Well, it's Friday night and I'm back at work after a two week vacation...I'm thankful to have a good job, but it sure is hard to come back to work when the weather is perfect and all those roads are calling my name...LOL. Knowing the party was about to be over (so to speak), I took off yesterday afternoon for a ride, thinking I'd do my usual run of the back roads in my area to blow out any remaining cobwebs that might be lingering. I was in kind of a funk yesterday morning and knew that it was because I needed to go air out.
As I said, I figured I'd just do my usual run of the backroads (about a 100 mile round trip), but once I got started I thought, "Why?" I didn't have anyplace in particular to be until Friday evening (work), so why do a short little 2 hour run? As I pulled off of my first little twisty County Road and back onto the hiway headed for the next, my mind was already traveling ahead and thinking of possibilities. I passed up my turn and kept on down the hiway until I came to another road that I knew, and one that had the potential for turning into a lot longer ride. I cruised past Brazos Bend State Park on FM 762, past George Ranch Historical Park, and on through Richmond, TX. I took FM 359 up to Brookshire and decided that as beautiful a road as 359 is between Brookshire and Hempstead, I'd done that run enough times so I turned west on I-10 and headed to Columbus. By the time I hit Columbus, I needed a short break so I topped off my gas tank, emptied "my tank" and got a cold drink. I got the urge to turn north and see LaGrange which I hadn't been through for a few years (yes, the same LaGrange from the ZZ Top song and former home of the famed "Chicken Ranch"). The ride was great...good weather, gorgeous scenery, and hardly any traffic. I rolled into LaGrange and eased through town enjoying the quaint peacefulness of the place and headed down to the river to walk around a bit and commune with nature. After chillin there for a bit, I headed back out taking hiway 77 south to Schuelenburg. From Schulenburg I found a Farm road that looked interesting and appeared to head in the general direction I wanted to go so I turned the bike down it and twisted the throttle. I didn't really know where it went, or exactly where I was, but knew where I was going more or less. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. This particular road was probably 25 miles long from where I got on it and wound through some beautiful ranch country with lots of wildlife to catch the eye. It eventually teed into an equally pretty road that took a meandering 20 (or so) mile run down to Alternate 90 (used to be the main hiway west from Houston but has since been replaced by I-10 so it's pretty wide open. Made a couple of scenic and/or gas stops along the way and just took my time cruising back to Houston. When I shut my bike down I checked the odometer and saw that my little afternoon run had netted just a couple miles under 300 (297 to be exact). It was dark by the time I got home...a little road weary, but totally relaxed and with a big satisfied grin on my face.
Next week, it's FM 105 from Navasota to Cleveland and whatever side roads look interesting along the way. Of course I'll find a nice twisty road to get from Houston to Navasota too. It's about an hour and half outside of the city so there's no end to the possibilities. I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, I hope y'all have a great weekend and keep the shiny side up. If you get the bike out, think of me...I'll be working nights all weekend, but will be off during the week. See ya later.
May 18, 2012- -
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