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The "Non-Invasive" Dirt Roads Around Austin Thread
- Thread starter Coolhand
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Eric2Tex
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Just an FYI, but I thought I would give the sandy creek xing a go yesterday after catching some Q at coopers. The bikes were pouring in as I left there around 2:30 or so, lines into the parking lot. 
Anyway, first, the bluebonnets aren't close to peaking yet, I approached sandy creek from 16 on Cr315. There's a flip down sign just off 16 that indicated the xing was closed, but you know me. When I finally got there found some guy with family in a 2wd truck stuck in the sand before the 1st crossing. He declined my offer for help (dunno what i could've done to help anyway). The sand was way soft and I had a hard time just getting the big GS turned around. Might have given it a go but with one vehicle stuck already used discretion this time. Looked like it may be fun on a smaller bike though.
Anyway, first, the bluebonnets aren't close to peaking yet, I approached sandy creek from 16 on Cr315. There's a flip down sign just off 16 that indicated the xing was closed, but you know me. When I finally got there found some guy with family in a 2wd truck stuck in the sand before the 1st crossing. He declined my offer for help (dunno what i could've done to help anyway). The sand was way soft and I had a hard time just getting the big GS turned around. Might have given it a go but with one vehicle stuck already used discretion this time. Looked like it may be fun on a smaller bike though.
Dahveed
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Just an FYI, but I thought I would give the sandy creek xing a go yesterday after catching some Q at coopers. The bikes were pouring in as I left there around 2:30 or so, lines into the parking lot.
Anyway, first, the bluebonnets aren't close to peaking yet, I approached sandy creek from 16 on Cr315. There's a flip down sign just off 16 that indicated the xing was closed, but you know me. When I finally got there found some guy with family in a 2wd truck stuck in the sand before the 1st crossing. He declined my offer for help (dunno what i could've done to help anyway). The sand was way soft and I had a hard time just getting the big GS turned around. Might have given it a go but with one vehicle stuck already used discretion this time. Looked like it may be fun on a smaller bike though.
Yeah, its always more fun getting stuck with a group of people.
Also, it seems a universal that the small bikes are usually more fun, until you get on pavement and start heading 100 + miles. Then its BMW dreaming for me...
Coolhand
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Smurf, welcome to TWT. 
I'm getting out one of the weekend days. How about you ride my DR and I ride your KTM? 
I'm getting out one of the weekend days. How about you ride my DR and I ride your KTM? 
Slow is ok. I do a little of everything. The KTM likes constant air moving through its rad's or it throws up.
I just want to ride but besides MX parks I cant seem to find anyplace decent. I've ridden under the mopac and alongside the railway tracks a little but there must be better trails around here someplace...
I just want to ride but besides MX parks I cant seem to find anyplace decent. I've ridden under the mopac and alongside the railway tracks a little but there must be better trails around here someplace...
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Have you not tried Hidden Falls? I'm partial to it because I've been part of the team that has cut/marked/mapped most of the trails, but it is a great place to ride.
Coolhand
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D'oh, that was the one I was trying to remember Smurf. Hidden Falls. Out by Marble Falls.
And Chicken, you actually have a Husaberg? In Texas? Where do you go if you need parts for that thing ;p
And Chicken, you actually have a Husaberg? In Texas? Where do you go if you need parts for that thing ;p
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I don't have one. I have two Husabergs.
Parts are easy to get, relatively inexpense, and readily available from several sources. None locally of course, but I recently tried to pick up a clutch cable for an XR400 at a local Honda dealer...special order.Service is easy too.
Coolhand
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Heh, service is easy because it happens in your driveway? 
This is what gets me droolin'...
This is what gets me droolin'...
