Every Mile Is An Adventure
Today I have had my license for exactly one year and I rolled 8,000 miles on my bike while out for a quick ride. When I bought my bike I had no idea how much I would enjoy it and quickly I would become addicted to it.
I enjoy the sites we see and the people we meet. You notice things that you would never notice in a car or truck.
A few weeks ago we took a short ride and since it was such a nice day Loco Coyote seemed to be a perfect destination. We didn’t want to go too far since meteorologists were forecasting thunderstorms moving in during the evening. With it’s mainly outdoor seating and laid back atmosphere you can’t go wrong. Before heading out we stopped by the dealership to see their Spring Event. We were a bit early but the parking lot was filling fast. They had a dyno drag racing platform that you could race your bike against someone else, a beer garden, food, and a band as well. It looked to be a good event but we wanted to ride and see stuff instead of sitting there all day.
After the visit to Fort Worth Harley we headed for Loco Coyote. It was a bit windy, but manageable, especially after that grueling ride to Sweetwater, TX a few weeks back. Once we got off the main roads and onto the smaller FM roads there were enough trees to block the wind and the ride was quite enjoyable. The road we took runs through the Paluxy river in a few spots so if its been raining it can be impassable. Only one of the spots had some water we had to ride through and it wasn’t very deep.
We had a nice lunch, only eating about half of the gigantic portion they serve, and that was both of us sharing a single order. They don’t play around when it comes to filling you up. It was nice to watch the bikes come and go, enjoy the cool day, hang out, and relax awhile.
Our Saturday began by installing a new garage door opener. The old one died so we needed to replace it. It took us all morning to install that opener and by then we were hungry so we ate at home. With rain moving in over the night leading into Sunday we still wanted to get a bit of riding in. It was around 2pm by the time we were able to get going. Scott had a new route planned that he wanted to try which wasn’t long so this seemed a good time to try it since it was already well into the afternoon. We headed out towards Granbury, TX then on to Bluff Dale, TX which is the beginning of the route.
It was an impressive ride along super small back roads that crossed and snaked beside the Paluxy River. A lot of the road was covered with loose gravel so traveling speed was only about 35 mph. That was nice though and it gave us the opportunity to take in the scenery. I got a bit frustrated with scott this time because he kept stopping suddenly to take pictures without signaling what he was doing. He defense when I complained? “I just kept seeing good potential picture opportunities and didn’t want to pass them up!” There were a lot of wildflowers beginning to bloom, bluebonnets, baby cows following their mother around the fields, Paluxy River, and scenic landscapes. How could you pass by those things without stopping for pictures? I couldn’t argue, and didn’t. Looking back now though I wish we had gotten some different pictures that would have shown some of the road that crossed through the water we had to ride through. It’s not always easy to figure out what pictures will tell the story and unfortunately you often think of a picture that would have been good after you get home, when its too late.
Upon arrival in Glen Rose we rode into the historic district to have dinner at the Hollywood & Vine . This restaurant was simply wonderful. The food was outstanding and the building itself has a rich history. We had the pleasure of talking to Wanda who owns the restaurant and she told us some of the history of the building. It was built in the late 1800’s and was originally used as a sanitarium. Later it became a doctors office run by an Indian who would practice a traditional style of medicine. He was eventually killed in the town square. The building still bears the original wooden flooring, fireplace, and even wallpaper and newspaper insulation in some areas. They also have live music every Saturday night so this would make for a very nice bike destination on a cool evening and they are biker friendly.
Website: Hollywood & Vine
Facebook: Hollywood & Vine
After eating we strolled around the Glen Rose, TX Town Square. There is quite a bit of history to this town especially in the area of dinosaurs. They have a couple of dinosaur tracks on display around the square from archaeological finds in the Paluxy River. You can also visit Dinosaur Valley State Park and see a huge amount of tracks along and in the river. Its pretty kewl to put on some swimming gear and wade along the river looking for dinosaur tracks. There are a LOT of them! You can put your foot in the tracks and walk in the footsteps of the dinosaurs! Hehe, ok ok thats kind of goofy but, you can! We didn’t visit the park this time though because of time constraints.
By the time we ate and visited the town square it was about 6pm and we still had to get home. The winds were beginning to come in stronger and you could smell the change in the air so we knew the rain was beginning to move in. It rained all day Sunday so it was nice to have been able to get a short trip in on Saturday.
We finally did all of that work around the house that we had planned for the last couple weeks. Most of it was yard work and after a long day of that, we were tired, hungry and didn’t feel like cooking anything. There had been something like a 50% chance of rain all day but we didn’t even get a drop. Sundays chance for rain had gone up considerably so we thought it would be a good opportunity to get take a short ride and get some fantastic food.
We called our friends George and Pat to see if they wanted to go with us, which they did, so we decided to meet up with them at the dealership. Scott and I arrived quite a bit early so he could look at some new winter jacket options. The one he has this collar ring that has never broken in and he says he always feel like he’s being choked while wearing it. We did find one that fit him very well so we’ll keep it in mind and do some more shopping before making a final decision.
