April 2013 - Thunder Roads Texas Motorcycle Magazine

It’s not about the bike... it’s about the RIDE! 

HUGE 18-page 

Event Section Inside! 

April 2013 

ThunderRoadsTexas.com 

Also this month: 

What Lurks Inside that Little 

Pink Head

Thunder Roads Texas * Page 2 * April 2013


Page 4 H April 2013 

ThunderRoadsTexas.com


42 

20 

38 

35 40 

On the Cover 

42 From the Ashes... 

This Month: 

20 HUGE Events Section, featuring... 

20 A Rally to Remember 

38 Growing Event Set for Luckenbach 

40 What Lurks Inside that Little Pink Head? 

Regular Features 

8 Letter From the Editor 

10 From the Road 

12 Two Wheel Thunder TV Review: 

Stop-N-Go Tubeless Puncture Pilot 

14 Pig Writes: It was a Massacre! 

16 Ride Map: Chasing Bluebonnets! 

44 ThunderCam 

48 Joker’s Wild 

50 Biker Band Corner: John Epperson & Drivin Blind 

Resources 

23 Event Listing 

Contents 

 

April 2013 

CENTER - Pull-Out April 2013 Calendar 

51 Biker Friendly Listing 

On the cover: West of the Brazos, the new building!

Thunder Roads Texas Main Office 

281.866.8149 

Shelly@ThunderRoadsTexas.com 

Bill “Shovelhead” Barnes 

ThunderRoadsBill@yahoo.com 

321.960.6161 

Laura Mae Benson - Houston 

Laura.ThunderRoadsMagazine@gmail.com 

979.481.9642 

Traci “Sweet N Low” McClure - East Texas 

Traci.McClure@yahoo.com * 936.671.9567 

Bonnie Estes - Austin/Hill Country 

AngelWing1555@yahoo.com 

512.673.6679 

Shelly “Cricket” Silva 

San Antonio/Hill Country 

CricketGOC@yahoo.com * 210.445.2477 

ADVERTISING SALES 

Thunder Roads Texas 

Bob Cooney & Shelly Horan 

State Edition Owners 

4631 Cashel Glen Drive 

Houston, TX 77069 

281.866.8149 


Layout & Design 

Shelly Horan 

Top of Mind Marketing 

832.585.4045 

Top.of.Mind.Marketing@gmail.com 

Don “DB” McGovern - Dallas/Fort Worth 

ThunderRoadsDon@gmail.com 

972.896.1919 

Darlene “Lady Diva” Hanson 

Dallas/Fort Worth 

ladyd1va@hotmail.com * 817.680.8121 

Aaron “HookemHaulin” Gerbert 

(photo to come) 

Austin 

Facebook.com/hookem.haulin 

Chere “FlipFlop” Laine 

(photo to come) 

Corpus Christi 

361.215.4661 

ChereLaine@ymail.com 

Thunder Publishing, LLC 

Toni & Brian Shearon 

National Founders 

1528 Matlock Drive 

Chapmansboro, TN 37035 

615.792.0040 

ThunderRoadsMagazine.com 

Thunder Roads Magazine® is Trade Marked and may not be used in any way without 

consent from Thunder Publishing. Thunder Roads Magazine of Texas is published by 

Thunder Roads Texas. All rights reserved. No part of its’ content may be reproduced 

without written permission. Publisher assumes no responsibility and is not to be held liable 

for errors beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error, slander of any group or 

individual, failure to produce any issue as scheduled due to reasons beyond our control, 

any and all suits for liable, plagiarism, copyright infringement and unauthorized use of 

a person’s name or photograph. Opinions and claims made by advertisers and authors 

are their own and do not necessarily represent the policy of Thunder Roads Magazine®, 

Thunder Publishing, or Thunder Roads Texas. Publisher does not promote the abuse of 

alcohol or other drugs. Ride & live responsibly. Thank you. Thunder Roads Magazine®, 

Thunder Publishing, and Thunder Roads Texas. 

Thunder Roads Texas is a wholly separate entity from Thunder Publishing LLC and 

Thunder Roads Magazine® editions in other states. As such, content that runs in other 

states’ editions has no relation to the content in Thunder Roads Texas. Unless specifically 

stated, Thunder Roads Texas does not endorse, and is not responsible for, any content in 

other Thunder Roads Magazine® editions. 

Bob Cooney, CEO/Photography 

ThunderRoadsBob@yahoo.com 

OWNERS 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

FEATURE WRITERS 

Shelly “TX Dragonfly” Horan, Editor 


Randy McCamey 

Harley.Doc@hotmail.com 

Shelly “Cricket” Silva, Pink Thunder (Feb/May/Aug/Sep) 

Terri Williams, Pink Thunder (TMRA2; Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec) 

“Pig” Meinhardt - Pig Writes 

CORRESPONDENTS 

Michael Jackson - Galveston; Joyce Siegert - D/FW; Dean Downey - 

Amarillo; Mary “Ima Ryder” Taylor - Austin; Don Brewer - Livingston; 

Donny Phillips - LaPorte; Mike “Biker” Boone - Houston/Gulf Coast; 

Jason English - East Texas; Don McGovern - Terrell/DFW; Jason 

English - Rusk; Donna Herrin - Edinburgh; Leah Hanscom - Piney 

Woods; Ann Edwards - El Paso. 

Facebook.com/ThunderRoadsTexas

Wow… I just finished laying in the calendar and it’s a full riding month, for sure! Lots of things going on and lots of events sponsored by Thunder Roads Texas! Be sure to check our event 

list and calendar – then mark your own schedules for the events you find interesting. Go ahead – try something new! 

Last month, an erroneous ad for the Dawg Fest Rally in Mt. Pleasant made the magazine. Charlie Daniels is NOT playing this rally. He and his band will be at the Texas State 

HOG Rally in May. All I can say is… I claim “blonde”! So my official retraction (and humble admission) is complete. 

We continue to look for aggressive sales representatives for the magazine. We need folks who don’t take “no” – but rather, find solutions and build relationships with our clients. 

Commission-based position with bonuses, perks, and the possibility for advancement. Interested applicants should send me a resume, along with a brief description of your background 

in the motorcycle community, if any. 

Folks send in pictures for the Thunder Cam pages and we do our best to publish them as soon as possible. If you submit photos and don’t see them right away, continue to watch future 

issues. Sometimes, we receive more than we can handle… saving the overflow to publish later. As an example, if you look at this month’s Thunder Cam pages, you’ll see some photos 

that are a few months old. So don’t hesitate to send them in! 

A reminder that our From the Road feature is for YOU! Have news you want to share, of any kind? Please feel free to send it to me for publication. However, a warning, we do no publish 

negative comments and reviews against retailers or shops. We leave that to other publications or online reviewing processes (which we encourage you to review them online – Google 

is especially handy!). 

An my last reminder this month… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE visit our advertisers. Without them, we can’t continue to bring this wonderful magazine to you FREE each month. And 

while there, make sure you let them know you saw them in Thunder Roads Texas! If you have a favorite shop that doesn’t advertise or carry our magazine for distribution, tell them they 

should advertise with us! If they mention you, we’ll PAY YOU… $25 for each lead that purchases advertising worth a minimum of $250/contract. 

Ride safe... and ride with THUNDER! 

Shelly “TX Dragonfly” Horan 

Editor / Owner, Thunder Roads Texas and Owner, Top of Mind Marketing 





PIG GIVES KUDOS 

Shelly, 

1. So I run into Tribe of Judah Rex Keating at church today. He tells me this little story of 

what happened to him at the Harley dealer this week. Rex is the Minster for the wedding 

on the front cover of this months. He went in to the Harley dealer and the salesman he 

knows comes up to him. The guy asks Rex if he knew that he was on the cover of Thunder 

Roads this month. Rex said “yeah, cool huh.” The hands Rex a copy and says that he had 

been saving it for him all month. Rex tells him he already had a copy. The asks him how 

did he get one and Rex tells him that he knows Pig. 

“You know the PIG”, the guy says “Oh wow, that is so cool. Hey tell him to stop by some 

time I’d love to meet him.” So Rex tells him “Dude, he comes in here at least 2x’s a month” 

2. Every time someone asks Deneen (the bride on the cover) who is that bride on the 

cover, she squeals in a high pitched voice “That’s MEEEEEEEEEEE! It is so funny to 

hear her do that! 

Just thought you would like to know people really do like the work that you do on the 

magazine. 

Pig 

EDITOR’S REPLY: Thanks Pig! We love our readers.. oh yea, and you, too! 


ROAR BY THE SHORE ANNOUNCES 

MOVE TO CORPUS CHRISTI 

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the group decided to bring the event to Corpus Christi for 

the first time, according to a news release from the Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors 

Bureau. BikeFest, a volunteer-run nonprofit, teamed up with Budweiser Corpus Christi to 

bring the event, and its economic boom, to the area. 

“We strive for and expect to provide the best rally experience in Texas with top notch 

entertainment. October is a beautiful time of year on the Texas coast,” said G.J. Reyna, 

BikeFest organizer. 

Corpus Christi was selected in part because the statewide draw has participants coming 

from Houston, Austin and San Antonio and the drive to the coast is particularly scenic, 

organizers said. 

The visitor’s bureau projects the benefit as $5.8 million based on expenses for hotels, 

restaurants and retail spending, The group also has donated more than $700,000 to 

charities and nonprofits during the past 19 years. 

“It’s up to our community to welcome participants and make them feel at home so we can 

make Corpus Christi their permanent base,” said Keith Arnold, CEO of the Convention & 

Visitor’s Bureau. 

The event, planned for Oct. 11-13, is sponsored locally by L&F Distributing and will include 

field riding events, motorcycle tours, bike contests, a sunset parade and concert, according 

to the news release. Many of the events will be held at the American Bank Center. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: While not everyone is thrilled and rumors abound as to other reasons 

for the move, we know that our biker community will rally around the location, filling it with 

roaring pipes and brotherhood. 

GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? 

Send your news, updates, comments, etc. to 

shelly@thunderroadstexa.com 


Texas-based, Texas-focused, Texas PROUD! 

April 2013 H Page 11

here are certain products you don’t ever want to need! 

Bullet proof vests, Kevlar infused blue jeans, air 

masks in an airplane, a defibrillator, and a Stop-n- 

Go Tubeless Puncture Pilot for Motorcycles! 

Most of the examples should be self-explanatory! I can 

safely say I haven’t had the dubious pleasure of having 

to use any of these devices. Maybe I don’t have enemies 

and maybe I don’t have enough bad luck.... yet! But I can 

tell you that if I ever need any of them, I hope I have them 

close at hand and they are working well. 

I have done plenty of research on flat tires and 

probabilities. For example, the probability of getting a flat 

tire seems directly proportional to the quality of your flat 

repair kit and the walking distance to the nearest help. 

Another correlation I have found is that there is a direct link 

between having a flat and the lack of cell phone coverage! 

So the real question here is, what percentage of 

motorcyclists have taken precautions to outfit their ride with 

a flat tire repair kit? We might also ask, what percentage 

of riders have a good flat tire repair kit? We all know that 

time is money and if you don’t have a working plan in the 

event of a flat, you have to ask yourself how much your 

time is worth? 

Let’s create the best possible scenario; you have a flat in 

town, maybe within ten miles of your mechanic, you have 

AAA, you have good cell phone coverage and your battery 

is fully charged. So, you call a friend/companion to let them 

know what happened. Then you call AAA for the tow truck. 

By this time half an hour has already passed. 

