Greg in H-Town
12-19-2005, 11:54 PM
What: This is a nice loop on the east side of I-45, starting in Conroe, TX and running through several small towns between I-45 and U.S. 59 and up near Lake Livingston. Part of it runs through the Sam Houston National Forest (I guess you could call it "The Other Forest Ride"), and for the most part the roads are in good shape. It's a little over 140 miles starting from I-45 and Loop 336 and back. The nice thing about the east side of I-45 is that there's less traffic and much less development compared to west of 45.
Where: (Assuming a counter-clockwise run) Starting at I-45 and Loop 336, you'll take 336 around to 105, and 105 to F.M. 1484. These are somewhat busy roads and serve only to get you to where the real fun starts. Taking 1484 north is a nice ride with good pavement and a couple of nice turns; a good warmup, I guess. From there you take 3081 north, which isn't quite as smooth, but not that bad. The turnoff for 3081 is easy to miss because 1484 curves to the left and 3081 looks like a side street at that point. There will be a store at the split -- just go straight past the store. Go up 3081 and from there you'll hang a right on F.M. 1725, which is a nice little run and one of the better segments of the trip -- good pavement and more twisties and nice scenery if you have time to look. :rider:
Next up is Cleveland; you can either take C.R. 388 (if you can find the turnoff in time -- I missed it) or keep on 1725 to 105. If you go to 105 you get a few extra curves that are nice. Either way you go, you want to head north on 2025 and turn off at F.M. 945. 945 is a really nice ride and has some sections with good visibility down the road and no side streets or driveways so you can run WFO for a bit if that's your thing. The thing to watch for on 945 is a couple of turns that are easy to miss or are confusing. The part where 945 crosses F.M. 150 is not straight through -- you have to take a left on 150 and go like half a block or so and then turn right to head north on 945 again.
When you get to the left turn to go up F.M. 946, the sign at the 'T' intersection says "F.M. 156" in each direction -- just take a left here and you'll see that it's also 946 going north. This is another fun road that runs close to the western part of Lake Livingston; there's several short routes you can take to the lake if you want to stop there for a while. One thing on 946 you have to watch for: After you pass the Willow Springs sign and the right hand curve after it, the next left has a pretty bad dip and bump -- go slow through that turn!
S.H. 190 to 2296 is pretty uneventful, but F.M. 2296 to 75 to New Waverly is a nice ride. Hang a left on 150 when you get into New Waverly and take that to F.M. 1097. This section of 150 is bumpy; not bad enough to launch the bike or anything, but this is not the road to race on. :rider: Take F.M. 1097 to left on Rose Rd.; it's easy to miss this turn, so check your odometer and look for Rose Rd. about 6.5 miles after you turn onto 1097. Take Rose Rd. to a left on F.M. 1484 and then follow that back to 105 (actually, either way you turn gets you back to 105).
If you're coming in from the west side of I-45, you might want to think about taking F.M. 1097 east across I-45 through Willis to Rose Rd. to 1484 and then left at 3081 (remember the store at the 'Y'?), or 1097 to 150 to 1725 or 150 straight through to 945, or just 1097 to 150, make a left and then run the rest of the route clockwise. This might be a good way to add miles to a 149 run through the forest or from Montgomery.
Here are a couple of files that might help -- a Streets & Trips .EST file and a .PDF printout of the route.
http://www.savefile.com/files/678953
http://www.savefile.com/files/678960
Have fun and stay safe!
Where: (Assuming a counter-clockwise run) Starting at I-45 and Loop 336, you'll take 336 around to 105, and 105 to F.M. 1484. These are somewhat busy roads and serve only to get you to where the real fun starts. Taking 1484 north is a nice ride with good pavement and a couple of nice turns; a good warmup, I guess. From there you take 3081 north, which isn't quite as smooth, but not that bad. The turnoff for 3081 is easy to miss because 1484 curves to the left and 3081 looks like a side street at that point. There will be a store at the split -- just go straight past the store. Go up 3081 and from there you'll hang a right on F.M. 1725, which is a nice little run and one of the better segments of the trip -- good pavement and more twisties and nice scenery if you have time to look. :rider:
Next up is Cleveland; you can either take C.R. 388 (if you can find the turnoff in time -- I missed it) or keep on 1725 to 105. If you go to 105 you get a few extra curves that are nice. Either way you go, you want to head north on 2025 and turn off at F.M. 945. 945 is a really nice ride and has some sections with good visibility down the road and no side streets or driveways so you can run WFO for a bit if that's your thing. The thing to watch for on 945 is a couple of turns that are easy to miss or are confusing. The part where 945 crosses F.M. 150 is not straight through -- you have to take a left on 150 and go like half a block or so and then turn right to head north on 945 again.
When you get to the left turn to go up F.M. 946, the sign at the 'T' intersection says "F.M. 156" in each direction -- just take a left here and you'll see that it's also 946 going north. This is another fun road that runs close to the western part of Lake Livingston; there's several short routes you can take to the lake if you want to stop there for a while. One thing on 946 you have to watch for: After you pass the Willow Springs sign and the right hand curve after it, the next left has a pretty bad dip and bump -- go slow through that turn!
S.H. 190 to 2296 is pretty uneventful, but F.M. 2296 to 75 to New Waverly is a nice ride. Hang a left on 150 when you get into New Waverly and take that to F.M. 1097. This section of 150 is bumpy; not bad enough to launch the bike or anything, but this is not the road to race on. :rider: Take F.M. 1097 to left on Rose Rd.; it's easy to miss this turn, so check your odometer and look for Rose Rd. about 6.5 miles after you turn onto 1097. Take Rose Rd. to a left on F.M. 1484 and then follow that back to 105 (actually, either way you turn gets you back to 105).
If you're coming in from the west side of I-45, you might want to think about taking F.M. 1097 east across I-45 through Willis to Rose Rd. to 1484 and then left at 3081 (remember the store at the 'Y'?), or 1097 to 150 to 1725 or 150 straight through to 945, or just 1097 to 150, make a left and then run the rest of the route clockwise. This might be a good way to add miles to a 149 run through the forest or from Montgomery.
Here are a couple of files that might help -- a Streets & Trips .EST file and a .PDF printout of the route.
http://www.savefile.com/files/678953
http://www.savefile.com/files/678960
Have fun and stay safe!