A Big Water Crossing and a Busted Hamstring
The anti-inflammatory is
finally starting to work and I’ve iced my left hamstring once already. I’ll
be icing it again later this evening. I’m hoping it’s not too tore up, but
based on the swelling and pain, I’m not holding out much hope. Was it worth
it? Maybe. I will say that, worth it or not, it sure was fun. Let me tell
you about it, but I warn you in advance if you go try it yourself and end up
with a bum leg like me, it’s not my fault. Consider yourself warned.
I had heard there was a
really wide river crossing southwest of Llano, TX but I didn’t know where
exactly it was. Then I read about 3 river crossings and 25 miles of dirt
road south of Mason, TX in the book Motorcycle Journeys Through Texas.
Surely, both sources were referring to the same crossing? Obviously, with
this little bit of bait I was hooked. Today was as good as any to go find
those crossings, verify they were there, and then post it here so all of you
would know about them.
I put the call out to the
Central TX KLR 650 Riders Google group and also posted an invite on Two
Wheeled Texans. Five other hardy souls answered my call for water crossing
exploration. Four of my KLR riding brethren joined in and Claire showed up
on her beautiful red Wee Strom.
Claire and her red Wee
Strom. She’s had it a year and has already put 10,000 miles on it.
On his way to our meeting
location the wet streets caused Marco to slide out in a turn. His new M-60
machine gun ammo can panniers are now battle scarred.
Leaving Austin we headed
west on 290 to Fitzhugh Road. Fitzhugh Rd would take us west to Johnson City where we would be
meeting up with Ron and Mike. Randy joined us during our ride down
Fitzhugh. Once we reached Johnson City our team of 6 was all together and
ready to ride.
From Johnson City we headed
west post haste. We ran back roads all the way past Willow City, passing
south of Enchanted Rock, with the ultimate goal of getting to and riding the
James River Road south of Mason.
Welgehausen Road provides a
marvelous view of Enchanted Rock.
KLRs and Enchanted Rock
We reached the first water
crossing of the day at Threadgill Creek Road. It wasn’t a big crossing and
the concrete didn’t seem to be covered in slime either, so it was a good
warm up for the other crossing we were riding in anticipation of. Our next crossing was a
little further up Threadgill Creek Road. This one was quite a bit bigger
than the first crossing we had done earlier. This particular crossing had a
big, dirty puddle of water right at the beginning of the crossing. There
was no way to tell by looking how deep it was or what the surface was like.
It could have been an inch deep and a dirt bottom or it could have been 3
feet deep and full of football sized rocks. I was in the lead so I decided
to reconnoiter via KLR and simply plowed right into the water. Luckily, it
wasn’t full of football sized rocks, though the water was fairly deep.
Once safely on the other size, I broke out the camera to record the crossing
for all posterity.
Marko ½ way across the 2nd
crossing.
Randy crosses over
Mike crossing over
Ron likes water crossings.
That is the big, dirty pool I mentioned above.
Claire and the Wee Strom had
no problems with the water crossing.
No long after our 2nd
crossing, Claire had to leave the group. She had a new puppy at home that
needed care and she couldn’t be gone the entire day. Unfortunately (or
fortunately, depending on how you view it) she missed the really big
crossing that was coming up.
After about 4 hours of riding, an hour of which had been on dirt roads we
reached the the intersection of Salt Branch Road and River Road. Time
for a short break. The terrain out there was interesting; not as hilly as the
terrain east of here, but there was a ton of scrub brush, short trees, and
lots of rocks.
There aren’t a lot of houses
out here. Just scrub brush, cactus and trees extending to the horizon.
Seemingly in the middle of
nowhere there is a road sign. At least you will know where you are.
After our brief but
refreshing stop, we were finally on the road that had called us all out
here in the first place – the James River road. Remember, there were supposed
to be 3 good water crossing on this road. The first crossing we came to was
dry. Hmmm, not a good sign. It looked just like a typical Texas creek – dry
except following a rain and there hadn’t been much rain lately.
A little further up the
road, things started to look lots better. Looming in front of us was the
widest crossing I’ve ever done. The water wasn’t too deep but it clear and
flowing quickly. This is really a beautiful area and the water had a really
pretty greenish tint.
Randy at the first crossing
of the James River (that would be the James River in Texas, not the one in
Virginia).
Ron at the same spot.
Mike made it across safely.
My KLR makes this whole
scene even more beautiful, doesn’t it?
Our confidence high, we
continued on our way. I knew there was supposed to be 1 more crossing up
ahead, the biggest of them all. How bad could it be?
First view of the last and
largest crossing. HOLY MOLY!
Dude, this looked serious.
That photo doesn’t do it justice. This crossing was serious stuff. It was
really wide – maybe twice as wide as the last one – the water was quite deep
and it was moving pretty darn fast too. I’m not a veteran water crosser or
anything and this one made me pause to consider whether I really wanted to
tackle it or not.
