gixxerjasen
Well-known member
The only slab seen today was ribs.
Map link: https://goo.gl/maps/QYcrwEZ4PRH2
So I was supposed to go riding on Friday. I had a comp day from work and it was scheduled and I was jumping on a RTE for some BBQ with the Two Wheeled Texas meeting up between Houston and Dallas. But, it wasn't meant to be and my day was switched at the last minute to Monday. I wasn't happy about it but it is what it is and maybe things worked out for the better.
I'd been stoked about the weather report. Friday was upper 60's and sunny. Monday was to be upper 50's and sunny. Yea! Oh wait, wind advisory. I hate crosswinds, but I'm going anyway.
I'd decided I'm having BBQ today and had been doing some reading as I wanted to find someplace new. In reading up reviews and competitions on East Texas BBQ there were a few things I noticed. First, no one could agree on who was best. It was all over the place and I attribute that to the varying fickle tastes of the various reviewers. One thing I did notice, was that while I couldn't find anyone who said Stanley's in Tyler was the best, it was always considered, always in the top 5, usually in the top 3 and frequently involved in a close decision for best. Stanley's is the Nicky Hayden of BBQ it seems. Rarely on top but consistently strong enough to win a championship with points. Seems like a winner for me.
First pin in the map is set. Lunchtime. I arranged some other pins based on locations needed for the Texas County Courthouse tour.
On my way out, I had to snag a shot because I'm a proud papa. My 6, almost 7 year old son has busted his butt at school and been working on his attitude and it has all paid off this month when he was recognized.
Today was to be a no slab day. I started off by pulling through the subdivision and out onto the main road, and then turning immediately onto an unpaved road that I've been wanting to know where it went. Now I know.
My first stop of the day was Buc ee's in Terrell Tx. This is a new location near me and I freaking love this place. It's one of those places that is difficult to describe with words. It really has to be experienced. Buc ee's really takes the mantra of "Everything is bigger in Texas" to heart.
First, it's a gas station. But that's an understatement.
Ok, so it's a convenience store...understatement.
You'd be tempted to call it a truck stop, but the sign out front reading "No 18 wheelers" would prove you wrong. Really, it's a travelers paradise. Forget your phone charger, they got em. Need a slurpee, there's a wall of slurpee machines. Want some Jerky, aside from the racks and racks of jerkey, there's a jerky bar with a bunch of kinds and flavors. Need a super expensive cooler that'll keep ice cold for days, they got them. Need some Texas memorabelia, they have everything from bumper stickers to $150 marble cutting boards in the shape of Texas. Need candy that isn't made by Nestle or Hershey's that's from your childhood, there's a wall for that. Hungry, how bout pulled pork sandwiches, fresh fruit bowls to go, or banana pudding. Picked okra, salsa, etc, they have it. I took my family here last time they came and my dad said he didn't want to go see a glorified 7-11. He spent about an hour perusing the wares and we all spent a sum of money.
This morning I'm there for breakfast and a fill up. Here was where the wind hit me big time. I was very worried that my touring screen would act as a big enough sail to pull the bike off the centerstand. I couldn't keep the cap up to see the level of gas because it kept blowing over. When it was done I noticed I was missing a glove. Turned out the wind had blown it way across their huge parking lot.
Got myself together and went inside for a Mountain Dew and a Kolache. Oddly, I'm here two days in a row and had the sausage, jalapeno and cheese kolache yesterday, so today I decided to try the boudin kolache. No pics because it just looks like a huge dinner role. I will say that they are super fluffy, hot and delicious and the boudin did not disappoint.
US 80, while in the Dallas area is very much superslab. From the point it splits off of I-30 until it hits Terrell it's superslab. However, most folks in Terrell filter off on the 557 connector for about a half mile and merge into I-20. US 80 continues through Terrell and out into East Texas and less resembles slab that direction. Granted, it's still four lanes and you see speeds of up to 70mph but you do have to slow to 30mph as you pass through the towns that dot the map connected by US80. This was my first exploration of Texas when I moved here 18 years ago and I haven't been out this way on US80 since, so today I did. It's nice because you pass through small towns and by working farms as you meander out toward the piney woods region. It's still long and straight with occasional imperceptible shifts in direction, but most everything is. It does follow a railroad track and I love riding next to trains. I did see one but it was going in the opposite direction but still made me smile.
