We have had some unusual weather for Texas this spring (even by Texas standards), with snow one day and 80 degree F weather the next. Rob and I have been talking about doing a day ride from the Dallas area to the Talimena Byway http://www.talimenascenicdrive.com/ for about a month and yesterday we made the ride. About 600 miles R/T from my door to door in Richardson, Tx. Richardson is the first suburb north of Dallas. We met at a Starbucks in Allen, Tx...just north of my start location, at 7 am and had a cup of coffee. We started the ride at 7:30 am.
Rob had great a great route planned that included some of the route established by R.A.T. http://www.mctourer.com/rides/2006FFRAT/RAT.html The RAT route ran along the Red River and the Texas/Oklahoma boarder. The farm land was wet, wet, wet....as we had 5-8 inches of rain two days before our ride. Temps started at 52 in the Dallas area...and DROPPED to 39 for a while when we got outside of town. brrrrr..... Glove liners came out of the bag pretty quick! By the time we were on the State line, the temps were in the low 50's. We crossed the state line and headed for Broken Bow. The lake was full and the flood gates open. We gassed in Broken Bow, OK at a Conoco next to the Indian Reservation Casino.
We cruised the byway and had lunch in the middle at the Queen Wilemina State Park Lodge. http://www.queenwilhelmina.com/ It was a traditional buffet. The day was perfect for riding. Temps on the Byway ran in the low 60's all day. The warmest it got all day was at our gas stop in Broken Bow on the way home....74 degrees F. As we turned on to Hwy 121 for the final run into Dallas, we were treated with a fantastic sunset. We arrived home at about 8 pm CST.
It's a great full day run out of Dallas. You can shorten up the day by omitting the RAT route...but it's good riding and I wouldn't want to miss those miles. Thanks to Rob for sharing the day.
Forest
Rob had great a great route planned that included some of the route established by R.A.T. http://www.mctourer.com/rides/2006FFRAT/RAT.html The RAT route ran along the Red River and the Texas/Oklahoma boarder. The farm land was wet, wet, wet....as we had 5-8 inches of rain two days before our ride. Temps started at 52 in the Dallas area...and DROPPED to 39 for a while when we got outside of town. brrrrr..... Glove liners came out of the bag pretty quick! By the time we were on the State line, the temps were in the low 50's. We crossed the state line and headed for Broken Bow. The lake was full and the flood gates open. We gassed in Broken Bow, OK at a Conoco next to the Indian Reservation Casino.
We cruised the byway and had lunch in the middle at the Queen Wilemina State Park Lodge. http://www.queenwilhelmina.com/ It was a traditional buffet. The day was perfect for riding. Temps on the Byway ran in the low 60's all day. The warmest it got all day was at our gas stop in Broken Bow on the way home....74 degrees F. As we turned on to Hwy 121 for the final run into Dallas, we were treated with a fantastic sunset. We arrived home at about 8 pm CST.
It's a great full day run out of Dallas. You can shorten up the day by omitting the RAT route...but it's good riding and I wouldn't want to miss those miles. Thanks to Rob for sharing the day.
Forest
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