Texas - Quick! Where to tour in Texas?

Hi there, Texan cyclists,
I need some help. I have found myself in Houston, Texas with some free time and want to do a tour. I have between two to three weeks to ride and would like to leave next weekend. That doesn't give me all that much time to plan. Being a "foreigner" (from Michigan) I don't know the roads, pretty areas, or, basically, anything else about your state, aside from the fact that the weather now seems ideal for a bicycle tour. I tour as a camper, and, being a solo female, am far too chicken for stealth camping, so I tend to ride from campground to campground. I like to do between 60-100 miles a day. I'm staying in Houston right now, but, from the small amount of research I've done, think it might be best to start out in Austin, but this is only because I've heard so much about the Hill Country. If anyone out there knows of the perfect route for me, or has any useful advice on touring in the great State of Texas, I sure would appreciate it.

Option 1; ride to airport, fly to Oakland California, and tour in Napa County and surrounding wine producing regions, and also in the Big Sur region of the California coast.
Option 2: Austin and surrounding towns....

After 25 years in Texas and many years on the West coast I would....Go West, Go West

There's some really great riding in East TX, starting from just North of Houston (Hunstville area) all the way up toward Tyler / Longview etc, and points East ("the Piney Woods"). There's also a fairly high redneck and loose dog factor, fyi. But, there are several national forests so you'll have campgrounds.

Then, the area between Bryan/College Station, Houston, Austin and San Antonio is really nice, too. Lots of neat little backroads, light traffic, small towns etc. Brenham TX is the home of Blue Bell ice cream, and Shiner TX is the home of Shiner beer, so what's not to like?

Finally, get on the W side of Austin, you're in the Hill Country. Nice riding, pleny of state parks that are empty this time of year (except for deer hunters) - wear day-glo when pedaling the backroads.

To start, I'd get to a bookstore and get a copy of "Roads of Texas" which is a large atlas that shows _every_ road in the state.

Also keep in mind that the weather can get fickle this time of year - it may be 80 and sunny one day, and 20 and sleeting the next. Be prepared.

Have fun...

Visit a local large bookstore and see if they have the book "Best Bike Rides- Texas" by Andy White. It's not a directory of every good ride in the state, but does give you a number of interesting routes.

First question: Do you like Hills? Of course, Houston is flat land, and up and down the coast, you have a bunch of good flat riding. Or head up to Austin/San Antonio areas if you like Hills. So that should narrow it down a bit.

A while back, I was on a business trip that included driving through Benavides, Realitos, Concepcion, and Rios- look them up- the roads make a nice loop. That looked like a good cycling route for a day trip, and I may try it yet. Very few people there, better have everything you need when you start, not many stores along the way. It's beautiful country in its own way.

This is a good time for Big Bend. You can do a LOT of road cycling in that park (big park!). Most of it is flat, with an occasional good hill, and campgrounds scattered around. Better have a way to carry plenty of water with you.

Look on the website, www.bicycletexas.com (http://www.bicycletexas.com). It has listings of charity rides throughout the state. Of course, these rides are all over now, most of them being in summer/spring/fall. BUT, you can look up some of those routes on the organizers websites and have some good riding.

Enchanted Rock is really pretty and would be a neat place to bicycle to. It's in the Hill Country.

The rides in the Big Thicket area sound interesting to me. Caddo Lake is pretty neat. Padre Island is nice, not sure what all is rideable there, though.

I would go ride in the triangle defined by San Antonio, Fredricksburg, and Austin. Lots of good roads with wide shoulders and really beautiful scenery (especially with the changeover to fall coming). Just be prepared though...they don't call it the hill country for nothing.

Just my opinion, but I would get out west of the I-35 corridor. I've lived and worked in most of Texas and I can guarantee that you will have much, much less traffic in the central part of the state. Stay 40 miles west of I-35 and its a whole new world that most Texans really don't know. With 60 to 100 miles per day you can pretty much make it state park to state park.

Pick an area bounded by a south line of Junction-Fredericksburg, north to Graham, stay west of a line from Mineral Wells to Lampasas, and probably east of Abilene-Junction line. It will be 30 to 40 miles between the larger towns. The US highways will have good shoulders and so will most of the state highways. If you get off on the smaller FM and RM roads there will be little traffic.

My ride got pushed back a week so I'm going to be leaving this weekend. I'm SO IMPRESSED with Texas State Parks. Michigan, with it's failing economy, charges $27 to camp at state parks (!!!). It is so refreshing to see so many parks with affordable camping. Thanks for the tips. They have been incredibly helpful.

For about $60 you can get a Texas Parks Pass which will save you the admission fee, though you still have to pay for camping but you get a discount coupon or two to go with it. It might save you a few $$$'s.