Turn One

Great riding weather has arrived, I rode to work every day last week! Let's hope the nice weather stays a while. If you had put riding on the back burner over the winter, time to rev it up. Take care of that overdue maintenance and check out your riding gear, it is time to ride. I had a good route planned for Saturdays's lunch ride if I do say so myself and we had a good turnout, read my write-up below.

Last weekend I spent both days at NPR, this time as a spectator for a change. The CMRA (Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association) was in town for their race weekend at No Problem Raceway Park, in Belle Rose, Louisiana. I watched several of my track day buddies contest the 6 hour endurance race on Saturday and member Bill Ellis joined me to watch the sprint races on Sunday. Our local boys did very well with some good finishes in various classes. Most of the Texas racers seemed to enjoy our track and a new track record was set by very fast Texan Ty Howard.

The Louisiana chapter is once again in the HSTA spotlight with Thibodaux member Paul Lefort featured in the member profile in this months StarReview. Way to go Paul! Locally we have a great issue this month with a great humorous piece by Tim Smith plus Tony Crowell's report on his Ride The Rio trip. Thanks guys for the great work!
Later...
Bob

RIDE REPORTS

RIDE THE RIO 07 By Tony Crowell

The call of the open road was loud indeed. Go west old man. And I did. The dilemma: CMRA races at No Problem Raceway were the same weekend of Ride the Rio. The first HSTA ride of the new year. Cabin fever being what it is I chose RTR. This year’s RTR was moved from Feb to March, a good idea. The location was also moved…a VERY good idea. The last time I went, everyone was scattered about the Butt- ugly border communities of Study Butte, Terlingua and Lajitas.  This year we stayed in the picturesque town of Fort Davis, much more civilized with most people staying within walking distance of the host hotel, The Hotel Limpia.

None of the local guys could make this trip so I decided to take a little side trip on the way to this years RTR. My mother lives in Mexia, Texas and the town of Hico is only about 100 or so miles northwest of there so I spent the night with the family and left for Fort Davis the next day with a stop in Hico. Why Hico you say? Well there is a café called the Koffee Kup there which is rumored to have the best pie in Texas. I had to check it out…and I’m glad I did. Very good pie.

After satisfying my curiosity and hunger I turned the WeeStrom Southwest on a heading straight for Fort Davis. This meant US 67, which, although not the most scenic road is a fairly fast way of getting to SW Texas. The weather was overcast and ranged from the mid fifties to low sixties. In fact, I started at 54 degrees and ended at 54 degrees in Ft. Davis. I arrived about 6:00 pm and checked into my hotel the Old Texas Inn.   A very old place above a restaurant. It is centrally located and across the street from the Limpia. No TV in the rooms, but one in the common area. One of the good things about the Old Texas inn is it’s the only place open for breakfast and if you have a room there you can get table before anyone else and believe me there is a line at the door when they open for business.

After checking in, I walked across the street to the Limpia where there was already a crowd gathered, registering and getting ready to eat BBQ out back. I quickly spotted two old buddies, Drew Newcomer, from North LA, and Jimmy Gurdon an Honorary LA HSTA member from Olathe, KS. Unfortunately, Drew’s schedule had him leaving for home the next morning so it was left to Jimmy and me to make the ride on Saturday. We left the hotel about 8:30 with temps in the high 50s and a beautiful sunny sky. We rode the River Road loop in a clockwise direction in order to have the sun at our backs. The ride down Texas 118 toward Study Butte was uneventful except for the fact that when I waved Jimmy around me so I could get his photo; he thought that I wanted him to go faster. We were already doing 85, so now I had to try and stay with him for about 20 miles at speeds hovering at the “ton”. 100 is nothing to an ST1300 but things get a little busy on the WEE.We stopped for a drink at Study Butte then roared off on TX 170. The sun at our backs proved a wise decision because it helped me to see the two Javalina Hogs that tried to run across the road in front of me. That would have hurt to be struck by such an ugly animal.. We made the loop back to Ft. Davis where we took break for some fine Mexican food. They had both green and red chile enchiladas, something you can’t get in LA. Muy sabroso!

After lunch we took off for the McDonald observatory located on Mt. Locke on TX 118. For my money this is best road in Texas. Big sweeping turns that you can see around. After working up sweat on 118 we headed back into town and sat around the front of the Hotel swapping motorcycle stories. Another one of the benefits of Ft. Davis over the border area; there are benches out in front of the hotels where you actually bench race. It was very relaxing to sit on the benches and have a nice ice cream cone while the bikes roll by on Main Street.

At 7 PM we gathered at the Limpia for a beef or chicken dinner. The beef was great. I heard the chicken was severely undercooked. Then it was across the street for more bench racing and bike watching. A very good day was had by all.  After a good nights sleep it was down stairs for breakfast with Jimmy who was heading north toward Kansas and me heading south and east toward Baton Rouge.

The day started off with a beautiful blue sky and light wispy clouds. That lasted about an hour and a half until I was on US 90 between Marathon and Sanderson. Out of nowhere came a fog bank that lasted for over thirty miles, the same place I ran into one two years ago. The temps dropped into the fifties while I was in the fog and to low sixties in the cloud cover after I broke out.

I didn’t see the sun again until San Antonio. I stopped for some sleep at a little motel in Sequin, just east of SA and slept until 1:00 am. The wind had been pretty bad so I thought it would be a little lighter at night and I was right. I departed at 2:08 am and had a very pleasant ride home. Just missed rush hour in Houston, stopped for breakfast in Baytown, a nap in a truck stop parking lot in Beaumont and onto BR by 10:00AM. If RTR stays in Ft. Davis I will be back!

