Texas Hill Country weekend - 1100 miles of fun

[Oli-San]

During the hike I also got to see some wildlife. Man, I am glad I did not come across a bear or a puma.

Cactus


Flowers




Alligator Juniper

Pretty Orange Tree


Bird

Grasshopper


I also saw a large tarantula spider... The thing was as big as my hand But no camera then!!!

[Oli-San]

I came back on time before the store at the Chisos basin closed. So I had time to grab a couple beers and some water.
There are no showers at the camp, which is kind of annoying. But I washed in the sink. It felt really good to shampoo my hair. I felt clean again.

[IMG][/IMG]
I cooked dinner again and enjoyed the show from the sky.

.
I went to bed early because the plan was to leave really early Monday morning. The program for Monday? About 11 hours in the saddle back to Houston!

[Oli-San]

Monday (memorial day) was a long day riding back home. I actually went back to Houston and not Orange, which saved about 2 hours. I left at around 7:30 after packing all of the camping gear mostly in the dark. After a quick breakfast, I was in the saddle. The morning sunlight was spectacular and I could only capture poor shots compared to what I saw.
I really could not stop on the road where the picture would have been amazing. Also I knew my day ahead of me was going to be very long... Better be riding!

[IMG][/IMG]




The road from the park headquarters to Marathon (first town on Highway 90) was about 70 miles. At the end, I stopped at a border control. The officer was clearly a motorcycle fan. He talked about how cool my gear was more than about my immigration paperwork! He clearly liked me better than the German Shepherd they use to check (or sniff I should say) what I am carrying on the bike.

Later on the road, heading east to Del Rio, I was cruising. There was nobody. This shot shows the actual "middle of nowhere".


Bad news. As I was going through the main street of a small town called Sanderson, a cop going the other way waved me to slow down. He turned around and pulled me over. He said I was going like 46 mph. Well the speed limit in this town (with no one in the streets) is 30 mph. What??
I guess he was a nice cop and he just gave me a warning. No ticket!

Anyhow, the ride went on for hours. With some stops to refuel and rehydrate. It was clearly warmer this day. And a lot of crosswinds. I saw many white SUV and trucks: border patrol! As I crossed the bridge over the Pecos River, I could see a white car weaving. At some point, it was in the middle of the road. I was: what the heck is this guy doing and started to flash my high beams. Soon I figured that this was a border patrol vehicle. They spotted two suspicious canoes going down the Pecos river from the bridge and were not paying attention to their driving. Great!

Later, just before arriving in Del Rio, I stopped by the Lake Amistad. Amazing blue colors out of nowhere!



I went on without lunch stop. Eventually I stopped on I-10 as near San Antonio. Refueled and grabbed a cheese burger at McDonalds. Yes. I said it. . At this station, I am not sure what happened but I lost my sunglasses. I think I left them on the bike. Not too smart you would say. By the time I came back from my quick stop. They were gone..

Not only was I pissed for the value of the glasses, but also I was really in pain from the sun in my eyes. All the way to Houston. THere was a lot of traffic going to Houston. I had to use the feeder along I-10 and also tried to detour on highway 90 (which is always going back to I-10). Finally I made it! Houston! It was a long 11 hours. I was tired.

I met my girlfriend and a colleague from Malaysia and went for a good, deserved dinner.
I rode to Orange early the next morning and was on time for work.

What a great adventure.

[txplants]

What a great adventure, Oli-San! Bravo! Sometimes you just have to make a trip like this. Other than a few inconveniences it looks like you had a great time in the Trans Pecos. Your pictures are phenomenal as always. Those sites are still fresh in my memory... it's a magical place, and for those of us that face the daily grind in major cities, a nice reminder that there are wide-open places still out there.

I was not familiar with the Super Tenere before now, looks like a formidable tourer and it's a beautiful machine!

[Oli-San]

Originally Posted by txplants

What a great adventure, Oli-San! Bravo! Sometimes you just have to make a trip like this. Other than a few inconveniences it looks like you had a great time in the Trans Pecos. Your pictures are phenomenal as always. Those sites are still fresh in my memory... it's a magical place, and for those of us that face the daily grind in major cities, a nice reminder that there are wide-open places still out there.

