Sunday morning rolls around and many of our group have decided to head for home. Several of us have decided that we want to do some more riding. We thought a few other people were going to join us but once again miscommunication has entered the picture. We sit around waiting... and waiting... no one shows. So we decide to just go ahead and go riding, but just in case, we swing by the other hotel where some of the others were staying to see if they might be there waiting for us. We pull into the parking lot and there they are, packing and getting ready to go home. Well, at least we get to say our goodbyes.
So Beth and I, Will Bird and James Brown, head out on Hwy. 27, Hwy. 39 and then on to Ranch Road 1340 to follow the north fork of the Guadalupe River. This is a nice road. It follows the curving river through the country side. There are many homes and ranches along the way. The pace through here is sedate as it is a fairly populated area. The road dips and curves along the low hills of the river valley. It is really quite a peaceful drive. The temperature is in the mid eighties and climbing. It looks to be another really hot day. At one point we round a corner and find ourselves looking at a miniature mockup of Stonehenge, pretty cool. There it sits, right out in the middle of a pasture. I should stop and get a picture but I am feeling lazy and just ride on by it.
From the turn off at Hunt, where we picked up 1340, it is 22 miles to Hwy. 41. We take 41 west out to FM 336. Hwy. 41 is straight for the most part with a few long sweepers. Beth has her windscreen on today so we can take the pace up a bit to get on out to 336. It is 17 miles from 1340 to 336. Then we turn south on 336 and the real fun begins.
FM 336 is a lonely deserted road winding through some pretty rugged terrain. It is full of steep drops and inclines with tight turns at the tops and bottoms. Very seldom do I get the bike over about 45mph. For the most part I just cruise along in 2nd and 3rd gear enjoying myself. I am in the lead today followed by Will. Beth and James are bringing up the rear because they prefer a more mellow pace. The road surface is consistent... consistently like a heavy grit sandpaper. There are few potholes or irregularities, but the surface is made of a coarse gravel pavement. I imagine it would not take very long to wear down a set of tires doing much spirited riding here. The road is about twenty feet wide with no shoulders at all. Most of the turns are blind either because we are coming around the side of the hills, or we are turning into the side of the hill and the trees block the view of the inside of the turn. We can't cut the inside of the turns too tight because there is quite a bit of loose rock and gravel near the edge of the pavement. So we really have to pay attention to what we are doing. Did I mention that this is also a free roaming livestock area?
FM 336 twists and winds for 27 miles before hitting US 83 in Leakey. A few miles before I hit Leakey I come hauling around a corner to see several cattle sitting right on the edge of the road at the inside of a turn. I am cooking pretty good and the rpms are up around 9000. Their eyes pop wide open and they all start getting up. I am getting on the brakes and trying to guess which way these guys are going to bolt, dodging is going to be tough if they don't all go the same way. Fortunately, they don't spook and they just get up and back away from the road and let me go whizzing by. Nice cows!
We pull into Leakey and stop for a break at the Exxon station on US 83 and FM 337. This is where everyone always stops for gas. Stations are far a few between out here so this is it. James tries to call his wife Terri to let her know we are going to be getting back to the hotel later than we had originally anticipated but he can't get her on the cell phone. We decide to make the ride shorter than yesterday's ride, so we just head east on FM 337 towards Vanderpool.
Since I am leading today, I get to set a pace I want so that I can fall into my natural rhythm. I don't have to worry about anyone keeping up because Will is quite capable and Beth and James are fine without us. FM 337 is a real treat but it is easy to get in over your head real quick if you don't pay attention. There are a few corners that follow at the tail of the previous corner. The first corner sucks you in because it looks like you can take it fast but then you hit the second corner with little room or time to slow to setup for it. This is where knowing the road makes all the difference. Will does a fantastic job of keeping pace with me on his Triumph Trophy 1200. This is a fifteen mile stretch of ups and downs following the ridge line of the hills. What a blast!
We stop when we reach Vanderpool to wait for Beth and James to catch up to us. Then we continue on FM 337 to Medina, a twenty mile run. The road is not quite as twisty as the stretch between Leakey and Vanderpool, but it is still a hoot. As I come upon a familiar overlook, I pull off so we can wait for the others. I want to get a group shot of the bikes. Will pulls in behind me and comes along side, we are both toasty now as the temps are hitting 100 plus and it is barely noon! Beth and James come along very shortly and we set up for the picture. Everyone is feeling the heat so we decide to turn north on Hwy. 16 at Medina and head straight for Kerrville.
The run from the overlook to Medina is done pretty fast. There are some fantastic wide open high speed sweepers along this stretch of road! The last few miles run down into the valley along the fertile farming pastures. Despite the heat, I am having a great time. There is little if any traffic, just me and the road. When I reach Medina, I pull off the road and under a large oak tree on the corner to wait for everyone else to catch up to me. It is a hot and dry breeze blowing but it is still refreshing.
When everyone comes along, we turn north on Hwy. 16. I said we were going to head straight to Kerrville, but I misspoke. This stretch of road has some very tight turns, ones with 15 mph caution signs to be taken very seriously, even on a motorcycle! There is one particular right hander that descends steeply through the first half of the turn and then rises steeply in the second half of the turn. I have to really get on the brakes to get rid of my speed going into the turn, a task aggravated by the steep descent. Then I forget to crank my head around and look back up and thru the turn. We all know what happens when you do that. I realize I am about to blow the turn and cross the double yellow. Despite the lack of oncoming traffic, I don't want to do that so I lay it over pretty far and start dragging peg and toe. I make the turn, but it wasn't pretty. I take the next few turns while chanting over and over..."Look where you want to go!!"
Everyone else makes the tight stuff without any problems. We finally reach the straight and boring sections of Hwy. 16 outside the south side of Kerrville. It is getting really really hot now, somewhere around 110 F. We stop at a gas station for air conditioning and water. Then it is off through town back to the hotel. We find Terri and she is not happy about how late we have returned. She has her heart set on heading up to Fredericksburg to do some serious shopping. She eventually forgives James and we decide to get some lunch together before going our separate ways. The restaurant at the Inn is great. James and Terri graciously treat us to lunch at their expense. It is a great opportunity to just sit and get to know one another. That is the best part of any of the rides we do, meeting the people and making friends.
It is getting on in the afternoon and we begin the process of loading the bikes on the trailer for the ride back to Austin. It is now around 113 F. Will is dreading the ride back. We try getting his bike on the trailer with ours but it is just to tight of a fit. So he rides despite the heat. Will is made of tough stuff hehe. We say our goodbyes and drive off. We follow Will to Austin and then we go on to Huntsville. After such a hot weekend, it sure is nice to be riding in the truck with the air conditioning on high hehe!
We get into Huntsville late in the evening. It has been a great weekend. I am pleased with the turn out. It would have been neat to have more riders show up, but considering the heat, we got a pretty good showing. Besides, it is easier to get to meet and visit with everyone when the group is smaller. There just isn't enough time and opportunity to get to know everyone at the larger rallies.
Now I can start thinking about our next trip in late October, the Honda Sport Touring Association's annual Hill Country Rally. It is at the same location we just stayed at this weekend and we'll be riding many of the same roads. The biggest difference is that it should be MUCH cooler and there should be many more riders. We can't wait!