It's not a gang, it's a club.

We really didn't make much of a club, either, but whatever.

Since the New Year's Day weather forecast for Austin looked conducive to biking, I decided to escape my neighbor's endlessly barking dogs (the fireworks drive them crazy) and head south for New Year's. After a mercifully short New Year's Eve bar crawl, we gathered at Fay's restaurant off Guadalupe the next morning.

Even though his restaurant is a humble Chinese place that caters to UT students, Fay is quite the motorcycle fanatic, owning no less than five bikes including two BMWs and a Ducati. I was on Ryan's Suzuki which is almost identical to mine, and Ryan had brought out his big bad BMW K1200.

We headed southwest out of the city, going through minute towns like Fischer, Wimberley and Canyon Springs. Sections of Ranch to Market Road 32 near Canyon Springs are popular with motorcyclists looking for a safe venue for a spirited ride, as it's scenic and with practically no side roads (rural drivers generally pull out onto the paved roads without looking).

I rode somewhat slower than usual because I was on a borrowed bike, and the others weren't sure if I was comfortable going 80 and 90 mph. Eventually I insisted on a solo coffee break in Wimberley, so the other three could indulge in some male bonding and taking their higher-powered bikes up over 100 mph.

Everyone was careful not to head down the Fredricksburg/Luckenbach road, as it has a bridge that's notorious for causing bike spills (see below). The water is shallow, but the bridge itself is algae-covered and slimy. Ryan dropped his beloved K1200 into the creek here earlier this year and has never been the same since, even though his bike suffered minor damage.