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Middle Texas Meandering

KsTeveM

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Joined
Dec 8, 2014
Messages
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Location
San Marcos, Texas
First Name
Steve
Last Name
Pylant
I thought that sounded more exotic, tried to spice it up to trick my brain. I’ve been coming down from the Utah trip high from last month. Seems the best solution, get out and ride. Had a couple bike riding plans fall through for this weekend due to scheduling/life, for my kids and my normal wing man. Decided to still put down some miles on the big bike, solo if necessary, weather looks nice and I can swing a few days in the bush. Here is the gist of the plan, ride some pretty varied stuff with the most dirt possible for the route…..Kerrville, Mason, Richland Springs, Goldthwaite, Iredell, Lometa, Llano, Blanco, home. Probably normal stuff you guys have seen, but thought I would still share the ride, for stupidity….I mean posterity’s sake. I got the Biggest of Red Pigs packed and ready. Anybody feeling froggy for dirt and like to ride a decent pace but not breakneck, PM me. Leaving San Marcos area Thursday, mostly camping is the plan.

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I would be interested in where you will be camping?
Friday will be Regency Bridge River Park, newer place north of Richland Springs. Saturday will be Barefoot Camp River Park east of Bend. These work for my route and I like being on rivers or lakes.
 
If my son wasn’t coming in town this weekend I will be joining you! Sounds like a great trip with great weather
 
If my son wasn’t coming in town this weekend I will be joining you! Sounds like a great trip with great weather
Cool. I had you on my mind as well, I think some of that is your normal stomping grounds. I'm gonna give it a whirl!!
 
I'll be watching this thread, I've been wanting to explore that neck of the woods myself. Never been that far north in the hill country, interested in some pics of what you experience.
 
I thought that sounded more exotic, tried to spice it up to trick my brain. I’ve been coming down from the Utah trip high from last month. Seems the best solution, get out and ride. Had a couple bike riding plans fall through for this weekend due to scheduling/life, for my kids and my normal wing man. Decided to still put down some miles on the big bike, solo if necessary, weather looks nice and I can swing a few days in the bush. Here is the gist of the plan, ride some pretty varied stuff with the most dirt possible for the route…..Kerrville, Mason, Richland Springs, Goldthwaite, Iredell, Lometa, Llano, Blanco, home. Probably normal stuff you guys have seen, but thought I would still share the ride, for stupidity….I mean posterity’s sake. I got the Biggest of Red Pigs packed and ready. Anybody feeling froggy for dirt and like to ride a decent pace but not breakneck, PM me. Leaving San Marcos area Thursday, mostly camping is the plan.

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I thought that sounded more exotic, tried to spice it up to trick my brain. I’ve been coming down from the Utah trip high from last month. Seems the best solution, get out and ride. Had a couple bike riding plans fall through for this weekend due to scheduling/life, for my kids and my normal wing man. Decided to still put down some miles on the big bike, solo if necessary, weather looks nice and I can swing a few days in the bush. Here is the gist of the plan, ride some pretty varied stuff with the most dirt possible for the route…..Kerrville, Mason, Richland Springs, Goldthwaite, Iredell, Lometa, Llano, Blanco, home. Probably normal stuff you guys have seen, but thought I would still share the ride, for stupidity….I mean posterity’s sake. I got the Biggest of Red Pigs packed and ready. Anybody feeling froggy for dirt and like to ride a decent pace but not breakneck, PM me. Leaving San Marcos area Thursday, mostly camping is the plan.

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Man! Nice black out AT!
I will be watching for camp site pics!
 
I got off work and immediately started riding decent Hill Country stuff, Wimberly, Devils Backbone, Fischer, Kendalia, Sisterdale, Comfort. It ain’t Utah, but I know a lot of people travel pretty good distances in Texas to hit this same stuff I take for granted out my front door. Take it in dummy, it’s not just a means to get to the good stuff. Or is it?

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I stopped/took these pics about every 15 to 20 miles, to dip my gear in creeks to cool off, worked out well. It was a beautiful day but a tad warm. Makes a world of difference.

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Here is another good one to cool your roll. Grabbed Cypress Creek and rolled towards Kerrville. That water was really cold!

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Touchdown, staying with my Big Bad Uncle Don. Dude rolls out the red carpet for me. He use to ride many moons ago, I think he is just nice to me so he can sniff around my bike and hear about my stupid exploits.

