Gary N. Posted December 7, 2013 #26 Posted December 7, 2013 Gary, Will see if we can time it so we visit these areas during the week. We may hit some of the celebration. Curious, folks say the roads are good, but the asphalt appears to be coarse and speckled. Should we be concerned about a lot of debris kicking up on our trikes? Thanks! Most of the back roads are what I call tar and chip surfaced. I think they may call it chip sealed down there. The chips they use down there are more like 3/4" stone so they do seem a bit coarse. Not sure what you mean by speckled. The only time you might find some sand or gravel is after a rain where some driveway stone has washed out on to the road surface. There can be a lot of water crossings depending on how much rain they get. The last couple of winters have been pretty dry and the water crossings few and far between. I don't know what to recommend about going through them with a trike but on two wheels you need to stay in the track of the 4 wheeled vehicles. Get off of that line and it's like driving on snot. Don't ask me how I know that.
leo3wheel Posted December 7, 2013 Author #27 Posted December 7, 2013 Yes, surface looks coarse in pictures. Speckled effect is from rock chips. Not worried about falling with our trikes. More concerned about rocks chipping paintjobs. Driving over rough stuff is not a problem with trikes, except that is may shake us a bit. Best to slow down at water crossings. May have to go to a dealer to have protection applied to vulnerable paint areas. Need to give this more thought. Thanks for this info!
tomephil Posted December 7, 2013 #28 Posted December 7, 2013 Yes, surface looks coarse in pictures. Speckled effect is from rock chips. Not worried about falling with our trikes. More concerned about rocks chipping paintjobs. Driving over rough stuff is not a problem with trikes, except that is may shake us a bit. Best to slow down at water crossings. May have to go to a dealer to have protection applied to vulnerable paint areas. Need to give this more thought. Thanks for this info! Hey Leo, We did the Hill Country about 6 or 7 years ago. The FM (farm to market) roads look like loose gravel but we found them solid. I was told that the tar shrinks and retreats in the winter. You dont see what is binding the "chips" but when the roads heat up in summer, the tar rises to the surface and can make the roads slippery. We were there in late Dec/Jan. All good advice above. Coopers is amazing, Willow city loop was fun but no blue bonnets when we went. We were told not to stop on the roadside in the loop as the local residents don't enjoy the extra traffic. We stayed at the D Rose Inn in Leaky, its a motorcycle resort. And look out for the small deer, especially at sunset. Have a great ride! Tom
jonesy Posted December 7, 2013 #29 Posted December 7, 2013 Someone mentioned deer, that's one thing I saw plenty of in my 2 years of living in texas, and jack rabbits. They were all over the place, a couple of us would go out in the desert with 22's and we could see them all over the place.
leo3wheel Posted December 7, 2013 Author #30 Posted December 7, 2013 Sounds like roads may be okay if we take it easy. Cooper's does sound fantastic, BBQ and bluebonnets! http://www.coopersbbq.com/default.asp Willow City Loop is a must. We will be considerate of locals. D'Rose Inn in Leakey is under new management and no longer caters to motorcycles and bikers only. Place is now called The Historic Leakey Inn. http://www.leakeyinn.com/default.html Thanks Tom!
tomephil Posted December 7, 2013 #31 Posted December 7, 2013 Sounds like roads may be okay if we take it easy. Cooper's does sound fantastic, BBQ and bluebonnets! http://www.coopersbbq.com/default.asp Willow City Loop is a must. We will be considerate of locals. D'Rose Inn in Leakey is under new management and no longer caters to motorcycles and bikers only. Place is now called The Historic Leakey Inn. http://www.leakeyinn.com/default.html Thanks Tom! Darn, sorry to hear the D'Rose Inn changed hands. We enjoyed our stay there.
Gary N. Posted December 7, 2013 #32 Posted December 7, 2013 More concerned about rocks chipping paintjobs. May have to go to a dealer to have protection applied to vulnerable paint areas. Need to give this more thought. Thanks for this info! I don't think it's necessary. At least for the roads I usually ride on. I avoid gravel/dirt roads at all costs. Now if you want to talk about Alaska, that would be a different story.
leo3wheel Posted December 7, 2013 Author #33 Posted December 7, 2013 Gary, This is good to know. We will drive carefully, and I will touch up any nicks I do get. Thanks!
leo3wheel Posted December 8, 2013 Author #34 Posted December 8, 2013 Fellow biker from San Antonio provided this site as a reference. It is very useful. http://www.motorcycleroads.us/regions/tx_hill.html
leo3wheel Posted April 10, 2014 Author #35 Posted April 10, 2014 Start off Sunday, 4/13. Am I brave enough to tackle Washington DC on our trike? Maybe... 2014 National Cherry Blossom Festival 2014 Peak Bloom Period Prediction: April 8 – 12
Gary N. Posted April 10, 2014 #36 Posted April 10, 2014 Road the Willow City Loop today. The wild flowers there are sparse due to lack of rain this year. In some other areas around Fredericksburg there are quite a few along the ranch roads.
