Travis Hood's M/C Travels: October 2013

BigTex Rally 2013 - October 18 & 19, 2013

Well, I finally getting around to writing my post ride report for the 2013 BigTex Rally (BTR). This year I was really looking forward to this rally because it was the only rally I rode in all year. I decided to skip the CapeFear rally because I wanted to do a destination ride - which was my Memphis to Miami/Key West ride in August (see post)

Prep / Planning

As with any Long Distance (LD) rider knows, preparation is the key to enjoying your ride. Plan a route, sticking to the route, maintain a routine is part of able to safely ride around the country. Bike maintenance is very important and should not be neglected for any reason. The thought of being hundreds of miles away from home and possibly in remote locations make it even more important that your bike is in the best shape possible. For me, as I was getting closer (in weeks) to the BTR, I started to checking tire wear, engine coolant, gear oils, motor oil and filters. Of course changing anything that needs to be changed. No major issues for the 2006 Honda ST1300A mechanically, so there was only a couple of things I was to get done.

When I purchased the bike unbeknownst to me, the gas tank rod was missing. How did I discover this? As part of my maintenance check out this time - something hit me over the head one day that made me realize that I had never changed the air filter on the bike - since "I" owned it. I know I have put over 5000 miles on the bike and didn't know the condition of the air filter. So before the BTR I was going to get that done along with the rod purchase. So I go to my closest Honda dealer and order the parts. I still had about 1 week before the BTR, that's plenty of time to the parts back - because they both had to be ordered.

Since I was addressing concerns for LD riding and if you read my last LD ride post - you know that I needed to address my seat. I've ridden in a couple of rallies with my OEM seat and a Airhawk cushion and somehow managed to complete each with relative comfort. Now, thinking more about when the seat is bothering me, it more when it just straight highway riding. The riding for 2/3 hrs from tank to tank that I just couldn't do without LOTS of shifting OR just plain stopping.

I like a lot of other riders via research know all of the "seat" players. We also know that purchasing a "custom" seat is a large investment. In the "end" (pun intented), it well worth the money but its the departing with that amount while balancing "life" responsibilities (new tires for family car or new seat for motorcycle ???). Not sure how I came across LAAM Seats but I am glad I did. LAAM (to me) is relatively new company in the LD seat arena - so getting traction with this bunch is going to be tough. From reading about LAAM's background - it appears that Seth Laam was trained by / worked for some of the key seat players, so for me that gave him some credibility. Reading a lot of the customer reviews also played a part in my decision. Finally and ultimately - pricing.

I made the decision to go with LAAM and made the call. I spoke with Seth and we made all of the choices that I was happy with. I sent him photos of me sitting on the bike - because riding out to California for a in-house custom adjustment - just was not going to happen.

Now that I made decision / choices and had to throw in a wrinkle for LAAM. I leaving for the BigTex Rally in 10 days and need the seat back ASAP. I packed up the seats and shipped on a Saturday from FedEx with 2 day shipping. I believe they arrived at LAAM on Tuesday. On Thursday, I was talking to Seth because the seats were ready to be shipped back - WOW!!!. Because I wanted overnight shipping - I sent him a prepaid FedEx form so I could get the seats as soon as possible. Because I had the deliver sent to my work instead of home - I didn't get the seats until Monday afternoon - 3 days before leaving for Texarkana, TX. Thank goodness everything worked out and the seat was wonderful. I'm sitting just a bit lower in the seat now, so my feet are flater on the ground. I feel like I'm sitting in a pocket now with just a slightly wider seat for weight distribution. The look of the seat is still stylist to me and fits in with the look of the bike. I was only able to take the bike for a very short ride before leaving for BTR.

Oh yeah, back to the rally !!

Routing Planning

One of the things that I love about the BTR, is that we get the bonus location 2 weeks ahead of time. This gives us plenty of time to thoroughly lose our minds with trying to come up with the best route. I don't know if I am still a novice to routing but this is always a mind numbing experience to me - and I LOVE IT !!!

