TOPIC:

When I got up this morning I decided to take a run up to the Sam Houston National Forest. The Ninja hasn't been out for a while so I took it for this trip. The ride started out in Spring, Tx, just north of Houston. Lets see if this link to a Google map I created works. maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=20678...004acb3cc67dd7f94453

My first stop for pictures was Burroughs Park. This is usually a beauty spot for pictures, but the drought has reduced the lake to a murky swill.



This fountain is normally shooting water 25' high.



Here's the black bullet:

Did you see any of the fire damage around Magnolia or in Waller county?

My next stop is a gravel parking lot just off FM149 in the National Forest.



A few bikes coming down the road while I was stopped:



There's a good corner at the end of this picture:

Oops, just looked at your map.That answered my question. Ever spend time on FM3090?

TexasKZ wrote: Did you see any of the fire damage around Magnolia or in Waller county?

I didn't get close enough to actually see the fire damage. I was trying to get close enough to take pictures of the gigantic smoke cloud rising over the fire. However, I was downwind so the smoke was hanging on the ground like a fog. I should have taken a shot the other day when the wind was the other direction. I could see the smoke rising a mile high before getting sheared off by the upper level winds. I could see this from my neighborhood that is probably 45 miles from the fire as the crow flies.

One of my close friends lives just east of FM 1486 which is just across the street from the fire line. At last check, the fire was about 4 miles from his property. He has been under a mandatory evacuation for the past week. Scary stuff. I didn't want to try and get any closer than I did for fear of blocked roads and gridlock from emergency responders. All local FD's are responding to this fire in one way or another. They are advising civilians to stay clear of the area to allow access for fire trucks, etc.

TexasKZ wrote: Oops, just looked at your map.That answered my question. Ever spend time on FM3090?

Yeah, the long version of this ride includes 3090. That's an awesome ride if you have the time. I didn't today. The short version takes me 3 hours. If I include 3090, it's more like 5.

Something to watch out for if you plan on riding FM 149. The state has cut rumble strips into the center line to alert drivers that they are crossing the center. I hadn't seen these before, but haven't been this way in a while. In any case, it adds a little bit of excitement if you need to cross the line to pass. Now you have to contend with the painted lines, reflectors, and the rumble strip. Stay off that stuff if you are leaned into a turn.

I teach in Tomball and live in Cypress, so I"ve seen the clouds. We even had some ash in our neighborhood last week.

Thanks for the heads up on the rumble gouges or whatever they are called. They do increase the pucker factor a bit.

As I said, I had hoped to get a picture of the smoke from the wildfire in Magnolia. This fire has burned about 18,500 acres and numerous homes. Unfortunately, it is not the only fire burning in Texas right now. The fire in Bastrop has been a major disaster. At last count, the Bastrop fire has burned some 1400 homes, and it has had the entire city under a mandatory evacuation. Bastrop is deservedly receiving the bulk of the firefighting resources at the moment. The fire in Magnolia is in a largely rural area, so the quantity of homes in danger is much lower than Bastrop.

TexasKZ wrote: I teach in Tomball and live in Cypress, so I"ve seen the clouds. We even had some ash in our neighborhood last week.

Thanks for the heads up on the rumble gouges or whatever they are called. They do increase the pucker factor a bit.

I thought you were in San Antonio for some reason.

Yeah I too went for a ride today. 95 degrees today and our lakes are down from the drought. Here was my weapon.

On the way back down 149 I got stuck behind a ZR-1 Corvette. Once we got free from the traffic, I could tell he felt the need to test his car vs. a crotch rocket. We had to stop as the car before him was making a left turn off the highway. Once they got clear he gunned it. That thing was squealing those huge rear tires and it really pulled hard. He had me pulling power wheelies in the first three gears to keep up the pace. However the black Kawi was not to be beaten. He couldn't put an inch into me, and I never even saw the shift light. Man that car was damn fast. I gained some respect for that thing. Seriously fast car.