The Rockport Ride Rally will long be remembered for
both the unusual weather snap, as well as the fantastic
turn-out in light of the extreme cold. What a great Ride!

Starting with me giving it a second thought that morning,
when I stepped outside and said ouch -- it is cold... but
going back in the house, there were emails from the faithful,
saying that they were going. I suddenly got real warm and
said to my pretty lady -- 'get your chaps on honey, we are
going to Rockport'. Actually, I said we were going to West
Columbia -- trying to take one step at a time. My honey said
okay, let's go.

Seeing the West Columbia group of Ts really warmed us up,
they were a beautiful site -- even the non-T cycles. You
looked around and saw people bundled-up as much as anyone
can bundle -- and anxious to get on the road to Rockport.
Words cannot describe what we were feeling, maybe 'burrr'
might do it. When Dan took lead and headed back home, we
almost followed him -- but no, we pressed on.

Meeting the Corpus Christi rider and the San Antonio rider
at Rockport was the icing on the cake. What a neat group of
folks sitting around the table at the Big Fisherman, which
by the way is a pretty good seafood restaurant. The award
ceremony was exciting and the judges (non-T riders) did a
super job. Then it was time to split -- too sad. A group of
four (4) riders going north to Houston and another group of
four (4) riders heading over the causeway to Padre Island
and to Corpus Christi.

One kinda neat experience happened on the way to Corpus. The
San Antonio rider hung his reading glasses on the collar of his
leather jacket at a gas-stop on the way to Corpus. When we got
to Corpus -- he reached for his glasses and they were gone.
After much lamenting and deflating -- thinking about the glasses
laying on the highway getting run-over, CatManDo looked along-
side the rear fender of his black T and said, 'how did they stay
on there with all that wind?'. There they were, his glasses fell
off his jacket and got hung-up on his T. Which just shows to go
you that Ts have special features that we learn about on every
ride. It was cool -- all ended with happy faces.

Another interesting happening was at the Hotel we stayed in. We get
a call from Chuck that he parked his T near another maroon T from
Kansas. I immediately asked him to round-up that T rider and get
him riding with us (:-). We never did see the owner, but left a
T Riders decal on his bike. When I got home Sunday evening, there
was an email from Rob (the other Corpus Christi guy -- who was
just moving there from Kansas) thanking me for the decal! It is
a very small world. By the way Rob will definitely be on our next
ride.

Chuck and Tina led the way home Sunday evening with myself and
Janna following along -- very close, because Chuck has a sound system
on his T that won't quit -- satellite radio and all. Unfortunately,
we couldn't get close enough to hear and still keep a safe distance.
The crowning-glory to the trip, was when Chuck turned up Cow Creek
Road for the 'short-cut' home to Alvin & Houston. Sun was going down,
the wind chill was messing with us -- but the great winding cow road
and the beautiful shadows and smells (and cows), made it all okay...
it wasn't even cold. What a neat way to end a fantastic weekend.

The chance of showers are zero and the temperatures are not where they should be!!
Given the wind chill -- We are going out and giving it a shot. Keep us informed
as to how you are doing. Thanks.

My wife and I are getting our long-johns, jeans, double-socks, and yes -- chaps.
We got warm gloves that can be made not to let air in, a warm jacket with good
insulated liners, and a ski-mask type head cover under our helmets -- and we are
grandparents!! I ask a friend of mine to write down some Cold Weather Riding tips.

Wisdom #1- Cold Dark Wet - Pick any one to deal with. Two or more is misery!
If it looks like 2 or more for any length of time, cancel if you can!

Wisdom #2 - Your head - you lose 40% of your body heat thru your head, due to
the blood vessels close to the scalp. God designed us this way, it works pretty
good most of the time. A full face helmet generallly provides adequate warmth,
not to mention the most physicial protection of any helmet design. If your not
wearing a full face, wear a ski mask for warmth. Besides, in an emergency if
you run short of cash you can always use it to rob a 7-11! (just kidding!)
you'll be surprised how much difference this item makes.

Wisdom #3 - Layered clothing, outer gear should always be waterproof, which by
its nature is also, handily, windproof. Being wet in cold weather on a motorcycle
is not only uncomfortable, its dangerous!

Wisdom #4. If your head, hands and feet are warm, the rest of you won't be all that
bad -- if your not wet. Wear two pairs of thick socks, cheap protection. Waterproof
lined ski gloves are reasonable in price but worth their weight in gold on a cold
day on a bike.