I always come up with 2 or 3 base routes and then start creating mutations from those. So I end up with routes 1 - 20 !!! The route planning is just very consuming for me. When I'm at work or at home or doing my bible study for the week - somehow routing is creeping into my thoughts.

This year, I was able to get my wife (Lisa) involved with planning with me. Sometimes you have to not be in the "box" to come up with something ground breaking. So one evening we are sitting at my desk and we are going through the rally pack and bonus listing. She is helping me make sure I have my bonus listing entered into Garmin BaseCamp correctly by going back over what I spent hours manually entering previously. She is barking out bonus location abbreviations and GPS coordinates and I am confirming. After halfway through the pack - she is already saying "these locations are ridiculous - who going to go to ALL of these locations - and why". One of the other things she noticed / questioned - "why are their so many cemetery sites and who in their right mind is going to search for a grave site in the middle of the night when there is no light?" That was also balanced out with seeing some cool / interesting places - places that we generally wouldn't think of. The BBQ mandatory sites were a hit for me this year, as I proclaim to be a BBQ connosouir. So I "LOVE, LOVE" a good baby back rib.

Route planning with Lisa was very interesting as well. "LD" men and "non-LD" wives come from two totally different thinking when it comes to planning a route. Having to review the timed element of rallying plus the mandatory locations added another dimension to the planning for Lisa. Having to understand that we depart at 06:00am from Texarkana gas station and then building your route with mandatory locations in mind plus the possible bonus locations, while adding 10 mins to each bonus location stop. This "10min" stop time is the amount of time it takes to go through your routine of logging your current mileage, hitting your spot tracker, getting off bike (safely), getting your flag, reading the task again, getting your camera on and ready, and noting if you need any clips or weights to keep your flag visible THEN finding the actual bonus. There is this litany of tasks that must be performed "in order" so that you obtain the bonus as specified by the "Rally-Master". Trying to do those steps in a repeatable fashion helps ensure you didn't ride 100 miles to that bonus location for nothing - like I did last year in BTR '12 - when I went to Wink, TX at 7am and the Roy Orbison museum was closed. Once we were on the same page for rally route planning - we actually came up with a doable route. At some point during our planning I made a decision that since Lisa was going to Dallas to visit with family during the rally, I would build my route so that I was sleeping in Dallas. The routes that we came up with I didn't believe were winning routes but I felt that I obtain my goal and NOT obtain the last place finisher award - "Broken Piston". Don't get me wrong Wayne - its a beautiful award but its only desirable "once". We break the routes up into Day1 / Day2 routing. Now, we remember about the "Texas Icons Bonus" page. The Rally-Master thought it would be a good idea to have riders look for these 12 items as they were riding to obtain an addition 150 points per item with and additional 5000 point for obtaining at least 10 items. That's an extra 6500 points toward the minimum 25,000 points needed to be a "Finisher".

While the point value on these items were very low, I didn't get it too much more thought and mostly concentrated on the primary higher value bonus locations. If one of these items were along the path then I would try to obtain - otherwise they are secondary items.

Rider at Alamo
Someone on real horse hold your flag
ticket or program from high school football game
cactus
vehicle with horns attached (longhorn or deer)
armadillo (dead, alive, statue)
Rodeo sign
Oil Well pump jack
windmill
population sign of less than 300
rider on back of longhorn in Luckenbach, TX
posted sign of "Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Inc"

All of these to me were very interesting and help non-Texans learn about the state. These just kinda raised the stakes a little but since they had no real point value - again - not much meaning to me.

Good job honey - on your first rally planning exercise.

Here is where things take a turn.

Wednesday night, I am looking at the routing again (alone) and believe I can gain some more points so I update the routes but its late and I don't upload the routes to the Garmin. I decide to wait until I get to the hotel in Texarkana to reload the Garmin.