Hey guys -
New guy here. Been reading your posts and was hoping I could get some advice from you guys. I recently moved here from NY (don't hold that against me! Seriously!) and am really itching to get back to riding a dual sport. I don't have much experience though. About 15 months ago I went out to the Mojave Desert for a few days and rode at KTM 450 and had an amazing time. Time of my life going up hills, single trails, whoops (is that right?), sand etc. Broke both wrists on the last day (long story) by flying into a ravine. Anyway, I'm not into street riding; really looking to do trails. But, i was thinking of getting the DRZ 400 so I can ride TO the trails. I guess my question is, is there a decent amount of dirt roads within 30 or so miles of downtown Austin? (I live central) And, would you guys welcome a beginner like me? (i've had a few bikes over the years, but don't have much dirt experience. And, i never really took a liking to riding on the streets)
Also, is the DRZ a decent choice for the type of riding you guys do?
Thanks much for you advice!
Charlie D.
New guy here. Been reading your posts and was hoping I could get some advice from you guys. I recently moved here from NY (don't hold that against me! Seriously!) and am really itching to get back to riding a dual sport. I don't have much experience though. About 15 months ago I went out to the Mojave Desert for a few days and rode at KTM 450 and had an amazing time. Time of my life going up hills, single trails, whoops (is that right?), sand etc. Broke both wrists on the last day (long story) by flying into a ravine. Anyway, I'm not into street riding; really looking to do trails. But, i was thinking of getting the DRZ 400 so I can ride TO the trails. I guess my question is, is there a decent amount of dirt roads within 30 or so miles of downtown Austin? (I live central) And, would you guys welcome a beginner like me? (i've had a few bikes over the years, but don't have much dirt experience. And, i never really took a liking to riding on the streets)
Also, is the DRZ a decent choice for the type of riding you guys do?
Thanks much for you advice!
Charlie D.
Coolhand
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Charlie,
Welcome! I'd definitely welcome a beginner like you, but then again I'm not very far ahead of you, if any
First, the riding around Austin will probably be a bit disappointing after coming from Mojave That sounds like an awesome trip, all except for the two broken wrists 
As you might see from the map there isn't a heck of a lot of real off road close to town. Texas is mostly private property so unlike states with large tracts of Nat'l Forrest or BLM it can be a bit tough to find good off road riding. There are a fair handful of off road parks around, including Hidden Falls up by Marble Falls. I haven't been to any of them but they look and sound fun... costs money to play there though. Close to town is mostly a few dirt roads which seem to get better the further west you go. (Speaking of west, even the tarmac out past 281 towards and beyond Fredericksburg can be really fun...) There is a group around that does urban dual sport riding on little bits that they find. I think those guys hang out on ridedualsport.com these days.
Bike choice is tough in this environment. There can be quite a bit of slab before you hit dirt. I like the DRZ and it's fat cousin the DR (I have a DR). Old technology, carbs, no 6th gear, but pretty bullet proof and cheap. If I was in a state with more off road and I could only pick one bike, it probably would have been the DRZ. But I'm here, so I picked the DR. If I had the coin I'd consider a Husky TE610/630, but who knows after Richard's latest experience on the Texas Adventure Ride
Of course you will get as many opinions as people that have bikes on this.
The big thing on this forum seems to be hooking up with a handful (sometimes big handful) of guys and girls and doing destinations. Richard has a Mexico ride going out next month that is highly anticipated every year. He also runs one to Big Bend, and other groups go out to New Mexico or Arkansas, etc. Some guys ride to them and some trailer.
What part of Central ATX are you in? Thursdays a TWT group meets at Billy's on Burnet for lunch at 11:30. You could meet some of the usual suspects there
Take it easy, don't be a stranger,
Justin
Welcome!
I'd definitely welcome a beginner like you, but then again I'm not very far ahead of you, if any First, the riding around Austin will probably be a bit disappointing after coming from Mojave
That sounds like an awesome trip, all except for the two broken wrists As you might see from the map there isn't a heck of a lot of real off road close to town. Texas is mostly private property so unlike states with large tracts of Nat'l Forrest or BLM it can be a bit tough to find good off road riding. There are a fair handful of off road parks around, including Hidden Falls up by Marble Falls. I haven't been to any of them but they look and sound fun... costs money to play there though. Close to town is mostly a few dirt roads which seem to get better the further west you go. (Speaking of west, even the tarmac out past 281 towards and beyond Fredericksburg can be really fun...) There is a group around that does urban dual sport riding on little bits that they find. I think those guys hang out on ridedualsport.com these days.
