Day 8 - Ann Arbor, MI

Yep. It is the second day in Ann Arbor. Once again i rise early, made sure I have enough change in my pocket (for taking the bus back to Knightsbridge after dropping the bike off)  and took off towards Nicholson's Powersports to get my bike serviced. 



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I got there just in time to catch the guy pull open the shutters to the service department and i guessed i must have been way to enthusiastic because he gave me the "what the heck is someone doing here this early on a weekday" look.  But turns out, he was a very very nice guy and put me at ease right away.  So i told him that I wanted to get an oil change plus a full inspection so that i can be sure that i can make it back to Texas in one piece. I dropped off the keys and proceeded to the showroom to check out the latest & greatest in powersports. 


Midway through trying not to get my slobbering drool all over the nice shiny 2010 models in the showroom, the service guy finally comes up to me to give me the update. It isn't good..... my front forks are leaking badly, and on top of that, there was a major recall on the frame of the K5 GSX-R1000 models that make it prone to snapping in half. He pointed out that now that this has been brought to their attention, he cannot, in good conscience, allow the bike to go out without being fixed. With the prospect of having my bike snap in half while tearing through the West Virginia mountains, i had to agree with him. Unfortunately they do not have the repair parts in stock and hence will not be able to get it done for at least another week or two.


If you want to read about the recall and the severity of the recall, you can read it here.
http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=35357


Yeah... so here I am, having to wait out another week or two. Unfortunately, this is a week or two which i do not have. I had to get back to Houston and to the office at the end of next week and i didn't have the time to sit around and wait for repairs. So began the agonizing task with wrestling with the dreaded "Plan B", which is to sell the bike and fly back to houston instead.


I call up Tony to discuss things a bit and after a bit of waffling, I bit my lip and finally decided to sell it there and take a plane back to houston in order to get back to the office in time. So there and then, we made the transaction. They gave me the cash and i reluctantly handed over the keys... and so... my journey ends here. 


Well, i guess this is it. The journey is over... for now. I fully enjoyed my time riding across the country and i'm sad for it to end, especially so since i don't know if my back will allow me to ride again, but even if i don't, i'm immensely grateful for the opportunity. A special thanks to all those folks who supported me and put me up in their homes, I'm so blessed to have such awesome friends. Thank you Lord for keeping me safe and for the lessons i've learned this trip. I guess its now time to sign off, maybe just maybe there'll be another long ride round in the future, but until then, ya'll keep on ridin'. Laus Deo!

Food Stop 6 - Broadway Cafe, Ann Arbor, MI

I've waited 3 years to come back here. The cheesesteak hoagies here have gotten me through many a long study session when I was in college here. So after taking a quick ride through my old stomping grounds of the U of M North Campus, I swung down Broadway street from Plymouth Ave and made my way through the rows of old Victorian homes and arrived at an old unassuming little strip mall at the end of Broadway. My heart started beating fast with anticipation as soon as the store's frontage came into view.

If you were simply driving by, you would very easily miss this little store tucked away in a little strip mall, but ultimately, it is the food that keeps bringing faithful fans back.


The interior of the store was nice and comfy and equally unassuming. Decor was simple cafeteria tables & chairs accented with wood paneling walls.

Here's the menu... complete with all 10 menu items! The second surprise... they are actually 1/ 2 a cheesesteak store and the other 1/2 is a korean restaurant!

At long last, I order up myself a Cheese Steak Hoagie with Extra Mushrooms and tossed with Hot Peppers:

The thing was just overflowing with meat and stuff! In fact, one of my favorite things about this sandwich is that there is more stuffing than bread. Just have a look at this cross section:

The meat was nice and ooey gooey with cheese. The nicely caramelized onions gave a nice sweet note throughout the sandwich. As for the peppers, i like it personally, but it is not for everyone. It is basically mashed pickled red peppers (or some sort of chilli). The vinegar imparts a nice sour twang which really wakes up your taste buds in every bite. But if you are not quite into the sour note, then i'd leave out the hot peppers.


Most people find quite a disconnect with a korean restaurant being known for its cheesesteak hoagies, but WHY NOT? In fact, i find cheesesteaks to be the next logical progression from traditional korean food. For one, the Koreans have perfect the art form that is grilled seasoned sliced meat in the form of Bugolgi & Kalbi. The thinly sliced meat that is familiar to Korean food is perfect for cheese steak! So bravo for Korean cheese steak Hoagies!!!!


While i only had enough room in my stomach for a single cheese steak hoagie, but do feel free to try some of the other korean fare that is offered here. As a personal recommendation, definitely do try the Bi-Bim-Bop. A steamed rice dish served with grilled sliced beef, and a warm salad of crunchy mixed veggies, topped with a fried egg and tossed in lip smacking Go-Chu-Jang (korean red pepper sauce).


