HOUSTON: Cheeseburger loop Sunday 7/16. Other options?

[eabenedetti]

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!

 

[Tourmeister]

Come 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

 

[woodsguy]

What Tourmeister said! Cheeseburger loop will be boring on a 450. Houston and Trinity county have more dirt roads and some of them are actually fun. Follow his link or look up the Groveton loop or just go explore up there!

 

[eabenedetti]

Come 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

Thanks! Are you or @woodsguy riding Sunday? - I’m going with 3 other riders

 

[woodsguy]

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.

 

[Tourmeister]

Thanks! Are you or @woodsguy riding Sunday? - I’m going with 3 other riders

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.

 

[eabenedetti]

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.

2 of the guys are on brand-new bikes, it should be a calm/nice ride of about 3-4 hours. Suggestions????

 

[Tourmeister]

If 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.

 

[eabenedetti]

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.

Do you have a gpx to share?
Probably stay on the west side so the new bikes/riders have a good break-in.

If no gpx, just suggest some roads to follow. Looking for 3-4 hours riding.

I appreciate the input, THANK YOU!

 

[eabenedetti]

If 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.

They’re getting back to riding dirt after hiatus but current on street riding

 

[Tourmeister]

Will they be in big adventure bikes or something like your 450?

 

[eabenedetti]

Will they be in big adventure bikes or something like your 450?

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.

 

[woodsguy]

, there are loads of fun roads and lots of sand.

he kids, lol. NOT

 

[Tourmeister]

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.

 

[eabenedetti]

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.

I appreciate the suggestions. Does this look OK to you?

 

[Tourmeister]

Some 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.

GPX viewer

 

[eabenedetti]

Some 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.

GPX viewer

Route looks awesome! Sounds like you’ll be ready to join us Sunday morning , fresh oil and tires

We’re planning to be at the Park and ride around 8:30.

Thanks for your help and suggestions, much appreciated! We’ll circle back with ride report and pics

 

[Tourmeister]

You will ride right past my place as you head out FM 980. We are in a little neighborhood on the right just as you pass the cemetery after going thru the S curve. When I get the chance to organize rides, we usually meet up at the Smiley's Shell station there on the corner of FM 980 and 247 and head out at 9:00am. Work has kept me from doing that the last few years

 

[Irishcoffee]

Work is overrated!

 

[Tourmeister]

My son and I rode a most of the stuff West of Trinity and Lovelady today. The lack of rain means the roads are really DRY and DUSTY. Also, the sandy sections are a bit deeper now because they are getting chewed up by the local traffic. I was running two up on my 1200 GS with a passenger that weighs in around 165 lbs or so. It was his first time ever riding on a bike! The Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires I just installed did quite well, even when we got into some deep sand patches. They really hooked up coming out of corners and didn't want to spin up. But that might also have been a function of all the weight I was carrying back there! It was HOT! When we reached Lovelady we stopped at the Valero station in town to get gas. I had to let my son finish filling up my bike so I could go in and cool off. I was standing there pumping the gas and all of a sudden I felt bad. I stood in the beer cooler for a minute and steam was pouring off of me! We got some Gatorade and an ice cream sandwich and just sat in the A/C for about 30 minutes. That made me fell MUCH better. We hit Old Trinlady Road/Trinlady Park Rd., to get back down to Trinity and then just ran FM 230/3478 back to home. It was 102 F most of the time with a low of 97 as we crossed the Trinity River and that felt very refreshing! How crazy is it that 97 feels cool

 

[eabenedetti]

@Tourmeister, thanks for providing tips and tracks to follow. We had a lot of fun!!! Shakedown of bikes and riders went well, I appreciate your help and hope to meet you soon.

Have fun in your trip!

 

[Tourmeister]

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.

 

[eabenedetti]

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.

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!