Dale A. Stiles

Category: From The Open Road

Stories from the open road.  Adventures on day trips, motorcycle rides, and meet ups.

  • Highlights from the 2024 CVMA® Texas State Meeting

    Highlights from the 2024 CVMA® Texas State Meeting

    Friday, October 11, 2024

    Travel to Round Rock, Texas

    Liz wanted to stop at Magnolia’s as we passed through Waco. Little did we know the were in the middle of their 9th Annual “Silo-Bration.” I’m not much for crowds but we really enjoyed this stop.

    It was October, but there was plenty of very natural looking Christmas goodies everywhere we looked.

    Liz and I both thought this was a fantastic photo opportunity. I even ended up taking photos for a short line of folks. I took several angles for each and the more amazed expressions people expressed, the longer the line grew. Eventually Liz told everyone we had to go and told one group they were the last ones.

    “EVERYONE HAS A STORY WORTH TELLING“
    This resonated with both of us so we had to get this selfie. This might have been the most difficult selfie to capture because people were everywhere… and then… we got this photo in the midst of the crowd. They paused just long enough… that we got this photo.

    Bike Night

    Saturday, October 12, 2024

    Saturday morning Liz and I woke up early, got ourselves cleaned up, and dressed before stepping out on the balcony with a bowl of plain Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries and raw organic honey and a cup of Black Rifle Tactisquatch Roast coffee. All around us, we started seeing our brothers and sisters emerging from their respective cabins. Most of them had lofts with extra beds while ours only had one bedroom.

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    After breakfast, we traveled over to the Kalahari Resort in Round Rock for the Texas State photo. This is the second time we’ve taken the photo with a drone. It gets the job done, but the photo turns out a bit grainy.

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    Sunday, October 13, 2024

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  • Highlights from CVMA® Region V Rally 2024

    Region V Rally September 13-15 2024.

    Friday, September 13, 2024

    Travel to Little Rock, Arkansas

    This trip was a little different, we drove Liz’s Durango R/T, towing her brand-new sharkskin blue 2024 Harley-Davidson RG3. The road to Little Rock felt shorter knowing we were rolling in with a fresh set of wheels ready to be broken in.

    Sign says Welcome to Arkansas and the song on the radio is “A Little Past Little Rock” by Lee Ann Womack and Jason Sellers. Who did that?!!!

    Meet and Greet at Fraternal Order of the Eagles In Little Rock, Arkansas

    We stopped at the hotel, got checked in, and then unloaded her trike. We had no idea where we were, where we were going, and we didn’t have a backrest for the trike.

    Liz has been riding a CanAm and is new to the clutch so she insisted I ride the bike while she held on for dear life on the back.

    We rode from the hotel over to the meet and greet at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles in the rain. We got stuck in traffic and it made both of us uneasy since we were parked on a series of bridges on the highway surrounded by 18-wheelers. So, I looked around and decided to make a quick exit from the highway.

    From there, we asked around and found an alternate route through town. It wasn’t the best, but we both felt more comfortable. The lot was full of old friends, new introductions, and that familiar CVMA® camaraderie that makes the miles worthwhile.

    Liz and I got to enjoy several rounds of Karaoke while we spent time with everyone.

    Saturday, September 14, 2024

    Bike Night at Fraternal Order of the Eagles in Little Rock, Arkansas

    Saturday was all about Bike Night. Liz’s RG3 turned more than a few heads as we parked among the rows of chrome and custom builds. Stories flowed as freely as the music and laughter, and once again we were reminded that the real highlight of these rallies isn’t the ride, it’s the people.

    Skrape and Liz

    Skrape’s bike Delilah

    Top Shelf, Ya-Ya, and 5 Star

    Top Shelf from CVMA® TX 23-1 and Half Tank from CVMA® OK 10-1.

    Top Shelf and Skrape

    Liz and I really enjoyed singing Karaoke together!

    Top Shelf, Woobie, and Grunt from CVMA® TX 23-1

    Sunday, September 15, 2024

    Packing Up and Heading Home

    By Sunday morning, it was time to pack up the Durango, load the bike, and head for home. Another rally complete, another chapter in our journey together.

    On the way out of town, we stopped for a photo at the National Cemetery.

    Visiting with Uncle Frank, My cousin Kereigh, and her husband Walter

    We stopped in Russellville to visit with Uncle Frank, my cousin Kereigh and her husband Walter. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch together and had several laughs.