The Plan
I have to ask you, how do you plan your rides? Do you pick out a destination, hop on the bike and take the shortest and/or fastest way to get there? Maybe you amble about and look for the special Farm to Market roads that wind their way around Farmer John’s property? Do you wait for someone to tell you about an event or maybe look for one in the Folly? I only ask because I want you to really think about how you go about planning a ride. Within good reason, there is no wrong way to plan a trip. It is all about what makes you happy. Also, I think even the best ride you’ve ever been on can be equaled or improved. Let’s take this one step farther and say; maybe you don’t need any more of a plan than where to fill up before you get started. I know that starting out on some of my rides I had no idea they would turn out to be so grand. Give me a moment here and I’ll tell you about one of my special rides I was on recently. It was on my way to the T.M.R.A. Rally – who’d a thunk?
Looking for a Different Route
There are many good things about having the Rally in Comanche year after year. The town treats us so well; the park is both beautiful and ample. There’s plenty of fun Farm to Market roads in the area. What I wanted to do this year is find another route to the Rally that I had never ridden before. That may sound easy but not when you try to ride a unique route every year. It is easy to run out of options. The way I approached it this year is very simple and it may be a method you’d try in the future.
Eyes of Texas and The Hank Engle Tours
I miss the planned tours that guide you all over Texas. With the dipping economy and time coming at a premium, I understand why folks can’t commit to a yearlong ride. I get that. With those rides in mind, I developed a mini-tour approach to route planning. I scoured the map in the surrounding area around my destination. What I’m looking for is towns off the beaten path. Places I’ve never been because they were a bit out of the way of my eventual destination.
I found that without going too far out of my way, I could visits many towns and places with names like; Brock Junction, leading to Brock; Dennis; Buckner; Lipan; Tolar; Bluff Dale; Paluxy; Iredell; Fairy. I really wanted a picture of the Fairy town sign, as I am a collector of pictures of town signs with my bike in them. It was getting late and I thought I’d skip Fairy and just go straight to Comanche. Then I saw it; a sign pointing to Fairy. I couldn’t resist and turned down the road. Crumble-bum … no sign. The side affect was, that in my search for a Fairy, I found some of the prettiest roads I’d been on all day. Which led me to Purves; Dublin; Edna Hill; Indian Gap; Energy.
If you check out this article on the web, I’ll post pix of the places so you know I’m not pulling your leg. I’ll have some other bonus shots as well. I ran across several fields of wildflowers I would have never seen if I’d taken the usual route. It was the most fun I’ve ever had riding to the T.M.R.A. Rally, and I’ve had some pretty good rides.
Well Buckaroos, Amana and I are headed to New Mexico by the way of the Palo Duro. Camp a night there on the way and then repeat on the return for two nights. I have reserved a campsite near the amphitheater, where I will attend the 50th anniversary edition of the annual play “Texas.”
Btw: the link to the web site where we store all the SSOM’s is at the bottom of this article. Stop in for a visit and see the previous SSOM’s in color.
Until then;
ride often, ride hard and ride safe, but mostly ...
ride often, ride hard and ride safe, but mostly ...
