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It was one of the coolest days in quite a while here in South Texas when I climbed aboard Therapy and got started to the Exxon at 281 & 46. I was happy that I had remembered to put the liner in my jacket.  I was going to lead the group on Mike Mill’s cattle guard ride that I had heard so much about.  At this point of the article I want to thank Mike Mills for the directions and his never-ending support of Chapter U as a Ride Coordinator/Road Captain!

 I arrived at the Exxon early and I am worried that the bite in the air may scare off all of the riders, then Bob and Kay Finch arrived. Soon there after Court and Diane Van Sickler, Ron and Maria DeLaughter, Steve and Donna Van Gilder, Luis and Ida Flores arrive. Jack Dowda arrived but as luck would have it his “new” bike starts having mechanical problems and he will not be able to join us for the ride. Ron, Court, Luis, Bob, Steve and I go over the route together to make sure there is none of the confusion on this ride that I am famous for. We say our good-byes to Jack and complete our safety briefing. Court and Diane are going to ride drag for me and keep me from any wrong turns.

 Now we are ready to roll and all of us are anxious to get on the road.  Bob & Kay had mentioned to me that they wanted to get a picture of a longhorn to send back to California. (Evidently the folks in CA think the longhorns just wander around like dogs and cats here in Texas.)

We are rolling north on 281 and the sun is starting to burn brightly and warm up our cruise. After we get north of Johnson City a few mikes we make a left on 1323 and this is a great motorcycle road. We are rolling along nicely and as I scan the road ahead I see a deer crossing the road from my left. I have learned from riding here that if you see one deer there are usually more around and I begin to scan more diligently. Then I see one on my right this one defiantly has his afterburner lit. It crosses about 20 yards in front of me and wasn’t slowing down at all. I call out a warning on the CB and I hope my voice didn’t give away my excitement?!? Then I realize I didn’t get a picture but I am sure it would have been a brown blur. We make a right on 16 and then a left on 965. I have ridden across a few cattle guards on my rides but this ride has the most I had seen on a ride. Then I see my first “loose livestock” sign. Usually yellow square on point signs really don’t grab my interest. You know the kind curve ahead, the crooked arrow that means turns ahead, a left or right 90-degree turn with a suggested speed limit on a small square sign below it. Were riding motorcycles so all of these signs spell out fun ahead in capital letters for us! I’m from Detroit so I have heard of loose slot machines but loose livestock? We cruise through a nice right hand sweeper and crest a small rise and there she is mom and baby on road. We quietly slip buy them but we are being watched as we do. This scene is repeated several times on this stretch of road and it was fun. There were comments about how nice it was to see water flowing in the rivers and creeks along the ride. The rain of the last weeks sure has helped make our Texas even more beautiful. We had decided to stop for a break at Enchanted Rock Nature Area. It felt good to get off the bikes for stretch and walk time. After a few pictures we are rolling again and a left on Lower Crab Apple Road this is a slow winding road that just makes you enjoy riding. It has the usual cattle guards in place and has a couple of rough spots but, it is a nice slow roller. 

We make it to 87 and it is time for a fuel stop. Then we are headed toward Fredericksburg.  Next stop the Catfish Haven restaurant. The food was great. Thanks Diane for a great suggestion. At this point Luis and Ida along with Steve and Donna headed for home. The last four bikes had to decide between shopping and going to Luckenbach. After some discussion it was decided that Luckenbach was our next stop. I had no idea the best way to get there so Court and Diane took lead and I took drag.

 This weekend is Harvest Classic European and Vintage Motorcycle Rally  in Luckenbach. It is a rally ran by a group called Candlelighters and these folks raise money to help in the fight against childhood cancer. It was amazing to see all of the old iron that was on display there. We even found a longhorn there for Bob and Kay.

After looking over the old bikes we decided to head out and make our way to Blanco for you guessed it a DQ stop. All too soon we were headed south on 281 and saying good byes and waves as we headed to our homes. It was another great safe ride full of fun and friendship. If you couldn’t make this ride I hope to see you on our next adventure.

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