Clouds filled the skies with temperatures mostly in the 70’s. It was also more humid than past days.
Day’s distance: 251 miles
Total trip distance: 4,357 miles
Today’s goal was to ride through Texas Hill Country, including the ‘Twisted Sisters’, three Ranch Roads identified by both the folks at Butler Maps as exemplary.
It rained a bit overnight, but the roads were mostly dry when I left the motel. I stopped at a nearby gas station to fill up the tank and to put some air in both tires. I’m running the Pilot Road 4’s at 42 (rear) and 40 (front) at this time.
The roads became more interesting soon after turning north off Hwy 10 at Bracketville. Traffic was very light, and the road surfaces on these two-lane Ranch Roads, as they are called, were generally very good.
I ran into rain showers before reaching Camp Wood. RadarScope, the iPhone weather app that I purchased last year, indicated more scattered showers in my area but minimal precipitation, so I simply closed the vents on my helmet and jacket and continued, albeit at a conservative pace.
Just north of Camp Wood, the road forks and the first ‘Sister’ begins. This is Ranch Road 335 and it continues until reaching Hwy 41. The second ‘Sister’, Ranch Road 336, runs south off Hwy 41 into Leakey. I had a good time on both these roads, but found RR 335 to be my favorite. It seemed more dramatic, maybe because it was first, and the road surface slightly better.
As it was after 1pm at this time, I stopped at the Buckhorn Bar and Grill in Leadkey for lunch.
While eating, I noticed the app indicating heavier precipitation coming my way. I thought I could travel east along the third leg before it got too bad and it turned out that was correct.
Ranch Road 337, the final ‘Sister’, runs east from Leakey past Vanderpool and towards Medina.
All three roads turned out to be worthy and pretty much unlike anything I had ridden in Washington. They were narrow, and seemed to climb part way up the hillside out of canyon only to drop back down again, repeatedly. There were straight sections, typically past the ranch entrances and fields, sweepers, roller coaster sections that went down and then back up quickly, and blind curves with signs suggesting 10mph. The surfaces were generally good with the exception of parts of RR 336, which had a lot of tar snacks.
I saw signs indicating the number of motorcycle deaths along these roads. There have been seven on RR336 since 2006 and ten on RR 337 in the same timeframe. I was told on the weekends these are quite popular with local riders who travel much faster than I was going today.
Stopping to take pictures of the really interesting parts was not possible as the road was too narrow and there were no turnouts. I was glad that I chose to use the GoPro, and I’ll likely create a video of this ride in the near future. Here are a few video captures for now.
I took Hwy 16 into Kerrville and on into Fredericksburg. I stopped at a car wash there to clean the bugs and grime I had been collecting since Santa Cruz.
The Peach Tree Inn, an old-fashioned motor court, is where I called home for the night. The room was nice and I met a few women bikers from Louisiana who were also staying.
My next tentative destination was Austin. However, I think I’m going to head to Corpus Christi instead. I’m getting excited to see the Gulf Coast and I’m hoping to avoid the thundershowers predicted for the Austin area.