I get to snap a picture of the ever-smiling proprietor of the establishment. 

Please do check out his website where he features traditional folk songs and also an impressive paper on proper Korean diction for non native Korean speakers. Check it out!!
http://keemanchang.com/index.html


I liked
- Awesomely done cheese steaks.
- Korean food like your korean grandma would make.
- Super friendly owner (see photo below).


I didn't quite like
- The far proximity from campus makes it hard for students without a car to reach.


Broadway Cafe (Korean Food & Cheese Steak Hoagies)
Address: 1139 Broadway St, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Phone: (734) 769-3524
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/broadway-cafe-and-jumbo-steak-hoagie-ann-arbor





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Day 7 - Ann Arbor, MI

 I'm holed up on the couch in Tony, Paul & Kaiser's living room. For the first time this week, i get to sleep in and i CAN'T! I am wide awake at what i figured should be at least 11 am, but when i roll over to look at the clock... 7 am!!! Sadly i think i'm getting used to the grueling schedule from over the last week or so. 


Ann Arbor is going to be my 1/2 way stop  (with a remote chance that it my be the end of the journey) and i planned to have the steed serviced today. But its MONDAY!! I have yet to figure out why all powersports dealerships are closed on mondays. *sigh*. I figure its because all the bikers need a day to get over massive hangovers after a weekend at the track. But yeah.. .anyway. I'm here in Ann Arbor with a free day to go do stuff, so i take the steed for a ride around town.


It has been a couple of years since i have been here in AA and at least 6 years since i have lived here. Just riding and looking around. Things have changed massively, and not just because i'm am now looking at the city through a black tinted face shield. Some of my old hangouts are now gone, replaced by newer and shiny-er buildings. I have had a good 4 years here, possibly 4 of my most formative in terms of my identity and spiritual development. But time waits for no one, it has moved on. There's still a sense of nostalgia, and as much as I miss the great times, though the sights may be familiar, but my friends are mostly gone... I can no longer call this home. But i CAN however, go looking for some good food :)

Day 6 Evening. Ann Arbor MI

I finally pull into Knightsbridge at about 4 or 5 pm. Tony helped me stagger my way off the bike and into the house. Oooohhhh... it felt real good to finally sit my butt on something substantial. It felt so good that it almost made me forget that i just about never made it there merely 5 min ago. 

I was making my way along US -14 / 23 and, following directions, exited the highway at exit 4 (Barton Drive). What nobody told me was that after exiting "exit 4", you don't slowly cruise to a complete stop like most other proper exits. Instead you swing a wicked wicked 180 degree U-Turn to the right!!!!

View Crazy U-Turn at Barton on US-14! in a larger map

I'm travelling along expecting to ease into the exit but as i leaned right to nudge the bike over, i suddenly see this sign AS I AM GOING INTO THE TURN!!! Not exactly the most comforting thing to see when you are barreling down at 65 mph and expecting a gentle rolling stop.



View Crazy U-Turn at Barton on US-14! in a larger map


I immediately shifted down and slowly eased into both front and rear breaks in order not lock up my wheels while at the same tie violently throwing my knee down overboard on the right side in order to keep from highsiding. Even with all that, i still drifted across the median line and across the oncoming lane till i scraped the gravel on the far side of the street. Thankfully there were no vehicles coming my way in the opposite direction otherwise it would really be having a bad bad day. So i recovered and made my way to the bottom of the hill... shaken but unscathed.


I sit for a bit and relax at tony's then it's off for dinner... Outback Steakhouse... yes... i broke the rule again... so i won't bother writing anything this time... but tomorrow... it's another matter... i'm on the prowl for cheesteak hoagies!!!

Day 6: Journey from Chicago IL - Ann Arbor MI

It was kinda rainy today. I wake up early and somehow manage to find a starbucks around the corner. The city is still abuzz from Lollapalooza and apparently still reeling from Lady Gaga's performance last night. I personally didn't care too much for lady gaga.. i was in desperate need of caffeine. Aaron's condo is right next to the subway tracks and every 30 min the train would come by, jolting me awake. I eventually managed to get to sleep, at what time? I don't know. But I do know i felt pretty sucky this morning. So yeah.... I load up on coffee and do a bit of blog updating. 


Aaron arrives at about 10 ish. I load up my stuff into the Escalade and off we go to pick up the bikes. After a quick McDonald's breakfast, it was time to say goodbye. According to the weather, there was a very slow east moving system that seemed to be hovering over Chicago. If it take off now, i should be able to power though the rain and emerge at the other side of the system by the time i exit chicago. I got my rain gear on and off i go to beat the rainclouds. Looks like the plan worked. By the time i reached south Holland, the torrent had backed off to a trickle and by the time i reach Gary, it's dry. Taking Aaron's advice to NOT stop in Gary, i go on to Porter IN before i finally stop to get my raingear off and to finally gas up. 