George and Pat rolled up, did a few circles in the parking lot, and then we headed out. The ride was very short, about 50 miles round trip, which was fine especially since we were seeing pockets of rain clouds scattered around. We only got sprinkled on one time the entire evening somehow managing to ride in between the pockets of rain. There were some wet roads from showers in one area that left quite a bit of standing water. At one point we had to make a turn off the road coming down a hill on a wet road. I ended up getting a bit sideways while trying to stop. Thankfully I did good though, let off the rear brake which brought the bike back into line. I didn’t panic, knew how to handle the situation, and the crisis was averted. When Scott saw this he decided to go past the turn since the skidding caused me some issues in slowing down enough to make the turn. He didn’t want me to skid more while trying to slow down too fast or turn too wide and have an accident so we just eased to the side of the road past our turn and decelerated safely, made a u-turn and went on our way.
We arrived in Godley and ate at the Del Norte Taco restaurant. They seriously have the best taco’s I’ve ever eaten. The line to order was 10 people deep so we had a seat and waited for it to subside. It took quite awhile as more people kept coming but it was nice to relax and enjoy the evening with George and Pat. As usual, the tacos were wonderful and we spent a couple hours there having a good time. Alas, all good things come to an end, night fell upon us and we still had to ride home. So we parted ways on full stomachs and good memories and headed home in the quiet of the night.
These are a few pictures I took when we got there, and for the record, Scott doesn’t like having his picture taken so i was pretty pleased to get one with him some what smiling.
This weekend was super busy for both of us. Again, we had plans to do some work around the house but all of that changed when I got my new grips. Scott received the call from Fort Worth Harley that my parts had arrived earlier in the week so we went to get them Friday evening. When we got to the dealership they also had the saddlebag guards we had ordered. Scott then began whining a bit that Saturday would be a labor intensive day without rest, slaving away installing parts. During this whining along with the support of Nick, Patrick, Daniel, and Phil, I grabbed a set of edge cut saddlebag hinges off the shelf behind us for his bike and said that would be his payment for doing all the work.
Saturday was a parts installation day. We started with my grips and we decided to do our first video of parts installation. In the past we would post photos of the process so we wanted to mix things up a bit and see how it went. I wont elaborate here about it since the entire process is covered in the video. It did come out really good and I hope it can help someone install their own grips and adjust their throttle by watching it.
We also installed the saddlebag guards and saddlebag hinge covers on Scott’s bike. We also did videos of that process which he’ll work into future posts on Rumbling Rider.
Sunday was the Fort Worth HOG Chapter Picnic! This is an annual event and our second time attending. It is held at the Canyon West Golf Course in Weatherford, TX which is a beautiful place to have the picnic. We met at the dealership to line up for the parade ride to the golf course. This year the weather turned out very nice from the previous year. It was a bit chilly in the morning, 58 degrees when we left the house but soon warmed up to the mid 70’s. The parade ride went well, no traffic issues and it turned out to be a very pleasant ride to start the morning. Upon arrival those that wanted to ride the golf course staged while others parked their bikes. This is a unique opportunity that Canyon West allows us. We ride our bikes on the cart paths for all 18 holes and stop on the 9th for a photo shoot of the Chapters members. It’s a whole lot of fun and brings a good laugh to be able to do this. Golfers are taking pictures of us and waving as we ride on the cart paths while were waving and taking their pictures in return.
Next on the agenda were bike games! We love the bike games. We are a motorcycle riding group thus bike games only make sense! There were 5 bike games offered and Scott and I did all of them. I was very proud of myself because I competed in the single rider slow race even though I am still new to riding. I told Scott that i didn’t want my fear of trying something new on a bike to keep me from doing it. The bike games included a single rider slow race, couples slow race, ball drop, road kill toss, and weeny grab. We did well again this year taking 1st in 4 of the 5 bike games.
After the games, there was a yummy lunch and home baked sweets to satisfy our hunger. Shortly after eating lunch the monthly Chapter meeting was conducted, prizes for the bike games, and raffle ticket prizes were given away. The day concluded with a water balloon toss and a poke and run game. Scott was the unfortunate victim that broke the water balloon and got wet.
We rode home and relaxed from all of the excitement. We were both tired and didn’t even take time to download our pictures for the blog. Scott didn’t even take the GoPro this time. For whatever reason, he didn’t want to keep up with it or worry about taking video. He just wanted to enjoy the day, spend time with Chapter members, and have fun. I did however take the camera and managed to snap a few shots.
Labor day weekend brought about the opportunity to sneak in a longer ride. When you work full time you have to take advantage of those extra days off. Scott had some ideas of where to go and let me to choose. The winning destination was Marble Falls, TX.
We got a late start on Saturday morning not leaving until almost 10 am. Our destination took us in a southern direction so we took the usual route when going south and stopped at Cranfills Gap, TX to eat lunch at the Horny Toad Bar & Grill. Scott has always enjoyed going there. The ride to get there is nice, the food is wonderful, it’s comfortable, and the owners are very personable. We like to try new places to eat but once we find one that continually provides a wonderful experience we tend to stick with it.
