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| May, June & July 2004 | Louisiana HSTA Newsletter | Bob Chappuis, Editor |
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 May activities included a trip to Birmingham for the AMA races at Barber Motorsports Park covered in the last
issue and the Louisiana HSTA Crawfish Boil, graciously hosted by Bill and Sherri Ellis. The Ellis' hospitality
was outstanding as was Bill's boiling technique and recipe! Everyone had their fill of delicious crawdads, potatoes and corn. In
attendance were Tony and Jennifer Crowell, Drew Newcomer, Bob and Stacie Chappuis and new member Fletch Moon. Drew and Fletch both rode in on their bikes from North Louisiana.
It was great to meet Fletch for the first time. He is a long time motorcyclist having owned many bikes but is fairly new to sport bikes and his VFR 800 which amazingly turns out to be Drew's old bike! |
Seven of our LA members attended the annual HSTA Sport Touring Association Rendezvous in Mammoth Lakes, CA. That was a pretty good representation for our small chapter. We may not have a lot of members in Louisiana but those we have are active and adventurous. A big thumbs up to Ken & Evelyn Treas, Cindy Earle, Paul Lefort, Tony Crowell and Bob & Stacie Chappuis. The last three plus Tampa, FL member Fanny Haine, met in Port Allen, LA on Wednesday for an early, beat the heat, 6:30 departure to start a five day route to Mammoth Lakes. Paul Lefort needed to make the trip in less time and left about 18 hours later and caught up with us in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday. Cindy and Ken & Evie left some days earlier to include other stops in their separate itinaries
Original plans were to include my good friend, Chuck Headrick of Titusville, FL and to intersect on the way with Fanny and South Florida State Director Bill Royal and his SO Eve. Eve and Bill however were unable to make it due to Job/Time constraints so Fanny joined our group. Fanny, a retired US Army warrant officer, has only 7 years riding experience but impressed us with her determined and steady piloting of the huge GoldWing. She is also an interesting and good natured lady and was a great addition to our group. Chuck was unable to join us due to a mishap on his BMW during his earlier trip to Tri-Star in North Carolina.
Our round trip of 4,816 miles included many highlights, no major problems and generally great weather. Our
little group quickly developed a friendly and harmonious camaraderie and eased into a comfortable and mile
eating daily road routine. 
We would depart early each morning and get a full gas tanks worth (VFR size, the
smallest tank in the group) of miles behind us in the coolest part of the day and then make a leisurely stop for
gas and a late breakfast. We spent our first night in Sherman, TX after battling our first of only two real rains
crossing the LA/TX border. Some of us got wet and we had to stop for a change of clothes in the restroom of a
gas station/ bar b que joint where we also ate and gassed up. We arrived an hour and a half later than planned
and missed hooking up with a Texas VFR Email list friend but we did enjoy his twisty road tip: Farm Road 697
just north of Whitewright took us right into Sherman. There we quickly found an excellent La Quinta at a great
rate thanks to Fanny's military discount. For supper we were able to walk to a pretty good Tex Mex Restaurant
called "Tias's"
On Tony's recommendation we stayed our second night at the Big Texan Motel and Steak Ranch in Amarillo,
TX. There I had one of the most delicious, and certainly the BIGGEST fillets I have ever eaten! Amarillo
was also where I discovered the steel mounts for my (overloaded) GIVI hard bags were cracking! I was
extremely 
lucky to find a good welding shop in nearby downtown Amarillo (with the help of the motel front
desk). I was able to find the shop and get repairs done in less than 30 minutes and for only $16.20. I was a bit
concerned until I got that problem resolved.
After a pleasant ride across New Mexico, including a great breakfast stop at the SILVER MOON CAFE in Santa Rosa, NM, Day 3 ended in Holbrook, AZ where we again found a reasonable motel (Econo Lodge) with a restaurant next door. This motel offered a safe secluded parking area for the bikes outside our rooms and a swimming pool. Swimming a few laps is a great way to get the kinks out from a long day in the saddle!
We had had concerns about the heat we would encounter in the Southwest but with the increase in elevation and the typically partly cloudy skies the temperature was quite comfortable for riding. Holbrook was at about 7500 feet and we would not go below 4500 for the next several days. Other side effects of the high altitude were the decreased engine power and the increased relative tire pressure. Although I deflated both tires by 2 psi I still ended up with abnormal wear due to over inflation.
