The Texas Ride, Part One

© 2008 Bob Stockton. All rights reserved.

My brother Tom, his wife Sandy and  their children have called Frisco, Texas home for nearly twenty years. Frisco is one of those upscale places that one often encounters in the shadow of a large metroplex such as Dallas and is an attractive sort of mid sized town in which one can dine in upscale restaurants, shop in any number of malls, enjoy a game of golf at a well manicured  country club and in general appreciate an upper middle class existence relatively free of the pitfalls of urban life.

I seem to have gone off point here. Enough of this Chamber of Commerce pitch and back to my narrative.

Earlier in the year I had traded in my Kawasaki Vulcan  for a brand new, right out of the crate 2008 Kawasaki Concours touring motorcycle. Four cylinders worth of giddyup, hard bags, fairing - you name it and that bike had it. It was time to give my new Connie the long distance test. I called Tom and told him of my plans, asking if he'd mind a short visit. He remarked on the state of my mental health and extended the invitation.

It was set. I would leave on the first day of September and allow three days for the outbound trip . I had one week to prepare and there was much to do  - purchase bungee cords to secure my auxiliary storage to the passenger seat (I'd be traveling solo), obtain emergency road equipment to deal with any unforseen problems that may be encountered, check oil levels, turn signal directionals, brake and tail lights, clutch and brake fluid reservoirs, tire pressure... well, you get the idea. Riding a bike is not exactly point it and go.The morning of August 31st arrived and I was ready to roll the next day! Jacksonville, Florida would soon be in my rear view mirrors.

DAY 1
I  decided to pack up and leave on the afternoon of August 31st  as the Weather Channel had predicted bad weather the following day. As usual, the Weather Channel was thorough, detailed and wrong!  My rain gear was packed in the duffle that was bungeed to the passenger seat where I couldn't reach it and just east of Lake City at the beginning ot the Florida panhandle I was hit by one of those summer tropical storms that was one of the worst I have ever ridden through. I throttled back to about 40-50 mph, put on the flashers and forged ahead, hoping that I could be seen before someone clipped me. I would have sought refuge beneath an overpass but it is even more dangerous to stop at roadside as people tend to lose track of their lanes in a heavy storm. After about 20 minutes the weather improved to a moderate drizzle which was manageable. I came upon an accident around Live Oak which saw one vehicle on its roof on the Interstate median.

Rough weather!

The original plan for the rest of the afternoon was to ride to close to Pensacola, but by Tallahassee it was apparent that the weather wasn't going to cooperate, so I pulled into a Sleep Inn hotel west of town for the night.

DAY2
I wanted to get back on schedule and make Hattiesburg, Mississippi by the afternoon. I headed out at 0445 riding west on Interstate 10. The conditions were pitch black and foggy. My thoughts centered around a "deer in the headlight" encounter consequently I didn't run Connie much faster than 60mph. After about 70 miles or so I realized that it was getting close to a fuel stop, but there aren't many places open at that early hour  which became a bit of a worry. Just when I was feeling for the reserve tank switch, a plume of light appeared at an exit. I fueled up with almost 6 gallons of high test, breathed a sigh of relief and once again headed  west.
The sun came up around 0630 signaling the start of a 95 degree day, the first of many that I would encounter. I  rode by Pensacola  and at Mobile, Alabama  I left the Interstate  and proceeded north on US 49 without incident to Hattiesburg where I spent the night in an efficiency apartment type hotel.

 DAY 3
I was due in Frisco by late afternoon, so it was go no matter what situation presented itself. Out again at 0445 , I resumed the northerly route on US 49 to Jackson, Misssissippi where I planned to pick up Interstate 20 west which would take me just south of Dallas. The first two hours were dark and foggy, and I hit a possum-like critter about an hour into the ride. I was doing about 65 and the thing just popped out from roadside about 5 feet in front of me and I had no time to swerve. Scratch one possum-like mammal!  Connie handled it well, and on I rode to Jackson, Interstate 20 and an overpriced, unremarkable breakfast at Shoney's.
The ride between Jackson and Vicksburg was rather deserted that morning so I decided to make up for lost time, cranking Connie up to 80 mph and rocketed  ahead. Connie's cruise control tends to creep a bit and every now and then I'd look at the speedometer, surprised to find that I was sailing along at 90 plus and had to throttle back a bit. Connie was a bit pouty about this as she kept asking for just a little more - just like a woman - but 90 was all I cared to roll. The bike was perfect at speed, a great sport touring unit.

Note: Crossed the "Mighty Mississippi" at Vicksburg and entered Louisiana. The St. Johns River in Jacksonville looks wider to me.

 Big rig eighteen wheelers  pepper Interstates everywhere and if you've never ridden a motorcycle it can be a bit disturbing to be at speed and come up on one of them.  The dirty air from the rig buffets the bike gingerly and you are literally blown about like a piece of trash. After a few encounters one learns to manage the buffeting but it can elevate the old heart rate of even the most experienced rider.Other than bloody hot the rest of the day went without incident until Dallas.  Tollway traffic in Dallas on two wheels is just plain scary! When I took the motorcycle safety course I remember the instructor telling us to ride as if everyone on the road were out to kill us. Well.......in Dallas they are! I firmly believe that Big D drivers get bonus points for cutting bikes off, changing lanes indiscriminately and trying to run bikers into toll booth plazas. Anyway, try as they may they all missed me and I arrived in Frisco that afternoon, tired, hot and wanting to stand up a lot.

Stay tuned for Part Two.

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