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| November 2010 | Louisiana MSTA Newsletter | Page 1 |
Happy Thanksgiving! I have been enjoying the great riding weather but alas not a lot of club riding activity to report. Last year at this time I bemoaned a slim turnout for our excellent overnight ride to Vicksburg with only three riders in attendance. I should have been happy, this year there was ony one! Once again, a shame there were not more riders enjoying the perfect weather and great roads and food. Read my report below. We also have a report from regular newsletter contributor Drew Newcomer on the International Motorcycle Show in Dallas.
A November lunch ride was not scheduled due to lack of interest.
Preparations for the 20th Annual LAMSTA Cajun Christmas event are almost complete. The long range weather forcast looks promising. Last years White Cajun Christmas was very special but a little less snow will be fine this year and the forecast of lows in the mid 40's will be very welcome! If you are attending this years event and have not yet registered, last chance is Wednesday, December 1! ONLINE REGISTRATION
For the 30th year, the International Motorcycle Show began its' 12 city tour at the Dallas Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Texas. Having attended this show several times in the past, I have found it convenient to leave the motorcycle at home and take the I-20 west drive in the pick-up. So it was as I headed out about 6am on November 13 to the great state of Texas to see what was new in the motorcycle world. I had a room reservation at the ALOFT Motel, which was the host location for vendors and attendees alike.
After checking into my "ultra-modern" room in the very eclectic ALOFT, I headed to the Convention Center which was about a five minute walk from the motel. Lots of bikes rested in the bright Texas sun and a ride up the escalator brought me to the main entrance to the show after paying the $15.00 entrance fee.
Progressive Insurance, the largest sponsor for the show, greeted you with pretty girls and some large plastic bags with some "freebies". The first noticeable thing was not what was there, but what wasn't. BMW and Triumph were conspicuously missing from the show. This was the second year of absence for BMW, though it is my understanding that BMW will make a presence in a few of this year's locations. The English marquee was missing for the first time that I remember having perused their display last year. Kawasaki, Suzuki, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Yamaha, and Ducati all had impressive displays. As in years past, there seemed to be more of a crowd, and more of a general interest, in the Italian area. Ducati had several of their bikes on display with the Multi Strada receiving a lot of "looksies." Of course Ducatis look fast even when parked and a good number of photos were being taken of the various bikes.
After walking through the entire area of the show it seemed to me that the number of apparel, luggage, and accessories vendors were down as well. I made a stop and a purchase at the Gerbing's display, having fried my control unit a couple days before. I also purchased a new microfiber top. I am cold-natured and have enjoyed my Gerbing's when the temperature drops.
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The motorcycle show has always been enjoyable for me and Dallas is an easy day trip from West Monroe. The national economy's effect on the motorcycle industry (and the various support industries) is very evident. The number of motorcycle dealers nationwide has dropped and no brand has gone unaffected. Hopefully, this trend will reverse itself and we'll have shows like this one to attend for years to come.
By Bob Chappuis
Stacie and I turned out to be the only participants in this year's Halloween Weekend Ride. Last year member Tim Cundiff and our friend Robins Sills had a great weekend trip to Vicksburg on Saturday and as far West as Grayson, LA on Sunday, covering some great Mississippi and Louisiana back road twisties. Stacie was too busy with real estate last year but this year she is determined to take more time off and when I suggested the trip she was all for it. The Battlefield Inn in Vicksburg is one of our favorite weekend getaways - just a couple hours from home, motorcycle friendly and with a good restaurant and lounge on the premises. We have been there several times dating back to 2001 and have always had a great time. So when we got no other takers for this year's trip we decided to make it more of a sight-seeing trip than a riding one. Along the route to Vicksburg are numerous interesting historic sites and we made plans to visit several.
We left St. Francisville around 10:00 am under a beautiful cloudless blue sky and perfect riding temperature. We took back roads from our St. Francisville home to Natchez, including Spillman Road, Jackson-Woodville, MS 563 and Liberty Road. We had a superb Soup and Sandwich lunch at Mammy's Cupboard, just south of Natchez. We then rode the beautiful Natchez Trace for about 25 miles planning to take the exit to Rodney but the road was closed and we had to find an alternative approach using my GPS. Our destination was the "ghost" town of Rodney, MS and an old abandoned cemetery. Rodney was once a thriving river town and almost became the capitol of Mississippi and was the site of some Civil War skirmishes. But the changing course of the great river eventually deprived it of its main reason for existence and it's population has dwindled to a handful. There are references to Rodney on the Internet as a Ghost Town but this is contradicted by other reports of at least one resident. Stacie and I saw at least three or 4 homes that seemed to be inhabited however, as well as work trucks and equipment. But on our first visit we were unable to find the old church with the Union cannonball embedded in it or the old cemetery. What we did find was about 5 miles of gravel road and sections of pavement so deteriorated that we were wishing for the gravel.
We decided to abandon the search until the return trip and instead look for the Windsor Ruins. We headed north on MS 552 (through some more gravel but not as bad) and found the turn off to the ruins and headed down the dirt road. The ruins were an impressive sight. Long rows of columns towering 45 feet high, supporting nothing. The place had obviously been huge and no doubt epically grand before a fire had destroyed all but the brick columns and iron balustrade in 1890. It was a considerable hike just to walk around the perimeter.
