I call this ride the Center(s) of Texas Ride because multiple places claim to be the geographical center of Texas. We visited Brady, Whon, and Center City, Texas plus a road side sign that said “Center of Texas”. A Brady resident I spoke with said he thinks recent technologies like satellite photos, GPS’s and super computers have re-calculated the “real” center to be in Concho County, on a private ranch somewhere East of Eden, TX. Whatever, seven Chapter O folks on 5 bikes set out to see for themselves. Thirty minutes before the departure time the northern cold front came through causing a spritz of rain, gusty winds and temperature drop from 64 to 54 degrees. Regardless, we left on time. By the time we got to Marble Falls the skies were starting to clear and as we passed through Horseshoe Bay the sun broke out and the sky turned blue and it was beautiful (but cold and windy). We stopped for a stretch-break in Castell on the Llano River and watched the famous rooster perform its R-rated stunt. In Brady we gassed the bikes and ate BBQ at the Hard-8 BBQ Restaurant. The big yellow bill-board you see entering town declared Brady to be “In the Heart of Texas”. It was on to another center of Texas named Whon. Whon is about 40 miles north of Brady and the only paved road entering the town comes from the north so you have to take a round-about route to get there. There is one old building standing that I think was part of the old post office (the only drive-through post office in Texas in its day) and another building I thought was going to collapse while we photographed it. The cattle starred at us like we were crazy for visiting. We shot the required photos and headed for Center City (near Goldthwaite). On the way we swung by the suspension bridge (get the pun?) known as the Regency Suspension Bridge because it serves Regency, TX as a southern access across the Colorado River. We filled our gas tanks in Goldthwaite. At this point Gene and Dexter & Linda needed to head for home because it was getting late and possibly dark. They headed south and Billy and Richard swung their bikes east toward Center City. The service station and general store had closed at about 5:00pm so we went straight to the official tree that they say is the center of Texas. The Center City people say it is official because the Texas Highway Department (TXDOT) built a concrete curb around it years ago. The tree has since died but the carcass remains as a testament to its authenticity. This ride was entirely too long, and since I planned it I can say it. By the time I got home to Dripping Springs I had ridden 520 miles in 12 hours!!! Billy said today that this is a modern day record for an impromptu-day ride. We had fun, ate good food, but did not make a final decision on where the real center of Texas is. That decision may take another ride (2-dayride) that includes Eden, TX. I had thought of a ride around the perimeter of Texas, but was discouraged when I read on the roadside sign that that would be a 4,137 mile trip!!! We will talk about that another day when I am rested and warm again.