Hard Eight Pit BBQ

It was raining when I woke up this morning, but a ride felt imminent. I needed to check out some new waterproof summer gloves and the radar showed clear skies to the west. The rain wasn't going to last long. I looked at the map and decided to check out some roads between Cleburne and Stephenville. After getting on the road I remembered there was a new BBQ joint in Stephenville called Hard Eight - Pit BBQ. I decided to make Stephenville a little after lunch and check this place out.

Once outside of the metroplex I took FM 157 from Mansfield to US 67. This is not a bad stretch of road, but it really sucks when there's someone in front of you that's not even going the speed limit and screwing up the good twisties. The suck-factor increases by an order of magnitude with each car ahead of you. I was at suck-factor four and getting more impatient with each turn. Passing areas are short just south of Mansfield.

West of Cleburne I turned on FM 1434, then FM 200 back to US 67. This is a really nice stretch of road with a few long sweepers, some hills and gentle curves through a gorgeous part of Texas.

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West of Glen Rose I turned on FM 205 and took it all the way to Stephenville. This was another fantastic stretch of road in the region.

I arrived in Stephenville and thought, this town is a little bigger than I expected. I pulled into a gas station, went in and asked the cashier where this new BBQ joint is located. She, along with several other folks (gotta love Texas), told me exactly where it was located - at the intersection of US 67 and US 281.

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The joint is new, but the setup is very similar Coopers BBQ in Llano. You walk into the pit area, pick out what you want, the ol' boy cuts it up and puts on a tray. Then you walk in and get your fixins, drink and whatever else you want. I chose a pound of pork ribs at the pit and complimented it with some cornbread salad, beans, onions, apple cobbler and washed it all down with tea. Plenty of seating is available inside and out. I sat outside and watched some TV and scarfed down a really good lunch. The ribs were excellent, the cobbler was good, but possibly the best part of the meal was the cornbread salad. Mmmmmmm Gooooood. Be sure to check that stuff out when you go.

On the way out of the parking lot I noticed there is motorcycle-specific parking in the 'Hawg Pen'. Nice touch.

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I headed north on US 377 because I wanted to ride FM 1188 and FM 1189 all the way to I-20. The roads looked good on the map and they didn't disappoint. A few hills, nice curves, open farms, little to no traffic and everything else required to keep a smile on my face and the throttle twisted.

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Once I hit I-20 I decided to just boogie back home before traffic got too bad. Overall, a really nice day with a belly full of crue and some good roads traveled.