First I just have to say...that taking a curve at a slower speed than I
can...irks me a bit. But that was the only thing wrong with my ride last
weekend.
Me and the Mouse tossed some undies in the bags and headed south. Shunning
the slabs, we keep towards the west and run through the heart of Texas.
Fields of cows, some contentedly chewing their cud, some staring at me
intently. "What the hell are *you* looking at?!" I yell to one, shaking my
fist at him. He just looks at me dumbfounded.
We make our way south, as I said. Cranfill's Gap was a treat as I get to
practice road skills a bit. Mouse tucks in tight when needed, wordlessly.
Then a high speed run down the road to Fredericksburg, where we sleep in the
New Year.
We had no plans. I'm lucky someone had the sense to tell us to book a room.
We want ROADS. That was our plan, and only goal. We want Hill Country roads.
At daylight we lit to the nearest espresso bar for sustenance. Then further
into the hills, taking 16 south of Kerrville. There was an "incident". I
lost some traction in a corner, wobbling the rear for a bit. Then feathering
the rear brake I straightened it up. I had plenty of room, but it
illustrated to me just how slow I was going to have to go around many of
these roads. That also woke me up as much as the espresso did.
We cross the funky cold Medina River, taking the first of Texas' primo
roads, FM337 to Leakey (sounds like "lake ee"). We stop at a neat M/C museum
just outside of town, with many fine exhibits. I particularly like the old
Vincents, Nortons, BSAs, Triumphs and other Brit bikes. The owner comes and
tells us a bit about some of the bikes. Good selection of Harleys, some
Indians, and a few I've never heard of before. There was one that looked all
too familiar. It's the same model as my bike. WTH is this doing here? True,
the gun metal blue is rarer than mine. They only made 430 of those, so I
hear. I guess if you'd want to keep one anniversary Harley in your
collection, then the Heritage Springer is a fine choice. It seemed so to the
MoFoMoCo. They kept back one for themselves.
We tell the museum lady our proposed route that afternoon. She thinks it's
too long for one afternoon. Bullshit. We'll be in Fredericksburg before
sundown.
I've always heard about the Stonehenge. I've wanted to see it. And there it
was, just off the road in Hunt, TX. I nudge the Mouse and point, as if she
couldn't clearly pick out the abnormality. It's not like it could possibly
be missed. I don't know why I did that.
We blast from Hunt to the next "Three Thirty" road. Back to Leakey to FM336
and up the West Frio Canyon. Mousses favorite. Another blast to FM335 and
down the Nueces Canyon, and 337 east back the way we came.
I thought best to take a different route the way home. We went straight
north out of Fredericksburg, missing the turn to Enchanted Rock (which was
recommended to us as a good road to take), but we more than made up for it
by taking the Willow City loop. Cooper's in Llano is a good stop for BBQ and
5 miles east of town on 29 there's a pull-off for some eagle sightings. The
rest of the ride back was uneventful. We raced home just before a front came
through, avoiding a good soaking. It was an excellent trip.
--
"Wakko" Waco Glenn NTXNS TOMKAT SENS
'03 FLSTSI - "BlingBling" (The rare pigs reign)
http://www.heritagespringer.com
CRABB'04 MAMBM'04 VERMORT14 PHS'04
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