Twin golf, motorcycle maintenance and other Texas things

Siblings often compete. Brothers compete. Twin brothers compete at everything. The Bender twins compete most vigorously at golf.

Wednesday was a rest day in Austin so the bike could get a new set of tires and a routine periodic maintenance. So Ray and I played golf with his friend Jim Furman (also a twin) and one of Jim's law partners, Robbie Alden.

Robbie is a good golfer. The rest of us are hackers. We played at the Lost Creek Country Club. The creek wasn't lost today. I found it several times, sometimes several times on the same hole. In fact, the creek was so much in evidence that the back nine was closed as access to a couple of holes under water from runoff from a heavy rain Wednesday morning. We played the front nine twice.

I won the first nine. Ray won the second nine. We tied for the 18. Perfect twin golf to set up the rematch.

While Ray and I were torturing ourselves and the course the bike was being serviced at Lone Star BMW. New oil, new spark plugs, new fuel filter, new tires. The two guys in blue uniforms standing behind the bike are Mike, the mechanic who did the work and Ralph, the service manager at Lone Star. I had scheduled the maintenance appointment a couple of weeks ago, and explained that I need the bike back by closing time Wednesday so I could get back on the road. The Lone Star crew got the job done, and I'm ready to roll to Albuquerque Thursday. Completing the maintenance Ray and I installed the new tracker so that the blue dot and I can move around the country together.

Ray's wife, Peg Neuhauser, is pictured along with the spectacular chocolate cake she baked form my arrival. Peg is an author of business books and a business consultant in addition to being an accomplished baker. Peg's best known title is "Tribal Warfare in Business Organizations." The chocolate cake ritual traces back to our youth when Ray and I would on many occasions eat chocolate cake in milk for breakfast. We still do when we get together for a visit.

One of our golfing partners, Jim Furman, is pictured with his wife Susan at dinner at Trudy's. I recommend the stuffed avocado. The margaritas weren't bad either.

The funky building pictured is one of Austin's best known dining spots, Chuy's. Chuy's is a shrine to Elvis, decorative fish, car parts on the wall, clever t-shirts and Tex-Mex. It also has a twin connection. One of the Bush twins was busted there for underage drinking. I try to eat there every time I'm in town.