Smithville Recon Report:

Ok, folks. I made the entire ride today from the Denny's to Smithville and up to the cemetery. Here's the results:

 

Denny's: At the intersection of E Ben White (Hwy 71) and Riverside. If you're coming from the East, take a left on Riverside then an immediate right. This will bring you into the back of the Denny's parking lot. This is also the way we'll be leaving so we can catch the red light and all stay together. I also spoke to the manager this moring (Andrew, I didn't know you'd already called. Thanks!) and advised her we would have upwards of 20 people there tomorrow morning. They are closing one section of the diner just for us and bringing in an extra wait person to serve us. Again, if you plan on eating, get there early enough that you don't have to scarf down your food and still make KSU (kickstands up) at 8a. (I've been advised by an awesome lady here in Austin that her and her sister are making fresh blueberry muffins for us and will meet us at the Denny's)

 

The route:
There are several red lights until we get past the Airport and again when we get around Bastrop. If by chance any of the group gets caught by a light, the lead (me) will slow down the rest of the riders to give the rest a chance to catch up. No riders left behind! Please, don't try to beat a red light in fear of losing us. You won't lose us and the risk is NOT worth it. We'll wait for everyone.

The ride took me 45 minutes and that included one fuel stop and a delay in Bastrop while the DPS closed the highway to do recreation of what was apparently a recent fatality accident. Reminder: Accidents DO happen, folks.

 

The VFW that we're meeting at is one mile south of Hwy 71 once you turn south on Hwy 95. It's on the right. It's not marked well so keep an eye on your odometer and look for the helicopter parked out front. The parking lot is paved blacktop but use caution: There are several potholes and the entrance has loose gravel. Be extra careful when pulling into the lot or when we're leaving. The lot is big so we should have plenty of room.

 

The Church:
The church is just about a mile from the VFW. When we leave the VFW, we'll head into town and the first street across the Colorado River bridge on the left is 5th. I'll assign one good tailgunner to run ahead of us and stop traffic at 5th so we can all get across the road together. Once we turn left, we'll go about 7 blocks. There is a major blind crossing at Main Street. **STARZ....this is where I'll most likely need you to pull traffic control with your well-lighted bike. I might also use you at the 5th street turn. Find me as soon as you get to the VFW so we can discuss it**.  We'll make a right onto Hudgins and park in that block. This will put us one block north of the church. There should be plenty of parking along the street on both sides. Another caution: The right side of the road is gravel so be careful when parking and putting your foot down.

 

The Cemetery:

The cemetery is 2 miles south of town on Hwy 95 on the left hand side. The funeral director has asked that we pull in at the tail of the procession. There are 3 entrances to the cemetery. The funeral director asked that we go in the first gate which is just at the top of a hill with plenty of vision on the other side to see oncoming traffic. I'm not sure if law enforcement will be blocking traffic or not. Most likely they will at the third entrance which is where the funeral procession will be turning in. We'll park and walk our way to the gravesite. Once the services are over, we can discuss amongst ourselves if we want to go back to our perspective starting points seperately or as a group.

 

Folks, this might turn out to be the largest Mission Texas has had to date. Remember the reason for the ride: To pay our respects to Pfc Tina Priest and to show the family that America still cares about her service members. The town of Smithville will be watching so let's show some Texas Pride!
See ya'll tomorrow morning at Denny's. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I'll be checking email until late in the night. And thank you to each and every one of you.

I appologize if this is too long or detailed. I just hate surprises and would rather you have too much than not enough information.

BexarWolf
Austin Ride Captain
pgrbexarwolf@yahoo.com