Icecold Dan said:
I really hope there is someone attending that knows the area and is willing to lead dirt rides. I have a Butler map inbound and will look it over well before we arrive, but local experience sure would be great. For those planning to attend, who is looking for dirt? I hope Baldknob and I aren't the only ones.
As far as things I'd like to see while there, I know it's kinda touristy but would like to at least get a picture of as many S10s as possible in front of the Alamo. I don't care to actually tour it, just would like a pic. Going to Luckenbach to have some drinks and maybe catch some music would be kinda neat. I know there isn't really much there, but the idea of seeing the place that some of country music's outlaws hold in high regard would be cool. maybe if it's close enough, we can hire a shuttle/van if there is enough intrest. That way we can get tore up if we want and not have to think about riding. Some good Texas BBQ is a must and I'm sure it can be found just about anywhere. Moto museums is great too. I hope the blue bonnets are in bloom. I've never spent much time in Texas. Can you tell I'm getting excited? Whee!
Too bad we weren't going there a little later. Would have been awesome to catch MotoGP.
I know the area pretty well, Dan...
But as I said in a previous post in this thread, I've got some skeletal issues that are gonna' preclude me from risking any off-road rides. I had hoped some others here that are attending would jump in and help plan some off-road routes, but as you can see we haven't gotten any volunteers yet.
For more info on off-road riding in the area I can't recommend this guy and his site highly enough -
http://texasadventure.net/
He writes some great dual-sport riding guides for areas all over Texas, as well as Mexico and Arkansas. You can see more his products on this page -
http://texasadventure.net/cool-stuff/ride-guides/
Grab his "Hill Country Adventure" ride guide for $20 and you will find all the off-road riding in the area we'll be in you could desire.
As for a picture of bikes with the Alamo... If some of the riders want to do so it's about 75 miles from Kerrville, right in the middle of downtown San Antonio. It's pretty much slab to get there, and it's not really on or near any fun routes around Kerrville, Hunt, Medina, Bandera, Leakey, Utopia, Tarpley, Camp Wood, Fredericksburg, etc.
Luckenbach is certainly possible, and it's not too far from some nice routes over by Fredericksburg, Sisterdale, etc. In fact, 473 and Old No. 9/Old Sand Antonio Road are a couple of great ones, and can certainly be included on one of the days. I should warn that Luckenbach has become pretty "touristy", and nothing like it used to be back in the "Good Ol' Days"! ::025:: Given the distance (50 to 90 miles, depending on route, and needless to say, the best routes are the longer ones) from Kerrville I doubt we can get any sort of reasonable price on any sort of "shuttle/van" over there.
There are some great places to eat in the area... And it all price ranges. There are some really good BBQ places in the area, but the very best the state has to offer are over on the other, eastern side of I-35. Places like Franklin's in Austin, Louie Mueller's in Taylor, Snow's in Lexington, City Market in Luling, and Kreuz's, Smitty's, and Black's in Lockhart, among others. Those traveling into Texas from the east should consider making a stop at one of those on the way to Kerrville - it would be well worth it. That said, Maywald's in Sisterdale is among the very best BBQ places in the state, but they are only open very selected dates and times - usually the 1st and 3rd weekends of the month. Since our ride weekend is on the 3rd Sunday of March they should be open both Saturday and Sunday. I'll check to make sure, and if so it would certainly work well as an early lunch stop (they run out of meat early) on the day a group tries riding to Luckenbach! ::001::
One thing, just for the record...
I don't know much how some of these other group rides are done elsewhere, but the ones we usually have in the Hill Country are pretty *free-form* affairs. A few routes and stops are planned for each day, and folks can ride with the main group or split off on their own. Usually groups try and meet up at the breakfast, lunch, and dinner spots, or one or two of those. Often small groups splinter off to do exploring of other areas or routes of interest. The main thing is to have fun, and ride to what you want to see. There are always folks that want to go the same way, too, so no one ever seems to ride alone. That's why I urge folks to get there early, Thursday if possible, and meet and greet folks to see what the interests are. Last year at the 3rd Coast Ducati ride each day it seemed we had one large group with two to three smaller splinter groups, but we all met each morning before departure and arranged points to meet up at during various parts of the day. Worked great.
How about some views from the collective? How's that kind of thing sound? Or an Alamo pilgrimage?
Dallara
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