I go to work on Thursday morning for 1/2 day and then we are planning to leave for Texarkana before 4pm after Lisa get's off work. Its a 5 hr drive from Memphis to Texarkana. With Lisa following me in the car, I think we arrive at hotel around 10pm and of course its straight to bed for me, because I have to get up at 4am. Lisa will sleep a little longer before heading on to Dallas.

Upon unpacking all of the luggage, I notice immediately I have made a mistake. I left the laptop at home. "I left the laptop at home !!!". I didn't print the route. I didn't upload a picture anywhere. I don't have any clue to what was the final route that I decided on. I know for sure I wanted to go north of Dallas but I don't know the bonus route order. Because its so late, I don't have time to come up with any other plan - I decide that I am basically going to just enjoy the ride, plan the ride "off the cuff" by using my iPhone for overall state view and GPS for closest location routing.

Granted - I do have all the BTR 13 bonus locations already loaded but the routes that I have loaded are from when I wanted my primary large bonus location to be Laredo, TX with a hotel somewhere around San Antonio. I had worked on those routes for days but decided to scrap those routes when Lisa decided to go to Dallas as well.

BTW - I didn't mention that I have a new GPS that I am using for BTR - I purchased a Garmin 2595 LM and

BTR Day 1

As you can see from the timestamp on the picture below - it was a very early morning. I had to be at the pre-rally meeting at 05:30am on Friday morning so I had the alarm set for 04:00am. Its amazing to me the amount of time it takes to get prepped to ride with all the riding gear. Now lets throw in cold temperatures and it adds a little more complexity / layers to the dressing process. I do believe in riding with all the needed safety gear - so the extra time (to me) is just part of the safe riding process

Unfortunately I don't own any heated gear yet, so that is on my list to purchase next. I would like the complete head to toe package. I do currently wear the CycleGear - Freeze-out base layer wear - which does a good job of keeping me warm but its something about a "thermostat" that says - "toasty!!".

I also do not have a light travel bike cover. So I spent a least 15 mins wiping off the early morning dew from the bike. Hope the hotel didn't mind that I used their towels. It was a very beautiful night. The moon was very bright and full. We stayed at a brand new Hilton Garden Inn - which was "very" nice. Was even able to get a low online rate of $79 for the night. Still a lot of money (to me) for an overnight stay. Since I am a Hilton Honors member - I have stuck with their brands to built up hotel points. Hopefully, I get some free nights soon.

Texarkana - Hilton Garden Inn

Pre-Rally Meeting - 05:30am

Here is one of the enjoyable parts of rallying. The meet / greet before the rally. You get to see some people you know, some you have been chatting with on forums, some you seen before at previous rallies and then of course - new faces. You are also checking out bikes, farkles and then the biggie - "what did you come up with in your rally planning?" - "which direction are you going?" - "where do you plan on sleeping tonight?" - "how many points could you come up with?" - "what was the rally master thinking?". The interesting discussion to me was about getting a hotel in West Texas. With the oil/gas boom going - all the hotels are booked or the rates are RIDICULOUSLY high $$$$!!! Of course, all of these little pieces of information goes into "Route Planning". It not totally about routing from one location to another - its also about doing a little investigation as well. Sometimes the Internet or word of mouth can be the most valuable piece of information.

For me - I got to meet - Chris Mixon. I have chatted with Chris on the ST-Owners Forum (ST1300), so it was good to actually met and have a hand-shake. Swapping bike travel stories is fun to me. What highways / roadways / byways that has been traveled and some the adventures in getting there (or away from there). Swapping stories is what its all about. Riding rallies or just plain riding is how you build your library of stories / adventures to share.

Yep, that's me. Ready to ride - raring to go!!! Let's get this safety meeting going !!! Just like last year, we are ALL waiting for that "Wayne Boyter - BMRD - Bonus of Mass Route Destruction". Generally - there is that last minute information that is delivered with the slickness of a wet sheet of ice but has the impact of an actual "WMD". If you don't like that term - here's another one. "Game Changer".