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I shed my riding boots and was about to get my mandals off the bike that we’re strapped in, then Bad Don offers me some loose scooby shoes at the ready. I thought that was a cool gesture, but after a while I felt like the man from Atlantis wearing them.

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Never fear, I got this. I’ll cook in the duck commander flops, relax, I’m a professional.

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Stoked the fire and got ready to rock and roll. Things were starting to get loose. Steady as she goes in those flops!

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Seasoned the steaks and I got after it, it was touch and go.

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On one of my liquid relief treks, spotted this suspect little plant, I think he keeps it around to see if ET comes back. Did I mention he is a horticulturist? If I find a speak and spell, I’m all the way outta here!

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We enjoyed the evening looking down on the Ingramites from our lofty perch. Ate some cow, listened to some tunage, good fellowship, good drinkmanship…is that a word? You know it is. Nighty night.

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Love your pics. I rode out there last November but didn't camp. I stayed in hotel, Kerrville. But now I camp every chance I get! Here's a slide show of some creek crossings. If you notice these areas I'd love to know any camping nearby. I've camped in Uvalde once back last December.
TIA
Gator
I think this was on the detour rd taken when that bridge was out. I could look back in my map notes.

 
Got up and moving, Bad Don got up for KP duty, bless his heart. We scarfed some great breakfast and then I got packed up. I tucked him back in bed with some Tylenol, seems he has the touch of the flu this morning 😜. I rolled north, wanted to get into some county road dirt meandering through some nice ranches. Gotta get there first.

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Ahh, there it is. You always feel a little funky on these particular county roads, like you need to tip toe through. What was common place 50 years ago is getting more and more rare. Soak it up, while you can, easements/being neighborly and friendly is not on the rise. I kept the bike in a high gear to keep the noise down and rolled through uneventful and respectful like.

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Temps were right, smells were right, sights were right. Alright alright alright.

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What a beautiful morning out here, loving it. Is this stuff not calling your name? If not, you’re dead inside, please log out.

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County change, terrain change, road material change. I like this particular dirt, even though my horse’s shoes are at the end of their life. Hope I don’t throw one. I am no longer riding uneventful like.

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On that note, not convinced this Anakee Wild is the ultimate rear tire for me…has 2400 miles on it, I will retire it after this ride. I’m sure others would run this another 1K or 2K, I like good fresh meat on the bigger rides I do. And he wasn’t a bad friend, just want to play with someone else. The cheapo Kenda big block was worse, 2000 and I wanted it off, but I did thrash that poor sucker. I know this riding doesn’t call for it, but I like more knobby than road compliance. Brain feeling the tug to just get the Mitas E07+ Dakar and be done….but my heart likey the knobbies. Compared to my roots, the E07 looks like it belongs on a Ninja. Even considered putting a slightly different size 140/80/18 on to open up the knob options, tire shortages suck right now. Cheap Tusk Dsport? It’s all so confusing. But I just recently found out that Motocity is about to have a bunch of Motoz in stock, just ordered a Tractionator Adventure…me anxious to try, might be enough street and enough knobblies. I just like having confidence in the rougher stuff, especially on this big dude.

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Fading rear tire be darn, bring on the creek crossings. I started my dunk the armor game, nothing better than riding in ac.

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I always feel like I am further away from home out here than what I really am. I guess my brain is just programmed that if it is decent dirt riding and scenic, you must be somewhere a long ways from home 😊.

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I’m expecting an award for this shot. And you know I got really wet here cooling off. I might as well jumped in. Man this is the good stuff, glorious riding!

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And I like this sandy stretch as you get close to Castell. Two fold, sped up for spirited riding and I know liquid refreshments are soon to follow.

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The beer is always right here, long, cold and wet. The bbq is just ok, doesn’t match the price. I should make a fire on the ground by my bike and use the adjustafork to eat hot dogs. The beans, there are no words for their beans. Other than the cold long necks and the location, Mrs. Freckles is the highlight. And she wasn’t there, so bummed. I think her great great grandfather was running the bar :(

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I dined on a gas station sandwich I bought yesterday. Winning. About to roll out for more riding. Haven’t seen one dual sport or adventure bike. What the heck are y’all doing? It’s up to me I guess to carry the lot of ya!

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On one of my liquid relief treks, spotted this suspect little plant, I think he keeps it around to see if ET comes back. Did I mention he is a horticulturist? If I find a speak and spell, I’m all the way outta here!

