First off, sorry for those still winterbound...
And for those who do not care for this type of riding...don't feel the need to bark it down. I understand it's not for everyone...and that's OK.
Helen has had this ride on her bucket list for some time. It was her %0th birthday yesterday and she was headed out to officially do a saddlesore 1000. We have made some long runs in the range, but never a documented ride. We typically avoid Interstates unless it's absolutely necessary, so this was a bit different.
Any-way's...she asked me if I wanted to ride along a few days before, didn't want to take away from her planned adventure, but decided what the heck. I even wore the bright as all get out Hi-Viz jacket she bought me some time back.
We headed out at 6AM, weather was to be 66-81 range and no fronts coming.
Heading west from central TX on IH-10 near Sonora, we hit heavy fog until we passed Ozona. About 40 miles of this.
The speed limits out this way are 80MPH, so most are going 85+ish. The wind picked up and my GSA wind catcher mileage dropped to 33 according to the onboard. Helen's R12R was out front and at 181 miles of a 186 mile fuel run, she came in my ear with...wait for it..."I'm out of gas!". Had I not been with her, she would have topped off in Ft Stockton...I thought we could make it to the turnaround mark but did not factor the wind and H's throttle usage as I tried to keep her in sight
Luckily the GSA has a MSA 22oz fuel cylinder...we topped it and rode to the gas stop over the next hill. That was the end of the headwind and the long distances between towns as we turned NE onto IH-20 headed to Ft Worth.
The ubiquitous WTX wind farms
The ride through Midland-Odessa is amazing with the new oil boom in full swing. For anybody needing employment, this seems to be the place. Miles and miles of oil related businesses with help wanted signs everywhere. Just not much housing. Saw some tiny cabins in a camp for $99 a night! For some reason I took no pictures...but it's impressive with all the equipment everywhere.
Our ride on the turn from Ft Worth was at sunset and on to IH-35. We dodged a kingsize mattress that had been hit a few times...it was a huge fuzz ball. That was the most exciting thing we encountered on this stretch...until we hit the shut down of IH-35 for overpass demo's...twice! The ratio of 18 wheelers to motorcycles was 200 to 1 and clutch control was practiced a lot for several miles at a stretch...I really DISLIKE IH-35...have for years and this about sealed my plans to avoid it anytime in the future!
We arrived back in Johnson City at 11:15... an hour and a half later due to IH-35's issues. At that last stop, the local very young LEO pulled in front of me at the pump and exited his vehicle. He informed me I could not have more than 4 lights visible up front. He saw me entering town when I had all the lights on...I had killed them before the city limit post. I chuckled and said OK...I had them on all day and had been in view of many other jurisdictions along our route...funny it happened 8 miles from home
Life's good and I am not riding today
Isn't there a Waffle House in Midland-Odessa 