Up till now i never really knew how many MPG i was getting out of my steed. I figure now that i am in familiar territory and that gas stations seem to be pretty regular along the route, that this would be the best time to get an actual number for MPG. So i gas up to a full tank, and off i go. The miles tick by and by the time i reach battle creek, the little yellow light with the gas pump starts flashing. I look at my trip meter and it reads just about 150 miles. I pull into the next gas station and fill up. The pump tells me that i just added 3.473 gal to my tank. So.... 


150 miles / 3.473 gal = 43.19 MPG!!!  (Hah! Take that Yukon Denali!!!)


But yeah.... I call Tony to reassure him i am still alive and am on my way, and i'm off on my final leg of this trip towards Ann Arbor Michigan. 

Day 5 Evening: Chicago Illinois

It feels great to be back in the midwest not just because the everything feels, smells and tastes different and strangely nostalgic, but because it feels great to be back in the company of great friends whom I have left behind when I moved down south. 


I've known Aaron for a good part of 6 or 7 years now. It's kinda strange because we would have been the most unlikely of friends. During that time I was just graduating college and and he was in high school. 6-7 years on and we're still good friends. Strange how things turn out. 


But yeah, it's good to see Aaron again, we've been talking about motorcycles for years now and now finally we have the opportunity to go for a ride together. After the wonderful Korean dinner we had in the evening and despite his persistent headache and the risk of being neutered via girlfriend, combined with my old aching body, we still managed to put in a short ride up and down Lakeshore drive. Despite some choppy riding from my friend, i still managed to keep up without running into his behind. T'was short but good. Although it's the first ride, but from the way my back is holding up, it's probably also going to be the last one for a while. 


I have ridden through a lot of curves in my life, sometimes I wipe out, sometimes I make it to breathe another day, but often the journey is exhilarating and breathtaking. The very nature of curves mean that you sometimes can't see around the corner, so every corner holds surprises at every turn. Sometimes they are astounding, sometimes disappointing, sometimes its a dead end and requires some backtracking. As i get older, it is often the lessons learned on the winding roads that remind me that sometimes the best place to be is on the straight and narrow. While i gracefully bow out, I hope Aaron will keep on riding out strong but more importantly keep riding on straight.

Food Stop 5: Cho Sun Ok (Korean BBQ), Chicago IL

Aaron (the korean) took me on a short ride through downtown Chicago to go drop my stuff off at the condo. After we got the gear squared away, we go pick up a couple of friends (more koreans) and we go eat.... (surprise surpirse).... Korean Food! I have lived in S. Korea in 2005 / 2006 and had the privilege of experiencing one of the most unique food traditions in the world. I have had Korean food almost everywhere that i have lived, but i have fond memories of the Korean Cuisine in Chicago.  
So yeah... We pack into the Escalade and hop onto Lakeshore Drive North, then exited into a maze of Chicago streets and eventually ended up here....

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The humble little corner shop would have easily been missed if you were driving by but don't let that full you. This little establishment is quite well known by the local Korean community for putting out some great Korean BBQ.


As it turns out, one of our dining companions knew the owner's daughter, and in typical Korean hospitality, the owner loaded us up with more food than we can hope to swallow.  Queued up on the dinner service were pork belly and tripe (cooked to perfection by the owner's wife herself in the stone pot right at the table), two types of buckwheat noodle (naeng myun), refreshing veggie soup, fried rice and a whole table full of little korean side dishes. This is what our table looked like....

The intoxicating sent of meat being seared with whole cloves of garlic wafting from the stone pot  was simply mesmerizing.... i wish you could smell this....

As if hotstone grilled meat wasn't enough, next on the menu was buckwheat noodles. We ordered two kinds, couple of us got buckwheat noodle in broth....

The rest of us (me) got buckwheat noodle with hot pepper sauce....

By the time i was 1/4 of the way through the noodles, the owner's wife comes back and eaches across the table to grab all the little bits of of leftover side dishes which we didn't finish and empty everything into the the stone pot in the middle. I just figured she was cleaning up and our meal was done, but then i realize that he is holding a huge pot of white steamed rice which she empties into the cooking pot and starts stirring everything in.... INSTANT FRIED RICE!!

We eventually stumble out of the restaurant full, contented and ready for naptime. This place may be a little out of the way, but lemme tell you. It is well worth it. If you are ever in Chicagoland and want to try some good ethnic food that is off the beaten path, check out Cho Sun Ok.


