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The Texas Hill Country Rocks


David

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Wow, did we ever have fun today! I left on a long trip Thursday. Got as far as Little Rock late that night. Worked, then rode to Dallas, arriving late Friday night. Worked Saturday until 3p, and was met by Rojen at my hotel. He was early, helped me load, and cleaned my windshield without asking. I could get used to this service.

 

We road about 225 miles south to Austin, arriving around 7p. The "event" was held at Polo's house, co-hosted by his wife Karla. We walked in the house and felt spoiled all evening. They made some incredible--and I mean incredible--food. Topped off with wine, margaritas, tequila, good cigars, and a bunch of smart-a$$ comments (which I refrained from, obviously). Here's a picture of our hosts, Polo and Karla (what's he doing with that one hand?):

 

polokarla.jpg

 

Here's Rojen, my guide to Austin (on the left), as well as Greg (Limecreek).

 

rojenlimecreek.jpg

 

Steve Slisz and Miss Vickie joined us, too, that night and for breakfast! What a treat:

 

stevevickie.jpg

 

And here's Gustavo (GJBike) and his partner, Patsy:

 

gustavopatsy.jpg

 

Steve McKinley came to the rescue and helped cook. Here he is, along with Tulili, his wife:

 

stevetulili.jpg

 

I hit the sack first, around 10:30. I was exhausted and my eyes were red from the nasty Texas air pollution that's been making the rounds.

 

We got up early and headed out at 7:30 (Polo, Rojen, and myself). We met Steve (on his GS Adventure) and Limecreek about an hour later. Then were scheduled to meet GJ Bike on his K12RS.

 

I'll let the guys pick up the story from here. I think they got some good pictures of the awful rain storm we hit, which kept GJ from riding. We got soaked all day, so he made a good decision in taking his Suburban, instead. Pictures and explanation, guys? Or GJ?

 

We did 255 miles, heading vaguely westward, before I peeled off and continued on my journey to Phoenix. Rojen headed north to Fort Worth. Everybody else headed home.

 

What great roads in the Texas Hill Country--and that Steve fellow can ride that Adventure pretty darn good. I really want to come back without all that 12 days worth of travelling crap on the back of my RT--there was too much touching down. I'd heard about how good the riding was, and it's quite true.

 

Rojen, thanks for riding with me down to Austin. Steve, thanks for leading the ride. It was fun chasing you and watching sparks from your boot, believe it or not. Polo/Karla, you are amazing hosts. I owe you a bunch. Can't wait for our Mexico ride. GJ--thanks for all the tips on trailering BMWs and for braving the nasty sun in your Suburban!

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Yeeha! Stephen

Turned in 1108 mi. for the weekend visit with the "Pie Town Crew" and David's Texas leg of the trip. Good food, Good people, Good fun!

 

Now... Do I have to tell... that... that... that I was in my car????!!

 

Did come back with a Winter's supply of Texas Hill Country Wine though!

 

 

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You are very kind, David. I expected, and deserved, some serious ribbing for bailing out of the ride. As some of you know I was in a very serious high speed get off 2 years ago in that very same area. My family gave me grief for choosing to ride again faulting me for not considering the welfare of my 2 small children for whom I am a single parent. My bargain was that I would ride agian but I would always wear complete protective gear and avoid riding in dangerous situations. When I woke up on Sunday it was pouring down hard at my home in San Antonio ( 90 miles south of Austin). The weather channel radar showed the line of storms all the way up to mid Texas. I opted to take the Suburban for our shceduled breakfast only to find the rain cleared about 25 miles out of town. Too late to turn around and I kicked myself the rest of the day thinking of the great ride I missed. OTOH, it was my great pleasure to meet everyone. Polo and Karla were gracious hosts, who put together a great dinner with only 2 hours notice that their hired chef was a no show! I look forward to riding with the Pie-Town group soon so I can be redeemed of my " wuss" status. laugh.gif

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You are very kind, David. I expected, and deserved, some serious ribbing for bailing out of the ride.color=blue>

 

Well, of course it was a little too good to pass up. But we did get a free breakfast out of it (thanks for buying ALL our breakfasts), and we got to meet your amazing kids. Your boy is going to run the world some day. And I'll be that he'd agree if you asked him!

 

Incidentally, we didn't hit any rain after breakfast. The temperatures were great.

 

I forgot to mention that Steve tried to rub in the fact that he had a GSA at every stop. He'd dive down into a ditch, run through mud, whatever. I was just waiting for him to ask us to pull him out!

