Tim Vipond
tvipond@houston.rr.com
Honda Sport Touring Association
August 2006 TexasNewsletter
SOUTH TEXAS DIRECTOR DIALOGUE – Tim Vipond
Man, is it HOT out there! You lucky dogs that got to go to STAR in
If you daydream about riding to the northwest, read
about Bev Bowens 3 week adventure below!
Also be sure to sign up for the last official HSTA
event of 2006 – The Fall Hill Country Ride. Details below. Get those reservations in early. Some unfortunate souls had to room elsewhere last year.
I just sold my 2000 K1200LT with 137,000 miles, most
of which with fellow HSTA’ers. Had so much fun, bought a 2006!
We participated in the HSTA
(Honda Sport Touring Association) national "Star 2006" rally in
Dave and TonieGorham and David and Linda Beverly also went to
Summary: We trailered to
Day 1 Riding (Sunday)
Independence Pass & Aspen: Took I-70 east out of Avon, picked up CO 24 south to
Leadville (highest incorporated town in the U.S. at about 10,200 feet), and
continued south to pick up CO 82 back west through the switchbacks of
Independence Pass (12,095 feet) and on to Aspen. Outdoor lunch in
Day 2 Riding (Monday)
Steamboat: I-70
west to CO 131 north, east across CO 134 (a really magnificent road over
Day 3 Riding (Tuesday) Lunch
Ride to
Day 4 Riding (Wednesday) Health Day & Lunch Ride to Leadville: We bagged around 90 easy miles, riding back to Leadville (I-70 east to pick up CO 24 south) for meatloaf sandwiches at the Golden Burro with a crowd of HSTA folks there. Got a few droplets of rain on the way out of town, but a perfect out-and-back on CO 24, once of the best roads we encountered.
We two-leggedit back to
Thanks,
Dog
STAR ’06 Picture Links
Behalf Of Harry Hemstreet,
http://hemstreet.smugmug.com/gallery/1605368
Denise
Dickenson, Oklahoma HSTA http://members.cox.net/okhsta/
State Director and Webmaster
Here are a few that I took while playing in those
great mountains.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/myhawk96/album?.dir=/fe43&.src=ph&.tok=phfOCFFBL3lgU2tW
New Member Welcome- Please welcomethese new HSTA members. Give ‘em a call and invite them for coffee or a ride!
- 1941 Terry Hodges of Waxahacie 972-938-3388 rides an ST1300 and a KLR650.
- 1947 Robert McHam of Bellaire 713-664-6232 rides an ST1100.
Newsletter Help Send us sumpin’…..and
for those that already have, THANKS
Taken any neat trips lately?
Planning any neat trips? Buy a new bike? Got a new goody we should know about? Got a funny photo? Have a good tip? Want to buy or sell something? Heck, we’ll
even promote your business if it’s MC related in some
way. Please email either tvipond@houston.rr.com or pjuvenal@comcast.netwith any information you would like to have put in this newsletter.
Upcoming HSTA Rallies
Denise Dickerson does such
a nice job, why reinvent the wheel, here’s the list…
http://members.cox.net/okhsta/2006_tentative_hsta_national_eve.htm
The dates for the rally are
November 3-5, 2006. For more information check these links!! HSTA National or HSTA Texas or AMA.
The location is the Y.O. Ranch
Hotel and Resort.
2033
For hotel reservations, call toll
free at 1-877-967-3767. Be sure to tell them you're with HSTA, for the
$64.00 rate per room.
Contact: Tim & Teresa Vipond
Registration will be in the hotel lobby as follows: Friday:
Rally fees are $30.00 for members,
$25.00 for member of household,(includes banquet
dinner) and $20.00 for extra banquet tickets. Rally fees, and dinner for
joining new members, FREE!
All information for the event will
be provided for you in your registration package.
Come and have a great time!!
Contact: Tim & Teresa Vipond tvipond@houston.rr.com
Want to go for a ride in the
Every Saturday and Sunday morning
meet with the East Fort Bend Riders Club at the Taco Cabana
located
Every Sunday morning meet with the Texas
Sport Bike Association at the Jack in the Box on FM359 in Brookshire
just south of I-10. We depart at 8 a.m.. This is a fast
pace ride not recommended for slow pokes or beginners. Helmet, jacket, gloves and boots
required. You can learn more about TSBA
at www.tsba.org.
