Fort Worth HOG Road Captains

I wanted to write about the Road Captains from the Fort Worth HOG Chapter. Primarily because I ride with them, know them, see what they do on rides, and have an enormous amount of respect for them. They are often taken for granted and just seen as someone leading or trailing behind each group. Some just see them as part of our Chapters structure of group riding and don't take much notice as to what is going on that makes these riders so special. What most people don't know is the amount of sacrifice our Road Captains give to help make our rides safe. Even outside of riding events they give their time unselfishly so that all of the Chapters members can have a fun filled day.

I began asking our Road Captains about what it meant and what it took to become and stay a road captain within the Chapter. The responses and explanations honestly took me by surprise. I knew they were excellent and experienced riders but did not understand what happened behind the scenes. One of the first responses from a Road Captain I talked to was "time". He said outside of your job and family, the responsibilities of being a Road Captain would consume a tremendous amount of your free time. So I asked him to elaborate....

Continuous training was one of the first things they are involved in. They work with local law enforcement and attend classes in how to best manage group riding situations. They have to keep their accident scene management certifications up to date. They attend advanced riding courses every year. They also attend a mandatory Road Captain meeting once a month through our chapter.  So you might think OK, a few classes here and there and a meeting isn't a big deal. It might not seem like much but its only the start, and coming back to the sacrificial "time" aspect, this could take from a couple hours to entire weekends like the accident scene management class took. That means their entire weekend could be gone like a puff of smoke. Or as in the Road Captain meeting, one entire evening of personal time is gone. Remember there are only 52 weeks in a year so personal time can be lost quickly.

Next it was brought to my attention that every ride the Chapter offers has been pre-ridden within a couple weeks at most prior to the event. The Road Captains have a loose schedule where they sign up for pre-rides and literally ride the entire route however long or short it may be to look for possible hazards and report this info back to leadership. Then the route can be changed if it needs to. So as members and riders, Margaret and I might get home from work and decide to take a nice little ride to a restaurant, enjoy the evening, and go back home when we want. We might just decide to flop around the house and watch movies. So while were enjoying our time together doing whatever we want after a days work, our Road Captains are out pre-riding upcoming routes. Most Chapter events are on the weekend in which they are participants, this means they are out during the week pre-riding those routes for upcoming events. Their sacrificing free time, fuel cost, miles on their bikes, and maintenance costs almost weekly. And, if inclement weather rolls in on the weekend and the ride gets cancelled or changed, they would have taken their free time and pre-rode it for nothing. UH OH! Were starting to see some serious commitment eh?

It doesn't stop there! At events, we as members look at the calendar, see the time, and make the decision about what time we want to arrive for a ride or event and leave when we want to. Our Road Captains however show up first, have a meeting about the days event and prepare for whatever is happening that day. They are also the last to leave once its over. Often times they are working 12+ hour days so Chapter members can enjoy the day and event. They work at events like Demo Days, Dealer events, Dinner runs, Open house events, HOG rallies, Christmas party, Chapter Picnic, and special runs like our mid week 9/11 run. Literally, almost daily they sacrifice their free time to give to the Chapter. Daily you say? Surely not.....well, yea, it truly is almost daily as you'll see reading on...

I decided to put together a fairly accurate breakdown and some numerical statistics of the amount of time our Road Captains give to the Chapter based on our calendar of scheduled events and what is necessary outside of that schedule.

-Classes with law enforcement= 1 weekend, 2 days

-Accident scene management classes= 1 weekend, 2 days

-Advanced riding course= 1 weekend, 2 days

-Road Captain meeting= 12 evenings a year

-Pre-rides=2 evenings a month, 24 evenings a year

-HOG Rallies? I put 1 weekend a year on this because I know they all attend at least one of them= 1 weekend a year, 3 days

-Chapter meeting= 1 day a month, 12 days a year

-Skills day= 1 day a month, 12 days a year

-Dinner ride= 2 evenings/days mid week a month, 24 days a year

-Other mid week events, LOH, Open house, NHRA nights= 1 evening a month, 12 days a year

-WOW= its serious now isn't it!!!

