This day started off as so many Saturdays do, me sitting in my recliner after having my second cup of coffee, wondering what I should do with the rest of the day.
There are always many choices one could make, which would make the Saturday experience seem worthwhile. I could decide to weed eat and mow the grass or I could watch TCM, you know, the old black and white movies. They have had Bat Man movies on for the last few Saturdays, but I am not a bat man fan. If it were one of the old Tarzan movies I would be interested.
We could go to town and let my first wife shop while I sit in the truck then, we could have lunch, or I could just take a nap and decide later what I should do.
My choice was none of the above for this Saturday. I asked my spouse of 46 years if she wanted to go somewhere on the motorcycle, to which she replied, “where”. I had not thought this out and was now being pressed for a possible destination.
As I am sure you are aware, I do have a quick mind! We could go to Ohio I said. My first wife had a somewhat puzzled look on her face as she questioned, “where?” I knew immediately I was about to be criticized.
I confidently replied, “You know out there close to where the original formula, Dr. Pepper bottler use to be”. She thought for a moment and asked, “Do you mean Hico, Texas”, to which I replied, “Yes”. (Hico is pronounced with a long I, Hi Co)
As you can see Hico and Ohio have the same number of letters and most are the same just located differently in the word. (As a side note, we did pass close to the real Ohio on the way home, Ohio Texas is just off county road 932.)
My present spouse agreed to the ride. I than stated that it has been a long time since we were there and I wasn’t sure of the best way to get there. Being somewhat of a smarty pants, my spouse said, “Go out highway 6”. Now I knew that was wrong, since when does a female know directions? I tactfully, but in a manly way stated, “No that is not how to get there, I will check the map”!
I reached for my tablet and went to the maps. The app loaded and I didn’t even need to type in the name, I just said, “Hico Texas”. A few seconds later Hico was displayed on the screen.
It would take 1 hour and 14 minutes to get there from, “The Ford Homestead”. I must say I was somewhat surprised that we would need to ride out highway 6, as my spouse had stated. (Nobody likes a know it all).
The bike was very dusty but we didn’t take the time to clean it up, assuming that some of the dust would possibly blow off when riding at highway speeds. The dust did not blow off and we added several bugs to the windshield during the ride.
I found it interesting that the odometer indicated the miles on my Gold Wing was 77,777 miles, prior to the start of the ride. I pointed that out to my spouse who commented, “that’s better than 66,666. Before you ask, the odometer does not display tenths of a mile but the trip odometers do.
The weather was just perfect for riding, the temp was 78 when we left the house, there was no chance of rain and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky during the entire ride.
In this selfie we see the Ford husband and wife team traveling at highway speeds. Please note that there is not a cloud in the sky.
And now the questions start. Why can’t you just let me tell the story and stop these interruptions? You always have a question, and your questions are always in an effort to embarrass me.
Ok smarty, I will answer this one question! No, it is not distracted driving when I, take a selfie at 60 mph, riding double on a two lane highway, with oncoming traffic! That only applies to other idiots!
Back to my story after that uncalled for interruption!
We arrived at Hico about noon o’clock and surprise surprise, it was antiques day. Finding a suitable parking space, (suitable for a car is not always suitable for a bike) we parked and secured the helmets along with the long sleeved shirts. Before you ask about the parking space let me say, most bikes do not have a reverse, and if you park with the front of the bike downhill it may be difficult to back out of the space. It is double difficult when riding double.
Yes my bike has a reverse and before you ask, yes we have an intercom between the helmets so we can talk while riding. We are on a fixed income but we can’t scrimp on everything.
My spouse of 46 years decided to do some shopping and I was able to find a shady spot to sit and wait. About an hour later she had completed her shopping and only purchased a cacti, type plant.
We had discussed where to eat and decided to go to the restaurant with the easiest parking which turned out to be, “Fire House BBQ”. Possibly next time we will go to the restaurant with the crowded parking lot. The food was ok but nothing special, the service was less than desirable.
Having eaten and drink our fill, we were ready to begin the trip home. I decided to take a different route home which would take us to Hamilton Texas. I hoped to find a back road that I had ridden in years past that would take us to highway 84 and then home.
About two miles out of Hico we ran into road work. We sat patiently behind a line of vehicles in the early afternoon sun on a fresh asphalt road. I checked the temperature and it was now 90 degrees. Eventually the line of cars began to move.
There was only the one area where the road work cause congestion. About 20 minutes later we were in Hamilton, Texas. I made the turn at the court house and started out of town. I saw a sign indicating 932 this way, so I turned.
I explained to my present spouse that I thought this was the correct road, but wasn’t sure. County road 932 is definitely a back road with many curves but not much traffic. We may have seen 2 vehicles on this 30 minute ride on county road 932.
As we cruised through the countryside enjoying the peaceful scenery, I noticed something that I found unusual. I thought I had seen a shadow on the road ahead of me, from something flying overhead. There it was again and I looked up. There were buzzards, possibly 6 or 8 of them circling overhead. Just for a moment I thought, they must be hungry looking for some road kill, or, have they decided to kill something, and are we the target.
As we neared the end of the road I observed a rock fireplace standing in a field, the old house was completely gone leaving only the fireplace. I recognized the fire place and at that point I knew we were on the correct road. (The fire place is not in the photo)
It was about this time when we saw the Ohio, Texas this way sign.
Two minutes later we were on highway 84 heading for home.
It was another 45 miles on HWY 84 before we were again back in Hewitt, Texas.
We stopped for gas putting 4.6 gallons of fuel in the tank. We both noted that our behinds were getting tired. 180 mile round trip ride, 39.6 mpg.
All in all it was a good day for a nice ride.
Spending the day with your spouse or friend can be fun.
Don Ford
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