South Coast
Member
Ride Around Texas - 3100 + miles, under 70 hours.
April, 30, 2017 10:00
The bike is loaded except for my 1 gallon water jug, which is iced down and spent the night in the fridge. Now it’s installed and that leaves a last minute tire pressure check, on the new skins, before we roll towards South Padre Island. It’s a leisurely trip south along the coast, about 350 miles, with a mandatory riders meeting at 16:00 hrs. So I’ve got time for a lunch stop on the way down. One couldn’t ask for better weather, warm and sunny, with a slight breeze out of the south. My trip to the start location is a short ride, but there are riders coming from all over the US and a 3 rider contingent from Mexico. A truly international event.
When you cross over the bridge from the mainland to the island you are instantly thrust into “tourist land”. Not bad right now, at least it’s after spring break, and honestly it is a beautiful place to visit.
I shut the bike off and gather my paperwork for the ride when I see Tim Masterson, the ride master for this event. Tim is a squared away guy and knows how to run a successful ride. He was the ridemaster for the RAT 3 years ago for the MTF, and he is a 3 time finisher of the Iron Butt Rally. I turn in my waiver, hand him my completed witness form just needing my mileage noted and his signature. With that completed I’m ready for an early morning start.
Tim billed this ride as a warmup for the upcoming Iron Butt Rally and a number of the participants are here for that reason, as they are already signed up and accepted for the Big Show in July. Apparently making this ride in 70 hours or less with a total of 18 stops to verify the route is good practice for rally work. I wouldn’t know, I’m not a rally rider. I’m what is called a cert (certificate) rider I guess. I’m not young enough nor smart enough to be competitive in a rally like the IBR, but I sure do like to ride.
The rules: Pretty simple really, pick your direction CW, or CCW, start between 5 and 6 am, be back before 70 hours expires, and make all 18 checkpoints proving you were there with a DBR or a picture as required. Most folks run a spot tracker so that helps verify the ride. You can choose any route you desire but you must make the checkpoints in the order listed.
I chose CCW because I had planned to hit Big Bend NP at sunrise on the 3rd day. Going clockwise would put me there in the afternoon of day one, not my favorite time in the park. As it turns out the long range weather forecast is much more favorable to my direction. I think a few guys may have changed their initial plans, but most didn’t. Some would pay later.
May 1, 2017
Day one would be my longest and slowest day of the 3 if my plans panned out.
I’ve got my gas receipt at 05:00 and I’m headed for Victoria, my first checkpoint of the ride. By 08:25, 240 miles in I’m getting 4 gals. of fuel in the aux tank in Victoria. That’s more than enough to get me to Galveston, where I plan on adding a quick 1 gallon to generate a receipt so I can get on the ferry quickly if it’s there. As I round the last curve toward the ferry my gas stop is on the right but I’m looking for the ferry. Lucky, it’s at the dock and just starting to unload. Better yet, there are only a couple of cars in line to board. This will go smoothly. Well sort of. I was boarded on the starboard side of the boat outboard. That is the last row to exit the ferry. It’s not a big deal but,,,,
The required pic of the bike on the boat.
