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Three Sisters, October 2009: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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Roger that. Sorry we missed each other.

I definitely put my Pilot Powers through the paces on 335, which actually seemed like the rougher road to me. That's some rough pavement to be sure. My understanding is that a re-pave is scheduled for next year, though, but that's just from listening to one of the locals. It stands to reason, because I noticed that a few sections of 336 had been resurfaced recently.
 
Tim, the resurfacing to parts of 336 took place over a year ago. I rode it for the 3rd or 4th time and it was a misty, rainy day. The stretch West to Leakey was nasty and muddy.
 
Wes said:
Well I camped at Garner thursday through Sunday. I met Ctoons and her husband who were staying at Garner also. Nice folks. We stopped at the museum and had the best hamburgers I'd eaten in a while. The Aussie burger was my favorite.

We rode the Bandera loop and 1050 out to Boerne and that was a nice ride. Not very technical but a nice ride. We woke up Saturday and did the three sisters. As a three sisters virgin I was extremely disapointed. :duck: The turns and layout are great but the road surface was horrible. I felt like I needed a dual sport to ride 336. I probably knocked a 1000 miles off my tires by riding that road. I did enjoy the 337 and would like to go back for it but the other two were only nice because of the scenery. I must be getting spoiled by living so close to the Gila Monster and Ruidoso.

I really enjoyed being back in central Texas. People spoke to me in English and were polite. Slower moving traffic let you pass and everyone said hello. I need to make a hill country pilgrimage every year. Being around actual Texans was great. Plus there has to be more roads to explore.
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337 is my favorite as well...
 
bigjnsa said:
Tim, the resurfacing to parts of 336 took place over a year ago. I rode it for the 3rd or 4th time and it was a misty, rainy day. The stretch West to Leakey was nasty and muddy.
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Were you out there this past weekend? And weren't you wanting to ride a Versys? Would've been a great place for a test ride & I would've let you ride mine...
 
Bear on a bicycle said:
Were you out there this past weekend? And weren't you wanting to ride a Versys? Would've been a great place for a test ride & I would've let you ride mine...
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I was at Harvest for the weekend and just rode around that area. I meant to say I rode the Sisters when that stretch was still unpaved over a year ago. Yes, I'm looking at the Versys, actually GS, Tiger, V-Strom or Versys. I just can't decide which one ;)
 
FTR, I got the gist of what you were saying. Thanks for the info.

By the way, 337 is my fave, too.
 
My friends have this discussion every time we're down there, and 336 has been my favorite for a while. It's a great suspension tuning road IMHO! Technical, twisty, and unforgiving for sure.

I had a friend of a friend go face first into one of the rock faces on his KTM 690 right in front of me!:eek2: Rode a spirited pace in an absolute monsoon to get back to camp and grab a truck to haul the bike down the mountain. 336 was kind enough to give me a mulligan that day, at least. KTM guy made a pretty much full recovery from what I heard, thanks to his gear.

336 and I have a love/hate kinda thing going..;-)
 
Even though the younger Sisters didn't impress me that much, it was just really nice to be around polite Texans. After being back at work today, I am just floored by how ill mannered El Paso people are. I need to buy a ranch down there for when I retire. (in another 22 years :eek2:)
 
000-0578-TS-TIMKREITZ.jpg


Who is that great looking guy on the right? :trust:

Seriously, it was awesome running into you guys out there. Sorry to hear about the weasel. Some of the road surfaces were pretty sketchy out there, but all the bike damage seems to be easily fixable.
 
hellishhorses said:
Who is that great looking guy on the right? :trust:

Seriously, it was awesome running into you guys out there. Sorry to hear about the weasel. Some of the road surfaces were pretty sketchy out there, but all the bike damage seems to be easily fixable.
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Hey, glad you decided to sign up! Nice meeting you out there! :thumb:
 
Ok, here's my full report with pictures:

Mike and I headed out on Friday. After about an 8 hour ride, we set up camp at Garner State Park.
01LoadedbikesCampsite.jpg


It's not camping until you have S'Mores!
smores.jpg


It was COLD on Friday night, but Saturday was a beautiful day. After lunch at the museum, we rode off with Bear on a Bicycle and youzguyz to Stonehenge.
StonehengeII.jpg

And Easter Island.
EasterIsland.jpg


Bear, Mike, and I went on to ride the sisters. I was doing a halfway decent job of keeping up until I dragged my footpeg in a tight curve. After that, they just slowed down after the twisties and waited for me to catch up. I also was unimpressed with the pavement quality. I did, however, learn a couple of new hand signals from Bear. Most notably- waving both arms wildly means there's a HUGE big-horn sheep running right at us! It jumped a good 8 foot fence, crossed in front of us, and jumped the fence on the other side of the road.

