January 21, 2010

BMW Motorcycles of North Dallas extended an invitation to the Lone Star BMW Riders for a private showing of BMW's latest high-performance machine, the S1000RR.  This bike is the most powerful one-liter machine on the market currently, with 193 horsepower riding in a 455-pound package.

The S1000R is one fine, sexy and strong machine.

Once we got our inservice on the RR, and finished up the tasty pizza, we convened to the parking lot for some tire-kicking and general camaraderie.

Bo checking the article about him  in the latest Ride Texas.

January 17, 2010

Happy New Year!

Jim pulled together some of the riders in my neighborhood to start the 3rd Sunday Lone Star BMW Riders breakfast ride from Hubbard's in Garland. 


The ride north was a damp, foggy and cool one, but still was fun.  The fog and damp conditions made each corner a bit of a mystery as to if it would be dry or wet.


We joined up with the rest of the club that Bo and Joy led out and some other riders at CJ's.  There was a good turnout even with the less than optimal weather, and the Spanish omelet was warm and tasty.

20100117Whitewright

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December 13, 2009

So Friday, the boys at work suggested a ride for Sunday.  The list of riders grew to around 10 bikes, but shrunk a bit on Sunday morning.

The weather forecast looked good, but once we met and headed out, the fog and wet roads did not clear until almost halfway into the loop.

Gotta get a shot of anything with Weston on it for my son.

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November 21, 2009

"Yeeha" Stephen drew us out in the cool, damp wet roads today to ride over to Mary's Cafe in Strawn, TX.  The ride was first planned to Jefferson, but the rain lingering and drifting to the northeast put Strawn on the route to the west.  We were surprised that the roads had not dried, and drizzle persisted.  But, it only added to the hilly scenery though it kept us a bit on edge through the corners.  Hey, it was OK, we were riding.  Mary's Cafe has a pretty good reputation for cooking up some rather large chicken fried steak.  Can't eat like this every day, but once in a while does not hurt that bad...

20091121MarysCafeStrawn

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November 14, 2009

The Lone Star BMW Riders met at Mama's Daughter's Diner this morning for a hearty breakfast and then one of the shortest Bo Griffin-led club rides.  We made our way over to the Dallas Convention Center for the International Motorcycle Show.  It was a short ride from the diner, but since the police had closed the perimeter of the convention center for a sponsored walk, it turned into the Long Way Round before we could figure out a way to get to the parking.  I wound up spending most of the time coming back to the Wunderlich booth thinking about all of the stuff I don't really need for the new bike, but would like to have.

Can you say "Sexy"?

Photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rlswim/MamaSDaughtersAndIMS

November 8, 2009

I found a new German mistress a week ago.  She's a well-kept K1200RS, with a strong lungs and body, and oh so smooth and stable at highway speed.  My K75S is getting a bit suspicious...

The K1200RS was one of Jay Leno's favorite bikes in his collection, as stated in an interview by Shahram Shiva.

Photo credit Shahram Shiva

Deb and I took her out on Saturday for a quick ride, and Wes joined me today to give her a 100-mile breathing exercise.  The weather was great and we rode up through Blue Ridge and returned back through the back roads north of Lucas and down Dublin Road, which has been attracting the high-dollar builders.  I gave the camera to Wes, and he fired away at speed.  I'm looking forward to taking the new-to-me K out on the long haul.

October 23, 2009

We started out this morning's ride to Arkansas in 47 degree temperatures, and that was pretty much the norm for the day, with the temperature at Eureka Springs dipping down to 43 when we arrived.  The group met in Plano, and 13 bikes and 16 riders made our way over 420 chilly miles through Oklahoma and into Arkansas to start a nice weekend with the golden colors of the season.  We stopped in Talihina for lunch, catfish buffet, of course, and then did a section of the Talimena Scenic Drive.  I believe we have hit the peak of the colors this year, which is difficult to achieve.  Deb and I managed to separate from the group at a stop, and later picked up the other two couples on the ride as they were figuring out the next turn.  We fueled and warmed a bit in Fayetteville, and a young dude came up to us as we were getting on the bikes and said, "Man, all I have to do is roll down the window on my truck and I shiver.  How are you guys riding in this cold weather?".  I have to ask the same question sometimes...  More to come - stay tuned.