I liked, 
- The traditional Korean atmosphere & decoration of the establishment.
- Great traditional BBQ which is as close to what they eat in Korea as we can get here in the US.
- Great variety of dishes.
- Friendly staff 


I didn't quite Like, 
- NO ALCOHOL FOR SALE. So apparently they don't have a liquor license, so it's BYOB. Before arriving, head down about half a block to the grocery store and pick up a carton of brewskies before heading over for some good food.


Cho Sun Ok (Korean Barbeque)
Address: 4200 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago IL 60618
Phone: 773-549-5555
Website: http://chosunokrestaurant.com/
Map:



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Day 5: Longview IL to Chicago IL

While planning my route, it was difficult to plan between Greenville IL and Ann Arbor MI. The most direct way would have took 8 hours and would have taken me East to Indianapolis where I would have picked up I-69 up to Michigan. I was just about half dead with the 6 hr ride from Longview to East Memphis, let alone 8 hours from Greenville to Ann Arbor. I didn't have many friends that i knew in the Indianapolis area so I wasn't able to break up the 8 hrs into two 4 hr legs. I did have a bunch of friends up in Chicago. Even though it would mean taking a longer and indirect route north and then hanging a right towards Michigan on I-94, at least this would break up the trip into two 5-hr legs instead of a single 8 hr ride. So, thanks to the hospitality of my friend Aaron K who let me stay in his vacant condo room for the night, I was off for Chicago.


It was strange being back in the Midwest. The sights are just so incredibly different. For one, there are way (WAY WAY WAY) more cornfields than in the South. Riding up along I-70 and then I-57 the mass expanse alternated between tall cornfields filled with browning ears of corn and the low green soy bean fields. The cornfields tended to be quite tall such that if i was riding right next to it, i can hardly see anything beyond a foot of the external stalks. The Soy however was nice and low. If i were to guess, maybe 2-3 feet? But I would be riding along cornfields, my vision limited to the road in front of me because of the tall corn, but all of a sudden it would open up into huge expanses of soy fields.  Looking over the soy, i could see for miles and miles. Gently undulating hills stretch for as far as the farthermost hills. The sea of green seemingly come alive as every gust of wind send ripples cascading down the tops of the plants. 


Many times I find myself throttling down to admire such wonderful beauty only to be jolted back into reality by impatient vehicles breathing down my neck. If this seems so beautiful to myself, it must have been breathtaking when God took Moses up to Mount Nebo.

Deuteronomy 34:

1. Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORDshowed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 
2. and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 
3. and the Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 
4. Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 
5. So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.

I'm sure that the sight that Moses saw would be at least a gazillion times more wonderful than the soy fields and though its sad that he didn't get to set foot in it, i'm sure the very sight of it and the promise of God would have allowed him to die in peace.


A couple of hours later, corn & soy fields give way to the concrete jungle. All of a sudden sky scrapers and grey concrete have erased every trace of green from my vision as i battle Chicago rush hour traffic along the Dan Ryan expressway. By the time i get my destination my searing left hand has been stratified in the "death grip" from half clutching through an hour of crawling traffic. But finally, i pull into Trump International Tower where Aaron has been waiting for me. 


I prowl Chi Town tonight, Tomorrow.... onward towards the finish line at Ann Arbor....

Food Stop 4: Bentley's Country Kitchen, Greenville IL

So before I begin this post, I have to apologize for the lack of photographs in this post. My stupid brain, perhaps critically poisoned by inhaling powdered butterfly wing dust all day yesterday, keeps forgetting that i should take my camera everywhere that I go. To make matters worse, my stupid iPhone4's camera is still not working! The darn camera is still stuck on the virtual shutter screen making it totally useless for pictures. 


But yeah, it's morning on Saturday. Richard very kindly allowed me to spend the night in the guest bedroom of his nice home. Feeling a little peckish this morning and having some time before I have to take off from Chicago later in the morning, we go for breakfast. Being a small town and not having too many places open for breakfast on a saturday morning, Richard takes me to Bentley's Country Kitchen which sits at the corner of W. College & N. 3rd. The storefront looks slightly out of place among the traditional brick facade of the rest of the block. From the outside, everything screams "60's diner"!! Polished aluminium, black and white tile and glass blocks adorn the store front looking like that dinner in Back To The Future 1 (or was it 2??), where Marty goes back to to 1955 and meets Biff for the first time.  As explained earlier, i don't have any pictures, but guess what?? Google Street View Does!!!



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A quick trip through the door reveals a nice quaint little diner with a disproportionate amount of old folks eating breakfast.  I order a black coffee while Richard surveys the menu before finally noticing some chaffing dishes laid out at the back of the diner.  As it turns out... it's a diner breakfast buffet! A quick look at the offerings and we made up our mind... the buffet it is!