Last year I pretty much ignored the additional bonus. I had my route planned and I tried to stick to that. "Plan your Route / Ride your Plan". That was my motto. I was a newbie and I was going to stick to the plan. I finished in last place of the "Finishers" - which was my primary goal...."Be a Finisher".

You Dropped Da Bomb on Me (Gap Band) !!!!

So we sit through 20 mins of safety lecture and a moment of silence for a well known LD rider who was killed in an accident recently. We all know motorcycle riding is a little more dangerous than being in an automobile only because we are more exposed. So we are always reminded that the goal is to have fun and make it home safely - this is just a hobby.

Now, here was the game changer. The Texas Bonus listing about - that is only worth 150 each - " we made a mistake in the printing - they are suppose to be worth "1500" points each". Now, if you get the minimal 10 items that 15000 points but the bonus 5000 - that 20,000 points with the minimal required to be a Finisher is 25,000. I would agree that this was a game changer. You can now basically just search for the Texas Bonus list plus some of your "Pre" items and you could have just about enough points to be a Finisher.

At this point - I started to realize that my leaving my laptop at home and not having my "Plan A" route, I wasn't dead in the water. I actually have a chance. Of course, I am not the only one with this revelation. I think the part that is going to kill me now, is that I didn't research "any" of the Texas Bonus list.

At this point - I am in "Shoot from the Hip" mode.

Safety Meeting - Getting final instructions. We had about 30 people start from Texarkana

At this point everyone has put all their gear back on and fired up the bikes. We are all ready to go! Some head to the gas pumps so as to be the first one's to leave. I like to hold back just a bit - to ensure my gas pump time stamp is AFTER 06:00am. If I need to race to the pumps - then I messed up in the planning phase.

Obtain a gas receipt at 06:00am or later. I waited until 06:03am

I wish I could get a picture/video of the departure process. I would remind you of the videos from the Iron Butt Rally and the departure process. A little less organized but nonetheless the same.

I'm off to my first designation. I decided to use the beginning part of of one of the routes that I had printed out. The route was going to take me to Dallas to obtain the JFK bonus during daylight hours. So my first bonus location is MAR

So as I am heading to MAR - I notice in the sky that we are having a BEAUTIFUL full moon. As I am topping some of the hills on Hwy 8 - I have to view of the moon that is soooo large and just begs for a picture. I keep saying to myself that I should stop to take a photo. I say this to myself 3 or 4 times because I know I'm not going to be in such an isolated place again with the night sky so black and the moon lighting up the night in such a manner. HOWEVER, I don't stop and I don't have a picture. Guess what, the next night is cloudy and rainy. Well, I do have the memory and won't pass it up next time.

MAR - Marietta Post Office (197 pts)
N33.17354 W94.54250

So as I am riding along and making my way back to I-30 to head to Dallas - I am checking my Texas Icon list and trying to make mental notes so as to stop when I spot one of them.

I'm now on I-30 now and suddenly I spot a windmill. I make the u-turn and ride the 2 miles back to the windmill. The windmill is in good condition that I can read the brand on it "Aeromotor". Bingo - one ICON captured. Now only nine more. Surprisingly, this puts me in a good mood. The temperature has warmed up and the day is beautiful.

So now, I'm on I-30 cruising along and then all of a sudden I get this GREAT idea. Being from Dallas and having driven the I-30 route many a times, I know the major locations. Just outside of Dallas there is a major "Bass Pro Shop - Outdoor World" - which sits on Lake Ray Hubbard. They are a hunting / fishing store with LOT of stuffed animals on display - maybe one of them is an "Armadillo". Genious !!!!

So I pull up to Bass Pro and what do I see - another rider!! I was a little happy to see him, cause that means that my idea wasn't as hair-brained as I was thinking. Chris Rooney was there and had already gone in Bass Pro and found the armadillo. Chris was kind enough to point me in the right direction. I also chatted a little with Chris as we met up as I was getting off my bike and he was just coming out of Bass Pro. It was really kind of Chris to pass along the location of the bonus. We chatted for a few minutes and he mentioned that he recognized me and had read my ride report from last year. Which he said he really enjoyed reading. All I could say to myself (and to Chris) was learn from my mistakes / misfortunes - last place is not the goal and enjoy the ride and be safe. Since this was his first rally - he was having a ball. We said our goodbyes and I went into Bass Pro and he headed on down the road. I didn't see again until Austin.

