Kevin 'Fergy' Ferguson

Wow. I've been so busy the last few months. Business has been good and I've been working my butt off. I expect things to lighten up a bit in the next few weeks.

I have the Hill Country Ride IX coming up in April for my 5th time in a row. I'm putting together the Ride Around Texas possibly in May pending planning and lots more work. Of course, I'm going to Sturgis again this year. And for my 6th time in a row, I'm going to the Eureka Springs Reunion.

Those are my definite rides this year. I'd also like to do Boscobel but I'm not sure I can work it in, just yet.

I'm really missing my ass in the seat but that'll happen soon enough. Work can't last forever. :)

Fergy

I've been hearing for quite some time how great engine guard chaps are for blocking the wind and the cold. I've intended to buy them for over a year now but it just never seemed to get done (like a lot of things on this website).

Anyway, because it's starting to get cooler outside, I decided to go ahead and make my purchase. Of course, I used Sage Brush Designs for my choice because Chris McVean is not only the owner and a good guy, he's a VROC member and he supported the HCR VIII last April.

So, I placed my order from the website and I also got the chrome studs on mine since I have studs on my bags and my seat. I received the chaps a few days later and they slid right on. This was on Thursday, I think. I just now got back from a test ride and here's what I think.

Wow! I can't believe I waited so long to get these things. I intentionally wore my cap that blows off a lot just to see how it would do with the chaps installed. Not only did it not blow off, it never even came close. The chaps stopped all that buffetting I was feeling before. Now, all the wind is directed downward and under the bike and not into my chest and up my face.

One of the things I was concerned about was how the chaps would hold up under speed since I routinely am riding over the very conservative speed limits we have down here. I got up to 110 on my GPS and looked down at the chaps and they held their form perfectly and blocked all the wind I've been feeling all this time.

Bottom Line: Chris makes chaps for the F&S and Cobra guards and I highly recommend them.

B-People, Spock, PT & Hugs, Shooter & Trigger, Jeff, Chester and I headed out promptly at 9. Or was it 9:30? 

Anyway, we took a nice leisurely ride down the Pig Trail. Due to a urinary emergency, I had to leave the pack in a hurry in an attempt to reach Turner Bend before an accident. Well, I had to stop at Brian's Curve (the name of the turn where Brian "PT" Hannah got his nickname) and take appropriate action. Man did I feel better.

Our goal was to have lunch at the Queen Wilhamena Lodge so we took 23 to 71 and then to Mena and took 88 to the Lodge. 
 
For whatever reason, Shotter & Trigger, PT & Hugs, and Jeff didn't stop. We sent down a search party (Chester) to see if they had a problem. Nothing. We worried about them but went ahead and had lunch once Chester had come back without locating the lost bikers.

After lunch, we finished off the rest of the Talimena Scenic Drive and then took 271 to 70 and then to Durant and then 69/75 home. It was a good ride although the last half was at a brisk pace. Faster would have been better but Chester was at full throttle for most of the route and we couldn't leave him behind. I mean, we may have lunch while you may be crashed on the side of the road, but we won't leave you. After all, people gotta eat.

I got home at 6:30 or so and put 1850 miles or 370 miles per day on my bike. These were quality miles, by the way.

This was a great reunion. It was nice to meet new friends as well as the old ones. I couldn't ask for anything more. Next year!

Cheers...

Fergy

Today, we met at Iron Horse yet again. This time, we had the memorial for fallen bikers and the blessing of the bikes.


Skid remembering fallen bikers.


Piper playing the pipes.

Before Spock, Chester and I headed out, Ed wanted to get a departing video. Here it is:

Video
(you'll need Real Player to watch this video)

Spock and I then headed out with Chester on a wonderful ride through Missouri. 14 running east and west is a must ride. Here's the route map:



You definitely need to try 14 if you're in the area.

After the ride, we stopped at the Iron Horse for a beer and talked about the twisties. There was some altercation in the parking lot regarding a barking dog but I won't address that here. Let's just say that it was disturbing.

We all headed off to get cleaned up for the ROG dinner at Rogue's Manor. The dinner was good but took a long time and even took a long time to get the check. I think everybody had a good time, though.

After dinner at the Super 8 I snapped off these pictures.


From left to right, Trigger, B-Girl, X, Hugs, and B-Man. Hmm... Could that be lemon/tequilla jello shots? Couldn't be... At closer inspection, those little cups are empty...


Oh, and here's the Thunder Horse Salute!


Here's Shadow, Shooter, and Spock. I can't be sure, but I bet Spock is asking a lot of questions about the Gold Wing. I just wish Spock would bite the bullet and buy one rather than talking about it. Come on Spock! It's just money; you'll make more! Get the WING!

After all of the Super 8 parking lot goings on, bed was next. Each and every night I slept like a baby. The end of yet another great day.