MARCH LUNCH RIDEby Bob Chappuis

We had a good turnout for our lunch ride Saturdat March 24. Eight bikes departed McDonalds in St. Francisville just before 10:00 am in great weather for a twisty, circuitous 160 mile route. Drew Newcomer rode down solo on his BMW from West Monroe and joined us for lunch. Two other potential riders got mixed up and thought the ride was Sunday!

Riders and bikes meeting in St. Francisville, were yours truly, 99 Honda VFR 800, Tony Crowell, 05 Yamaha FZ1, Sherri Ellis Yamaha FZ6, Bill Ellis 98 Honda VFR 800, Kevin Yeats Honda ST1300, Ted Torres BMW RS1200 GS and first time guest attendee John Thoms on his new 07 Yamaha FZ1. Most live in the baton Rouge area but Keven and Ted got early starts and rode up from Hahnville and Houma, repectively. The St. Francisville group followed a route which covered most of the best roads in East and West Feliciana parishes and Amite and Wilkinson Counties in MS.

We saw very little traffic other than turkey & bicyclists (no, I mean real turkey)and for the most part the roads were smooth and clean but twisty and narrow so our pace was not that fast. We stopped for a long break on a rickety old wooden bridge to take photos and chat. We had a laugh at the improvised clearance sign, check out the pictures below.

After about 160 miles of great back road riding we ended up back in St. Francisville near the ferry landing where we stopped for a very pleasant Mexican meal at the Que Pasa restaurant. There was a BMW parked in front as we rode up and I heard my name called as I dismounted and began to dtow my gear. North Lousiana member Drew Newcomer had ridden down from West Monroe! The food was tasty and plentiful and the service was was friendly. A really great day on the road! Be sure to join us next mounth.

MORE GREAT PICTURES BY TED HERE
AND A FEW ROLLING SHOTS BY TONY OF JOHN, SHERRI and TED

Why I ride… by Tim Smith Maybe I chose motorcycling because I couldn’t spell entomology.Insects? Do I like insects? Not particularly.Do I hate them? Maybe. Regardless of my emotions, and all you PETA supporters cover your ears, I have personally been responsible for the recent demise of millions from the family While it can, no doubt, be debated that many thousand of these are responsible for their own deaths, flying willingly, even energetically into the light, some were surely just in the wrong place at the wrong time.Shuffling off this mortal coil in a Technicolor splash on the front my (formerly) white Goldwing or gun-metal Shoei). Remorse? Do I feel any? I suppose not, it really is more like revulsion. I am sure one could reap just as many of this most bountiful of species with a Buick or Nissan, but it just would not evoke the same emotion as having a 2 ounce flying dragon explode on your face-shield at 80 mph. I am not really out to see how many I can collect in a single commute…it just seems that way. Maybe there should be a contest. If you are starting to detect just a smidge of sarcasm, you are really slow, or have been drinking, either way, have your spouse hide the keys to your bike. You are in no condition to ride. I am trying to sell my bike, for heaven’s sake, and every time get on the road, day or night, the mass suicides begin, and it is all I can do to keep a clear line of sight. I would have made fun of anyone using one of those nasty window cleaners at a gas station; you know the thing with squeegee on it, until it was ME. My bud Tony takes his little atomizer bottle with 3 oz of water and a little pristine cloth to clean his shield.I just bought that 2 gallon jug of window cleaner at Sam’s, along with a dozen sponges and an ice scraper. Is it just me, or are we having a bug issue? I am trying to keep my bike clean and shiny in case someone wants to see it, but I am going to have to go up on the price if I keep using a whole bottle of cleaner every three days. Just last night, Mary ( my lovely and talented wife) found me scraping off the remains of the most recently departed, and watched as I tried feverishly to destroy all the trace evidence. Just in case there is an investigation by animal rights activists. I was busy lamenting my task when she suddenly told me that I really should be glad. “What?” I asked with incredulity, “What part of destroying material evidence in a multiple death case should I be glad about?” “Duh”, she really said “Duh” “It’s spring, it’s warm, we have bugs, lots of bugs, they come with spring.”She said, pretending she was smarter than me. “Didn’t you just whine a few weeks ago about how you hated winter and couldn’t wait until it got warm so you could ride?” she continued, keeping up the facade of superior intelligence. “I did mention something about that, but I was not whining. I was “opining” I said trying to hide the flood of realization that was probably on my face. “Hey, that rhymes. You are really clever for someone who doesn’t get it” she said, now positive that she is conversing with a lower form of life. “You should be happy to clean off a few bugs in exchange for being able to ride everyday” “Hey, you’re cute. And smart too. Are you married?”I asked trying to recover my former standing as absolute ruler. “Yes, but my husband is kinda slow” now with pity in her eyes. “Maybe he needs a faster bike?” I blurted out trying to change the subject. “Why don’t you just go for a ride?”She said walking away. “Why indeed?” I thought. “Why indeed” Too many bugs out there anyway, time to do a little reaping, or maybe a lot. INSECT-ICIDE! ...just one more good reason…. Why I ride.

UPCOMING EVENTS and RIDES

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That's all for now. My thanks go to contributors Tim Smith and Tony Crowell and to Ted Torres for pictures of the lunch ride. Heep riding and smiling....

Bob Chappuis, State Co-Director and Editor chappuis@demco.net