I followed US80 while angering my GPS by not diverting down to I20 like it wanted to until I told her to avoid Interstates and then she was happy with my route planning. We turned south on 69 in Mineola until I got to 452, the Old Dallas-Shreveport Rd where I turned left. This road was paved without lane markers and had some twisties as it ran into a nice woods of pine. Very unexpected surprise. Back roads in Texas however, sometimes you prefer unpaved to paved. This is one of the better ones I've been on but still the pavement is uneven and you have to watch for those nasty 17" potholes. Unpaved roads can have a grader run down then and they are good as new but paved roads require expensive crews with expensive equipment to come out and fix. That money doesn't get spent so these roads are better for the full size trucks than they are sporty touring bikes. Still, it was only five miles before I popped out onto good pavement with a set of lines down the center.
I rode that to 14 where I turned south and hit my next pin on my map. On top of doing the courthouse tour, I also had seen folks doing a state park tour. I've been to Tyler State Park before, but I decided to swing through and grab me a State Park guide.
Then it was time to continue south on 14 into Tyler for lunch at Stanley's. When I arrived right at 12:30 I knew I'd picked a good place because the parking lot was packed. These two pickup trucks were parked at an angle and the guy in the red truck waved me in to make a spot for me.
I didn't like being there and as I was taking the picture someone up front left so I zipped into that spot instead. It was good I did as it was more visible from the restaurant as you'll see later.
I'd read good things about their ribs, which as I could see from the various signs when I came in that they were the specialty. I'd also read good things about the smoked turkey. I figure if people in Texas rave over someone's turkey, I have to try it. Also, I'm in Texas so I need brisket. I ordered up the two meat plate with brisket and turkey and added two ribs on ala cart.
While I'm waiting for my food, a guy comes up and asks me if that's my FJR outside and I tell him that it is. He asks if I'm on Two Wheeled Texans, and I say I am. He asks for my username and I tell him and he smiles and says "I thought that was you, I'm 1 Wheel Peel!" Oh wow, small world, I know this guy. About this time the lady at the counter yells my name and he says "Go get your food and come on over!" As I turn around he's dragging a table and chair over and insists I join him and his family for lunch. Turns out they all are previous or current motorcycle riders and we had a good lunch discussing weather, bbq and motorcycles. I noticed right away that these guys know what's good as all the men had a full slab of ribs sitting in front of them. These slabs were about 1.5x the size of the last restaurant I ate at and got a full slab so this place doesn't skimp on the food. I was all into the conversation when I remembered I needed a food porn shot from this ride, so here's my half eaten food.
I have to say the ribs were the top. I'm a sauce guy and don't usually buy into the "If the meat is good enough it doesn't need sauce" because just about any piece of meat can be complimented with a good sauce. However, I ate my first rib with no sauce at all it was so good. I saved the other rib for last and was soon regretting my kolache sitting in the bottom of my stomach. I painfully made it through my meal and was only able to force down half of that rib.
Oh yea, I love the sense of humor this place has.
So, good lunch with good company.
After lunch it was off to snag some courthouses. I almost got blown over at a stop light in downtown Tyler but managed to keep the bike upright thanks to my nimble legs and the grip I was able to put on the seat with my pucker muscles.
I started off to Athens but had chosen the wrong waypoint in my GPS and had to reroute after a few minutes when I discovered my mistake.
Then it was off to Canton for my last courthouse of the day.
After that I turned to Kafuman and finally north to end the day where I'd started, back at Buc ee's for a fill up. My one tank day took me all over, to good food and unexpected friends, and the crosswinds left me exhausted as if I'd done several tanks.
I finally let my GPS guide me back home with the avoidance still on skipping that last 8 miles of I20 I could have taken for a quick route home.