You wait another hour or more, the tow truck loads your 

bike (another half-hour), you haul it to the shop and unload 

it (another half-hour). There, you pick out a tire they have 

it in stock. Your bike wasn’t on the schedule (who knew it 

was your day?). But… great news, they can squeeze you 

into the schedule in about an hour! Maybe it turns out to 

be closer to an hour and a half – but who’s keeping track 

at this point anyway? Besides, you get to hang out at the 

shop talking with friends, right? 

A couple more hours go by while your bike is on the lift 


Stop-n-Go Tubeless Puncture Pilot 

and then finally, 

bamm, you are all 

done! Great day for 

a flat! Sure glad you 

weren’t planning on 

riding or, even better, 

that you didn’t have 

to get somewhere 

and be on time. So, 

all of this only took 

about six hours and 

that is really the best 

scenario I can think 

of. 

Rewind the 

scenario… maybe 

there is a better way! 

I have in my hands a 

Stop-n-Go Tubeless 

Puncture Pilot for 

Motorcycles. I know 

Stop-n-Go has been 

offering tire repair 

kits for every kind of 

tire for over 30 years 

and I know they are doing it right. They have repair kits 

for motorcycles, scooters, automobiles, lawn mowers, 

bicycles, golf carts, and ATV’s. 

The kit contains everything you need and the quality of 

everything in the kit is top of the line. It includes the award 

winning Pocket Tire Plugger with its (15) mushroom shaped 

rubber plugs and the very compact mini-air compressor. It 

comes in its own compact case, weighs only less than two 

pounds, and fits in the palm of your hand. 

As I already said, I haven’t had the “pleasure” of using it 

yet since it has been winter and riding really hasn’t been 

frequent. I will be out a lot in the spring, summer and fall 

and you can bet I will be prepared! The other thing I can 

promise is if that dreaded day comes when I have a flat, I 

will be letting you all know how invaluable the Stop-n-Go 

Tubeless Puncture Pilot really is. In the meantime, I am 

comforted in knowing that at least I am prepared with Stopn-Go 

Tubeless Puncture Pilot in my saddlebag. Are you? 

Check them out at StopNGo.com before spring... before 

you may need it! 

 




ey, Hey, Hey good people. Welcome back to 

Thunder Roads Texas. It’s time for another bull 

session with the Pig. Yep, it’s me again, your 

favorite little pink porker with another dish of bacon just 

for you. (Hey there is no imitation bacon here, just the real 

deal.) 

Today I have great news but sadly, I also have some bad 

news. The good news is that I just returned home from the 

St. Valentines Day Massacre. Now don’t go looking at me 

like that, I know it was back in February, it just takes a while 

to get some things published, okay? Jeez. 

Like I said, I was at the St. Valentines Day Massacre and 

it was a great time for all. Those guys and gals from the 

Alamo City Gypsy’s really know how to throw a great 

party. Oh, and the sad news, I lost all my pictures from that 

weekend! Modern technology and pigs don’t mix very well. 

For three days, February 8-10, everybody lived high on 

the hog in God’s country - Hondo Texas. This year the 

Gypsy’s brought the Massacre back to Hondo and the town 

welcomed them with open arms. Unfortunately for us, we 

couldn’t make it out for Friday. It seems that Rainman’s 

work refused to let him off early that day. He came home 

all cranky and fussy and pissed off about it so Mama had 

her little boy lay down for a nap before he was allowed 

(Yes I said it, ALLOWED) to go anywhere. What a whimp. 

We finally got to go on Saturday morning. We brought 

along Rainman’s nephew Raymond AKA “Little Man”. He’s 

thirteen this year and this was his first rally. We knew we 

were about to open this young mans eyes to a whole new 

world. 

Since Little Man doesn’t have a father around, he and his 

Uncle Rainman share a special bond. Uncle Rainman has 

always been around for his nephew doing those dad-like 

things with him. We’ve taken Raymond all over Texas on 

the back of the bike so Rainman (with some specialized 

help from me) decided the rally would be a good time for 

Little Man to experience some grownup fun and maybe 

learn a lesson or two about being a man. 

As we headed out toward the wild and wicked west of 

Hondo, the first lesson we had to teach Little Man was 

trust. Every man has to know who he can trust and the first 

lesson in trust is: What happens at the Massacre stays at 

the Massacre! Little Man agreed but then he asked, “What 

about Pig?” I just looked up at him, smiled, and said “Kid, 

you just need to watch and learn.” 

We signed in and picked up ride pins at the registration 

tent. Rainman and I had one of the Gypsy ladies place our 

pins on our chests. Another lesson we wanted to teach 

Little Man was that it was an honor to have one of the host 

club ladies do this for us. We wanted to show Raymond 

that is was okay to trust a lady to stick a pin in his chest! 

The Gypsy’s had arranged a day full of fun and excitement 

with rides, field events for the kids, and vendors galore. We 


It Was All a Massacre!! 

walked by all the vendors’ booths and rummaged through 

piles of patches and new leathers. We looked at knives to 

buy and jewelry to wear. Along the way we ran into all sorts 

of people we knew. 

The next lesson for Little Man was to use proper biker 

protocol when making introductions. Rainman explained 

who everyone was and what clubs they rode with. Several 

patch-holders showed Raymond their patches and 

explained each one to him so that he had a better idea 

about the people he met. This also allowed us to teach 

Little Man a little about love and respect among bikers. It 

was pretty exciting to see the look on the young man’s face 

as he took all of that in. It was a whole new world to him 

and he enjoyed every minute of it. Little Man was rather 

surprised to find out how many friends Rainman and I have 

in the biker community. 

With all that walking around, the meeting and greeting 

began to take its toll on us and we started getting rather 

hungry. It was time to find a couple of cold beers and some 

hot food from one of the roach coach vendors. We got 

a coke for the kid and beer for us and began to decide 

just what would cure our hunger. We stopped by one 

vendor and saw the sign for “Piggy Puffs” and decided to 

investigate. 

WARNING: The following information is a little graphic and 

may be unsuitable for some people! 

We walked up to the table and horror flooded my eyes! 

I could feel the bile rising in the back of my throat when 

I realized that “Piggy Puffs” are actually fried pork rinds! 

Arrrggggg! It looked like a massacre had really happened 

at the Massacre. Immediately my head started swimming 

and my mind went all crazy. What if they were made from 

someone I once knew? Oh how disgusting. I look over and, 

WTF, are Rainman and Little Man really… Yes, they are 

tasting some free samples, that’s what they were doing! I 

held back my vomit; I tried my best to keep from doubling 

over. I wanted to speak out in protest but the mere thought 

of someone eating fried pig was just too much for me to 

handle. 

I looked at my betrayer of a friend and said, “I sure hope 

that pork rind you have in your mouth is a piece of Cousin 

Wilbur’s ass.” Rainman just smiled and said back, “If it is, 

he sure is tasty. Here try one”, he offered. With that said, 

I just walked away as I could bear no more. As I walked 

away I turned to look behind me; Rainman was buying a 

whole bag of “Piggy Puffs”. Damn traitor! 

Rainman responds: Hey everyone, Rainman here. I 

decided it might be a good idea if I wrote this next part, 

who knows what Pig would say next. Well actually, he 

is refusing to write about what happened next since he 

cannot jeopardize his PG-13 rating. Well anyway, Pig 

walked off all in a huff about the Piggy Puffs. I do have 

to say in all fairness to the Piggy Puff people, those are 

some damn good pork rinds! They are light and airy and 

seasoned just right. They practically melt in your mouth. 

I would highly recommend you get some at the next rally 

where you see Piggy Puffs. Be sure to tell them Pig sent 

you! 

We continued on, I made amends with Pig by agreeing 

not to eat the pork rinds in front of him and I bought him 

another beer. The world was at peace for us once again. 

Well, the truth is the peace only lasted until we came upon 

another vendor. We were looking for something to eat but 

couldn’t decide what. We came found this one particular 

food vendor trailer unlike all the other ones with their fancy 

paint jobs and signs galore advertising their menu. No, 

this place was a little different. It only had two small signs, 

Norm’s Place and Deep Fried Baby Back Ribs. It wasn’t 

very busy. As a matter of fact there wasn’t anyone around 

it when we strolled up. 

Norm stuck has head out the window and I asked him if 

the ribs were any good. He informed me that they would 

be the best ribs I’d ever had. Now let’s review the situation 

for a moment. Here we are at a biker rally, we’re drinking 

beer, hanging out with friends and about to order ribs from 

a rolling roach coach food vendor that has no customers, 

and this guy is telling me that he has the best ribs I’ll ever 

taste. Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this situation? 

Yeah, that’s what I thought too. 

I looked at Little Man, he looked back at me and said, “Lets 

try them”. Words spoken like the dare of a true biker. “Give 

us a cheeseburger for Pig and ribs for Little Man and me”, I 

said. “I promise you won’t be disappointed”, Norm replied. 

A few minutes later Norm appeared at the window with our 

order and I thanked him as we began to walk away. “Hold 

on there boys”, Norm said. I thought maybe I forgot to pay 

him or something. “I want to see the look on your face 

when you take the first bite.” 

Raymond wasted no time in digging in on his first rib; a 

smile crossed his face as he nodded his approval. “Pretty 

good Sir”, he said. Now it was my turn. I looked over at Pig. 

With his mouth full of cheeseburger he attempted to say, 

“It’s Cousin Wilbur”. Not to be out grossed by a pig, I took 

a big bite out of the biggest rib. It was heavenly pleasing! 

A crusty layer of rib meat mixed with so many different 

seasonings it was hard to pin down all the different flavors. 

Every spice complemented the other. It was wonderful; I 

looked at Norm and he was smiling back at me! He was 

right; it was the best tasting rib I’d ever eaten. We all went 

and sat down to finish them off. I asked Pig about his 

cheeseburger. He said he was quite pleased with it as he 

chased it down with a beer. But Raymond and I could not 

get over how good those ribs were. 

After eating, we went back to talk to Norm about the ribs. 

We told him we were with Thunder Roads Texas and his 

jaw dropped with the excitement of a jack rabbit on a hot 

date. Norm then told us the story of how his ribs came 

about. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best), I would 

You can contact Pig or Rainman by e-mail at pig8080@LIVE.COM 

For more of Pig’s wild adventures, check out his blog at pigspage.wordpress.com 

or follow him on Facebook.com/pig.meinhardt 


give Norm’s ribs a 12! You need to look for Norm at the next rally and try his ribs, they are 

that good! Oh and Norm also does catering. 

Pig replies: Yeah, yeah, we all know the ribs were good Rainman but it is time to get back to 

the rally. Where was I? Oh yeah, so after that disgusting display of carnage, we finally got 

away from all the jackals of pork products and were able to enjoy the rally. We had a great 

time just hanging out with everyone doing things Raymond’s mama wouldn’t approve of. 

The trip home later that evening was filled with questions about the biker community, why 

we were not members of a club, how do clubs settle their differences, and why would there 

be any differences in the first place. We could tell the Little Man was very impressed with 

everything he took in that day. We returned to the rally early on Sunday morning. We saw 

that many of the partiers were not as frisky as they were the night before! Actually we came 

back on Sunday morning to attend church. The Open Road Biker Fellowship had been 

invited to provide church service to anyone interested. They brought their band and gear 

and they really rocked the place. The rally began to wind down as everyone was packing 

up to head home. Another opportunity to tell more war stories of legend. 

