Mudbug Adventures

Every Mile Is An Adventure

Cranfills Gap 2013 & Meridian State Park

by Filed Under: Road Trips

Following the previous weekend of hard riding Scott insisted on doing some riding related activities instead of riding the entire state of Texas again, go figure.  Saturday we both gave our bikes a good scrubbing.  They were still covered with an enormous amount of grasshopper goo.  This was the first washing of my Softail and Scott found it entertaining to hear me whine and grumble about how nasty the bug parts were and the fact that they wouldn’t come off easily. I swear grasshoppers have super glue for blood.  We also waxed the paint and polished the chrome on both bikes.  This was the first detailing for my bike so we took our time and did the process thoroughly.  This took all morning and we enjoyed doing it together.

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. In the afternoon 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 still wanted to ride a bit so Sunday morning we decided to go to Cranfills Gap.  Scott had been before but I had to work the day the group he road with went. The temperature was only going to be 98 for the high so it wasn’t as bad as the previous weekend.

We had lunch at the well known Horny Toad Bar & Grill which is about the only business in that town. When we left the temperature was beginning to climb.  It was 1:30 pm and only gonna get hotter throughout the day. Meridian State Park was only about 20 miles away so we decided to go there and spend the afternoon swimming and lounging around in the shade until it cooled down for the trip home.  Start to finish the trip was 257 miles. So despite Scott’s insistence that we spend the week-end working on the bikes I managed to weasel a ride out of him, again.

Dublin Dr Pepper & Goldthwaite Texas

by Filed Under: Road Trips, Texas

Over the last month Scott and I have been taking short rides, mostly close to home.  We started out doing 20 miles round trip and worked up to 60 mile round trips.  I was doing pretty good and Scott didn’t want to push me and provoke any discouragement by riding too far too fast and freaking me out. So he decided to trick me by doing a longer ride without telling me. He worked up a route to Hico, Tx and back which was about 125 miles round trip.  The evening before our friend Jim called to see what we were up to so we invited him and Pat along.

We met in Crowley and headed out.  The route took us through Godley, Bono, Granbury, then on some very nice FM roads to Hico.  Jim had to be back home to meet some construction contractors by noon so he broke off from us shortly before arriving at Hico.

Scott and I had breakfast at the Koffee Kup and unknowing to me we were preparing to head back home.  As we got up to leave I asked “where are we going now?”

“Back home” he responded.  Now is the turning point to this otherwise boring post.  Honestly I  wasn’t very happy with his response. I wanted to ride some more. He smiled and replied “Gotta keep your woman happy right?”  We headed out on more very nice FM roads and hours later ended up in Dublin TX.  We decided to take the tour of the historical Dr Pepper Museum and get a couple souvenirs. If you are looking for some old fashioned Dublin Original Dr. Pepper Made With Cane Sugar 8 oz. Glass Bottles you will have to settle on ordering it now.

We left Dublin and ended up back in Hico, then Glen Rose, then Granbury, Bono, Godley, Crowley, and finally home.  Every place we stopped at Scott encouraged a shorter route home to which he received evil glares and whining about what kind of rider he was? To be honest, I finally broke loose on my bike and overcame a lot of my apprehensions about riding.  I relaxed, let the bike go, and enjoyed the ride and scenery.  I finally began to understand the beauty of riding.  I was hooked and there was no turning back now. We rode 300 miles that day and every mile and stop was wonderful.

Nice little story but little did Scott know it would continue sooner than later.  He slept in the next morning to about 8am.  That’s VERY late for us considering our daily wake up time is 5am. He crawled out of bed, wandering into my work room rubbing his eyes trying to clear his vision only to find me standing there, dressed with my riding vest on.  “Where are we going today?” I asked with a completely serious demeanor. He later told me he was thinking  “WTH?!?!  riding 300 miles in a day is a pretty nice ride in itself for one weekend and this woman wants to go out again?” He told me he didn’t have anything planned to which I responded “Why not? You better figure out something soon so we can get going!”  I know he was thinking “OMG, this keeping your woman happy concept is starting to work against me!” Of course Scott is always happy to ride too and I think he is happy to have me happily riding behind him, even if I do push for more.

Within an hour were back on the road, Crowley, Godley, Bono, Hico, Hamilton, and finally to Goldthwaite. We stopped at a restaurant named Peabody’s to cool down and eat.  We arrived 30 minutes before closing time and stood at the front door for a few minutes while the staff walked around and ignored us. I figured if we sat down we might be served. Not a chance. Scott  finally went to the back of the restaurant where the staff was hiding out and asked if we were supposed to wait to be seated. A very rude server sharply informed him they were closed and turned away. If you go to Goldthwaithe stay away from Peabody’s, they are not biker friendly.   We did manage to find a Dairy Queen and got some cool drinks and a burger. They were very friendly unlike the cold shoulder we received at Peabody’s. There is a historic suspension bridge somewhere in the Goldthwaite area we wanted to see but by now it was late and we had a long ride to get home. We didn’t get any pictures in Goldwaithe as there really wasn’t anything to photograph. Well go back again and try to find that bridge on another trip. After another 10 hour day of riding and another 300 miles, we arrived home.

600 miles in two days.  I’m not really sure how to comment on that. I loved it.  Every bit of it.  The riding, the stops at towns and rest areas where we would just enjoy the day together.  We stopped at quite a few historical sites as well.

We took the camera and GoPro both of those days to try and get some media.  It’s grasshopper season in Texas so we lost a lot of video due to those things splattering on the lens cover of the GoPro even though he cleaned it at every stop. We still got some decent riding clips and Scott used what he was able to salvage and put together a short video. I hope you enjoy the media as much as we enjoyed the riding to compile it.

My First Real Ride on the Road

by Filed Under: Learning to Ride, New Rider Fears, Road Trips

Last weekend I completed the state mandated riding class and obtained my motorcycle riding license. The fourth of July meant we had an extended weekend so we were able to get out in the parking lot a bit more than usual. This helped me feel more comfortable on my Harley but I was still a bit hesitant when Scott asked about taking a short “real ride” as in out on the road.  I wanted to say no but seeing how I now had a license and a brand new bike I had hard time coming up with a valid excuse. I finally swallowed my fear and said sure. I knew Scott would be right there with me and that helped.

 

We left very early in the morning knowing there wouldn’t be too many cars on the road.  We stopped at the McDonald’s in Crowley and had some coffee and talked about how I felt about the ride before heading back.  I was a bit nervous and it showed but Scott assured me that is to be expected.  The ride home was much better, I  was more relaxed and my riding reflected it. Total round trip was 16.8 miles although I swear it felt like 50.  It was short enough to give me the opportunity to apply my riding abilities to the road and experience a taste of what is to be expected on the road without becoming to overwhelmed. I was very happy when Scott told me he was proud of my riding and comfortable with me as a riding partner.  He said he was never nervous or worried about my riding or feared that I was a danger to myself, him, or others on the road.  

Of course after I relaxed a bit I had to evaluate myself. I definitely need to work on going faster and learn to relax when I see a red light. We must have hit everyone, something that doesn’t happen when riding in a parking lot. The thought of shifting down and stopping in time worried me and caused me to go slower than I needed to. By the third light I was praying for green lights every time I saw a signal coming up! I began to slow down just in case it turned red. Over all though I am proud of myself and happy to have taken my first real ride.