Bike choice is tough in this environment. There can be quite a bit of slab before you hit dirt. I like the DRZ and it's fat cousin the DR (I have a DR). Old technology, carbs, no 6th gear, but pretty bullet proof and cheap. If I was in a state with more off road and I could only pick one bike, it probably would have been the DRZ. But I'm here, so I picked the DR. If I had the coin I'd consider a Husky TE610/630, but who knows after Richard's latest experience on the Texas Adventure Ride
Of course you will get as many opinions as people that have bikes on this. The big thing on this forum seems to be hooking up with a handful (sometimes big handful) of guys and girls and doing destinations. Richard has a Mexico ride going out next month that is highly anticipated every year. He also runs one to Big Bend, and other groups go out to New Mexico or Arkansas, etc. Some guys ride to them and some trailer.
What part of Central ATX are you in? Thursdays a TWT group meets at Billy's on Burnet for lunch at 11:30. You could meet some of the usual suspects there
Take it easy, don't be a stranger,
Justin
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Hey Justin,
Thanks so much for getting back to me! Thanks for the advice on the bike, and also for the invite to ride. We'll see what happens - if I buy a bike or not in the next few weekends! It's a big amount to drop on a toy! I've got a few questions if you don't mind:
- how often do you go for a ride on weekends?
- when you head west to ride the dirt roads, it looks like it's about 80 miles away or so. So, do you ride there or do you put the bike on a trailer? (I know, stupid question; i would imagine you ride there)
Am just trying to work out in my head what my riding life will actually be like when i get the bike!
And thanks for the invite for lunch. You guys ever meet up for dinner or drinks, or on the weekend? I work a 9-5 downtown these days in a company that doesn't really do lunches. (bummer)
Charlie
Thanks so much for getting back to me! Thanks for the advice on the bike, and also for the invite to ride. We'll see what happens - if I buy a bike or not in the next few weekends! It's a big amount to drop on a toy! I've got a few questions if you don't mind:
- how often do you go for a ride on weekends?
- when you head west to ride the dirt roads, it looks like it's about 80 miles away or so. So, do you ride there or do you put the bike on a trailer? (I know, stupid question; i would imagine you ride there)
Am just trying to work out in my head what my riding life will actually be like when i get the bike!
And thanks for the invite for lunch. You guys ever meet up for dinner or drinks, or on the weekend? I work a 9-5 downtown these days in a company that doesn't really do lunches. (bummer)
Charlie
Coolhand
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Hey Charlie -
It's pretty safe to say you could find a ride almost if not every weekend, but the dirt content will vary. We're currently a one car family so I ride to work every day (short commute) and I'll typically try to sneak out for a ride on Saturday mornings if the "to do" list isn't too long. Since the wife and kid use the car I ride to my rides I'm sure others will trailer their MX or Enduro bikes to the off road parks and others have more street oriented bikes and content themselves by blasting the gravel roads. I can keep up on the slab to a point... but no wind protection eventually wears me out. The governor, if you will, on the rides around here in a month or two is the temperature. Summers are pretty brutal so when we go out on the weekends we try to get out early.
I have some riding buddies I'll go grab a pint or two with sometimes during the week but the wife and kid are hard on my drinking schedule Usually the weekend rides end up at a burger or barbeque joint at some point... food seems to be an important component of TWT rides
Justin
It's pretty safe to say you could find a ride almost if not every weekend, but the dirt content will vary. We're currently a one car family so I ride to work every day (short commute) and I'll typically try to sneak out for a ride on Saturday mornings if the "to do" list isn't too long. Since the wife and kid use the car I ride to my rides
I'm sure others will trailer their MX or Enduro bikes to the off road parks and others have more street oriented bikes and content themselves by blasting the gravel roads. I can keep up on the slab to a point... but no wind protection eventually wears me out. The governor, if you will, on the rides around here in a month or two is the temperature. Summers are pretty brutal so when we go out on the weekends we try to get out early. I have some riding buddies I'll go grab a pint or two with sometimes during the week but the wife and kid are hard on my drinking schedule
Usually the weekend rides end up at a burger or barbeque joint at some point... food seems to be an important component of TWT rides Justin
Heh, service is easy because it happens in your driveway?