-Saturday or Sunday rides= 2 days a month, 24 days a year

-3 day events (3 sisters ride for example)= 3 days a year

-Demo Days, they provide lead and drag for the demo ride groups= 2 weekends a year, 4 days a year.

-And sometimes they throw in a ride on the same weekend as another days event= 1 day a month, 12 days a year.

Based on the above events, 148 days out of the year is exclusively dedicated to Road Captain responsibilities. The Chapters requirements are 50% attendance for Road Captains so that brings this down to 74 days. For the most part, this really is an entire day or evening after work that is lost to them for their personal life. This calculates out to 20.2% of the days of the year is given to the Chapter. I loosely put together these numbers based on real events over the past year, there are variables that could be applied either way in regards to more or less time given, but this is pretty close. I could with near certainty say they do even more than this.

And after all of this, even when they are riding on a nice scheduled ride through the country side, they are working. They are on high alert for the group, guiding, directing traffic, providing a barrier between the group and vehicles, directing and helping riders park upon arrival, and watching riders for any problems they might see such as dehydration or exhaustion. It takes a very unique and committed individual to give this much of themselves for the Chapter. Our Road Captains care deeply for the members they serve and its a sacrifice I believe everyone should be aware of.

Thank You to the Fort Worth HOG Road Captains for all you do!

Strawn, TX & Fort Worth HOG Skills Day

The weekend turned out to be far more than I anticipated.  Originally our plans were to work around the house on Saturday and participate in our chapters skills day on Sunday.  We got up early Saturday morning and the temperature was a nice cool 65 degrees and was only supposed to get up to around 85 for the high. We didn't want to miss out on the nice weather so we planned a short 248 mile ride to Strawn, TX to have lunch at Mary's.  They are well known for their chicken fried steak and Margaret had never been there.  So off we went with chicken fried steak on our minds!  And the ride of course!

As usual, the food was wonderful, Margaret ordered the small steak and I ordered the medium portion. They have a large portion but I simply cannot imagine eating a monster like that!  Even the medium one is gigantic.  There is nothing fancy about Mary's though, just good food and good value. The destination definitely makes for a nice short road trip with purpose. On the way home we went through Stephenville, TX and saw a lot of possible reasons for going back there.  A lot of antique shops lined the road as well as some restaurants that I thought might be good to try.

There were a LOT of bikes on the road as well.  Looks like the cooler weather brought out some of the riders that like to stay out of the summer heat.  I got some GoPro footage of some of the groups as they passed by.  Never know, you might be one of them if your riding around north Texas!

Sunday was the Fort Worth HOG Chapter's monthly skills day event.  Again, as always, I stress what an incredible event this is.  Our road captains are simply the best, period.  They do so much for the chapter that it is hard for most people to grasp.  Skills day is one of those sacrifices they make for our members.  They arrive early, set up courses, teach, monitor, mentor, while we ride and improve our riding skills.  For over 3 hours they give their time so we can become better riders. Most of them are also part of our competition team and the mentoring advice they have is invaluable.  The end result is a safer rider which transposes to every aspect of riding.

I try to never miss a skills day.  Margaret went with me on her bike and sharpened her riding skills some more.  The previous parking lot we used was apparently bought or leased by a developer and was fenced off due to construction.  The chapter officers spent a couple weeks previous to the days event to find us a new place to have skills day which turned out to be very nice. Everyone seemed to really like it a lot.  There was also another great turnout of riders.  It seems as of late that skills day is growing in numbers.  We have always had good turnouts but now more than ever.

There are two videos on this post, one for each ride we took.  Margaret did a lot of video of me on skills day so I apologize in advance that a greater portion of that video is of me.

Strawn, TX September 2013

Fort Worth HOG Skills Day September 2013

Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water For Life Charity Ride 2013

With an event as big as the Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water for Life 2013 ride I figured the extra post would be a good idea.  Margaret and I arrived about an hour early to get some pictures and video of the staging area and take part in the poker walk.  When we pulled up we were counted as bike number 160.  It was early and the bikes were steadily rolling in.