Rainman and I want to take a moment to thank the Alamo City Gypsy’s for all their hard 

work in putting together the rally this year. We would also like to thank all of our friends who 

made such a great impression on “Little Man”; you guys are the greatest! And last but not 

the least, I want thank Norm for assuring me that the pork ribs he serves do not contain any 

of my dead family members… or Cousin Wilbur. Knowing that makes me feel much better 

about the situation and I can honestly say that you should look up Norm and give his ribs 

a try. If not, then at least try one of his Black Angus cheeseburgers, now those are good! 

I hope to see you all real soon out there on the road, but until then… 

Ride HARD or Stay Home! 

PS... If anyone has pictures from the rally they’d like to share with our readers, please send 

them to Shelly@ThunderRoadsTexas.com and I’m sure I can sweet talk her into putting 

them into a future issue. 


 

RALLY DONE! 

No pics, due to Pig-erator error. 

If anyone has pics of this rally 

they’d like to share, send them to 


for future publication. 


RIDE MAP 

Article by Shelly Horan, TRT Editor/Owner 

Photo courtesy of Anet Noska... thanks Anet! 

that time of year – wildflowers are abundant! And of course, this includes the Texas State Flower – the bluebonnet. Yep, we’re going bluebonnet hunting! 

“The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England, and the tulip to Holland.” ~Jack 

Maguire, historian 

Did you know Texas has more than one state flower? At the turn of the 20th It’s 

Century, the Texas Legislature put aside their normal politics and debated the choices for state flower. The 

choices: 1) the prickly pear for the durability of the plant and the orchid like beauty of its flower; 2) the cotton boll, since cotton was king in Texas in the day; and 3) the bluebonnet. As 

you well know, proponents of the bluebonnet won the debate! The original species adopted in 1901 was the Lupinus subcarnosus. 

However, that wasn’t the end of the story… seems there is more than one species of bluebonnets gracing the hills and plains of Texas. Some thought the Lupinus subcarnosus was 

the least attractive bluebonnet and wanted to change the state flower to the Lupinus texensis, which is more a vibrant blue and in more abundance than the official flower first adopted. 

The debate raged for about 70 years and in 1971, the Legislature amended the state flower to include “any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded,” thus lumping all types 

of bluebonnets under the state flower. At the time, they had no idea that there were four more identifiable bluebonnet species. Remember, we’re in Texas – and everything is bigger 

in Texas… so we have six state flowers! For the horticulturists in our mix, the complete list (as we know it now) is the Lupinus subcarnosus, L. texensis, L. havardii, L. concinnus, L. 

perennis, and L. plattensis. 

So, we head out on the hunt for bluebonnets and places in Texas that celebrate this native flower. There are four bluebonnet affiliated “capitals” of Texas – Ennis, “Bluebonnet City”; 

Chappel Hill, home of the “Official Texas Bluebonnet Festival”; Llano County, “Bluebonnet Co-Capital of Texas”; and Burnet County, the “Bluebonnet Co-Capital of Texas”. Three are 

close enough for a weekend route, so away we go! 

Continued on Page 18... 




“The bluebonnet is to Texas what the 

shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom 

to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to 

England, and the tulip to Holland.” 

~historian, Jack Maguire, 

April 2013 H Page 17 

RIDE MAP

RIDE MAP 

Dog Parade 

Starting northwest of Austin, in Burnet, with the 30 th Annual 

Bluebonnet Festival (April 12-14; BluebonnetFestival.org) 

in the Texas Hill Country. Burnet is situated around the 

intersection of Highways 29 and 281. We’ve covered Burnet 

in two other issues (December 2011, “Texas Hill Country 

Lights” and June 2012, “A Little Bit of Everything…”), but 

never really talked about the history of this small “main 

street” Texas town. 

In 1852, the area was originally known as Hamilton or 

Hamilton Valley, named for John Hamilton a prominent 

landowner. When it was time to apply for a post office, 

there was already another town named Hamilton in Texas, 

so the citizens voted to name the town after the county, 

Burnet. The name comes from president of the provisional 

government of the Republic of Texas’ David G. Burnet. In 

1847, the Texas Rangers had a station in the area to protect 

residents from Indian raids. In March 1849, the station 

was closed and Fort Croghan took its place, continuing to 

provide security for the burgeoning small town. 

It is the county seat for Burnet County, so the Points 

Across Texas county courthouse and historic jail, along 

with the “capital” designation, give riders three qualified 

photo opportunities – more than half way to the free patch! 

Burnet is considered one of the best places for viewing 

wildflowers. After receiving the “Bluebonnet Capital” 

designation, the chamber of commerce decided a festival 

was in store! It has grown to see over 30,000 attendees 

and adding new activities each year. Events include a 

scholarship pageant, pet parade, Grande Parade, 5K run, 

carnival, dog house races, wiener dog races, children’s 

bike decorating contest, birding and wildflower show, 

rubber ducky race, gunfighters shoot out, air show, arts 

and craft vendors, live music, food, drink, and more! Check 

out their schedule and plan your trip accordingly. 

For other attractions while in Burnet, look up our June 

2012, “A Little Bit of Everything…” available in archive on 

our website (ThunderRoadsTexas.com). 

Heading out of Burnet on Highway 29, catch Highway 183 


Dog House Races 

Weiner Dog Races 

... continued 

South (toll) just east of Liberty Hill. North of Austin, take 

Highway 45 (toll) around to pick up Highway 290 East; skirt 

on the bypass of 290, south of Brenham, to catch FM 1155 

North into Chappell Hill. 

Air Show 

Chappell Hill claims to be 

the “Heart of Bluebonnet 

Country” and hosts a longstanding 

festival as well. 

This year they celebrate 

their 49th year (April 13-14, 

ChappellHillMuseum.org) 

with more than 250 juried 

exhibitors, delicious countrystyle 

food, live music, 

children’s activities, tours of 

the historic community, and 

more. The event was voted 

#7 as “Most Popular Festival 

in Texas” by Texas Highways 

Magazine. Proceeds 

from the festival help the 

Chappell Hill Historical 

Society with preservation of 

the community’s history and 

historic buildings. 

Chappell Hill was founded 

in 1847 by Mary Hargrove 

Haller, granddaughter of Robert Wooding Chappell, for 

whom the town was named. It sits in the heart of Stephen 

F. Austin’s original colony in Texas. Today, the small Texas 

town offers a colorful history and year-round hospitality 

and charm. Main Street has been designated as a National 

Register Historic District, meaning visitors can enjoy 

beautiful past-era architecture… if you like that kind of 

thing! It remains one of the best historically preserved 

towns in Texas. 

Being in Washington 

County, the “Birthplace 

of Texas”, the town 

played an integral part 

in the history of the 

Republic of Texas. All 

kinds of historic homes 

and markers are in 

abundance in the area. 

In 1867, the small town 

was hit with a yellow 

fever epidemic that 

almost wiped it out. 

The area was rebuilt 

with Polish immigrants 

in the 1870s. In 1933, 

as a result of the 

Great Depression and 

stock market crash in 

Bluebonnet Festival - Chappell Hill 

1929, banks across 

the US were ordered 

closed by Franklin D. 

Roosevelt. In Chappell 

Hill, the Farmers Bank of 

Chappell Hill refused to 

close its doors. Today, the 

small town enjoys a healthy 

Stagecoach Inn of Chappell Hill 

tourist trade, attracting 

visitors with restored historic 

homes, the Bluebonnet 

Festival, the Scarecrow 

Chappell Hill Bank 

Festival and an interactive museum. 

Among other things to do/see before setting out on your 

steed, a selection of buildings on the National Register of 

Historic Places: the Chappell Hill Methodist Episcopal 

Church (circa 1901), Chappell Hill Circulating Library 

(circa 1912 Colonial Revival style), Chappell Hill Public 

School and Chappell Hill Female College Bell (circa 

1927), Isaac Applewhite house (circal 1852), and the 

Stagecoach Inn of Chappell Hill (circa 1850, Greek 

Revival style). Also of note to visit is the old Rock 

Store (folk-art wall hangings), the Chappell Hill Bank 

(formerly the Farmers Bank of Chappell Hill mentioned 

above; operating in its current location since 1907), and 

the Chappell Hill Masonic Cemetery. 

Heading out of Chappell Hill, continuing North on FM 

1155; a little over two miles out, turn left on County 

Road 83/South Meyersville Road. There are a few tight, 

zig-zag turns before you hit Highway 105, where you’ll go 

right, heading east. In Navasota, pick up Highway 90 North 

and in Madisonville, catch I-45 North. Ennis is just located 

off I-45 North, just before reaching Dallas city limits. 

We’ve never covered Ennis in a ride map before, so get 

ready for some historical information, sights to see, and, 

of course, a highlight of the Bluebonnet Trail and related 

festival! 

Established in 1871 and named for Colonel Cornelius 

Ennis (a railroad official of the Houston and Texas Central 

Railway), the small town was created as most towns of 

the era, by the railroad that bypassed other towns in the 

process. However, unlike other railroad town histories, 

this one resulted in violence. The citizens of the bypassed 

town, Burnham, attacked Ennis, killing one citizen and 

Bluebonnet Festival - Chappell Hill 

Chappell Hill Masonic Cemetery 

Isaac Applewhite House 


wounding several others. The town was built on Christian 

values, with the railroad offering free town lots to any 

Christian communion that would built a church. 

Ennis became the northern division headquarters for the 

Houston and Texas Central Railroad, providing water 

and machine shops for the railroad yards. As part of the 

agreement, Ennis had to build three lakes, with the last 

not completed until 1940. Between 1910 and 1915, the 

BURNET 

• 30 th Annual Bluebonnet 

Festival (sign) 

• Bluebonnet Capital of Texas 

(sign) 

• County courthouse 

• County jail 

• Historic Burnet Square 

• Fort Croghan Museum 


railroad tried to move their headquarters, but courts upheld 

the agreement, forcing them to stay in town. By then, the 

Texas Midland Railroad arrived in town, Ennis’ second rail 

line. Eventually, both railroads were 

acquired by the Texas and New 

Orleans Railroad, which abandoned 

the tracks between Ennis and 

Kaufman after frequent washouts 

in the Trinity River bottoms. This 

left one railroad, the Texas and New 

Orleans, which then was merged 

into the Southern Pacific, which still 

rolls through the town. 

One historical fact I find interesting/ 

funny… in 1873, the Temperance 

Council was established to 

provide an alternative to “drunken 

carousing”. Guessing that era in 

Texas was tough times, requiring 

many-a-drink! What’s our excuse 

today? 

By the 1990s, Ennis was part of the 

Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area 

and became a highly industrialized 

region… where before they were 

primarily agricultural with a chamber 

of commerce slogan, “Where the 

Railroads and Cotton Fields Meet”. 

While in Ennis, there are plenty of 

places to visit: the Ennis Railroad and 

Cultural Heritage Museum, offering 

a fascinating collection of train 

memorabilia; the Texas Motorplex race track, which draws 

crowds for their NHRA racing; the 85 Speedway dirt track; 

a healthy Historic District (small town USA), with antique 

and craft shopping in abundance; and, of course, festivals. 

Ennis hosts two of note, the Annual National Polka Festival 

and the reason for its inclusion in this map, the Ennis 

Bluebonnet Trails Festival (April 20-21, VisitEnnis.org). 

This year, Ennis celebrates 62 years of the Ennis 

Bluebonnet Trails, with over 40 miles of mapped riding 

offered by the Ennis Garden Club (Facebook.com/ 

EnnisGardenClub). These are the oldest such trails known 

in the state, with tens of thousands of visitors making 

the trek for an astounding wildflower show. Typically, 

the Garden Club suggests you make plans for the third 

week of April. Of course, that third week also includes the 

Festival. They encourage visitors to check their website for 

bluebonnet and wildflower bloom information. 

