How are things in Texas?

[TomK]

Jerry, I was just today wondering how things are in TX, besides bigger and better!? Hope all is well. Hope to see you sometime.

Tom

[JerryM100]

Good to hear from you, Tom! I took the liberty of splitting your comment from the Mayetta ride so we didn't step on their message.

We are really enjoying Texas! Every place has its pros and cons and, yes, a lot of people say it is hot and humid here. Well, it is, but it is a very boring hot and humid! We don't get fronts with thunderstorms and lightening and tornadoes and other strong weather phenomenon. I guess every few years we get a hurricane but we are 90 miles from the coast so the most we could hope for is a lot of rain.

But the good side of hot and humid is it stays pretty warm all year round. We live in an area with really tall pine trees so we have lots of shade so the summer is pretty tolerable. We have blooming flowers the whole year. It is so funny to hear the local news during our so-called winter warning people to "be prepared, it is going to be in the lower 40's tomorrow!"

But if you want to talk about motorcycling the opportunities for decent riding are few. It takes 30 miles in any direction just to get out of the Houston suburbs! Then you start your ride! The roads are nice but it is pretty flat and dry countryside. Unless you go north into the Sam Houston National Forest, which is nice. But to get to any real interesting riding you have to ride 3 and a half hours to the west to the Hill Country. It is really nice riding country but, hell, you guys could be in Arkansas in that amount of time!

Then, if you want to travel to really nice country out west, you have to cross the entire state of Texas! OMG, that is an ordeal! Look at a map - the western edge of Texas is further west than Denver! San Diego is closer to El Paso than Houston is! And it is not a pretty drive!

But other than those details the people are extraordinarily friendly and helpful. And the economy is on fire here now! Unbelievable growth from all the people and companies moving here!

We live on the very outskirts of the suburbs of Houston to the northwest. Within a couple miles of my place starts cow pastures and horse farms and ranches. Drive in towards the city and we have lots of shopping, restaurants, big box stores that all look exactly like every other suburb of America.

There are other things but overall we are really glad we made the move.

[JerryM100]

PS. If you want to see me I will be in Salem, OR in the third week of July. Come on out!

[viffer07]

some romeos from the valley and their families and mine spent 5 days camping at cranes mill park on canyon lake and I can honestly say that spring has arrived.
temps were only 112. after 2 days of freezing weather this winter we welcome the mild temps. It may warm up later in the year.
what kind of ? is that? HOW ARE THINGS IN TEXAS? IT'S HOT i've decided to place fans in front of my liquid cooled bikes in the garage to keep them from boiling over.
if anyone needs me, i'll be in the house till about late October. see you at the big bend ride
BTW, the drill is HARVEST CLASSIC in lukenbach, then camping for a couple of days then big bend. anyone interested drop an e-mail.

[JerryM100]

Tom,

I saw you briefly at the "Top of the Rockies" rally in Paonia, CO, then I lost you after that. I was hoping to chat some more and catch up on news. But back to the original topic you asked about, and to address viffer's comment about Texas being HOT, I will add another comment.

Texas is hot, but it isn't as hot as a lot of other places, it is just warmer longer in the season. I just got back from 19 days of riding for a total of 6200 miles. The whole time I was gone it has been 95 to 98 here in Houston. We I crossed Arizona it was 104-105. When I saw Bob H in Las Vegas it was 108. I rode from there up hwy 93 to hwy 120 beside Death Valley and Nellis AFB all afternoon it was 110-112. I rode thru Yosemite around 100. Central Calif thru Sacramento up to Red Bluff on I-5 and it was 104-106 all afternoon. I rode across eastern Washington state at 105 in the afternoon. I rode from Lewiston, ID south on hwy 95 to McCall and it was 105 to 108. Boise south on I-84 to Odgen, then south to Park City, then east to Vernal and it was about 105 all afternoon for days.

So when people say Texas is hot, it is relative. The season is longer down here as you would expect, but the temps are usually higher in other parts of the country. One factor to remember is dry air heats more quickly, so with more humidity in the Houston area our temps are moderated. In the dry western air the temps can soar in a few hours from the 80's to 105 and 110 in just a few hours.

Interesting thing though, I really didn't mind. I drank constantly from a 2 liter camelback that I wore every day. I emptied it about every gas tank. But also I think that I got used to it. With no expectation of getting out of the heat I just mentally adjusted and it wasn't that big of a deal. When I stopped I looked for shade, either in gas stations or in parking lots. Stopping at traffic lights was a bitch. Then I got rolling and could feel the coolness of my sweat evaporating, so the constant movement of air at speed allows you to tolerate hot temps.

Now that I am home and sleeping in my comfortable bed and air conditioning the dogs ask to go for a walk and I think to myself "Damn, dogs, don't you know how hot it is out?" It's 97 friggin degrees! Then I think about what I just went through and it is funny.

This was a hot summer everywhere, I think even the east coast got it. But now I kinda chuckle when people comment about how hot Texas is.

Jerry