We registered so as to be counted for the charity donation and began our poker walk.  It was a lot of fun as we got to see a lot of people we knew and get some good laughs in.  Neither one of us did well with our poker walk drawings though and had to move on empty handed.

As the time for the ride meeting neared Margaret and I left early so we could get setup on Exchange street in the stockyards and get video of the bikes as they came by.  We parked in Rodeo Square which was reserved for the event and quickly walked to a pretty good area and setup the tripod with the GoPro.  Soon after we heard the squealing sirens of the police motorcycle escort as the procession began rolling down the street. It took 5 minutes and 55 seconds for the entire procession to pass.  When the last bike went by we quickly headed for the parking area to continue capturing media.

A total of 451 riders attended the ride.  I'm not sure about the number of bikes though seeing as some of them were riding two up.  One of the road captains said it was about 400 bikes though which is a great turnout.

We headed into Billy Bobs for the total tally and presentation of what the Water for Life charity is all about. The amount raised this year totaled 60K.

Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water for Life Charity Ride 2013 Slideshow

Fort Worth Harley Davidson Water for Life Charity Ride 2013 Video

Fort Worth HOG 911 Memorial Ride 2013

Wednesday evening the Fort Worth HOG chapter gathered for their 3rd 911 Memorial ride.  After a presentation of a banner that had the names of all of the victims of this tragic event, Kim read the timeline of the attacks to recall that horrible day.  This set the stage for the beginning of our ride.

Our purpose was to visit a couple fire departments and thank the fire fighters for their sacrifice and service to the community.  So often the only time these men and woman are remembered are when they show up to our rescue or lose their lives in service.  They put their lives on the line daily for people they have never met. Every emergency they respond to has the capability of ending their lives. The level of stress due to the intensity of their job alone is far more than most people experience in their lives. The 911 terrorist attack highlighted their service and the horrible truth of the dangerous situations they engage in daily.  History is full of stories in regards to individuals heroic deeds on that awful day.

We left the dealership at 1830 and visited a station just around the corner.  The firefighters came out when they saw our 22 bikes roll up to greet us with hugs and handshakes. We presented them with gifts and personally thanked each one of them for their service.  It was a very emotionally moving time for everyone involved.  Everyone wanted pictures so they pulled one of the fire trucks out of the station to use as a backdrop.

Next we headed to a fire station in White Settlement, TX for our second stop.  The sun was already beginning to set and was beautiful.  When we arrived we had to park the bikes across the street in a church parking lot as there was no room for all of us closer to the fire station.  We walked to the station across the street but no one came out.  A couple of our group began knocking on the door and even went into the garage to knock on the interior door.  We saw the blinds move up a bit and heard one of the fire fighters tell another to get the phone.  This was the first time we had visited this station on a 911 run.  You have to imagine 30+ bikers geared out banging on their doors from out of no where and on 9/11.  There was a bit of tension and concern on their part at this sudden situation.

Finally after loudly telling them through the door why we were there they came out.  There was a lot of laughs over this.  It was a lot of fun though and they were very appreciative of our purpose.  Again with a lot of hugs and handshakes we took pictures and gave them gifts before leaving.

The evening was short due to day light time constraints but the stations we visited were grateful.  All of the participants on the ride were also grateful for the opportunity that the Fort Worth HOG chapter provided to get together and visit these stations.  The evening was personally fulfilling and rewarding for me to be able to take time and thank these heroes for their service.

Fort Worth HOG 9/11 Memorial Ride 2013

Destination: Marble Falls, TX 2013

Labor day weekend brought about the opportunity to sneak in a longer ride.  When you work full time you have to take advantage of those extra days off.  I had some ideas of where to go and tossed them out there for Margaret to choose. The winning destination was Marble Falls, TX.

We got a late start on Saturday morning not leaving until almost 10 am. Our destination took us in a southern direction so we took the usual route when going south and stopped at Cranfills Gap, TX to eat lunch at the Horny Toad Bar & Grill.  I've always enjoyed going there.  The ride to get there is nice, the food is wonderful, its comfortable, and the owners are very personable.  We do like to try new places to eat but once we find one that continually provides a wonderful experience we tend to stick with it.