The festival offers all the normal small-town charm and 

hospitality, full of activities. Visitors will find arts and crafts, 

bluebonnet souvenirs (of course!), bluebonnet trail maps, 

food, children’s activities, and live music. Additionally, on 

that Saturday, there is an Antique American Independent 

Auto Show (10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.) and the Ellis County 

SPCA Adoption Trailer will be onsite for pet adoptions 

(9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.). 

On a final note, we address a commonly held misnomer, 

that picking bluebonnets is illegal in the State of Texas. 

This is false. There are no laws prohibiting the picking of 

bluebonnets. However, there are laws addressing trespass 

on private property and damaging or destroying rights-ofway. 

So go ahead… pick some flowers! Just be careful not 

to trespass, dig up whole clumps, or trash the beautiful 

common areas while doing so. Another caution, please be 

aware of your safety at all times. Park well off the roadway, 

don’t walk across busy highways… and beware of snakes 

and fire ants; they love bluebonnets, too! 

That ends our hunt for the bluebonnet. We hope you take 

lots of pictures and share them with us and our other 

readers. And, of course, be sure to submit pictures to earn 

your FREE Points Across Texas patch! 

For more reader submitted 

bluebonnet photos, check out 

our Thunder Cam pages! 

Points Across Texas Qualified Destination List 

April 2013 Ride Map 

CHAPPELL HILL 

• “Heart of Bluebonnet 

Country” (sign) 

• Bluebonnet Festival (sign) 

• Chappell Hill Museum 

• Historic Downtown 

• Chappell Hill Methodist 

Episcopal Church 

• Circulating Library 

• Chappell Hill Public School 

• Female College Bell 

• Isaac Applewhite house 

• Statecoach Inn 

• Old Rock Store 

• Chappell Hill Masonic 

Cemetery 

ENNIS 

• Bluebonnet City (sign) 

• Texas Motorplex 

• Ennis Railroad and Cultural 

Heritage Museum 

• 85 Speedway 

• Historic District (downtown) 

• National Polka Festival 

• Ennis Bluebonnet Trails 

Festival 

• Bluebonnet Trails map 

• Ennis Garden Club (sign or 

member with shirt) 

 

The Texas State Flower – the 

Bluebonnet 

(motorcycles/motorcyclists in 

front of fields of bluebonnets is 

always nice!) 

Quick Rules: 

• Locations/items must be easily identifiable in the photo. Signs are best (cities, events, mountains, parks, etc.), but some are self-explanatory (like Prada Marfa, a mural, the bank 

vault, etc.). 

• Your AND/OR your bike must be in the picture. 

• Photos must be emailed to PaT@ThunderRoadsTexas.comor can be posted on our Points Across Texas Facebook page (Facebook.com/PointsAcrossTexas). 

• Deadline for 2013 photos is January 15, 2014. 


RIDE MAP

EVENT 

Ready for a Rally to Remember? 

Carts, Bikers & Babes Rally * Lake Somerville * April 11-14 

Here we go again! The 4th Annual Carts, Bikers, and Babes Rally is looking like it will be one 

of the biggest April rallies in a long time. With no other rallies in the Somerville area this 

month, this rally is the only true party on the lake. 

Carts, Bikers, and Babes is a rally with class. Yes it’s still very adult, but done right. The Pit Stop 

Lounge is our newest addition to this classy party. It’s a potable bar that seats 40 at a time with 

satellite TV, celling fans, outside decks for our biker family to relax in style. 

Nine bands take the “Zoo” stage… Bag Lady Sue will take to the stage on Friday and Saturday 

nights to make even the hard core blush. You will see some great bands like Nightbird, a Fleetwood 

Mac/Stevie Nicks tribute; Chris Brade, a country singer that tore it up at the Texas Rally in 

September; and Midnight Express, a band from the east that will play a classical rock show from 

the 70s, 80s, and 90s, playing almost any song you remember. 

Yes the party is back in the Zoo by popular demand! This year will feature the Battle of the After- 

Hours Campsite Parties. We all know it’s the people that make the real party. We’re just here to put 

it all together for you! Four campsites have signed up to participate in the biggest after-hours party 

competition (and maybe the only one) ever! Pretty much anything goes! Three items are required to 

qualify for the competition: dance pole, sound system, and lots of lights. Each night, after the main 

stage shuts down, judges will travel to the party sites. It’s simple to win… throw the best after-hours 

party in the Zoo! Winners take home up to $1,000 in cold hard cash. What’s in it for the rest of the 

folks? Enjoy the party! 

Of course, the party wouldn’t be the same without 

bike games, cart games, the “Bring Out Your 

Bad” cart and bike show, and the always popular 

“Nascart” Race on Saturday afternoon. Buda will 

keep the stage jumping all day and night. As we 

always say “you can rest when you get home”! 

With 50 vendors with everything from leather to 

lace, from boudin to burgers, there’s something 

for everyone. 

We want to thank all of our sponsors this year… 

Brookshire Brothers food store, Susie’s Mexican 

Restaurant, (in Somerville), Liquid Gas, Buck’s 

General Store (in Waller County), Brad of Route 

36 Bar and Dancehall; Dybalas Automotive; The 

Dirty Dog bar (in Austin); Golf Carts of Texas’ 

Dave Beecher and crew; and Pekars Autobody 

(in Wharton), and Thunder Roads Texas. 

A special thank you goes out to Rob’s Fun 

Centers; my brother, Big Dawg, owner of 

the Loading Dock Bars (in Galveston and 

Bacliff); and West of the Brazos in our own 

backyard. 


 


EVENT Thunder Roads Texas * Page 21 * April 2013

EVENT EVENT 


4 

4-6 

4-7 

5-7 

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Event Listing 

The MOST comprehensive motorcycle event listing published in the State of Texas! 

m APRIL m 

Lone Star 92.5 Bike Night 

LoneStar925.com 

DFW Area 

Region: Prairies & Lakes 

Metro: Dallas/Fort Worth 

It’s a roaming bike night! Randy James of Lone Star 

92.5 hosts an every Thursday bike night at various 

locations around town. Visit LoneStar925.com for 

information about upcoming bike nights. Proudly 

sponsored by Thunder Roads Texas! 

Louisiana State HOG Rally 

LAStateHOGRally.com 

Houma, LA 

Bikers Adult Rally 

BikersAdultRally.com 

WARNING: Adult Content 

Wills Point 



Thunder in the Hill Country 

BikerRalliesOfTexas.com 

Bandera 

Region: Hill Country 

Metro: San Antonio 

Robert Arellano Dawg Fest Rally 

DawgFestRally.com 

Mt. Pleasant 

Region: Piney Woods 

Metro: Longview 

Named in honor of Robert “Dawg” Arellano who 

lost his life in a motorcycle crash in 2010. He was 

a well-known peace officer with over 30 years 

serving his community. Funds raised benefit the 

Robert Arrellano Criminal Justice Scholarship 

and other charities. Featuring live bands, biker 

games, church service, vendors, food and drink… 

and so much more. Open to the general public. 

Sponsored by Thunder Roads Texas! 

TMRA2 Bikes & Bass Rally 

texasbarker@aol.com 

Point Blank 


Metro: Houston 

Pet Adoption Day 

StubbsHD.com 

Houston 

Region: Gulf Coast 


2013 Spring Open House, too… with motorcycle 

vendors, food, door prizes, music and more! Free 

gift with any monetary pet donation. Adopt your 

next dog or cat! 

Benefit for Raymond Fregia 

936.391.4537 

Liberty 




6 

10-14 

11 

11-14 

12-14 

March of Dimes Bikers For Babies 

MarchOfDimes.com 

Pasadena 



Arizona Bike Week 

AZBikeWeek.com 

Scottsdale, AZ 



DFW Area 








Carts, Bikers & Babes Rally 

CartsBikersAndBabesRally.com 

Somerville 


Metro: Bryan/College Station 

BRING OUT YOUR BAD – we’re stepping back in 

time! Join Damon Dave and the crew for a weekend 

full of music and fun at Big Creek Park on beautiful 

Lake Somerville! Live bands, plus Bag Lady Sue 

returns to entertain. RV Sites, free tent camping 

(with entrance fee), bike & cart games, vendors and 

more. The party never stops with the Battle of the 

After Hours Campsite Parties! Call for availability 

of RV Sites – they go fast! Sponsored by Thunder 

Roads Texas! 

Hill Country Holler 

HillCountryHoller.com 

Boerne 



A new Texas rally with an Old West twist! Held at 

the beautiful Enchanted Springs Ranch in Boerne, 

surrounded by some of the most beautiful riding 

in the US – the Texas Hill Country. Live music, 

old western town central, onsite camping, lots of 

vendors, trick shooting & wild west who, quick draw 

contests, covered wagon rides, tours of the exotic 

wild life preserve and MORE. Saturday headliner, 

Bad Compan featuring Brian Howe. Sponsored by 

Thunder Roads Texas! 

Motorcycle Mayhem 

BlackthorneResort.com 

East Durham, NY 

Not2Hot Run 

361.228.0626, 361.720.6773 

Alice 

Region: South Texas 

Metro: Corpus Christi 

12-14 

13 

13-14 

18 

TMRA State Rally 

TMRA.org 

325.653.3763 

Comanche 


Metro: Abilene 

12th Annual MARC Run 

512.540.2561; 512.446.2821 

Rockdale 


Metro: Killeen/Temple 

2nd Annual Sole Mission Benefit Run 

hamiltonduane@sbcglobal.net 

Conroe 



Jericho Ride 

Jerichoride.yolasite.com 

Various Cities 

See website for city closest to you or to create 

your own. 

Organized Chaos MC Bike Wash 

Charlie2@live.com 

Denton 



Spring Fever Fun Run 

Meetup.com/PassionRiders/Events/99775372/ 

Carrollton 



Wounded Heroes Rally 

WoundedHeroes-Texas.org 

Maypearl 



Waxahachie Motorcycle Swap Meet 

TexasScooter.com 

Waxahachie 



Thunder Roads Texas BIKE NIGHT NORTH 


Houston 



Our monthly (third Thursday) biker party with a few 

hundred of our closest friends! Hosted by Concert 

Pub North (2470 FM 1960 West, Houston, 77068). 

Co-sponsored by the Outlaw Dave Show. Live music 

with no cover or drink minimum, drink specials (big 

ass beer night!), vendors, stage games, door prizes, 

and MORE! LARGE reserved motorcycle-only 

parking, with plenty of cage parking, too. Rain or 

shine… the BEST and longest continually held bike 

night in Houston! 

SEE NEXT EVENT PAGE FOR MORE THUNDER 

ROADS TEXAS BIKE NIGHTS! 



EVENTS

EVENT 



EVENTS 

EvenT Listing 

18 

19-21 

Thunder Roads Texas BIKE NIGHT SOUTH 


Kemah 



Hosted by Jackie’s Brickhouse on Marina Bay 

Drive (FM 2094) just west of Highway 146. Cosponsored 

by the Outlaw Dave Show. Live music, 

Big Ass Beer, door prizes, CRAWFISH, and more! 

Reserved motorcycle parking. Rain or shine! 



