Lasts week's "Taco Ride"

I use the words Taco Ride loosely anymore because last week's ride was anything but ordinary. For one, at Austin's on The Trail I had a ribeye sandwich while the rest of the crew ate wings. So we'll call it the ribeye sandwich/chicken wing thing ride. We lost Dave and Paul after they decided to go to Mineola as originally planned. I didn't find out until I had arrived in Silver City and people were asking me if I saw Dave and Paul. We tried calling, but reception is so poor that you would need a satellite phone in that town. You think I'm kidding but I'm not. Yev had to ask for the wifi password in order to use his phone! The weather was still cooperating, but it's time to start bringing jackets. Come to find out that Paul and Dave waited so long for a server at Mineola that they ended up leaving and went to Taco Bell instead. Nothing wrong with that!

Jerry rigging at its best! Use a stick and tape to properly fit that light!

 Ribeye sandwich. I was hoping for a shaved beef type of sandwich. Nope. 7 ounce ribeye on the bread!

More on last Thursday's Tacoride

Oh yeah, more on last Thursday's tacoride. It was odd...we were making our way back from Silver City. Getting within a mile of Margaritaville and I hear this "whhaaaa" sound. I thought it was someone's bike horn. I was already riding on the correct side of the trail, so I'm thinking haha. Funny trick. I turn around and see headlights and car tires coming up quick. I pulled over to the grass and watch as a Sheriff flies by. He does the same as he passes two girls in front of me, but he does the horn thing and the girl nearly fell off her bike from being startled. Next come two more sheriff's cars/suvs. They were flying on the trail, like probably 30-45 miles per hour. Going way too fast on the trail when there really wasn't room for them to get by the bikers. I think they pissed alot of bikers off that night.

We came up on Margaritaville and saw the three sheriffs cars there. No ambulances were present. It was anybody's guess as to what was going on. Maybe a fight? We didn't want to stay to find out, so we continued on back to our cars. Interesting night on the tacoride!

Thursday night wing ride!

Tacoride turned into a wing ride last night as we ventured into Silver City. Austin's on the trail. What can you say? Food is better, Fat Tire pitchers are better, but service is just as slow as Tacoride. Jena, Kellan, Jim and I made it out on a beautiful Thursday night. Lots of branches once past Mineola. Sure wish I had a fatbike so I wouldn't have to worry about getting a flat. Soon fellow bikers and readers...soon.

 The awesome landscapes! 

I ended up ordering cheesy ranch wings, the garlic parm, and Jena got the spicy honey wings. The garlic parm were not as good as Wing Stops or Pizza Gourmet, but the cheesy ones were good. Reminded me of opening a box of cheesy hamburger helper and pulling wings straight out of the box!

I almost ran over this dog. The dog jumped out of the kid carrier and faceplanted, then skidded for a few feet while trying to get back onto its feet. Hilarious!

The after effects of the hail

Mmm...all that processed cheese on those wings! Jena was in heaven! jk

Sometimes you just want to leave good enough alone! Kellan had a low tire, so he tried to pump it up. Tore the stem right out with the pump! Changed the flat lickity split, but his pump wouldn't fill the tube. Had to go inside and borrow someone's. Thanks alot buddy is what Jena said.

Train car that was derailed at some point? Tree growing through it 

 The Flat Tire:

Pulled out the stem! 

Now that's teamwork! Thanks buddy! 

Eric's first TacoRide

Yes, I stole his virginity and he liked it. There was alcohol involved, it was dark out, and we were going fast. Before he knew it, we were done and heading home. I dropped him off at his house, we said our goodbyes, and we were unsure of when we would see each other again.

Sounds like a trashy novel! Well that's pretty much how last week's Tacoride went. There were probably half the usual patrons at Mineola. We think the rain from earlier in the day kept most away, if not the RAGBRAI that was also going on during the week.

She obviously hasn't learned the Aaron way of crushing cans  

Eric had his wife's bike which hadn't been ridden in years. Two flat tires, no big deal. We'll pump it up at the high school. Funny how those premonitions get to you because when I first picked him up, I was thinking to myself that we should pump them up JUST IN CASE.  Once there, we pumped it up. POP! It seemed odd that the rear tire was at a much higher pressure than the front, even though they squeezed about the same. But I didn't think much about it. He hopped on and it sounded like firecracker/gunshot. Everyone in the parking lot looked. After borrowing some wrenches (no quick release), we finally got the tire off and there was complete blowout of the side of the tube. Pretty sure it was caught between the side of the rim and tire. Eric wrenched, I inserted the new tube, and Jena pumped. Teamwork!

