hppants
Well-known member
Great weather this weekend in the deep south. Early morning in the lower 40s, but it warms up to about 70 and you have to work hard to find a cloud. Wifey had to work on Saturday. That means Pants can go play and you dont have to tell me twice!! I texted some riding buddies on Friday to see if anyone was up for it and Jay (Southerncruizer), John (Jonjonboo), and Mike (MikeP1300) all replied affirmative.
I used this ride as a Shake Down cruise. I am not sure where that phrase came from but an old fishing buddy of mine used that term with me a long time ago. We would get together and work on our boats. It could be a minor repair, installation of accessories, or even a motor rebuild. After we were done, we would take the boat out on a nice long test cruise to make sure everything was OK. Well, at least that is what we would tell the wives. If a couple of fishing poles took the ride and got tested too, well, that is just the way things go.
In shake down cruise fashion, I just finished reinstalling a lot of my farkles on my new to me FJR, many of which I carried over from my recently totaled bike. Frame sliders, top box rack, accessory fuse block, ampli rider, wiring, GPS, etc.
Oh, I got a new camera too!
Hope you like the pics.
I plugged in the heated gear even though I didnt need it. Remember, we are testing the water, here. MikeP and I met at the local fueling station about 8:30 am. Good fuel prices in these parts now.
Mike and I blasted 25 miles down the slab and then another 20 miles through the woods along Port Allen Lock Bayou to Livonia, where we met Jay and John.
From there, we crossed the Mississippi River near St. Francisville, and then took the scenic route to Lake Rosedown near the Mississippi State Line. This is a great place to take a break and relax.
Just a touch of color here from some cypress trees, if brown qualifies as such.
After a nice break, we saddled back up and I led us through the twisties to Natchez for lunch. The Pig Out Inn has first class BBQ.
Mike if you would just wait 2 seconds for the food porn shot, then you can commence to eating
Thank you.
After lunch, we rode together over the river into Louisiana a while, then John and Jay split off to ride more directly home. Mike and I took the more scenic route through the piney woods of central Louisiana. Pants has a sweet tooth that usually crops up in the mid afternoon so at our gas stop, I sprung for the obligatory dessert.
All told it was about 400 miles for us and we enjoyed every single one of them.
Sunday morning, I woke up and started piddling around the house. As the morning sun rose, I kept thinking about riding some more. I had too much fun yesterday. Mama was pretty tired from working all day yesterday so after lunch, I offered to give her some peace and quiet, and took off with my binoculars to try and do some bird watching.
I rode about 20 miles to Jefferson Island, where a nice stand of mature Live Oaks exist.
These moss draped trees are majestic with their twisted trunks and massive low hanging branches.
I parked the bike and took a short walk through here.
Using the cover from an oak tree, I was able to watch some birds roosting in the trees.
These are cormorants and they are very common here. I like watching them take off from the water. As a diving bird, their wings are always heavy at take off, so they use the ground effect from the water as an aid.
Often you can find them roosted in trees drying their wings.
From Jefferson Island, I rode a short distance to another bridge that I know of on a dead end road. There is a nice stand of cypress trees in the adjacent swamp to this bayou.
Finally, I rode around a while and ended up stopping at the Bayou Tortue. This bridge is believed to be haunted. I didnt feel any presence, but enjoyed watching a number of birds playing in the swamps. The light behind me was very strong and it was easy to spot plenty of birds through my powerful glasses. I watched a few finches gorging themselves on some kind of local berry. It was cool.
So it was about 500 miles for me this weekend. Ive got to get a longer RAM dog bone for my GPS as my new tank bag (Givi Tank Lock 15 liter) is a smidge taller and I need to lift my GPS mount a little higher. Otherwise, the shake down cruise was a great success.
Stay thirsty, my friends..
I used this ride as a Shake Down cruise. I am not sure where that phrase came from but an old fishing buddy of mine used that term with me a long time ago. We would get together and work on our boats. It could be a minor repair, installation of accessories, or even a motor rebuild. After we were done, we would take the boat out on a nice long test cruise to make sure everything was OK. Well, at least that is what we would tell the wives. If a couple of fishing poles took the ride and got tested too, well, that is just the way things go.
In shake down cruise fashion, I just finished reinstalling a lot of my farkles on my new to me FJR, many of which I carried over from my recently totaled bike. Frame sliders, top box rack, accessory fuse block, ampli rider, wiring, GPS, etc.
Oh, I got a new camera too!
Hope you like the pics.
I plugged in the heated gear even though I didnt need it. Remember, we are testing the water, here. MikeP and I met at the local fueling station about 8:30 am. Good fuel prices in these parts now.
Mike and I blasted 25 miles down the slab and then another 20 miles through the woods along Port Allen Lock Bayou to Livonia, where we met Jay and John.
From there, we crossed the Mississippi River near St. Francisville, and then took the scenic route to Lake Rosedown near the Mississippi State Line. This is a great place to take a break and relax.
Just a touch of color here from some cypress trees, if brown qualifies as such.
After a nice break, we saddled back up and I led us through the twisties to Natchez for lunch. The Pig Out Inn has first class BBQ.
Mike if you would just wait 2 seconds for the food porn shot, then you can commence to eating
Thank you.
After lunch, we rode together over the river into Louisiana a while, then John and Jay split off to ride more directly home. Mike and I took the more scenic route through the piney woods of central Louisiana. Pants has a sweet tooth that usually crops up in the mid afternoon so at our gas stop, I sprung for the obligatory dessert.
All told it was about 400 miles for us and we enjoyed every single one of them.
Sunday morning, I woke up and started piddling around the house. As the morning sun rose, I kept thinking about riding some more. I had too much fun yesterday. Mama was pretty tired from working all day yesterday so after lunch, I offered to give her some peace and quiet, and took off with my binoculars to try and do some bird watching.
I rode about 20 miles to Jefferson Island, where a nice stand of mature Live Oaks exist.
These moss draped trees are majestic with their twisted trunks and massive low hanging branches.
I parked the bike and took a short walk through here.
Using the cover from an oak tree, I was able to watch some birds roosting in the trees.
These are cormorants and they are very common here. I like watching them take off from the water. As a diving bird, their wings are always heavy at take off, so they use the ground effect from the water as an aid.
Often you can find them roosted in trees drying their wings.
From Jefferson Island, I rode a short distance to another bridge that I know of on a dead end road. There is a nice stand of cypress trees in the adjacent swamp to this bayou.
Finally, I rode around a while and ended up stopping at the Bayou Tortue. This bridge is believed to be haunted. I didnt feel any presence, but enjoyed watching a number of birds playing in the swamps. The light behind me was very strong and it was easy to spot plenty of birds through my powerful glasses. I watched a few finches gorging themselves on some kind of local berry. It was cool.
So it was about 500 miles for me this weekend. Ive got to get a longer RAM dog bone for my GPS as my new tank bag (Givi Tank Lock 15 liter) is a smidge taller and I need to lift my GPS mount a little higher. Otherwise, the shake down cruise was a great success.
Stay thirsty, my friends..
