DDT (12)
Member
Posts: 4120
Sometimes ya just gotta go...
Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...
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« on: June 05, 2016, 05:17:06 AM » |
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Tour de Dixie – Texas (Part Six)
The ride down to Del Rio was quite pleasant. Cloudy for the most part, so no bright sun in our eyes after only a few miles, as we rode southeast from Ft. Stockton. Still a bit cool in the early morning, so that actually felt good, too. Little to no traffic once we were out of town, so all in all, I found it dang near ideal! Few critters showed themselves, so no real hazards either… perfect for some contemplation and ponderment.
What a great ride this whole adventure had been. My traveling companions are all top notch, easy going, cheerful fellows who don’t get uptight about schedules, time tables, destinations, or anything really. Funny about that… I’ve done many long distance rides with groups, and there always seem to be minor conflicts, visible signs of irritation, grumpy behaviors or other indicators of displeasure with something or other… None of that with these folks!
I’ve often concluded that some groups simply should not have been formed in the first place. On the surface it seems like the idea of riding in groups is a practical, sensible, sociable way for folks to share and enjoy all that road trips have to offer, especially the added social dimension. Only… it never seems to work out that way… at least after some time together passes.
Little things that go unnoticed or easily tolerated on day rides or short weekend jaunts, become amplified and exaggerated over time. Trying to match up early risers with late sleepers, newbies with veterans, or three square meal diners with light eaters… drinkers with tea-totalers, snorers with light sleepers, those wanting to ride hard each day in order to see as much as possible with others who want to just relax, leisurely glide along and smell the roses… and, last but not least, ‘shoppers’ with serious trekkers, is fraught with difficulty. After several days all of these can really get on each other’s nerves… and in not much time at all, signs of frustration and irritation can begin to show…
Experienced riders know this, so they tend to take things in stride, and they are willing to make more compromises, concessions, and adjustments to accommodate the wishes of others. And, they understand the risk to ‘harmony’ of trying to impose their own preferences. They might offer suggestions or even express their wishes, but they never draw a line or push the point.
A ‘rule’ I’ve adopted for myself, and one I suggest to others, is that it is always OK for anybody to choose to leave a group at any time… no questions asked and no hard feelings… either for a day or two, or for the remainder of the trip.
I’ve actually left groups before; in fact, in recent years I’ve probably left more groups than I’ve stayed with for an entire trip. Not because someone got on my nerves or bothered me, but because I just like to be by myself a lot, and when that notion strikes me, or when I find myself suffering from ‘group fatigue’, I move on… solo…
It is important to understand and buy-in to the idea that everyone in a group has rights and equal standing. However, no one has the right to impose his/her will on any other. If one wants to do something another doesn’t, then the group is free to do as it chooses, and individuals must choose to either acquiesce or leave the group.
It is never a good idea to remain in the group, get angry and pout! One should either contribute to the good tenor of a ride or remove himself from the group altogether, in my opinion… The folks I’d been riding with were among the best ride partners I’ve ever had! Heck, one could be forgiven for thinking we might have been ‘home on the range’… because never was heard a discouraging word!
Mitch and I stopped in Sanderson for a break… possibly a meal if anything there looked enticing at all. Nothing did. Well, I did devour a Honey Bun and couple of cups of coffee at the convenience store we visited at this stop… in lieu of grits and eggs, just to tide me over and such…
Perhaps back in the days of Judge Roy Bean a traveler might have found a meal in Langtry… possibly even at the Jersey Lily, but not nowadays. Still, it is a worthwhile stopping place for bragging rights, if nothing else, but it actually affords a very good opportunity to reflect upon a time and place in the history of the southwest, and to try to imagine what life must have been like there and then… OK, got that item ticked off the To-Do list, time for kickstands up again… One more stop to make, then an appointment to keep in Del Rio…
Our next stop was at the bridge over the Pecos River east of Langtry… I’ve crossed that bridge countless times, but I have no recollection of ever not stopping for a look at the shear rock walls and river running through them… ummmm, and to make a modest contribution to the water level far below… That record remains intact. OK, now let’s go get that new front tire…
I’d called the Honda folks there the day before and inquired about a tire… and I’d also asked for directions to their place. “Really easy,” they’d said, “It’s right on the road you’ll be coming in on… can’t miss it.” Obviously they had no idea who they were talking to! I actually did see the place, just as they had predicted… and as I rode past it, then made the circle around the block. Mitch had also spotted it, only he made the turn-in on his first pass… Dang show out!
