George's Rides

Dateline:  September 3, 2005.  I took some photos but can't find them.

Summer in Texas.  Hotter than hell.  I haven't been riding much, as I
am working out of town, and when I get home on weekends there are so many
things to do that gearing up for a ride in the heat usually becomes low
priority.

Saturday, I decided come hell or high water, I was on the bike.  I
checked the entertainment section of the local news and noted The Greencards
were playing in Gruene Hall, in beautiful downtown Gruene, Texas, which is
near New Braunsfels.

The Greencards are a bluegrass band of some local renown.  They are a
group of Brits and Aussies, hence the name Greencards.  They have a CD
out, which I have purchased, but I had never seen them play.  I would
remedy that.

I loaded up my tankbag with water and camera, and headed out.  I left
the house and stopped for gas.  Gas is still cheap in Austin, only 3.09 for
premium.  I filled up my tires with air, as they were both low from
sitting for so long.  (a mini-rant here:  Why do air hoses not have 90
degree fittings any more?  What a pain in the ass to get the hose to
the valve stem!)

Finally, I was ready to hit the highway.  I headed over to Loop 1
(MoPac) and headed south to TX45, which I took to FM1826.  FM1826 was
wonderful, no traffic in front of me at all, which allowed me to run along about
75 with no problems.  At the end of FM 1826, I turned south on FM150.
This is a delightfully 3D road, with ups, downs, rights, lefts, a real joy
to ride.  Unless there is a Honda wagon in front of you, slamming on the
brakes at every tree.

At Hays City, I made a right on FM3237 to make towards Wimberley.  This
is more good Hill Country riding, not as many curves and hills as 150, but
it does allow me to come to Ranch Road 12 south of Wimberly, so I can
avoid the c-f that town has become on weekends.

Once on 12, I head south across the Blanco River and on to Ranch Road
32, where I head west for a bit, then turn south on Purgatory Road, which
is named for Purgatory Creek as it is a well maintained, low-traffic
county road.  At the southern terminus, I turned to the west on FM306, in with
the Canyon Lake-bound traffic.  In just a few miles, I turned again,
onto FM2673 toward Sattler.  Once in Sattler, I turned on Sattler Road and
then onto River Road.

Like most River Roads, the Guadalupe River Road is well worth exploring
on a motorcycle.  Beautiful views and lots of curves, both of the asphalt
variety and the human type, as many people enjoy spending a hot summer
day floating down the river on tubes.  Beware, though, the 20 mph speed
limit is strictly enforced.  In 10 miles of road, I saw 7 Comal County
deputies, several with cars pulled over.

After that refreshing interlude, I turned left onto TX46 then took the
Rock Street exit, which leads to Gruene (pronounced Green) Road, which
leads to, oddly enough, Gruene.

I was lucky to find a parking spot right by the cop directing traffic,
and walked across the street to Gruene Hall, where the Greencards were in
the middle of a smoking set, playing to a packed house of hot, appreciative
fans.  This group is well worth seeing if they appear in your area.
They recently toured with Bob Dyan and Willie Nelson.

After staying for another set, the heat started getting to me so I
headed out.  Some afternoon thunderclouds were building to the west, so I
opted for a more direct route home.  From downtown Gruene, I went northeast
on Hunter Road to FM306,  which I took northwest to Purgatory road, from
there I returned to my house by a reverse route from the outbound leg,
stopping in Hays City for gas (3.19/gal for premium) and a Hays City
Burrito (smoked brisket, pico de gallo, and cheese in a tortilla.)

The storm clouds stayed at bay for the most part, only 1 brief shower
marred the day, and rain felt cool.

The total trip was about 120 miles, and at least that many smiles.

It was clear here in Sacramento today, with the temps forcast to be in the 60s. I hopped on the bike, noting that the temperature seemed a little cool.

I headed south on the levee highway, Cal route 160. I have reported on this road before, it follows the Sacramento River south through the Delta to the Bay. When I say it follows, I mean it follows, with long, sweeping curves, right on top of the levee most of the way. Quite a few bikes out today, and there were a few boats moving on the river. There were even a couple of Jetskis out, the riders were fully dressed.

After a short wait at the Threemile Slough drawbridge for a passing tug, I took 160 all the way to Antioch, where I hit 4 east toward Stockton. As I went by the Union Point Marina I noticed they were doing a booming business, with about 15 bikes parked out front. I would have stopped in to check my fluid levels, but there were other fish to fry today.

Rolled into Stockton to the Elks Lodge, where I met up with a DOF, a Saint, and TNFH. A real stroke of timing had us arriving at the exact same time. The only reason that happened was my skill at taking a 40 mile ride down the Interstate and turning it into a 110 mile back road adventure.

At the Elks, we enjoyed some really good jazz performed by the Natural Gas Jazz Band, and the DOF shared some Earthquake McGoon's memorbilia with the members of the band, some of whom played there and one of whom helped produce a book about the place. For those who don't know, McGoon's was a jazz club in San Francisco where the DOF and the Saint used to spend time. The doors from the Pier 39 location were obtained by said DOF, and are slated to be the Saloon doors.

After an utterly enjoyable, and utterly too short a time, I had to take my leave, to attend a Super Bowl party hosted by a coworker. I left Stockton and blasted north on Rt 99. I would have stopped in Lodi, but was afraid I'd be stuck there, so I kept going. I turned off of 99 onto Grant Line Road, taking that all the way to Folsom, to my coworker's house. I was late for the kickoff, so I listened to the start of the game on the Electra Glide's radio.

I left his house when the fourth quarter started, so I could pop home before the parties let out. Just a straight romp down Rt. 50, north on 5, another stop for gas, and put the bike to bed.

Close to 200 miles, nice, enjoyable day. The inner fairing temperature guage did reach 60 degrees, when I left the bike parked in the sun.