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| First Quarter 2016 | Louisiana MSTA Newsletter | Page 1 |
A brief 1st Quarter newsletter, no Big Bend Trip this spring due to anticipated bad weather in West Texas area associated with El Ninjo. There have been several last minute, informal breakfast or lunch rides. Tony, Kevin and I met at Penny's Diner in Livonia for in lunch in January but it was closed due to a power outage. We ended up eating at a gas station but the food wasn't bad. We then rode some paved and unpaved roads on the east bank of the Atchafalaya. On a February Saturday Eric, Kevin and I had a shortened ride but some good BBQ in Independence, LA after Kevin had the rear brake on his ST1300 lock up on him in Hammond on the way to our meeting place in Loranger. He managed to get it unstuck and we proceeded to the BBQ Station for some excellent smoked meat provided by friens and fellow biker Jimmie Gregory. On a Friday, Stacie and Tony and I rode up to Natchez, MS for a nice lunch at Mammy's Cupboard. In March Tony and I did a duals sport ride in the Tunica Hills, exploring some extremely rural back roads after a breakfast at Birdmans's in St. Francisville.
In early March yours truly rode solo to Crescent Beach on the Atlantic Coast for the annual MSTA Bike Week lunch hosted by old friend Phil Ridgedill and the Florida Chapter. A great ride and lunch but the weather both leaving Louisiana and returning was wet, with parts of my planned route home on LA 10 under 5 feet of water. A few pictures below:
Finally Tony organized a long lunch ride which brought together riders from the distant regions of the state, see a brief writeup and photos below.
There was a good turnout at the South Beach Grill in Crescent Beach on the Thursday before the Daytona 200. People I knew there were President Dennis Villarose, Jim Park MSTA photographer and photo archivist, lunch organizer Phil Ridgedill, Western TN SD Tom Sullivan, Oklahoma SD and Editor, Denise Dickeson and FL Newsletter Editor Don Moe.
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Our small state chapter of MSTA has always had trouble getting substantial numbers of members together for rides as we are spread across the state. Our rides have thus almost exclusively been limited to the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area riders. However, last week Tony Crowell organized a lunch ride that managed to bring together riders from 3 regions of Louisiana and also cover two of the best roads in the Bayou State. Riders from the Baton Rouge area (myself and Tony) and from the Lafayette area (Bill and Linda Martin) met at Penny's Diner in Livonia. Livonia is located on US 190 about midway between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers. The Martins rode in on their BMW R1200 RT, Tony on his BMW R1200Gs and I on my Kawasaki Concours 14. The North Louisiana component included father and son team Tim and Caleb Smith from Simmsboro and Ruston riding a Honda VFR800 and a Kawasaki 650 Ninja respectively. This was the first Louisiana MSTA group ride for the Martins who have been MSTA members of the Texas chapter for years but recently relocated to Louisiana.
After a meet and greet over coffee the four of us headed west a short distance on US 190. Crossing the tall suspension bridge over the Atchafalaya we immediately turned north on LA 105 which hugs the river making up the eastern border of the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest swamp in the USA. The four of us were not the only ones enjoying the fabulous weather. As we turned off of the exit ramp onto 105 I saw a 7 foot alligator sunning on the far bank of a pond edging the highway. 105 was nicely paved and although mostly straight it did have a few nice curves as it hugged bends in the river. Just south of Simmsport we turned left onto smooth and twisty LA 1183 for a nice surprise. A road none of us had seen before it proved to be as nice as any twisty road in the flat southern half of the state. Six and a half miles of sweet curves.
1183 put us on LA 1 which we rode to Marksville where we picked up LA 115 which took us to LA 28 south of Catahoula Lake. After a short western leg on US 84 we turned northeast on LA 8 which quickly brought us to LA 126, possibly the best motorcyling road in Lousiana. Stretching in its entirety for almost 100 miles from just north of Jonesville to the Kisatchie National Forrest in northwest LA, the 30 miles we covered is hilly and curvy with little traffic. As we rode north on 126 Tim and Caleb passed us coming south. We stopped and waited for them to turn around and join us.
