Planned a trip from Dallas down to Austin and back for the weekend. Just under 500 mi with the route I'd mapped out.

My riding partner (Kim) and I are pretty new riders w/o a lot of experience. She rides an '03 Fat Boy and grew up riding dirt bikes and is a more confident rider than I am. Not to mention, she is one of those who thinks skydiving sounds like the biggest kick and can't wait to try it. Me...not so much! Both of us handle our bikes well and have taken to riding like ducks to water. Still, we know our limitations and have a lot of conditions and situations we have yet to experience.

Anyway, when we went to pick the bikes up from the Indy on Friday, he asked if we'd looked at the weather. Told us it was supposed to be wicked windy. Said if it was him, he wouldn't ride it. Hmmm...we started having 2nd thoughts. Later that night, after confirming the wind was going to be horrendous, we decided to forgo the riding and just drive down.

Come Saturday morning, I get a text from a friend who rides asking if we wanted to go riding. Told him we'd just nixed a plan to ride to Austin but were going to drive down & invited him to join us. (He, Mitch, happens to be a Riders Edge/MSF instructor. He's not a hot dog, not macho and knows our riding level. We're planning on riding to Sturgis with him this year.) He said we could handle it, that once on our way to Sturgis, we need to be prepared and familiar with riding in various conditions. Now, that does make sense. So, after thinking about it, we change gears again and decide to ride down.

First day...wind is awful. We were heading south and winds are out of the S/SE. Pretty much 20 - 30 mph...gusting to about 35. Since my original route took us out of our way along various back roads, about half-way to Austin, we decided to shorten the mileage and adjusted our route to hit the Interstate to save time. While I wasn't thrilled about riding in a straight line amidst a ton of cages, it was a more attractive alternative than prolonging our misery by taking the long way down.

All I could think about was how nice it would be on our return route, with the wind at our backs. The last 30 minutes were excruciating...my neck and shoulders were ridiculously tense and tight, my nerves were frazzled and all I ready to get OFF the bike and have a cold one. We finally rolled into our hotel about 6:30. Happy to be safe and feeling good to have made it through some riding conditions that many wouldn't have even attempted.

Day 2: I woke up all giddy with the prospect of a nice tail-wind. We packed up and met a friend for breakfast before heading back along a different route. All of us were looking forward to the ride home...with the wind at our backs just pushing us along. WRONG!!!! I don't know how, but for some reason, even though the weather said the winds were from the S/SE and we were traveling N/NE...the wind was considerably worse than the day before. It was constant and awful...from the side...from the front...from everywhere! My poor friend on the Fatboy said the wind kept pushing her bike sideways along the pavement. Thankfully, my bike was handling it very well...I only felt the wheels move about 3 times. Since we all have Scala headsets, we were able to talk to each other. That REALLY helped Kim and I stay calmer.

We finally pulled up to the house at 7:00 pm...never been so happy to park the bike! Flipped on the hot tub, hopped in the cage to go get some fried chicken (my reward for finishing the ride), came back and noticed the hot tub wasn't heating and figured out out the pool heater was/is out. No whirlpool . Oh well.

I saw on the news today, the winds were gusting yesterday up to 60mph! Don't know exactly the wind speeds we endured, but it was more than I care to ride in given the choice again. Even so, Kim and I are better riders for the experience.

Highlights: stopping in Temple to get an infamous "Horny Toad H-D" shirt to add to the collection; making it safely to Austin in time to make the Esters Follies comedy show (similar to Sat Night Live - hilarious!); enjoying some well-deserved adult beverages at the end of the ride; gaining a butt-load of riding experience in just two days; being able to check "riding in severe winds" off my checklist; completing my first ever, over-night road trip; knowing I didn't give up (by stopping and getting a hotel room).

Guess it didn't sour me too much...woke up today and am already planning the next trip!

 

Glad to hear you made it safe and sound. the good news is now all your trips will seem like a piece of cake and you know that you can ride through any conditions. Trust me when I say rain is a easy compared to swirling winds! Enjoy

ps get the windshield and your head, neck and shoulders will thank you.

 

Well now you have that lesson under your belt. I remember my first trip in the wind and I was the same way got home and felt like I was in a fight, shoulders hurt, arms hurt. I told my buddy who I ride with all the time about it and he told me next time just relax the shoulders, drop them down and relax. I remember holding on for dear life when the wind would gust. The next time we went out I did what he told me and what a difference.

+1 on your scooter that is really nice, and love that color. Good luck on your trip and enjoy the ride.

 

OMG, look at all that luggage for an overnight trip! LOL, guys go out of town for the weekend with their toothbrush in their back pocket (maybe)

Just messin with you, don't get offended because I think it's awesome. It's always great to tackle a new task and check something off the list. Keep doing what you're doing and don't ever stop "checking off the list". That's what it's all about. You and your friend look great with those bikes, BTW.

 

I feel the same way you do about the wind! Glad you made it back safe and sound. You just never know which way those Texas winds are going to blow. I'm also glad it didn't dampen your spirits :-) The interstate really sucks but sometimes you just don't have any choice huh? You ladies stay safe so we can do some rides when I get back to Big D.

 

wow sound like a great adventure last year we went on a 7 day ride stared out

on hwy 101 when we hit big sur the winds must have been 60mph constant with

gusts alot stronger than that i rode my bike almost @ 45 degree just to go straight for

about 45 minutes boy was i glad when i got thru that-ride safe

 

I'll bet that by the end of the summer you'll look back & feel you made to big a deal out of an over-nighter. Every trip brings a little concern, & riding in high wind is a PITA, but before long you'll be rememberin' the feelin' of success far more than the anxiety. You handled one of the most annoying things that weather can throw at you. Most of the others will be easier, & those that aren't won't cause you any grief if you just hole-up & let 'em pass. The experience will come in handy someday, there's some pretty stiff winds in the plains & around Sturgis.

 

That's what I'm talkin' about! Ridin' to Austin. It don't get no better'n that. Especially taking the side trip to Lockhart from some BBQ. You DID make to Lockhart, right?

 

Ha! I'm not offended I was wondering when I was going to get teased about the luggage! Heck, after looking at the photos, even I thought it looked like overkill! Of course, I had to have an "outfit" for Sat night...which included a "cute" jacket and boots (not the ridin' type), makeup, toiletries, hair brush, dryer...you get the drift! Since we decided to go at the last minute...I didn't even utilize the space in my saddlebags. Could probably have put my stuff in there, but wanted to "try out" the new T-Bags which I picked up off e-Bay, new for half the price of retail! Can't imagine how I'm going to pack for Sturgis...2 weeks! Thankfully, I have a leather Tour-pak. Guess I'll be doing laundry a lot. Don't know how you guys travel with your wives/girl friends...suspect she get's what she "needs" and you get what's left over...usu about 25% of the space or less! I think Mitch managed to survive the trip with a toothbrush, a spare t-shirt and a clean pair of underwear! I know he didn't bring a razor.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm 47 and took up riding in Sept. and have been having a blast. We always get a lot of comments from people when we stop, most of whom are curious about or are fascinated by women who ride. The guys seem to dig it (and the bikes). The women seem to have this "you go girl" attitude. Probably secretly wishing they had the guts to give it a shot. On this trip, a lady asked Kim if she rode that "big old bike" by herself. When Kim said she did..she said.."girl, you ain't as big as a minute...good for you!"

 

By the way, does your friend's bike have neon lights in the frame or is that just a photographic anomaly?