Austin Texas Hill Country Dual Sport Day Trips

Starting this Sunday, June 10, 2012, we will begin the Austin Texas Hill Country Dual Sport Day Trips.

This will be a mixture of paved and dirt roads.....it will be more paved roads than dirt roads simply because you have to ride the pavement to get to and from the dirt roads.

There may be occasions in the future where we may ride to various trails. If so, the meeting date (Saturday or Sunday), place and time are subject to change.

These ride are a great way to spend the day riding on less traveled roads....and exploring areas of Texas you have never been to.

The overall distance of these rides will be 150 miles to maybe 250 plus miles..........round trip.

I do not have gps....yet....so I do not have any coordinates or data to share. I use hard copies of maps from "Roads of Texas" (sheets 119 thru 122 and sheets 131 thru 133)....but you are more than welcome to collect and share your gps info if you want to.

For anyone with a stock gas tank, there are gas stops in some areas. No worries if you go empty....we can always syphon some gas from bikes with larger tanks.

This will be a "No Drop Ride". Faster riders will wait at the next intersection where we will be turning for the slower riders to catch up. Always check your mirror to make sure the rider behind you is still behind you. If they are not....slow down or stop and see if they catch up....if they don't catch up, turn around and go back to check on them. This may cause the whole group to double back, but it ensures safety for all.

The only requirement for this ride is to have your MC license, and that your bike have current registration and inspection. I will not be checking....but if you are stopped by any law enforecement officers....I am sure they will be checking. Helmets and safety gear are strongly suggested. I take no responsibility for anyone elses actions. This is a fun ride.....lets keep it that way.

If you plan on attending please post up so we have an idea who's riding.

Here is the itinerary...........

When: Sunday June 10, 2012

Where: Meet at Backwoods, located in the western end of the Hill Country Galleria, 12921 Hill Country Blvd Ste D2-145, Bee Cave, TX 78738.....in the rear parking lot at 8:30 a.m.

Kick stands up at 9:00 a.m.

If we know someone is coming, and they haven't arrived by 9:00 a.m.....we will wait approximately 15 to 20 minutes for them to show up. If you need to contact me........please call five 1 two - 4 two three - zero 8 8 nine.

There is gasoline near the meeting area to top off your tank.

Destination: Points Known and Unknown

bring water......stay hydrated.....drink plenty of water starting days prior to any outdoor activities.

We will stop somewhere for lunch.

You may want to bring a snack.

If we end up in Luckenbach........take cash....or you can use their ATM located next to the Post Office.....they don't do plastic.

Get back to the Lake Travis area around 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Thanks all......
Britt Jones (bikejones)
2008 Honda XR650L

Sounds fun. If I get my rear sprocket in time. I'll be there.

Hope you can make it ATTICus Finch. Please post up later on whether you can make it or not.

I'm in for Sunday the 10th. Thanks for organizing, this should be a great time.

Good job, Britt, I'll try and make the second one you do, I'll have the use the KLE.

That's great.

I added you to the rider list I have on TWTex
http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1019975#post1019975

I am working weekend nights for another week or I would be in. Count me in for the next one though.

Grinch

sounds like a blast!

Hey BikeJones,

Just registered with TWT (under the same name)so I'll be able to communicate in that forum soon.
See you tomorrow.

e

You got it.

Cool.........It's good to be diversified.

I just approved your account over there.

Thanks

A peek behind the curtain, eh? or.....

God? God? Is that really you, God?

Well alright............The first Austin Texas Hill Country Dual Sport Day Trip went along without a hitch. No falls, no break downs and no flats. Just good times, good BBQ (Coopers in Llano) and great friends.

Thanks to everyone that showed up.......
tireman
escuchamente
Smiley (started the ride but had to take off for other previously scheduled duties shortly after we got off pavement.)
Lamar568
GlockPointer

Not to say there were not some near misses along the ride..........

Lamar568 pulled off a near fatal creek crossing.............not fatal in the true sense...........lets just say he kept the desire to stay upright stronger than the forces to take him down.

I took a blind 90 degree corner over a cattle guard a little to hot and came close to going off-road......in the true sense......but kept it on the gravel.

GlockPointers' starter started making a bad sound......but it hung in there and didn't completely go south on him.

Lamar568 and escuchamente said that tireman, GlockPointer and I startled a rattlesnake in the middle of the road along Althause-Davis that was posing as a cow patty. I kept my eyes open all day looking for these critters posing as cow patties....and although I did not see any......I missed this one.

Lots of good roads, awesome scenery (as usual), some decent water crossings.......we even crossed the smallest water xing in Texas.