Bass Pro Shop in Lewisville, TX. Looking for armadillo

About to head into Bass Pro to get my points

Another 1500 points in the bag. Texas Icon bonus #2

Back on the road again - well maybe not quite. There is a Whataburger in front of Bass Pro and I'm hungry. So I grab a small burger and it was nice that a Shell gas station was right next door. So I pulled into the Whataburger drive-thru ordered my burger (no fries / no drink). I then proceeded to drive over to the Shell station to fill-up. Took a little extra time to fill up, cause of the burger in my hand. Love me some Whataburger.

As I am getting into Garland, I remember from the Texas Icon list - the rodeo sign and that Wayne used the Mesquite Rodeo grounds as the example picture. So I made a beeline to Mesquite.

Texas Icon #3 - Rodeo Sign - 1500 points

Now, here is where I made a mistake and rather didn't push enough. I'm at one of the most famous rodeo grounds in the US. One of Texas Icon bonus was to find someone riding a horse and take a picture of them holding your flag. Didn't have to be some pretty rodeo / cowgirl - the requirement said someone. I rode around the grounds but didn't get off the bike to really investigate.

On to the next location. Downtown Dallas is where another bonus is location ( JFK Dealy Plaza). So that is my next designation.

Traffic was too bad getting to downtown. I was really expecting a LOT more, but it was really pretty smooth riding. I approached from the east side of downtown and rode straight down Main St once I exited the I-45 freeway. It was interesting riding down Main St - as it has been 7 yrs since I been on that street. Things are a changing.

So how did I get that picture. Well, I begged a nice tourist to take my picture. She was more than happy to help me out. Unknown Tourist Lady - thanks for your help.

JFK Bonus - 252 pts
N32.77900 W96.80900

So again, being familiar with the area is helping me out. Last time I was here I dragged my mom and sister over to Fuel City for some fajita taco's. Those are some good taco's but not the best. Jerry's Super-Market over on Jefferson Blvd is still the best to me. Anyway, I remember two things about Fuel City, 1.) they have real longhorn cattle on display and 2.) they have an oil pump in front of station. Fuel City is only 5 minutes from Dealy Plaza. Texas Icon #3

Texas Icon - Oil Well Jack

So still winging it, the next bonus location for me was the NBF location in Grand Prairie, TX. NBF or Nick Beef is in a cemetary where I will have to find the grave site. I never like grave bonus locations - because they can be anywhere. Some are easy to spot, some require walking in circles until you find it.

The interesting thing about the NBF bonus was the site next to it. Yes, that reads "Oswald".

NBF - Nick Beef bonus - 350 pts
N32.73230 W97.20316

From here I decide to head toward Grandbury, TX. to the Jessie James (JES) bonus. I had been to this bonus location so I know exact where its located. As I have been riding, I have been watching the weather. One of the things that I had been watching the entire week leading up to the BTR was the weather that was occuring in S. Texas. There was a lot of flooding going on and I had already made up my mind that I was going to manage my route and avoid as much rain as possible. I have rain gear and don't mind riding in the rain but I would rather not. As I left Fort Worth heading to Grandbury I ran into a heavy rain shower and decided to wait it out at a gas station. It was nice to take a small break but I also knew it was a major time waster also. Fortunately, the rain shower was very brief and I could get back on the road after about 20 mins.

So on TX Hwy 377 heading to Grandbury, I see a closed down barbeque joint that has several cactus in front of it. Made a u-turn and headed back for Texas Icon bonus #4

Texas Icon Bonus #4 - Cactus

You would think that riding around "TEXAS" - it would not be hard to find a cactus. Well, you have to be in the right part of the state to see them frequently. I know people have cactus at their homes / businesses - but I must have given myself whiplash with all the head-turning I was doing but just not able to spot any before this one.