Up for grabs were the standard breakfast fare, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage patties, french toast sticks, fruit etc. But the thing that really stood out was the mound of freshly baked biscuits next to a huge chaffing dish of white gravy. I grabbed some biscuits, slathered on a hearty helping of gravy, and together with some bits of protein, sat down for some chow.


The protein was ok, pretty standard. But the biscuit & gravy..... Outrageously superb! Most buffet style biscuits were rock hard hockey pucks and probably taste like it too. Many are left out so long that they become bricks. But these were nice and moist. Nice and flaky on the outside but soft, moist and spongy on the inside. They were mildly seasoned and buttery which was quite nice indeed. The gravy was also very tasty. Smooth and creamy (as opposed to harsh and lumpy) with a nice mild hint of freshly cracked black pepper.  
Apparently others must have agreed with me because I look up and see that on the wall next to the kitchen, is the "Biscuit Eating Wall of Fame".  To get your picture and name up on the wall you need to eat to eat 2-1/2 plates of 4 large biscuits (i.e 10 biscuits). To beat the reigning Greenville IL biscuit eating champion, you're gonna need to chomp down on a whopping 26 biscuits! There are currently 8 people on the wall. The waitress asks me if i wanted to try to make it onto the wall, i politely declined saying that i may have to go train for a couple of years before coming back for a try. Not every asian is a Kobayashi you know....!!


So if you are ever in Greenville Illinois, stop by Bentley's Country Kitchen and pick yourself up some biscuits and gravy. Who knows, you could be the next Biscuit Eating Wall of Famer...


Thank You Richard for Being such an awesome host and for your hospitality. Come and see us in Houston sometime!

I liked, 
- The affordable breakfast
- The nice quaint (small town) setting
- The awesome Biscuits and Gravy!


I Didn't Quite Like, 
-That i just wasn't hungry enough to make it on the Biscuit Eating Wall of Fame


Bentley's Country Kitchen
Address: 111 North 3rd Street, Greenville IL, 62246
Phone: (618) 664-0328
Website: None >:(





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Day 4: West Memphis AR to Greenville IL

There's something different about the weather today. When i got into West Memphis last night, it was sweltering hot. This morning, there were nice cool raindrops from the sky. Good that it was cool, but bad that it may mean that i won't be able to leave West Memphis this morning if it continues to rain. But thankfully when i return outside after breakfast at the hotel bar, the skies held back. Once again I got the steed saddled up and off I went along I-55.


The change in the weather was so evident today. The hot humid air was replaced by cool refreshing dry breeze. Time passes so quickly while you are cool. Before I knew it I was at my halfway point of Skieston AR looking for the exit to I-57 which will take me into Illinois. The good thing about time breezing by (so to speak) is that when i finally reach my destination, i don't feel like i just got run over by a Dodge Ram. The bad thing is that it feels like i have missed everything in between. 


What i didn't miss today however were the butterflies. It seems as if the cool weather has brought about a swarm of fluttering critters from Arkansas all the way to Greenville IL. Unfortunately, it seems fluttering butterflies have a tendency to to find their way out of the pastures and onto the blazing highways and into the way of hungry vehicles that would obliterate them in a blink of an eye. As soon as i began the journey today, i seem to have lost track of the number of butterflies that my helmet alone has squished. Every couple of miles i would hear a little "snap" accompanied by a small explosion of gooey liquid on my helmet shield. For every one that i see on my shield, there are at least 10 more that bombard by body in every place. It was actually quite disturbing at the end of the day when i shake off my jacket and powdery bits of wings and bug bits fall to the floor. 


Gruesome as this might sound, squishing bugs with my body moving at 80 mph has actually taught me a lesson or 2 about life. You see, as much as it probably hurts the bug, it hurts me quite bad. It was astounding how much hurt a little butterfly can inflict when travelling at a high relative velocity. I have ran into butterflies while jogging in the park or whatever, but hardly even knew they were there. Even if i did see it, i would be able to avoid the bug pretty easily. But being pelted by the same feathery butterflies at 80 mph sometimes causes quite a "thwack" as if being shot at by paintball guns in winter.

Life is kinda like that.... When I am taking it slow, deliberate and composed, being careful of every step that I take, the little things don't trip me up. Even if i do see the stumbling block in my path ahead, I still have the ability to step over it. Worst comes to worst and i don't see it and actually trip up, the fall is still quite bearable. However the opposite is also true. The harder I run, the faster i go, the more stressed i get, it gets more and more difficult to see all the stumbling blocks in my path ahead. Tripping up suddenly becomes a very high possibility and when we do trip, the fall is immensely painful and difficult to recover from. 


Perhaps my life is racing a long way too fast. So many times i plow headlong into a little stumbling block because I either don't see or i see it at the last sec and have no way to avoid it. But whatever the case, because i have been travelling so fast, it would be difficult to recover from a fall, even if it is caused by a seemingly small object.


