Not so great ride

[LonestaRR]

I've never been lost before in my life. I can usually find my way anywhere - and eventually I did today too, but it took a while. I decided to go for a ride to break up the monotony of a project I've been working on for a few weeks. I was only 30 miles from home but I got on some desolate farm roads and was turned around pretty quick. Before I got lost though, I had stopped by to take a picture of this cute little church I wasn't even off my bike 2 minutes before I was being thrown off the property. I snapped a picture while they were yelling at me. Back to the church scene: There were two cars that came right up on me - one in front and one in back. They were going to make sure I left the property. There were no signs posted saying I couldn't enter, and the gate was open - so I figured it was okay. I think they took it a little far with the yelling and the cars boxing me in though. I didn't say anything - just left and got on down the road. They followed me out to make sure I was gone and then one of the men got out and locked the gate. (Reminded me of the time I was chased (but eluded) by security at a Tom Petty Concert for taking pictures)Nice pic though, huh?



After that little incident I got myself all turned around on some back country farm/ranch roads. I drove for one hour trying to figure out where I was. I finally made it to a familiar sight and made it home. I didn't realize there was still so much wide open space so close to home. It was a nice place to be lost. Here is a corner I stopped at while trying to figure out where I was.




I moved the pics, so I had to edit to get them back on the site. Sorry.

[DJ Downunder]

Nice pictures Kristi...that's very odd with that church thing.. ..I can't see that happening here..

Maybe your next thing to buy for your bike is one of these.

DJ

[NoRRmad]

(Maybe they thought you were an ATF agent.)

[1MPH]

Gee you got some great pictures and a great story to tell....seems like a pretty good ride to me.

PS.....Great write up and great pictures.

[Boxer]

You just stumbled onto some politician or celebrity's property. Maybe those were ATF agents! Or some religious cult......Aliens!?

Nice pictures though. And getting lost is half the fun of riding around. You just don't want to stay lost too long, and I suppose that's a strong possibility in Texas.

[sjbmw]

A college kid in Alabama was arrested for conspiring with others in the burning of 9 churches.

Safe to say that parishoners are a little antsy everywhere.

[Kevin]

I have a friend whose wedding party was kicked out of the Cuyahoga Valley National Reserve Park for taking their wedding pics there without a permit. Seems they should post any restrictions like that, though. Great story and great pics. I really like your windscreen and chrome mirrors with the silver R. Looks fantastic!

[Mclintoc]

That's a beautiful bike you have there. The tan seat and mini-faring really give it some style.

[LonestaRR]

Thank you for the kind comments about my bike. It is an unusual color and seat combination for the RR, but I like it's uniqueness.

[iowabeakster]

Great story. Interesting to say the least. I second DJ's idea of the GPS. It makes "exploring" on a bike far more enjoyable. It makes it nearly impossible to get lost.

[Doug]

Thanks for the pics Kristi. Looks like you still had a good time.

If you want to go cheap with navigation, get a Garmin etrex series GPS. They range from $100 to a few hundred depending on what model you get. The nice part is that they all have a breadcrumb trail and compass feature, so even if you dont have street names to look at, or on the fly directions, you can still find you way back by heading in the right direction. The etrex series also has a great little handlebar mount that fits well on the R's handlebars. These devices take away much of the fear of getting lost!

Here is the entry level one: http://www.garmin.com/products/etrex/ $94


And here is one that has a mapset in it, and its color: http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVistac// $230


(For more details on the etrex series, check out the link "Launch Showcase" on the right.)

Here is the handlebar mount:
http://www.gpscity.com/item-garmin-etre ... ikemnt.htm $14

This is a good place to get them online: http://www.gpscity.com/cat-handheld-gps.htm - If you want to play with 'em, most EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) stores have etrex units in stock as well.

I've owned both the standard yellow etrex and the etrex Vista (as well as a bunch of other GPS devices, which were mostly Garmin). They are really well made and the interfaces are well done.

[BoxerTwin]

I'll take a bad day on the bike over ANY day at the office....as long as its not raining.