Day Four began with mountains looming on the horizon at the far end of our long lonely highway and we soon arrived in Williams, AZ and the ROUTE 66 CAFE for breakfast. This is a restaurant set in a 1930's filling station and decorated with 50s era Route 66 memorabilia. There was a huge cruiser rally (MC) happening in Williams and we shared the café with about 20 other bikers. Next stop was Hoover Dam and 106 degrees. The VFR's coolant temperature gauge registered a high of 229! I stayed cool however with my evaporative cooling vest! Our evening destination was Las Vegas Ramada Inn, just a short cab ride from the Las Vegas Strip. After a shower we shared a cab to the MGM Grand where Stacie and Tony tried their luck/skill at the slots and tables while Fanny and I scouted the restaurant options. By the time we had located the only eatery that was both appealing and affordable, I got a call from Paul, who had arrived at the motel. We hooked up with him and all had supper at the Rain Forest Café, one of several restaurants inside the huge MGP Grand Casino and Hotel. After our meal we took another cab ride to the Stratosphere Casino and its 1,149 foot tower, the tallest free standing observation tower in the United States and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. "Visitors to the Tower are whisked from ground level to the observation decks in less than 30 seconds in double decker elevators traveling at speeds of 1,800 feet per minute or three floors a second." What they don't tell you is the wait to get on the elevator is 40 minutes! Oh well, Tony and I were determined to ride the "Highroller" roller coaster that spirals around the outside of the tower over 100 stories above the ground. The nighttime view of the lights of Vegas was breathtaking in itself, add the dizzying rush of the ride and it was well worth waiting for!
On day 5 we were treated to another roller coaster ride. We again got a fairly early start out of Vegas although
we had to resort to various tricks to arouse Paul, who did not get his requested wakeup call. Even setting off his
bike alarm did not wake him. I finally persuaded the front desk to call his room. Once Paul had the FZ1 packed
we were on our way north via US95 to Tonopah, NV. At Tonopah, we turned west still on 95 to US 6 and then
CA120.
120 was twisty and had numerous abrupt elevation changes that threatened to get the bikes airborne if
not taken slowly.
We did not slow down much and most of us had a blast getting light. We then turned south
for the final leg on 395 to the turnoff to Mammoth lakes and arrived at the Sierra Nevada Rodeway Inn about
3:30 pm. Check in and registration went quickly and smoothly and we were soon visiting with new and old
friends. It was great to have arrived at our new "home" for the next 4 nights. Our room was spacious and conveniently located with
a window overlooking the parking spot for the VFR and steps away from the BEER TENT which opened every
afternoon at four pm and sold some excellent local microbrew! What more could a biker ask for?
More about STAR 04 next issue! Many more pictures from the STAR 04 trip are available online.
Henry Pretus showed up at our customary Starbuck's meeting place in Baton Rouge bright and early with old
member Jake Jacobsen on his Harley and his friend Ray on a Honda Shadow. Jake and Ray are retired NOPD
officers who now live in Poplarville, MS. We waited to see if anyone else would show and then headed out on
River Road to catch the Plaquemine ferry. From Plaquemine we took highways 77 and 411 to Livonia and then
back on 77 to Fordoche and Morganza. We were plenty hungry by then and grabbed a table at Not Your
Momma's café on Highway 1 and studied the large menu. Turned out they were out of alligator so we all
ordered a softshell crab po boy, except for Ray who selected the hamburger steak. The food was very good
although the crabs could have been bigger. Jake and I could not resist the cheesecake for dessert.
We will meet at Starbucks at 8:00 am and depart at 8:20. Destination is the Broken Egg restaurant in Madisonville, LA. Word is this place is so popular that the wait to be seated is often an hour on Saturdays at their 10:00 am peak time. So we will make a decision before departing Starbucks to either A) Take our usual scenic route via River Road and Hwy 22 and arrive at peak time or B) Beeline on I-12 with hopes of arriving early and beating the crowd. Either way, if the wait seems too long we can find an alternative eatery in the vicinity. I promise you will not go hungry! After we eat those who want more riding can head North into Mississippi and the Red Bluff Road.