Destination: Albany, TX 2013

I had to put this post up a day earlier than usual since Margaret and I will be taking a 3 day road trip over the labor day weekend.  Hopefully we will have good fortune with our camera and Gopro and get some good media to share over the next couple of weeks.

Last Sunday we decided to take a ride to Albany, TX.  It can be a very long ride depending on the roads you choose to get there. Our route took us almost 300 miles round trip and we were out for 10 hours.  The first part of the ride took us through Granbury, Lipan, and Strawn, TX which takes you through some very nice hill country type of riding. Then as you move further northwest the land begins to level off giving some wonderful far seeing scenic views. The weather forecast was saying 97 for the high but the temperature ended up over 100 at the peak of the day.  We were careful to take a lot of stops and stay hydrated.

Our plan was to eat the Icehouse restaurant but when we got there it was shut down.  We couldn't tell if it was out of business or not.  The windows were papered to block the view inside.  We stopped for gas and asked about any other restaurants that might be open.  The only place to eat on Sunday was Dairy Queen.  Kind of a bummer to ride all that way just to get a fast food burger.  Fortunately this setback was the only downside to the entire day. This ride definitely followed the saying: Its not about the destination, its about the ride. 

We had also planned on visiting the historical Fort Griffin but it was hot and getting late by the time we arrived in Albany from all of the little back roads we took to get there.  If we didn't have to go to work the next day we could have gone there but, duty calls. Our plans were bigger than the hours in the day. Albany however has some very nice historical architecture so we spent time around the main plaza and took a bunch of pictures before heading home.

Destination: Albany, TX 2013

Installing Stuff

Saturday I took most of the day installing stuff we had ordered for both of our bikes.  I also had to do another oil change on mine having reached that 30K mileage mark.

So what exactly was installed?  Here is a list and then well go into more details about what worked, what didnt, and how we made things work.

Oil Change
Air Filter Cleaning
Hand Grips
Saddlebag Guards
Saddlebags

I started with the hand grips on my bike.  This will be the second set I've put on.  The last were nice but just didn't have the right feel to them.  They were kind of short and my hand would overlap on the end. They also didn't give my hands good support for longer rides. Our salesman said to try Avon Grips. He was so sure I would like them we spent 10 minutes walking around the dealership until we found a bike with Avon grips on it.  Like he said, they felt superb so I ordered a set that had the Edge Cut style like my clutch and brake lever. It takes about 10 minutes to install them. Here are the pics of the process.

Grip Replacement on a 2012 Harley Davidson Street Glide

Then I did an oil change and air intake filter cleaning on the Street Glide.

Next I worked on putting the Saddlebag Guards on Margaret's bike.  There was a little bit of tear down on the right side installation.  Had to nearly remove the entire exhaust system to get the lower mounting bolt installed. Not a big issue though.  After installing the guards is where it all fell apart.  We bought some saddlebags from Viking.  We didn't like the Harley's softail deluxe bags.  They are an extremely poor design and have the capacity to hold little more than a shoe on each side.  That wont do much for any type of trip we might want to take and they are expensive, over $1000 from what some people in our chapter told us they paid.  The bags we purchased are super nice and almost as big as my Street Glide bags.  A molded plastic shell covered with leather gives them rigidity and style.  Both of us are quite impressed with them and they were only $219.00.   However, the mounting kit that came with them just sucks. The left side support provided is completely useless as it will not clear the drive train. Not only that but the bolts they provided had the wrong type threads so they wouldn't screw in and were waaaaaay too long. We went to Harley and ordered a nice single piece mount made by Drag Specialties for $60.

The saddle bag supports arrived Tuesday so we picked them up and hurried home to see if they were going to work. Again, more issues.  I figure this will happen since we are using non Harley parts.  The supports fit perfectly and clear the drive train but they angle outwards from the fender.  This means the bags wont hang straight.  My idea was to find some barrel spacers for the mount and use longer bolts.  Off to Home Depot we went.  It took a while to find exactly what we thought might work and get back home.  I put the supports on and held the bags into place while I marked where the mounting bolts came to on the bags.  Got out the drill and made the holes.  I put a large flange washer that I painted on the inside and outside of the bag, the mounting bolt through those, then the barrel spacer over that, then the support which bolted perfectly in place, thus holding the bags very securely. They still lean outwards a bit but not bad enough to get worked up about.

We still had to figure out how to mount the bottom part of the bag to the support.  I didn't want to drill holes so we came up with the idea of using velcro. We used the plastic part of the velcro on the bag side and simply stuck it on.  That stuff is super hard to get off once it sets. Not really sure how to explain how I was able to attach it to the support but you'll see it in the pictures.  All were trying to do is keep the bag from rattling against the bottom of the support, the huge bolts hold the bag on very securely. It all worked well and we still got her some very nice bags for a total cost including the new supports and Home Depot hardware for under $300 which I am very pleased about.

