Motorcycle Camping Trip

The past Veteran's Day weekend, I loaded up the motorcycle to ride the Texas Hill Country Backcountry Discovery Route. It is a 500+ mile loop through some pretty remote parts of Texas. The first day, I rode with a friend from work. We completed the first leg by noon, so we grabbed lunch in Leakey and then rode the Three Twisted Sisters. Those roads are paved but twisty with lots of ups and downs like a rollercoaster.

We got back to Leakey, and then he had to head home while I went to my campsite (above). The next day I was solo, and it was the most remote section with multiple river crossings and bump gates to navigate. You have to get your tire against the bump gate, give it some quick gas, let off the gas to allow the gate to swing ahead of you, then swerve to get out of the way. It worked except for one very heavy gate - I had to hop off the bike and tie the gate back to get the bike through it. I ended up in Junction, where Catherine joined me for a hotel night.

Next morning was cold - there was frost on the ground! Catherine and I shared a breakfast, then I hit the road. It was primarily high country ranch land that I rode through, with lots of little (tiny) villages that were primarily a church and a post office. I got to Colorado Bend State Park where I camped for the night. I brought in left overs from lunch to eat for dinner, and just waited for the stars to come out. I was not disappointed!

The final day I got rolling by about 8am. This section had a couple of long and deep stretches of sand, which is quite squirrely on the bike. I made it through no problem, eventually making my way to Fredericksburg for lunch, and then finished out by about 2 pm. That was after a puncture to my rear tire about 1-2 miles from the end of the route. 15 minutes to pull the nail, plug the hole, inflate the tire, and I was on my way.

I got home in time for dinner and got everything unloaded. This weekend was a brew weekend - Belgian Dubbel. Cheers!

Marc