DFW Area 








The Oldest Town in Texas (OTT) Rally 

OTTRally.com 

Nacogdoches 


Metro: Tyler 

Join the OTT team for their 5th year in Nacogdoches 

– NOW IN THE SPRING! They always have a great 

band line up all weekend. Also, custom ride-in bike 

show, bikini contest, burnout competition, BBQ 

Cook Off, Charity Poker Run, Downtown Parade, 

vendors, onsite camping, beer gardens, biker 


19-21 

19-22 

20 

... continued 

games, and awesome scenic rides through the 

beautiful East Texas Piney Woods. Sponsored by 


Beach-n-Biker Fest 

BeachNBikerfest.com 

South Padre Island 


Metro: Brownsville/Harlingen 

Where music and bikers come together. 7355 Padre 

Blvd. This annual charity fundraiser is hosted by the 

Magic Valley Riders MC. Concerts and music all 

weekend, parade, poker run, biker games, ride in 

bike show, vendors, and more. Beautiful beaches, 

great restaurants, and hotels within minutes of the 

rally. Enjoy three days of biker fun in the sun. 

COC&I Region 3 Texas State Rally 

COCTX.org 

Katy 



Back the Badge Ride 

Facebook.com/BackTheBadgeRide 

Houston 



It’s the annual ride to support the first responders 

in the Houston area. Starting at San Jacinto 

Harley-Davidson (3636 E Sam Houston Pkwy 

South, Pasadena 77505) and ending at the Texas 

Association of First Responders Wild Game Cook 

20 

20-23 

Off held at Sam Houston Race Park. Check in starts 

at 8am with KSU @ 11am. Sponsored by Thunder 


Erath County Relay for Life “Cruzin’ for a Cure” 

254.592.2060 

Stephenville 



Hell and Back Biker Run 

Facebook.com/SanAntonioVAMC 

Kerrville 



VFW MG Spring Fun Run 

817.980.7530 

Alvarado 



Texas COC&I State Rally 

COCTX.org 

Katy 



Join the Houston area COC&I as they once again 

host the annual COC&I State Rally at Bryant’s 

Ice House (26913 Katy Freeway, Katy 77497). 

The event brings hundreds of bikers from across 

the state to celebrate our riding independence 

and support motorcycle rights efforts. Bike raffle, 

vendors, DJ, live bands, bike games, bike show, 



EvenT Listing 

20-23 

21 

24-28 

25 

hot rod show, burnout contest, tattoo contest, and 

more. Camping onsite available or many hotels 

are nearby. $20 donation at the gate supports the 

Texas COC&I. Sponsored by Thunder Roads 

Texas! 

Hogs for Hope Bike Show 

Facebook.com/Events/list#!/ 

events/514601085249250 

Burleson 



Laughlin River Run 

LaughlinRiverRun.com 

Laughlin, NV 



DFW Area 









25-28 

28 

... continued 

Wild Hog Musicfest & Motorcycle Rally 

WildHogMusic.org 

Helena, AR 

Ms. Wild Hog Contest w/ cash prizes; burnout; 

poker run; bike parade; field events; bike show; dyno 

contest; bikini bull riding contest, bikini oil wrestling, 

and more. Music by Delbert McClinton, Geneva, 7 

Bridges, The Return, Grand Theft Audio, Memphis 

Yahoos, and Purfect Daze. Open to all bikes. No 

bike? No problem, $20 general admission. 

We Fight Like a Girl 

One Night Stand against Ovarian Cancer 

WeFightLikeAGirl.org 

Livingston 



Leesburg Bike Fest 

LeesburgBikeFest.com 

Leesburg, FL 

Marshall Bike Rally 

903.702.7777 

Marshall 


Metro: Longview 

Thunder on the Caprock Rally 

325.573.HAWG (4234)( 

Fluvanna 

Region: Panhandle 

Metro: Lubbock 

27 

Ride to Restore Live 

TheCircleForLife.com 

New Braunfels 



$30 registration includes Fiesta Buffet, official 

Circle for Life T-shirt, Circle for Life medal, live 

music. Police escorted ride starts at Javelina 

Harley-Davidson (29078 I-10 West, Boerne), 

follows the Fiesta Flambeau parade route, ending 

at Sunset Station. Live music, raffle for prizes, and 

lunch served at end point. Proceeds benefit organ, 

tissue and eye donation. Sponsored by Thunder 


Pink Ride 

PinkRide.org 

Texarkana 


Metro: Texarkana 

Escorted ride starts at Whiskey River Harley- 

Davidson (802 Walton Dr, Texarkana). KSU 10am. 

Registration opens at 8am. Funds raised benefit 

cancer patients for costs not covered by insurance. 

Pink Ride is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. 

Vendors, food, band all day. 

40th Annual Pig Roast 

adam_dean@yahoo.com 

Azle 





EVENTS

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY 

2 3 4 

5 6 

7 

1 

Stubbs HD Pet Adoption Day 

Houston 

Lone Star 

Bike Night 

D/FW Area 

Robert Arellano Dawg Fest Rally * Mt Pleasant * April 5-7 

APRIL FOOL’S DAY 

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Lone Star 

Bike Night 

D/FW Area 

Carts, Bikers & Babes Rally * Lake Somerville * April 11-14 

Hill Country Holler * Boerne * April 12-14 

21 

19 20 

16 17 18 

15 

Back the Badge Ride 

Houston 

Houston and Kemah 

Oldest Town in Texas (OTT Rally * Nacogdoches * April 19-21 

Texas COC&I State Rally * Katy * April 19-22 

Lone Star 

Bike Night 

D/FW Area 

TAXES DUE 

Beach & Biker Fest * South Padre Island * April 19-21 

28 

26 27 

25 

22 23 24 

Ride to Restore Life 

New Braunfels 

Pink Ride 

Texarkana 

Lone Star 

Bike Night 

D/FW Area 

Wild Hog Music Festival & Motorcycle Rally * Helena, AR * April 25-28 

ADMIN PROFESSIONAL DAY 

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March 2013 

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A GREAT THING ABOUT TEXAS ... We say “Howdy, ya’ll, and mean it!

EVENTS 

EvenT Listing 

27 

27-29 

Big Brothers Big Sistes Poker Run 

ASUUnitedCampusMinistries.org 

San Angelo 


Metro: San Angelo 

Heart of Texas Endurance Rally 

Facebook.com/HeartofTexasRally 

Brady 


Metro: San Angelo 

Stacked Deck Poker Run 

NTHOG.com 

Carrollton 



15th Annual Ein-Stein Rally 

830.560.6554; 830.832.6989 

Seguin 



Facebook.com/ThunderRoadsTexas 


2 

2-4 

2-5 

3 

... continued 

MAY 



DFW Area 








Arkansas State HOG Rally 

ARStateHOGRally.com 

Hot Spring, AR 

Three Sisters Spring Fling 

ThreeSistersRally.net 

Camp Wood 



International Female Ride Day 

Facebook.com/InternationalFemaleRideDay 

International 

Annual Spring Fling 

817.902.9734 

Venus 



3-4 

3-5 

Cossacks MC Hog Wild Fest 

903.272.6611 

Paris 



Hill Country Run Motorcycle Rally 

HillCountryRun.com 

Bandera 



Annual fundraiser for the Fredericksburg Optimist 

Club. The fun starts Friday social in Fredericksburg; 

Saturday includes helicopter rides, live music, stunt 

riders, Hill Country rides, bike games, bike show, 

Cowboy Breakfasts; Ending with Sunday services 

provided by the CMA. Registration is open NOW. 

Register before April 26, 2013 to receive a T-shirt. 

$45/per person includes: entry all four days, social 

“kick-off” on Friday, Cowboy Breakfast Saturday & 

Sunday, Hill Country rides; bike games, and bike 

show T-shirt. Sponsored by Thunder Roads 

Texas! 

Vets & Hawgs Rally 2013 

ALR393.com 

Cleveland 




EvenT Listing 

4 

12th Annual Ride for the Fallen 

POMF.org 

Austin 


Metro: Austin 

Pre-registration open online, $35/bike includes 

T-shirt; Onsite $40/bike. Check in opens at 8am; 

KSU 10am. Police escorted ride starts at Cowboy 

Harley-Davidson (10917 South I-35, Austin) and 

ends at the Peace Officers’ Memorial at the Texas 

Capitol, where a short tribute service is held. Digital 

Photo Scavenger Hunt after the service. Enter 

four photo submissions from a list for a drawing. 

Sponsored by Thunder Roads Texas! 

Texas Honor Ride Fun Run 

TexasHonorRide.Org 

Texas City 



The THR Spring Fun Run has moved to Texas City – 

Memorial Lutheran Church (2021 29 th Street North, 

Texas City). Music, prizes, 50/50, food, drinks, THR 

merchandise. $20/per bike; $5/passenger. Register 

online or on ride day. Onsite registraton opens at 

8am. First bike out @ 9am; Last bike in by 10am. 

The onsite festivities start at Noon. Proceeds go 

to benefit our wounded troops and their families 

at Brooke Army Medical Center. Sponsored by 



5 

9 

9-11 

10-19 

11 

... continued 

Spring Fling Scooter Ride 

Facebook.com/#!/Events/547400645294178/ 

San Antonio 





DFW Area 








New Mexico State HOG Rally 

NMStateHOGRally.com 

Albuquerue, NM 

Myrtle Beach Bike Week Spring Rally 

MyrtleBeachBikeWeek.com 

Myrtle Beach, SC 

Bikers Against Breast Cancer 

BABCTexas.org 

Pasadena 



11 

15-25 

18 

Rose Ride 

Facebook.com/#!/Events/483553601690782/ 

Pasadena 



Run For The Wall 

RFTW.org 

Nationwide 

One Run – Two Routes (Central and South). The 

southern route goes through Central and North 

Texas, with the final destination the Rolling Thunder 

Rally in Washington, DC. Catch the ride or just visit 

with the riders at any of their Texas stops and show 

your support. The Run For The Wall is a 501(c)3 

organization and welcomes donations. Sponsored 

by Thunder Roads Texas! 

Armed Forces Freedom Ride 

EastTexasFreedomRide.org 

Jasper 


Metro: Beaumont 

Supporting our Armed Forces of all service 

branches, including veterans, POW/MIA, KIA, 

active troops and the families. Ride starts at The 

Hideaway (320 Hicks St). Registration begins at 

9am; KSU 11am. Live music, door prizes, raffles, 

vendors and a gun raffle begin at 2pm. Sponsored 

by Thunder Roads Texas! 



EVENTS

EVENT 



EVENTS 

EvenT Listing 

19 

Renegade Classics 2nd Anniversary Party 

RenegadeTheWoodlands.com 

The Woodlands 



Parking lot party with FREE food and FREE beer; 

Live music by CrossTown Renegades; Renegade 

Girls; and bikini bike wash. 

FUTURE 

June 8-16 

Laconia Motorcycle Week 

LaconiaMCWeek.com 

Laconia, NH 

June 13-16 

Republic of Texas (ROT) Biker Rally 

ROTRally.com 

Austin 


Metro: Austin 

June 17 

Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day 

RideToWork.org 

International 

August 5-11 

70th Annual Sturgis Bike Week 

Sturgis.com 

Sturgis, SD 


... continued 

August 29-September 2 

Four Corners Motorcycle Rally 

(formerly Ignacio Bike Week) 

IgnacioBikeWeek.com/ 

Ignacio, CO 

September 5-7 

Hot Springs Rally 

TheHotSpringsRally.com 

Hot Springs, AR 

September 18-21 

Bikes, Blues & BBQ 

BikesBluesandBBQ.org 

Fayetteville, AR 

September 18-22 

The Golden Aspen Rally 

MotorcycleRally.com 

Ruidoso, NM 

October 2-6 

Myrtle Beach Bike Week Fall Rally 

MyrtleBeachBikeWeek.com 

Myrtle Beach, SC 

Region: Out-of-State 

Metro: 

October 11-13 

Boo Benefit 

BooBenefit.org 

Jefferson 


Metro: Tyler 

October 17-20 

Biketoberfest 

Biketoberfest.com 

Daytona, FL 

October 31-November 4 

Lone Star Motorcycle Rally 

LoneStarRally.com 

Galveston 



About Our Event Listing: 

Basic Event listings are FREE. Premium Event Listings 

(bold and up to 75 word description) are only $15/event. 