Upon arrival in Marble Falls we checked into the Holiday Inn Express, showered, and went out to eat. It was a long hot day, we were tired, and about the only thing on our minds was getting some sleep for the adventurous day ahead.
Again staying true to the inclusion of some sort of media with most posts, Scott made a video from the trip. It’s impossible to capture the essence of everything we did, but it still gives a nice over view to share with you. Hope you enjoy it.
Last Sunday we decided to take a ride to Albany, TX. It can be a very long ride depending on the roads you choose to get there. Our route took us almost 300 miles round trip and we were out for 10 hours. The first part of the ride took us through Granbury, Lipan, and Strawn, TX which takes you through some very nice hill country type of riding. Then as you move further northwest the land begins to level off giving some wonderful far seeing scenic views. The weather forecast was saying 97 for the high but the temperature ended up over 100 at the peak of the day. We were careful to take a lot of stops and stay hydrated.
Our plan was to eat the Icehouse restaurant but when we got there it was shut down. We couldn’t tell if it was out of business or not. The windows were papered to block the view inside. We stopped for gas and asked about any other restaurants that might be open. The only place to eat on Sunday was Dairy Queen. Kind of a bummer to ride all that way just to get a fast food burger. Fortunately this setback was the only downside to the entire day. This ride definitely followed the saying: Its not about the destination, its about the ride.
We had also planned on visiting the historical Fort Griffin but it was hot and getting late by the time we arrived in Albany from all of the little back roads we took to get there. If we didn’t have to go to work the next day we could have gone there but, duty calls. Our plans were bigger than the hours in the day. Albany however has some very nice historical architecture so we spent time around the main plaza and took a bunch of pictures before heading home.
This week-end there wasn’t much getting around the need to do some maintenance work on the bikes and install some new hardware. Looking back at the last couple rides a problem we’ve been having is storage space. Scott is having to carry everything for both of us in his saddlebags. We had found bags for my bike last month that I liked from Viking Bags so we went ahead and ordered them. Last week we decided to stop by Fort Worth Harley while we made our weekly grocery rounds. We ordered some saddlebag guards for my bike and a reduced reach clutch and brake handle too. I have been struggling with the reach on my controls since getting the bike so we had to do something for me. Of course these are all things you discover as you ride your bike and one of the downsides to being 5′ 1″, most things just don’t fit without a little modification. We also picked up a few things Scott had been eyeing for his bike.
Oil Change
Air Filter Cleaning
Hand Grips
Saddlebag Guards
Saddlebags
Then we did an oil change and air intake filter cleaning on the Street Glide. Next we worked on putting the Saddlebag Guards on my bike. There was a little bit of tear down on the right side installation. Had to nearly remove the entire exhaust system to get the lower mounting bolt installed. Not a big issue though. After installing the guards is where it all fell apart. We bought some saddlebags from Viking. We didn’t like the Harley’s softail deluxe bags. They are an extremely poor design and have the capacity to hold little more than a shoe on each side. That wont do much for any type of trip we might want to take and they are expensive, over $1000 from what some people in our chapter told us they paid. The bags we purchased are super nice and almost as big as my Street Glide bags. A molded plastic shell covered with leather gives them rigidity and style. Both of us are quite impressed with them and they were only $219.00. However, the mounting kit that came with them just sucks. The left side support provided is completely useless as it will not clear the drive train. Not only that but the bolts they provided had the wrong type threads so they wouldn’t screw in and were waaaaaay too long. We went to Harley and ordered a nice single piece mount made by Drag Specialties for $60.
The saddle bag supports arrived Tuesday so we picked them up and hurried home to see if they were going to work. Again, more issues. We figured this would happen since we are using non Harley parts. The supports fit perfectly and clear the drive train but they angle outwards from the fender. This means the bags wont hang straight. Scott’s idea was to find some barrel spacers for the mount and use longer bolts. Off to Home Depot we went. It took a while to find exactly what we thought might work and get back home. Scott put the supports on and held the bags into place while I marked where the mounting bolts came to on the bags. Got out the drill and made the holes. We put a large flange washer that Scott painted on the inside and outside of the bag, the mounting bolt through those, then the barrel spacer over that, then the support which bolted perfectly in place, thus holding the bags very securely. They still lean outwards a bit but not bad enough to get worked up about.
We still had to figure out how to mount the bottom part of the bag to the support. We didn’t want to drill holes so we came up with the idea of using velcro. We used the plastic part of the velcro on the bag side and simply stuck it on. That stuff is super hard to get off once it sets. Not really sure how to explain how I was able to attach it to the support but you’ll see it in the pictures. All were trying to do is keep the bag from rattling against the bottom of the support, the huge bolts hold the bag on very securely. It all worked well and we still got her some very nice bags for a total cost including the new supports and Home Depot hardware for under $300 which I am very pleased about.
