Pics of Jedd's excursions

[Chapomis_imp]

Two bigs and the rest littles on my PC.

Jedd, looks like a great time.

thanks for sharing the great pics!

Ditto !! Wish that kind of riding existed around here

[jedd_imp]

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.

It's amazing to see that Lake go from bone dry last year to over flowing past 100% full this yr. Businesses out at Lake Travis has been swamped with boating activities, and it's not even summer yet.

That area's real estate value goes up and down in sync w/ the lake levels.

Jedd, what campsite by the river is that? I'd love to take my "bigger" tent with the fam and camp there . . . .

It's the Llano Robinson Park...$5 a night primitive camping, anywhere along the Llano park lake. Bathrooms, and hot showers included. In google maps, paste this coordinate into the search box :

30.752310, -98.702299

Theyalso have large RV spots as well, right at the entrance on Robinson Park Dr:

30.749558, -98.705609

[jedd_imp]

Speaking of lake levels, it's now above 100% capacity in my city; the dams have opened up to lower the lake level, and now the pendulum's started swinging back towards the negative again. All boating activities have been ordered to be stopped b/c they say the wakes from boating activities will disrupt the high water levels and can flood homes. Times like this, I'm happy I stuck w/ m/c's instead of watercrafts.

So, yesterday, a bright and sunny Tuesday morning, I grouped up w/ my track junkie friends for a street ride. 9AM, the usual meetup.



Tuesdays are becoming more popular for riders who have weekend jobs, and people in sales or home based where they have more flexibility. Also w/ weekday rides, the twisties around here aren't so crowded, the LEOs aren't out in full force.

We had about 10 riders, one's a young woman who's quite a track junkie, riding a '15 GSX750R like it's a minibike! Her talent don't run out as fast as some of us on this spirited ride, let me tell ya!


Around 1pm, we stopped into Boerne, TX, to get us some vittles.
Found a nice sit down restaurant w/ cold AC. IT's a real treat for a bike group to be able to pull into an empty parking lot in small town USA.
on weekends, you can bet that just about every restaurant's taken over by Harley riders. We have a very large Harley presence in Central Texas. HUGE! They're everywhere, esp on weekends.



Over lunch, we all got to know each other a little better, and share stories, mostly track related stuff. Then after the lunch, some split off while others continued on.



I chose to keep riding w/ the group. So we mounted and headed on out of small town USA.


We rode for another 4 hrs, and then, afterwards, about 5 of us headed back to N. Ausin. WHen I finally got home, I took a shower, spent some time w/ fam, and then headed off to bike night. Along the way, I came across an old dead tree that someone sculpted.
Isn't that the coolest thing ever?
I am constantly amazed at the unique things I find in this city.


Now I just wish those crazy city council folks would stop putting restrictions on lake levels and open up all boating activities. Summer time is in full swing.

Until next time....

[redbirds_imp]

It's why I keep harping on the Hill Country for the next rally. Ya gotta see it!

[emptysea]

I don't know if the Rally should be there or not, but I can tell you that I plan on visiting Hill Country on two wheels very soon, maybe next year. My brother-in-law and I have relatives in Texas and we have talked about doing an SaddleSore 1000 to Texas, riding around Hill Country for a few days, then taking 3 days to return. These pictures serve to reinforce the worthiness of our plan.

[jedd_imp]

The Republic of TX (ROT) Rally officially kicked off this morning! 4 days of nothing but street bike mayhem taking over the city.

"For over ten years the City of Austin has joined in the ROT Biker Rally action by closing off 50 blocks of downtown Austin for a huge motorcycle parade and party on Congress Avenue the Friday night of Rally weekend. Prior to the arrival of the parade from the Travis Co. Expo Center, pre-parade activities will keep everyone entertained until approximately 8:15pm when the parade arrives at downtown."

This is what downtown Austin will look like by nightfall...

and will stay this way until sunday.


LOL! You have to come see it in person. No words can describe what the ROT rally is all about.
Flyer:
http://www.rotrally.com/visitor-guide/about-rot-rally/

Well, time to fire up my CB1100 and go have me some fun.

[Elipten_imp]

I live in the wrong city in Texas, but just 90 minutes away depending on traffic that can increase a lot.

[Chapomis_imp]

I have a brother in-law in Austin and we are due for a visit. Does this event happen around the same time every year ? It would be a good base for a western rally, Redbirds ?

[redbirds_imp]

I would not want to base in Austin because it's a big city but nearby there are some neat towns to base a rally, Boerne (Burny), Fredericksburg, Kerrville and Bandera to name a few. Would need to schedule earlier if you want to see the Bluebonnets or attend the US round of the Motogp race..

[jedd_imp]

I have a brother in-law in Austin and we are due for a visit. Does this event happen around the same time every year ? It would be a good base for a western rally, Redbirds ?

Champonis, yes the ROT rally happens each yr, in the month of June.
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Last sunday, we met up at 9am, usual location in town:


and took in an easy ride through the Hill Country. ~20 riders broke into two riding groups, the "A" group, and the "B"=easy riding group. I rode w/ the B group.

The B route is not as curvy, staying more on 2 and 4 lanes, allowing novice riders a more relaxed riding time. After about an hour, the two groups met up at this nondescript gas station out in the middle of nowhere, and midway btween Austin & Marble Falls, where we'll regroup for lunch.


the ride into Marble Falls was just fantastic.
Nice long sweepers to lean into and open it up in top gear.
This DLX just hooks up w/ authority.
I'm constantly amazed at what this bike can do when I push it.

Afterwards, we rode into town and we all met up at this nice sit down restaurant for lunch.


This restaurant in Marble Falls is popular b/c it has this open back patio set aside for large biker groups.


Lots of fun to be had with all the bench racing that went on, and on, and on. Food there is nothing fancy-burgers, salads, and chicken dinners- but they do serve them rapidly. After lunch, many left for home, so the remaining 5 of us grouped together and went off riding some more. We rode further west, and hit all the signature twisties that loop around Canyon Lake. Then we rode back to Marble Falls, whereby I split off and went exploring on my own.


I found a long stretch of winding narrow ranch roads, with not a single car or bike riding on them.


Just me and road ahead to cleanse the soul...


And all too quickly, alas... I ended a good day, parking my bike back home, safe and sound.