As I was driving through Granbury, I was really expecting to see some tornado damage from earlier this year but surprisingly I didn't see any as I was riding through town. I was able to quickly locate the Jesse James (JES) bonus and get my picture.

Again, I checked my GPS for a close bonus location and one of the mandatory BBQ locations is pretty close and I was getting hungry - so it just made sense to me to go that direction. So I point my bike in the direction of Stephenville, TX for the HR8 bonus.

The next few pictures are dedicated to my love of BBQ - cause I had a good time at Hard-Eight BBQ. I think for a person out riding / participating in a M/C rally and still have HOURS of riding still to do - should know how to have portion control. Not only portion control but should be eating to maintain maximum performance. We can't afford to have the driver getting sleepy from having a heavy meal. We don't have time for multiple stops / extended stops due to the driver having no control. Well, sorry to say - that was me after I saw the BBQ pit and all the food available. I think I went a touch over-board and definitely paid for it later. It might not seem like I had a lot - but a lot of the wrong food at the wrong time, in the wrong condition - is too much.

I was fortunate enough to run into a couple of riders while I was there. One rider was just leaving and he informed me that I arrived at the right time - because he had to wait in a line for at least 1/2 hour to get food - due to lunch crowd. When I got there - I walked right up to the meat pit and pick my items. Once inside, I obtained my other items and had a seat. 15 mins later, another rider walked in and grabbed a table behind me. I don't think she even noticed that I was there because the only think in the air was my elbows and napkins.

I do believe I made a mistake while I was there - although it was not related to the food. Just as I was about to finish my meal, I noticed this place catered to rodeo riders. There are pictures of riders all over the walls. So I see this guy, in a super pressed black shirt and jeans, cowboy hat. His shirt had the rodeo sponsor logo's - so I thought to myself - this guy can help me get one of my Texas Icon bonus (rider on horse holding flag). However, I passed on the opportunity and thought about the missed opportunity for the rest of the ride. Stereotyping?? Maybe.....but it was dressed the part.

Next stop "Billy the Kid" (KID)

Yes, another cemetery. This one was located in Hamilton, TX off Hwy 281. Not much to see here. I did meet up with another rider at this location. Of course, we exchanged the normal introductions / how ya doing / where ya headed / take in a little hydration / off to the next location - all of this takes place in about 10 minutes.

Billy the Kid (KID) - 191 pts
N31.71695 W98.11920

From here I am trying to decide weather to call my wife and tell her I am coming to the hotel and going to continue to head south or maybe pickup one more bonus before heading back to Dallas area. Remember, I don't have a plan. I don't have a way to see the big picture with all of the bonus locations so I am really keeping an eye on how long will it take me to get back to Cedar Hill, where Lisa has checked in the hotel. So I decide I can make it to VAL or Union Valley Cemetery. On my way to VAL, I notice that my battery on my iPhone is getting low. I have been listening to music with it all day and now need a charge. No problem - I have a charger in my tank bag. I look, and look, and look. I have an iPhone charger but its not for my new iPhone 5 - it for my 3GS or iPod. I do have my USB cable but no USB port to plug it into. Now I'm a tiny bit worried, so I figured I would get the next bonus and then figure something out. I can't be riding in the middle of nowhere without any communication. Its little things like that which can lead to bigger issues. For now, I still have some battery but will forgo the music.

I am not sure of the historical significance of this location except for the unusual first / last name of the individuals. Because this is a "Union" cemetery - maybe they were members.