October 24, 2009

It was nice to see the sun shining this morning even though it was 36 degrees.  While we were having breakfast at the Roadhouse, I was devising a route for Deb and me to meander down to Jasper, Boxley and back up to Eureka Springs for a 5 hour or so ride.  The route turned out well with a cut-through on a nice narrow back road.  We tried to eat at the Cliff House, but there were many folks waiting for a table, so we grabbed a quick burger back in Jasper and wound our way back to home base via Boxley Valley, but no Elk were out during the afternoon.  Weather turned out great with the sunny skies tipping out at 60 degrees.  The evening out was at the Pied Piper via limo service.  A touch of class for our club...  Tomorrow we head back on a direct route to visit with the kids.

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September 19, 2009

After a foot of rain in the North Texas area, we were all wondering what the RTE weekend would be like.  The weather broke before the weekend, and temperatures looked great.  I changed my oil Thursday night, and was ready to ride with Debbie Saturday morning, I thought.  We packed up the last of our overnight gear, and I fired up the bike to warm it up and roll out on the drive.  Something just was not right... I took it on a run around the block, and it had plenty of power, but idle sucked.  I was scratching my head, and finally called Bo to let him know I was not comfortable taking the bike on a long ride, so I would not be leading.  We were reluctantly getting ready to switch over to the car, then I noticed that the filler cap was still off of the crank case.  Duh...  So, we got rolling, bu the delay put us too late to start with the groups. But we joined up twice, just south of the Red River where I had to drop off the back for fuel, and later at Dickson.

Once we made it to the Original Fried Pies in Davis, a patron quizzed me about what was going on with all of the motorcycles.  He had seen already seen a couple of groups come through, and we now had two more coming in.  I told him that our Lone Star BMW Riders club was having a cook out at Chickasaw, and he was impressed with our numbers and wished us fun.

Good pies!  As Martha says, eat dessert first...

Rick, Robert and Jim were busy with the grills as we arrived.  I snapped some pictures, and wasted no time grabbing a burger and visiting.

Nice small roads lead to the RTE

It looked like everyone was having a good time.  In addition to our Texas and Oklahoma riders, there were some long distance riders that showed up from Alabama, Illinois, Missouri with Mike from North Carolina riding 1,036 miles for his burger.  Does anyone find anything unusual with that?  No, it's just motorcycling.  As Debbie has said before, "it's all about the ride".

	Where it all happens...

Debbie and I helped pack up the grills, and we headed off for an overnight at Lake Murray Lodge.  This place is like the set of "Dirty Dancing", but run down.  The state of Oklahoma should work to free up some funds and spruce up the lodge.  It is in a nice setting, but needs help.  Nonetheless, we had a good time and enjoyed the quiet, except for that 500-watt sound system on a ski boat.

Deb chillin'... Good for her
Morning on Lake Murray

Sunday morning, we headed out and watched for Bambi in the early fog.  We timed our departure to wind up at CJ's in Whitewright at 10:00 to meet the club again.  There was a big group of Harley riders, and many members of our club.  Moto riders dominated the cafe, and the food and service was great even with the onslaught.

Carpenters Bluff Trestle Bridge
	Can't complain about the weather, food or friends this weekend.

Photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rlswim/LSBMWRRTEChickasawLakeMurrayCJS

20090919-LSBMWR-RTE-Chickasaw at EveryTrail

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September 9, 2009

This is Sipapu rally weekend, the Bavarian Mountain Weekend, hosted by the Albuquerque Land of Enchantment BMW Riders.

I could not wait to get out of the metromess traffic after work and hit the lightly traveled highway 180 outside of Mineral Wells. It would be not be long until I had few worries of a cage running me down during their mindless commute.

I stopped in Pulido's in Mineral Wells for a great enchilada dinner.

It was such a contrast just a short distance out of DFW. The air was still and my mind started to clear as the miles clicked off.

I wound up in Abilene just a bit after dark. The bed felt good. I laid and envisioned the next several days and my transition to another spectrum of life.


September 10, 2009

The alarm sounded at 5:30, and I quickly realized that work was not on the agenda. So, there was no hesitation in getting out of bed and dressing for the ride. I rode in the predawn darkness and watched the sun rise in my mirrors. The light and warmth lifted me and started showing what little there was to look at in the flat West Texas Panhandle.
 

The wind turbines are multiplying out here like rabbits. I like the idea of them, and hope they pay off financially and environmentally.

The scenery starts getting starkly interesting as the New Mexico border is crossed. It's wide open land, and I love the fact that I can see the horizon for miles.