This is what gets me droolin'...
Woooo doggy....what's the weight on that beauty?
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Hi, Charlie.
All the info Coolhand is telling you is spot on about riding in central Texas. Basically, there is no public land available for off-road riding here in central Texas. Those looking to ride off-road have to do it on private property, which for most means paying to ride a place like Hidden Falls.
The rest of us ride a mix of paved and non-paved public roads. Threads like this one help identify the non-paved public roads available for us to ride. However, the fact is there are very few public dirt roads close to Austin - you have to get away from the metro areas to find non-paved public roads.
A typical central Texas organized day ride consists of about 200 miles of riding in the hill country, with about 15% non-paved roads. Generally the way it works is that someone will decide it's time for a day ride and post an invite here on TWT a week or two in advance. They will plan a route and post all the details. Everyone who wants to attend meets up at the designated meet up spot, which is usually a store or parking lot somewhere on the edge of town. From there we ride the chosen route, making various stops along the way for pictures, lunch, gas, etc.
We have a fairly active dual sport community here in central Texas and it's not usually difficult to find someone to ride with or some place interesting/fun to ride to. There is an organized ride or rally every month or two. For example, this year we've had a hill country day ride on Jan 2 to kick off the new year, a twisty backroad day ride in Feb, a rally in Big Bend in Feb, a tech day in March, and a hill country rally in April. There is another tech day scheduled for mid-May a Mexico rally the last week in May, a hill country dual sport ride in June, and an Arkansas rally in Sept. Mixed in with all that are impromptu day rides and open invites for trips to Big Bend, Arkansas, New Mexico, etc. In short there are many riding opportunities available.
Welcome to TWT and we hope to see you riding with us soon.
All the info Coolhand is telling you is spot on about riding in central Texas. Basically, there is no public land available for off-road riding here in central Texas. Those looking to ride off-road have to do it on private property, which for most means paying to ride a place like Hidden Falls.
The rest of us ride a mix of paved and non-paved public roads. Threads like this one help identify the non-paved public roads available for us to ride. However, the fact is there are very few public dirt roads close to Austin - you have to get away from the metro areas to find non-paved public roads.
A typical central Texas organized day ride consists of about 200 miles of riding in the hill country, with about 15% non-paved roads. Generally the way it works is that someone will decide it's time for a day ride and post an invite here on TWT a week or two in advance. They will plan a route and post all the details. Everyone who wants to attend meets up at the designated meet up spot, which is usually a store or parking lot somewhere on the edge of town. From there we ride the chosen route, making various stops along the way for pictures, lunch, gas, etc.
We have a fairly active dual sport community here in central Texas and it's not usually difficult to find someone to ride with or some place interesting/fun to ride to. There is an organized ride or rally every month or two. For example, this year we've had a hill country day ride on Jan 2 to kick off the new year, a twisty backroad day ride in Feb, a rally in Big Bend in Feb, a tech day in March, and a hill country rally in April. There is another tech day scheduled for mid-May a Mexico rally the last week in May, a hill country dual sport ride in June, and an Arkansas rally in Sept. Mixed in with all that are impromptu day rides and open invites for trips to Big Bend, Arkansas, New Mexico, etc. In short there are many riding opportunities available.
Welcome to TWT and we hope to see you riding with us soon.
Richard, thanks so much for the reply. Really appreciate it. The last two weekends I rented a dirt bike at Hidden Falls and had a blast. I'm now in the market for a crf 250 or something like that. Don't really want to ride on the streets. Guess i'm a chicken. Drivers scare me. Plus, the dirt seems to be my thing anyway, so it looks like i'll just trailer to wherever i go. We'll see how it goes; maybe i'll get too bored riding the same trails and will want to break out into dual sport and see some of the countryside.
Take care and again, thanks for the nice welcome.
