Moving to Wimberley Soon, Need some Rides

[2wheelchef]

Presently live in the frigid north east, moving to the hill country in June when my oldest graduates high school. So is there any one out there that rides in that area? A bike club? Need to find it all!

[mcjabos]

i can't believe you didn't get any replies on this. wimberly is in the middle of hill country and back road heavan! i'm leaving in a few weeks from north carolina to spend 11 days biking in that area. fredericksburg has an active biking community that i saw on line, and san marcos is a hopping little college town that's got to be riding through wimberly every weekend.

get hold of a Texas Gazetteer, highlight all the little grey lines in the area, and go crazy. for mountain biking, many of the state parks now have trails. if i can find your post mid april, i'll let you know how our first annual bluebonnet ride went.

[2wheelchef]

I was a little surprised myself, thought there would be lodes of folks with little known routes they would love to share.
I bought property in Wimberley 2 ½ years ago and will move fulltime in June. I've seen quite a few riders on RR12 between Dripping Spring and San Marcos and I'd love to ride the Devil's Backbone.
Will for sure look at a copy Texas Gazetteer, I would also like to find a club or informal group, I ride with 5 or 6 guys (3 on a regular basis) up here, it's seems like if your into biking then you need other likewise addicted folks to talk to on a regular basis.
Love to hear how "first annual bluebonnet ride" goes, sounds like it should be a gas, Hill Country in the spring on a bike sounds great.

[mcjabos]

The woman i am riding with gave me a brochure she found on her trip published by the Bicycle touring association -- this brochure covers the Southern Tier Section 4-- Delrio, tx to Navasota, texas. -- a 435 mile route selected by experienced cyclist with great details.
i didn't see a website, but it looks like it comes from the Adventure Cycling Association Routes and Mapping Dept/ POB 8308/ Missoula , MT 59807.
it's designed for tourers, but it shows rt 2325 and 165 from Wimberly to Blanco--and 3237 and 150 west into Kyle.
i think our first ride out of blanco state park (our starting point) will be devils backbone loop. i'll let you know how it is.
good luck in your search.
there was a reason they called that another Texas adventurer guy the Lone Ranger...

[2wheelchef]

I know the park picnicked there with my kids on one of our no destination exploration day trips. Sounds like you’re going to have some great riding I’m jealous.
I worked out a route “Wimberley to Blanco” on www.bikely.com (http://www.bikely.com/) I use the mapping site to work out routes I‘d like to ride. I haven’t made any notes on it as of yet, haven’t done the ride. It might be of some use though it is backwards leaving from Wimberley. Leaving from Blanco and stopping in Wimberley for food might work for you or just to see the square and the shops. Found that site you mentioned in Fredericksburg, looks interesting will check them out soon.

[SpiderMike]

It has been a couple of years since I was out in that area. It looked like they were starting construction to update RR12. From what I remember there is no shoulder from Wimberely to the Devil's Backbone. Did they add a shoulder?

The rest area just at the end of the backbone looks over the Boy Scout camp I worked at 10 years ago. Been tempted to head back out there to take on that hill at the west end of the backbone. It always looked like a leg and lung killer.

[2wheelchef]

SpiderMike; I believe that RR12 from Dripping Springs to Wimberley has been updated for a while now and the bit from the Junction (the beginning of the Backbone) to San Marcos was finished last year or the year before. You are right about RR12 in between, a bit dicey but I have ridden worse up here in the north.

mcjabos; we've had a bit of weather in Wimberley lately and I would presume in Blanco as well. The Blanco at the bottom of our road (the junction of River Road) has flooded at least 3 times in the past few weeks. Be aware the rivers and flood ways can rise fast enough to knock a bike of the road in a few minutes and 10's of feet in an hour or less. Hope you are having a great time or will soon have a great time riding the Hill Country it maybe that if you do the same ride next year we can get a ride in there together down the Devil's Backbone or out to Fredricksberg.