Not wanting to draw out the
suspense (or delay so long that I chickened out) I plunged in, with the
other 4 watching closely to see how I faired. Things started off okay. I
entered the water on the right side of the crossing and the bike was
handling okay. I noticed that it was quite a bit deeper on the right side,
so I made a slight correction to move to the left side of the crossing and
that’s when things took a turn for the worse. What I failed to notice was
that about ½ way across the left side of the crossing was covered in silt,
algae, moss, oil, grease, ice – whatever it was it was friggin slick. It
wasn’t the typical green algae I’m used to; it actually looked like a
combination of moss and silt. Whatever it was, the KLR decided it didn’t
like it. The back end of the bike decided to swing around and become the
front of the bike. I wasn’t having any of that and got the bike
straightened out. Before I got the bike fully straightened back out, the front end
decided to make a left turn. Again, I got the bike mostly straightened
out. The third time, though, was a doozy. The back end had another go at
swinging right and out while the front end took advantage of the situation
and made another left turn. With the back of the bike swinging out to the
right and the front end turning left, I was overwhelmed and down went the
bike. I put my left leg down in the hopes of getting things straight, but
no luck. The best I could do was slow the rate of fall in order to keep the
damage to a minimum.
At that point, I felt a pop
in my left hamstring. “Oh”, thinks I, “that’s gonna be hurting really bad
in not too long of a time."
So, there I am. I’m ¾ the
way across and the KLR is down. My left hamstring is sending me some
alarming signals. I quickly try to pick up the bike but am confounded by the
inability to fully use my left leg and by the bike sliding away from me each
time I try to lift it. I lift the bike ½ way and both tires slide away from
me. The bike falls back into the water. I try again with the same
results. Dang it. Now what am I going to do?
Mike and Randy, who are next
in line to cross, see my predicament and immediately plunge into the water
with their bikes. Taking a clue from my crossing problems, both stay to the
deeper right side and cross over with no problems at all. Parking their bikes on
the far side of the crossing, they wade into the water to help me get my
bike up. However, the slick stuff proves too much and Randy goes down.
Luckily he isn’t injured and only gets soaked up to his waist.
I'm in trouble but help is on the way (photo courtesy of marko)
Mike reaches me first ((photo courtesy of marko)
Finally, Mike manages to
skate his way to me and we are able to get the bike up just as Randy reaches
us too. We start pushing the bike toward the far side but that slick stuff
isn’t done with us yet. Oh no. The back end of the bike swings out to the
right one more time and down the bike goes. We catch it, get it upright,
and try again. Sliding and skating we finally get the bike out of the
river. It was tough just trying to stand up in that slick stuff, much less
ride in it. I’m glad we got the bike out without further injury or insult
to it or me.
With adrenaline still
coursing throughout my body I ignored the pain in my left hamstring, grabbed
my camera and positioned myself to capture Ron and Marko crossing.
Marko is ¼ of the way across
in this picture.
Marko making waves.
A little past ½ way
Ron just getting started,
wisely staying as far away from the treacherous side as he can.
Ron looking good so far.
Ron rockin’ and rollin’
My favorite picture from the
entire day - Ron and his KLR patrol boat.
With all of us now
re-grouped on the far side, I checked my bike out. Would it start after
being on its side in the water for a couple of minutes? I hit the start
button and ‘ol Bessie fired right up as if nothing had happened. Sweet!
But, dang, my left hamstring was starting to throb.
After a 5 minute break and a
few chuckles about my mishap, we continued on our way. Our next destination
was lunch in Mason, TX for lunch. It was about 1 p.m. at this point, we had
been on the road for 5 hours, and we were all getting a little hungry.
Luckily, Randy knew a good little café in Mason, the Willow Creek Café, that
would fill our need.
Parked outside the café with
Ron, on the left, giving us a big waving. Hi Ron!
The Willow Creek Café – nice
place, good food, not expensive.
All during lunch my left hamstring was really giving me grief.
The pain was intensifying and I knew my hamstring was really hurt. I
decided that a straight shot back to Austin would be in the best interest of
my leg. After lunch I told the rest of the group I was making a
bee-line to home as fast as my KLR would allow. I headed south on 87 to Fredericksburg and then grabbed 290 east
back to Austin, where an ice pack, more anti-inflammatories, and (hopefully)
an understanding wife awaited.
Thus ends my story. Was it
worth it? Yes, it was. Over the next 2 days my hamstring turned
all black & blue. In about a week it was about 75% recovered but it
took several months before it was completely healed. Would I do it again? Oh yeah!
Only, next time I will make sure to stay to the east side of the crossing
where the water is deep enough that the algae/silt/ice/whatever doesn't
stick.
