The next best thing to a weekend motorcycle trip?

Planning the trip.

So plans are coming together for a weekend of riding in about a week if all goes well. Right now the two destinations are either NW Arkansas or the Texas Hill Country. Is it a sign of a troubled mind that I enjoy the route planning?

NW Arkansas route:



Google Maps Link

Not a motorcycle in sight...

So here's the thing. I started this blog with the idea of sharing my 2-wheeled experiences and keeping the rest of my personal life just that, personal. The following is a rare exception to that idea.

I travel. A lot. Certainly there are many that travel more but over the last 10 yrs, I've covered a lot of miles between the left and right coasts as well as picking up a handful of passport stamps. When you travel heavily, the world aquires a certain amount of anonymity. You're kept company by the constantly changing faces of flight attendants, hotel desk clerks, waiters, gate agents, taxi drivers, and bar tenders. It can feel like a constant blur of passing faces. However, every now and then you find a place that develops a growing familiarity. The anonymity starts to fade and you walk in looking forward to a chance to finally slow down and relax.

The most recent stop to reach that point and earn the spot of my favorite airport bar... Millstream Brewhouse at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I know, who'd a thunk it? I think it's a combination of things but the most important reason as is the case with most things, comes down to the people. Hearing stories about the upcoming college football game, getting updates on job prospects, comparing notes on weekend plans, all those things make you appreciate people that take the time to have a real conversation. So if you find yourself at CID and have some time before your flight boards, stop by Millstream and take a moment to slow down.

Perfect weather and purple twinkies for a track day

This one even has video...

First the pictures (on track):






Peter on the track:






Pictures in our pit area:












And the twinkie video:

A new chapter...

This is a very significant milestone in my motorcycling life -- likely the biggest, definately the most precious.

About a year ago I rode down to Granbury and went for a ride with the Squid Squad. Doug was joined by his daughter and it left a lasting memory seeing the two of them like that.

This last weekend my daughters that are growing up way too fast had their first ride out on public streets. It was such a strange mix of emotions, terrible anxiety from taking my most precious cargo into the world of distracted cagers, hope for the wonderful memories to be made along many miles and many roads, and the joy of finally being able to share the kind of experiences I've had.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I think the following probably do a great job of saying what I can't quite put into words.

Suited up and ready to go:


A quick warm up lap before heading out:




Back from our quick jaunt:


Getting ready for the second flight:


Suited up and ready:


Warm up lap:


Back on the ground with a case of "the grins":


They each had about 15-20 minutes worth of a ride and we all came back with those infectious grins you only get from two wheels.

Guess this whole thing should start getting a little more interesting...

Beemer goes to Granbury

Fransisco had his first taste of Granbury to Cranfills this last Saturday.

The rough Google route is here:
Google Map

From my house it was about a 250 mile ride.

Can it ever get too hot for a track day?

Well... almost.

I cut most of the afternoon sessions a little short and called it an early day. 105 just seemed like a bit too much. No amount of water or gatorade seemed to help keep my head temperatures down.

This time out we had a more family friendly plan for my track day. We left early Friday morning and headed to a bed and breakfast in Granbury. We got there around 10am, unloaded the trailer, then headed to the downtown area to wander around and get some lunch. We even spent some time at the beach in Granbury. Apparently they trucked in tons of sand to make a beach on the lake. It really was a nice area but it was soooooo hot. The day overall was very relaxed and the girls all had a good time. Around 6 or so, we headed out to Cresson so I could go ahead and get my easy up out so I could sleep in a little bit longer on Saturday.

When I woke up Saturday morning it still felt like I was getting up too early even though I had called it an early night. The dull headache sure didn't help matters any. Regardless, I grabbed a shower and was at the track by about 7:15. I unloaded and while I went to register and go through tech inspection my wife was kind enough to go grab me a breakfast sandwich and some drinks and ice for the ice chest.

The day itself was really interesting. Having run that track several times but always counter clock wise, I knew it would be different going CW, but I had no idea HOW different it would feel. Sections that had grown to be my favorites gave me fits all day. Gradual uphill turns that before gave me a great sense of the track ahead of me, were now blind sections. Portions of the track eventually started to make sense like wagonwheel through the rattlesnake, but others like tombstone - boot hill - horse shoe never completely came together.

Next time I get out and run the 1.7 CCW I'm going to have to really look closely to try to determine if it really is much less of a mental challenge that CW or is it just that I'm that much more familiar with it. Even with the impossible heat, cutting my afternoon sessions short and calling it an early day, I still enjoyed the day and feel like I learned some things and improved my confidence with technical right hand turns which have always been a weakness.