Here's a few pics I took along the way........some of the other guys took pics along the ride too.

The beginning.......minus escuchamente as he showed up a little later........



Break time in the shade......Click Ranch, Click, Texas USA. From left to right....GlockPointer, tireman, escuchamente and Lamar568.



Photo opp at the Corral......



Cool Little Church.........



We came across several water crossings......this one was pretty cool because most of what you rode on was a solid granite slab......most of the slab you cannot see because it is behind me.



tireman on the left.....GlockPointer on the right



Lamar568 on the left.....escuchamente on the right




Here are some pics that GlockPointer (from TWTEX) took.........









I appologize for having y'all out a little later than expected (8pm as opposed to 5pm) but then again......we did ride a little farther......approx. 250 miles as opposed to 150 miles.

thanks again y'all for an awesome ride!!!!!!!!!

Since next weekend is Fathers Day.....I will be spending time with my family.......I won't be available to ride until the following weekend.

For those of you that are riding next weekend, keep it fun, keep it safe and keep the shiney side up.

I will post something up for another Hill Country Dual Sport Day Trip soon.

adios,
Britt

TWT Admin by day, ADVrider member by night.

First I'd like to say thanks to Britt "BikeJones" for putting this together and the rest of the guys for making it safe and enjoyable. This was all new ground for me and it was a lot to take in.
I was following the leaders most the day so don't remember the exact route but paid better attention after the lunch stop.
Our first rest stop after our departure from Bee Cave, was in the Click Ranch area on LLano CR 315? Probably about 1030 or 11am. Think the mountain down the road and to the left was Watson Mtn.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From June 10, 2012 DS ride</td></tr></tbody></table>
Britt lead us through a bunch of CR's and RR's that were unpaved and surrounded by great scenery. As stated in an earlier post, we ate in LLano and that was by far the largest group of people we saw all day (outside Travis county).
Here is a shot of our first rest stop after lunch on House Mtn Rd I think?
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From June 10, 2012 DS ride</td></tr></tbody></table>
It was an intermittent sandy-washboarded-sandy rd, and got interesting a few times. The shinko 705s have been wonderful on pavement, the front tire doesn't grip in loose stuff that well though.
Having not been on a day-long ride in a while I started to feel the heat and loose energy. I drank over a gallon and a half of water on the day but didn't eat enough along the way. I thought I had brought some granola bars but couldn't find them (found them buried under my empty water bottles while unloading the tankbag afterwards). The gang was all prepared and I ended up eating some trail mix that gave me some spark for the rest of the ride (2 hrs more?). That was at Willow city around 530pm.
From there we bombed up and down the east side of the Willow City loop, paved with great scenery and the first "Don't get out of your car", i.e. rattlesnake warning billboard.
After returning to Willow city, we departed to the east and shortly turned north on Althaus Davis Rd where we did have our first rattlesnake encounter (evening is more probable as they are warmed up and ready for a night of hunting), and shortly transitioned to cr 310 and the last stretch of gravel road.

All in all a great trip. We hit 5 counties, if I'm not mistaken. Off the highways we crossed paths with maybe 8 vehicles (including one tractor) all day. We saw zero tractor-trailers, that in itself is awesome. There were lots of cattle and deer, including suicidal ones, but everyone rode smart and we had no issues. There was also a billy goat guarding a river crossing, but he let us pass after taking a quick rip down the road on one of the XRL's.
I'd also like to mention that no-one left any trash anywhere, that's a good representation of the folks involved on this trip.
If you missed this ride, make sure to get on one of the following trips because it is worth it.

Bike issues:
Front left blinker worked its way loose from the retention nut, had to stop and re-fasten and then re-tighten a few times.
Just after lunch, my speedo cable backed out (against gravity) from its housing on the hub. This wasn't the first unimproved road/trail riding I've done but that's never happened.
Wolfman Explorer Large tankbag is too big for the KLR. It's great for long, sit-down, riding but doesn't allow me to stand on the pegs. So it will be in the flee market soon.

Thanks again to Britt, Frasier, Val, and Lamar.

Double the pleasure..........Double the fun!!!!!!

Saturday.......and........Sunday......Sunday......Sunday!!!!!!

*****************************************************

When.....Saturday June 23, 2012

What.....Bastrop Summer Big Ride!!!!!!!!!!

Where.....8am at the soccer fields in Bastrop...........near Hwy 71 and 95........bring $4 to give to RollingJ for entry into the park.

This is a 50/50 ride. 50 dirt/50 pavement......with an optional after ride around 2pm. The after 2 ride will most likely be a long one and head east from Bastrop toward Lake Sommerville.