"Be still and know that I am God". Psalm 46:10.

Day 3 (part 2): Overnight in West Memphis AR

Well, as expected, I didn't quite make it over to Memphis TN. I did however manage to make it to West Memphis AR though, just across the bridge from Tennessee. By the time I pulled into the area, I was just about half dead and whatever will I had left to keep going on was fading fast (very fast). I look over to my left and see the Ramada hotel sign peeking out from just over the horizon just off I-40 and that was it... no more.. i had to stop. So i pulled over onto the service road and pulled out my iphone to see what kind of money it was going to cost me should i decide to stay here. I go to the Ramada website and was quite dismayed to realize that it was going to be a whopping $135 for the night (which will put me terribly over budget). 


Just as i was resigned to eating Ramen noodles for the rest of my trip, somehow I heard a voice, which i swore was the voice Travelocity gnome, whisper in my left ear to go check out the Travelocity website.. which i did and found the same hotel listed for $77 !!! So i placed a booking immediately which surprised me because i didn't think they would allow bookings 5 min before you were expected to check in!! But anyway, i did... and it actually went through and sent me a confirmation e-mail. Well, i pulled into the hotel and went to check in. Not surprisingly they didn't have my confirmation yet, so i pulled up my reservation receipt that i got from travelocity on my iphone. The guy took my confirmation number down and disappeared into the room behind the counter and after a couple of minutes, emerged and said that everything checked out and that they had a room for me... hooray!! So i pulled around back to my ground floor room, unloaded the bike, covered it up nicely, armed the alarm system and got settled into the room.


I broke my rule tonight and ordered pizza. I was so tired that there was no way i was going to be  physically able to go out to eat tonight. So the pizza arrives and i was working on my first slice when my keychain starts buzzing and chirping. Apparently something had set the alarm off on the bike and my keychain was letting me know. I quickly rushed outside through the door to see a rather large pickup truck with tinted windows parked between me and the bike, obscuring my view of it, so i quickly dashed out and around the truck to see what had become of my bike.  To my surprise, there was a little old lady with a walker on the other side of the truck with an elderly man helping steady her! I silenced the alarm immediately.  The little old lady looks up and sees me and before i could apologize, she says "I don't know what I did, but i think i upset your motorcycle here!!".  Apparently she took a little longer than most people would to get out of the truck and while she was steadying herself on her walker, set off the proximity sensor on the bike! I apologized profusely for startling her and helped her though the door into the hotel. Well... at least i know that my $500 investment in the scorpion alarm system works! Even if it catches unsuspecting old women.


Nothing much else tonight except getting gorged on pizza and being kept awake by the couple playing "twister" in the room next door right behind the wall above my head.


Tomorrow. It's a ride through Arkansas and onto Illinois!

Day 3 (part 1): Longview, TX to West Memphis, AR

I really didn't want to get up this morning. After being hunched over all that time yesterday, i really needed a hard surface to sleep on last night to straighten my back. Thankfully, Jung had a whole lot of living room floor for me which I greatly appreciated. 


Today was another marathon run (or at least it felt like that). Another 6 hours in the hot southern sun . I left Longview and headed Northwest towards Texakarna and then caught I-30 towards Little Rock. Then swung west on I-40 towards Memphis. 


The trip today officially made it the longest daily back to back rides I have ever made on a sportbike. I have made relatively short return rides to and from Big Bend National Park in West Texas and have made return rides to and from New Orleans, both with at least a one or 2 days in between where I got to rest up. But never had i done this back to back arriving in the evenings, sleeping and then taking off again in the morning. Although it's only day 3, my body feels like i'm 80. My back doesn't bother me as much as my wrist does. I guess constantly having to hold the throttle in place from an elevation that is higher is really straining my wrist. At least on a cruiser the handlebars are usually located in a comfortable elevation and separation. On a sportbike, riding with my weight forward means that i'm constantly putting my weight on my arms (and hence my wrist), while at the same time having to be gentle on the throttle. In order to alleviate the discomfort on the wrist, I have my right foot on tippy toes on the foot peg and rest my right elbow on my knee. This seems to help with the wrist a little bit.


But eh... enough whining....This Army Lieutenant ain't going to let a little tingle in my wrist get the better of me. I am brought back to 10 years ago back in the military where we get by day to day on one word... 忍!!!! (endure!) After all, "Pain is merely weakness leaving the body". 


Right around Texakarna, I hit the Arkansas border. Being a local highway (as opposed to an interstate hwy), I actually managed to stop and snap a pic of the sign that welcomed me.

Bye Bye TEJAS! Hellow Arkansas!

