8 September Ride to Marble Falls & Park Road 4

Luck was with us as Saturday morning dawned slightly overcast to help balance the humidity and expected high temperatures.  Three bikes and two trikes set off from the Chapter U meeting point at the Wal-mart.  We were delighted to see Lana co-riding again with Dave Weaver, and that Kenny and Connie Jordan, and Tom and Nancy Byrd were up bright and early to join the fun!  Heading towards the pick up point at 281 and 46, we were surprized by an "enroute" pick up of Court Van Sickler near FM 3009 and 1863!  Great thing about our chapter  (and our CBs) is that we are willing to pick up Wings (and other bikes) anywhere along the route. 

Pulling into the Exxon, we were happy to see Dale and Diane Goree and Mike and Ako Mills waiting to join our happy group headed north to Marble Falls.  After a leisurely ride north enjoying the cooler temperatures of the day, we pulled into Main Street in Marble Falls to find the stores open but that the web and newspaper advertised annual "fair" was the next weekend.  The good thing was that we had center of the street parking for our Wings!  Regardless, the co-riders set off to scour the shops for bargains and browse while the riders enjoyed sitting under trees and catching up.  In less than an hour, we set off for Park Road 4 which features not only roller coaster ups and downs and twisties and turnies but a "castle" you can rent for a special occasion for only $5400!  The scenic road also features vistas of the lakes and dams in the area.

Should have been vendors where we parked! Seems the Market Days were delayed until next weekend! Oh well! Had a good time anyway!

We still shopped, drank coffee and shot the breeze before heading to Park Road 4!

Turning back towards Kingsland, we ate a delicious lunch at the Sweet Things Bakery!  All the bread is homemade and the bakery features hamburgers on homemade sweet bread or jalapeno-cheese buns!  Yumm!  After filling our stomachs and our gas tanks, we handed south on some backroads, stopping at the Blanco DQ for some ice cream to fortify us to make the rest of the way home!  With the weather this summer, it had been a good 6 months since we had a DQ stop and Ako Mills made up for lost time by eating a banana split!  Mike said he would have to eat half of it but at the end of our stop, Mike said he had only 2 bites and Ako said “it wasn’t that large!”  Much to our delight, Dave and Cora Lonning saw the Wings in the parking lot and stopped in to catch up (and admire Black Pearl, my trike).  Hope Cora finds a trike at some point and decides to join us for some rides!:)

Ako, Diane, Dale & Court                                     Happy faces. Everyone had lots of fun!

The Sweet Things Bakery in Kingsland has great lunches at cheap prices, especially the burgers!!!

Always manage to find the shade!

Getting ready to head on back. Had a nice DQ stop in Blanco!

The nicest part of the day always comes when Wings are peeling off to their specific homes and there is a lot of "We had a good time, we're glad we came!"  It always makes the ride planning and effort to lead a ride worthwhile!  Thanks to Dale and Dianne Goree and Kenny and Connie Jordan for helping Brad lead.  Thanks to Tom and Nancy Byrd for helping me drag.  Working with small groups of Wings on roads like 281 makes it a lot easier and less stressful!  Chapter U has the nicest and friendliest people who ride safely and have fun together!  We hope to see you on a future ride with Chapter U.  Come join the FUN!

Jill Severe

Co-Riding and Trike Riding Chapter Director