First Ever Motorcycle Trip

[glstine]

Hum, that at all associated with The Motorcycle Stop there in Leakey?

.

Note that I'm aware of there is a little history on it on their website http://droseinn.com/ They have a pretty well stocked shop on the property from what I hear. Just don't get in a water balloon fight or you will be charged $250. Seriously, that is one of the posted rules. I'm sure there is a story behind that.

[fnkvn]

Thanks for a great post! It makes me sad, that I didn't get any long trips in this year . There is always next year. I hope you venture farther next year too.

[simon kuether]

Well done old mate . Looks like you had a ball . Good stuff this motor sickling .

I suppose you'd be up for the iron butt next .

Cheers , Simon .

[glstine]

Hey Simon, I've been following your trip, look's great, I'd like to get to some of those areas some day. I'd like to say you should come to Texas next time, but, while there are some great areas like the Hill Country and the Big Bend area, you have to drive through hundreds of miles of yuck to get to them.

One of these days when I have a more suitable bike I want to do an iron butt just to say I did, but now on my bike I could maybe do 500 in a day, maybe.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. glstine,

Wow, a most excellent adventure. Thanks for all the pictures. Yes, your GS550 is a tough old machine. Just give it a little regular maintenance and it will run a good long time.

Just FYI, I've done over 350 miles in a day on my GS850 without a single complaint from my back or butt. They really are comfy.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[trumpetguy]

Thanks for the pictures and story. My first motorcycle trip ever also included one of the Three Sisters (and Big Bend). There are some terrificly fun roads in that part of Texas!

Thanks for sharing!

[7981GS]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
The D'Rose sounds just like the perfect place for a stop-over.

Daniel

[Sandy]

Good stuff. That's how memories are made. I've done a ton of trips over the years but the most memorable ones are still the earlier trips where I was still trying to get this motorcycle thing figured out. That was a good haul.

[glstine]

I got my pictures somewhat organized and for anyone interested in pictures from the rally only with a lot of pictures of old bikes click here

edit: Moved my slide show since you had to join facebook to view it it is here now

[Redman]

Glstine,

A thought just occured to me, so your first mo'cyle trip to was to the place that was my best most favorite place in 30 years of riding; Texas Hill Country FM335, 336 and 337.

Oh, And now I remember that when I was there(2005), that this mid-western flatlander had to ask what "FM" meant, and I was told it ment "Fham ta mah khat", so I was still puzzled, and I later figured out what that ment.

I also noticed that some of the roads (336 I think) had some signs that were FM### and then might also have Ranch Road ### signs.
I think that Ranch Road ment the there might be the cow barrier pipes and gaps acrost the road, usally in a curve, and the pipes being fairly smooth shiney with a lot lower grip than pavment.

.

[glstine]

I think all three are ranch roads. 336 was the only one that I remember that had cattle guards, and yes some of them were right in the middle of curves. They would put up signs warning you they were coming but the signs were way before you ever got to them and when you did get to them there wasn't any indication other than the fence posts. 336 is also the road that has the sign stating "Loose Livestock Next 25 Miles". Like deer weren't enough to worry about. Come to think of it there may have been 1 or 2 cattle guards toward the south end of 335.

I think they are called ranch roads in that area because they were meant to provide access to the ranches in the area, not really any farms out that way. The Farm to Market roads were provided for farmers to get there goods into towns to sell.

[Billy Ricks]

The best thing about riding the Sisters is how little car and truck traffic you run into. About the worst thing you'll run into is packs of Harleys clogging up the road. You see very little in the way of law enforcement out there too. I guess they figure if you screw up out there the result is punishment enough. Just about every time I ride out there I run across someone that's gone down. I'm lucky having the hill country just minutes from my front door.

[glstine]

The best thing about riding the Sisters is how little car and truck traffic you run into. About the worst thing you'll run into is packs of Harleys clogging up the road. You see very little in the way of law enforcement out there too. I guess they figure if you screw up out there the result is punishment enough. Just about every time I ride out there I run across someone that's gone down. I'm lucky having the hill country just minutes from my front door.

We never came up behind anyone or had anyone come up behind us the entire time. We maybe encountered 6 cars/trucks coming the other direction. We did see one group of riders stopped at a water crossing on 336. This much traffic over a 100 mile loop I'll take any day. And I definitely would not want to screw up out there, the consequences could be quite dire. (Not to mention no cell phone coverage if you needed it)

Another thing that is great about the area is everyone seems very motorcycle friendly.

[GS Jim]

We never came up behind anyone or had anyone come up behind us the entire time. We maybe encountered 6 cars/trucks coming the other direction. We did see one group of riders stopped at a water crossing on 336. This much traffic over a 100 mile loop I'll take any day. And I definitely would not want to screw up out there, the consequences could be quite dire. (Not to mention no cell phone coverage if you needed it)

Another thing that is great about the area is everyone seems very motorcycle friendly.

Nice trip and great photos! Brought back memories of my first bike trip back in '81 also on a GS550 (though the E).

Jim

[81GS750]

Great story and pics! TX Hill Country is tough to beat. It's not much more than 1.5hrs from my door step, (to Johnson City) and I love it! Maybe next year we'll see you there at the Classic, didn't make it this year, but I'll have a GS on the road by next year!