We finished eating about 1 pm and the temperature was already reading 100 degrees.  The Horny Toad kindly filled our thermos's with ice and water for the trip ahead.  I planned on a long route to Marble Falls, TX on small FM roads so we could meander through the country side and enjoy the sites Texas has to offer.  We were not let down! Some of the roads we ended up on were little more than a bit of asphalt plopped on the ground that served as a road which we rumbled along at an easy going 30 mph!  I often thought at any minute we would be on gravel.  There were a lot of deer to be seen on these roads too.  One time we saw a small herd of 6 deer that went bounding off as we slowly rumbled by on the bikes. Another time we rolled up to within a few yards of a deer before it finally decided to leap the fence by the road and run off.  In the area between Gatesville and Lampasas, TX we got on some beautiful FM roads and didn't see another vehicle for about an hour.  I got lost for awhile on these roads as every road crossing we came upon lacked signage.  We basically just flipped a coin as to which way we would go and knew we would get to our destination eventually, which we did.

Upon arrival in Marble Falls we checked into the Holiday Inn Express, showered, and went out to eat.  It was a long hot day, we were tired, and about the only thing on our minds was getting some sleep for the adventurous day ahead.

After a nice light breakfast we headed out to Longhorn Cavern State Park to see the caves.  We arrived an hour before the tour time and had the run of the place to ourselves for quite awhile.  This gave us a perfect opportunity to get some pictures and video of the historic structure and cave entrance before people started mingling around.  The cave is 68 degrees year round and made for a nice couple hours to keep us cool. That was our plan, and it worked.  Our guide was quite flamboyant and exciting with her descriptions and history of the cavern.  Its nice to see someone that enjoys what they do and observe how it reflects in their job routine.  It was a great tour, interesting history, and beautiful cave.

From Longhorn Cavern State Park we headed back to Marble Falls and had lunch before heading to Pedernales Falls State Park.  Now it was getting into early afternoon and the heat was over 100 degrees. Our plan had been to head to Pedernales for an afternoon of cool swimming.  Again, our plans worked out well and upon arrival we headed for the river.  It was quite low due to the summer heat but still provided us with a very nice afternoon of wading, swimming, and lounging in the little water rapids.  We wandered upstream quite a ways and there was no one to be seen almost the entire time we were there.  We had a hard time unwinding from our hectic lifestyle but when we were finally able to, our bodies just gave out.  We laid in the water for hours while it trickled over us and kept us cool.  The experience was so relaxing that when we finally had to leave and head back to the hotel our legs were weak and wobbly.  It took all we had to say goodbye knowing our mini vacation was soon coming to a close.

The next morning was incredibly cool which was uncommon since the previous couple days had been over 100 degrees.  We soon found out why on the ride home, a storm had been moving around north Texas all night and had brought the temperature down.  As we cruised at a comfortable 70 mph north on US-281 the storm front was just to the north west of us.  It was pushing the cool air east toward us as we skirted the edge of the storm almost the entire trip home.  The temperature remained 75 degrees according to the thermometer gauge on my bike the entire time.  We never got hot and it turned out to be perfect riding weather.  That is until we reached Glen Rose, TX.  It was here the storm caught up with us and began a torrential downpour as we came into town.  We pulled over at the first place we could find which was a Sonic Drive in and sat outside under the cover while we had an afternoon munch and watched the rain.  Even this worked out well, we were cool, bellies full, and enjoyed the casual time before continuing on towards home.

As we left Sonic the rain moved out and within half an hour we were dry again.  The rest of the ride home was just as perfect as it was from Marble Falls.  We couldn't have asked for a better 3 day trip than we experienced. It was hard to sleep that night because we kept talking about everything we did for those 3 days.  Tuesday we both had already scheduled time off  to use as a wind down day from the trip before having to go back to work on Wednesday.

Again staying true to the inclusion of some sort of media with most posts, I made a video from the trip.  It's impossible to capture the essence of everything we did, but it still gives a nice over view to share with you. Hope you enjoy it.  Ride Strong, Ride Safe.

Destination: Marble Falls, TX 2013