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Ahh, so you found my Christmas tree - it looks so much better with its ornament. Told you i was on a budget, so have another beer and act impressed. No Charlie Brown tree for me. Travel safely.
 
Friday will be Regency Bridge River Park, newer place north of Richland Springs. Saturday will be Barefoot Camp River Park east of Bend. These work for my route and I like being on rivers or lakes.
Looks like you enjoyed yourself.
 
The rest of yesterday……Skedaddled out of Castell along the river for a bit.

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Went down to the river crossing to get wet, they are finally rebuilding that broke down bridge at I think what they call Old Man Schneider Crossing. I remember something about that guy washing his face in a frying pan and combing his hair with a wagon wheel?

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I definitely didn’t cross the barriers on my bike nor did I go down where you weren’t supposed to go to dunk my gear and get wet.

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The rocks in this area always impress me. Again, like I am somewhere else. But where would I be if I wasn’t here? Ahhh, quiet helmet time, deep thoughts by stevo.

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Ok, getting hot, need a creek crossing, but they have been dry the last hour or so. Rolled into Pontotoc and thought about the old days when I was a kid on my bicycle riding all day and would randomly get water from someone’s hose. Applied that theory here, first place was a dry run, water was turned off.

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This next one looked promising, I climbed up into that tank and went swimming. Or maybe I walked over to the outdoor sink and dunked my head.

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That was the ticket, cooled off and headed north some more.

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I stopped to get a pic at this pretty spot, and saw a can of wd40 in a koozie. Nice, oiled my chain and moved on.

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Made it another 15 or 20 miles, started getting hot again, had a creek on my mind and one presented itself!

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Right after that, I followed my route on what was supposed to be a county road. Pretty sure it was a county road in the 60s. I punched through, but I would not recommend it in the future.

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Rolled into Richland Springs. That community always feels welcoming and like going back in time. I like these folks. Gave them some money for a few emergency supplies and made dust towards my digs for the night.

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Pictures never do justice, this was a cool little oak tunnel.

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Getting closer….

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Ahh, here we go, crossed the suspension bridge and went for my evenings domicile.

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Touchdown, river park on the Colorado. Ok, so here is the skinny for you guys following along wanting camping feedback. This is a new/old place. Meaning new off site management and a little run down. It has big potential, but they won’t return my multiple voicemails, and won’t answer emails from their web site. You get there, nobody on site, no instructions, no water, no bathrooms, nothing. So switch a gear in your head, imagine stealth camping with a sense of security, sort of. Either way, I felt I got my $15 bucks worth.

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Luckily a local rolls up on me after he went for a walk by the bridge, saw a dingus fussing about with a bike making camp. Long story short, fellow bike rider, Baja frequenter etc. We hung out for the evening listening to tunes and swapping riding lies. Perfect!

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For general knowledge, that crap about Fritos helping light a fire, it’s crap.

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After I blew myself up with some spare gas, I was on my way.

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Fire, tunes, refreshments and meat. Living the dream! With some views…..night night time.

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You are killing me. I’m mowing grass, helping a high school band finish field props and running trim in a bathroom. I should have hired out JMZ to do my mundane chores while I went riding.
 
All these trips and stories...this is why we hate you, Steve...hate I say...LOL! My family has relatives buried in Pontotoc...neat area. Steve, I was going to suggest a good camping spot, but I see on Google Earth that the 50's DeSoto station wagon is no longer available at the intersection of Doss-Cherry Spring Road and hwy 87...and the gas station/cafe is no longer open...LOL! With enough blankets, it was good sleeping accommodations for a 20-degree night...LOL!
 
You are killing me. I’m mowing grass, helping a high school band finish field props and running trim in a bathroom. I should have hired out JMZ to do my mundane chores while I went riding.
You are missing a good ride brother!
 
When you camp, especially solo, you are usually up before the birds. Tis good and bad I guess. I enjoyed the good parts and packed up, I have some decent miles ahead of me. Autobots, roll out.

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Really looking forward to seeing some new to me terrain today. Went just a few miles, and that was happening. And traffic jams.

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Here is where I stopped for a bit to update the ride report this morning when I got decent coverage. Not a bad office.

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Nice gentle roll to the terrain, and not much wind.

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I didn’t have overly big expectations on the riding today, but I am enjoying it. Different topography, more open spaces, bigger oaks, some of this stuff makes me think of the green lane riding they do across the pond.

