Triumphrat

whoa · 03-03-2008

We had a guest Bandit meet us in Hutto this morning for a ride to Elgin. The volunteer fire department hosted a BBQ to help defray the cost of a new fire truck. Threat of rain was pushed out until the evening leaving good but bumpy weather. I was glad I wasn't having to land a plane today as we fought some pretty harsh gusts.

James offered a nice route and accepted the role as ride leader. You did a great job today James. The route was very nice, and you even included a bit of obligatory dirt road.

Another good feature of todays ride was keeping the group together. Other ride leaders have been known to string riders out. Offering a pit stop was appreciated as well. Something else other ride leaders have been known to overlook. You may have become our new ride leader....

Here the group is helping figure out if the Bonnie can take hard bags to make a proper touring machine.

Who would go from Hutto to Elgin by way of Dimebox?

And the riders huddled around the new fire truck.

I enjoyed riding with you guys today. Good pace, nice scenery, low traffic, and excellent food at the destination. After the lunch, it was every man for himself. I took backroads between Elgin and Austin and finally picked up a few sprinkles.

A lot of road kill today. Quite a few skunks and raccoons, at one point two down within inches of each other making an odd couple. Close to home what looked like a deer down in the road turned out to be a coyote. Beautiful animal, sad to see.

whoa · 03-03-2008

Man did it get cold. I enjoyed the visit tonight. It was a great way to cap off a really crappy Monday. Thanks for helping get my week back on track. Fish and chips were tasty,

and the service was excellent as usual.

whoa · 03-19-2008

We also have a Wed. night bike night at Ming's Cafe at 2604 Guadalupe St Austin, TX 78705. Its mostly Ducati snobs (I'm just jealous much) but Triumphs are starting to represent.

People start showing up around 7pm, and most are there by 8pm. Good group to hang out with for a bit, and the food is fantastic. This is on the drag by the UT campus, so a lot of activity walking about.

britishsteele · 03-19-2008

Wow...looks like a great night!!! Wish we had a RAT pack in El Paso....talked to our dealer about it and he was about useless...says we need to get all the info and give it to him...he said he'd support it, but doesn't want to do what I guess he needs to do!!!

whoa · 04-04-2008

Our monthly bike night is Monday, April 7th at Opal Divine's. We show up around 6:30pm. See ya there.

whoa · 04-08-2008

What a nice night. Finally able to enjoy sitting on the patio.

whoa · 04-14-2008

Weather reports of 32 degrees were false. It was almost 50 and sunny making for great riding. Eight of us left Pflugerville taking county roads to Elgin for breakfast where we'd be met up by more riders.

I enjoy those roads with low traffic, several 90 degree bends, and scenic agricultural landscape. City Cafe is a nice place, their service was a bit slow, but it may have been because of thirteen people arriving before their usual church crowd.

We took FM roads to Caldwell, and the popular 166 (good for scrubbing off those embarrassing chicken strips) into Bryan. I missed two turns, but not by much; so I officially didn't get us lost today. The group did a good job of staying together, but about three miles from TWS I counted a car with headlamps on as the back of our group and ended up dropping a few riders. Sorry guys.

At TWS there were several Triumphs gathered up. I thought it may be Mark Andrews group from Waco, but it was BMOA. From there I wandered off to find McKenzie. Rever Corsa's truck was by concession, but nobody was around. One of our group found him in a paddock not too far away.

I'd not met McKenzie until this visit. He's seriously addicted to the sport and gave me a lot of insight into racing a team and running a shop. He speaks highly of the stock Daytona 675 suspension, as well as the overall bike. He has more plans for the D675 which will make it even more exciting to watch.

Our last time out, I saw several low sides in this turn which is never a good thing. Thankfully riders were playing nice this day and everyone looked good through here. There was one low side coming out of this turn and the young man had his hand wrapped as they were leaving the track. Sure hope he's ok. These riders sure pay a price for their sport.

Here's #222 Daytona 675 looking good railing this difficult turn.

By the time I found my way back to our parking spot, everyone had packed off except for Wayne's family and a lone Street Triple. The two Triumphs headed out together via 166 again, being very careful not to let an afternoon of racing effect the pace on our return home.

Our May ride is to New Ulm, May 17th.

David

whoa · 04-30-2008

The Austin RATs are sampling some of the better burger joints in town every Thursday.

Meet at the intramural fields at Lamar/Guadalupe at 6:30pm. From there, head to the designated target for the evening.

This week, its Ski Shores. http://www.skishores.com/

whoa · 05-11-2008

http://www.bmoaonline.com/

Last year we met at the 290 Cafe in Manor for breakfast around 8:30am, and were on the road 45 minutes later. This will be our start point/time again this year.

This is the route we took last year, which may be used again, or similar type roads selected to find our way to New Ulm.
Route to TWS

Everyone can return on their own, but an estimated departure will be given for those who want to return to Austin as a group.

This is a great show, the Houston group has some quality classic and antique bikes. New Ulm is a very pretty area, and will make for a great ride.

I believe the Saturday entry fee is $10. BMOW will have T Shirts, caps and patches on sale, so take some extra cash.

whoa · 05-29-2008

http://www.austinroadrunners.com/annual%20rally.htm

Here is the start point for the rally

Gather at 2244 and 360 (SW corner Quickie mart)
Time 7:00 am, stands up at 7:30

We need to turn out and show our support for the Austin Roadrunners. These guys have done great work on their bikes and deserve recognition. You'll also get some ideas for your next mod.