Weekend miles

This past weekend was the TX State HOG Rally, held in San Marcos this year. Both Darlene and I have attended this rally pretty consistently since we have been riding so even though we had second thoughts due to a variety of reasons, we ended up going and did have a very good time. We rode down on Friday, staying east of IH35 for the most part and picking up some ABC points. I like SH77 and the many small towns along the route, like Rosebud and many others. We exited before La Grange, which is too bad as that is an interesting part of the ride. Rode through the pines in Bastrop and the wonderful BBQ capital of Texas, Lockhart.

This year's rally was quite subdued, we met up with several Eagles at the hotel and hung out. Gotta love Embassy Suites, the hospitality hours and great breakfasts that are included in rates. Saturday morning we got on the road at a relaxed pace. I had a route planned out that included the Devil's Backbone and Jim and Gary joined Darlene and I for our route. The Devil's Backbone section was far too short and while we had some great roads with little traffic, by the time we reached Boerne (pronounced bur-ni)we were not ready to head back. So off to Bandera for lunch at the Old Spanish Trail restaurant, based on the recommendation of the Bandera resident doing his laundry at the gas station we filled up in Boerne. Bandera was a hopping little town. We decided to go a bit further, to Medina, but we decided against doing the Three Sisters as it would have added an additional 2-3 hours to our day. On the way to Medina we passed the Rumble on the River rally which helped explain the many, many bikes we saw on the roads.

We popped back to the rally site and caught the Ride like a Pro show and picked up a dvd. Others that we know have the dvd and say its a great educational tool and really improves your driving skills.

Sunday we had a leisurely ride back home, time west of IH35, taking route 12 (very nice ride) from San Marcos all the way up through Dripping Springs then to Bee Cave before heading on 71 through some more great Hill Country vistas, eventually heading due north on US 281 to IH20 then home. Long day..., picked up a few more ABCs.

Total miles for the trip 875 miles....

Pass The Pig - 2009

Ahhhh, finally got some quality riding in...

Actually have had a couple of good weekends. Last weekend, the 19th, was our club's annual chapter fundraiser, Pass The Pigs. We held it later this year than normal due to conflicts with another local chapter's event. I guess in all it turned out quite well as we had one of the best turnouts we've had with I think it was over 170 bikes. This year we rode it as Darlene has been involved with it every year in the past and it was time for a change. We had had a week or more of rain leading up to it, so when the weekend hit and it was sunny, the bikes came out! It was a good ride in local FM roads, pleasant and stress free, unlike a recent run we were on that had too many miles on interstates and state highways around the metroplex. The one downer was that our chosen lunch spot, Lucy's on the Square, was in receivership, not sure the reason but it had recently been featured in Texas Monthly as one of the top 40 small town cafes and we have eaten there a time or two. We always have bike games after the run and they are always good for a couple of pictures...




Speaking about that other chapters event.... We do have bit of a friendly rivalry. We had a challenge, the other chapter was supposed to double our turnout to their event. We we had well over 40 bikes, I think we actually had 41 arrive in unison with some other members showing up on their own. Needless to say we won the chapter challenge. For our event, that same chapter shows up with around 23 registered riders, a far cry from double our showing. Maybe 1 over double, wait, that's 1/2...

Saturday night at the dirt track!

Friends of our race Modified Stock Cars. Their home track is Devil's Bowl in Mesquite. We went out to watch some races last year, and Saturday night we went out and got pit passes so we could hang out with them on the infield. There were also Sprint car races this weekend as well.

I brought my camera so I could try to get a few shots of Brad on the track. Its a tough gig! Great and pretty flexible positioning in the infield, could get dangerously close to the track, but unfortunately the racing is at night so you have to rely on high ISO and flash. I have a Canon EOS 20D, so it only goes to ISO 1600 and an older flash unit that is a bit underpowered.

I met Mike, who takes shots for Speedway Photography and he was a great guy, gave me some tips, and helped me out quite a bit.

This race was a bit different than last years race. The Devil's Bowl is in Mesquite. And its Redneck Heaven! Last year in the stands, well, its something to experience at least once. If you ever thought Nascar represented the best in all things redneck, then you've never been to the local dirt track! Mind you hanging with friends in the infield doesn't give you the same experience, but you do get much more of a feel of being the part.

I took close to 400 shots, lots and lots of duds. I haven't shot at a race in years, especially with this kind of vantage point, and never before at night. I think I got a few shots though and I think Brad and family will appreciate.

Here are a few.