Send your event to: events@thunderroadstexas.com. 

To be included in the print version, information must be 

received by the 10 th of the month prior to the month in 

which the event is scheduled or the month before you 

wish a Premium Event Listing to appear. Events must 

have some motorcycle element. 

Subscribe to our FREE Web-zine for updates with events 

that don’t make print, two weeks’ worth of events are 

provided every week to your email inbox. You can always 

visit our website to download a list of the “next two weeks” 

events. 

Thunder Roads Texas does not guarantee the accuracy 

of the information provided and cannot be held liable. 

Things change, there may be typos, and weather 

happens. So before you climb on your steed and ride to 

one of these events, contact the organizers and verify the 

latest information. 

 




EVENTS

EVENTS 





EVENTS

EVENT 

Growing Event Set for Luckenbach 

17th Annual Hill Country Run * Luckenbach * May 3-5 

any riders from across the state and beyond 

will enjoy the Texas Hill Country in a whole 

different way - astride a motorcycle at the 

17th M Annual Hill Country Run Motorcycle 

Rally. This event is sponsored by the Optimist Club 

of Fredericksburg and represents their largest annual 

fundraising event. 

Billed as “More than just a plain ole motorcycle rally,” the 

Hill Country Run is three days filled with hearty food, live 

music, new friends, and miles of riding through the towns 

and vistas of the scenic Texas Hill Country. “Our rally is a 

laid-back, safe, and friendly getaway with good music, nice 

scenery, and interesting people from all walks of life,” says 

Debbie Farquhuar-Garner, event coordinator. It is a small 

town event that is getting big. 

The weekend gets an early start on Thursday, May 2, with a 

social and welcome at Hondo’s on Main in Fredericksburg 


(312 West Main Street). Guests are invited to an informal 

social gathering featuring music and food, with extra 

surprises for attending registrants. The fun begins at 6:30 

p.m. 

On Friday and Saturday, check-in and registration begin 

at 9:00 a.m. in Luckenbach. Participants can enjoy more 

live music all afternoon and evening, along with vendors, 

exhibits, stunt shows, food, and more. 

On Friday, join the Hill Country Ride and an action-packed 

afternoon of fun. Some of the exciting weekend action 

includes Daniel Weeks, owner of PiNN-iT motorcycle stunt 

show. He has enjoyed riding and jumping dirt bikes for 

years and has always pushed it to the limit. Two demos are 

scheduled for Friday and three on Saturday. For the first 

time there will be an exhibit of Evel Knievel memorabilia 

including his leather suits worn during his daredevil jumps. 

The popular Saturday evening Brisket & Brew dinner is 

back. Tickets are sold in advance for $12 per person (call 

830-997-8515). 

The Optimist Club has planned a route for Saturday’s 

Hill Country Road Trip, with detailed directions and prize 

opportunities. Strictly speaking, the Hill Country Road 

Trip is not a competition, but more of a leisure ride in the 

beautiful Hill Country. The distance is less than 100 miles, 

so the entire trip can easily be completed in several hours. 

Along the way, riders will pull into designated stops, where 

they can drop tickets in a box. At the end of the event, 

tickets will be drawn from each stop for some great prizes. 

Saturday and Sunday start with a hearty Cowboy 

Breakfast, included in the registration fee. The hosts 

provide the ingredients and 30 individual cooking stations, 

so early-risers can fry up their favorite breakfast of eggs 

and bacon, laid on warm tortillas, garnished with cheese, 

onions, and green peppers, and washed down with fresh, 

hot coffee and orange juice. During the day, hungry riders 

can satisfy their hunger with pulled pork sandwiches and 

cold drinks. 

The weekend entertainment includes the Spare Parts of 


Fredericksburg on Friday 6:00–9:00 p.m. and Saturday, an Austin favorite, Ponty Bone and the Squeezetones 

6:00-10:00 p.m. Vendor booths offering motorcycle-related items and souvenirs will be on hand throughout the 

event. On Sunday, the event closes out with a final Cowboy Breakfast and Sunday morning worship service. 

Of course, what would a rally be without the ability to camp! Onsite primitive and self-contained RV camping 

is available at Luckenbach for only $15/person. 

The Optimist Club encourages riders to arrive early and stay late in order to enjoy all the hospitality Luckenbach 

and Fredericksburg have to offer, including antique shopping, fine dining, Texas history, and ample sightseeing. 

The whole weekend full of food, fun, music, rides, and more is only $45/person. Registration is available on 

their website. Deadline for pre-registration is April 26 and includes a commemorative event T-shirt. While 

registering, payment for camping and tickets for the Brew & Brisket dinner can be reserved as well. 

Proceeds from the Hill Country Run go to fund Fredericksburg Optimist Club projects, including the T-Ball 

Program, Scholarship Program, Oratorical Contest, and Essay Contest. The focus of the Optimist Club is 

“Bringing Out the Best in Kids.” Optimist Clubs conduct positive service projects in their communities aimed 

at providing a helping hand to youth. With their upbeat attitude, Optimist Club members help empower 

young people to be the best that they can be. All of our rally’s net proceeds are returned to the youth in 

Fredericksburg. Every year Optimist International conducts over 65,000 service projects and serves well over 

six million young people. 

For information, call 830-997-8515, or visit HillCountryRun.com, or be our friend on Facebook. 


 

2013 Hill Country Run Schedule of Events... 

Lots of great, fun things are in store! 

Thursday, May 2, 2013 

6:30pm Social at Hondo’s on Main. Join us for our 

annual kick-off! Lots of fun in store! 

Friday, May 3, 2013 

9:00am Check in/Registration begins at 

Luckenbach 

11:00am-11:00pm Food & Beer Available at the Food Haus 

and in the Luckenbach General Store 

Hill Country Ride 

Be sure to return to Luckenbach for more fun! 

1:00-5:00pm Luckenbach Local Flavor 

Evel Knievel Exhibit 

Two demos by Pinn-It stunt riders 

6:00-9:00pm Spare Parts Band 

Saturday, May 4, 2013 

7:30-9:30am Cowboy Breakfast 

9:00am Check in/registration begins 

9:00am-2:00pm Hill Country Road Trip 

11:00am-11:00pm Food & Beer Available at the Food Haus 

and in the Luckenbach General Store 

1:00-5:00pm The Dust Devils Band 

Three demos by Pinn-It stunt riders 

Evel Knievel Exhibit 

3:30pm Bike Show 

5:30-6:30pm Brew & Brisket in Luckenbach, $12 per 

person (advance tickets required) 

6:00-10:00pm Ponty Bone and the Squeezetones 

7:00pm Winners announced: Bike Show, Live 

auction, other surprises 

Special guests – Dorsai Racing Team, Vintage World Record 

Holder at Bonneville 

Sunday, May 5, 2013 

7:30-9:30am Cowboy Breakfast 

8:30am Biker Church by CMA 

Schedule subject to change without notice. 


EVENT

What Lurks Inside that Little Pink Head? 

By Randy McCamey, TRT Associate Editor 

As 

associate editor for Thunder Roads Texas, it’s 

my job to interview new correspondents for 

positions here on staff and also to review the 

performance of our veteran writers each year. I usually 

ask a series of questions to get these individuals to talk 

about themselves, their skills, and accomplishments. This 

process lets me peer into the deep abyss of their minds 

and try to figure out what they are really all about. From 

their responses, Bob, Shelly and I can make a more 

informed assessment as to how well our current or future 

correspondents meet the high journalistic standards that 

you expect from this great magazine. 

Some of Pig’s recent behaviors have given me cause to 

wonder. After all, attending weddings, drinking champagne, 

and feeling no pain – what gives?! So I thought it might 

be a good time to interview Pig just to check, you know, 

his emotional stability and such. (I call it a performance 

evaluation, but don’t tell Pig. He would think it is some 

sort of conspiracy!) This time I thought it might be good 

to publish Pig’s answers so that you, our loyal readers, 

could judge for yourself the overall mental stability and 

demeanor of our beloved Pig. 

Pig: Ahhh, Harley Doc, I have a few questions I need to 

ask you before we can proceed… 

Question #1: Are you currently, or have you ever been, 


a member of a local, state, or federal law enforcement 

agency? 

HD: I got arrested once, does that count? 

Pig: Question #2: Are you interviewing me with the 

purpose of using my answers as testimony in a court of 

law? 

HD: On the advice of my attorney, I take the Fifth (or is 

that, I’ll take a fifth…after this interview, I may need one!) 

Pig: Question #:3 Will my answers to these questions be 

kept confidential? 

HD: Only your closest and dearest friends will see your 

answers. Everyone else who reads Thunder Roads Texas 

will see both the questions and your answers. 

HD: Please state your name and any nicknames or 

aliases. 

Pig: Pig Meinhardt. 

HD: What are your favorite foods and beverages? 

Pig: I would have to say it is hot dogs from a gas station, 

flaming hot Cheetos, and beer. 

HD: Tell me about the first time you ever rode on a 

motorcycle. 

Pig: Rainman [that’s Pig’s “handler”] and his friends were 

Hey... get out 

of my head! 


headed to a bar for drinks. I wanted to go, so they threw me 

on the back and I haven’t gotten off the bike since. 

HD: What is it like being an animal in the sport of 

motorcycling that is dominated by humans? 

Pig: Who are you calling an animal? 

HD: Well, some of the girls at the bar say you can be a 

real anim…, oh wait, that’s another story! Let me rephrase 

the question: What is it like being you in a sport dominated 

by humans? 

Pig: Hmmm… Well ya know what Doc? It’s like this. 

Bikers accept me for who I am, no one tries to change me 

and no one gets hurt. 

HD: What do you say to friends who, for the first time, find 

out you are a biker? 

Pig: Relax baby, this won’t hurt a bit. 

HD: What was the best time you’ve ever had that you 

don’t remember? That is, what was the best time you’ve 

ever had when you’d had a few too many? 

Pig: Well Doc that would be the time I was arrested at the 

strip club for trying to order a fish taco. 

HD: Do you have a favorite charity or charitable event? 

Pig: Now Doc, I try to help them all as much as I can. But 

if I had to pick a favorite I would say it would be the Save 

the Ta-Ta’s charity. 

HD: How did you get starting writing? 

Pig: It was Rainman’s idea. He wanted me to do 

something else with my time instead of sitting around the 

house all day drinking his beer. 

HD: Tell us how you happened to get in good with our 

editors, Shelly and Bob. What was it like the first time you 


saw your name on a Thunder Roads Texas article? 

Pig: Ha, ha, ha, Bob was easy, a 12-pack of beer and I 

was in. And Shelly, wellll let’s just say I smoothed her over 

with my boyish charms. The first time I saw my name in 

Thunder Roads I shouted WOO-HOO LET’S PARTY. 

HD: If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead, 

who would it be? 

