3 Sisters 6Jun2015

[RedNigel]

I just got back from my San Antonio/3 Sisters ride

Friday I left Dallas at 1350 and flew to Slovacek's Market in West, TX (the town where the fertilizer plant blew up a couple yrs back)
I got thru Waco fine and then everything came to a grinding halt, so I went west to try to get around the traffic and rejoined I35 in Belton, TX...then took the I130 tollway around greater Austin with the 80 mph speed limit to try to get some time back
Arrived at my daughters place 1 hour late, took them to dinner and had a great 3.5 hr visit then got back on my bike at 2300 and rode another 100-odd miles to my hotel in Junction, TX about 0100.
$40 room that was just OK. Clean but rundown.

Slept in til 0800 and was on the road at 0915 and headed out. The roads were great and soon I overtook a couple of fellows riding just a skoche slower than I wanted, but they let me play thru.
I pulled over at the first scenic turnout and those two guys pulled in right behind me riding beautiful big bore BMW adventure boxers, farkled to the nines. The first thing they said was "we pulled over to look at your bike" and we spent a half hour talking about bikes and roads. I told them I was headed for The Sisters and they gave me some great advice. The area is their stomping grounds so I heeded them and it paid off big time.
The 3 Sisters are ridden as a loop and make up 3 sides of a rectangle. Since most of the lodging is east on the I10 corridor, most riders approach from the east and ride the Sisters clockwise...I guess partially for routing efficiency or really, I think so they can start about 0800 and arrive at certain eateries at or near lunchtime.
The two old timers told me I f I rode the loop counter clockwise I stood a better chance of not getting stuck behind slower riders on cruisers.

The ride is so entertaining that if you get caught behind a group whose skill or enthusiasm doesn't equal yours, it can be very frustrating
Anyway, I rode counter-clockwise and never encountered another bike going the same direction. Every bike I saw was coming from the opposite and was part of a peloton of riders.
I was very happy to have the road to myself!!!

I apologize, but I took 0 pics: While the views are awesome, stopping to take pics seemed unsafe to me, as there is almost nowhere to pull over ( most of the ride you are flanked by a wall of stone on one side and knee-high ARMCO on the other with literally inches to spare)besides which, if you do pull over you could be passed by a slower vehicle and your day is shot

I wont call the 3 Sisters 'unique' but I will say that it shares some of the best attributes on many great roads I have been on in AZ, NM, CO, SD, WY, NV, CA and AR. It kind of has the total package.
There are parts that remind me of AZ191, The Million $ Highway, The West Elk Loop, North Shore Road at Lake Mead.
Biggest difference is elevation and climate. These roads are as entertaining as any I have ridden out west... not billiard table smooth but the traction is there.
You have highway speed turns where you are leaning hard and climbing at the same time;
2nd & 3rd gear switchbacks that come at you rapid-fire with un-manicured mountain laurels hanging into the apexes so that an ambitious rider might graze a branch or two with a mirror or a shoulder if he's trying to straighten out a corner.
One minute you are canyon carving in man made canyons hewn out of rock 100 feet tall on either side with only a little shoulder to pull over...cottonwoods drooping overhead and giving shade.
Next minute you are ridge running at highway speeds with views in all directions
Next minute you are on a ledge carved out of the hill with a wall on one shoulder and guardrail on the other, and no room for error or a breakdown
Directional change and elevation change is constant; never a moment to day dream or look around...much
The road does not telegraph many of its upcoming corners to you, as many turns reveal themselves only after cresting an abrupt rise in the road or a climb. You have to be ready to go left or right in a second.
Some of the elevation changes are SO abrupt and precipitous that involuntary whoops, cries and gasps escape from one's mouth on a regular basis: some are gleeful, others are surprise-filled oaths.
Sometimes the rollercoaster effect is combined with an unexpected change of direction.

I could gush for hours but I should stop.
Lets just say its nice to know that I can be on a challenging road no more than 350 miles from home in my home state or in Arkansas...Something that is doable on a weekend

Forgive me if I ramble too much...I just had so much fun
Clay

 

[banjoboy]

Clay, thanks for the write up. It sounds like a very nice trip. I, also, am no good at posting pictures, so we're brothers in incompetency.

terry

 

[wphillips007]

Clay, that was a great trip report. The 3 Sisters were on my bucket list of rides to do while on my trip out to the Grand Canyon last fall, but of course, never made it. Some day maybe. Wendell

 

[Phil Tarman]

Clay, another round of applause and thanks for a great ride report. I rode in some of the Hill Country with Greg Hall (vcslim on the Forum) back in '01, when I was coming back from my 50th HS reunion and visiting friends in the Conroe and Houston area, but I don't think (he can correct me if I'm wrong) that we got to any of the Three Sisters. They're definitely on my bucket list.

Now that I'm down to three more Sundays of this post-retirement work, I'll be doing some more riding.

 

[RedNigel]

I'll be doing some more riding.

Phil
If you ever decide to make your way down to the better parts of The Hill Country from CO., use TX 16 to get from north to south. you can pick it up about 32 miles south of downtown Wichita Falls. It'll take you all the way to San Antonio and is good riding. It goes right thru Commanche, San Saba, Fredericksburg, Kerrville and Bandera.
Kerrville is the most common jumping off point for riders doing the Sisters area. Lots of other great roads around there too.