Soooo, now lets talk about this location and the significant impact it has had on my rally experience. Now normally I am not a person too worried about the locations that I ride on the motorcycle or the fact that I ride alone in these rallies a lot. That just part of the nature of these types of events. However.......one thing that I have noticed in the three rallies that I have participated in - is that I don't see any other "African-Americans" / "Minorities" participating in LD rallies - when I am there. Now, I don't have any issues with other races and generally "hate" to bring race up - cause I believe in "people" - period. I don't care about race / economic status / or anything else related to any kind of segregation. As a person who studies the Bible, I know Jesus 2nd "greatest" command (in the Law) was to have "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt 22:39). However........one thing that I do care a LOT about ALSO is my safety. I generally don't try to put myself in situations where I have to revert to a "fight or flight" mentality. I grew up in the Dallas - Oak Cliff area and went to an all black school (shout out to Roosevelt High - Class of 82) but one of the things that I have LOVED about growing up and being a Jehovah's Witness and at the Kingdom Hall's that I have attended - is that they have always been very integrated. I have worked in the IT field for the past 20 years, so I am use to being one the few minorities in the bunch.

However..........this isolated location scared the crap out of me!!!

Did I fell this way strictly because of societal influences over the years? Maybe it was the fact that I had been watching some PBS documentary recently on African-Americans and the last 5 centuries (6 part series by Louis Gates)? Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't remember my history at that moment and if "Union" was the good side. I know Texas was part of the Confederate but did they go through a corporate
re-branding to "Union"? Maybe I watched too many horror movies as a teenager and the black dude never made is out of the first scene. Maybe, it was the KKK Rally that happened in Memphis this summer over the renaming of a park. Maybe its all of the above.....and it just my life's experiences and I'm in no real danger at all and my mind is playing tricks on me.

Either way - that fact that - "that" sign still existed "Union Cemetery Association - Members Proceed" - gave me great pause.

A.) - It was a "really, really" off the beaten path location to me. Its a couple of miles off the main hwy (which was already isolated - "to me") just to "get" to the "cemetery" and whereas I am a person that doesn't care about race, unfortunately I can't say that for all people in this world that we live in. Hence, I was repeatedly saying to myself - "why am I here?" "the points are not worth it!" "hit the SPOT tracker dude - at least they will have your last known location" "no one is going to find you back here!!". Lastly - I called my wife to talk with her once I got to the fence of the cemetery. She actually stayed on the phone the entire time I was looking for the grave marker. I think because it was daylight that helped contribute to my decision to go forward with securing the bonus. I won't repeat any of the encouraging and comforting words she was providing to me during this time, but she was anxious for me to leave that location.

B.) - I had to go down a dirt road and cross a little pocket or water - on my ST1300!!! Yes, I was foolish enough to take my ST1300 off road !!!! If I had dropped the bike riding through the mud puddle, I would have been hosed. Once threw the puddle, down the gravel road, I STILL had to travel down this road where there was a few houses / mobile homes before coming to the cemetery. Of there was that "PRIVATE" sign that I passed to get to this place. Once I am at the PRIVATE cemetery - I have to hop the fence and find the grave. On top of that...I was trying to be as quiet as possible but the mobile home had a donkey outside in a fence (thank goodness) that believed he was filling in for the guard dog cause he was braying up a storm. Side note: I had to look up the word "braying" (thanks honey). Once I get my bonus picture, now I have to return back through the same miserable way I came in - hoping not to drop the bike on the way out. It was a good thing that I had watch the movie "Long Way Round" - where they had to go through an off road training class. Ewen McGregor had to learn to stand on the pegs while riding off road - so I did the same and just powered through - TWICE.

The next four picture are from VAL. These will FOREVER be etched in my mind and added to my LD riding stories to tell others.

VAL - View from cemetery - the drive back out

VAL - another view of gravel road and the LARGE mud puddle I had to navigate

VAL - View of road to get to the road above. Notice posted warning signs

VAL - Road leading from main hwy - my first turn around point that I ignored

Now that's over...

May 8, 2014
Ok....its "MAY" and I have not completed this posting. So I am going to publish as is....with some small updates.

Because my wife traveled with me on this trip, I promised her that I would return to Dallas since the weather was not looking so great. So instead of continuing to south Texas, I headed north back to the hotel.

On the way I see Friday night school football lights....."Extra Bonus" !!! So off I go to get the bonus