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2018 Texas Hill Country 500 - Nov 2-4, 2018

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Location
Buda, TX
First Name
Rich
Last Name
Gibbens
10/22/2018 Update: If you are eating BBQ at Mike's place on Friday night, you can paypay your donation ($10 minimum please) to Mike at michael@vieon.net. You can also wait and give cash to Mike on Friday. Donations in advance mean Mike has to come up with less money out of pocket to pay for the food.

10/20/2018 Update: Due to the tremendous turnout (more than 70 people have signed up for the get together on Friday night) Mike has decided it makes more sense to have BBQ catered versus the original plan of cooking hamburgers & hot dogs on Friday night. Mike has arranged for a local restaurant to deliver the BBQ to the group. If you are attending Friday night and plan on eating at Mikes, please pay for your meal by making a (minimum of $10) donation to Mike so he can pay the restaurant. If you were planning on eating at Mikes, but have now changed your mind, please update the registration form. Mike is using the registration form to determine how much food to order. Paypal Mike at michael@vieon.net

The Hill Country 500 is a three day, 500 mile(ish) adventure ride of some of the finest paved and dirt roads in the Texas hill country. It begins and ends in Johnson City, TX.


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Friday, Nov 2: Social gathering in Johnson City

Saturday, Nov 3: 226 mile ride. Overnight in Junction, TX

Sunday, Nov 4: ride 259 miles, or ride the alternate 150 mile route, ending in Johnson City, TX.


Who is this ride for?

This ride is a tour of some of the best riding in the hill country and is suitable for any street-legal dual sport or adventure bike. We will be riding public paved and unpaved roads - there is no off-road or single track riding. This ride is beginner friendly. If you are new to Texas adventure riding, come on out. We are a friendly group and welcome newcomers.


Logistics

Friday: Noon - Dark, social gathering

Beginning at Noon - Camping at Mike & Mary Morisoli's property, 795 Old River Crossing, Johnson City, TX 78636

Mike and Mary have graciously opened their property in Johnson City for our use. There is plenty of space for camping and trailers (motorcycle or otherwise). It is safe to leave your vehicle and trailer at Mike's property for the duration of the event. His property has grills, lights, potable water, and a porta-john.

Show up at Mike's place anytime Friday from noon on. Hang out, visit, have a good time. Due to the size of the early signups Mike has decided to have BBQ catered by the Main Street Grill in J.C. It will include all of the basics brisket, sausage, with sides and desert!!! If you want to eat BBQ, please make sure you indicated it on the registration form. Donations of $10 are requested to pay for the food (there is no obligation to eat BBQ - but if you do want to eat BBQ please pay for your own food.) You can donate to Mike in advance using paypal. Send money to Mike at michael@vieon.net. Or you can make your donation in cash on Friday.

There will be a grill going all night for anybody that wants to bring their own special food. We will have lots of bottled water, some ice chests with beer and two Keurig machines for coffee in the morning. There should be plenty of food for all. Please bring any side dishes, chips, snacks or drinks you may want to consume.

Recreational opportunities at Mike's place include horseshoes, and some slow speed motorcycle skills areas, campfires. Bring your own lawn furniture if you want to sit somewhere other than on the ground.

If you don't want to camp there are a couple of lodging options in Johnson City. If they are sold out, the next closest option is in Blanco. If you decide to stay at a hotel, hang out with us at Mike's place until it's time for you to go to the hotel to sleep.


Riding Groups: This is a self-guided ride. Riders will organize into small groups (I suggest groups not larger than 8 riders) and ride the designated course each day. At the riders meeting at 8 am on Saturday morning we will help riders without a group organize a riding group.

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Saturday:
  • Breakfast on your own
  • 8:00 am Riders meeting, Mike's place
  • 8:30 am - Ride begins
  • 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm tire kicking and story telling, parking lot of the Best Western Dos Rios Hotel, Junction
  • 7:00 pm - Group dinner at Isaack's Restaurant, downtown Junction
Breakfast is on your own. Mike is having breakfast at El Agave Mexican Restaurant in Johnson City and invites everyone to join him. There are a few other restaurant opportunities in town plus the nearby Stripes convenient store on Hwy 290 serves fresh breakfast tacos and other breakfast foods.