The
remnants of "Bob's Breakfast Club" still meet fairly regularly at
Starbucks,
A typical
ride takes us on mostly back roads North to Montgomery, along SH149 thru
the Sam Houston National Forest to Richards, possibly thru Anderson on to
Carlos via FM3090 (famous in these parts) and lunch at either the Yankee
Tavern in Carlos or a lunch/brunch back in Montgomery at King's Cafe after
riding back thru Anderson and Richards. We ride at a moderately brisk
rate and always have full protective gear.
The last Wednesday of the month the HSTAtravels to Angleton for Hamburger Wednesday at the Icehouse Bar
& Grill,
Kudos to Lynn Sherrill (
Want to go for a ride in the
Sunday Rides- Charlie Wood and Wilbert Simpson lead a typically brisk paced 300
mile day through some of the more scenic and rural areas of north central
Texas. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday we meet in
Saturday Rides – Jim Poulos, Jamo1935@aol.comcoordinates Saturday Rides from the DFW Metroplexarea. Watch your email for notification…..
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Classifieds and Local Member Opportunities
We’ve sold
all kinds of MC stuff for HSTA members all over the US, send us your ad!
For
Double your OEM oil change mileage
interval with AMSOIL 100%
synthetic motorcycle oil! 10W40 #MCF-QT
is $8.60 a quart. 20W50 #MCV-QT is $9.10
a quart. 75W90 synthetic gear lube for
shaft drives #SVG-QT is $10.80 a quart. Or with $10 membership get 20-30% off
these and all other AMSOIL items. Plus tax and shipping. To order, visit my website at www.lubedealer.com/TimVipond or call me at 281-565-0580. Your bike should run
cooler, get better gas mileage, shift better and last longer!
Global Warming
Gold Wing Tour
by Bev Bowen
We are getting in to this retirement thing, so much so that
we planned an extended motorcycle tour this year. Three weeks worth! Our major
plans were to “bag”
We are now very accustomed to extended rides on the Gold Wing. Gail has discovered garments that are light, easy to pack, versatile and easily washed, so we can get all our stuff aboard without looking like refugees. Of course, traveling in July can be a challenge in dealing with the heat, and this summer’s offering was special with record setting temperatures almost over the entire route, especially in Calidamfornia! Maybe there IS something to the global warming phenomenon, but as dedicated motorcyclists, we endured! Hey, there’s always the bright side - this year we didn’t get much rain, and only one thunderstorm.
We wanted to summarize our trip, mainly for our own recall, but we thought we would share it with you – maybe it will remind you of a trip you took, or even inspire you to take one, or at least you may enjoy ours vicariously. The day-by-day follows:
Day 1: Over
600 miles to Trinidad, Co. We were in a sweat to get to the mountains quickly,
and luckily this was one of the mildest days of the trip; the usual sweltering
panhandle of
Day 2: With
“just” 3 weeks to get our entire trip in, we decided to ride I-25 to
Continued, page 2
Page 2
Day 3: Before
breakfast in Walden, we saw two moose on the road, up close and personal, took
a couple pics, and then learned that a moose WILL
charge. Good thing I left the motor running. Then, a
beautiful ride to
Day 4:
Day 5: This
was probably the best riding day of the trip. We went into
Day 6: From Coeur‘d Alene we rode north to
Sandpoint (about 25 miles from the Canadian border) to turn onto Hwy 2, then to
Day 7: We
completed the Hwy 20 run, over the two passes to 530, then down 9 to
Day 8: Visiting, no riding.
Day 9: Before
the trip began, I had an invitation from a Vincent Club luminary couple to stay
with them a night. On the way there, we toured the eastern side of
Page 3
Day 10: This
was another top day on the bike, with our hosts escorting us a portion of the
way, going over The Bridge of the Gods to the hatchery on the river in Oregon
where you can view huge sturgeon, then by the giant waterfall, and a ride/hike
up Larch Mountain, where one can see Mts. Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, Hood and
Jefferson – 5 big snow cones of glacier-covered Cascade volcanoes, surely one
of the most captivating views in the world. After a great lunch in Troutdale,
we took leave of our hosts and resumed the ride to the
Day 11: All
the way to
Day 12: A big
haul into SF. A ride up or down Hwy 1 is much more tiring (but pleasurably so)
than a ride over most other roads. A not
so pleasant experience was to watch as two motorcyclists ahead of us crashed.