Here's a shot of the two Versys:
Versys.jpg


When we got back to the park, we had a nice visit with Wes and his family, swapping ride tales. All in all, a GREAT day, even though the friendly neighborhood skunk decided to leave his mark on the shelter next to ours in the middle of the night.
 
ctoons said:
Bear, Mike, and I went on to ride the sisters. I was doing a halfway decent job of keeping up until I dragged my footpeg in a tight curve. After that, they just slowed down after the twisties and waited for me to catch up. I also was unimpressed with the pavement quality.
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Hey, that reminds me -- did you, Mike, and/or Bear see us as we passed you going the other way on 336? That was right about the time Weasel threw it away.
 
On Sunday, we rode over to Lost Maples. The trees were just starting to show some color. Give it another week or so and it should be spectacular!

LMcolor.jpg


color.jpg


Scenery at Garner:

clouds.jpg


ScenicOverlook2.jpg


We did see some wildlife besides the sheep and the skunk. I got pictures of a few.

Deer:

deer-1.jpg


A dung beetle:

DungBeetle.jpg


And a Bear (on a Bicycle)

PA240134.jpg


Despite the miserable nine hour ride home in the rain- we had a great time!
 
Tim Kreitz said:
Hey, that reminds me -- did you, Mike, and/or Bear see us as we passed you going the other way on 336? That was right about the time Weasel threw it away.
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Mike says he saw you. I wasn't paying attention.:rider:
 
Wes said:
I need to buy a ranch down there for when I retire. (in another 22 years :eek2:)
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There are plenty for sale- even the store on 8 acres at the corner of 337 and 187. "Good potential for a two-wheeled resort." Only $559,000! :eek2:
 
Yeah, sorry we didn't make it down that way. Like I said, we'll plan better next time. :thumb:
 
ctoons said:
...

Bear, Mike, and I went on to ride the sisters. I was doing a halfway decent job of keeping up until I dragged my footpeg in a tight curve. After that, they just slowed down after the twisties and waited for me to catch up. I also was unimpressed with the pavement quality. I did, however, learn a couple of new hand signals from Bear. Most notably- waving both arms wildly means there's a HUGE big-horn sheep running right at us! It jumped a good 8 foot fence, crossed in front of us, and jumped the fence on the other side of the road.

...
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Hey, it's in the book...


:mrgreen:


I wish we could've got a picture of that sheep, especially when it jumped the fence. That was cool...

:dude:
 
I was on my way Friday when I started hearing noises from the rearend. Clunks and rattles on takeoff's. :eek2:
So I put in at Kerrville and headed back in the morning. It was a glorius day for riding and I was headed home :tears:

After some review, the chain seems to have needed lube (I'm too used to shaft) and it's possible there is some slight chain movement as the sprocket comes around.

Chain and sprocket set ordered and inbound. Guess I'll try again somewhen later.
 
rhodyne said:
Chain and sprocket set ordered and inbound. Guess I'll try again somewhen later.
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Sorry you had trouble, but it's good that you made it back home without a breakdown. By the way, a DID X-ring chain will solve that problem pretty much once and for all. They can go a long way with little or no lube.

:thumb:
 
rhodyne said:
I was on my way Friday when I started hearing noises from the rearend. Clunks and rattles on takeoff's. :eek2:
So I put in at Kerrville and headed back in the morning. It was a glorius day for riding and I was headed home :tears:

After some review, the chain seems to have needed lube (I'm too used to shaft) and it's possible there is some slight chain movement as the sprocket comes around.

Chain and sprocket set ordered and inbound. Guess I'll try again somewhen later.
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That stinks you made it all the way to Kerrville and had to retreat!:doh:

I would have sworn I saw you on the "straightest" portion of 337 Sunday mid-morning. Had a Nighthawk loaded to the gills pass my group headed towards Vanderpool.:rider::rider:
 
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