I was not familiar with the Super Tenere before now, looks like a formidable tourer and it's a beautiful machine!

Thanks for the good words txplants! I had so much fun and I am ready to go again. This place is spectacular and like you say is a great reminder of the existence of wide-open spaces. I loved it. I like taking pictures and traveling to remote places on a bike and this is just the perfect spot there. The Super Tenere is really a nice bike for adventures like this one. It is very comfortable, even after 10 hours in the saddle. It is easy to ride and can be really fun on curvy roads as tested during the Hill Country trip. There is a lot of room too and the bike remains very stable even loaded like on the pictures. I heard it is a capable off road bike but so far I am not so comfortable riding off-road.

Back to Big Bend, I feel I have really seen a small fraction. I need to go back to see more. I am not sure when I can do that though, because of other things going on in my life (like work for example )
Cheers,
Oli-san

[AviatorTroy]

Cool trip man. My wife lived in Austin for a while when we were dating and I was lucky enough to have a chance to throw the bike and the dog in my truck and drive down there for a month or so a couple times. Some good riding out there, I did the 3 sisters and all that but never made it to big bend. Maybe some day.

We went to Fredericksburg one night and stayed at a B&b, it was nice, but whatever day that was (Monday maybe) was like their Sunday and all the restraunts and even the bars closed real early in the evening, so by the time we went out for dinner there was nothing open. So from then on the place was referred to as " Fraudricksburg".

[shadman]

Funny turning on ADV and seeing that familiar brownish red brick building from career past. Cross shape, left side....ExxonMobil Production Research. Just above that, an earlier incarceration of 4 yrs...Lamar Sr. High. I am just starting to read your thread, it can only get better.....

[shadman]

I think your next trip should be to head north to Hot Springs, Arkansas. It's more like a 7 hour drive, thru some nice twisty east Texas backwoods. If you have not already, look up twtex.com for Texas specific rides. Scott Friday, who runs the site, used to take monthly tours of the Ozarks with 10 - 12 people in tow. There is a lot of specific info available on the site. Also, Richard, of Texas Adventure Rides, does Big Bend, Ozarks, and Junction (and sadly, not Mexico anymore) organized dual sport and street rides every year. He publishes a nice little ride book with routes for each destination. They are chock full and cheap.

This is another way of saying... in Houston there are probably 50 - 100 people waiting for an excuse to take a ride like the ones you've been on. No reason to do it solo. A typical 3-4 day trip...

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthre...light=big+bend

[Oli-San]

Originally Posted by shadman

I think your next trip should be to head north to Hot Springs, Arkansas. It's more like a 7 hour drive, thru some nice twisty east Texas backwoods. If you have not already, look up twtex.com for Texas specific rides. Scott Friday, who runs the site, used to take monthly tours of the Ozarks with 10 - 12 people in tow. There is a lot of specific info available on the site. Also, Richard, of Texas Adventure Rides, does Big Bend, Ozarks, and Junction (and sadly, not Mexico anymore) organized dual sport and street rides every year. He publishes a nice little ride book with routes for each destination. They are chock full and cheap.

This is another way of saying... in Houston there are probably 50 - 100 people waiting for an excuse to take a ride like the ones you've been on. No reason to do it solo. A typical 3-4 day trip...

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthre...light=big+bend

Thanks for the suggestions. I went to Arkansas on my first trip but I did not write a RR. I could add some pics to this thread though. It's really cool there with lots of curves. I camped at Petit Jean State Park and it was nice in the woods. I found a free campground later that really looked amazing, just on the lake. I will look up the map and show it because it looked fantastic (and free!). I tried to camp on Mount Nebo but I showed up too late. They also have cabins that look really cool (for future trip there). I haven't been as North as the Ozarks but I will in the future.
Riding as a group can be a good plan too. I don't mind going on my own but it's true that if something happens I can be in trouble. I think it limits how much I'm willing to try to ride off road far from home with a big fully loaded ADV bike. By the way, is there an ADV meeting in Houston?
Cheers.
Oli-san

[Josephvman]

I do the Hill Country ride a couple of times a year, as well as ride to Austin from Houston quite a bit, and there's a route I take from Sealy that drops me out in Bastrop on 71, then head through San Marcos and twist my way into Kerrville. The towns I hit through Sealy are New Ulm, Fayetteville, La Grange and a few others. I-10 sucks and should be avoided if at all possible. You can avoid it completely on this route if you take the back way into Sealy, going through Sugarland, Fulshear, find 529 into Bellville, and then head south on 36 to Sealy.