For more information click the link below or cut and paste it into your search bar

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73850


----------------------Wait-------------that ain't all------------------------------------------------

When: Sunday June 24, 2012

Where: Meet at Backwoods, located in the western end of the Hill Country Galleria, 12921 Hill Country Blvd Ste D2-145, Bee Cave, TX 78738.....in the rear parking lot at 8:30 a.m.

Kick stands up at 9:00 a.m.

If we know someone is coming, and they haven't arrived by 9:00 a.m.....we will wait approximately 15 to 20 minutes for them to show up. If you need to contact me........please call five 1 two - 4 two three - zero 8 8 nine.

There is gasoline near the meeting area to top off your tank. If you have less than a 4 gallon tank we will make gas stops along the way.

Destination: Points Known and Unknown.......Exploring some of the Hill Country's dirt roads between Llano and Fred'sburg/Harper.

bring water......stay hydrated.....drink plenty of water starting days prior to any outdoor activities.

We will stop somewhere for lunch.

If you plan on attending please post up so we have an idea who's riding.

Another Austin Texas Hill Country Dual Sport Day Trip has come and gone with nothing but good riding with good friends. Overall, we did 220 miles.

I didn't have the opportunity to take any action shots or scenery shots as we were riding the whole time with brief pit stops in Blanco for breakfast and Luckenbach for libations.

It was a great ride with KosmicKLR, Lamar568, GlockPointer and myself in attendance.

Here is the roll chart starting from Hwy 71 W @ RR620 (plz Xcuse da sp3llin'):



71 West
L @ Hamilton Pool Rd
L @ Crumley Ranch Rd
R @ Fitzhugh
L @ McGregor
R @ 290 West
L @ Holder
R @ Creek Rd
L @ 165
L @ 165 Loop
R @ 165
R @ Chandler/4th St. in Blanco
L @ Main St./Hwy 281
R @ Taco place (yo no se nombre pero tienen tres tacos for $2.99 y muey bien)



From the taco place.........
R @ Main St/Hwy 281
L @ PR102/River Rd
L @ Kendalia Rd/Old Blanco Rd
Straight across at Stop sign/Old Blanco Rd
R @ 473
R @ Sisterdale Rd/FM1376
L @ 473
R @ Old Hwy 9/Old San Antonio Rd
R @ Grapetown Rd
L @ FM1376
R @ Luckenbach Town Loop
Straight to the bar





After talking and swapping stories with friends (Andres [BMW 1000], Bubba [BMW 1200] {both of Blanco fame} and Ian [Triumph Tiger] and Greg (?) [Triumph Tiger Explorer] and others that were at Luckenbach) we headed back down the road.

From Luckenbach Town Loop:
L @ FM1376
L @ Old San Antonio Rd
L @ 290 West
R @ N Llano Rd/Hwy 16
L @ Lower Crabapple
R @ Eckert Rd
R @ Hwy 16
L @ FM 1323
L @ Willow City Loop
Turn around at Hwy 16 and do Willow City Loop again

Because of time constraints we skipped Willow City/Click Rd and some fine dirt roads in Llano County.

From Willow City Loop Stop sign
Staight on FM 1323
L @ Althause-Davis Rd/RR 3347 (A-D starts as paved road then becomes dirt road and then becomes pavement again when it becomes RR 3347)
R @ 962
Straight across Hwy 281 to Bird Ln (in Round Mountain) (this is where KosmicKLR spilt off [South onto Hwy 281] to go home)
L @ 962
After crossing Cypress Creek (?) in Cypress Mill:
L @ 962/Hamilton Pool Rd/FM 3238
R @ Hwy 71
L @ RR 620 (this is where Lamar568 went straight on Hwy 71 to go home)

Thanks for riding folks.........'til next time............

Adios!
bikejones

Looks like I will not be riding this weekend.

Since the wife and I are on vacation for a couple of weeks we decided to coordinate getting my wifes chocolate labrador pup spayed while we are on vacation so we can look after her while she recovers.

Thursday I took my wifes pup to the vet to get her spayed. Talked to the vets assistant and the pup is doing fine. I have to pick her (the pup) up from the vet tomorrow. Although she will be kennel bound except to eat and go outside for obvious reasons, I prefer to keep an eye on her to make sure her recovery goes without a hitch.
This is Koko at 4.5 months old. I have already trained her to obey "here" and "sit" whistle commands off leash. She loves water and has a very strong desire for retrieving.



Her first day home back in February with my yellow lab Remington...........



This one was also taken when she was 4.5 months old......


My how fast they grow................