A couple of days before the event, the road east of Rollover Pass had been closed because of high water and sand on the road. We had been experiencing some very strong southerly winds and with high tide the road was inundated. Happily TxDot had done their job and the roadway was open on schedule, a few hours before we arrived. As I turned north toward Winnie on my way to Port Arthur, another mandatory stop, I see a GS pulling out on the road. He gets to the right side of the lane, so I pass, and notice a couple of more BMW’s in the station. It’s the Mexicans! Cool, I get to see somebody doing the ride. Then my mind wonders,,,how did they get here in front of me? Nobody has passed me today. Why are they getting gas here, when they had to get a receipt in Galveston, only a few miles back? Maybe they thought this was Port Arthur, hell I don’t know. They jar me back to reality as the 3 of them in formation go around me like I’m stopped. The sound of 3 BMW’s with Akrapovic cans, at full tilt boogie, sure sounds good! I pick up the pace about a half mile back and follow them to Winnie. That was fun. They miss a merge right onto SH 73, and get stuck at the intersection by a red light. I make the merge, blow the horn and motion for them to follow me. It takes them awhile but I can see their headlights in my mirrors. In Port Arthur I fill both tanks because the next mandatory is in Texarkana, almost 300 miles away. As I’m fueling, the Mexicans arrive. These guys are having a ball. Smiles, thumbs up, high fives, it’s great. I ask where they are stopping for the night and I get the “don’t know, where are you stopping”. I tell them Childress, and they nod like they agree. I’m just short of 500 miles in and it’s 12:30, so the slow part of the ride is behind me and I’m totally pleased with the time. At this rate I should be in Childress before midnight, that’s a good thing.
Turns out the Mexicans had made the same ferry I was on. They were at the back on the Port side inboard row, so they were the last ones on and first ones off the boat, and I didn’t see them leave. Mystery solved.
I leave the station and head for the Rainbow/Veterans Memorial Bridges over the Neches river ship channel. Finally we get above sea level for the first time today it seems. It was neat to stand on the pegs and take a look around. You can see Louisiana from up there.
We’ve spent the morning along the Gulf Coast, now we head north along the border with Louisiana, and our second region, the Piney Woods of east Texas. Small towns and lumber mills dot the countryside and fill your nose with the smell of fresh cut pine trees. Buna, Kirbyville, Jasper, Brookeland, then we split the middle between Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend lakes to San Augustine, on to Center, Carthage, Marshall, Atlanta, and then into Texarkana for our fuel stop. 758 miles down, at 16:45. A quick few gallons in the aux tank to keep the stop as fast as possible and I’m on the road to Paris, our next mandatory only 90 miles to the west. I fill both tanks in Paris so I’ve got plenty of fuel to make the final destination for day 1, Childress, Tx. It’s 18:30 and we are about 4 hours, and 300 miles out. I like riding US 287 at night. It’s a pretty safe road, divided 4 lane, not many animals, and well marked, and to be honest there’s not a heck of a lot to see along the way. At least at night you get the lights of the upcoming towns, that dot the road to Amarillo.
I arrive at the hotel about 22:30 and the first priority is get out my heated gear, I’ll need it in the morning. Next up, a light dinner, then shower, and I’m ready for sleep. I feel really good, no major pains, and pretty rested, but it doesn’t take me long to drift off…23:00 I’m gone…
Totals for day 1 - 1139.2 miles - 18 hrs.
I decided to treat myself to some nice accommodations, on this ride. Secure parking, comfy beds, clean rooms,,,less stress. The La Copa Inn in SPI is nice, and I booked Hampton Inns in both Childress, and Van Horn, my 2 planned stops on the ride if all went well. Usually I just ride til I get tired and find a (cheap) place to sleep. The older I get the more I appreciate quality rest. I can vouch for the beds in Hampton Inns, I slept great!!!
Day 2
May 2, 2017
04:30, the alarm on my phone alerts me, but I’m already awake, not up, but awake. My normal sleep cycle is about 4 to 6 hours, so I’m starting a normal day. By 05:00 I’m getting a gas receipt to start riding day 2. I’ve got my gauntlet style leather gloves on but not plugged in. The grip heaters are on. I’m also wearing my heated jacket liner and it is plugged in! It’s chilly this morning, no it’s down right cold this morning. 38 degrees, and the sun won’t start warming the day for a few hours. My FJR provides excellent wind protection with the windshield all the way up so it’s not long and I’m dialing the jacket back to a 2 setting, and I’m very comfortable. In less than an hour I’m rolling into Shamrock, Tx. Shamrock is on the original Route 66 and now is bypassed by I-40. There is an art deco Conoco station/Cafe there (built in the 30’s) that I have visited for pictures a couple of times. I have stayed in Shamrock to get pictures of the structure at night when it was lit up, but the lights never came on when I was there. This morning the neon is blazing so we’ve got a slight delay while I take a few pictures with both my camera, and my phone. The building is totally restored and used as a visitor center and I think it is the Chamber of Commerce headquarters also. Leading the way as it did in the 30’s, around the far side of the station is a Tesla Supercharger station.