Wisdom #5 - Make sure those wrist and ankle cuffs are tucked in and don’t let cold
air blow up your sleeves or legs. The best gear in the world wont do any good if
this simple step is overlooked. You gain warmth from the heat of captive still air
in your clothing system. If its constantly replaced by cold outside air you too,
will be cold.

Wisdom #6 - When you get off the bike with your expensive gear on, keep those legs
away from the hot pipes when filling up with gas. The insulation will not let the
heat of the pipes warn you that your too close to them. Frogg Toogs are great, but
easily melt just close to hot pipes! The more expensive the gear, the more extensive
and noticeable burn marks left on them!

p.s. Be prepared. If you are really prepared for any eventuality, (within reason)
nothing bad will ever happen to you because your prepared! That’s the main benefit
of being well prepared! Its hard to explain technicially. Just take my word for it,
it's part of Murphy's Law.

The above cold weather tips are from my good friend Bob.

Greetings Fellow Tourer Riders. ("T" Riders)
===========================================
We have selected Rally Point Leaders in your
city to help you organize the ride to Rockport
on February 11th (next Saturday!!).

Here are the Rally Point Leaders as of 2/5/06

1. Brownsville/McAllen/Laredo Rally Point Leader:
	hgw75 - hgw75@aol.com
	*** SEE FIVE POINTS MAP BELOW ***

2. San Antonio Area Rally Point Leader:
	CatManDo - judgecat@netzero.net
	*** SEE FIVE POINTS MAP BELOW ***

3. Corpus Christi Area Rally Point Leader:
	texcritter - im_texcritter@hotmail.com
	*** SEE FIVE POINTS MAP BELOW ***

4. Austin Rally Point Leader:
	diego.hand - diego@weemus.com
	*** SEE FIVE POINTS MAP BELOW ***

5. West Houston Rally Point Leader:
	danbgt - dbailey@houston.rr.com
	*** SEE WEST COLUMBIA MAP BELOW ***

6. East Houston Rally Point Leader:
	dukey - dkyeung@juno.com
	*** SEE WEST COLUMBIA MAP BELOW ***

7. Other-Area Coordinator:
	davefash - dfashenpour@houston.rr.com

***********************************************
* Once you make contact with the Rally Point  *
* Leader you can trade names & contact info.  *
* for security reasons, please identify the   *
* SUBJECT of the E-Mail as "ROCKPORT RIDE"    *
* because most folks do not open unexpected   *
* E-Mail unless the SUBJECT is known to them. *
***********************************************

I encourage you to at least contact this
fellow T-Rider in your city -- even if you
think you may not attend the ride. It is a
brotherhood (or sisterhood -- whatever the
case may be) and you all have a great deal
in common. Share the joy :)

I know the Rally will be something you will
enjoy -- just seeing a number Ts together is
truly amazing. See some pictures of only 6 Ts
and 6 Riders together on our web site:
http://www.worldoutsource.com/HoustonTRiders

At the Rockport Rally there will be AT LEAST
fifteen (15) Ts, coming in from all over
south-east Texas. Please don't miss that!

Thanks,

Dave.

Some of the Houston T Riders had a
Rockport Ride discussion over lunch
at the Sweet Mesquite on Friday*, to
discuss what happens after the Rally
at the Big Fisherman. The results of
this lunchtime planning session are
as follows:   * 2/4/06
====================================

There was a discussion over lunch
about plans for what to do after
the photo op, the lunch, and the
trophy presentations in Rockport.

Because many are coming a number
of miles, we concluded that it
would not be a good idea to head-
out from the restaurant in-mass...
simply because the time involved
in such a ride will interfere
with riders getting back home
before dark.

On the other hand, there are SOME
people that are wanting to get a
motel room that night and enjoy
some of what Corpus Christi has
to offer. Which sounds good to me,
but will not appeal to all riders.

So, here is the bottom line. After
trophy presentations, we will split
into two groups -- those that choose
to head home from the restaurant
directly -- and those that are
planning on spending the night in
Corpus Christi. The group that will
be spending the night, may elect to
head-out over the causeway to Padre
Island and continue down to Corpus
Christi.

I believe that should satisfy most
people. If not, let us know what
else can be done. In the meantime,
I will compile a list of decent
motels in the area and will post
them on this web site.

E-Mail and let us know what you
are thinking. Here are some E-Mail
addresses that you are free to use.
(please type "ROCKPORT RIDE" into
the Subject block of your E-Mail)

Thanks,

Dave.