Road Trip #2

Technically, this is the first dedicated road trip to get my Harley passport stamped. I visited four dealerships while on a trip for business so you could call this "Road Trip #2", which I am.

On a recent business trip to Tarleton (Stephenville, TX), I visited the dealership in Waco and on the way I made a stop in Killeen at TAMU-Central Texas and while I was in the area visited the Fort Hood dealership and the Temple dealership. I left Temple and went home by way of Round Rock, where I got my fourth stamp of the trip.

Visiting some of the dealerships when I go on trips for work will get me a few stamps but overall it won't get it done by the deadline of November 20, so Sharon decided I should make plans to make a trip somewhere...San Antonio, Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth or Houston. For Road Trip #2, I chose Houston.

I carefully planned a route that would allow me to go to seven dealerships in the Houston area...not all are participating...covering an area from Cypress on the northwest corner to Pasadena on the southeast corner , Stafford on the southwest corner to Kingwood on the northeast corner. I threw in Angleton...45 miles south of Stafford...for good measure.

My plan was to leave College Station around 7:30am so as to arrive at the first dealership when it opened at 9:00am and be home by 6:00pm, just in time to take a quick shower and go to a movie with Sharon.

The day started out almost exactly like I had planned. I left the house about 7:15am, made a quick stop at Kroger to get a bite to eat and headed out around 7:45am. Having debated over the past few days between riding my motorcycle or driving, I finally gave in and drove the Corvette. However, taking advantage of the nice weather, I took the top off.

The drive down to Cypress to my first stop went quickly...no traffic to speak of...and I arrived 15 minutes early. Good news! Academy was next door and opens earlier than 9am. I needed some new racquetballs anyway so I went in and burned 15-20 minutes. The first dealership was Mancuso's Crossroads H-D. I got my passport stamped, looked around a few minutes...seems the polite thing to do...and took off for stop #2.

Stop #2 was only 20 minutes away on Loop 610...or whatever they call it in Houston...Northwest Freeway, North Freeway, etc. I almost missed this dealership because it was very small and didn't have the best signage in the world. It sat in a not-so-nice part of North Houston but I imagine it had been there for quite some time. This was Mancuso's first establishment called Mancuso Central H-D.

You can usually tell which dealerships are new and which have been around for a while. The older ones are the typical motorcycle dealership...small, old-fashioned buildings, with limited parking and small showrooms. The newer ones are much larger, typically have tons of showroom space...to hold all the accessories and clothing Harley has now. The newer dealerships are also very modern looking with large signage that shows up from a long way off.

The lady at the reception desk was very nice and stamped my passport as soon as I walked in the door. After looking around a little...again to be polite...I departed for location #3...Stubbs H-D...on the south side of town on 610. I knew that Stubbs was hosting their annual Pre-Lonestar Rally party. I swear I heard this was the 45th year, but that can't be right...can it?

Anyway, from where I was on the loop, heading towards I-45 through downtown was the shortest direction so off I went. By the way, I used my old GPS, which worked flawlessly. It helps to have the correct address to put in...fortunately the passport had the correct addresses.

As I neared downtown, I noticed the traffic slowing down...not too strange but it was early on a Saturday so I thought something might be happening up ahead. As I came abeam the downtown area, my suspicions were confirmed...a car had been rearended and had caught fire. Fortunately, the incident was on the northbound side of the interstate and I was on the southbound... however, due to folks slowing down to look, the traffic did cost me some time.

I arrived at Stubbs at 10:15, only 2 1/2 hours after leaving home...making pretty good time so far. As I drove up in front of the dealership, I was surprised to see the huge number of motorcycles arriving for the event. Even this early, there must have been 200-300...and still arriving by the minute. Cars weren't even allowed to park at the dealership, rather they were sent down a side street to park in a vacant lot. At least the lot had supervision, which I appreciated since I still had the top off the car. I decided that in order to enjoy the top being off I couldn't afford the time to put it on and take it off at each stop so I merely rolled the windows up and locked the doors. If someone reaches over and unlocks the doors from the inside, the alarm will sound so I thought I was pretty safe.

I walked the block and a half to the dealership, taking my life in my hands to cross the street between cars and motorcycles. The place was packed! There were bikers of all types milling around. There were folks like me, dressed in normal street clothes, looking at the motorcycles. And, there were a handful of folks dressed like pirates...I'm guessing that's what you would see if you were to attend the Lonestar Rally in Galveston. I got my passport signed quickly, walked around outside among the vendors and then made a hasty retreat. Total, I was there a little over 30 minutes, including the walk to and from the car.

Next on the itinerary was the dealership in Stafford...about 20 miles south of town on Hwy 59. Once again my trusty GPS took me directly there. This dealership...Republic H-D...was typical of the newer style...large, modern architecture and tons of space inside. Interestingly, inside they had 3 floors...perhaps they might be called mezzanines because the area directly above the showroom was open to the ceiling. Floors 2 and 3 had all the clothing and miscellaneous accessories...not counting accessories for the bikes themselves.

