Yesterday I took the N1K out. It was a gorgeous day, right at 70 degrees. Some of you are familiar with the “Twisted Sisters” in the Texas Hill Country. They are pretty much in my backyard. I typically ride them a few times a week.
I did a loop out 337 to Leakey, then up 83 and over to 336. 336 is likely the best sport bike road in all of Texas. It’s a great road other than the fact they “Chip Sealed“ it earlier this year and it still can be a bit marbley with loose gravel. But in the past few months I’ve come to trust the surface…to a point 🤔
So I head south on it. The first six miles of it are generally straight. Then you get to about 20 miles of really good curves almost non stop. I was running pretty easy and getting close to the curves when I spot two bikes pretty close behind me. Two Harleys! Where the hell did they come from?
So I decide it’s time to get serious and show them how silly they look trying to sneak up on me. I get into some moderately good curves at a clip that will surely put some distance on them. How hard could this be? I glance in my mirror as I accelerate out of a couple of curves, and one of them is still RIGHT behind me.
Okay, I’ve got a lot more that I left on the table. The asshole right behind me almost looks like he wants to pass me. Sorry dude, it’s not your day. I push the next few curves a little harder. Hoping I did not cause him to ride off the side of the hills, I check my mirror again. One of them is still RIGHT behind me, but at least the other has dropped back. Ever see the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”? I think of the line in that movie “who are those guys”.
At this point I decide to just enjoy the ride and run a pace that is safe, but pushing a lot harder. I’ve put on my game face and really concentrating on my lines and being smooth. I give him hand signals when we are approaching really tight curves that we have to be cautious because I know the road really well, but I don’t know if he does or not. We have totally lost sight of his buddy now. I did put some distance on him a few times, but he always came back up behind me again, but at a comfortable distance behind me.
As we came into Leakey, we all pull off at a little roadside food trailer. We approach each other with our hand out and huge smiles. We immediately compliment each other. I look down for a closer look at his bike. It’s a current version Road Glide CVO. I immediately spot Ohlins reservoirs for the rear shocks! I should point out that his buddy had caught up with us the last couple of miles.
He buys me a soft drink and continues to compliment my riding. I told him “hey, it’s easy on my bike, you are the man!“ They were super nice guys. He and I both moved to the same town at about the same time, about a year ago. In his younger days he was a serious motorcross rider, but he did own a RC51 at one time. I told him I did some amateur road racing back in the day.
We traded contact info and agreed we have not seen the last of each other. It was a great ride!
I did a loop out 337 to Leakey, then up 83 and over to 336. 336 is likely the best sport bike road in all of Texas. It’s a great road other than the fact they “Chip Sealed“ it earlier this year and it still can be a bit marbley with loose gravel. But in the past few months I’ve come to trust the surface…to a point 🤔
So I head south on it. The first six miles of it are generally straight. Then you get to about 20 miles of really good curves almost non stop. I was running pretty easy and getting close to the curves when I spot two bikes pretty close behind me. Two Harleys! Where the hell did they come from?
So I decide it’s time to get serious and show them how silly they look trying to sneak up on me. I get into some moderately good curves at a clip that will surely put some distance on them. How hard could this be? I glance in my mirror as I accelerate out of a couple of curves, and one of them is still RIGHT behind me.
Okay, I’ve got a lot more that I left on the table. The asshole right behind me almost looks like he wants to pass me. Sorry dude, it’s not your day. I push the next few curves a little harder. Hoping I did not cause him to ride off the side of the hills, I check my mirror again. One of them is still RIGHT behind me, but at least the other has dropped back. Ever see the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”? I think of the line in that movie “who are those guys”.
At this point I decide to just enjoy the ride and run a pace that is safe, but pushing a lot harder. I’ve put on my game face and really concentrating on my lines and being smooth. I give him hand signals when we are approaching really tight curves that we have to be cautious because I know the road really well, but I don’t know if he does or not. We have totally lost sight of his buddy now. I did put some distance on him a few times, but he always came back up behind me again, but at a comfortable distance behind me.
As we came into Leakey, we all pull off at a little roadside food trailer. We approach each other with our hand out and huge smiles. We immediately compliment each other. I look down for a closer look at his bike. It’s a current version Road Glide CVO. I immediately spot Ohlins reservoirs for the rear shocks! I should point out that his buddy had caught up with us the last couple of miles.
He buys me a soft drink and continues to compliment my riding. I told him “hey, it’s easy on my bike, you are the man!“ They were super nice guys. He and I both moved to the same town at about the same time, about a year ago. In his younger days he was a serious motorcross rider, but he did own a RC51 at one time. I told him I did some amateur road racing back in the day.
We traded contact info and agreed we have not seen the last of each other. It was a great ride!