Installing Viking Saddlebags on a 2013 Harley Softail Deluxe

Cranfills Gap 2013 & Meridian State Park

Following the previous weekend of hard riding I was able to talk Margaret into doing some riding related activities instead of riding the entire state of Texas again.  Saturday we both gave our bikes a good scrubbing.  They were still covered with an enormous amount of grasshopper goo.  This was her first washing of her Softail and a great experience too.  It was interesting to hear her whine and grumble about how nasty the bug parts were and that they wouldn't come off easily.  She wanted me to wash her bike but in my objective opinion, she hit the bugs on her bike so she needs to clean them off.  I had my own mess of splatters to scrub.  We also waxed the paint and polished the chrome on both bikes.  This was the first detailing for her bike so we took our time and did the process thoroughly.  This took all morning and we enjoyed doing it together.

Looking back at the last couple rides a problem we've been having is storage space. I am having to carry everything for both of us in my saddlebags.  We had found bags for her bike last month that she liked so we went ahead and ordered them. In the afternoon we decided to stop by Harley while we made our weekly grocery rounds.  We ordered some saddlebag guards for her bike and a reduced reach clutch and brake handle.  Shes been struggling with the reach on her controls since getting the bike so we had to do something for her.

We still wanted to ride a bit so Sunday morning we decided to go to Cranfills Gap.  I have some media already from previous rides to the Gap but Margaret has never been and its a beautiful trip.  The temperature was only going to be 98 for the high so it wasn't as bad as the previous weekend.

We had lunch at the well known Horny Toad Bar & Grill which is about the only business in that town. When we left the temperature was beginning to climb.  It was 1:30 pm and only gonna get worse throughout the day. Meridian State Park was only about 20 miles away so we decided to go there and spend the afternoon swimming and lounging around in the shade until it cooled down for the trip home.  Start to finish the trip was 257 miles.

Cranfills Gap & Meridian State Park Video

Dublin Dr Pepper & Goldthwaite Texas

We've been getting Margaret out on short rides for about a month.  Started out doing 20 miles round trip and worked up to 60 mile round trips.  I was thinking she was doing pretty good, didn't want to push her and provoke any discouragement by riding too far too fast and freaking her out.  I decided to trick her by doing a longer ride without telling her.  I worked up a route to Hico, Tx and back which was about 125 miles round trip.  The evening before Jim called to see what we were up to so I invited him and Pat along.

We met in Crowley and headed out.  The route took us through Godley, Bono, Granbury, then on some very nice FM roads to Hico.  Jim had to be back home to meet some construction contractors by noon so he broke off from us shortly before arriving at Hico.

Margaret and I had breakfast at the Koffee Kup and prepared to head back home.  She asked "where are we going now?"

"Back home" I responded.  Now is the turning point to this otherwise boring post.  She wasn't very happy with my response. She wanted to ride some more. Gotta keep your woman happy right?  We headed out on some more very nice FM roads and hours later ended up in Dublin TX.  We decided to take the tour of the historical Dr Pepper Museum and get a couple souvenirs. Apparently even this distance wasn't enough because when I said we were going to take a direct route home she whined about it.  We left Dublin and ended up back in Hico, then Glen Rose, then Granbury, Bono, Godley, Crowley, and finally home.  Every place we stopped at I encouraged a shorter route home to which I received evil glares and whining about what kind of rider was I? Shes a monster! To be honest, she finally broke loose on her bike and overcame a lot of her apprehensions about riding.  She relaxed, let the bike go, and enjoyed the ride and scenery.  She finally began to understand the beauty of riding.  She was hooked and there was no turning back now. We rode 300 miles that day and every mile and stop was wonderful.

Nice little story but little did I know it would continue sooner than later.  I slept in the next morning to about 8am.  That's VERY late for me considering my daily wake up time is 5am.  I crawled out of bed, wandering into her work room rubbing my eyes trying to clear my vision and shes standing there, dressed with her riding vest on.  "Where are we going today?" she asks with a completely serious demeanor.  WTH?!?! I'm thinking to myself that riding 300 miles in a day is a pretty nice ride in itself for one weekend and this woman wants to go out again?  I told her I didn't have anything planned to which she responded "Why not? You better figure out something soon so we can get going!"  OMG, this keeping your woman happy concept is starting to work against me!

