So, on the ride thread I bitched because I thought too many people were signing up and I wouldn't go because the fun level drops as the number goes up. Then on Friday night Chris calls and says only four others were going and get my packed. He said he and Chris (red SV) would meet me at my house between 5:45 and 6:00 Saturday morning. I knew better but was ready and waiting anyway. At 5:42 the phone rings and it is Solracer saying that they had overslept and would be leaving in 10 minutes. I immediately headed to Shipleys Donuts and had breakfast while I waited.
We hauled from Dickinson to the meet spot where we introduced ourselves to James (VFR) and Nathan (Repsol). A few minutes later Chris (SV) says he's having a bad feeling about the ride and he'll save it for another time. More people should listen to their inner voices and he did but it left us with four riders.
We left for the first section of the ride and it was still cold. I don't know how I survived 15 years in the Rockie Mountains being the cold sissie that I am. Anyway, we hadn't really started on any really good roads and were about 87 miles into the ride when Nathan signaled that he need fuel. We pulled into the Exxon and filled some tanks and drained some others. Nathan announced that the number of miles ahead may be more than he would be comfortable with and he was gonna call it a day. That left three.
The rest of the day was filled with twisty, 2 lane roads, a barbeque lunch, more cold and Solracer once again bullshitting a cop into giving him another warning. How in the do you talk a cop into giving you a warning for registration that
expired 5 years ago?!!! They would have towed my bike and dropped me off at the bus station after I signed the citation.
As Chris mentioned, one long lonely road had some seriously nice turns and elevation changes. We had a good mix of sweepers and tight stuff most of the day. We met up with Ronald McDonald on a borrowed R6, wearing borrowed gear for the Lime Creek ride. At Anderson Mill, James took off to stay at a friends home for the night and the rest of us rode Lime Creek in reverse. Ronald took off to return his borrowed stuff and that left Chris and I to ride it one more time before heading for Round Rock.
As we rode toward our final destination for the day I realized that I had gotten my wish. The numbers were small and manageable but had gotten so small that when Chris met up with Courtney and family I would have nobody but myself to hang out with. I told Chris goodbye at the Tollway and kept on riding. Parmer Lane intersected with 290 and suddenly I was in Giddings. A short time later I bought gas in La Grange and another short run had me on I-10. A fellow in an F250 was hauling toward Houston so I pulled in behind him and followed all the way to 610. I was home and in the shower by 10:00 PM.
If you get a chance to do this ride it is certainly worth going. I didn't keep up with the total miles but they were between 600 and 700. This was my first trip on the Versys and it did great. I had some aches and pains early in the day but I think they were from not having ridden more than 60 miles per day since last year. 2 aspirins made it all better. Looking forward to going again.
