04-25-2016, 07:15 AM
(04-25-2016, 01:24 AM)jedd_imp Wrote: This weekend brought out our annual Vstrom SPRING RIDE. It's not an official gathering, ie, no entry fee req'd, etc... nor is it closed off to just Vstroms only....It just so happens that the originator rides a Vstrom, so a couple yrs ago, he called it something ,so it BECAME the Stromathon ride.
So the call was made online for all bikes, ADV, Dual Sport, Street varieties, to meet up in Llano, TX, find a like-bike group (ADV, Dual Sport, Street) and go ride. I was all set on taking my new CB1100 out to this event and ride the twisties, but as you all may remember, this past week, Texas got hit with a huge amount of rainfall, flooding Houston and parts of the hill country, and so all the single lane roads going over creek crossings will be under running water. So I had no other choice but to keep her parked in the garage this weekend and take the Vstrom instead.
I hightailed out of Austin around 1pm Friday, taking my favorite twisty road (Lime Creek Rd) meandering along Lake Travis...
and headed towards the City of Llano, TX. Along the way, the runoff from the heavy rainstorms became quite apparent and majestic as well. Water so clear and clean, I wanted to scoop up a drink right here.
Once I rolled into my campsite, I was greeted with this magnificent waterfall just 20 feet from my camping spot.
...
and in no time, set up my camping spot w/ plenty of day light remaining.
Saturday Morning - meet and greet and break into groups.
Last yr, when my Vstrom was only a few weeks new, I took it easy while breaking in the motor, so I rode with the street group and mainly stayed on pavement for the 2 day event. This yr, w/ my Strom more than broken in, adorning proper armor and block tires, I grouped w/ the dirtier crowd.
9am...kickstand up...and a group of 10 ADV bikers, skedaddled towards NW of Llano looking for dirt roads to explore. And exploring we did for the next 10 hrs. Man, we rode the wheels off our bikes! Fast and flowing is how to describe it....
and as expected, w/ lots of DEEP water crossings....which in and of itself is a challenge, but here in the Hill country, you can count on a thick layer of algae coating the cement bottom from end to end to grease things up a bit. Yee-haa, nothing like slipping and sliding while you're trying to get to the other side.
But for the most part, we were treated to an abundance of flat, smooth gritty dirt roads. I took advantage of this smooth dirt and practiced powersliding all day long.
I made sure I took time to stop and smell the bluebonnets...
...and took a group shot along the way...you know how it is....
...and before you know it....we all made it back to base camp and the stories we all shared was epic, and becoming larger than life as all the liquor poured well past midnight.
So all's well that ends well. No one broke down, no one got hurt, and we all met new riders and became friends for life after this fun weekend.
We'll all meet again, same time next yr.
Nice trip report and great pictures jedd.
It was good to see Lake Travis full again. My wife and I used to race catamarans (nacra 5.2) back in the late 70's when we lived in San Antonio. One of one of our favorite regattas was Turnback Canyon at Lake Travis. Basically start at the Austin Yacht Club and and race 22 miles to Bar K Park, camp overnight and return the next day.