[Ironic Mullet]

The Austin Cycling Association (http://www.austincycling.org) rides I have done around Wimberly are the Devil's Backbone, Mt. Gainer Goners, and Fischer Fissure. I would also check out the San Antonio Wheelmen (http://www.sawheelmen.com/), I believe they have a number of rides in the area as well.

[mcjabos]

Just returned from our first annual bluebonnet tour--had great rides every day with little traffic on ranch roads--crossing rivers (we did have to walk a few low water bridges) and cattle guards - those are fine if done with some speed and as long as all the bars are in...so we approach carefullly to check for all bars, then blast over them.

Here's our fav routes -- we spent 3 days at blanco state park, 1 at kerrville-schreiner, 3 days in enchanted rock and fredericksburg area. the county maps given by chamber of commerce turned out to be better than the gazateer. county maps named the little roads, so it was easy to dive off the main road onto the correct road.


between wimberly and blanco, 2325 is not too bad, highway 32 is pretty busy. we chose to avoid cars and wimberly traffic, so rode out of blanco on 165 - then 407 (chimney valley road) and dropped down to 32 on Fisher Store Road--then right on 32 until 473--crossed 281 to little blanco road (101)- this was our favorite road of the whole trip - literally seemed to be a driveway for 4-5 nice ranches--we saw one UPS truck all day.
then finished up kendalia road (102) into blanco. that was a 58 mile loop, so maybe a bit long for all the way from wimberly--but the back roads are worth it.

other roads worth mention in that area: 50 mile loop west of blanco-- down kendalia to crabapple, down edge falls road to guadalupe river (do not take loop back on wingenrath - it's packed gravel- ridable, but not as nice as it's parallel, edge falls)--then back up crabapple (one 20 degree grade with a little 23 degree thrown in just for fun--they don't grade roads in texas, just lay them down where ever they need to go), then back into blanco on 1623.

all this was out of the state park with Citronella's resturant at the end with outdoor seating and great beer and food.


these are scenic rides -- you can do 15-17, but might not be your choice if you want to keep that up the whole time. like spider mike says, you have to watch the stream crossings.

Hill Country Bikes gave us some nice routes out of kerrville -- if you go to fredericksburg area, get the gillespie county map--west of 87, pecan creek, wenheimer, reeh, doss spring crenwelge are all unbelievable beautiful-- going through sheep and goat ranches--loose on the roads (we had to dodge a cow once) with some exoctic animals scattered around--antelope, crazy miniture white deer with horns as tall as their body -- these all peeking under the mesquite trees as you ride by. i wished i'd had a away camera on my chest just to shoot pics as i rode.

crabapple out of fredericksburg (east of 87) goes to eckert and hooks you up with southern side of willow city loop - which we road out and back to avoid 16. incredible box canyon... the beauty of all the back roads, plusa long views everywhere-- 3 big hills, but no 23 grades like blanco.

we did not get to lost maples state park area, which we will next year - Julia remembers those were some steep and beautiful climbs (into vanderpool) on her cross country trip a few years ago.

oh yeah -- if you are driving with your bike a little to get to all of this, bike to luckenbach -- it's a hoot. good beer stop and pictures of willie nelson on the wall.

we will repeat it. sorry i don't have more specific stuff out of wimberly, but i bet the routes into Kyle and back roads to Buda could be great. when lbj was president, he got his hood paved - roads that would be gravel anywhere else in the country, are small, no lines, no traffic and paved there. and lady bird publishes her chili recipes on post cards--how cool is that.

have a great move -- buy a recumbent so you can see even more!

molly

[mcjabos]

just found this on hill country: http://www.tourvelo.org/txhills.html#HILLS

[2wheelchef]

Sounds like you had a great time, not to worry about the rides in Wimberley I have a few. I can’t wait until I can ride the Hill Country again right now it’s a bit cold up north and my rides get rained/snowed out more often than not. Reading your post I was thinking some one should start a thread “Rides I have Ridden” in each of the “regional discussion” boards I think there are others out there that would be interested in known rides. There have been many a time I wished that some one had told me about a turn or a hill a road name change or washed out bridge, anything that jumps out at you quick on a ride can be a little annoying and of course a little bit dangerous.