On to Follett, Tx. in the far northeast corner of the panhandle. Follett, a farming/ranching/oil producing community is here because of the railroad. Six miles to the north was a town called Ivanhoe, Ok. Seems when the rail lines went south of them they picked up the town, buildings and all, and moved it to Follett, Tx.
The sun is up but it isn’t any warmer yet, seems like a real midwestern winter day, blustery wind and all. What a change from the tropical weather of just 24 hours earlier, but nothing like the changes to come. With a fuel receipt in hand I point the bike due west to the other end of the panhandle and Texline, Tx. on the border with NM.
Just 2 days earlier winter storm Ursa came blowing through the panhandle with high winds and over
1 ft. of wet snow, knocking out power to much of the area and the results could still be seen in the snow drifts, and dead cattle on the sides of the road. A number of these roads that I’m on this day were closed 2 days earlier, glad I missed that experience.
It’s 09:50 and we pull into the Texline Allsup’s station. I’m pretty familiar with this place, I’ve been buying fuel here at least a couple of times a year, for longer than I can remember, 40 years or so. I’ve fueled everything from dirt bikes to motorhomes and plenty of street bikes, cars and trucks here. This is my normal route to the mountains, so I pass this way a lot. I don’t recall the temperature but it must have been mid 40’s or so by now. I know the low I saw coming west across the panhandle was 33, before it began to warm. With the bike full of fuel I’m headed south 365 miles, to the town of Kermit, Tx.
Between Texline and Kermit most of the CW riders will be passing the CCW riders, and I expected to see maybe 15 or so. I think I spotted 3 or 4. There are a number of north - south routes along the western border and I picked a pretty remote road so I’m sure I missed the majority of the riders in that area.
What I love about this ride is the diversity of terrain, weather, and people you see in such a short period of time. In less than 70 hours we pass thru gulf coast plains, piney woods, high plains and grass land, the Permian Basin, mountains, desert and the Rio Grande valley. Here’s a good example in 2 pictures.
This is east of Dalhart, Tx. at 09:00. Temp low 30”s
This is north of Kermit, Tx. at 15:30 on the same day. Temp nearing 100. That's sand, not snow.
Getting into Kermit for fuel was a bit tricky. It looked like a mini rush hour, lots of oil field vehicles going everywhere. The whole area is busier than it was 3 years ago, when I rode the RAT, and it was damn busy then. I screwed up getting out of Kermit. My intent was to take a slight detour to the southwest and go to Wink, Tx. the hometown of Roy Orbison. I don’t know why, just one of those oddities I suppose. There’s a little museum as I understand run by his brother. Anyway I ended up going about 5 miles due east before I figured out my error, so I spun around and got back on my original route forgetting about Wink. There will be another time for that visit.
Next checkpoint was the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, where a picture of the entrance sign was required.
With that done I’m off to mile marker zero on I 10, Anthony, Tx. This is the far western tip of Texas. If you leave here and head for the Louisiana border you will drive for 880 miles before you leave the state. Even with the higher Texas speed limits it’s still a 10 to 12 hour drive. Welcome to Texas!
I get a receipt that reads 18:37 mountain time, but I record it as 19:37 CST to keep the complete ride on Central time. I’ll be at my final destination for day 2 by 10:00. A good days ride with no stress, 17 hours, 1093 miles.
I’m really excited about day 3. I like the ride from here to Presidio, and I’m looking forward to riding the River Road before dawn. But the big deal for me, is riding through the park with the sun just coming up, it is stunning, believe me.