I stopped in Vaughn for a brisket burrito. A sign at the window said “Back in 5 minutes”. I wondered how 5 minutes is defined here, but it was not long before Pedro showed up and conjured up my lunch.	South of Albuquerque

	I kept working my way north to do the east side of Sandia Peak. This is the road Alan and I missed on our July trip to Paonia. A rock punched a hole in his oil filter, and after the fix we did not have enough time to do the road. Sandia Crest Road ends at Hwy 165, which I question the highway part of its designation. It is a gravel road that winds down the west side of the Sandias, but it is a much nicer road than many I have coaxed Elke down.
This road's for you, Alan	"Hwy"??? 165

West side of Sandia Peak	Hwy 550 south of Cuba

When I first planned this trip, I wanted to camp within Chaco Canyon National Historic Park. But the campground had been closed all summer for some repairs. So, I found that a former park employee, Matthew, was hosting campers on his property just north of the park boundary at Hwy 57 (Chaco57).

Start of the gravel towards Chaco	This arroyo was just starting to fill

I had originally planned on staying at Fenton Lake State Park in the Jemez mountains, but I was making good time and changed my course to head straight to the Chaco region. I called Debbie in Cuba for what I thought to be the last chance of the day before I headed out to the barren western part of New Mexico. The road off of Hwy 550 was paved for around 8 miles, but turned to gravel, which I had expected. What I did not plan for was terrible washboard conditions that would appear without warning. Once they appeared, it was hard to scrub off speed so the bike was not completely shaken to parts. Crawling through these sections at under 10 mph was about the only solution, as there was no clear track anywhere on the road.

The small road to Chaco 57 camp

I did not get very good directions when I talked to Matthew earlier in the day, and all I remember was his property was on the way to the park. I stopped to take a picture of an arroyo that was quickly gathering water from the afternoon storms. A park worker stopped to check on me, and I asked if he knew where the camp was. It was a good thing that I had stopped at the wash, as he pointed up the hill to a really small trail that I would have never seen.

Hwy 57

Once on the right trail, I followed the hand-lettered signs pointing the way to Matthew's land. His place was out in the desert on a rise with a 360-degree view of the horizon.

I was greeted by the feline welcoming committee made up of a ginger male cat and a gray tabby female. They followed me all around the fence line as I watched and photographed the thunderstorms that were dancing all around on the distant horizon.

	The lightning was quite the sight to take in as the sun set, but I wondered if any storms would take a direct hit on the clay roads I traveled to Matthew's place.
I checked the time on my blackberry, and shock, there was a cell signal all the way out here. I called Debbie and said goodnight to her. She said come back and get her, she wanted to go to New Mexico now. Darn. A bit of a trek back to do that. We'll just have to make another trip. Oh well... I can probably handle it.

The rain hit the tent during the night and kept me from sleeping very soundly due to thoughts of previously mentioned clay roads turning to slick muck.


September 11, 2009

The morning sun awoke me to the pleasure of no more sounds of rain on the tent.

I quickly gathered my tent, sleeping bag and mattress and started packing them on the bike. The roads were only damp from the rain. It sounded worse than it was. I said goodbye to Matthew and thanked him for the pleasant stay on his little piece of the high desert.

I backtracked to the park entrance over some of the worst washboard roads that I have ever experienced. I think these roads may be intentionally left poorly maintained to minimize the visitors to the area, or maybe it is just a financial thing. Even with the bad roads, it was worth it. This is a place where I will return, and likely with Debbie so she can experience the remarkable dwellings that were put together 1,000 years ago.

	The first thing I noticed at the park entrance was pavement. Oh, how I missed it. Dirt is OK, but this road will shake the living daylights out of a rider and bike.

I was given a quick orientation by the park staff, had a bit more munchies for breakfast, and then made my way slowly around the 9-mile loop. I stopped at a few ruin sites, but saved the most time for Pueblo Bonito at the end of the canyon. This group of dwellings and kivas is the most spectacular of the park, I was able to crawl through the small doorways to explore all that I could.

The amazing Pueblo Bonito nested under the cliffs
This ceiling is original, some 800 years old	The massive Rinconada kiva

It was time to go and brave that damn road again to get back to the highway to head to Sipapu. It took an hour to travel the 21 miles. And I can't say I enjoyed it very much since the road took extreme attention even at slow speed.

But, the pavement reappeared again, and I rode to the northeast on Hwy 96 around through Abiquiu. This is a very enjoyable ride with high speed sweepers and great scenery. The terrain varies from scrub to pines. I picked up the High Road to Taos, and the rain storms appeared on the slopes. The way the rain sweeps back and forth on the way to the forest is entrancing, which is not a good thing on a bike. So, I kept my eyes on the turns with occasional glances to make sure I did not have to don the heavy rain gear.