I came up on 16 today and rode the vast majority at 90 mph and could still negotiate all the turns...However, the closer you get to I-10, the tighter it gets.
I came upon a motorcycle crash scene yesterday on a part of 16 that fools people into riding above their skill level. We had to wait while a CareFlight chopper came and took the most gravely injured rider away.
The section between Kerrville and Medina is not for novices or the careless. it has the kind of curves that beg for high speeds but you have to be vigilant and on your game.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Clay, Greg and I rode, as nearly as I can remember, from Georgetown to Liberty Hill, then Ranch Road 1869 to RR1174, through Smithwick, then Marble Falls, TX-71 to Llano, RR152 to Castell, then up 2768 to 29 and into Mason, where we ate a good lunch and parted ways. I rode on as far as Plainview going through Menard, Ballinger, Bronte, Sweetwater, and Lubbock. When I got to Plainview I knew that if I took time to check into a motel, I would be too late to get a decent meal, so I went to eat first.

I picked (on) an Applebees and didn't realize how bad I smelled until people started moving away from my table. The next day's ride on back to Fort Morgan was more pleasant than the stretch from Mason to Plainview. That was before I learned about LD Comfort gear and leaving the vents on my 'Stitch closed.

Did you learn any more about the injured rider or the accident? I'm guessing "cruiser, no helmet, or protective clothing." That may be an unfair assumption.

 

[Comanche]

Wow! What a great ride report, Clay! Thanx.

I've ridden the Three Twisted Sisters a number of times now. I'm with you - its not the most technically demanding ride, but it sure is fun. Having said that, there are are a number of folks who just aren't prepared to ride it.

Strange thing in your report that I've never noticed before - the idea of riding it in a clockwise direction. For no good reason, I've ridden the Sisters in a counter-clockwise direction.

Phil - if you ever want to ride the Three Twisted Sisters, I'd love to ride with you too. Maybe with Clay and Greg along (and, of course, anyone else), we could have a mini-NT rally.

Again, Clay - great write up.

 

[RedNigel]

Doug, counter clockwise avoids traffic, as most people ride clockwise

 

[RedNigel]

Most people ride east from Medina all the way to Camp Wood on 337, then go north on 335... But if you turn north at Leakey and do 336 first, you avoid most of the traffic and you still get to ride all of 337

 

[Comanche]

Most people ride east from Medina all the way to Camp Wood on 337, then go north on 335... But if you turn north at Leakey and do 336 first, you avoid most of the traffic and you still get to ride all of 337

And, I guess, that may be why I start at Leakey and ride north on Ranch Road 336. I come up from the south through Hondo, then Concan on US 83. Its just kinda natural to come up US 83, through Leakey, and branch off of US 83 onto RR 336.

And, I think I'll keep doing that and avoid the traffic.

Now - if I could just figure out a way to get past the traffic at the Bent Rim Grill.

I'm wondering if you ran into the same group of BMW riders I met with once. They were mostly on GSs, and they were part of the San Antonio BMW club. Nice people, and most of them were intrigued by my NT.

 

[RedNigel]

I forgot where they were from but they were on GS1200s with every farkle you can name. Really nice bikes

 

[Comanche]

The latest issue of Rider arrived with a nice write up of the 3 Sisters. I think I'll take the Natchez Trace over that way and spend a day on the 3 sisters. It doesn't appear possible to make a loop without some back tracking. But, for those who ride them often, would the route of Kerrville, west to 335, south to 337, east to 336, north to 41, and again west to 335/337, then back to Kerrville via Medina avoid congestion? I know back in 1998 when I was in the inaugural Waltz Across Texas rally (DNF, sigh), I had to work my way through a pack of Goldwingers on, I think, 83, and would like to avoid that if possible. Note: will plan to hit it on a weekday to avoid the weekend crowd.

Refinements? Alternatives? Suggestions?

Also, I hear they moved the Stonehenge replica. Where is it now?

That's a good route, Bob. By "west from Kerrville" , I assume you mean going west on I-10 from Kerrville, then turning west on 41. Your route would mean you will ride the Sisters 1 2/3 times, but what the hey - its a fun ride. Route 16 from Medina back into Kerrville can be crowded on the weekends, but you should be okay during the week.

I assume you mean Stonehenge II that used to be in Hunt rather than the one located at the University of Texas - Permian Basin in Odessa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge_II.

As to avoiding Goldwings, staying off US 83 is a good idea, though my experience has been with cruisers, not Goldwings.

Depending the amount of time you have to spend, there are some other good routes in the Hill Country. That (IMHO) is about the only good area for riding in Texas, but then again, there are quite a few good routes within range of Kerrville.

(Now to sit back and get the rain of negativity from my fellow Texans, many of whom will want to dispute my contention that there are more good areas to ride than the Hill Country.)

 

[Comanche]

Kerrville->27->1340->41->335.

Are you suggesting I-10 over to 41 instead?

No - that's a good route, and it will take you through Ingram so you can be a Druid for the Day. :smile:

I just didn't know how you were getting from Kerrvile to 41.