Map link: https://goo.gl/maps/QYcrwEZ4PRH2
So I was supposed to go riding on Friday. I had a comp day from work and it was scheduled and I was jumping on a RTE for some BBQ with the Two Wheeled Texas meeting up between Houston and Dallas. But, it wasn't meant to be and my day was switched at the last minute to Monday. I wasn't happy about it but it is what it is and maybe things worked out for the better.
I'd been stoked about the weather report. Friday was upper 60's and sunny. Monday was to be upper 50's and sunny. Yea! Oh wait, wind advisory. I hate crosswinds, but I'm going anyway.
I'd decided I'm having BBQ today and had been doing some reading as I wanted to find someplace new. In reading up reviews and competitions on East Texas BBQ there were a few things I noticed. First, no one could agree on who was best. It was all over the place and I attribute that to the varying fickle tastes of the various reviewers. One thing I did notice, was that while I couldn't find anyone who said Stanley's in Tyler was the best, it was always considered, always in the top 5, usually in the top 3 and frequently involved in a close decision for best. Stanley's is the Nicky Hayden of BBQ it seems. Rarely on top but consistently strong enough to win a championship with points. Seems like a winner for me.
First pin in the map is set. Lunchtime. I arranged some other pins based on locations needed for the Texas County Courthouse tour.
On my way out, I had to snag a shot because I'm a proud papa. My 6, almost 7 year old son has busted his butt at school and been working on his attitude and it has all paid off this month when he was recognized.
Today was to be a no slab day. I started off by pulling through the subdivision and out onto the main road, and then turning immediately onto an unpaved road that I've been wanting to know where it went. Now I know.
My first stop of the day was Buc ee's in Terrell Tx. This is a new location near me and I freaking love this place. It's one of those places that is difficult to describe with words. It really has to be experienced. Buc ee's really takes the mantra of "Everything is bigger in Texas" to heart.
First, it's a gas station. But that's an understatement.
Ok, so it's a convenience store...understatement.
You'd be tempted to call it a truck stop, but the sign out front reading "No 18 wheelers" would prove you wrong. Really, it's a travelers paradise. Forget your phone charger, they got em. Need a slurpee, there's a wall of slurpee machines. Want some Jerky, aside from the racks and racks of jerkey, there's a jerky bar with a bunch of kinds and flavors. Need a super expensive cooler that'll keep ice cold for days, they got them. Need some Texas memorabelia, they have everything from bumper stickers to $150 marble cutting boards in the shape of Texas. Need candy that isn't made by Nestle or Hershey's that's from your childhood, there's a wall for that. Hungry, how bout pulled pork sandwiches, fresh fruit bowls to go, or banana pudding. Picked okra, salsa, etc, they have it. I took my family here last time they came and my dad said he didn't want to go see a glorified 7-11. He spent about an hour perusing the wares and we all spent a sum of money.
This morning I'm there for breakfast and a fill up. Here was where the wind hit me big time. I was very worried that my touring screen would act as a big enough sail to pull the bike off the centerstand. I couldn't keep the cap up to see the level of gas because it kept blowing over. When it was done I noticed I was missing a glove. Turned out the wind had blown it way across their huge parking lot.
Got myself together and went inside for a Mountain Dew and a Kolache. Oddly, I'm here two days in a row and had the sausage, jalapeno and cheese kolache yesterday, so today I decided to try the boudin kolache. No pics because it just looks like a huge dinner role. I will say that they are super fluffy, hot and delicious and the boudin did not disappoint.
US 80, while in the Dallas area is very much superslab. From the point it splits off of I-30 until it hits Terrell it's superslab. However, most folks in Terrell filter off on the 557 connector for about a half mile and merge into I-20. US 80 continues through Terrell and out into East Texas and less resembles slab that direction. Granted, it's still four lanes and you see speeds of up to 70mph but you do have to slow to 30mph as you pass through the towns that dot the map connected by US80. This was my first exploration of Texas when I moved here 18 years ago and I haven't been out this way on US80 since, so today I did. It's nice because you pass through small towns and by working farms as you meander out toward the piney woods region. It's still long and straight with occasional imperceptible shifts in direction, but most everything is. It does follow a railroad track and I love riding next to trains. I did see one but it was going in the opposite direction but still made me smile.