murph35640 Posted April 10, 2014 #37 Posted April 10, 2014 Gonna be out there 4/22 to 4/26 again for the Texas Trike Reunion, I don't have a trike but my buddy does. We did this trip last year and had a blast! Looking forward to it!
leo3wheel Posted April 10, 2014 Author #38 Posted April 10, 2014 Road the Willow City Loop today. The wild flowers there are sparse due to lack of rain this year. In some other areas around Fredericksburg there are quite a few along the ranch roads. Gary, Told there may bluebonnets into May. Looking forward to riding the area. Sure it will be nice. See you soon!
leo3wheel Posted April 10, 2014 Author #39 Posted April 10, 2014 Gonna be out there 4/22 to 4/26 again for the Texas Trike Reunion, I don't have a trike but my buddy does. We did this trip last year and had a blast! Looking forward to it! Been in touch with Trike Reunion organizer. Will be at the YO Ranch Hotel next door to the Super 8. Plan participate in two rallies being held at the same time next door to each other. Looking forward to meeting you!
murph35640 Posted April 11, 2014 #40 Posted April 11, 2014 Been in touch with Trike Reunion organizer. Will be at the YO Ranch Hotel next door to the Super 8. Plan participate in two rallies being held at the same time next door to each other. Looking forward to meeting you! We will be at the Super 8, lots of good times there after dark at the picnic tables between the buildings! Will look you up for sure! Last year I think I was the only one on two wheels but had an absolute blast!
Gary N. Posted April 11, 2014 #41 Posted April 11, 2014 Here's a pic from the ride today. And one of my wife relaxing after the long hard ride.
aharbi Posted April 11, 2014 #42 Posted April 11, 2014 (edited) The flowers are out and starting to fade or be overgrown. I noticed some of the landowners mowing along the road and in some fields. Yesterday I road from north Austin to Independence and back. At times on "improved" dirt/gravel roads. Here are some of my pictures. Enjoy! http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014001-20140409-102304.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014002-20140409-102934.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014003-20140409-104015.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014004-20140409-104411.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/P4096864_stitch.jpg~original http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014006-20140409-105304.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014007-20140409-105842.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014008-20140409-105858.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014009-20140409-110046.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014010-20140409-112052.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014011-20140409-114509.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014012-20140409-114519.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014014-20140409-115336.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014013-20140409-115422.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014015-20140409-121251.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014017-20140409-124856.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014018-20140409-140900.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/P4096948_stitch.jpg~original http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014020-20140409-145618.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014021-20140409-150032.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014022-20140409-150139.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/FlowerSniffin2014023-20140409-165211.jpg http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/DSC00369.jpg~original http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/2014%20FlowerSniffin/DSC00363.jpg~original Edited May 12, 2014 by aharbi added 2 pictures, fixed panorama pictures
cowpuc Posted April 11, 2014 #43 Posted April 11, 2014 Hey Art - THANKS FOR THE PICS!!!!!!!! Our lakes are still iced over and just a little bit of snow left - woods are still covered where the sun cant get.. Those pics make me CRAVE for summer,, gorgeous,, just plain gorgeous!!! Puc
leo3wheel Posted April 11, 2014 Author #44 Posted April 11, 2014 Agree with Puc! Those pictures are gorgeous! Cannot wait to ride those roads. Soon, very soon...
leo3wheel Posted April 12, 2014 Author #45 Posted April 12, 2014 Decided to make reservations for the George W. Bush Library. Ordered ticket for Saturday, 4/19. Staying at Best Western down the road on 4/18-4/20, 2 nights. Will then head down to Hill Country.
leo3wheel Posted April 19, 2014 Author #46 Posted April 19, 2014 FYI, I made it... Arrived at my Dallas hotel safe and sound. It is a nice Best Western hotel downtown. Will be here two nights, three nights in Fredericksburg and three nights in Kerrville. Tomorrow, take the DART rail to the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Found a church just down the street for Easter Sunday service. Was taking pictures of various wildflowers when my eyes came across Texas Bluebonnets in the Dallas area. Almost jumped off my seat with joy. Eventually found a side road where I could take pictures. Bluebonnets are very showy and fragrant. So glad I got to see them!
tomephil Posted April 19, 2014 #47 Posted April 19, 2014 Luckenbach is a few miles north of Fredricksburg . That would be worth a visit. Its not on most maps but someone should know how to get there.
leo3wheel Posted April 19, 2014 Author #48 Posted April 19, 2014 Meeting locals in Fredericksburg, and I know they frequent Luckenbach. Thanks!
beltfed50 Posted April 19, 2014 #49 Posted April 19, 2014 and here all this time I thought bluebonnets were what the UN POlice wear...
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