I've had couple of previous 200+ mile days round tripping to Houston, but these were always in my home range.  I managed to make an excuse for a trip by stringing together a couple of stops.  I had a meeting in Austin, then to my hometown for my parents 49th anniversary.

Five AM I threw on my GS approved riding ensemble, no matching pieces.  I slung on my new enough clearance saddlebags and away I went.

I found that the road lighting on the GS is waaay better than I had on the DRZ.  I had a little mist and a lot of insects.  And with prey comes predators.  I didn't know that the swallows flew at night.  After 1.5 hours, I pulled into Home Depot for a bathroom stop, then I found that my visor was at least a 1/3 bugged over.  One impact was 1.5" across.

I made it to my meeting and afterwards I hit my motel.  This was the worst that I have stayed in for 15 years.  The room was ratty except for a reasonably good carpet.  I can only assume that it was replaced to remove the blood stains of the previous tenant.  I should have been concerned when the cleaning lady asked for a loaf of bread, The strange thing is that she is the only person to ask if my bike is a 500, and the saddlebags cover the model number.  Along with this the TV is broke, the AC at full blast a tepid 75, there are pair of shoes in a parking spot (as if parked) and a stream of people from the street go to the soda machines to check for change

My primary worry at this point is only 2 months old with 1300miles.  There is a reason for ground level rooms and sidewalk ramps.  I rolled her onto my stolen day old Houston Chronicle.  

I was relatively happy until the police helo hovered near the motel for 10 minutes, so I worked with what I had.  Besides reliable transportation, my GS became a solid door stop and a convenient clothes rack.

Having survived the night, I headed out on the next leg of the trip.  I found that mist and drizzle does not blow off the visor.  It just spots it all up.  
If I learned one significant thing on the trip, it is this.  When you start to sneeze, raise your visor halfway and let it blow down through the helmet.  Do not risk suffering the dreaded whiteout.

Filled up with gas and changed back to clear visor. And then, it rained.  Got into tuck, or for me what I appropriately call the pillbug position, soft underbelly protected by a hard outer shell.  Knock the F all you want, I am Loving the full fairing.  If you sit just right, the wind ripping over the windshield keeps your visor fairly clear.  Even did the GS PR stop to offer help to a guy trying to tarp over his furniture.  I'm not going to be any wetter for stopping.

Within a few miles the rain stopped, my visor cleared, the flowers bloomed and the birds sang.  Good karma, I guess.  Looked like a good time to reward my good deed with a milkshake.  I know, a good deed is its own reward, but being a minor deed it did not have enough reward on its own.  True joys of motorcycling.

And then, the winds came, 20-25 mph crosswinds which would continue for the rest of the trip.  Which where the DRZ would whip with every gust, the GS just leans its shoulder into the wind with little fanfare.

Out of the whole trip I saw lots of cruisers and tourers, but very few sport bikes.

I love the slogan at the city limits of my hometown.  "A Special Town with Special People".  Knowing the response of this group, No, I did not ride the short bus to school.  It was a van.  There were only 3 students on a 40 mile bus route.  And besides, none of us were none to smart.

I rolled out on my last leg home.  I saw a 20 lb snapping turtle crossing the road.  We have plenty of 2-3 lb sliders on the road, but this was unusual around here.  And he was traveling with an attitude, standing tall with his head held high.  My mama always said that when a turtle crossed the road it was going to rain.  And if size matters, it would get nasty.  2.5 hours into this leg, it got cool, dark and the smell changed, but it managed to stay precipitation free.

This made a total of 616 miles in 3 days.  Including one non-stop stretch of 197 miles in which I tried every physically possible riding position, including a 5 mile 45mph construction zone which I stood through, providing an opportunity to extract a 2 hour cumulative wedgie.  I have no death, disfigurement or damage to report and no pain or discomfort other than that related to 4 hours in the saddle.  Thus ends my first major road trip.

Quote from: Codger on April 05, 2006, 02:52:46 PM
... there are pair of shoes in a parking spot (as if parked) ...

that there is pretty funny...parking their shoes. pretty depressed town economically it seems.

Codger,
Nice story. Thanks for sharing. Reminds me of a road trip I took in '69 to Cleveland, from Cincinnati, to see a gf. That's a tail(oops, I mean tale) for another day.

Did you stay here in Austin for the night (possible in South Austin from your description)?

Alpha,  Rodeway at 290/35N

Pa, every town has a tired side that we usually avoid.  I've spent some good times in Austin over the years, actually the area around the motel wasn't to bad, the motel itself was just a dive.  If I were 20 again, I could have asked Alpha for a place to crash.  At 43 the term crash has nothing but bad connotations.

Pn,  although I've been married half my life, it was 3 days away from my baby.  There may have been a subconcious reason to ride the last 197 miles in one sitting, which means that there is more than one (tale) issue.

Haha. Hey man, I would have totally found you a place to stay had you needed. If anything, my parents have a spare bedroom that you could have used.

But thanks for the tip on the motel. I will never reccomend someone stay there

Next time spend the night in lovely North Houston.  If the heat, humidity and mosquitoes don't get you the displaced New Orleans street gangs surely will.

-M

hehe now you gatta do a 900 miles a day like me and my friend when we went to utah from iowa... man does your ass go numb