Rainy Weekend = Moto Maintenance

Well for those of you living in North Texas, you know that we broke out the canoes over the last few days for sure. No riding either via bicycle or motorcycle. Fortunately for me my partner the ace mechanic caught up on serveral motorcycle maintenance items: new tires for the Kawasaki, valve job for the Kawasaki (pictured) and repair of the steering on the Vespa. Yea!! I'm back on the road on two wheels... if it weren't for the forecast for rain into next week. :-(

Photo: well I guess I should stop asking for a naked bike... fortunately it all went back together and no bolts were extra at the end.

Of note: our next door neighbor a home brewer hosted a brew day yesterday. His 3 bay garage was converted into a microbrewery as the North Texas chapter of Home Brewers took over for about 8 hours. Those guys are great, and very generous with the samples of their handiwork I must say.

The Tron it is a Jumbo...

Well one of my life long wishes has now been checked off as of last night... to see the new Cowboy's ostentatious gargantuan stadium...... FOR FREE. I had laid awake many nights wondering how much I would have to shell out for an event ticket in order to get my taste of Jerry Jone's latest tribute to himself. The tron is indeed jumbo, and during games 6 guys are up in there keeping it going. No kidding.

But as those of you who know me, I don't want to have to pay for it. At last the universe provided my chance. An invitation from a generous friend to attend a charity event benefiting the Warren Center. A great charity group that provides services for developmental delays.

My gf and I glommed on to a backstage tour of the facility to include the press box (pictured), the player's locker room, some VIP suite, etc. Turns out the Cowboys leave their locker room then run through a club bar at the playing field level to get out onto the playing field. Sort of weird, but then again how many of us cruise through a bar before doing battle? Hmmm... perhaps a survey is in our future dear readers.

The event was really cool, it's annual and growing. It's a Fantasy Football draft complete with buffet dinner, open bar, and silent auction. Keep an eye out for next year. Scott Murray hosted, and Tony Dorsett was the celeb in residence.

I now have my own fantasy football team, so now I'll be cool at work when folks bring this up (a first for me). I don't even remember who I drafted other than some dude named Houshmandzadeh. I'm not making this up. He's alledgedly a wide receiver from Seattle. I think he must have an extra wide jersey to get that name on there... not sure.

Cowboys Stadium Summary

Large Factor: *****

Opulent Factor: *

Jumbo Tron Factor: ****

Locker room wow factor: **

Locker room shower / urinal: *

Press Box: **

Outrageous Posted Food Pricing: ***********

Outrageous Posted Drink Pricing: **************

Place I'd least like to be during a natural disaster or national crisis: **************

Busted

Well it had to happen sometime, I guess. My first Vespa repair*. When commuting last week I noticed the steering was a bit notchy. Thought it was my imagination (as it usually is) at first... but... turns out a bearing fixture in the steering failed. :-( As Boz would say "Danger there's a break down dead ahead". Bummer.

A call placed by my ace mechanic to our parts vendor MOTORSPORT SCOOTERS in San Diego had the offending part shipped to our house (arriving today, yea!!)... all for the low low price of $28.95. A lot to pay for that tiny ring of ball bearings, but not bad for 11,000+ miles.

* not to include normal scheduled maintenance: Oil and Filter, Tires. (I'm particulary hard on tires.)

Pie Run to Fairfield TX

My husband suggested we go on a Pie Run that was being hosting by the Two Wheeled Texans. This is a monthly event where the group picks out a meet point, then anyone who wants to shows up. Locations generally are restaurants. This one was Sam's off of I-45 (between Dallas and Houston). We'd been to Sam's many times on the drive to Houston and indulged in their all-you-can-possibly-eat buffet and homemade pies. The food is actually pretty good.

We took a nice route down and meandered East of I-45, stopping in Gun Barrel City on Cedar Creek Lake. Very nice. This would make a nice day ride to go down, swim, get lunch, etc.

The crowd at Sam's in Fairfield was counted to be 114 bikes of all sorts. My bike was by far the smallest. And the coolest. Although my husband told some it was "gutless". My bike was offended.

Pic is outside the courthouse in Fairfield. Total miles this ride 308.

Best Cafe in East Texas

Edom Texas is a small community near Tyler. We've ridden there by bicycle many times, and by motorcycle a few times too. There are several cafes, most notably "The Shed" and the Edom Bakery. The Shed hangs a banner that they were voted Best Cafe in East Texas by Texas Monthly and Texas Highways. Don't let them fool you. Eat at the Bakery. You'll thank me.