Westward Ho!!

2007-06-18T09:12:00.000-05:00

I belong to a very old fraternity that I first joined when I was living in New York.

One day as we were sitting around the lodge and visiting with each other we came to the realization that quite a few of us rode motorcycles. One thing lead to another and that was the beginning of the planning for "the" run.

Thus was born the "First Annual Montgomery #25 Fun Run".

As this was the first run we put together it was decided that only members (and their ladies of course) of Montgomery #25 would be allowed to participate. Next year the run will be open to all brothers and their ladies who wish to take part in the run.

Our Peerless Leader proclaimed loudly - and often - that it would be "wheels up" at 0800 hours from the lodge. To make sure that Lil Red and I did not miss this historic occasion we made sure that we arrived at the lodge by 0730 hours.
When we got there we found Bro. George
waiting for us.

We were soon joined by Bro. Eric and his lady Mary, and Bro. Andy (sorry Andy, we didn't get a picture of you with the new bike). In fact by 0745 hours everyone who was going on the run was there - with one exception - yup, you got it - our Peerless Leader and his lady were absent.

0800 hours came and went, 0815 hours came and went, 0830 hours came and went and still no word from Peerless Leader. After several phone calls to our Peerless Leader we came to the realization that he was not going to meet us at the lodge due to the weather between his location and ours. So at 0910 - after waiting for the rain to pass us by - off we rode (after opening the lodge building for those oh-so-necessary last minute pit-stops) in the remains of a Texas rain squall to meet P.L. and April in Plantersville where we would begin our run to Fredricksburg which is in the "Hill Country" of Texas.

P.L. stated that, "there was no sense in him getting any wetter than he already was in order to come and meet us when we could travel the five or six miles and meet him". Personally, I think the lovely April had something to do with that decision!

Anyway, once we got everything sorted out it was off to the Hill Country!

And what a great day it was for the trip. Overcast with cool temperatures and even the threat of rain could not dampen our spirits as we traveled out Highway 105 towards Navasota.

P.L. knows the area very well and - I must say - was the perfect tour-guide. He took us through all the by-ways and back roads and led us into Bellville where we made our first stop at Neuman's Bakery located at 504 East Main Street Bellville, Texas 77418. Neuman's is a very popular place for riders to stop and have breakfast or lunch while on the road. An hour later we left Neuman's - filled up with coffee, waffles, omelette's, etc. - ready for some more riding.

I wish that I had photos to show you all of the wonderful country-side that we rode through, but because Lil Red and I were riding single-up on this trip, we were unable to take photos while we were on the road. Suffice to say, it was some of the most beautiful country-side that I had seen in a long time and you will have to make the trip yourself to see if I am right.

Our next stop was in the town of Wimberley where we stopped to have lunch at the Wimberley Cafe . The food was great, the company fantastic and a good time was had by all.

Once we were done with lunch, we rode once around the square and then it was "on the road again" via the back roads, over the hill and through the dale to someplace that everyone needs to visit at least once in their lives. This is a town that has a population of 3 and was put on the map by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Yup, Luckenbach, Texas was our next stop.

We pulled into Luckenbach and found that even though the population is only 3 it was filled with a lot of friendly people. As you can see by the photos you can spend a day there and never be bored or lonely. There is a post office, bar, and - depending on your point of view - most importantly - a stage where anyone who brought their instrument can get up and join in the jam.

There is some very interesting information about who "Hondo" is and why there is a bust of him in front of the post office.

We knocked back a few cold ones, bought some souvenirs, and listened to the great music for awhile and then it was "back in the saddle again".
We continued following P.L. - after all, he hadn't led us into any rain - yet... and after another hour or so pulled into downtown Fredricksburg and made it out to our motel
where we had a few hours to kill before going out to dinner.

We took a break and relaxed while our P.L. went and made reservations for us at the Cotton Gin
restaurant where we had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed the company of each other after a long day in the saddle. Then it was back to the motel and around the pool for some more visiting. The visiting ended quickly when the heavens opened up on us and we finally got the rain that had been threatening us all day.

I must say that P.L had managed to keep us out of the rain by proper prior planning, fantastic foresight, incredible intelligence and knowing which way to turn on the back roads, i.e. if the clouds are on the left, turn right. It worked very well as we got to Fredricksburg without getting wet again (after our first wetting going out to meet P.L)

Day Two

There is, I think, a certain majesty inherent to dark clouds forming on the horizon. Watching the beauty of nature while never forgetting the awesome force contained within the darkness of those clouds is something that I never get tired of doing.

Of course this natural beauty is also a biker's dilemma for sure. As you ride you enjoy the beauty but in the back of your mind is the thought that you are about to get soaked, pelted with bb's of rain and, at its worst, even hit with hail.

