Republic
of Texas Rally - 2001
Carmen
Friday,
June 8, 2001 Very very early a.m.
When
the alarm went off it felt as if I had just lay down. It was one of those nights when you are just
too excited to sleep, thinking about the next day
and the anticipation is running through your brain.
When the alarm screeched on at 5:30 a.m. I
lay there staring into the darkness thinking a few
more minutes would do me good.
Then I remembered where I was going today…
the ROT Rally in Austin. I headed for the kitchen and coffee to begin
the day.
The
bike was packed and ready so all there was to do was
to wipe the sleep from our eyes, throw on clothes,
and hit the road. And we did, and it was drizzling
and foggy and generally nasty.
I thought “Oh, no, not a repeat of last
year!” But
by the time we were pulling in at the convention center,
there had only been the drizzle, long gone, along
with the fog. It stayed cloudy most of the way, which was actually a relief from
the sun blazing down.
Since it was so early, there were not a lot
of people to meet along the way, plus we made only
two stops, one for pictures I wanted to take of a
little town and the other for gas.
At
the gas stop, we ran into some folks heading to the
ROT Rally who said I had taken a picture of one of
guy’s trike at the SPI
"Roar by the Shore" event in October.(South
Padre Island). I took another one anyway. After gassing up, we headed the few miles to
the convention center.
It was still quite early but the registration
was already bustling with activity. The volunteers were pleasant, helpful, and
ready for the crowd.
The registration tents had been moved to the
other side of the road, it was a good move. Parking was ample and closer and the flow was
much improved. We
checked in very quickly, checked out the goodies on
sale, and then headed for the vendors.
The
vendors were at least double this year.
I talked to the people with the R.U.B.
bike cleaning products. We cussed and discussed various rallies the
good, bad and ugly.
We both agreed that the ROT Rally was only
going to get better. I wished them luck and moved on.
Cindy
Berry, one of the new “owners” of Bryant’s
in Katy, Texas (NOW Bryant’s Iron Horse Ice House)
was there. She
told me that she and her brother Jack have taken over
Bryant’s and have their focus on returning the
bar back to it’s original “hey-days”
when bikers spent most every weekend stopping by at
least at one time or another during their rides. I spent many wonderful times there and honestly
wish them a lot of luck.
They also have t-shirts with their new name
and logo available for sale. Black, of course!
When
the sun got high and my lips caught fire, I stopped
for a cold drink at the indoor vendor.
For $3.50 I got a lukewarm Pepsi (I’m
a Coca Cola girl and I have to be desperate to drink
Pepsi – and then it better be COLD).
I could practically count the ice cubes in
the cup. It
was the last one I bought there.
I heard a lot of complaints about the food/drinks
and the prices. At one point, the inside vendor ran out of
bottled water and was selling tap water for the same
price as bottled!
Usually,
I pack my own stuff and always eat off site (besides
the prices, the food is always much better outside
the center). I
did find out one thing, the folks that put on the
event have no control over the food and drink concession
stands - not what is served nor the prices.
The
only way around it is to not purchase anything. Many times at these kinds of things, that’s the way it is. Anyway, I saw a tamale place on the side of
the road right near the center, as well as the big
long bar-b-que pit place by the “This Is It”
bar. And later
I found a fantastic place for breakfast, as well as
lunch, not far at all from the convention center and very reasonably priced
(see Donn’s later in this story).
I refuse to be abused and so should you!
After
chatting with a lot of the vendors and talking and
walking and snapping pictures, it was time to head
out into Austin.
We went to the HD shop on Braker Lane and checked
out the merchandise. I didn’t see any real bargains that I
couldn’t live without and could also cart home
on the bike, but they certainly do have a lot of goodies
to check out. We
then rode around Austin taking in some old and new
sites. Never got to half of the things I had intended
because we planned to make the Daiquiri Factory by
5:30 p.m. The day just flew by.
We
were positioned for the parade to begin when the clouds
rolled in. Once again, flashbacks to last year’s
rally when the parade was held in a down pour.
It did rain but it cleared up in an hour or
so leaving us with the lovely humid and sticky weather
for which Texas is popular. For some reason this year, the bikes were
not allowed to park on 6th Street until
the parade. I never got a clear reasoning behind this and
none of the police seemed to know.
It seemed plain silly to me and I am sure a
lot of bars lost money as the bikers drove around
and around looking for parking and being run off from
6th street.
I know they probably didn’t want it to
get too crowded for the parade to safely progress
down 6th Street – but, hey, was it
ever a problem in the past? I don’t think so!
The
parade was without incident and included tons of bikes
of every make, model, and color.
