RIDE TOMORROW - SAT. 10.11.03

OK everyone who would like to make it....

I've posted the destructions on how to get there....

I've talked it up....

I've rode it.....

I've suffered through eating pie with Bill at the Koffee Kup in
Hico....

Cranfills Gap run tomorrow!!!

Anyone is welcome to come and ride with us.

Bill, Brian, Waco and a few others were talking about a run and since
I didn't see any dates/times/locations, here it is. Another friend of
mine just called and said they are running it before possibly heading
down to Kerrville to ride the rest of the weekend down there. I can't
make the whole run, but I can certainly make the Gap run.

Where to be: The Cracker Barrel parking lot in Arlington at Bowen and
I-20 approximately 8:00am - try to depart by 8:30am. If you want
breakfast, get there earlier.

The run is approximately 110 miles one way (not counting whatever it
takes you to get to Arlington, first), and by the time we stop and
take breaks, figure it will take all day to make a round trip.

I figure we can get some lunch (and Pie) in Hico. I'll bring the
duct-tape so we can strap Bill to his bike, should he decide make it.

The other guys will probably peel off after that and head to Kerrville
for some great riding. I don't want to speak for them, but they
probably wouldn't mind anyone else going with them if you are up for
an all-weekend type ride. I'll be turning around to come home.


If you would like to go, just show up. If you think you might be late
or need to call me, email me for my phone number.

Oh hey BILL - I spoke to Bling! and he can't make a ride at all this
weekend. He's tied up. Said he'd love to go, but he has other stuff
he has to get done.



--Fullstate

 

Not sure you would want to do the Gap on your current bike. We tend
to run at some pretty good speeds on the way down there and once we
hit the two main roads it's every person for themselves. Lots of fun,
though, and you will definitely have to make it with us some day.

I loved my Magna. Plenty of juice for a good ride. Very smooth and
good running bike. Only two complaints I had about it:

1 - needed more front brake. Sometimes was difficult to slow it down
fast enough.

2 - NO storage. None, zip, nadda, forget about it.

If you plan on doing some distance, consider swapping out the fuel
tank for a Valkyrie (sp?) tank to get some more miles out of the bike.

Have a great weekend!

--Fullstate

 

OK.. here's the deal.. There will be no strappin', tapin' or otherwise
lashing "Bill" to his motorcycle.. Everyone has to ride at a moderate speed
so that I "might" be able to keep up.. We have to stop and rest often, in
consideration to my age and condition.. Someone reliable, should be
entrusted to carry the "blueprint" and only "qualified" blueprint readers
are to be a party to deciding the routes and directions.. One last condition
should be noted.... the owners of the Koffee Kup, in Hico, are friends of
mine and proper conduct while there, should be observed.. My being
embarrassed "again"in that coffee shop, will not be tolerated... See Ya'll
at the Cracker Barrel.. P.S.. Fullstate should report promptly in proper
attire and sober.. BTW... random reports of scattered rain tomorrow...

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

You sure are getting crotchety in your old age!! J/k See you
tomorrow!

BTW - my weather guides are still showing good conditions, but a
little rain won't kill us either way.



--Fullstate

 

LOL... Yeah... I guess I must have got all out of "snuff" when I learned
"Bling" wasn't making the ride tomorrow.. But.... On a brighter note... for
an engineer, he didn't do such a good job of reading blueprints on our last
ride... Right ?? :Later Dude..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

Can't make it bud. Got 2 tickets to the Silverado 350 at the racetrack for
Sat. Luxury suite, pit passes. Last time I went I took my brother. My dad
gave me hell for months for not taking him even though he told me he was
busy that day (I guess I forgot to tell him what I had planned). Gotta go
and take the old man with me this time or I'm outta the will (as if).

 

Family stuff takes priority.. Gonna miss ya'... Next time.. OK..

 

So?!! How was it? Need bail money?

 

It was good! No bail money today, but donations are always welcome.

We didn't touch a piece of pavement that didn't have some sort of
curves to it. The run stayed mostly over 80mph and some parts I was
topping 120-125mph and Fullstate and another rider (riding a Yammie
R6) topped into 135mph racing a couple odd looking cars. I managed to
squeeze a couple turns out into 90mph, but that was only when I was
using Fullstate in front to guide off of and see where the curve went.
A couple turns now require the need for buffing compound to remove the
unintended scars from my kickstand and peg. Me thinks I need a
different kickstand to keep from rubbing in turns.