Food Stop 3: Country Tavern Bar-B-Que, Kilgore Texas

When Jung tells me that he's taking me to go eat Barbeque, inside my brain was a little voice trying to break out and say "BBQ???!! I'm from Texas HELLOOO!!!??" But then I realized that if there is anywhere to go for good BBQ, it's gonna be here in Texas.  But yeah... We leave the bike parked outside a local Starbucks, I hop into Jung's car and off we were to what he assures me is the best darn BBQ on the face of God's great earth. So off we were to the boonies... which is ironic because coming from Houston, the city of Longview IS the boonies.


30 min later, we pull into the parking lot of a red corrugated single story steel building. You know you are in texas when every vehicle in the parking lot is either a Chevy or Ford pickup! Here's a pic of the frontage of the building.

I swear we must the only Asians which anyone has seen outside Rush Hour 3 because the moment we step food into the place, I felt every head turn and eye in the room caress my body to see if maybe i was hiding a pair of nunchucks anywhere in my pants or something. But my fears proved unfounded as we were ushered to a nice quite booth in the corner.


The decor was pretty nice. Simple & rustic country style. A pretty good sized bar adorned one end of the building while the ever-playing jukebox cranked up Shania Twain & Taylor Swift at the other end of the building. The main floor consisted of neatly arranged dining tables and a nice pool table in front of the bar.

The menu was simple enough.... BBQ!!! Protein choices were Ribs, Brisket, Turkey & Sausage or a combination of the above.  To compliment the protein (but mainly to steal prime tummy real estate from the yummy meat), are your choice of two sides, Coleslaw, Beans, Potato Salad & Chips. All served with a mandatory side of sliced white bread and sliced fresh onions just in case you need a convenient excuse for shedding a tear over eating some of the best ribs of earth.


Since the Ribs were highly recommended, I ordered a Rib platter with Coleslaw & Potato Salad while my host decided with the Rib & Brisket Platter. 10 min later, the food shows up!

The first thing I notice is that it is not exactly like South Texas BBQ. It wasn't nice sloppy oooowy gooowy goodness that i was used to. In fact, there wasn't any sauce on it at all. But if you so choose to adulterate your protein with BBQ Sauce, they bring out the customary bottle of sauce just in case.

The as mentioned earlier, these were definitely not sloppy ribs. They had a beautiful smokey flavor and were quite sweet with a nice layer of caramelized brown sugar that sent my tastebuds into overdrive. The "fall off the bone" tenderness made it easy to strip every rib to the bone (so to speak). They didn't last long.... within a couple of minutes, this was all that was left....

 
Well, needless to say, we really enjoyed our dinner. If I were to rate this against any of my other BBQ experiences, this one has to definitely rank top 3! It is quite unfortunate that they don't have any other branches elsewhere, and definitely unfortunate that Kilgore, Tx is located far from most of us. But if you ever find yourself in North East Texas, you definitely HAVE to stop by here and git yourself some ribs. Your taste buds will thank you!


And thank you Jung for being such a great host!

I liked, 
- The Awesome Meat!!
- Nice Ambiance & Nice background music that's not too loud.


I Didn't Quite Like, 
- That it is a little far away from the beaten path. Little inconvenient for most people to get to.




Country Tavern Bar-B-Que, Kilgore, Texas
One of the best Dry Rub BBQ i have ever tasted!
Address: Farm-to-Market  Road (FM) 2767 and Hwy 31 (Close to FM 3053, West of Kilgore)
Phone: (903) 984-9954
Website: None >:( 
Map:

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Day 2: Austin, Tx - Longview, Tx

Well, it seems that my butt hurts a bit less this morning. My right wrist seems to feel mildly better. With such a nice breakfast at Kerbey Lane this morning, my tummy is also happy. After dithering about, packing and stuff after breakfast, it was going to be a late departure, around 11 am. By then, it was sweltering. Even while I was loading my bags onto the bike I was sweating buckets.

Taking US 35 N towards Waco was pretty uneventful... and boring to say the least. The flat plains between Austin & Waco look pretty much like... well... the rest of of Texas. Two rows of hot black asphalt flanked by alternating scenery of either trees, farms or cow pastures. And then I hit Waco..... My trusty iPhone 4 tells me to break tracks from US 35 and swing a right onto TX 31.  I guess I must have had a messed up preconception that local roads were going to be slow going and tedious, but to my surprise, the first speed sign i see on the 2 lane highway is 70 mph!! (65 at night).  Not only that, but the close proximity of all the trees, vegetation, homes and animals to the edge of the road made sure that i was fully engaged in the american country experience.  

I have decided that my favorite stretches of road are the 2 lane pine forests. Somehow the breeze that wafts through the pine forests are very cooling and refreshing. The smell of the woods remind me that i'm not in downtown Houston anymore. 

