The Road to San Saba
Well its time to start blogging again after a short hiatus caused by a rash of out of town guests. We did many local rides during that time but I just didn’t have the time to pound the key board and share them like I wanted. So now that I am back in the saddle again, I hope you can enjoy our Memorial Day ride as much as I did.
Memorial Day weekend was here and it was a lazy sort of weekend. We started it with a Friday night dinner ride with the Honda Meet Up Group of Georgetown ending up at Rudy’s Barbecue on RR 620 in Austin. The group had also planned a Memorial Day Ride to the Regency Bridge near San Saba, Tx, but the early start time didn’t coincide with our plans to sleep in. Plan “B” was to leave later and try to link up with the group in San Saba for lunch. As usual, I was joined by my faithful companion Bob (Redbob) Head and my Co-rider, Cecilia Roberts. We opted to meet with Bob around 1030 hrs at the Mini Mart on Hwy 183 in Briggs, Tx. The weather was fantastic and my thermometer read out at a cool 76 degrees.
I fired up the ST-1300 and we left the ranch cutting through the town of Florence to Hwy 138 and within 20 minutes we rendezvoused with Bob at the Briggs Mini Mart. Briggs is a spot on a map and the Mini Mart is the only viable business there. You can literally throw a rock over the whole town. The Mini Mart is owned and operated by a Korean couple who produce a hamburger which is the main draw, along with their strategically located fuel pump and restroom. After topping off the tank, we changed our status from static to mobile adventurers. We had no plan, other than to ride to San Saba and attempt a link up with the Honda Riders Group. I had a route in mind but first decided we should stop by our friends (Eric and Alma Victoria’s) place off of County road #210, which was kind of on our way. We haven seen much of them as they are building a home all by themselves, near the Glider Airport near Joppa, Tx.
Iphone Pic of CR 210
A quick 5 mile ride from the store got us to the Victoria spread and we found Eric and Alma putting up the framing for their bedroom wall. We got a quick tour of their property and a briefing of their proposed floor plan. There home site is exposed but sits on a small knoll which offers excellent 360 degrees views of the surrounding terrain. After a short visit and advice from Eric which farm roads best to take, we were back on the road to San Saba. The county roads or farm roads in the area all surround ranches and farms, forming a labyrinth of square or rectangular geographic sections, which are void of traffic, scenic and relaxing to ride through. It can be a virtual maze of asphalt roads and without detailed maps you are never really sure where the road will take you, or if it will dead end. I really enjoy heading down these roads not knowing where they will take me and what will be at the end. It truly makes the ride more of an adventure.
I wondered even with the great weather why there were so many bikes on this stretch and soon learned there was a Charitable Rally going on in the area. As we reached the main intersection in San Saba our stomachs were wondering what happened to lunch, as it was near 1 p.m. We soon began thinking on how and where we were going to appease our growling tummies. Cecilia said there was a “Cooper’s BBQ” in town but her Iphone search took us to another BBQ joint on Hwy 16, north of town. We continued our search for the elusive Cooper’s which appeared non-existent, so I began to wonder if Cecilia was suffering from Displaced Memory Syndrome. We began a visual grid search of town, riding up and down the main streets. I made mental notes of the eateries that were open in case we could not find the elusive Cooper’s.
As we rode down Hwy 16 north of town, we were confronted by a strange site. Bob excitedly waived us down saying there were some strange birds hanging upside down along a farmers fence. I made a U-turn to investigate the Avian spectacle but upon closer examination, discovered they were actually Catfish Heads. These were monster fish heads and had to belong to Catfish which exceeded the 35 lbs range. The reason why the fish heads are displayed eludes me but we saw the same spectacle along other fence lines. Could it be a rivalry of local Noodlers?
Catfish Heads and the Cemetery across the road, on Hwy 16.
Okay, after a fruitless 30 minutes search for a Cooper’s BBQ which does not exist, I opted for Zeke’s intuition and chose an eatery. I noted a quaint looking Cafe located in a stick built house with only a few cars parked outside, while all the local chain food places like Sonic, etc. were packed. Some folks just don’t get travel! The reason I travel is to finds those things you can’t where you live. To try some new and to explore or find that prize at the end of road or virtual rainbow.
Our Place Cafe, San Saba, Tx
Cecilia changing from riding to eating gear and me drinking out of the Hummingbird feeder.
Oh well, their lose as this little Cafe (Our Place Cafe) proved to be a wonderful find. After unloading the bike, Cecilia had to exercise her fashion sense and change out of her perforated riding pants and boots, while I sampled the Hummingbird Nectar. Everything we had was home made from scratch. Lunch included a salad bar, entree with sides, drink and a piece of home made cake for dessert. I had to Chicken fried steak, while Cecilia and Bob the Chopped Steak. All this good food for less than 8 Bucks a piece. Try to get a meal like that at McDonald’s for under $10. The Our Place Cafe is located at: 406 N High St, San Saba, Tx and I highly recommend it!
Cecilia and Zeke. Photo by Bob Head
Our search for Coopers also yielded another find, Polish Chickens For Sale! Bob, a Poultry Hobbyist was excited and decided he would stop to get more information. Cecilia and I waited outside the dilapidated mobile home while Bob made and inquiry and disappeared inside with two folks who looked like stand ins for the movie “The Hills Have Eyes”. While we waited for Bob, we listened to the crowing of one of the Roosters, which sounded unlike anything I have ever heard before. Not knowing much about Polish Chickens let alone that they even existed, I could only surmise it was their signature crow, or this particular chicken had a Cleft Beak or speech impediment. As I began to wonder if Bob was being molested or filleted he reappeared escorted by a toothless, former trailer park beauty queen who gave us a smile and a wave. Satisfied with his new contact for Polish Chickens we began out journey home.
We retraced our route until we reached Lampassas and then we took Hwy 190 east to Farm Road 2808 and 2657 taking us back to Briggs on some tree lined roads with some curves and sweepers. This route is a great way to avoid the highways and the terrain consists of river frontage, pastures, farms and ranches. This is truly a gem and is an excellent example of some of the backroads that Texas has to offer and is departure from the checker board layouts of the farm roads. This is not a heavily travel road so some of the curves do not have adequate speed advisory signs. So you may want to ride it first before you decide to take it high speeds, as there are two curves that should be rated at 20 MPH and can catch you off guard. After 30 blissfull minutes on this back way to Briggs, we reached the Mini Mart once again. Since the temperature had climbed from the comfortable 76 degrees to 95, we opted to rest, top off our tanks and hydrate. This marked the end of our ride as we would soon part company with Bob until our next ride. Our Memorial Day ride was another example of what the Hill Country area has to offer local riders, or those passing through.
Our Route.
If you want more detail from the map, right click and save it to your desktop and open the 1024×446 jpg.
Well I hope you enjoyed this short ride and until next time, Ride Safe!