Violation Tour is Dead: March 2014

Chris Big came up with the idea to take the bikes to a warmer climate to help us all get through the long Winter. He organized the whole thing, lined up all the details and sorted everything out. On 3/7, we hit the road towards New Orleans.

We arrived on Saturday night, unloaded the bikes and rode to the house where we stayed for a couple nights. My bike was smoking pretty bad and burning oil. Luckily we hooked up with a fella from Chopcult, Steve who helped me sort it out. In short, I had a peace of gasket in my return line that was blocking the oil from getting into the oil tank.

We then decided to go to the Friendship Day party at Old Point Bar, before checking out the French Quarters for some authentic Louisiana food. By this time, I was starving and one place in particular had really friendly people at the door inviting us over. They didn't have food but somehow had tacos. We wanted Cajun food so we moved on and ended up at the Royal House for some jambalaya and oysters. Good stuff!

Monday morning, Panhead John and Chris big went back to the quarters for some Cafe du monde treatment. I stayed at the house, packed and got ready for the 320 mile ride. I had sandwiches, I was good. By around 11AM, we were west bound towards Texas. We took local highways and rode the Gulf Coast Highway. It was scenic with the beach about 50 feet to your left, smooth roads, and a gorgeous sunset up ahead. But there was 100 mile stretch that had nothing but a couple churches, vacation homes and one gas station/bar. We topped off and headed for the ferry over the river and into Port Arthur where we stopped for a moment and were almost eaten by huge mosquitos. Moving on, we arrived in Beaumont, checked in at the hotel and had a nice dinner.

Tuesday, after breakfast, we loaded our bags on the bikes and as I was going through mine, I noticed a couple cracks in my frame. Long story short, got a local welder to TIG them for literally a case of beer. Southern hospitality really exists. Got my bike all back together and shortly after getting on I-10, my clutch lever broke off the handle bars. Panhead John Mcgeivered it with a hose clamp and we arrived in Wimberley safe and sound. At the same time, Chris big posted the situation on Instagram and by 10 am the next day, I had a replacement lever waiting for me in San Antonio. Thanks to Joey Cano from Slab Cycles for the heads up and Stu at SOS for hooking it up.

Wednesday, I went to San Antonio to pick up the lever. Seeing the Hill country in the day light is better than I imagined. The roads are smooth, winding, just enough hills to keep you entertained. We rode it for a little while on our way to Salt Lick for dinner, a BBQ joint.

The rest of the trip went without a hitch. All the bikes ran great as we jammed down interstates averaging 75 mph back to Beaumont on Thursday, then to New Orleans on Friday, loaded the bikes, and drove home.

The entire trip on the bike was about 1300+ miles. We were all beat up but had a great time, regardless of the earlier issues. The only thing negative is the time we had wasn't nearly enough to really enjoy the Hill Country. Next time, the plan is to just go straight there and ride around to really soak it all in. Thanks again to Chris big for making it all happen, to Panhead John for sorting out the car and everything else.

Below are the pics from the trip in chronological order.

(Chris and John I stole some pics from your IG page and added them. Hope you don't mind.)

En Route to NOLA