Once again, the rain chased me to the camp, but it turned out to be light, so no prob. I quickly searched out my favorite spot along beside the stream for my small tent, and found it unoccupied. The tent did not take long to set up, and I made sure the rain fly was in place before going up to the lodge tavern for a cool one to celebrate the end of the day's ride.

	My favorite stream-side camping spot
Easy camping...	Droves of riders lining up for Friday night chili

There was a chili “snack” for dinner, and a jug band for entertainment. The evening was nice and cool, and a light rain fell during the night. The sounds of the stream masked out any other unimportant sounds, and I slept well, albeit a bit chilly. I'm bringing a liner for my 40-degree down bag next time.

Watermelon Jug Band

September 12, 2009

Today's ride would be low pressure, and the poker run instructions gave me some targets to find along the way around The Enchanted Circle.

Poker Run instructions

Heading to Taos

This ride is full of sights and stops along the way. Bicyclists were riding in the opposite direction, doing the annual Enchanted Circle ride.

The loop took me through Red River, Eagles Nest and on around past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

As I neared Angel Fire, a storm appeared with heavy rain and stinging hail on my hands. At least I had gear to protect me from the elements. The cyclists must have not enjoyed this stuff at all. A light sprinkle on a bike is refreshing, but this was too much.

I stopped at Zed's in Angel Fire for a burger, and to document my passage through here for the bonus points for the poker run.

As I rode south on 434 towards Mora, a tremendous storm was looming. I stopped to put on all of my rain gear, and headed on. The deluge started, and bits of hail along the way. I stopped to shoot what I thought was snow on the side of the road, but it was small hail. What came later put this amount to be miniscule.

I came to a group of around 8 motos, all stopped and looking at the rushing water across the road. We sized it up and watched a couple of trucks go through. I picked a path to avoid the deep stuff and went on. The rain intensity picked up, the hail as well, and before I knew it, the whole road was covered in small hail and sleet. It was like riding on marbles. I followed a truck's tire track to minimize the depth, but it was still sketchy.

Motorcyclist's best friend...

The weather from this afternoon will not give up. The storm that I passed through earlier north of Mora came through the camp at Sipapu and drenched everything. We thought it was all over for the day, and now as the Great Blue Whales are playing an entertaining set below, the lightning is flashing again and the thunder getting louder and obviously closer. But, the tent stayed dry during the earlier storm, and I have shelter right now to relax and take in the music and spectacular weather. Tomorrow morning's ride will be a chilly one to start, and hopefully will be a bit drier than tonight. It will be a long haul across Texas, and some work, but it's on two wheels. So all's good.

This has been a remarkable long weekend trip. The sights at Chaco Canyon and the thoughts of what went on there 1,000 years ago are hard to comprehend. The area around Taos is nice as always. The Albuquerque club does a great job in hosting the Bavarian Mountain Weekend. The bikes are interesting and the riders are all unique and fun to get to know. It's a relaxing place and pace.

Photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rlswim/ChacoCanyonAndSipapu


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The Lone Star BMW Riders had around eight of our members riding to Paonia, CO for the Top of the Rockies rally hosted by the Colorado Beemers.  Alan and I would be riding together leaving Wednesday after work and meeting with the rest of the riders who had left Saturday wandering through Arizona and Utah.

Photos for whole journey are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rlswim/PaoniaRide

July 23, 2009

Alan met me at Weatherford after work so we could get a jump on getting out of the Texas heat by riding to Snyder in the evening.  The cool temperatures left over from the afternoon showers were a surprise as we neared Snyder.  The ride was enjoyable and Elke was running very smoothly punching through the still evening air.

Making our way through West Texas

I told Alan the ride would get interesting and nice as soon as we headed out of Roswell towards Ruidoso.  We cut north through 380, and the gentle twists along the foothills were just what the doctor ordered.  We took back roads (Hwy 55) towards Albuquerque and wound up on the east side of Sandia Peak.

We stopped by the Quivira Ruins, which was a unexpected treat out in the middle of nowhere.

We had breakfast and headed off for a 270-mile loop around through Aspen, Independence Pass, Cottonwood Pass, Crested Butte and back to Paonia.


July 27, 2009

	The area around northeast New Mexico is mystical.
We trudged across the Panhandle of Texas on 287, and quickly became bored with it.  After lunch in Clarendon, we turned south on FM 70.  This road totally rocks with long high-speed sweepers and some good scenery.