Pig: I thought long and hard on this one Doc and I have 

two answers. I would have to say my first choice would 

be Outlaw Dave, because I would just love to be on his 

show. He always has the hottest chicks hanging around. 

My second choice would be Rachael Ray, cause that broad 

knows how to cook. 

HD: Any girlfriends? 

Pig: Too many to count and if I did count them all it would 

just make you jealous. 

HD: I noticed that you close each article with “Ride 

HARD or Stay Home”. Why is that? 

Pig: Dude, if I have to explain that to you, you need to go 

home and ask your wife. 

HD: I see that you like to use quotes in your writing. What 

quote is your favorite? 

Pig: Ahhhh that would be “The famous last words of 

a biker: WATCH THIS!!!” By the way, did you know that 

I wrote a quote of my own? Here goes. Titties and beer, 

Titties and beer, this Pig loves titties and beer. 

HD: I’m guessing that wet T-shirt contests might be your 

favorite full-contact sport then, eh? 

Pig: You could say I like to be in the middle of things like 

that, yes. 

HD: Pig, you have mentioned a cousin Wilbur. Who is he? 

Pig: Wilbur is my low life, POS, pink trash, sorry ass 

excuse of a relative from my mother’s side of a cousin. The 

lousy SOB owes me money. He is so rotten he is not even 

worth BARBECUING! He ain’t no damn good! 

HD: What disappoints you the most, other than Wilbur? 

Pig: Well Doc, that would be three things: 1)Running out 

of beer, 2) Married women, and 3) People who think eating 

bacon is cool. 

HD: What are some of your dreams for the future? 

Pig: Having my own brand of beer (PIG BEER for 

everyone) and working for the FBI. 

HD: Really. You would want to work for the FBI? 

Pig: Yep… I would just love to be a Female Body 

Inspector. 

HD: Last question, just between the two of us, 

what do you really think about Rainman? 

Pig: Doc, you will never find a better friend, the 

man has given me the shirt off his back. I just 

wish he would get rid of that stupid shit eating 

grin of his. 

There you have it, folks, straight from the horse’s, 

errrr, the Pig’s mouth. Send us your thoughts 

and comments. For now, he’s good to go, but we 

should all continue to be watchful. I ask that you, 

our faithful readers, take Pig out on the town as 

often as possible. He needs constant support and a beer 

or two with friends every few days to keep his spirit alive. 

After all, a pig who is depressed is a terrible thing! Or is 

that, a wasted pig is a terrible thing? Hmmmm, so many 

questions, so little time. 

 


ON THE COVER 

From the Ashes... 

By Shelly Horan, TRT Editor/Owner 

his month, we take a jaunt down Texas Highway 36, 

off I-10, southwest of Houston… to a little bar wellknown 

to the area, West of the Brazos in Damon. 

The bar’s been around a long time, but it was purchased 

from Curtis Maricle by “Cactus Jack” Graham in January 

2011. Unfortunately, just a few months after Cactus Jack 

took over, the bar burned to the ground (May 2011) – 

forever losing the impressive neon sign over the bar, along 

with just about the rest of the whole building. While no 

suspicions of foul play are out there, the start of the fire is 

still officially on the books as “undetermined”. 

Before the bar could burn down, Cactus Jack had 

continued his annual April birthday party and crawfish boil, 

moving it to the new bar. This year, on April 27, he will host 

the 26th T 

Annual Cactus Jack’s Birthday Party and Crawfish 

Boil. They will have about 1,200 pounds of mudbugs and 

it’s not unusual to have some left for Sunday riders visiting 

this favorite haunt. Now, he’s not saying how old he is, but 

his daughter, Wendy Graham, concedes he will admit to 

39. Not too long ago, before Wendy turned 29, he would 

claim 29… guess she caught up to him! 

After the bar burned, it reopened almost immediately with 

a temporary set up to serve adult beverages (it’s officially 

an “ice house”, serving beer and other beverages of less 

than 5% alcohol content). On the day after Thanksgiving 

that same year, they were pleased to reopen a whole 

new (and larger) building, complete with kitchen and all. 

Additionally, the front parking lot got an upgrade and most 

of it is now paved. They maintained the feel of the place… 

what I would call “casual comfort”. They maintained the 

wrap around porch, big comfy chairs on the front porch 

corners, outside picnic tables, original sign on front of 

the building, games, and plenty of good old fashioned 

hospitality inside. 

When asked how her father came to be owner of West of 

the Brazos, Wendy replied, “He’s always been a biker guy, 

often in the bars… including West of the Brazos. So when 

it became available, it was a good fit.” This isn’t the first bar 

Cactus Jack has owned… and probably won’t be his last! 


Wendy actually moved from Michigan to help her father 

rebuild the infamous establishment. 

Today, Wendy has taken over the day-to-day activities, 

while Jack has become what she affectionately calls 

a “storage warrior”. But he can be found there pretty 

regularly. Wendy has help from friend, Veronica Smith, to 

whom she also gives credit for a big part of the rebuild. She 

also wants to acknowledge Donna Johnson (Cactus Jack’s 

fiancé) and Dearing “Doc” McAlpine, III for all the help they 

have provided her and her father in getting the bar back up 

and running. There are still some things to be done… but 

really, anyone who owns any kind of building/property – 

there’s always something that needs to be done! 

The new owners have also continued the reputation of 

West of the Brazos as supporting local rides and benefit 

events. In March, they hosted the 40th Annual Zodiac Run, 

organized by the San Jacinto High Rollers, benefitting the 

Texas Lions Camp for Kids. On April 20, they’ll host a trail 

ride, full of horses and wagons! The small bar is home to 

riders and cowboys alike! 

They want to invite everyone to return to 

hitting the West of the Brazos on their way 

around the area. It’s a great stop if you’re 

heading down to ride the Bluewater Highway, 

from Freeport to Galveston. The parking lot 

is big and the hamburgers are highly recommended. The 

kitchen is open 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. every day, with great 

weekday lunch specials. The bar remains open until 2:00 

a.m. seven days a week. 

So, when you’re riding in the Houston area, be sure to 

mark your maps with West of the Brazos in the small town 

of Damon (don’t blink!). And… mark your calendars for 

April 27 to enjoy a big ole birthday bash! 

 






A special THANKS to Gene McKinney, Liz LeMoine, Mark Hime, RJ Hathaway, and 

Steven Styles for responding to our call for photos with bluebonnets! 

Want to see YOUR mug in our mag? Send pics to Shelly@ThunderRoadsTexas.com. 






Chopper Zeke was in a bar n’ grill yesterday, feeling no pain 

and chillaxin’ with a great mellow buzz, when he suddenly 

realized he desperately needed to fart. The music was 

really, really loud, so he timed his farts with the beat of the 

music. After a couple of songs, he started to feel a whole 

lot better. He finished his beer, and noticed that everybody 

was staring at him... Then it dawned on him that he was 

listening to his iPod. 

Great Bumper Stickers 

• This Vehicle Swerves and Hits Pedestrians at Random 

• Your kid may be an honor student, but you’re still an 

IDIOT! 

• Don’t drink and drive.... You might hit a bump and spill 

your drink. 

• My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student! 

• I STOP FOR NO APPARENT REASON. 

• Don’t laugh, your daughter could be in here. 

• Some people are alive only because it’s illegal to kill 

them. 

• Cover me. I’m changing lanes. 


An 80 year old man is having his annual checkup. The 

doctor asks him how he’s feeling. 

“I’ve never been better!” he replies. “I’ve got an eighteen 

year old bride who’s pregnant with my child! What do you 

think about that?” 

The doctor considers this for a moment, and then says, 

“Well, let me tell you a story. I know a guy who’s an avid 

hunter. He never misses a season. But one day he’s in a 

bit of a hurry and he accidentally grabs his umbrella instead 

of his gun. So he’s walking in the woods near a creek and 

suddenly spots a beaver in some brush in front of him! He 

raises up his umbrella, points it at the beaver and squeezes 

the handle. BAM The beaver drops dead in front of him.” 

“That’s impossible!” said the old man in disbelief, “Someone 

else must have taken a shot at that beaver.” 

“Exactly.” answers the doctor. 

A man came to visit his grandparents, and he noticed his 

grandfather sitting on the porch in his favorite rocking chair 

wearing only a shirt, with nothing on from the waist down. 

“Grandpa, what are you doing? Your “winkie” is out in the 

wind for everyone to see!” he exclaimed. The old man 

looked off in the distance without answering. 

“Grandpa, what are you doing sitting out here with nothing 

on below the waist?” he asked again. 

The old man slowly looked at him and said, “Well....last 

week I sat out here with no shirt on, and I got a stiff neck 

that lasted a week. This here is your Grandma’s idea.” 

Two bikers; Buster and Bodie, rode into a gas station in 

rural Texas for a fill-up because they heard about a contest 

being offered by the station to patrons who purchased a full 

tank of gas. When they went inside to pay, the guys asked 

the attendant about the contest. “If you win, you’re entitled 

to free sex” said the attendant. “How do we enter?” asked 

Buster. 

“Well, I’m thinking of a number between 1 and 10, if you 

guess right, you win free sex.” 

“OK. I guess 7,” said Bodie. 

“Sorry, I was thinking of 8,” replied the attendant. 

The next week, the two buddies go back to the same station 

to get gas. When they went inside to pay, Buster asked the 

attendant if the contest was still going on. “Sure,” replied the 

attendant. “I’m thinking of a number between 1 and 10, if 

you guess right you win free sex.” 

“2” said Buster. 

“Sorry, I was thinking of 3,” replied the attendant. “Y’all come 

back soon and try again.” 

As they walked back to their bikes, Bodie said to Buster, 


“You know, I’m beginning to think this contest is rigged.” 

“No way,” replied Buster. “My wife won three times last 

week.” 

A crusty old Marine Sergeant Major found himself at a 

Gala event hosted by a local liberal arts college. There 

was no shortage of extremely young idealistic ladies in 

attendance, one of whom approached the Sergeant Major 

for conversation. 

“Excuse me, Sergeant Major, but you seem to be a very 

serious man. Is something bothering you?” “Negative, 

ma’am. Just serious by nature.” 

The young lady looked at his awards and decorations and 

said, “It looks like you have seen a lot of action.” 

“Yes, ma’am, a lot of action.” 

The young lady, tiring of trying to start up a conversation, 

said, “You know, you should lighten up. Relax and enjoy 

yourself.” The Sergeant Major just stared at her in his 

serious manner. Finally the young lady said, “You know, I 

hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but when is the last 

time you had sex?” 

“1955, ma’am.” 

“Well, there you are. No wonder you’re so serious. You really 

need to chill out! I mean, no sex since 1955!” She took his 

hand and led him to a private room where she proceeded to 

“relax” him several times. 

Afterwards, panting for breath, she leaned against his bare 

chest and said, “Wow, you sure didn’t forget much since 

1955.” 

The Sergeant Major said, after glancing at his watch, “I hope 

not; it’s only 2130 now.” 


A lawyer and a biker are sitting next to each other on a long 

flight. The lawyer is thinking all bikers are so dumb that he 

could get one over on them easily. So, the lawyer asks if the 

biker would like to play a fun game. The biker is tired and 

just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and tries 

to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists, saying that the 

game is a lot of fun. 

“I ask you a question and if you don’t know the answer, you 

pay me only $5. Then you ask me one, and if I don’t know 

the answer, I will pay you $500,” he says. 

This catches the biker’s attention and, to keep the lawyer 

quiet, he agrees to play the game. The lawyer asks the first 

question. “What’s the distance from the Earth to the Moon?” 