There was a gorgeous sunset behind us as we arrived into Mineola

We got down to Mineola (after our usual pitstop at Margaritaville) without a single raindrop. As Eric recited some weather knowledge from our weather friends, we had experienced a squall not even five minutes onto the trail. The menacing looking clouds were on both sides of the trail, but they seemed to pass right around us!

There might not be a pot of gold at Mineola, but they do have tacos, beer, and fried cheese balls!

Once at Mineola, we quickly got our order of tacos, beer, and margaritas. Fried cheese curds too! Delicious! Up roll Paul, Jodi, and Jim. Jodi and Paul made the trip from Mineola to Silver City and back, while Jim rode solo out to Silver City. Think he's enjoying his new bike. Jodi and Jena went inside and checked out crazy umbrella-on-his-head boy and his little thong that he was proudly showing off. Yeah, quite a sight when you see someone roll past you and their shorts are purposely pulled halfway down, exposing one buttock and a black thong. Quite a sight that I'll hopefully never see again. Good times and good friends! Till next Taco Thursday!

Umbrella thong boy and his S.O.

As you can tell by her face, I was caught taking a picture of her. "Girls on film..."

4th of July weekend TacoRide funfest!

Temps in the 100s? Oh well. Fun factor times ten was enough to offset the high temps as we set off for Mineola last night. Actually it wasn't too bad once we got onto the Wabash Trace. There was a wind coming from the south to keep up cool. Excellent. This week's group consisted of Kellan, Jena, TJ, Vince, Julie, Melissa, Steve, and myself. Most of us decided to ride all the way out from the school parking lot, while the others took a car to almost the last intersection before Margaritaville (and they got lost along the way!). Cheaters. But doesn't matter, the beer was cold and the ride was fun.

Some people were hungry and wanted mulberries. 

 

Take 2! 

 

The Roadmaster wasn't too comfortable per TJ. Koozies will fix anything!

Once at Mineola, we quickly realized how busy it was. Tables galore were setup outside on the street. Also there were three or four pools, a foam pit, and a flatbed trailer for the band. It was going to be a good time indeed!

 

Splash of pink anyone? 

Kellan was quick on the draw and got us a table inside. Very nice. We actually asked for menus this time around. Vince, Jena, and I stuck with the traditional tacos and fried processed cheese balls.. TJ got the steak (with bacon on top) with baked potato, salad, and a cup of green beans. Kellan got the fried tray of goodness. Delicious! I tried fried cauliflower for the first time ever. Not too bad.

This Raleigh lets you easily identify what gear you're in! 

By the end of the night, the water in these pools was brown and gross. And people were scooping the water up with empty pitchers and dumping it on people!

Too bad this girl wasn't pouring alcohol on herself like in the rap videos! That would be HOT!

Jellos shots, margaritas, and pitchers of beer, then it was time to make our way back. Kellan led the way, Jena flew and I just tried to catch up. Those other guys? Not sure what happened to them, think they hung back and partied it up in Mineola. Until next week!

TJ hungry for steak, salad, and potato!

 Kellan hungry for fried goodness!

I hate shots! 

 

Tables were setup along the street 

Ironman wannabes! 

Live band to top it all off 

Last week's Taco Ride

Kellan was once again able to provide us with the entertainment for the night. But we'll get to that later. Last Thursday's Taco Ride was a good one. The weather was perfect. Not hot, not too cool. And best of all, the rain stayed away! It was Jena's first time riding the Taco Ride and riding in the dark for that matter. Same goes for her brother and her sister-in-laws first time riding the T Ride. Virgins no more!

It was wine and cheese night at the Taco ride. Also had a live accoustic singer in Mineola 

So getting back to Kellan. Last time we went to Silver City, he did the "Trailblazer Wing Challenge" and succeeded. This week, while in Margaritaville, he smashed an empty 12 ounce can on his forehead. Left this huge red mark on his forehead! Too bad I didn't get a picture or video of that. Then once in Mineola, Krista's food didn't come out for 45 minutes. So we asked two servers about it. Out comes double the order. Why wouldn't it? That place is so chaotic sometimes. Anyway, Kellan grabbed a soft taco and put some hot sauce on it. We watched him eat it. Not bite by bite, but he stuffed the ENTIRE taco into his mouth and just started chewing. I was like whoa. I looked over at Cody. His mouth just dropped and his eyes got huge. His face was frozen in time for about 5 seconds. Hilarious because we couldn't believe our eyes! Then Kellan started coughing because the hot sauce went straight to the back of his mouth. So funny! Thanks for the entertainment Kellan and thanks for riding everyone! Till next time!

Not this again!