I followed US80 while angering my GPS by not diverting down to I20 like it wanted to until I told her to avoid Interstates and then she was happy with my route planning. We turned south on 69 in Mineola until I got to 452, the Old Dallas-Shreveport Rd where I turned left. This road was paved without lane markers and had some twisties as it ran into a nice woods of pine. Very unexpected surprise. Back roads in Texas however, sometimes you prefer unpaved to paved. This is one of the better ones I've been on but still the pavement is uneven and you have to watch for those nasty 17" potholes. Unpaved roads can have a grader run down then and they are good as new but paved roads require expensive crews with expensive equipment to come out and fix. That money doesn't get spent so these roads are better for the full size trucks than they are sporty touring bikes. Still, it was only five miles before I popped out onto good pavement with a set of lines down the center.
I rode that to 14 where I turned south and hit my next pin on my map. On top of doing the courthouse tour, I also had seen folks doing a state park tour. I've been to Tyler State Park before, but I decided to swing through and grab me a State Park guide.
Then it was time to continue south on 14 into Tyler for lunch at Stanley's. When I arrived right at 12:30 I knew I'd picked a good place because the parking lot was packed. These two pickup trucks were parked at an angle and the guy in the red truck waved me in to make a spot for me.
I didn't like being there and as I was taking the picture someone up front left so I zipped into that spot instead. It was good I did as it was more visible from the restaurant as you'll see later.
I'd read good things about their ribs, which as I could see from the various signs when I came in that they were the specialty. I'd also read good things about the smoked turkey. I figure if people in Texas rave over someone's turkey, I have to try it. Also, I'm in Texas so I need brisket. I ordered up the two meat plate with brisket and turkey and added two ribs on ala cart.
While I'm waiting for my food, a guy comes up and asks me if that's my FJR outside and I tell him that it is. He asks if I'm on Two Wheeled Texans, and I say I am. He asks for my username and I tell him and he smiles and says "I thought that was you, I'm 1 Wheel Peel!" Oh wow, small world, I know this guy. About this time the lady at the counter yells my name and he says "Go get your food and come on over!" As I turn around he's dragging a table and chair over and insists I join him and his family for lunch. Turns out they all are previous or current motorcycle riders and we had a good lunch discussing weather, bbq and motorcycles. I noticed right away that these guys know what's good as all the men had a full slab of ribs sitting in front of them. These slabs were about 1.5x the size of the last restaurant I ate at and got a full slab so this place doesn't skimp on the food. I was all into the conversation when I remembered I needed a food porn shot from this ride, so here's my half eaten food.
I have to say the ribs were the top. I'm a sauce guy and don't usually buy into the "If the meat is good enough it doesn't need sauce" because just about any piece of meat can be complimented with a good sauce. However, I ate my first rib with no sauce at all it was so good. I saved the other rib for last and was soon regretting my kolache sitting in the bottom of my stomach. I painfully made it through my meal and was only able to force down half of that rib.
Oh yea, I love the sense of humor this place has.
So, good lunch with good company.
After lunch it was off to snag some courthouses. I almost got blown over at a stop light in downtown Tyler but managed to keep the bike upright thanks to my nimble legs and the grip I was able to put on the seat with my pucker muscles.
I started off to Athens but had chosen the wrong waypoint in my GPS and had to reroute after a few minutes when I discovered my mistake.
Then it was off to Canton for my last courthouse of the day.
After that I turned to Kafuman and finally north to end the day where I'd started, back at Buc ee's for a fill up. My one tank day took me all over, to good food and unexpected friends, and the crosswinds left me exhausted as if I'd done several tanks.
I finally let my GPS guide me back home with the avoidance still on skipping that last 8 miles of I20 I could have taken for a quick route home.
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