Originally Posted by Oli-San

No but I was stuck in Sealy (west of Houston, heading to San Antonio) on Friday night because of bad traffic (and drivers).
I usually try to skip Beaumont and I-10 from Orange. I ride on 73 West to Winnie and then I-10 to Houston. Alternatively, I ride on Hwy 90.
I hate riding on I-10. It sucks: trucks, 18-wheelers, cars "camping" on the left lane all the time. It drives me insane!


But what a ride this weekend! I am back in the office today. I will post my pictures and RR tonight or tomorrow.

[Josephvman]

I do the Hill Country ride a couple of times a year, as well as ride to Austin from Houston quite a bit, and there's a route I take from Sealy that drops me out in Bastrop on 71, then head through San Marcos and twist my way into Kerrville. The towns I hit through Sealy are New Ulm, Fayetteville, La Grange and a few others. I-10 sucks and should be avoided if at all possible. You can avoid it completely on this route if you take the back way into Sealy, going through Sugarland, Fulshear, find 529 into Bellville, and then head south on 36 to Sealy. I think the run into Del Rio is pretty cool, basically a lot of long, fast sweepers through the desert.

Originally Posted by Oli-San

No but I was stuck in Sealy (west of Houston, heading to San Antonio) on Friday night because of bad traffic (and drivers).
I usually try to skip Beaumont and I-10 from Orange. I ride on 73 West to Winnie and then I-10 to Houston. Alternatively, I ride on Hwy 90.
I hate riding on I-10. It sucks: trucks, 18-wheelers, cars "camping" on the left lane all the time. It drives me insane!


But what a ride this weekend! I am back in the office today. I will post my pictures and RR tonight or tomorrow.

[shadman]

Originally Posted by Josephvman

I do the Hill Country ride a couple of times a year, as well as ride to Austin from Houston quite a bit, and there's a route I take from Sealy that drops me out in Bastrop on 71, then head through San Marcos and twist my way into Kerrville. The towns I hit through Sealy are New Ulm, Fayetteville, La Grange and a few others. I-10 sucks and should be avoided if at all possible. You can avoid it completely on this route if you take the back way into Sealy, going through Sugarland, Fulshear, find 529 into Bellville, and then head south on 36 to Sealy.

There are a couple of good Houston to Austin routes if you have an extra hour to spend on the road. Not to mention some really good dining spots along the way (Bistro 108...www.bistro108.com/ in La Grange....yummy). If you just look at a map, you may find the curves. If you plan with a group, then everybody can add some suggestions to the mix and make it a memorable ride.

Sugarland / Fulshear / Bellville / Sealy / New Ulm / Fayetteville / Winchester / Smithville / Buescher n Bastrop SP / Bastrop is my usual route to visit my brother in Austin. Plenty of turns and scenery to make a 3 hour torture test into a 4 hour scenic spirited ride.

[hiADV]

I did the Big Bend trip from Austin last year during Thanksgiving on a KLR650 (with luggage and wife on the back!). Really fun trip aside from the ridiculous cross winds which were prevalent during the whole trip. I sure would love to do it again on a Tenere! Great bike and great photos, thanks for sharing.

[slowoldguy]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. The pics of the flora look great. Go back when you have more time. There's a lot out there you can do on a big trailie.

[Oli-San]

Originally Posted by hiADV

I did the Big Bend trip from Austin last year during Thanksgiving on a KLR650 (with luggage and wife on the back!). Really fun trip aside from the ridiculous cross winds which were prevalent during the whole trip. I sure would love to do it again on a Tenere! Great bike and great photos, thanks for sharing.

Thank you. Yea the crosswinds are slightly crazy. I'm not sure why. The bike did not move too much, probably because of the weight.