Goodnight from Van Horn.
Rich
April, 30, 2017 10:00
The bike is loaded except for my 1 gallon water jug, which is iced down and spent the night in the fridge. Now it’s installed and that leaves a last minute tire pressure check, on the new skins, before we roll towards South Padre Island. It’s a leisurely trip south along the coast, about 350 miles, with a mandatory riders meeting at 16:00 hrs. So I’ve got time for a lunch stop on the way down. One couldn’t ask for better weather, warm and sunny, with a slight breeze out of the south. My trip to the start location is a short ride, but there are riders coming from all over the US and a 3 rider contingent from Mexico. A truly international event.
When you cross over the bridge from the mainland to the island you are instantly thrust into “tourist land”. Not bad right now, at least it’s after spring break, and honestly it is a beautiful place to visit.
I shut the bike off and gather my paperwork for the ride when I see Tim Masterson, the ride master for this event. Tim is a squared away guy and knows how to run a successful ride. He was the ridemaster for the RAT 3 years ago for the MTF, and he is a 3 time finisher of the Iron Butt Rally. I turn in my waiver, hand him my completed witness form just needing my mileage noted and his signature. With that completed I’m ready for an early morning start.
Tim billed this ride as a warmup for the upcoming Iron Butt Rally and a number of the participants are here for that reason, as they are already signed up and accepted for the Big Show in July. Apparently making this ride in 70 hours or less with a total of 18 stops to verify the route is good practice for rally work. I wouldn’t know, I’m not a rally rider. I’m what is called a cert (certificate) rider I guess. I’m not young enough nor smart enough to be competitive in a rally like the IBR, but I sure do like to ride.
The rules: Pretty simple really, pick your direction CW, or CCW, start between 5 and 6 am, be back before 70 hours expires, and make all 18 checkpoints proving you were there with a DBR or a picture as required. Most folks run a spot tracker so that helps verify the ride. You can choose any route you desire but you must make the checkpoints in the order listed.
I chose CCW because I had planned to hit Big Bend NP at sunrise on the 3rd day. Going clockwise would put me there in the afternoon of day one, not my favorite time in the park. As it turns out the long range weather forecast is much more favorable to my direction. I think a few guys may have changed their initial plans, but most didn’t. Some would pay later.
May 1, 2017
Day one would be my longest and slowest day of the 3 if my plans panned out.
I’ve got my gas receipt at 05:00 and I’m headed for Victoria, my first checkpoint of the ride. By 08:25, 240 miles in I’m getting 4 gals. of fuel in the aux tank in Victoria. That’s more than enough to get me to Galveston, where I plan on adding a quick 1 gallon to generate a receipt so I can get on the ferry quickly if it’s there. As I round the last curve toward the ferry my gas stop is on the right but I’m looking for the ferry. Lucky, it’s at the dock and just starting to unload. Better yet, there are only a couple of cars in line to board. This will go smoothly. Well sort of. I was boarded on the starboard side of the boat outboard. That is the last row to exit the ferry. It’s not a big deal but,,,,
The required pic of the bike on the boat.
A couple of days before the event, the road east of Rollover Pass had been closed because of high water and sand on the road. We had been experiencing some very strong southerly winds and with high tide the road was inundated. Happily TxDot had done their job and the roadway was open on schedule, a few hours before we arrived. As I turned north toward Winnie on my way to Port Arthur, another mandatory stop, I see a GS pulling out on the road. He gets to the right side of the lane, so I pass, and notice a couple of more BMW’s in the station. It’s the Mexicans! Cool, I get to see somebody doing the ride. Then my mind wonders,,,how did they get here in front of me? Nobody has passed me today. Why are they getting gas here, when they had to get a receipt in Galveston, only a few miles back? Maybe they thought this was Port Arthur, hell I don’t know. They jar me back to reality as the 3 of them in formation go around me like I’m stopped. The sound of 3 BMW’s with Akrapovic cans, at full tilt boogie, sure sounds good! I pick up the pace about a half mile back and follow them to Winnie. That was fun. They miss a merge right onto SH 73, and get stuck at the intersection by a red light. I make the merge, blow the horn and motion for them to follow me. It takes them awhile but I can see their headlights in my mirrors. In Port Arthur I fill both tanks because the next mandatory is in Texarkana, almost 300 miles away. As I’m fueling, the Mexicans arrive. These guys are having a ball. Smiles, thumbs up, high fives, it’s great. I ask where they are stopping for the night and I get the “don’t know, where are you stopping”. I tell them Childress, and they nod like they agree. I’m just short of 500 miles in and it’s 12:30, so the slow part of the ride is behind me and I’m totally pleased with the time. At this rate I should be in Childress before midnight, that’s a good thing.
