East of DFW Recon

Wednesday afternoon my buddy (DRZ 400SM converted to DS) and I (DR 650) will ride east of Rockwall to explore potential dual sporting gold. Based on previous journeys and a prodigious look at Google Maps, the non-paved surfaces start south of McClendon-Chisholm, heading north & east of Terrell, where dirty options abound.

Meanwhile, the areas north of Lakes Tawakoni & Fork and south of I30 are littered with lightly paved/gravel/jeep trail CRs. We will continue eastbound & down as time permits, and a full report on twt will ensure shortly after.

Perusing the twt archives I found little evidence of routes in this area, so with any luck Wednesday's ride will enhance the database. Plus, weather permitting, I may ride to Shreveport for Mardi Gras next month, in which case I'll build a route linking my DS findings to the 2180 mile circumnavigation of Texas.

Quick snapshot of yesterday's ride...

The prime dual sport territory lies east of Lone Oak. However, the route to this area was entertaining as well, especially CR 335 south of the Kitsee Inlet on Lake Tawakoni. 335 starts lightly paved, then devolves into little more than a cut through the trees, ending at a gate that forces a turnaround to a second exit path. Riders should have a fairly good command of their off-road skills before venturing down 335, and bikes >650 might be a handful.

After crossing Tawakoni on 276 we turned north on 1605, meandering our way to Lone Oak. CR 3410 off 513 leads to a series of single lane gravel roads with many 90 degree bends for those who like to kick out the rear every now & then. East of Lone Oak is CR 3223 which morphs from paved to gravel fairly quickly. Keeping up with ever-changing CR names became tedious w/o a GPS, so eventually we crossed 1567 to CR 3222 and let nature take its course as we serpentined north, then east, then south.

Suffice to say that the variety of small, unmanaged roads provides a wealth of options. I hit the turf only once, after stealing a quick glance back for my buddy while judiciously applying power out of a turn. A rather uneventful fall, except that the toe of my rear brake lever now turns up at a 45 degree angle.

While a GPS would pay dividends, a compass could suffice in a pinch. There really are no "wrong" turns (except for the occasional dead end), and the paved surfaces offer nearly as many smiles-per-mile as the dirty stuff. It's safe to say you can't go wrong exploring the area south of I30, east of 69, and north of the lakes.

I was looking at going here too this week, starting at Mineola. But we went south to Maypearl instead. I like wooden bridges and dirt or even paved as long as it is remote. Mud is not fun in my opinion but might be necessary to complete a ride.

Pictures would be nice!

If I could devise a way to snap photos while underway, that would be genius. I don't ride a "casual" pace, so by the time I recognize a pic-worthy vista, it's in my rear view mirror. I need a thumb-activated camera mounted on the crossbar for action shots!