Charlie D.
Take care and again, thanks for the nice welcome.
Charlie D.
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Charlie,
You might spend some time hanging out in the Texas Offroad Riders forum here on TWT. I'll bet you'll find lots of good info on where to ride off-road.
Have fun.
You might spend some time hanging out in the Texas Offroad Riders forum here on TWT. I'll bet you'll find lots of good info on where to ride off-road.
Have fun.
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Charlie D, welcome to the site. You may want to get in touch with Tx Thumper. He has a nice little Dual Sport Yamaha that you may want to copy. He is having a fish fry next Sat. May 15, I sure he will be very busy this week, but he is just as proud of his little thumper as he is of his BMW's.
I have recently built my wife a KTM 530exc. Lowered 2 in., bigger fuel tank, FMF exhaust. It weighes about 260lbs. Great low end torque. We knocked out 100 miles today, down near blanco. There is nothing as fun as riding to your riding area.
The choices are endless. Build it or buy it, or find someone who is cleaning out his riding stables.
We went to the last Fish Fry at Tx Thumper's but we have a busy weekend planed this time. We did not go to work on the bikes last time. We just like to hangout with like minded riders. Get some ideas. Thats why you should talk to Tx Thumper, he has a great bike for 75% of what I sent on the KTM. SAM
I have recently built my wife a KTM 530exc. Lowered 2 in., bigger fuel tank, FMF exhaust. It weighes about 260lbs. Great low end torque. We knocked out 100 miles today, down near blanco. There is nothing as fun as riding to your riding area.
The choices are endless. Build it or buy it, or find someone who is cleaning out his riding stables.
We went to the last Fish Fry at Tx Thumper's but we have a busy weekend planed this time. We did not go to work on the bikes last time. We just like to hangout with like minded riders. Get some ideas. Thats why you should talk to Tx Thumper, he has a great bike for 75% of what I sent on the KTM. SAM
hey there Sam - thanks for the note. Well, i wound up getting a 2005 Honda crf250. not a dual sport though. only around 205 lbs. man is it quick. got it on sat and took it to del valle on sunday and went around the track. i was really, really slow, but it was fun nevertheless. i really don't like to ride on the street. maybe in the future i'll feel more safe doing so, but now i don't really. so, what's a fish fry anyway? i'm new to texas.
hey there Sam - thanks for the note. Well, i wound up getting a 2005 Honda crf250. not a dual sport though. only around 205 lbs. man is it quick. got it on sat and took it to del valle on sunday and went around the track. i was really, really slow, but it was fun nevertheless. i really don't like to ride on the street. maybe in the future i'll feel more safe doing so, but now i don't really. so, what's a fish fry anyway? i'm new to texas.
The tech day/fish fry is this Sat (15th) at my place in Smithville. Not far from Dell Valle as a matter of fact.
We get together and do maint or mods on bikes........usually before a planned ride. Lots of folks around to help or point out bike related things in order for riders to learn to work on their own bikes. Just bring whatever parts you need for your job. I have lifts and tools if necessary.
We have a fish fry with all the trimmings and generally spend a few hours talking about bikes, future rides and solving a lot of known world problems.
A good way to meet some TWT members. You do not have to bring your bike either, unless you want to do some maint on it.
See the the Main post in the Ride Planning section.
Mex Trek tech day/fish fry is the title.
We will have this event.........rain or shine. Plenty covered space here.
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Hey Charlie d, If you saw Thumper Tx post above, that is Ron. He has the great Yamaha I was speaking of above. I love this sport because there are so many great people that you meet and they just want to share the fun with you. Well Ron is one of those great people. I meet him at the Sandy Creek crossing just last Jan. on a TWT ride. He opened his house and tool box to several of us before the Junction ride. My wife & I rode out just to be part of the fun, hear some stories, see some great bikes. Unfortunatly we may not make this Sat. get together. Many things on the calander. But if you have a chance, go see the fun and eat some of Ron's catfish. Take your bike out to Hidden Falls. Lot's of trails. All skill levels welcome. But try to ride with someone, it is safer.