What's Around the Bend....

[hppants]

Loki and I got together yesterday for about 425 miles of "Let's see just what is it around that Toledo Bend".  Weather is starting to warm up now - we left the house at around 70 degrees, and it was in the upper 80's by mid-afternoon under partly cloudy skies and a fierce South wind.  I averaged about 44 mpg, and Loki somewhat less, but considering the way we were riding, I'm not too surprised.  As usual, the bikes and the riding did not disappoint.  Hope you enjoy the report.

Loki picked me up at my house at 7:00 am sharp.  We decided to cross into Texas and ride around Toledo Bend and reservoir.

 http://www.louisianatravel.com/toledo-bend

We slabbed it about 70 miles West to Lake Charles, LA, before heading Northwest to Merryville, LA.  We found a farmer there with some interesting livestock - these critters are HUGE!!



Loki's got his hawk ready for anything - look both ways.



As we cross the Texas/Louisiana border, I took a few shots while riding.  I like this one.



Nice open road here, but it's gonna get a lot twistier real soon.  Check out my lens cover in mid flight!!!



Picked up the State line photo-tag here.

[hppants]

At the State line, we decided to ride down to the Sabine River and look around.



Would be cool to have a four-wheeler and do some beach combing.



Next, we hit the twisties.  The roads in Texas are fantastic.  Very smooth with a decent shoulder, and the speed limit on the 2-laners is 70 mph!!!  We took turns leading as we enjoyed riding through the country side.  The wild flowers are everywhere - plenty of greenery to see.  I didn't take any pictures, but looking back, I wish we had stopped.  It was just so fun to lean the bikes in those curves.  Check out my tires.



That's about as hard as I'll push it.



My progressive fork springs are awesome!!  We stopped in Hemphill, Texas for lunch and gas at the Lane Deli and Grill.

[hppants]

I consider a salad for about 2 seconds, and then opted for a cheeseburger and fries.



Loki got onion rings with his burger.  Great eats!!!



After lunch, we hit the twisties some more, and ended up at the Pendeton Bridge crossing of the Toledo Bend reservoir.  Loki's helmet HD Cam is too cool.  Here's a video of us crossing the lake - the water is fairly low now.



Back at the Louisiana side, we stopped at a camp ground to look around.



The wind is coming from behind us and something smells fishy....



We quickly got upwind of that, and the view from the beach is pretty good.

[hppants]

We then rode to a rest stop and I snapped a couple of pics.



Nice day for a ride with friends.



Back on the road, we find some more twisties.  Here's a video of Hwy474 - real nice.




We continued riding through the back roads to my house, for a couple of brews to wash the bugs down.  Another great adventure - can't wait to do it again.

[cmyers]

Awesome adventure!! Thanks for sharing Pants - How many hours were you gone for to make that trip?

[JB1290]

Awesome!

[fortyhourdays]

That's a great ride report!  Thanks for sharing.

[Hangster]

I like the incorporation of videos ,  nicely done ....so much for the weight loss thread

[isleofmanfan]

Another fun ride to go on!  I'd need full electric gear and metal hands to ride here!  You've even got green grass, what a treat.  Nice job on the rear tire wear lines, those kinda give a literal report on the level of fun you guys had.

Do LOKI's pants have Kevlar inserts?  I have a pair of ICONs with the inserts in different areas and they are cooler than my other pants, and really practical with all the pockets.

Pssst Pants, we need to have a chat about trans fats!  'Cmon, we need you around for a while!

    Ride on guys!  

[Brittles]

Nice pics as usual. Snowed here this morning and the below average temps are getting old.

[Burgi]

Somebody has some amazing tree trimming skills. 

[fishball]

Great stuff.  I liked the video along HWY 474.

[ariwhiteboy]

Great Report as usual HP!  Is Loki sporting a beard? 

[hppants]

Thanks for the replies.

How many hours were you gone for to make that trip?

Total trip time was about 10.5 hours, or about 40 mph average including stops.  Average rolling speed was .... uh..... faster than that.

Do LOKI's pants have Kevlar inserts?

I think those are Draggin Jeans, and yes they have armor.

Pssst Pants, we need to have a chat about trans fats!

Great burgers - can't remember the last time I had one.  I eat pretty well all week, on the weekend, I turn it loose a little.

Somebody has some amazing tree trimming skills.

   I can relate - my favorite garden tool is the chain saw.   

[hockeyhawk]

Well done guys, looks like you had a great adventure.

[Hawks_Nest]

Looks and sounds fun day of riding.

[tomb raider]

Leaves on Tree's, I can't wait...  Loki's HD cam works great but the sounds is harsh. I'm still looking for a Cam.

[hppants]

Is Loki sporting a beard?

Yep - the guy has gone a little Grizzley Adams on me!!   

Loki's HD cam works great but the sounds is harsh.

We were talking about that.  There are no provisions to put a remote mic on that camera.  If so, you would wire (or wireless) the remote mic in the engine near the center of the carbs.  That would keep the wind out of the mic, and you could still hear the motor scream.  And if it was on Loki's motor, it would really SCREAM!!!!   

So, Loki's plan B is to use his MP3 thingy with the mic on the motor, then use software to merge the camera video to the MP3 audio.  Sounds kind of Star Warzie to me, but I can't wait to check it out.

[tomb raider]

Wonder if a Cotton ball would work over the mic ?  Any ways Nice ride Dudes. Cold as a WDA again, Fire up the wood stove and take a snooze 

[ariwhiteboy]

Wonder if a Cotton ball would work over the mic ? 

Yep, CJBear was using that trick last year at the Deal's Gap rally. 

[ford141]

Looks like a great trip!

[LOKi]

Nice RR pants. Sorry I don't have any pictures to add. I only took two pictures the entire day. To busy having fun and railing through corners.

As for the sound on that camera. I'm not going to even try and get the on board mic. to work. It's loud up there in the wind coming off the windscreen. But now that my phone plays MP3's along with the GPS and such that leaves my MP3 player sitting at home doing nothing. The MP3 player I have has a mic. built in. Not the best sound but better than the helmet cam mic. I'll just stick some Velcro either behind the engine or just up on the dash out of the wind. Then start the sound and look at the MP3 player with the helmet cam so I can sink. them latter. Should be easy to line up the sound with the video that way.

Ari I have yet to shave this year. 

[cjbear11]

Wonder if a Cotton ball would work over the mic ? 

Yep, CJBear was using that trick last year at the Deal's Gap rally. 

Yea it seemed to work pretty well. Granted the camera was down next to the engine, but still, it worked pretty well.

Nice RR guys! I'm soooo ready to ride with all of you at the rally!

[Hawks_Nest]

What's the greyish box behind LOKi's seat?  Beer keg?

[ariwhiteboy]

What's the greyish box behind LOKi's seat?  Beer keg?

Loki's Patented "Leg Stretcher Fuel Tank/Back Rest"