TRAVELIN' THE TRACE

_BY

Drew T. Newcomer

Like everyone in the Deep South, I look forward to the end of the long, hot summer and the beginning of the fall riding season. For the last several years I have hit the road the first week in October searching for a respite from the heat and the hospital where I work.

I had not ridden up the Natchez Trace in a good number of years and thought it was time to return to one of America's best kept secrets. After a small trip to Texas, I headed east on I-20 on October 9th and fed onto the Trace about 10 am. Now, anyone who has ever ridden the Trace knows there is no commercial traffic allowed, the speed limit is only 50 mph, and gasoline can be scarce. I topped the K bike off in Jackson and was soon enjoying the tranquility of very little traffic, abundant sunshine, and temperatures in the lower 70's. The conditions were nearly ideal. I rode the Trace a little over 200 miles to Tupelo (home of the KING!) where I veered north on US 45 up through Corinth and into Tennessee. Taking highway 2 east for a few miles I turned north on TN 22 and rode north. Stopping at Shiloh National Military Park one can't help but catch their breath when visiting the cemetery at this tragic place of history. After a short visit, and prayer or two, I intersected US 64 and turned east to my first day's destination of Savannah, Tennessee.

A few clouds had rolled in overnight and the sky was overcast. I continued east on 64 till I rejoined the Trace and headed northeast towards Nashville. This part of the Trace is very scenic as the hills begin to roll and I stopped a couple of times to watch and enjoy wild turkeys along the side of the road. I exited the Trace when I intersected with TN 7, continuing north on TN 46 to Dickson, TN where TN 48 and TN 13 took me to Clarksville. I turned northeast on US 79 to Russellville, KY where the final part of the day's journey to Bowling Green would be completed on the four-lane US 68.

After visiting with an old flame (some things just won't go away!!) in Bowling Green, I had to wait for the welcome sun to warm up the overnight 34 degree temperature for my short trip to Nashville. Pretty much only one road takes you to Nashville and that is I-65. Thanks to my GPS I was able to find my motel in the northern part of town. I checked in and took a cab downtown to visit some of the local sites including the Country Music Hall of Fame. Later that evening I returned downtown to the famous Ryman Auditorium and saw Pam Tillis and Lori Morgan in concert along with several others including the daughters of Vince Gill and Hank Williams, Jr.

Friday morning, October 12, it was time to head further south to Birmingham, Alabama for a date with the Triumph Vintage Motorcycle Classic and the Barber Motorsports Museum. Once again, the only road option was I-65 and the rain clouds that had moved in overnight dumped a good bit of rain on Nashville. I got out of town dry but was pretty much hammered for about 90 minutes between Nashville and the Alabama line. Fortunately, the aerostich did its' job and I rode into sunshine not long after crossing into Alabama. I checked in my motel for the weekend and waited for some of my Beemer buddies to arrive.

The Vintage Motorcycle Classic is very enjoyable. Watching motorcycles race that are 100 year's old is a treat. Of course, there are many classes and as the bikes get bigger and younger, some of the racing is quite competitive. And, a trip to the Barber Motorsports Museum is worth a trip in itself!! Weather cooperated completely and the requisite number of t-shirts and trinkets were purchased.

Sunday morning it was time to come home and rain once again was an issue once I crossed into Louisiana heading west on I-20. It didn't last long and I was home before noon. Aside from having to deal with some rain, the fall ride was most enjoyable - so much so that I might ride up the Trace again before the end of the year !!

Texas Hill Country Ride 2012

_BY

Bob Chappuis

Long time member Paul Lefort decided to attend the 2012 Hill Country Ride in Kerrville Texas. Paul enjoys the openess and lack of traffic in the Hill Country and has been a frequent visiter to the area over the years. I've been to a few HSTA/MSTA events there myself and am fond of Kerrville and the YO Ranch Resort motel but prefer the roads in Arkansas and the Smokey Mountains. However, since I'd already attended events in Arkansas and Georgia this year I jumped at Paul's suggestion and made plans to join him.

Paul's plan was to ride to Austin Thursday before the event and find some good back rods between Austin and Luckenbach on the way to Kerrville. That sounded like a good plan to me so I reserved a room in downtown Austin.

I-10 is pretty much mandatory to make good time across south Louisiana and west of Houston and since Paul lives south of I-10 in Thibodaux and I live north in St. Francisville we agreed to meet at a Shell Station on the Interstate in Rayne, LA.

Paul was having breakfast at the McDonalds next to the Shell when I arrived at 8:30 and after fueling up I parked my Concours 14 next to his Triumph Tiger 800. After breakfast we hit the slab. At Houston we exited I-10 onto US 290 which took us all the way to Austin.

The Super 8 in downtown Austin turned out to be a great low priced motel despite several bad reviews on Travel Advisor. I am beginning to think that these Travel Advisor reviews are worthless. I spent a lot of time online looking for an affordable (less than $130 per night) within walking distance to the 6th st. entertainment district. The only option was the Super 8 on 12th st. but it had miserable reviews - filthy rooms, rude staff, broken AC. Had I been traveling with my wife I would have stayed away. The super 8 turned out to be super clean inside and out, the manager was a prince and the AC was super cool. So what's the deal with these reviews? I think maybe most of the people that take the time to fill out these reviews are either OCPD kooks or the unsrupulous managers of competing motels!