Within an hour were back on the road, Crowley, Godley, Bono, Hico, Hamilton, and finally to Goldthwaite. We stopped at a restaurant named Peabody's to cool down and eat.  We arrived 30 minutes before closing time and stood at the front door for a few minutes while the staff walked around and ignored us. Margaret figured if we sat down we might be served. Not a chance. I finally went to the back of the restaurant where the staff was hiding out and asked if we were supposed to wait to be seated. A very rude server sharply informed me they were closed and turned away. If you go to Goldthwaithe stay away from Peabody's, they are not biker friendly.   We did manage to find a Dairy Queen and got some cool drinks and a burger. They were very friendly unlike the cold shoulder we received at Peabody's. There is a historic suspension bridge somewhere in the Goldthwaite area we wanted to see but by now it was late and we had a long ride to get home. We didn't get any pictures in Goldwaithe as there really wasn't anything to photograph. Well go back again and try to find that bridge on another trip. After another 10 hour day of riding and another 300 miles, we arrived home.

600 miles in two days.  I'm not really sure how to comment on that.  She loved it.  Every bit of it.  The riding, the stops at towns and rest areas where we would just enjoy the day together.  We stopped at quite a few historical sites as well. Even as I am typing this post shes asking about riding again.  I've got too much to do to take her out for another weekend like that this time but I promised we would go out tomorrow and ride somewhere.

During the ride back from Goldthwaite my bike started having some issues.  The voltage meter would either spike or drop at which point the check engine and battery indicators would come on.  Sometimes my cruise control would shut off if the voltage went to low.  Fortunately the bike never quit running during the trip.  I figured it might be the voltage regulator going bad.  We dropped it off at the dealership the next day for them to pull the event logs for diagnosis.  It was the voltage regulator which they replaced under the factory warranty. I know there are people that complain about Harley dealerships and service departments, but Fort Worth Harley Davidson has given us some of the best customer service of any business we have ever dealt with.

I took the camera and GoPro both of those days to try and get some media.  It's grasshopper season in Texas so I lost a lot of video due to those juicy things splattering on the lens cover of the GoPro even though I cleaned it at every stop. We still got some decent riding clips but entire portions of the ride were unusable due to the bug guts.  I still used what I was able to salvage and put together a short video. I hope you enjoy the media as much as we enjoyed the riding to compile it.

Dublin & Goldthwaite, TX Slide show

Ride to Dublin & Goldthwaite Video

Accident Scene Management Class

With Margaret and I beginning to ride together we felt it might be a good idea to learn what to do in case of an accident.  No rider wants to go through that possibility but the reality is that it can happen.  When it happens the more someone might know about what to do at an accident scene could save the victims life.  Fort Worth HOG scheduled a class with Road Guardians on July 20 and July 21 for its members.  As soon as we were informed about it we reserved a spot for both of us.  The road captains in our chapter are required to take the course and keep their certifications active but we just thought it would be good for ourselves.

There were 2 courses offered,  the basic and advanced.  We took both.  If you had taken the basic within the last 2 years you could just take the advanced to re certify.  Quite a few of our road captains were able to do this.  Margaret and I along with quite a few others from our chapter had to start with the basic class.  There were 22 riders that completed the 2 day course from our chapter.

The basic class taught things like stabilizing the victim, controlling traffic, securing the scene, information needed for a 911 call, basic first aid, techniques for rolling a victim, leadership, and how to find and determine the extent of injuries.  It was fascinating and I had never really considered all of the necessary steps that need to be taken at an accident scene.

The advanced class the next day focused on details taught in the basic class.  There was a lot more hands on where we practiced stabilizing a riders head while rolling him, getting them on a stretcher, when to remove a helmet and how to remove it if you have to, applying a tourniquet, applying pressure to arteries to stop bleeding, and more.  At the end of the second day the instructor surprised us with a mock accident outside from which our team had to take control of the situation properly until EMS arrived.  They had a vehicle that had hit a motorcycle.  The driver was trying to get back into his car to drive away, the motorcycle was on top of the rider, and the bike passenger had been thrown and injured quite a ways away from the scene.  We had to begin making immediate decisions on what to do. The 2 days were quite intense but we had a lot of fun learning with the others from our chapter.

On July 23 my work offered CPR/AED certification through the American Red Cross at no cost to us.  Just sign up, attend, and pass the exam to get certified.  Cant beat that!  I jumped on the opportunity and got that as well.  They are going to offer a First Aid certification class at work soon as well so I'm gonna do that too.

There was a lot of learning involved and I am glad to have done it all.  I don't think I perfected everything taught and probably cannot remember every point.  I do feel confident that I would have a better idea of how to proceed if an accident occurred though..  Until taking these classes I wouldn't have had any real idea of what to do and how to do it safely and correctly.