but it is not this day!"



What Aragorn said....

Well, Birdy; That was quite a saga, and I enjoyed it immensely. Ye are braver than I to attempt a ride of that magnatude with a bike that has set for that long. Altho' many years ago, I purchased a BMW R-90/6 that had set for about 10 years and did much the same thing. And it had twice the miles on the clock as yours... But I got it running and rode it for about a month before embarking on the trip... My only issue was a broken clutch cable that I should have replaced before I left... and I knew it, and plain forgot...

I think perhaps a sojourn is in order for me soon...

Given your experience with the KLR, I wonder how it would work in a bike with a Cafe Racer format... Something to ponder on... Always like the big singles...

I hate to admit to being envious of Bristoe... but I have been looking at the Suzuki Burghman my own self... But I want it just for a run-around-town transport... Got the Harley for the long haul... Wish the Suki had a clutch and a manual tranny. There is some technology I don't mind not putting up with...

GH

Well,...it was bound ta happen sooner or later.

Just 'cause ya rode a whisker ratty around the country don't mean that ya gotta start gettin' all poetic on us.

Besides,...alla that stuff ya talkin' 'bout there don't mean diddly when ya bung hole goes south.

yep....that is a true ride to put in the books. I not ashamed to admit that I would not have gone any further than the dealer after I found the missing master link clip. I once had a chain depart the bike due to that link breaking and it took out the case. End of ride, bike went to dealership and lots of money was expended.
Mike this is another wonderful story of your adventure's in life and is once again amazing. Leann and I both miss your company and will sometime in the future change that.
Take care.
The Goss's

Great travelogue, Birdy! Thanks for sharing it with us. And yes, you do have a great bike.

Well hey! Thanks for the positive feedback all

When I got back, I was all wired for a bigger bike, wanting to take the missus somewhere too. Found a Honda 1300 v-twin with bags and windshield for only $5,000, was pumped.

But then, I'm sorta hooked on the simplicity of the KLR, and we used to put in all-day rides two-up on this thing (don't laugh, over much of the world, and back in my youth, the KLR is a big bike..

Here's the bike, one more time....




A problem of length, and space.... note how the saddlebags impinge upon the passenger pegs, and how that backpack bungeed on the back (going into it I figured there was a 50/50 chance I'd be walking home) extends over the end of the seat.

Fear not! Being as the KLR has been around forever... There are aftermarket solutions...

Rear set side racks....



...and an expanded, rearset luggage rack, that matches a hard luggage case if ya want (be nice to have a component that locks)....



Plus, to make use of all that wasted space up front.... a KLR-specific tank bag, front panniers, and in-front-of-the-windshield tool kit....



Turns out you can make a KLR into a regular Gold Wing... Here's the highway pegs....




Hmmm... 2,000 miles to Chiapas, another 600 miles to Costa Rica through Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua... hmmm....

We're a long way from going at this point, but the thought has crossed our minds...


Birdwatcher

You da man!


dave

I have read this thread about 3 times now. BW...you have a superb touch on your keyboards when you run off these stories. Excellent,informative reads.Thanks!

i thought we could go to alaska at some point, before arthritis prohibits it. but that's just me, apparently...

i'm good for the costa rica trip. lemme know when you want me to get a bike and how many chances you think a coupla gringos got of getting through mexico to get to that costa rican paradise on the pacific?

you really wanna do it?

if so, am i invited?

-tom