The Daiquiri Factory did not have a cover charge
this year and was totally packed by 9 o’clock. Later we made our rounds and stopped by Amazon,
Shakespeare’s, Maggie Mae’s, the Library,
and ended up with a piece of pizza for dinner before
heading back to the hotel for a prearranged meeting
at the bar. We
met up with some of our co-harts in misdeeds for a
nightcap and discussion on how the rally was progressing
this year.
Apache,
who now works for Indian Motorcycles on Beltway 8,
was there as well as Raymond, Jim, Bill, Pam and one
very sleepy guy whom I won’t name (Zzzzzzzz –
you know who you are Toy Man!)
By 1 a.m. I was done for the night and ready
to head to the room. Tomorrow would be another day.
Saturday,
June 2, 2001
I
heard the roar of bikes all night hazily in my dreams
but they started coming through into reality and serving
to rally me round to conscience around 7 a.m.
The piece of pizza was long gone and my stomach
was begging for breakfast.
It took about an hour to finally get packed
up and head out in search of nourishment before going
back to the convention center. We headed to Dan’s Hamburgers, which you
may have seen mentioned in the ROT Rally story 2 years
ago. This is located on Airport when you are headed
towards the convention center.
Excellent food and friendly people and good
breakfast. Once we were loaded with coffee and huevos
rancheros, we were human once more.
The
rally was in full swing and the registration area
was packed. I could not believe my eyes at the amount of
campers, tents and RVs.
There were campsites set-up where there had
previously been no camping at all! It was truly amazing how much it had grown
in just one year.
I had friends camping somewhere and we never
were able to find them (Peggy, Jerry I LOOKED!) They even had set up additional cold showers
since there were not enough to adequately take care
of the crowd.
K-Bob
and Harry were heading for the poker run line and
I gave Harry a hard time about Friday night (insert
tequila - no explanation needed) and also ran into
Big Dave who had an excellent point, he came for Saturday
only but still had to pay the $30 bucks.
He said this was his last year coming to the
convention site unless they made day passes available.
Now that would be an excellent idea.
I know tons of people who come to 6th
Street who might make a day of the rally if they had
a less expensive rate for a 1-day pass.
Traffic
on I-35 was horrible so we attempted to find another
way to make it to the new Austin Harley dealership
on I-35 South and ended up on Barton Springs at Congress
where we stopped for lunch at Jalisco’s. Yummy. They had a really
cool chandelier of Corona beer bottles.
We were the only ones in the place since it
was officially too late for lunch but the staff made
us feel loved and wanted! All I can say is that the tacos are delicious and the salsa the
freshest ever.
We
finally made it to the dealership and were really
hot and thirsty. We walked in to be given (FREE – GRATIS
- NO CHARGE!!) a bottle of ice-cold water.
It was a wonderful change to be offered something
for free. They also had a bar-b-que going outside as
well as a sidewalk sale.
The place was full of activity and the staff
remained friendly and helpful although I am sure they
were stressed. I
was told that this location was temporary and they
would soon be moving to a new and larger location.
The place was plenty large so I am wondering
about this new place and will have to check it out
on the next trip to Austin!
Leaving
there, I realized that it was time once again to prepare
for 6th Street so off to the hotel we headed
for a much-needed shower and change of clothes.
I won’t go into the evening and night
but it was a repeat of Friday’s, just as fun,
just as hot only with even more friends in attendance!
We
ate dinner at the Pecan Grill and met a group from
Dallas: Dax, Jociam, Sophia and Maricella (Please
forgive me if I got anyone wrong!). They were enjoying themselves and posed for
a few pictures while we talked about the rally.
Sunday, June 3rd.
Of
course, there are always the things that happen that
you never forget. Some good, some bad but all memorable. One that I will always remember happened when
leaving the hotel to head home, carrying the packs,
cameras, etc. The elevator stopped a floor below ours. There stood two “civilians” who looked
at us, fear clearly in their eyes, and took two steps
back from the elevator. The decided to wait for another elevator rather
than join us. We
laughed when the door closed and wondered exactly
how long they would have to wait before an elevator
without bikers came by and what would happen if they
entered and it stopped to let a biker on.
We
stopped back by the convention center on the way out
and watched, as people were packing up and cleaning
up. Our last
stop, breakfast at Donn’s, a fantastic place.
(Go South on Decker to FM 969 and then left for ½
mile) They
recently won 1st, 2nd and 3rd
place for various bar-b-que stuff, like sauce, ribs,
and brisket. We just ate breakfast but that was scrumptious
and next year I will make it a point to hit there
for lunch.
The
ride home was beautiful and most of it was very pleasant
weather-wise until Eagle Lake when the sun decided
to stay out. Our
final stop, the County Line to tell everyone we survived
another incredible R.O.T. Rally and to begin planning
next year’s trip…I’ll be leaving May
31 or maybe May 30th or the 29th
. . . “Hey, boss.
Can I have the week of May 25th
off next year?”
