27 June 09 Ride with Chapter H
Write-up by Jill Severe Pictures by Brad Severe
A Breakfast Ride on a Very Hot Day…
The weather is not cooperating this summer…it is hot, Hot, HOT! Nonetheless eleven intrepid Chapter U participants met a Yamaha of San Antonio at 7:30 to ride across town to participate in a breakfast ride scheduled by our sister chapter, Chapter H. The trikes were holding their own with the group mixed between trikes and bikes. After meeting and greeting and the riders/co-riders safety briefing, Brad and I led out with Ride Captain Mike Mills in the rear. As several of the bikes and trikes didn’t have CBs, we were fortunate that Juan Busanet held down the middle. This is always a good idea so even if a small riding group is broken up, there is usually someone with a CB with line of sight on where everyone is! Also arm and hand signals are the norm, giving everyone in our riding group (and the cars around us) a head’s up on upcoming turns. After all, everyone around us is looking at all the great looking Gold Wings! The route was simple: down I-35, across on 1604 and exiting at Bandera road. Traffic that early on a Saturday morning is usually light, and we enjoyed a leisurely pace, waving at lots of other motorcyclists out to enjoy the day before the temperatures climbed.
Lots of Chatting! Steve's trike and Donna's car! Colors almost match!
More and more kept showing up!
We rolled into the Chapter H meeting spot to find Olin Gover, “Fly ‘N Low” waiting for us on his bright yellow trike. Always a sight for sore eyes, it was great to find veteran Chapter U and Chapter H participant ready to ride! We were soon joined by two co-riders and a rider from Chapter H. Most of Chapter H had left that day for a circuitous route to Wing Ding, but we were glad to meet and greet old and new friends. We decided to ride just up the road to El Chaparral, known for great breakfast tacos.
We got to the Chapter H pickup point early! Found a little shade!
We ended up with 8 bikes & trikes from U and 2 bikes from H
Bob Ped & Steve Van Gilder Newest members! John & Monica Fryar
We were soon seated at a cozy table for 14. The restaurant wasn’t very busy so we were even able to pull over another table and enjoy lots of elbow room. The conversations on a breakfast ride are always so interesting. I did not know heavy rains could force a migration of armadillos or tarantulas. You never know what you are going to see on a ride! Time flew by and the breakfast tacos were worth the wait. Though El Chaparral has three locations, I have always thought the tortillas were best at the Helotes location, and they lived up to their reputation today! Yummm!
Jill Severe talking to Lisa West Inside the El Chaparal
We finally had our fill of water, coffee and breakfast tacos (not in that order). Brad and I had an unscheduled appointment so we needed to head towards home in a fairly direct manner, deciding to drive down Scenic Loop and Boerne Stage Road to meet up with I-10. After polling everyone, we all decided to take the same route, breaking up in different directions as we went and ending the ride at I-10. It was still not too hot to enjoy the fairly shady road, waving at bicyclists, and watching our speed! Olin Gover took the Drag, and Juan and Mike held down the center. All too soon we were at I-10 but with the temperatures climbing rapidly, we knew that the fun for the day was drawing to a close. It was wonderful to hear everyone signing off as they went into different directions, while others waved and honked as they went by. A great day for a breakfast ride and a great group to ride with! What more could you ask for? Plan to join one of our joint chapter rides in the future…you’ll meet and make new GWRRA friends right here in San Antonio!
Nice big long table! Plenty of room for all of us.
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