We squeezed in two nice rides with perfect weather both days (80s with light breeze, scattered clouds with zero rain).
Sunday: one twisty romp up 335 past all the exotics (we saw camels, giraffes, kangaroos, and oryx), then across 41 into Rocksprings, then some of my favorite riding down 55 back into Camp Wood.
55 is mostly 4-lane / 2-way, much more relaxing than the Trinity which is all 2-lane stuff (and much more technical). As usual (in my experience), there was very nearly ZERO traffic. That means you can open it up and as long as you are careful to watch your mirrors, you can use both lanes to better your line so as not to touch the brakes or ease off the power band.
The stars in the pitch-black moonless sky, out in the middle of nowhere, no city lights for miles, were a sight I hadn't seen in a couple of years: just awesome. When you see what appear to be clouds lined up SouthWest to NorthEast, and realize it's billions of stars forming the disc of the Milky Way, it'll shut you right up.
Monday: nice jag across 337 to Leakey, following a pair of HD baggers for the first third till it got tight, then we swept around and lost them before hitting the roller coaster. managed to keep it at the speed limit the entire ride. Talitha was aboard between Sally and me, so I was minding my manners. The Legend's seat was ample, but I was leaning forward more than I like, so it got tiring.
We couldn't make up our mind what to do, started up 336 to ride by my uncle's place and see if anybody was home, then decided to go back into town for lunch. We ended up at Vinnie's and had a real nice Philly Cheese steak hoagie, pizza, and fried zucchini.
Back across 337 toward Camp Wood, my chain (which has been protesting for some time) decided to go walkabout; thankfully, it just slipped onto the inner side of the hub and didn't mess anything up. I slipped it back on, turned the bike around, and we headed back to the Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop and borrowed thier tools to nip it up as snugly as possible. The next ride on the Legend will be with a new chain.
Once again across 337 we had a doozie of a ride on the roller coaster, then as we were a mile or two from coming into Camp Wood, I catch a fawn moseying out onto the roadway; I eased off the gas and started covering my brakes when I saw his twin come bounding out of the tall grass on the other side of the road and run smack into him, flipping both deer around. By this time I was already getting on the binders, but they were all freaked out and in a daze. I goosed the throttle to wake them up as I kept increasing braking, then one of the little suckers tore off to the right, the other one couldn't get traction on the pavement! I thought we might be having venison for dinner when he finally caught a hoof-hold and jolted off the roadway and into a concrete-lined creek creek crossing; poor little sucker was totally out of control and tumbled down in a heap, sliding on his side and smacking his head right after we whizzed past the spot where he collided with his twin.
The rest of the ride was uneventuful. We pulled in at the bridge below Cooksey Park and had a really nice dip in the river. Very few tourists and the water was PERFECT.
Altogether a fantastic weekend. It was over WAY too quick.
