digibud

I have a friend on a ranch in the Blanco area that invited my wife and I down. We have road bikes and mountain bikes but prefer road riding. We're in our 60's and the only concern is looking at the road surface on Google Earth. We are used to chip seal. No problem with that, but the roads in the area looked like it was possibly even rougher than typical chip seal. While I'm not crazy about bringing mtn bikes, it would be preferrable to finding the roads were so rough as to make it impossible for my wife to ride. Comments or thoughts on the local roads in comparison to "normal" chipseal?

Any other thoughts on local riding appreciated. We typically ride 30-50 days.

texbiker

You might get information from the Hill Country Bicycle Touring club. They ride in that area many times. Their website:
Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club (HCBTC)

stdlrf11

I just finished a four day bike tour around that area.
The chipseal on the major roads (the ones with a center stripe) is about as rough as any other chipseal. The smaller roads were fine.
Crabapple Road going into Kendalia is nice. There are some significant hills, though.
I bet you could make a fun loop with Old Blanco Rd (101)
Lindendale Rd (1888) is beautiful, but full of fast moving cars. There are no shoulders either. Personally, I'd never ride that road again. That, or 3351 going south to 46.
Just understand that none of the small towns out there, that we found, had water or any other services. You're on your own.

1100 Springs

Check out realaleride.com, they have Garmin maps of the different rides on the site

Mkhira2

The riding in/around Blanco is wonderful. Lots of rural roads with minimal traffic. Chip seal is prevalent but nothing major. Hills will be a major factor, and the scenery is beautiful.

I would suggest doing a ride to Luckenbach and back. It's a (very) small town, with a somewhat legendary status in Texas. It's worth your while to check it out, if only for the novelty.

This website - CycleTexas.com - Cycling Routes - lists a lot of good routes that begin/end in Fredericksburg, which is about 30 miles northwest of Blanco. Some of the routes go toward Blanco and you may find some good roads to connect to from here. Have fun!

digibud

Thanks for the info! I'll admit chuckling at the idea of hills in Texas being a major factor and have no doubt the scenery would be great.

bud

Bandera

Great riding in the area, get over there a good bit myself.
The road surfaces are not out of the ordinary for the Hill Country.

Check out the Real Ale Brewing Company's excellent products while visiting.

-Bandera

Mkhira2

I have lived in Texas my whole life so I'm not certain how hilly other places get, but my favorite loop was 55 miles with 7500 feet of climbing. None of the hills are terribly long; just rolling, short, and steep.

digibud

Well! That's unexpected ! I just got educated on how hilly Texas can be!