Anyway, we arrived a few minutes after 4:00 pm afer a 387 mile ride from our rendesvous point. Add another 90 miles for me and about 125 for Paul from our respective homes. We unpacked the bikes and then I watched as Paul washed the Triumph. I wash my bike before every long trip, Paul's bike gets a hand job every night. After the cleanup ritual we discussed supper. BBQ was high on both our lists and we located Stubbs a short walk away. I'd seen Stubb's BBQ sauce on the local supermarket shelves and with that as a recommendation we made our choice. Stubb's proved to excellent with huge and meaty pork ribs and quite delicious. I had a tasty local craft brew to wash them down.

Next morning we headed northwest out of Austin on US290 and TX2222 to Bullick Hollow Rd. The plan was to take some interesting looking twisty back roads to the tiny settlement of Luckenbach, which Paul had not seen, before heading to Kerville. Bullick Hollow Rd took us to the shores of Lake Travis where we turned onto TX 2769/Lime Creek road which more or less winds around the shore of the lake. Norh of Lake Travis we picked up TX 1431 which we followed to Marble Falls then US 281 to Johnson City and Blanco. Next it was 1888 to the Luckenbach loop and a stop for lunch and some souvenir shopping at the gift shop. Lunch was tasty and we had nice chat with some fellow bikers before heading for Kerrville.

Austin to Luckenbach and Kerrville

We arrived at the YO pretty early but were still surprised to see only a couple of bikes. We had a beer in the bar and it wasn't too long before we started seeing familiar faces and registration opened up. Vince Wells and his crew were on top of it and registration went quickly. Vince went out of his way to help me load GPS routes into my Garmin despite being busy with registration.

Paul and Jim Girton and I had dinner at the YO's restuarant, which has great food and service, before attending the riders meeting. Then back to the bar for a few more drinks. I gave Girton some 8-Ball lessons at the pool table before Paul and I headed to the room to plan the next days ride.

First stop Saturday morning was Destination Cycles just a few miles from the YO. Here we enjoyed free breakfast burritos, donuts and coffee generously donated by the dealership. There was a pretty good crowd on hand and after stuffing our cake holes Paul and Jim and I headed west out of town on TX 27 for a date with three Texas sisters. Sounds good but no doubt every reader knows I'm referring to the three Hill Country highways known as the "Three Sisters" or "Twisted Sisters" which are the main motorsports attraction of the Texas Hill Country. I say motorsports instead of motorcycling because there was a Miata club running the Sisters that Saturday as well.

Anyway a loop including the sisters 335, 336 and 337 was included in the GPS file I had gotten from Vince but Paul wanted to include an alterante connecting highway that had us running the loop in the oppsite direction. That worked out pretty well since it meant we wouldn't get held up by all them half fast Texans or the Miatas. . So we headed west out of town on 27 and 39 with the scenic Guadalupe River on our left. We turned south on US 83 and rode to Leakey where we refueled then went north on the first sister, 336. We ran the 27 miles of 336 to TX 41 and turned west to intersect the next sister, 335. We rode 335 south for 33 miles to Camp Wood where we planned to eat a good BBQ lunch. We came apon the Smokey's BBQ joint we were looking for but it was closed so we stopped at a Mexican place called Casa Sifuentes. There were mostly locals there and the food was good and cheap. As we pulled out of town we saw the NEW BBQ joint - Two Fat Boys, was the name if I recall, and there were a bunch of bikes parked outside.

At Camp Wood 335 interesects with the 3rd sister, 337 which heads back east to Leakey, continuing to Vanderpool and then Medina. At Medina we turned north on 16 for the final leg back to Kerrville.

Hill Country Three Sisters

Back at the YO, Paul discovered his connector for his heated gear was missing. This was not good because he needed to make a dawn departure Sunday morning and the predicted overnight low was in the 30's! We searched all over to no avail. Luckily I had two connectors on my Concours since I often ride two up. So I dug into my tool kit. The Concours battery is hidden deep inside the frame behind a hatch door, a frame brace and a bracket and must be pulled almost all the way out to access the negative post. The operation is not difficult but requires 4 different tools. The hardest part was finding where all my tools were stashed! Some day I'll get organized...While working on the bike in the parking lot we had several interested onlookers stop by offering help and moral support and it made for a good time. Afterwards Paul rewarded me for my donation and efforts in the bar. I should get a T-shirt: "Will work for Whiskey"

After relaxing at the bar it was soon time for the banquet. We found a table and had the honor of sharing it with President Emeritus Moose and fellow charter member Patrick Mulrooney, member number 25. Like myself, Patrick joined HSTA in September 1982, the first year. Patrick joined while living in California and just recently moved to Texas. It was great to meet another "charter" member. The banquet was great with plenty of good food. There were many door prizes but alas none for me.

Paul and I pulled out around daybreak Sunday morning. Happily it was a lot warmer than predicted, about 45. The 550 mile (for me, more for Paul) was mostly Interstate 10 and uneventful, capping off another fine road road trip.