The biker doesn’t say a word, but reaches into his pocket, 

pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer. 

Now, it’s the biker’s turn. He asks the lawyer, “What goes 

up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?” The 

lawyer uses his laptop to search all references he can find 

on the internet. He sends emails to all the smart friends he 

knows; all to no avail. After an hour of searching, he finally 

gives up. He wakes the biker and hands him $500. The 

biker pockets the $500 and goes right back to sleep. 

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes 

the biker again and asks, “Well, so what goes up a hill with 

three legs and comes down with four?” The biker reaches 

into his pocket, hands the lawyer $5, and goes back to 

sleep. 

Two women were walking home after a girls’ night out and 

they felt the need to pee. So passing a graveyard, they 

decided to answer the call of nature. Of course they have 

no toilet paper. So the first one uses her knickers and then 

throws them away. The other woman spots a ribbon on a 

wreath and pulls it off and uses that. 

The next day, their husbands are talking and one says to 

the other, “You know we need to watch our wives when they 

go out for their nights out. My wife came home last night 

without her knickers. 

“You think that’s bad,” said the other husband;”Mine had a 

card stuck to her butt that said ‘from all the guys at the fire 

station – we’ll miss you’!” 

A couple of weeks after hearing a sermon on Psalms 51:2- 

4 and Psalms 52:3-4 (lies and deceit), a man wrote the 

following letter to the IRS: 

I have been unable to sleep, knowing that I have cheated on 

my income tax. I understated my taxable income, and have 

enclosed a check for $150. 

Sincerely, 

Taxpayer 

PS If I still can’t sleep, I will send the rest 

A couple thoughts on income taxes... 

“Two things you need to know about taxes. They’ve 

extended the deadline to April 18, and when you write your 

check, just make it out to China.” –David Letterman 

“Tax day is the day that ordinary Americans send their 

money to Washington, D.C., and wealthy Americans send 

their money to the Cayman Islands.” –Jimmy Kimmel 

“It’s fitting that April 14 is National Pecan Day because 

today, we recognize nuts. And tomorrow, on April 15, we 

pay our taxes to support them.” -Craig Ferguson 

 


By: Shelly Horan, TRT Editor/Owner 

A 

popular biker band is John Epperson & Drivin Blind. As I sit here 

and write this, I am missing them perform at Blowout’s Biker Bash, 

finishing off this month’s issue so it can go to press on time! Damn! 

They have been rocking biker rally and bar stages since 2005, formed as 

a Southern Rock Biker Band. Some of their favorite artists include Stevie 

Ray Vaughan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alman Borthers, ZZ Top and many more. 

They’ve even played in Sturgis, Daytona, Myrtle Beach, and Laconia, 

making them a national band, while Texas-based. 

The power-house trio consists of John Epperson on guitar and lead 

vocals, Donny Rorie on drums and backup vocals, and Benny Lamson 

on Bass. 

You may have found them at some of the most popular biker rallies in 

Texas, such as Bikers Adult Rally, The Texas Rally, Hawgs of Texas Rally, 

and many, many more. Additionally, they’ve opened for Foghat, Molly 

Hatchet, Brian Howe formerly of Bad Company, Blue Oyster Cult and so 

many more big names! 

Check out their website JohnEpperson-DrivinBlind.com to get their 

schedule, hear some of their music, and check out a video of them 

rocking the stage at our north BIKE NIGHT location, Concert Pub North. 


 


Accessories & Parts 

* Stitches 

1308 Hwy 6 South 


281.558.8572 


Closest Metro: Houston 

Bands & Entertainment 

BE THE FIRST! ONLY $149/YEAR 

http://ThunderRoadsTexas.com 

Bars & Restaurants 

* Bryant’s Ice House 

26913 Katy Freeway 

Katy, TX 77494 

281.392.BEER (2337) 

HoustonIceHouse.com 

* Deanville Bar & Grill 

1789 FM 60 S 

Deanville, TX 77852 

979.535.7776 


Closest Metro: Bryan/College Station 

* Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop 

Bent Rim Grill 

657 West Ranch Rd 

Leakey, TX 78873 

830.232.6629 

www.friocanyonmotorcycleshop.com 

www.bentrimgrill.com 


Closest Metro: San Antonio 

* Headwaters Saloon 

229 S Ranch Rd 783 

Harper, TX 78631 

830.377.5034 




Biker Friendly 

These businesses are SERIOUS about serving the Texas Motorcycle Community. The list is set up in business categories. 

Regional and Metro information is included. An “ * ” means the location is a Thunder Roads Texas distribution point. Visit 

ThunderRoadsTexas.com to find a full listing of distribution points. Tell them you saw them in Thunder Road Texas! Want to 

be on this list - it’s only $149/YEAR - visit our website or email Shelly@ThunderRoadsTexas.com for information. 

* Hot Rods and Harleys Bar & Grill 

13124 FM 306 

Canyon Lake, TX 78133 

830.864.2911 

www.hotrodsandharleysbar.com 



* Johnny O’s Ole House Tavern 

9905 Camp Bowie West 

Fort Worth, TX 76116 

817.874.2535 

www.chulachaser.com 


Closest Metro: Dallas/Fort Worth 

* Loading Dock, The 

504 25th St 

Galveston, TX 77550 

409.765.5155 

http://loadingdockgalveston.com 



* Noah’s Ark Bar & Grill 

4438 Boulevard St 

Bacliff, TX 77518 

281.339.2895 

www.noahsarkbarandgrill.com 



* Rolling Thunder Bar & Grill 

6441 County Rd 2173 

Fluvanna, TX 79517 

325.573.HAWG (4294) 

http://rollingthunderbarandgrill.com/Home_Page.php 


Closest Metro: Lubbock 

* Tommaso’s Italian Restaurant 

507 N Gordon St 

Alvin, TX 77511 

281.331.6262 

www.tomasositaliangrill.com 



* West of the Brazos 

23220 Hwy 36 

Damon, TX 77430 

979.742.3100 

www.WestoftheBrazos.com 



* Yankee’s Tavern 

8703 Ada Oaks Ln 

Anderson, TX 77830 

936.873.3314 

www.yankeestavern.com 



Dealerships & Shops 

* Collin County Choppers AKA Frisco Custom Cycles 

6427 Main St 

Frisco, TX 75034 

214.387.0650 

www.collincountychoppers.com 



* Cowboy’s Alamo City H-D 

11005 IH 35 North 

San Antonio, TX 78233 

800.397.7875 

www.cowboysalamocityharley.com 



* Cycle Heaven 

3770 Hwy 69 N 

Lufkin, TX 75904 

936.634.8404 

www.cycleheaventx.com 


Closest Metro: Tyler 




* Harley-Davidson of Kingwood 

111 Northpines Dr 

Kingwood, TX 77339 

281.358.0457 

www.kingwoodharley.com 



* Harley-Davidson of Waco 

4201 S Jack Kultgen Expy 

Waco, TX 76711 

254-753-0393 

www.hdwaco.com 


Closest Metro: Waco 

* Hawgs N Dawgs Motorcycle Shop & Café 

1333 SE Military Dr 


210.924.0203 

www.HawgsNDawgs.com 



* Javelina Harley-Davidson 

29078 I-10 West 

Boerne, TX 78006 

800-860-9696 

www.javelinaharleydavidson.com 



* Legacy Harley-Davidson 

12100 W Hwy 80 East 

Odessa, TX 79765 

800.788.6921 

www.legacyh-d.com 

Region: Big Bend 

Closest Metro: Midland/Odessa 

* Longhorn Harley-Davidson 

2830 West I-20 

Grand Parairie, TX 75052 

972.988.1903 

www.longhornhd.com 


Closest Metro: Dallas/Ft Worth 


* Mancuso Harley Davidson - Crossroads 

12710 Crossroads Park Dr 


281.970.9700 

www.mancusocrossroads.com 



* Motorcycle Tire Shop Welding/Technical Services 

1917 S Hackberry 


210.533 BIKE (2453) 

http://motorcycletireshop.synthasite.com 



* Potterosa Cycles & ATVs 

18143 FM 314 

Conroe, TX 77302 

281.572.4774 

www.potterosa.net/ 



* Southern Metal Choppers 

11116 Middle Fiskville Rd, Ste E 

Austin, TX 78753 

512.833.5044 

www.southernmetalchoppers.com 


Closest Metro: Austin 

* Thunder Alley Cycles 

416 NE Wilshire Blvd 

Burleson, TX 76028 

817.295.0955 

www.thunderalleycycles.com 


Closest Metro: Dallas/Ft Worth 

* Tugs Cycles 

19529 County Rd, #2 

Brazoria, TX 77422 

979.798.6061 



* Woods Cycle Country 

1933 I-35 East 

New Braunfels, TX 78130 

830.606.9828 

www.woodscyclecountry.com 



* Yamaha of San Antonio 

15664 I-35 

Selma, TX 78154 

210.655.2625 

http://www.kps-sa.com 



For the Girls 

* Coco & Duckie 

20 E Main St 

Bellville, TX 77418 

979.865.9393 

www.CocoAndDuckie.com 



GOT GREAT BIKER GIRL GEAR? 

ADVERTISE HERE! 

http://ThunderRoadsTexas.com 

Insurance & Attorneys 

* Ball Insurance 

416 S Main St 

Highlands, TX 77562 

800.444.7014 

www.ballins.com 



* Farrar & Ball Law Firm; Law Tigers 

1010 Lamar, Ste 1600 


713.221.8300 

www.lawtigers.com 



* Freeway Insurance 

642 W Rhapsody, Ste A 


210.403.2216 

http://insuranceladyinc.com 



... continued 





Lodging & Campgrounds 

DUBL-C Guest House (Vacation Rentals by Owner) 

Kerrville area: located on Hwy 39 between Ingram & 

Hunt; Stay 2 Nights, get 3rd FREE 

866.427.8374 

www.vrbo.com/385945 



*Scoot On Inn Cabins & Camping, LLC 

4397 South Highway 83 

Leakey, TX 78873 

830.232.4442 Office/Home 

512.517.5349 Cell-Tim 

Region: HIll Country 


*The Overnight Bunkhouse Bed & Kitchen 

13132 Highway 90 North 

Singleton, TX 77831 

936.395.2601 



Motorcycle Towing 

Cyclone Cycle Rescue 

1100 Crane Dr 

Euless, 76039 76039 

817.308.9086 

www.MotorcycleTowingTX.com 




* Dragonstar Motorcycle Transportation 

PO Box 444 

Bryan, TX 77806 

281.935.8890 

www.getaride.net 



Riding Gear & Leather Goods 

* American Man Cave 

18 E Main St 

Bellville, TX 77418 

979.865.9383 

www.american-man-cave.com 



* Motorcycle Outpost, The 

103 S College 

Westminster, TX 75409 

972.838.8222 

www.TheMotorcycleOutpost.com 



Coppersage Biker Gear 

1002 Goodson Rd 

Magnolia, TX 77355 

281.730.1835 



Miscellaneous 

American Legion Post 402 

11457 US Highway 190 West 

LIvingston, TX 77351 

936.646.7411 

Oklahoma Backroads 

OKMotorcycleTours.com 

405.996.0411 

888.785.8733 

blongarborist@wildblue.net 

Outlaw Dave Productions 

PO Box 25028 


www.OutlawNation.us 



... continued 

Want to see YOUR business listed? 

Just $149/YEAR and includes 

being a guaranteed distribution 

point for the magazine. 

 


281.866.8149

April 2013 - Thunder Roads Texas Motorcycle Magazine

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