SouthSide Ride 2/22/09

I havent been on a SMR in a long time. I think it might have been this time last year. A group of us needed to scout out the roads in preparation for an upcoming memorial ride for our brother Darren so I was committed to ride. Heather and I woke up about an hour and a half before we were supposed to leave and checked the weather. The weather channel said we should have highs in the upper 50's and the current temp was 29. 29!? Oh man that sounds painful! I knew a couple of the guys would be riding down from the north part of town and I couldnt let them down. I got up, put on several layers of clothes and went out to the garage to do a preride check on our bikes. Tire pressures are pretty ugly at 29 degrees so I added a few more pounds of air to both. The chains still looked pretty good but the both bikes were on the wear bars on the left side of the front Pilot Powers. I guess we'll be getting some new shoes soon. After a quick breakfast we bundle up in our winter gear and head out to see who else is going to brave the cold to get in some miles today.

We meet a small group of regulars at the rally point and our group starts off something like this: (no one brought a camera so I'm improvising)

So with our chilly little group of six riders we hit the roads at a light pace. I was worried about all the gas drilling trucks tearing up the roads but was surprised that most of the route was in good condition. A few stretches had been repaved and a few new pot holes had grown but overall it wasnt too bad. My biggest complaint about road conditions was as we were pulling into Alvarado I hit a railroad track hard enough to ding the front rim. From that point on I nearly stopped before crossing the tracks to try and find a decent line and insure a smooth crossing. I spent most of the ride on the outside of the lane, keeping a staggered formation from Virge who road mostly on the inside of the lane. We went single file on a few of the corners when getting aggressive but mostly we stayed staggered. Anyway, I noticed that some of the roads were rutted badly almost making a crown that would pull you to the shoulder and some of the shoulders were eroded away. This is something newbies should watch out for as it could get you in trouble quickly. I caught myself thinking about other rides and other riders. Memories of years past with JohnT leading the way. Remebering to slow more than necessary for the quick switchback that bit Rick four years ago so no one else would make that mistake. I thought of rides to Arkansas and how my gear collection has accumulated over the years so that I now had some decent stuff to keep me warm on this brisk morning. Reminiscing and holding mental conversations with yourself about road conditions while at speed on back country roads is NOT a good idea. This became all too clear as we rounded a blind right hand high speed sweeper to come up on a group of bicyclists. They were two wide taking up the whole lane and we couldnt see oncoming traffic so we couldnt pass. Talk about closing speeds! I was hard on the brakes cussing in my helmet at these fools taking up the whole lane. We got slowed in time, they grouped single file and we slowly passed waving with appreciation. After my heart rate settled I realized they were just doing what we were doing, enjoying the day on a road with little to no traffic. I wondered who was crazier. Its in the lower 40's and they're riding around in thier little spandex suits but at least the wind chill isnt as bad as blasting through on our bikes.

Not much out of the norm all the way down to Glen Rose. We filled up the gas tanks and headed to 51. We werent moving too quickly but I noticed a few small slides on the glossy black sections. A few others confirmed they slide a bit too. When we hit the turn around point we picked up another rider on a BMW. He followed us back up 51 and we all pulled over to check out the spot of crash. The BMW rider has been to a few meetings and lurks on the board. He even said, "Hey, isnt that short good looking guy over there, Virge?". Well, something like that, he knew Virge anyway. We all walked around the area of the crash and picked up remains of others who have also crashed there. Everytime we stop we find evidence of others finding the corner monster that resides there. The topography had changed quite a bit since last year and we commented that it seems to be an even worse area to go off the road now than it was in years past. Water has eroded the land quite a bit and what was once a nasty drop off with some rough spots looked more like craters in the ground surrounded by concrete. After walking around a bit and having a few short conversations we mounted up and headed to lunch in attempt to make it before the crowd.

We pulled into our favorite lunch spot and couldnt find a decent parking spot for a motorcycle. I guess the crowd made it before we did! Even though the place was packed we found a table big enough for our group of now seven (remember we picked up the BMW rider) and even had some room for our gear. Everyone piled on the BBQ, fries, heck I even some some chocolate pie. I had a salad and got heckled for it too. Haters! Anyway, it was great as always and we were all so full most were agreeing a nap would be wonderful.

The temp was around 60 or so I'd guess. The BMW rider headed a little further south to do a bit more riding and Dempsy was super slabbing it home to work on his boat. Everyone else shedded a layer or two and we set a good pace heading back towards home. We picked up the pace a little bit and were having a good time. Traffic was light, the sun was out, the weather was very nice and the hum of the bikes through the country sounded great. We saw a few other bikes out here and there. Not many braved the morning temps as we did but as it warmed up we ran into a couple small bands on some of the good roads and while passing through the small towns.

Some light traffic was found, around Cleburne if I recall correctly, and we ran into one of those country boys in a pickup all sportbikers hate. We were running down a two lane blacktop in the middle of nowhere. As we came up on the pickup Virge signaled and scooted on by him. Now, I've been riding with Virge for several years and we've done lots of miles together. I tend to tuck in close to him when passing traffic so as he went around I was on the throttle and pulling up on his back tire quickly. I noticed we werent pulling away from the truck as expected. The pickup was trying to match our speed. Thats not only silly but on backroads with your kids in the truck, its very dangerous as well. So Virge and I pull in front of him and I'm watching John in my mirror try and come around this guy. Of course a CBR1000 can outpull a full size pickup so John sneaks in tight behind me and this guy is riding John's back tire. The next few corners provide some comfort room from our new friend and before long he turns off and the rest of the group pulled back in formation. I have no idea what that was all about or why people do that. I wish that was the first time something like has happened but its not. I dont know that I'll ever understand it.

The rest of the ride home went well. We twisted down the back roads enjoying the sunshine. I saw a roadrunner, a funky looking billy goat, some old chevy trucks, a few buzzard, cows here and there, old folks sitting on their porches, kids playing in the yard, and we continued to bump into a couple of bikers here there. I even saw a few females riding their own bikes which is always cool. Biker chicks are hawt.

We were back home around 3:30 and I had to start working on the truck, go grocery shopping and cook dinner. I kinda wish that ride was a bit longer.