After marvelling at the ruins and taking many pictures we continued on Rodney Rd to Port Gibson and then on to Vicksburg via US 61, MS 462/Old Port Gibson Rd and Fisher Ferry Rd more nice twisties. We found our way to the Battlefield Inn and checked in to find we were not the only bikers using the Inn as headquarters. The Mississippi Cruisers were holding their inaugural event, with about 30 members in attendance. They had a block of rooms and the adjoining parking area cordoned off with two large tents and a massive mobile BBQ Pit. We had a chance to meet some of the organizers and learned that the Cruisers were actually an attempt to create a confederation of local black riding clubs based in towns mostly in Mississippi but also one from Jonesboro. Each club wore the typical "colors", denim or leather vest with the club logo and various patches. Some also sported club T-shirts. The thing I found most interesting about the Cruisers was that they aren't. Most rode Japanese sportbikes, with Hayabusas and ZX14s prominent, but all types and ages of sport and standards included. I did not see any Harleys! All Cruiser members we met were friendly and talkative and seemed to be experienced riders. I think maybe the Cruisers are onto something, trying to make something big out of a bunch of small clubs.
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Jacques Sport Bar in the Battlefield Inn features Karaoke every Saturday night and they consistently draw a decent crowd of local performers to entertain visitors. The Saturday night before Halloween added the appeal of a costume contest. After a fine, recession economy priced meal at Jacques Restaurant, Stacie and I grabbed a table with a good view of the stage. I find Karaoke to be a major hoot with the wide range of talent running from the typical Gong Show joke to the amazing, should have a record contract super talent. We were enjoying the show when the ever outgoing, friend to all, Stacie struck up a conversation with "Butch". We later learned Butch, 53, was there with his widowed mother, who was doing her best to ignore him. Butch is special. As in "Olympics" special. In the noisy, dimly lit lounge it took Stacie a moment to catch on - she leaned over and whispered: I can't understand him, he has a speech impediment or something. I filled her in but by that time it was too late, Stacie had a new friend for life. I eventually gave her a break by inviting Butch to play pool. It was great to discover I could still play after not touching a stick in 10 years! A couple local college kids, expecting to easily take the table were not as thrilled. Always a fun time at Jacques Sport Bar.
Sunday we enjoyed the free hot breakfast and then loaded up prepared to renew or exploration of historic Rodney. But first was a visit to Grand Gulf Military park, a few miles west of US 61 on the banks if the Mississippi. The park is 400 acres and includes a museum and numerous restored or reconstructed civil war era and later buildings and artifacts, most of which were trucked in from other nearby towns. "Park guests can step back in time and relive history as it was made. Beginning at the museum, you can trace the development of Grand Gulf through early photographs, maps, scale models, and authentic artifacts found in the area. Coaches and carriages bear silent witness to the days when Grand Gulf was bustling with people; while Union and Confederate uniforms, cannon balls, and muskets remain to tell of the fierce fighting that took place during the latter stage of the Civil War" The exhibit area is very hilly and there is a winding paved path which is really too narrow for an automobile but we decided to take the bike rather than walk. Maneuvering the fully loaded 700 pound Concours on the very steep twisting path proved quite a challenge as there were many blind turns and few level places to stop. We managed to navigate the course without mishap, but with few opportunities to stop for pictures!
Moving on, we returned to US 61 south to Port Gibson, turning west off 61 onto Rodney Rd., retracing our path of the day before, past the turnoff to the Windsor Ruins and an amazing growth of Cudzu vines, entirely covering a rugged ravine, trees and shrubs and creating a surreal green landscape. The GPS route directed us through the Alcorn University campus, which we had avoided on Saturday due to the traffic of a football game with Baton Rouge's Southern U. Trying to find our way through Alcorn was confusing as the route seemed to lead into a storage area and I was at first convinced my 2008 version Garmin map was in error. But on second pass we discovered what could be described as an over grown cart track. This section of Alcorn-Rodney Rd could not have been more than 8 feet wide! We were soon back on the gravel/dirt/disentegated asphalt section of road we struggled on the previous day and arrived once again in the center of Rodney. Once again we could not see any churches but this time we parked the bike to have a better look on foot. Once off the bike and free to devote full attention to looking instead of navigation the difficult terrain we spotted several old buildings, including two old churches, one with the union cannonball embedded in it's front facade. I am still amazed that we had been unable to spot them on Saturday. A long hike up a steep hill behind one of the churches revealed the abandoned cemetery. Our quest finally achieved we returned to the bike, saddled up and set out in search of lunch. We had heard about the best fried chicken in Mississippi was to be found at Mr. D's County Store in nearby Lorman. We followed a helpful local to Lorman and parked beside a couple other bikes at the County Store and went inside. The place was huge and full of interesting old country store goods and furnishings. The most interesting to us was the buffet table! Not just delicious fried chicken but a couple other entres plus all the usual county side dishes. Everything was tasty and although I won't claim the fried chicken was the best I ever ate it was mighty close.
Our bellies full of good country cook'n we were content to cruise down four lane hi way 61at a leisurely pace back to St. Francisville and home, 397 miles for the weekend. Although we missed the company of our MSTA friends we really had a fine trip
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CAJUN CHRISTMAS Répondez S'il Vous Plaît (RSVP/REGISTRATION FORM - Please REGISTER if you are coming!) |
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That's all for now.
Hope you had a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving holiday
Bob Chappuis, State Director and Editor