Fergy

Today, we met again at the Iron Horse and had breakfast. Spock and I headed out afterward for a brisk ride through the countryside. Here's our route:



The entire route was about 360 miles and we had to be to dinner by 6. We left at about 10:30 AM. Needless to say, we rode hard, scraping pegs, with 100+ MPH speeds and we made it to the Crescent Hotel by 6:05. Good ride; nobody died. This is a great route and by far my favorite. Try it sometime. I promise it will be pleasing.

We made it to the ES Reunion Banquet on time. Here are a few pictures as they were taken.


Auggie on the left and Brillo on the right. Note: Auggie is only 4' 11" tall. Bwahahahaha!


Skid and wife. Skid and I have had a number of political and religious discussions on and off the group.


B-Man and Bubba working their way through the food line.


Sherm working on his blog while at the dinner table. We're all geeks, I suppose.


Wiliedog talking to Brillo. Pam and X posing. Shadow in the foreground. 


Brian "PT" Hannah and Kay "Hugs" Hannah. PT, by the way, stands for Pig Trail. :)


Shooter, Trigger, and B-Girl.


Piper and Auggie.


Maz and Moondog and Crew...


Shot across the room...


Blondy won cash and a Kawasaki fishing equipment. I didn't know Kawasaki was also into fishing.

So, after dinner, we headed down to the Iron Horse, talked about our rides, lied about most of them, then headed back to sleep and get ready for tomorrow. 


Here's Brillo, Spock. Jeff, and Editor lying like dogs. Notice the evil look in Spock's eyes. 

 
Here's some of the DFW VROC crew. Looks like I'm getting the Thunder Horse Salute again.

Before getting to the Super 8, we stopped at the Alpendorf to sit around the campfire and talk.


Here's Blondy telling us a joke. Notice Chester is going in for a closer examination.


Fergy

Ok... This time I'll have some pictures.

Today, we slept in a bit late until about 8:30. I slept like a baby. About 9 AM, Ed, Norm, Jeff, and Tony showed up outside our room and asked what we were doing for breakfast. We headed off to Iron Horse Stables. They have pretty good food.



For our ride, we decided to do the 123 / Pig Trail loop as shown here:




We didn't finish the entire route because we left a bit late and wanted to get back in time for dinner. But, we got a lot of good miles in.

Here are a few pictures of our ride:


Somewhere on 74
 

One lane bridge on 123


Shot off the one lane bridge.


Oldman and Coyote. That's Old's bike up in Sue Hopper's trailer getting new paint.


X and Ed trying to act cool or something.

Well, after all this, we had dinner in the dark at the Iron Horse. We then went inside to the restaurant to eat some more and have some coffee to warm up. Then, we had the raffle. I won a cleaning kit. Woo Hoo!

After a nice cold ride back to the Super 8, I'm ready to shut down and get ready for the ride tomorrow.

Fergy

Left the house at about 11 AM today with Craig "Spock" Edland. Others were supposed to join but either cancelled or just didn't show. Not a big deal. We had a great ride up and managed to miss all the rain which was a miricle in itself.

We had to pass the Days Inn on our way to the Super 8 so we stopped in and said hello to Gaylord "Norm" Long. He was waiting on Ed "Editor" Pierce to show up and so we hung around to wait too. We met Ed, he had Tony "Goatman" Hodge tagging along and another fellow on a 1600 Classic but I apologize that I forgot his name for this post.

Spock and I headed to the Super 8 to check in and noticed some familiar bikes. Once checked in, unloaded, and ready to go eat, we dropped by to see John "Coyote" Shreve, Thomas "Wiliedog" Gates, Don "X" Arden, and Bill "Oldman" Wilhelmi. X was drinking red wine. I guess I didn't know he drank such things so I guess I'll have to start thinking better of him. After that meeting, we were off for some food.

We called Norm to tell him and his group to meet us at the Ozark Buffet. Upon arriving, we realized it was closed. I called Norm and he suggested Pizza Hut. Ok. We went there. Go there and they wanted beer with their pizza but Pizza Hut didn't serve beer. Go figure. We left Pizza Hut in search of an establishment which served food AND adult beverages and at the same time.

We ended up at some bar/pub thing that I now forget the name of and they had booze but no food. We headed down to downtown Eureka Springs and most places were closed on Wednesday night except for Pied Piper. We all managed to get food and drink and interestingly enough, they had Scotch Eggs. Look it up if you don't know what those are. A Bombay Sapphire and Tonic along with a Scotch Egg was all I needed. Oh, and I had meatloave and potatoes. Ok. That's all I needed.

After much conversation, stories (some true), and generally a very good time, we all waddled out of the pub and headed back to our respective motels. 

About 400 miles for the day on some really nice roads.

This ends tonights post. 

Fergy