Looking to ride dirt this weekend on 450 dual sport, starting Sunday 7/16 at 9am from SHNF.
Any suggestions other than Cheeseburger loop?
Thank you!
Any suggestions other than Cheeseburger loop?
Thank you!
Thanks! Are you or @woodsguy riding Sunday? - I’m going with 3 other ridersCome a wee bit further North... Start in Huntsville. There is a nice park-n-ride lot at FM 247 and 2821 on the North side of town that has tons of space for a truck/trailer. It has been used for this purpose on numerous rides. Just over the hill toward FM 980 there is a Shell station with a nice grill and tables inside.
Tour of the Davy Crockett NF 12/05/15
Awesome ride! :rider: Post up when you get home so we know you made it ;-)www.twtex.com
There are loads of dirt roads around Lovelady that I ride frequently.
Gravel Road Maps and Biking Routes - Gravelmap
Gravelmap is a tool for finding and sharing local gravel roads for biking, gravel grinding, exploration and more.gravelmap.com
No, I am in the middle of prepping three bikes for a long trip. Have to do oil changes, new tires on all, new chain and sprockets on two of them. So I am kind of busy at the momentThanks! Are you or @woodsguy riding Sunday? - I’m going with 3 other riders
2 of the guys are on brand-new bikes, it should be a calm/nice ride of about 3-4 hours. Suggestions????Lol, no idea what Sunday will bring. Buy my 850 on those sandy roads is not a good combination with 450's. This time of year I'd struggle in that sand.
Do you have a gpx to share?No, I am in the middle of prepping three bikes for a long trip. Have to do oil changes, new tires on all, new chain and sprockets on two of them. So I am kind of busy at the moment
All the stuff West of Trinity and Lovelady is pretty easy stuff, but still fun. It is sandy, but not the deep crazy stuff. If you head East of Trinity and Lovelady, you start getting more of the deeper sand, which I think is still fun I like to ride up to Crockett. There is a good BBQ place on the South loop right where FM 2712 crosses. I think it is called Mimsy's Craft BBQ. If you head out toward Pennington, Kennard, and Centralia, there are loads of fun roads and lots of sand.
They’re getting back to riding dirt after hiatus but current on street ridingIf the bikes are new, are the riders new to dirt as well? If they are, I would stick to the area West of Trinity and Lovelady, maybe do the run up to Crockett and back. That would be right around 3-4 hours from Huntsville depending on your pace and how direct/indirect the route you take might be.
We have a GS1100 (experienced) + 2 new 450 + my 450. This should be a nice and calm ride to start getting them comfortable in dirt riding again. I’m looking for something spicier than forest roads.Will they be in big adventure bikes or something like your 450?
he kids, lol. NOT, there are loads of fun roads and lots of sand.
I appreciate the suggestions. Does this look OK to you?The only thing that makes any of these roads spicier than your typical forest service roads will be deep sand or mud if it has rained recently. None of the roads are technical. That is just part of living where we live. I like the roads West of Lovelady and Trinity because there are a lot of long tree tunnels, so nice and shady! Typically, there is very little traffic, but you do have to watch for the occasional big truck pulling a horse trailer. There was a route Northeast of Lovelady that I would ride to get out to Crockett and it had a LOT of sand and was a challenge. It saw almost no traffic at all. However, that is now being "developed" and the trees are being cut down, the road widened, and gravel being laid. So it is not as much fun now as it used to be.
You can also go North of Huntsville and stay on the West side of the Trinity River. I like to run up to Centerville and have lunch at Woody's BBQ. There's not much dirt though. There is a lot of gravel and these little one lane roads that are "paved" with a tar/sand mixture. What is fun about the area is that it has a lot more elevation changes than what is around here, especially once you get North of the OSR highway.
Route looks awesome! Sounds like you’ll be ready to join us Sunday morning , fresh oil and tiresSome of the roads you have on the South end are private. Try this instead. It starts and ends at the park and ride I mentioned. It is pavement until you reach Chalk Cemetery Rd on FM 230 going toward Trinity. After that, it is mostly dirt until you get back to FM 230 and head back to Huntsville. The North end of the route is at the BBQ place I mentioned. I added the road heading West out of Lovelady because it is a lot of fun as is the little loop just on the other side of 3151. Total route is 109 miles. If you are running 40-45mph, you can bang that out and have lunch easily in 3-4 hours. I do my riding on Saturdays, but my bike is not back together yet. Just got the new tires mounted this evening and still need to balance and put them back on the bike, then do an oil change, and replace a leaking fork seal.
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We got to Crockett around 10:15, everything was closed . Hopefully next time with nicer weather we can be there around noon. Ride was perfect, thank you!Glad you had a good time! Did you make it to Crockett for lunch at Mimsy's BBQ? The other good place to eat there is the Moosehead Cafe on the town square. We've done a bunch of Pie Runs there over the years.