While we managed to miss and/or avoid all the rain and most of the clouds yesterday, we woke up to the sky that you see in the photo. The weather channel was predicting/warning of flash floods for the surrounding area and all that kept coming to my mind were visions of the dips that we went through with the high-water gauges on the side of the road.

A quick glance out of our second story window showed that our bikes had not been spared during the night. They were completely soaked from the rain that fell while we were sleeping. Some of us were wakened from our sleep by the force of the rainfall but Lil Red and I were lucky, I guess, as we slept right through all the down-pour.

If you look closely you can see water standing in the button pockets on George's bike.

P.L. had set the departure time at 0800 hours and we were all outside, ready to go at that time. As we waited for P.L. to show up I got a chance to take some photos of the sky in all directions. One of the nicer ones is the one with the church in the distance.

It didn't matter which way we looked, it was going to rain.

We finally got our P.L. up and ready to roll by warming up all the bikes at the same time (well, we were parked right outside his window) after wiping them all down - even P.L.'s, having morning coffee and waiting for those who had to make thirty-'leven last minute pit stops.

At long last P.L. graced us with his presence and swore that he had told us that "wheels up" was at 0930 hours. Ignoring his bald faced deceit and faulty memory of what was said the night before, we called a hasty council of war and concluded that the best thing to do was to make a straight run back to the Houston area. This we did, taking 290 east out of town, and while it was not as beautiful a ride as the day before we still had a great time, stopping in Johnson City for breakfast and Giddings for lunch. The rains that were coming up from the gulf coast and through the Houston area finally caught up with us just as we pulled into Giddings so it was time to stop anyway.

After lunch and gassing up one more time, it was time for "goodbyes and see-you-next-times". The main group was heading up Highway 6 back towards Montgomery while Lil Red and I were heading back to the Cypress area. As we approached the intersection of Highway 6 and 290 Lil Red and I waved our last goodbyes and as the main group headed up Highway 6 we headed back to Cypress, the dogs, the cat, and chilling with a cold one as we relived a great week-end full of fun people, new places and a great ride.

And how was your ride?

The Few, The Proud, The Brave, (The Lost?)

2007-06-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

So there we were, in the middle of a wonderful Saturday ride; from Cypress up to Burton, had lunch in a lovely small town cafe named, aptly enough, "The Burton Cafe". After lunch onto the scenic 390 route east bound past the flowing fields and green pastures of rural Texas. We hit Highway 105 just outside of Brenham and turned east to continue towards the town of Navasota, planning to go all the way up to Carlos, Texas where Yankee's Tavern sits.

The weather was 85-90 degrees and scattered clouds with, truth to tell, some rain clouds hanging around - but we managed to miss all but a small sprinkle late in the afternoon.

Most of the tavern's habitues were up in Austin at the big ROT rally that started on Memorial Day (the real one - May 31st) and continues to June 3rd. So, when we pulled into the lot at Yankee's there was not the typical vast array of chrome and paint on display there.

I noticed one group of about a dozen bikers and their ladies quaffing a few cold ones while enjoying great hamburgers. They were, after all, hard to miss with their colors on; colors that boldly proclaimed: Leatherneck Motorcycle Club. Had Semper Fi and all the other required Marine Corps sayings on their leathers.

They had ridden up from Brookshire which is west/southwest of the Houston area.

As Red and I were standing there, sucking back the first cold one on this hot afternoon, I overheard one of the riders from this group loudly proclaim that: "We came up from Brookshire and got lost on the way up here."

Now, I for one, truly appreciate the work and sacrifices that these men and their families have made for you and me over the years. Some of members go back to Viet Nam era while others were clearly of a younger generation and had served proudly in other areas of the globe.

However, (and I genuinely hope that none of them belonged to re-con) even if it was a great day to get lost while riding the back roads, I don't think that I would admit while wearing those colors that I had gotten lost!

It would, of course, explain why the Marines need the Navy (a group with which I proudly served) to get them where they need to go.

I, being of somewhat sound mind and body and wishing to remain so, did not vocalize this thought while they were still around and, as they rode off into the afternoon's sun, I truly hoped that they would find their way back home safely.

After awhile Red and I decided that we had better move on to avoid some of the T-Cells that building up in the area. We decided to head on down to the Texas Thunder Saloon where they were having a cook-off.

Once we got there we found a great group of people who were busy cookin' and having a whole lotta fun as they always do at Texas Thunder.

We came across one of the wildest bikes that I had ever seen. In the next few days I hope to speak with the builder and get more information about the various highlights of this bike.

And how was your ride?

Welcome

2007-06-01T17:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "Travels with Ghost and Lil Red"

This blog was started with the intent to share with all of you who enjoy motorcycle touring.

Travels With The Ghost And Lil Red

Westward Ho!!

The Few, The Proud, The Brave, (The Lost?)

Welcome