Turns out the Mexicans had made the same ferry I was on. They were at the back on the Port side inboard row, so they were the last ones on and first ones off the boat, and I didn’t see them leave. Mystery solved.
I leave the station and head for the Rainbow/Veterans Memorial Bridges over the Neches river ship channel. Finally we get above sea level for the first time today it seems. It was neat to stand on the pegs and take a look around. You can see Louisiana from up there.
We’ve spent the morning along the Gulf Coast, now we head north along the border with Louisiana, and our second region, the Piney Woods of east Texas. Small towns and lumber mills dot the countryside and fill your nose with the smell of fresh cut pine trees. Buna, Kirbyville, Jasper, Brookeland, then we split the middle between Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend lakes to San Augustine, on to Center, Carthage, Marshall, Atlanta, and then into Texarkana for our fuel stop. 758 miles down, at 16:45. A quick few gallons in the aux tank to keep the stop as fast as possible and I’m on the road to Paris, our next mandatory only 90 miles to the west. I fill both tanks in Paris so I’ve got plenty of fuel to make the final destination for day 1, Childress, Tx. It’s 18:30 and we are about 4 hours, and 300 miles out. I like riding US 287 at night. It’s a pretty safe road, divided 4 lane, not many animals, and well marked, and to be honest there’s not a heck of a lot to see along the way. At least at night you get the lights of the upcoming towns, that dot the road to Amarillo.
I arrive at the hotel about 22:30 and the first priority is get out my heated gear, I’ll need it in the morning. Next up, a light dinner, then shower, and I’m ready for sleep. I feel really good, no major pains, and pretty rested, but it doesn’t take me long to drift off…23:00 I’m gone…
Totals for day 1 - 1139.2 miles - 18 hrs.
I decided to treat myself to some nice accommodations, on this ride. Secure parking, comfy beds, clean rooms,,,less stress. The La Copa Inn in SPI is nice, and I booked Hampton Inns in both Childress, and Van Horn, my 2 planned stops on the ride if all went well. Usually I just ride til I get tired and find a (cheap) place to sleep. The older I get the more I appreciate quality rest. I can vouch for the beds in Hampton Inns, I slept great!!!
Day 2
May 2, 2017
04:30, the alarm on my phone alerts me, but I’m already awake, not up, but awake. My normal sleep cycle is about 4 to 6 hours, so I’m starting a normal day. By 05:00 I’m getting a gas receipt to start riding day 2. I’ve got my gauntlet style leather gloves on but not plugged in. The grip heaters are on. I’m also wearing my heated jacket liner and it is plugged in! It’s chilly this morning, no it’s down right cold this morning. 38 degrees, and the sun won’t start warming the day for a few hours. My FJR provides excellent wind protection with the windshield all the way up so it’s not long and I’m dialing the jacket back to a 2 setting, and I’m very comfortable. In less than an hour I’m rolling into Shamrock, Tx. Shamrock is on the original Route 66 and now is bypassed by I-40. There is an art deco Conoco station/Cafe there (built in the 30’s) that I have visited for pictures a couple of times. I have stayed in Shamrock to get pictures of the structure at night when it was lit up, but the lights never came on when I was there. This morning the neon is blazing so we’ve got a slight delay while I take a few pictures with both my camera, and my phone. The building is totally restored and used as a visitor center and I think it is the Chamber of Commerce headquarters also. Leading the way as it did in the 30’s, around the far side of the station is a Tesla Supercharger station.