We hit 67 again, and with the rain sprinkling down and the lack of
gear, I thought it was best if I peeled off the group at that point.

All in all, it was a good day riding. Good company, good riding
skills, good roads, good weather.

Your name got brought up several times..."man it's too bad Waco
couldn't make it!".

 

Funny that you should ask that. Another guy and his son both rode
with us. They are not on this group, yet, but I am working on it.
This is the guy who originally showed me the run into Cranfill's Gap.
His son has a new R6 (4000k miles), but is not new to riding. He and
I were having some fun on a few roads and his dad just couldn't keep
up because he was on a cruiser.

When he caught us he said something to the effect "you better not be
riding like this when you aren't with me or you will end up in jail."

I got to thinking about it later and made comment to him, "you know,
on a day like today, you would BOTH be in jail as well as the rest of
us. Who would bail you out?"

All in all it was a great ride. The weather was very cooperative.
Strange that it never got very warm and at some point even got cooler
as we rode on. I was wearing my mesh jacket and had a flannel shirt
on underneath that I kept thinking I would peel off, but it just
didn't warm up that much. And, as someone pointed out "well of course
it is a bit cool with a 100mph plus wind chill." LOL

I think everyone had a good time and some people got to see that there
are indeed some good roads in this part of Texas.

I hope Bill made it home before the rain hit. I got to my house JUST
as it started to sprinkle a bit. It's either that or he'll be wrapped
in vaseline, bubble wrap, seran wrap, a garbage bag and some tin foil.
LMAO (BTW - THREE of the above items ARE true, just ask Bill).

Guess I was gone about....oh...10 hours or just under. ;-) Too bad
you couldn't make it....I hear you run like a bat out of hell, too.
Would have ben fun!




--Fullstate

 

Just to clarify - we never raced the cars or each other. It was two
Porches and we hung with them all the way through the route on that
particular stretch of highway. They were really moving, but so were
we. I think Jim pulled up to us after we had stopped to wait and
something to the effect "that sure was a quick 20 miles." LOL

Up at hooters I was telling Bill that you road the crap out of your
bike. I was surprised on several instances to look in my mirror and
realize that you were right there. ;-)

Jim rides the hell out of his VTX and if it weren't for scraping parts
I think he'd be coming through those corners faster, too.

This is true!

--Fullstate

 

Oh no! If you got that impression you are all wrong. I rarely, if
ever push my own limits on the bike. And I would never, ever, ever,
ever encourage riders to push their limits as well.

I'm not saying that I don't have fun, or enjoy it when someone else
has fun with me but I've always said that people should ride at their
own pace. If that means that I am faster than you through a
particular stretch, I'll wait up at the end. Or vice versa, if I
can't ride with someone because they are riding far harder than I am,
I'll back off and meet up with them later on when they have to wait.

Pushing ones limits is not a good idea. That's when people start
making mistakes. I am comfy riding through those particular roads at
100+ mph because my bike is stable and I know the roads. I would not
do the same thing on a road I did not know or if I felt a "panic
attack" or anything like that.

I realize you haven't been around me much, but think about the other
day how many times I reiterated to just take it easy and don't worry
about keeping up..... or that we stayed under the speed limit in some
cases so that we wouldn't run off and leave you, and I'd check with
you to make sure you were OK.

Ask the guys (and lady) that I was riding with yesterday how many
times I said something to the effect of people riding bikes or routes
or speeds or whatever that was pushing their limits was not a good
idea.

Sorry, maybe you were just kidding, but I really don't want people to
have that impression of me. I've always considered myself one of the
few people on a sport bike that would take the time and effort to work
and ride with new riders until they were comfy and NOT by pushing them
to rider harder or faster or whatever.

--Fullstate

 

whew! that is a relief. ;-) Sometimes it is just hard to tell. I
didn't take offense, though, just didn't want people to think I was
like that.

Now, I do believe that. ;-) BTW - normalcy, when I ride with a new
rider I always put them in front. That way they can ride at a pace
that is comfy for them without feeling like they have to keep up.

About the only time I don't do that is in situations like we were in
where you didn't know where you were going, or if we are getting into
some curves, and the rider is fairly comfy, and I know the road, I'll
go first so they can get a line to follow.