Chris (sp?) from DFWSportBikes.org forums stopped by at one point. He was planning on doing the lunch time parade laps. I lost track of him after that but hope he enjoyed it.

Below are some pics from Hart Photography, http://www.hart-photography.com/. They do such a great job. The only flaw I can find with their pictures is that I'm not anywhere near as good of a rider as their pictures deserve.

Add an SV650s to the mix..

So no, it wasn't my SV but I did get a chance to ride it for a bit.



This last Saturday Peter and I went out for a morning ride so he could get some saddle time on his latest aquisition, a 2003 SV650s.

We had a slight mix up in communication on where we were meeting but still got on the road by about 8:30. We wandered across Grapevine lake then headed north. Pretty soon we were lost in the burbs somewhere North of Flower Mound. Luckily at one point we crossed an FM road that sounded familiar so we double backed, and caught FM 407 headed west. We got to Justin then headed north on FM 156 then stopped in Ponder, TX for something to drink and to visit for a while.







After our break, we snapped some pictures then headed on up FM 156 until we hit FM 2450 just North of Krum. We took that up to Bolivar where we caught FM 455 West to Forestburg where we caught a group of cruisers and stopped for lunch.

After lunch we headed up to St. Jo. But right as we got out of Forestburg a couple of foxes (no not that kind) ran across the road. Since I was on the FJR with the ABS brakes, I really just grabbed a handful and waited to see what else might happen. Once they had cleared the road, I checked my mirrors and saw Peter had locked up the rear on his SV. After a few moments of watching the back go back and forth, Peter got her straightened up and we continued on to St. Jo where we stopped for another drink and to cool off a bit. Given the heat we decided to call it a day and head back home. So from there we headed straight back to Gainesville where we picked up I-35 and headed South.

It was a hot, hot day, but fun nonetheless. Reminded me how much I like cruising some of those roads up there.

Track days, track days, track days!!!

Gosh there is nothing like finally getting back to the track after any kind of prolonged absence.

This time around I talked a friend of mine, Peter, into joining me at the track and experiencing his first track day. His travel plans were less than ideal since his flight didn't land until about 9:15pm the night before so he didn't get to my house until after 10:30pm. We quickly loaded his bike on my trailer and called it a night.

Maybe it was the anticipation of the day, or maybe it was all the work stuff that I couldn't seem to get out of my head, but for whatever reason I just couldn't get to sleep and saw 1am roll around -- with an alarm set to go off in a little over 4 hrs.

Saturday morning was about as perfect as you could get. We rolled out of the house by about 5:45 and arrived at the track a little over an hour later. Thankfully a couple of guys from the G-Town Squid Squad had gone to the track the day before and setup an area we could share with them. I really can't say enough about that group, extremely helpful and friendly.



We quickly unloaded the bikes and went to work on prepping Peter's bike.





Before you knew it, it was time for the track ride, rider's meeting and first sessions. Peter seemed a little anxious at first, but as the day progressed I could tell he was feeling a little more comfortable.

Pit area:




Doesn't that british blonde bombshell standout in a crowd?


Peter and I:


Helmets:


We both wore out by early afternoon and decided to cool off and call it an early day. I never felt like I ran as well as I did late last fall, but it felt good for my first time back after a few months of a break. I'm hoping that by the next track day on June 27th I'll have a bit more of my mojo back.

Thanks again to the Squid Squad for letting us share a pit area and helping us pack up at the end of the day.

Blair Photography pics:










Peter:

Lunch in Paris and Free Range Dogs part 2

4/19/09

Lunch in Paris... sounds sorta fancy schmancy doesn't it? This entry was supposed to be one detailing the latest exploits of the Hombres Malos and our run to Deal's Gap. Unfortunately the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go out the window. Suffice it to say that this hombre ended up in state. Luckily someone from FJRForum.com offered to organize a local ride on 4/19. So Sunday morning at 9:30, four of us met up and wandered north east of the metroplex. Fuzzy led us on a route that roughly followed this google map:

Map Link

It turned out to be a great day though a bit cloudy and cool the closer we got to Paris.




A hot cup of coffee at McKee's and an order of pancakes helped to take the chill out though and provided an opportunity to talk about all the turtles in the road, the constant cross-wind, the dried mud on the road in the middle of tight turns and the crazy free range dog that decided to cut through the group to get from one side of the road to the other. Thankfully everyone made it through without any problems.

I'm not sure exactly how much distance we covered but it was in the ballpark of 250-300... enough to let me know my tush had grown a bit soft over the winter.