On to Follett, Tx. in the far northeast corner of the panhandle. Follett, a farming/ranching/oil producing community is here because of the railroad. Six miles to the north was a town called Ivanhoe, Ok. Seems when the rail lines went south of them they picked up the town, buildings and all, and moved it to Follett, Tx.
The sun is up but it isn’t any warmer yet, seems like a real midwestern winter day, blustery wind and all. What a change from the tropical weather of just 24 hours earlier, but nothing like the changes to come. With a fuel receipt in hand I point the bike due west to the other end of the panhandle and Texline, Tx. on the border with NM.
Just 2 days earlier winter storm Ursa came blowing through the panhandle with high winds and over
1 ft. of wet snow, knocking out power to much of the area and the results could still be seen in the snow drifts, and dead cattle on the sides of the road. A number of these roads that I’m on this day were closed 2 days earlier, glad I missed that experience.
It’s 09:50 and we pull into the Texline Allsup’s station. I’m pretty familiar with this place, I’ve been buying fuel here at least a couple of times a year, for longer than I can remember, 40 years or so. I’ve fueled everything from dirt bikes to motorhomes and plenty of street bikes, cars and trucks here. This is my normal route to the mountains, so I pass this way a lot. I don’t recall the temperature but it must have been mid 40’s or so by now. I know the low I saw coming west across the panhandle was 33, before it began to warm. With the bike full of fuel I’m headed south 365 miles, to the town of Kermit, Tx.
Between Texline and Kermit most of the CW riders will be passing the CCW riders, and I expected to see maybe 15 or so. I think I spotted 3 or 4. There are a number of north - south routes along the western border and I picked a pretty remote road so I’m sure I missed the majority of the riders in that area.
What I love about this ride is the diversity of terrain, weather, and people you see in such a short period of time. In less than 70 hours we pass thru gulf coast plains, piney woods, high plains and grass land, the Permian Basin, mountains, desert and the Rio Grande valley. Here’s a good example in 2 pictures.
This is east of Dalhart, Tx. at 09:00. Temp low 30”s
This is north of Kermit, Tx. at 15:30 on the same day. Temp nearing 100. That's sand, not snow.
Getting into Kermit for fuel was a bit tricky. It looked like a mini rush hour, lots of oil field vehicles going everywhere. The whole area is busier than it was 3 years ago, when I rode the RAT, and it was damn busy then. I screwed up getting out of Kermit. My intent was to take a slight detour to the southwest and go to Wink, Tx. the hometown of Roy Orbison. I don’t know why, just one of those oddities I suppose. There’s a little museum as I understand run by his brother. Anyway I ended up going about 5 miles due east before I figured out my error, so I spun around and got back on my original route forgetting about Wink. There will be another time for that visit.
Next checkpoint was the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, where a picture of the entrance sign was required.
With that done I’m off to mile marker zero on I 10, Anthony, Tx. This is the far western tip of Texas. If you leave here and head for the Louisiana border you will drive for 880 miles before you leave the state. Even with the higher Texas speed limits it’s still a 10 to 12 hour drive. Welcome to Texas!
I get a receipt that reads 18:37 mountain time, but I record it as 19:37 CST to keep the complete ride on Central time. I’ll be at my final destination for day 2 by 10:00. A good days ride with no stress, 17 hours, 1093 miles.
I’m really excited about day 3. I like the ride from here to Presidio, and I’m looking forward to riding the River Road before dawn. But the big deal for me, is riding through the park with the sun just coming up, it is stunning, believe me.
Goodnight from Van Horn.
Rich
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