BTW - did you know that you are replying by both email and on the
group? It's OK, just didn't know if you were aware of it. ;-)

Take care!


--Fullstate

 

My wife and I rode along with the group, and I can agree, a good time was
had by all. My wife is a fairly new rider, and I'm a rusty one, but
everyone was super nice and didn't complain too much when we were being boat
anchors in the back. My wife and I never got over about 85. On our 20 year
old bikes, that's plenty fast, although my wife would have gone faster if
she had a little more power. I was only comfortable at 60-70 (and less
sometimes) in the curves, but my wife was on my tail the whole time. I was
just waiting for her to pass me.

I want to thank Fullstate organizing the ride and for letting us tag along,
Bill for kind of taking my wife under his wing with riding tips and hanging
back to keep an eye on us. Also like to thank Jim, Wyatt and Brian for not
complaining about our slow speeds. They would always wait for us at the
next stop. We'd both like to ride with you guys again sometime.
Rob and Erin

 

"Necessity" is the mother of invention.. As cold as I got on that trip, I
had to come up with something or stay in the motel... LOL... Damn .. what a
ride that was..

You and the "bride" both did very well and held up real good on that little
run.. I think she just needs more time on the highway and a little more
confidence.. Hey.. you guys can run with me any time.. I hope my few little
pointers helped a bit.. She will be alright (if you will just keep up with
her).. LMAO.. Our runs seem to be spontaneous and with only a few hours
notice.. Be ready to go and you got yourself a run .. Thanks for ridin'
with us ..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

Glad that y'all made it. It's always nice to have a group of people
to ride with and share the experience.

You are quite welcome. I tried to hang back with y'all a couple of
times but y'all waved me on so I was concerned that I made you
uncomfortable back there.

I certainly don't mind not being one of the lead bikes in a pack. I
just like to enjoy the ride. We'll do it again!



--Fullstate

 

Oh, you'll never hear me say anything bad about someone not going my
speeds. As long as I know where you're at and haven't changed routes,
we're all good. It's a "ride your own ride" kinda group and never a
"keep up or get out". With the variety of bikes in the group we had,
it would've been real tough to either have people running slow or
expect everyone to run up in the upper twines. It was a good day for
everyone and I believe we all had a blast just enjoying the company we
had.

A little word of advice for you though: Be careful of the groups you
have Erin riding with...before long, she'll be wanting a shiney new R6
or something!

 

Oh, you'll never hear me say anything bad about someone not going my
speeds. As long as I know where you're at and haven't changed routes,
we're all good. It's a "ride your own ride" kinda group and never a
"keep up or get out". With the variety of bikes in the group we had,
it would've been real tough to either have people running slow or
expect everyone to run up in the upper twines. It was a good day for
everyone and I believe we all had a blast just enjoying the company we
had.

A little word of advice for you though: Be careful of the groups you
have Erin riding with...before long, she'll be wanting a shiney new R6
or something!

 

I started to say, but it just looked funny that you were running with
"porches" and couldn't keep up.

It's bad enough when talking about the German sports car, but the
front of a house?

You need to lose that magnifying mirror!

I was stretching that tow-strap I hooked on to you at the Cracker
Barrel all day long. Didn't you see me waving at you that we were
about to snap that thing?

It's an "odd" feeling when you rake a kickstand at 90mph...kinda like
hitting grooves in a turn. If you noticed, I took the faster turns on
the right and slowed a bit more on the left turns.

I'm about to be in the market for a MP3 player...especially since it's
my birthday! I'm just wondering what it would be like with the reverbs
of those pipes I have...or if I should also be in the market for a
full face helmet to cut down the sounds? Any opinions?

 

I started to say, but it just looked funny that you were running with
"porches" and couldn't keep up.

It's bad enough when talking about the German sports car, but the
front of a house?

You need to lose that magnifying mirror!

I was stretching that tow-strap I hooked on to you at the Cracker
Barrel all day long. Didn't you see me waving at you that we were
about to snap that thing?

It's an "odd" feeling when you rake a kickstand at 90mph...kinda like
hitting grooves in a turn. If you noticed, I took the faster turns on
the right and slowed a bit more on the left turns.

I'm about to be in the market for a MP3 player...especially since it's
my birthday! I'm just wondering what it would be like with the reverbs
of those pipes I have...or if I should also be in the market for a
full face helmet to cut down the sounds? Any opinions?