126 intersects US 165 at Grayson. The Barn Home Cook'in [sic] restaurant is located just a couple miles up 165 in Columbia. It looks like an old red barn and there is an old wagon parked out front. The interior decor does not quite match the barnyard theme but there are a few nice touches. Foodwise they feature a buffet but it was rather limited with just hamburger steak, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and a veggie. We all chose to order from the menu. The food was good but the portions small. Myy catfish poboy was barely larger than the typical "half" poboy we get in south Louisiana. And our waitress struggled to get our orders right. I got french fries instead of onion rings and Tim got catfish instead of shrimp. But they fixed it and all was good.
After lunch the Martins headed back to Youngsville via US 165 and Alexandria and Tim and Caleb went north. Tony and I took LA 849 back to 126 and retraced that to where it intersects 124. There we split up, Tony riding 17 miles of dirt road on the GS to Harrisonburg while I took 126. We met at the post office and rode to Sicily Island for a beverage before heading home via US 425, US 84 and US 61. A total for me of 349 miles and a great day of riding.
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| 2016 MSTA National Events Schedule | ||
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May 13-15 T-28 Marble Falls, AR The Hub Motorcycle Resort #1 Dogpatch Drive Marble Falls, AR 72648 870-743-4062 Becky Wing 479-824-5738 bwing@pgtc.com http://www.hubinfo.com |
MAY 27-30 TRI-STAR Sparta, NC Alleghany Inn 341 N. Main Stree t Sparta, NC 28675 888-372-2501 Geoffrey Greene 865-922-9887 hawkgtrider@aol.com http://www.alleghanyinn.com |
JUNE 26-30 STAR ’16 Stratton, VT Stratton Mountain Resort 30 Middle Ridge Rd Stratton Mountain, VT 05155 802-297-4000 Dennis Villarose 561-329-3257 http://www.planetreg.com/STAR2016 president@ridemsta.com |
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JULY 22-24 BIG LYNN LODGE RIDE Little Switzerland, NC Big Lynn Lodge Highway 226A Little Switzerland, NC 28749 800-654-5232 David Brickner 828-448-5429 brick@ncwireless.net info@biglynnlodge.com http://www.biglynnlodge.com |
JULY 29-31 RIVER CITY RIDE Corydon, IN Holiday Inn Express 2449 Federal Drive Corydon, IN 47112 812-738-1623 Don Payne 317-696-2381 don.payne10@gmail.com |
AUG. 26-28 MAIL POUCH FLY-BY Marietta, OH Best Western Marietta 701 Pike Street Marietta, OH 45750 740-374-9660 Jon Campbell 513-465-4755 ohiomsta@cinci.rr.com |
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SEPT. 9-11 OZARKS BS RALLY Theodosia, MO Theodosia Marina & Resort Highway 160 Theodosia , MO 65761 417-273-4444 Ed & Linda Young 417-926-3075 www.ozarksbsrally.com magna@centurytel.net |
SEPT. 30-Oct. 2 AUTUMN COLORS RIDE Lewisburg, WV Quality Inn 540 N. Jefferson St. Lewisburg, WV 24901 304-645-7722 Syd Mays 804-721-3399 touringman5@gmail.com |
OCT. 28-30 TEXAS HILL COUNTRY Kerrville, TX YO Ranch Resort 2033 Sidney Baker Kerrville, TX 78028 830-257-4440 Judi Rowe 469-879-2066 msta.thc@sbcglobal.com yoranchhotel@yoranchhotel.com |
STAR 2016 promises to be an outstanding event. Stacie and I and other members are already registered and raring to go. If you have not already, make your plans to attend, I guarantee a great time
A skimpy newsletter means I need a little help. If you do an interesting ride, you don't HAVE to do a full story (although that would be great!) but just drop me an email telling me where you went and when.
That's all for now.
Keep riding & smiling
Bob Chappuis, Editor
