Two Wheeled Texans 5th Annual Pie Run
Here is my take on this great Ride to Eat.
The Pie Run
by
Zeke
Through the Two Wheeled Texas (TWT) Forum I learned about a ride called the “5th Annual Pie Run”. I had been lurking on the TWT Forum for the last year but hadn’t participated in any of their rides. The “Pie Run” involved food and riding, so I was in.
Apparently, the Admins for TWT had started riding to the “Koffee Kup” Cafe in Hico, Tx five years ago for some pie,tp kick tires and swap some lies. Every year the participation grew, pretty much the same evolution as any good “Ride to Eat”. There was no cost, other than what you would eat and fuel. The TWT Admins even got sponsors to donate gifts for a free raffle.
In my effort to locate the ultimate eating spot and find adventure, I put out the information to our Chapter. My co-rider Cecilia Roberts was in and I got several definite maybes from WagDaddy, Jarhead, Dave Murray and a friend named Paul Cadran.. With the recent cold weather spell, I was sure it was going to be just Cecilia and I. As the time grew near, Dave Murray called “No Joy”having a schedule conflict. At the 11th hour, I got a voice mail from Paul Cadran after he looked at his thermometer deciding he was better off sleeping in bed. Plan “A” was to meet up at the Country Store, in Briggs, Tx on Hwy 183 on Jan 30th at 0900. The store has coffee, commodes and fuel. I also hear they have good hamburgers but haven’t tried them yet.
Cecilia and I donned our winter riding gear and we rendezvoused with two shadowy figures at the country store, WagDaddy and Jarhead. I couldn’t really say they looked happy but they appeared enthusiastic. I grabbed some water and my morning “Cup of Joe”, filled one tank, drained the other and we were off. The morning route to Hico was simple, get to Hico as fast as we could to get get through the cold and make the 1100 meet up time. We would take a more scenic route back when it warmed up but the joke was on me because it never warmed up. The thermometer on the my bike read 29 degrees when we left Briggs.
From Hwy 183 to Hwy 281 the route was a no brainer. as Hwy 281 dead ends at the front door of the Cafe. The ride was pleasantly cold even but even with my heated gear I was cold! I couldn’t help but think how cold WagDaddy and Jarhead were and what the wind chill factor was. I wanted to get a second look at the coffee I drank earlier so we stopped at a gas station in Hamilton. I thought it was prudent to get WagDaddy and Jarhead to down some hot chocolate to keep their body core temperature up. With just 22 miles to go, this was a wise decision as we warmed up from miserable, to uncomfortable.
After our short break we completed the last few miles to find a parking lot full of Bikes. I recognized a White Gold Wing with a Blue Knights sticker on its trunk. It belongs to a Border Patrolman named Dave (FJR Bandit), whom I had meet at one of my Long Distance Rider meets in Deming NM. Dave rode to San Antonio the previous night to link up with some other riders. Dave and his friends left San Antonio at 0600 and made their ride in. All in all, it looked like there were about 70 motorcycles in the parking lot. WagDaddy mentioned that it felt like he had a flat spot on his tires the last few miles but there was nothing apparent.
Koffee Kup Cafe, Hico, Tx
The other kind of Texas Chili
We had arrived a little late but it prevented us from having to wait for a table. We kicked a few tires and went inside the Cafe. I located Dave the Border Patrol guy eating a bowl of Chili and we exchange salutations. I quickly rejoined our group as we prepared to order our meals. Since I am searching for the Ultimate Burger, I had to sample their Burger along with a cup of Chili, Cecilia had the Beef Tips (Special), WagDaddy had the Chicken Fried Steak and Jarhead had the Chili.
Shortly after sitting down, Terry and Chuck, TWT Admins introduced himself and welcomed us. Terry took out names for a raffle. Part way through the meal, WagDaddy was informed he was a raffle winner. WagDaddy left the warmth of our table to claim his prize, which was a Motorcycle trickle charger. Not bad! Of course, what would a Pie Run be without pie? I had Cecilia order a whole Key Lime Pie to take to a dinner party later that night.
After filling out bellies WagDaddy and Jarhead topped off their fuel tanks at the gas station across the street. WagDaddy asked me to ride his bike to see what I thought about his tire. As I rode forward WagDaddy said “I see the problem!”. I looked at his tire, which had a 6 inch long cut on the edge of his tread. It still held air but it wasn’t ride-able. See what I mean, every rides an adventure, especially with WagDaddy.
Some people have good luck, some people have bad luck, some people have both. Doug (WagDaddy) winning a raffle prize!
The good kind of “Texas Chili”
If you are not familiar with Hico, there are no Motorcycle repair shops. WagDaddy called his better half, Dianna, who was enjoying a day away from WagDaddy. While WagDaddy was about to inform Dianna that she would have to interrupt her shopping, grab the truck, trailer and drive 120 miles to pick him up, I decided to have a look around. I found a motorcycle gear store on 281 at the north end of town. I went inside a found an older woman carrying a Pomeranian dog. She said the only people who did work on Motorcycles was a custom painter who painted pin striping on Motorcycles. She pointed to a business card holder with his card and after scouring the streets of Hico, I returned to the gas station.
I told WagDaddy to call the number which was worth a shot, there was nothing to loose. Listening to WagDaddy’s half of the conversation, I learned that the guy had a Metzler tire which ironically would fit WagDaddy’s Road King but it had a “White Wall. For $30 under the retail of the tire, WagDaddy’s tire could be changed and we could be on our way. We all followed WagDaddy to the obscure location as he limped for 7 miles down country road 220. In about an hour WagDaddy had his new tire and we were back on the road.
We had to retrace our route back since we were already running late for our dinner. Although we had an appointment, a Blue Knight never leaves his Wing Man. In retrospect, had we stayed home we would have been cozy and warm but we wouldn’t have had the experience of scrounging tires in Hico with WagDaddy.
Like the sign says, “Pie Fixes Everything”………..
………….So does a good Mechanic!!!
Nice write up. I had a blast (of cold air) on this trip. I was surprise to see you there (Thought New Mexico was our meeting place. LOL). It was nice meeting your friends. Without friends, most rides would be boring. But with friends like WagDaddy………..
See you at another Pie Run or in Demings.
David G. (FJR Bandit)
G-Man
BK TX36
Thought I would point out this was not the 5th Annual Pie Run but the 5th Anniversary of the monthly Pie Runs.
Thanks Tony. I will make sure my report on the 6th Anniversary Run is correct. I really do appreciate the feedback, as I try to print accurate information. It is nice to have another proof read your work, as it is easy to to overlook your own work.