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I purposely picked dirt and/or river crossings when I could, hoping for goodness. Can’t complain about the route. But I guess this is the Lampasas River in its early stages?

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More dirt, more river crossings. I’m certainly not in my normal neck of the woods, never even heard of Leon River. Leon Springs, Leon Patillo, Leon Spain, Leon the Clown….no rivers in my dome. Some cool iron.

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Hard to beat riding in cool temps and tree canopy.

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I beat around the dirt roads for another 30 or 40 miles and got in the Iredell area, Bosque River. This was my objective for the trip/day and the furthest north I would get. Nice river crossing.

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A generation or two ago my people inhabited this area. Wanted to put my eye balls on this dirt, and feel some ancestral vibes. I’m not one for cemeteries, but forced myself to take it in and visit, cleaned up their individual front yards and just sat for a bit. If you remove the wars, great depression, plagues, dust bowl, the hard farming….they lived a better life in a better time I’m thinking. The Greatest Generation kind of thing on my mind. Wish I could spend a year in each decade with these people of mine and enjoy their life.

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This remote country area has nothing to sustain a bike rider or any entertainment value, this area blows. There is no way I can survive here! I need to find a drink with some ice in it, only sonic type ice. Someone to cook some food for me and some air conditioning. Ha ha, that was funny, you know it. Grabbing some grub in town right now at a little cafe. Wonder if my peeps ever ate here? I decided yes, they must have, smart people eat in good places, like serving breakfast at noon!

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I feel good about getting to see this area, kind of a small bucket list item for me. Now I just have 150 more miles to go for the day to meander some different dirt routes back south. Will be chasing the sun most likely and enjoying not knowing what I will see.

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Leon River...you were getting into my neck of the woods. Like you I love the big oaks, and there are tons of pecan trees in that area too. We admire the hill country for obvious reasons, but going up hwy 16 toward Possum Kingdom Lake gets you into some really big hills and beautiful country.
 
Well I woke up this morning with no part of my body that didn’t hurt. And the Dr Pepper I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for dessert. Then I fumbled through my clothes and found my cleanest dirty underwear. Sunday morning coming down.

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Wow - nice travelog neighbor! Was that a "bump gate" I saw in one of the pictures? I haven't seen one of those since the King Ranch about 40 years ago.
 
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Wow - nice travelog neighbor! Was that a "bump gate" I saw in one of the pictures? I haven't seen one of those since the King Ranch about 40 years ago.
Thank you. And yes sir, bump gate. There is a lot of them in the hill country. And they are not all created equal, be careful, bike or car.
 
Back to the rest of yesterday. Rolling south soaking in the dirt and the many canopies.

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I like it when the counties upgrade the bridge but leave the old one there.

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This road was a good one. But I knew that was bad, meaning it was probably going to play out. It did, had to backtrack, but it was still nice riding, both ways.

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Temps were hitting 93, 94. There really is something to that magic number. I was feeling it and the creeks around here didn’t look like Stevo dunk spots, more like a creature from the black lagoon hangout, this is not what we are looking for.

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This is what we are looking for.

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I was hot enough I was getting annoyed at the distraction. I considered using my spare water bottle to douse myself, then this presented itself. Game changer in my mood, it was glorious. I looked like a bird in a bird bath being reborn.

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Back to views and sweet trees.

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Started pretending to get hot again out there. I stopped here to pray about it….and use their water hose. It was heavenly!

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More riding, views, freshly planted fields, good smells.

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Just a trickle, but that’ll do, thank you mother earth.

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Rolled through this cool area with camels in open range, I snagged the pic but was watching them as hard as they were watching me, I’ve known them to be like guard dogs. And then some zebras as a bonus.

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I was starting to get tired, considered grabbing pavement to just bee line to my camp. Long day, perhaps the several days and sleeping on the ground catching up with me. Then this dirt unfolded, ok ok, I’m listening to you, thank you. Carry on.

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One more water hole, some more dirt, bit of pavement, then another another watering hole of the special kind. Good music, good food, good scenery, gooder beer.

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Climbed on Trigger and spurred him just a couple miles to my spot for the night, pretty cool digs. Water was cold, and wet. Felt good and will do it again before I lay down for sleepy sleepy time.

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I walked around for a bit, enjoyed the night sky and then climbed in my tent for another night of star gazing with no rain fly. Night night time.

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