They were ready for me, and they got right after accommodating my need… Mitch and I walked next door to a Mexican Restaurant and dined… brunch, I suppose. The meal itself was good, the service excellent, and the ambience rather pleasant… and … They had a large, empty picture frame with ‘Happy Birthday’ written on the edge. It is designed to be held for posing for photos of those celebrating such an occasion. Hmmm…
My birthday isn’t until next October, but it will be a big one… An ‘0’ birthday that will squarely establish my place in the ranks of geezer-hood! Such a momentous event, it seems to this aging biker dude, should be properly acknowledged, and perhaps even celebrated longer than one measly day or meal… I decided to begin my celebration early and continue it right on through that special day. After all, I am already way ahead of predictions and expectations, and that alone is worthy of special recognition!
Our very nice (cute too!) server person was quite agreeable to sharing a pose with yours truly, and she even helped support the frame… Alas, no woman younger than my granddaughter can get a rise out of me like they might have a couple of decades ago… I guess I just have some sort of mental block or something, but… Anyway, it did make for a good picture that I will enjoy looking at over the next several months… and on that special day when it arrives all too soon.
Only a short wait was required back at the shop following brunch. Just enough time to consult my atlas and consider where we might go next and what route we might take. Since we’d need to be south of Houston in a few days, we needed to be traveling easterly, so that limited the alternatives… Ah, there it is, the ‘good’ route we’d been seeking…
We decided upon Junction to spend the next night for several reasons… One, it would position us for a ride on the ‘Three Sisters’, where Mitch and I had ridden only a few months before… This was a good idea because it not only is a great bike ride, neither of us had taken a picture of the giraffe we’d seen on our previous ride, and that oversight had haunted me ever since.
Another reason was BBQ. Tom Jordan and I had stayed in Junction the year before, and… It all started when we got to the motel office to check in. We asked the nice lady if she knew where the BBQ place was that was advertised on the billboard we’d spied on the way in. “Yes,” she’d informed us, “I can tell you how to get to it… Or, I can tell you how to get to the one the locals go to…” No mystery which one we chose!
Among other things like great beans and really good coconut pie, they serve the second best BBQ brisket I’ve ever had in Texas… Hotglue, naturally, serves the very best… A nice meal followed by a seat out on the patio for a spell to chat about this and that… and to reflect upon what all had happened and upon what might come next…
The following morning, I was tempted to pass on the ride. We’d kept the room for two nights, since we were in no particular hurry, and because that location would leave us in a good position to ride the next leg once the ‘Sisters’ had been revisited… I hadn’t had a ‘day off’ since this journey had begun just under two weeks before… and I was really feelings the effects.
Mitch, being younger than this long-time long-distance rider still had plenty of vim, vigor, and vitality, not to mention he probably could use a day away from my now stale jokes, penchant for missed turns, and other less than desirable idiosyncrasies, was just fine with spending the day alone riding all around. I stayed put and rested all day… and what a much needed and good day this was!!!
Our last day before GOTF was a nice, easy ride on back roads, missing the cities of San Antonio and Austin… we threaded the needle I guess you might say… Partly cloudy skies, mild and later warm temps, reasonable traffic… dang near perfect! My room reservation in Alvin was ready, so we checked in… Mitch rode on over to the GOTF site, while I elected to remain and continue my convalescence from the long journey…
As I was checking my e-mail and stuff, the door to our room swung open (I’d left it ajar), and a giant hulk of a man appeared… a dark silhouette framed by the doorway, the sun at his back, a full-faced helmet on his head, I had not a clue who that might be. It was my old and dear friend Strider! DANG! I hadn’t seen that rascal for a proper visit in a couple years, and it sure was good to finally end that dreadful drought! Mitch had told him I was ‘staying in’ that evening, so he had ridden over to visit with me.
Well, after a little while catching up, I grabbed my jacket and gloves and followed him back to the group gathering at HG & FB’s place… where I should have been all the time. No way to put into mere words the feeling one gets from just being around folks who mean so much to us… and I’d almost missed out on it that evening! Thanks, Strider…
DDT
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