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A great time was had by all, it was good to meet David and Gustavo and put faces to names. I am sorry that Gustavo didn't get to ride as he is a very interesting and funny guy, another chacter from this great *. I think the real reason he didn't ride because at dinner he was he under the influence of some great tequllia and he promised every one there that they could ride his KRS the next day, and when he woke up I am sure he was glad that is was raining and so was I cause I got to meet his two children. His two kids are truly remarkable and handle aduts very well, David I think you are right, Miguel is going to be the next President of the US.

The ride was great as the rain held off and allowed us to agressively ride the "3 series" of roads. We had some good fun, scraping and hauling ass, and that David was hauling the mail even though that RT was loaded down like a pack mule.

It was good to ride with my RT buddies Ron, Polo and my new friend Greg (Lime Creek) They don't care what I ride as long as I get out and ride with them. The Pie Town Crew is alive and well !

 

Thanks to all again....... yer GSA buddy,

Steve

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In reply to:

Polo and Karla (what's he doing with that one hand?): color=blue>


I was doing nothing! (yet...) wink.gif I couldn't get enough of Karla, she came to the rescue like a bonafide trooper, backing me up all the way in welcoming my riding buddies.

 

Steve McKinley jumped in to help save the evening:

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/polo_zapiain/vwp?.dir=/Recourses+Visit&.dnm=P1010079.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

 

A friend will help you move, a true friend will help you move a body, a .h.e.l.l. of a friend will put on an appron to help you cook. smile.gif

 

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/polo_zapiain/vwp?.dir=/Recourses+Visit&.dnm=P1010083.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

 

David feeling almost human after a refreshing shower.

 

Loved having you over David. Now that you know the way, maybe you can find your way over more often. There are still a lot of roads we can show you; you rode some of the better ones but Texas is a big state.

 

I hope you enjoyed the weather we ordered for you, we thought that keeping it under 85 degrees will add to your enjoyment. It was a shame that you had to ride thru those God awful aledged rainstormscolor=red> that Gustavo (GJBike) warned us about. laugh.giflaugh.gif

 

Here's Yeehaa Steve (sslizt) pondering how he could word things to make it seem like Limecreek's bike was his, and hide the fact that he was driving instead. You can see Gustavo in the background describing the downpourcolor=red> he'd just driven from and giving us the warning of the delugecolor=red> coming our way.

 

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/polo_zapiain/vwp?.dir=/Recourses+Visit&.dnm=P1010092.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

 

Well... it looks just like mine...

 

I stepped back a little to include Steve's (swmckinley} bike QUE FEAcolor=green>. As you can see Gustavo is ominously pointing a finger at the camera warning us about the impending torrential rainscolor=red>

 

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/polo_zapiain/vwp?.dir=/Recourses+Visit&.dnm=P1010093.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

 

Thou shall get wet...

 

Here's Gustavo (GJBike) telling about his predicament navigatingcolor=red> his Suburban from San Antonio to meet us. His son Miguel seems to be reflecting on the odissey.

 

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/polo_zapiain/vwp?.dir=/Recourses+Visit&.dnm=P1010094.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

 

After this I may consider joining the Navy...

 

Well, against Gustavo's (GJBike) advise, we decided that since we were already all th eway here, we should just continue ridng. After all, we ride RT'scolor=blue>, not K'scolor=red>, and RTcolor=blue> riders do no mind getting a little wet. So here's a picture of us after waddigcolor=red> our way to Camp Wood. A nice fellow riding a Vulcan, took the picture. Luck for us that he and his wife had stopped for a while to apply SUN BLOCKcolor=red>.

 

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/polo_zapiain/vwp?.dir=/Recourses+Visit&.dnm=P1010097.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

In the midst of a downpour...

 

Lucky for me I brought along my kangaroo hat, which is water proof. Poor David had to endure getting wet... laugh.gif

 

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/polo_zapiain/vwp?.dir=/Recourses+Visit&.dnm=P1010096.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

 

Yours trully and El Grande Queso (lowsy Spanish grammar, but a nice guy).

 

The Pie-Town Beeemer gals (3 of 4)

a>

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David, thanks for popping this up. Was 55 heading North worthy of pursuing for curves?

 

After you peeled off Steve talked me into "Lunch at Llano", which was still on the way home for us both. We got to Llano at 3:30 pm. Cooper's BBQ is fairly famous in these parts. I did Llano to NW Ft Worth in 4 hrs mostly backroads. A new llano speed record for me.

 

Polo and Karla let me add my thanks for the very wonderful evening and for putting me up. To go from sans cook to a 5 star event in two hours was amazing. I look forward to your visit in a few weeks.

 

There was a lot of cutting up going on the whole time. It was a good thing we had a professional moderator/proprietor along. This includes the dinner and the ride the next day.

 

Gustavo, your stories and music definitely added to the event. It was a pleasure meeting you. I had heard of your reputation riding I am sorry we did not get to see it first hand. And, yes you can expect a little tarnish on it from the local pie town crew in the form of ribbing for some time.

