Girl Meets World On A Yamaha FZ-07 Part 5: Texas!

Tiff and I met at the track, where she races her Ninja 250 with more enjoyment and positivity than anyone else on the grid. When Tiffani got word that she’d be getting laid off from her job in Los Angeles, she didn’t fret. In typical ultra-optimistic Tiff style, she saw it as an opportunity to hit the road on her newly acquired Yamaha FZ-07. What follows are Tiffani’s reports from the road, originally posted for her friends on Facebook but shared here with her permission for all to enjoy. — Ari Henning

So, Texas is pretty big. And pretty straight. In terms of riding, I’m definitely giving it the award for the worst roads so far. I’m almost across Texas though (seriously, how am I still not out of Texas?), so I figured now is as good a time as any for a write up!

So, as luck would have it, as I was going to sleep in my tent by the lake, my racing friend Hollywood messaged me to say that Wednesday was the MotoAmerica tire test at Circuit of the Americas, and that it was open to the public. Having had no real plans in Texas, I couldn’t possibly have ended up here at a better time! I woke up the next morning and headed towards Dallas with a clear plan in mind.

I got into Dallas just in time for Ben Spies’ BBQ joint, Stack House, to open. I cruised in and ordered a burger and then sat back to admire the decorations. The walls were lined with Ben Spies’ cycling jerseys, his Tech 3 suit, and autographed pictures, adding to that fan girl moment.

The food was amazing, and I officially felt like my trip to Texas was going to be a success. Afterwards, I headed down toward Austin, setting my GPS to take back roads hoping for a better riding experience.

Nope.

I know there is supposedly one small part of Texas where the roads actually turn, but this wasn’t it. The wind was incredibly intense and draining, so I made it down to Austin ready to collapse after a long, arduous fight to stay on the road. I found a nearby campground and settled in for the night.

The next day, I got breakfast and headed to the track. Not a lot of words can describe how good it felt to walk through those gates and see an array of race bikes speckling the paddock. It’s only been a few weeks since I was last at Chuckwalla for a CVMA weekend, but man was I missing it. Getting to talk to the track riders and race enthusiasts of Texas was the first time during this trip that I found it easy to click with strangers, and, well, the familiar faces are, of course, what made the trip. My friend Ashley was getting it done in the office, and it was pretty exciting to root for the Syndicate Racing crew representing the MRA as they made their campaign to qualify for the big leagues. It’s hard to top spending the day with old and new friends at a world-class track!

The next morning, I stuck around until around noon, as I had to really make an effort to want to leave. But I had a lot of riding still to do, so I guess at some point I had to get back on the road. Figuring there might still be lingering storms in Louisiana, I headed north to Arkansas. Some 300 miles later, I was still in Texas and the sun was setting. Man this state is big.

I attempted to locate a campground on my GPS, then headed off route hoping to beat the darkness. The first campground was 20 miles out of my way, so I headed over as quickly as I could. Turned out the place didn’t exist at all. My second attempt was another 15 miles. At this point the sun had fully set and all that was left was some residual light. But this campground was supposed to be a KOA campground, so I figured setting up in the dark would be fine. I headed over only to find it also didn’t exist, unless they’re now building KOAs in the back alley of old ice cream shops. WTF GPS.

It was cold, dark, and I was getting weary, so I broke down and just got another hotel for the night. I hate spending the money, but I didn’t want to miss out on the visuals of the trip by riding through the night, and sometimes you just gotta go with your gut. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to make it out of Texas for real!