Well, fall has fallen down here in Austin, Texas. We have had some fantastic riding days with the cooler weather and we have loved it. If you are reading this post from up in the north where its already getting frosty, come see us and we will take you for a beautiful hill country ride. Go see the folks at http://www.airbnb.com/ and they will set you up with a great place to stay. Send us an email at pacemakerman@hotmail.com and let us know when you will be in town. We will see if someone in our club is available to take you out for a ride. We are not guides or running a tour business. We are just a bunch of folks that like to ride and meet new folks. We should have a several more weeks of good riding weather. If you dont want to haul you bikes, we will see if we can find you some bikes to ride. There may be a charge for those as most of the time we have to get you hooked up with a rental servie. Let us know how we can help.
Got a few bike updates for you on this post. Our great friend Chris Cruce just scored a beautiful Triumph Bonneville Black. Looks like he is also finaly getting the CB350 sorted out. They are both great bikes and he certainly is the proud owner of a nice stable of machines. Ran into him at the Harvest Classic Bike show a couple of weeks ago. Wife and two lovely baby girls in tow, he was all smiles to be out there in the sun with the classic machines. Did my heart good to see him. Its good to have good friends.
The 2010 Harvest Classic Bike show was another hit this year. We had a group of five riders heading out from Round Rock, Texas this year. A very nice HD Glide, Triumph Bonneville, Triumph Thunderbird, Triumph TT600, and a newly acquired Honda Repsol Leader. Diverse crew to say the least. My lovely wife Rebecca went two up with me on the TT for the first part of the ride. I knew she was less than comfortable as she is indeed a tall drink of water but it was fantastic to have her on the ride. She chose a nice pair of knee boots, tight black jeans and a lovely blouse that made me proud to be her husband. Enough on that boys. Eat your heart out. At any rate, we headed out for Johnson City about 8am with hot biscuits and coffee on our mind.
A little rainy to start the ride but got to Marble Falls savely and made the jump onto 281 towards Johnson City. Not much site seeing through the hills that morning. The light rain had us all quit focused on the bikes and road conditions.
Once into Johnson City we stopped at Country Inn to get some hot breakfast. It was a perfect and welcomed stop on such a cool and damp morning. The sun was out by then but the memory of the grey morning was still fresh on our minds. As we got off the bikes and breathed our collective sigh of relief to be out of the rain, we noticed a mean looking hooligan machine pulling in to the lot. Oh the object of my desire, a white on black Triumph Speend Triple. Nasty machine indeed! We all gathered around to covet the bike. The rider introduced himself as John and we all eased into the restaurant to order up and chill out.
As John was on his own that morning, we asked him to join us. Turns out he is a Scothish lad currently living in Houston, Texas. He rode in from H town that morning! John kept us all entertained and delighted with his tales of the Isle of Mann and a frequent joke or good ribbing. Everybody filled their bellies with good food and coffee and filled their hearts with the joy of being off work, on a bike, and meeting new friends.
The ride on to Lukenbach was fun and in the sun. Our little crew rumbled into the lot, all smiles and really feeling the good energy that only comes with the spontenaity that comes with just letting things happen.
We grabbed some cold Lone Stars at the little bar and set out to see the classic machines on display.
Where to start? The 70's era Ossa Stilletos were breath taking. Looking show room clean, a Husky sat just up the line and caught my eye early on. I remember these bikes from my early youth. While I never owned one or even rode one, they covered the magazine covers of those days and filled my boyish dreams at night. So great to see them still on the road or dirt as it happens. From there we moved to the line of classic CB Hondas. An orange 750 Four was at the top of that list for me. Looking a bit bullish and mean. I imagine that bike would still scare the hell out of most of us.
Several classic Bonnies as well and a '70 Daytona that was so alluring that I have been looking at Ebay and Craigslist since. Trying to find one like her is a bit of a fantasy. I have no room in the garage for her but plenty of room in my imagination. You know the feeling I am sure.
After looking at helmets, tshirts, boots, gloves, and jackets we decided to get on the road to stay ahead of the rain. A well timed and technicaly impressive group ride back to Round Rock. We waved goodbye to our new friend John as he turned off to go to Comfort, Texas for the night. Nice guy indeed. Keep an eye out for a white Speed Triple around Houston. If you run into an old Scottish dude on one, its likely to be John. Buy him lunch, it will be a time you wont forget.
We rounded out that Saturday night with a fire on the back patio at my place. A few to many (if there is such a thing) Lone Stars, stuffed jalapenos, beef burger sliders, home fried buffalo wings, Opa's brats, and some nice sharp cheddar cheese. There was no shortage of good one liners and good stories from the old days.
It hurt my heart a little on Sunday to see the boys off. Helped them load the bikes on the trailer and gave good strong hugs and hand shakes, put my arm around my Rebecca as I watched the brake lights around the bend on my street. "Good day, good weekend, good life", I thought to myself.
The Harvest Classic comes 'round every year. I hope my little group makes many more of them. If we don't however, this one was a great one and that may be good enough. I suppose there is an art to taking each day as it comes and being thankful for it. I am thankful for today and for that day in particular.
Be safe. Ride safe. Wear a helmet and get home to your loved ones in one piece. Come back and see me soon.
Nice post Jonathan. It was an awesome weekend to say the least. Although the weather was a little rough at times, it was good practice for me. I feel I really became a better rider in those two days. The Sunday morning cruise was really beautiful. John Woolson senior is wanting to come check out that ride we did on Sunday. I hope to have the CB350 done soon. I will bring it up and we can buzz it around Round Rock. Always a good time with Round Rock crew. Much love. Ryan
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