I finally pull into Longview at around 5pm in the afternoon and like any city slicker trapped out here in the boonies, headed straight for the nearest Starbucks for my Grande Non-Fat Upside Down Caramel Macchiato.  

Interestingly enough, my last gas stop in Longview (right before starbucks) proved to be somewhat interesting as I notice that attached to the main building of the gas station, was a little barn with what seems like half an airplane sticking out of it's roof, as if it had just crashed into it! There was, what seemed like the hapless pilot of said plane peering over the top of the roof and staring at me filling up my tank of Gas! As if this wasn't strange enough, closer inspection revealed this to be none other than a drive through liquor store!! You drive through the rear with your empty pickup truck, and leave through the other end with booty in tow. I would load up, but unfortunately with my "truck bed", i'd be lucky to even fit an empty can of beer!

Food Stop 3 - Kerbey Lane Cafe, Austin Texas

While writing Saddling Up - Part 2, I used my camera to take a picture of the bike in full regalia. I then hurried indoors to upload the pictures so that I could get in on more post before taking off. Stupidly, I left the camera on the computer desk and there today it still sits. Since my iPhone 4's camera is basically doo doo, i decided it would be best to actually go buy a camera. I eventually settled for a Canon Powershot SD 1300SD, but that aside, while being rung up by the guy at Best Buy in Austin, I asked him for a good place to go eat breakfast tomorrow morning. He rattled off a couple of names but one in particular i have heard over and over again... Kerbey Lane Cafe. So... the next morning, I found myself standing here....

The place pretty much blended in with the rest of the cottage homes along the street. There wasn't really any assigned parking, so you'll have to park along the street and pretty much compete with the rest of the block for parking. I got lucky. Somebody just pulled out just as i rode in and i snagged myself a spot right on their front step, right next to the little pathway that lead up to their main entryway.

Once inside, I was warmly greeted and ushered to my window seat. The decor was pleasant, purplish red walls with lots of wood paneling gave it a nice homely feel. The one thing that felt somewhat out of place were the round psychedelic discs that adorn almost every wall. I later found out that they were 3D paintings which, if you stared at them through 3D glasses (graciously provided at the bar), made it seem as if you were on a crazy acid trip. 

After recovering from the trip, i finally had a chance to look at the menu. Most of the foods were your typical American breakfast foods, eggs, bacon, ham etc. A good part of the menu was dedicated to tex-mex (which i love). But today i decided to take my waiter's advice and go with their signature pancakes served with 2 eggs over easy and a slice of ham. I picked 2 pancakes... Blueberry and Apple Whole Wheat.

Defecting from my standard black coffee in the morning, I go with something on the menu which really caught my eye called "Hibiscus Phizz". It actually turned out to be pretty good. In keeping with the whole "low sugar" lifestyle that is so overtaking Austin, what is listed as "Sprite" on the menu, turns out to be of course..."Sprite Zero". But regardless, the fizzy red concoction was quite refreshing, throughly hydrating me for my long day ahead.

Next the food arrives... HOLY COW!! The pancakes are huge-mongus!! Here's a shot of the platter (iPhone 4 included for a sense of scale). 

 The eggs were... eh..eggs... you can't really mess up eggs over an easy. The Ham?... Terrible.... Obviously grilled in some way, all the nice juice probably fell into the fire and were instantly obliterated, leaving what I can only describe as "Ham Jerky".  Left that one aside for the ham fairy... 

Now on to the pancakes. I slice into one and holy holy holy cow... look how thick it is.

Now i had wished i had left the protein alone and just worked on this beast. The pancakes did not disappoint and more than made up for the ham jerky. Nice and fluffy. Even the Apple Whole Wheat actually tasted nice and fluffy and not papery like some of the wheat pancakes that i have had the ill privilege to have made acquaintance with. Both pancakes had a very mild flavor but had bits of fruit (blueberry & apple) cooked into it that gave that burst of flavor every once in a while. They brought out a little bottle of warm maple syrup, but my take is to ditch the maple syrup as it totally overpowers the mild flavors of the pancakes. The whipped butter was a good pairing, providing some moistness to the cake. Not too much though... otherwise once again the delicate pancake gets smothered to death. 

I liked, 

- The quaint surroundings and nice ambiance.

- Friendly staff

- Interesting original menu items.

- Huge pancakes which didn't have overpowering flavors.

I Didn't Quite Like, 

- Hard to find parking sometimes.
- The grilled ham.

Kerbey Lane Cafe

Address: (Original Location) 3704 Kerbey Lane, Austin Tx 78731 (Info on other locations on website).

Phone: (512) 451 - 1436

Hours: 24 hours!!! (Perfect for the late night munchies).

http://www.kerbeylanecafe.com/