 

Greg, I've read your posts and with a handle like limecreek you were someone I wanted to meet and ride with. It was a pleasure to meet another kindred spirit. I hope we do future rides soon.

 

Stephen, I could almost smell the need to ride on you. Thanks for the company again. Funny how you are almost the closest board member to me and we rarely meet near home.

 

Steve as always it as a pleasure going on a ride you led. You really do know those back roads. Well, except maybe which way to turn on 41 to reach 377 tongue.gif Yeah I know you usually cut over to 336 / 39 / Kerrville from there.

 

I woke up this morning Jenny was reading this post and said 'Let's go get breakfast somewhere.' We did a nice 100+ mile breakfast ride - I am so blessed!

 

It was a great ride, great weekend.

 

 

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David, thank you for giving us a great excuse to get out and ride Sunday. The Hill Country does look a little bit like the coastal areas of northern California, sans the manzanita bushes. I thought the same thing when I moved here 2 years ago.

 

Polo you and Karla were the perfect hosts Saturday night. Thank you for inviting us into your home and spoiling us with great food and hospitality.

 

The ride Sunday was a blast and company was even better. So how do you guys crack jokes on the radio while dragging pegs in the corners? My favorite part was the 3’s, yes I took it a little slower than the pace at the front, but had just as much fun. It was the first time I dragged pegs on both sides in the same set of sweepers, a very sweet experience indeed.

 

Gustavo, it was a pleasure to meet you for the first time. You have a great looking family and I look forward to you joining us on our next outing.

 

Ron, glad you made it home safely. You looked pretty tired at Coopers, so I guess you got your second wind. Come back down soon, and you can bunk at my house.

 

Stephen it was good to meet you again. You had that I gotta ride look on your face in Bandera.

 

And Mr. McKinley, thank you for leading our ride and providing the historical commentary as we passed the landmarks, rivers and ranches. You will always be the guy that turned me on to Coopers cobbler. Awesome stuff.

 

Hope to see all of you soon. It was just a blast.

 

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Yeeha! Stephen

MORE PHOTOS!

 

http://photos.yahoo.com/sslisz

 

Click the "Recourses" File.

 

I ran by the One Hour Photo store today and put my shots on a disk so I could share my JEALOUSY ! with yooz guys. All the way home Sunday I said: "It's not Raining, I'll bet it doesn't rain, I'll bet they're having a great time, I'll bet they don't even miss me, I'll bet..."

 

I also took some shots around Fredericksburg, where we picked up Hill Country Wine. There's 2 more shots on the second page of photos. They are of Guadalue State Park where Ms Vicki and I went Friday to raft in the cool water.

 

The trees around the park along the Guadalupe River have an East Coast Tilt to them. The results of the flooding from 2 Tropical Storms within a year in South Texas.

 

Hope you like my "Non-Riding" pictures!

 

ps. Many of these old buildings and log cabins are now places to stay----Bed & Breakfast accomodations for anywhere from $85 to $200 a night with most hovering around the $100-125 mark. FYI

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OK, I had it comming. Just so you know I felt so bad today about missing the ride I was going to go to the Tower of the Americas and jump off-but wouldn't you know it was raining again! [LAUGH]

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Well, I got to Ft. Stockton, TX, after leaving you all. Interstate 10 is totally deserted for hundreds of miles. I locked the throttle at 100-105, monitored V-1 and CB, and never saw a thing.

 

This morning I was going to get up and head to Lordsville, NM, thinking I'd split the trip since I didn't have to be to Phoenix until tomorrow night.

 

Turns out Lordsville is a dump. So I went on to town after town after town on my way to Phoenix, still feeling pretty good. Just pulled in after 720 miles in 12 hours, and still feel good (except for the 106 degree heat I rode through). Plus I have an extra day here!

 

Thanks for the pictures, guys. I sure enjoyed it. I get to ride with the Arizona folks a couple times here.

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In reply to:

Cooper's BBQ is fairly famous in these parts.


 

I've actually eaten at Coopers several times! Yummy! Guess Dubya has eaten there too, from the pic and sig on the wall. So no matter what your political opinion of him is (I happen to like him), the boy knows good BBQ!

 

Sounds like you all had a blast! My in-laws have a cabin on Lake Buchannan...we get back there as often as we can - very relaxing. Too bad we can't figure out how to get the motorcycles AND the SeaDoos out there! Be fun to ride around the hill country one day, then ride around the lake on the Sea Doos the next. Top it all off with some good Coopers bbq and you have yourself a cool trip!

 

BTW, have you guys ever eaten at Big Johns? Sorta near Llano...it's good eats too.

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