I almost missed seeing the floors above. When I first walked in I was concentrating on finding the reception area so I could get the passport stamped, then I would look around. When I approached the reception area, there were a lot of folks talking so I decided to walk around first...I found only 2 racks of shirts and the chrome bling for the bikes. I decided it was time to get my stamp and leave. I went back to the reception area and waited my turn. As I waited, I was looking around and lo and behold, I saw the upstairs area.

I trotted up the stairs...yes, I still had energy at this time of the day...to check out their shirts. I hadn't planned on getting a shirt at each and every dealership but I thought I might at least look. As I began to look, I heard this pounding sound on the roof of the dealership...RAIN!! I couldn't believe it...MY TOP WAS IN THE TRUNK!! CRAP!! I ran down the stairs, out the door, across the parking lot...jumping over puddles like O.J. Simpson in the old Hertz commercials...and dodging motorcycles leaving the place.

I unlocked the doors and trunk as I approached the car, grabbed the top and placed it in place. Because the windows were up, I was able to stop the rain getting in pretty quickly...however, the damage from the downpour was done. I dried as much of the interior as I could then ran back inside...I still didn't have my stamp. Finally, I got the stamp and headed back towards Houston. After all I had to go through in Stafford, I still only spent 25 minutes there.

It was 11:40 am...still time to get to Angleton and back before stopping for lunch. I plugged in the address for the next stop and headed back towards Houston. I was supposed to go east on the toll road but apparently missed the turn in the pouring rain. I typically turn off the sound so I wasn't even aware that I had missed the turn until I noticed the GPS "recalculating". It now showed me going up to 610 and heading east to Hwy 288...I never knew that wasn't what I was supposed to do.

Well, it wasn't a bad drive. Once I got on 288 it was clear sailing with minimal traffic. Only because I thought I was running ahead of time...at least in my mind...I continued on to Angleton because once I saw it was almost 50 miles down there I seriously began to doubt the wisdom of my plan. I had a date at 6pm so I needed to make good time. I thought about it a few minutes as I continued down the road and decided to keep going.

I arrived at GOE H-D, another very old dealership, at 12:40pm...about an hour after leaving Republic. I got my passport stamped quickly, found a cool t-shirt and headed back towards Houston and lunch.

I had seen a Saltgrass establishment up the road and that's where I was headed. A salad and a bowl of baked potato soup sounded pretty good...and I do love their baked potato soup. As I drove north, I looked up the address on my phone...Yellow Pages app...and then plugged the address into my GPS. Once again, it took me there without a problem. After fighting traffic at one of the largest mall areas I've ever seen, I sat down for lunch at Saltgrass.

Lunch took exactly 30 minutes and I left feeling good...stomach full of yummy soup and salad and iced tea...off to stop #6. Pasadena was the next stop...San Jacinto H-D. It took me a little over 30 minutes to get there. Once again, I got my stamp, bought a shirt and headed for my last stop in Kingwood.

Thankfully, the GPS took me mostly on the Sam Houston Tollroad and I made excellent time. I pulled up in front of Kingwood H-D at 3:45pm. I had time to spend a few minutes inside and still make it home by 6pm...assuming the traffic cooperated. I was a bit worried about late arriving Aggies headed towards College Station but even then I should make it on time.

After getting my stamp...and another shirt...I headed for home. Kingwood is on the northeast corner of Houston...not too far from Conroe. The GPS took me through Conroe via a farm-to-market road and a small State highway, but both were excellent roadways...the pavement feeling almost new. Once in Conroe, I hit very familiar roadways. I looped around the city to the south to Hwy 105 and headed west. The traffic around Lake Conroe was very congested and began to frustrate me big time. It lasted all the way to Montgomery, but once I hit downtown Montgomery I was able to get in front of most of it and made good time the rest of the way...at least as good as you can ever make on Hwy 105.

I pulled into my driveway in College Station at 5:45pm...15 minutes early. Of course, I didn't have a clue how long the road trip was going to take when I left the house that morning. I was just playing it by ear and only when the first four stops went so quickly was I fairly confident that I could make the 6pm target I had set for myself.

Today I drove 370 miles, visited 7 dealerships, saw some interesting people and did it all in exactly 10 hours. That may sound like a long time and a total waste of time and money to some of you, but as Sharon says, it made me happy and that's what's important. Life is too short to work all the time...you've got to get out and have a little fun once in a while.

In addition to the interesting dealerships and the burning car I saw, I also experienced the wonderful smell of feedlots near Angleton...going and coming...crossed over the Chocolate Bayou, the Hickory Slough...by the way, what's the difference between a bayou and a slough? I also saw the San Jacinto River, Sedona Lakes...a neighborhood with homes in the $200's - $600's...nice neighborhood...Iowa Colony, a city with city limit signs less than 1/2 mile apart on the highway and familiar cities like Galena Park, Belaire, Pasadena and Humble.

Earlier I mentioned that I had debated whether I should ride the motorcycle or drive the car but after I finished the 10-hour day and 370 miles, and drove through 4-5 heavy rain squalls, I was sure I made the right decision.

All in all, it was a good day. I hope this isn't the last road trip for me, whether or not it's to get my passport stamped.