New Braunfels to Luckenbach and back

What do you do when an old friend from out of town shows up without a ride? Do you let him borrow one of your motorcycles? Wait a minute. Who can you trust to borrow a motorcycle? How about a guy you trusted with your life? Yeah, that's it. If I can trust someone with my life, I can trust him with a motorcycle.

After getting back from Iraq and getting out of the military, I was living in Wisconsin, working as an aerial sensor systems operator, for a company called Aerometric. Basically, I was an airborne photographer and LiDAR operator, doing large scale photography and surveying jobs from the air. We photoed the BP oil-spill clean-up and did follow up photo jobs of the environmental impact, for instance. One of the pilots I had many adventures with is Jesse. Well, I got sick of those types of adventures and decided to move back to Texas and begin the adventure of being a high school math teacher. Hey, at least I spend the night at home, unless I choose to sleep elsewhere. At Aerometric, I think I was spending 200-300 nights per year in hotels, away from my family. Not what I had in mind when I got out of the military. So I left Aerometric and Wisconsin behind in March, 2012.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I got a call from Jesse. He began a new job as a cargo pilot, flying regular flights out of St Louis. He told me he's in San Antonio for a few weeks training on a new aircraft. So, on Sunday, I picked him up and took him out for dinner and a few brews. He told me the new company he's working for don't even provide him with a rental car and he's stuck in San Antonio without wheels. I told him if he had a motorcycle license, I'd let him borrow a bike. He proceeded to pull out his license and show me his motorcycle endorsement. So, I decided to let him borrow my Triumph Scrambler. After all, he's a pilot I've seen in action, who I've flown with. I know how meticulous he can be. I knew I could trust him. Jesse borrowed the bike until Thanksgiving and then went back home.

Jesse left me a message the other day that he is back down. So today we went for a ride together. I know he's a fan of country music, so I told him I had a great idea of a destination if he wanted to follow. We left the house and stopped at the Buc-Ees in New Braunfels to begin the trip. Leaving town, we headed up River Road. It's nice this time of year, as there's not all the traffic it usually has in the Spring and Summer. We made our way past the Canyon Lake dam and to FM 306 and then turned to get to FM 32. We took 32 to Blanco where hamster bladder syndrome necessitated an early stop. We next headed out up US Highway 281, west on FM 1623 and then FM 1888, and finally FM 1376 to Luckenbach.

Once in Luckenbach, we both threw back a brew, Jesse a Miller (he's a yankee, you know) and me a Shiner. We enjoyed the young lady and her band playing music in the dance hall. It's a shame I never caught her name, because she was really, very good. I hope her career really takes off. We left Luckenbach with the idea to get back home before it got dark and the deer got too rambunctious. We headed down FM 1376 to Sisterdale where we got on one of my favorite roads in the area, FM 473. We had clear road before us until a few miles past Kendalia where we were stuck behind a four car procession going about 50 mph. We turned on Sattler Road and took it to Spring Branch road which we took back to US 281 to TX Highway 46. We stopped in Bulverde and enjoyed brisket, turkey, and smoked pork tenderloin at Smokey Mo's then pushed on back to New Braunfels, making it just as it was beginning to get dark and start sprinkling. Overall, it was a good ride and great to spend time with an old friend. Motorcycles, a cold beer, live country music, and barbecue in hill country. What could be more Texas?