We had approached the one lane bridge past Port Arena, where a road
construction sign warned “pavement ends.” At the stop light, we could see that
the road was being totally resurfaced, and for some reason, the gravel/dirt was
wet. A car separated us from the 2 bikes ahead, and when the light turned
green, we all proceeded cautiously. Even so, the mud was just about as slippery
as ice, and the two bikes spun and went down, no harm to either rider, but
damaging to the bikes and it was a rotten situation created by the construction
crew. Fortunately, the car was able to dodge the riders. After the
motorcyclists declined our offer to help, we crawled across, but even with feet
down as stabilizers, it was tough to stay vertical and it took miles after the
repair zone before the bike felt safe in the curves, with all the greasy mud on
the tires. Easy ride
across the
Day 13: Rest
day in SF. No riding. Breakfast at famous Sears (not Roebuck)
in
Page 4
Day 14: Another
round of Sears’ finest groceries! Gail got directions to Hwy 1 out of the city,
and good thing she did, as she learned that a slide at
Day 15: Ah,
back at the track! Just the greatest
race scene and crowd in the
Day 16: More
of the same, except it was even hotter. We got picsof Nicky, Colin and Valentino in the pits, and saw Bubba Shobertand Kevin Schwantz, and then we watched Ben Spies win
the AMA Superbike race. Sitting near us was Gary
Nixon, one of my all time favorite racers from yesteryear. The race officials
had things in order, as we zipped in and out, no problem, except for the occasional
hooligan who passed/elbowed his way through traffic even in the no passing
zones. At the restaurant in
Day 17: The
BIG DAY, the Moto GP event! Gail suggested we first
go to the pit area, and a good thing we did, as I got Nicky’s autograph, on HIS
BIG DAY! I guess I can say I am good luck for Nicky! I also got a few snaps of (and with)
some umbrella girls! Yummy! The race was terrific, of course, since Nicky won
and he expanded his points lead for the championship. We had had enough of the
100-plus degree heat, so we sneaked out as they began the final two AMA races.
Back at the B&B, we chatted with a
Page 5
Day 18: Wow, it’s record heat and we have lots of miles to go before we
find our very own bed. Up early, and we haul the back roads through Hollister
(the site of the infamous motorcycle “riot” that inspired Marlon Brando’s
stardom in “The Wild Ones,” then on to Mariposa and 108 degree heat. We stopped
at a Christian Café in
Day 19: This
was our biggest mileage day, yet, 726 miles to
Day 20: Would
you believe “only” 713 miles, today? Yep, all the way to
Day 21: Another 450 miles and we were home! We had a little rain through
Page 6
Reflections: Some people wonder why we do this. I have given up trying to explain, but if they could just be with us a few miles they would know why. We already want to do another long trip and have a couple planned. We have the clothing thing worked out, but we will revise our dining habits. We avoided fast food joints entirely, as we can still find very good breakfast and lunch restaurants/cafes. But, in general, forget a good dinner. You may luck out, occasionally, but for the most part night time food is over-priced and crummy, to boot. Lodging is the pits, too. Mom and Pop motels sound OK, but when you get there, you too often find Mom and Pop retired and sold out to a bloke who is job – rather than career- oriented, and they have allowed things to go way down hill. The cheap chains are barely acceptable, with their raisin bran “free” breakfasts, their paper thin walls, smoke scent even in the “no smoking” rooms, dogs barking, cat hair everywhere, and kids wailing. B&Bs don’t allow for early starts. Camping is starting to look good to me, again, but there are obstacles, there, too. And, there’s the issue of public facilities along the way. Restrooms are totally gross. Am I whining? Yes, but there’s always room for improvement for us, the paying public. And things need to improve, because we have lots of trips planned! What heat? It was all great.
Want
to upgrade your helmet? Time for some better riding gear?Taking a M.S.F. or State approved rider education course? The “Dan Clark
Safety Fund” may be able to off set some of the cost of these safety items.
The
Dan Clark Safety Program
Will reimburse 20 members 50% of the cost of safety equipment
and training, up to $100 each item, this year.All you need to do to be eligible for the drawing is send a dated copy of your
receipts to:
HSTA V.P.
Drawing will be held on
The 20 winners will be announced at STAR~07
You don’t need to be present to win.
Please welcome our latest website sponsor, DFW
Honda. Their VIPeClub is up and functional. I just joined and received a 20% off
coupon. Please show your support for our local sponsors…thanks, PJ
Join today and receive 20% off your next parts purchase (see
coupon for details). Visit us at www.DFWHonda.com