Saturday's ride is 226 miles in length and is about 80% pavement and 20% unpaved county roads in the hill country. (One of the unfortunate realities is that there aren't a lot of dirt road options in the eastern half of the hill country. There are, however, some superb twisty paved roads that are incredibly fun on dual sport and adventure bikes. We will be riding those roads.) This is an adventure ride, not a dual sport ride, so the route is big bike friendly. The route passes through Comfort and Fredericksburg, with both providing food and fuel options.

The Best Western Hotel in Junction, TX is our host hotel for Saturday night. Rates are $77 for a single or a a double. Make your own reservation. Call the hotel itself to get this rate - you will not get it if you book online. Do it now before the hotel gets fully booked. For those wanting to camp, there are multiple campground options in Junction.

We are having a group dinner at Isaack's Restaurant in downtown Junction for all who want to join in. Meet at the restaurant at 7 pm.

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Sunday:

-Breakfast on your own. The Best Western has a pretty good breakfast buffet included with your room

-8:00 am Ride begins. Select either the full 259 mile route or the alternate 150 mile route

-Arrive back at Mike's place - end of ride


You have two choices for Sunday's ride - a 259 mile route or a 150 mile route. The first choice is a 259 mile route that includes a lot more dirt than the shorter 150 mile route. The shorter course is for those who may need to get home a bit earlier on Sunday.

The 259 mile route passes through San Saba, Castell, and Llano. Fuel is available in San Saba and Llano. It is 115 miles from Junction to San Saba, so you need a minimum 115 mile range (and I suggest having a 150 mile range just in case). Carry extra fuel if the gas tank on your bike is small. Also, Sunday's route has quite a bit more dirt than Saturday's course.

Food is available in San Saba, Castell, and Llano.


Registration: There is no cost to attend but please register so Mike will know how much BBQ to order for Friday night. Click here to register. If you are going to eat BBQ at Mike's please make a donation to Mike to help pay for the BBQ on Friday night. And, if you would donate a buck or two toward the porta-john rental, that would be very cool of you.


Reservations: If you are camping at Mike's place on Friday night, just show up and grab a spot. Make your own hotel reservations if you aren't camping Friday and/or Saturday. The host hotel for Saturday night is the Best Western Dos Rios in Junction, TX ($77 for a single or a double). You have to call the hotel to get that rate. You can’t get it by booking online. Book your room now as the hotel will likely fill up. If you make a reservation and then can't attend, you can always cancel your reservation. If the Best Western is full, the next closest property is the Rodeway Inn, next door to the Best Western.


GPS: Click here to download the routes. I created it using Mapsource running City Navigator North America NT 2019.
 
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SAB and I are in!
 
Do we have to contact the best western and tell them we’re part of this group? The website for those dates is considerably more


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Do we have to contact the best western and tell them we’re part of this group? The website for those dates is considerably more


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Yes, call the hotel directly and tell them you are with the Hill country 500 to get the rate.


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Should be a fun time, really looking forward to the cooler weather.
 
I'm in. Tried to add my name to the list but the form is read-only.
 
I'm In! Made my reservations at the Best Western Dos Rios, mentioned I was part of the Hill Country 500 and got the $77 rate! This will be my first Hill Country 500 so I am pretty stoked!
 
I am looking forward to the riding. I will be camping. I'll need electricity or if non available I can do a battery set-up for my cpap machine.

I have reserved a room at the Best Western in Junction for the overnight on Saturday, It is a double queen, non-smoking. If anyone would like to split the cost of the room ($77 + $10 tax = $87 divide by 2= $43.50) send me an email sandsjack@yahoo.com
 
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To Kman: The registration spreadsheet and the Registration Link is now working, I registered this morning.
 
We have electricity in a couple of locations and even a generator if you want to be far away on your own LOL.

Lots of extension cords :)
 
Sign me up Richard. Let's do this, will be at the transient camp in Johnson City on Friday night. Reserved econo lodge sat. Night in junction, 121 days from now. $59 final .
 
I am in and registered.

I'll be camping at Mike's on Friday night. I actually was able to get a room at the Best Western Dos Rios in Junction, TX for Saturday night.

Very nice. I expected them to be sold out by now.
 
I'm planning on being there. Will be hoteling it.

Will be driving down from DFW area on Friday, not sure what time we'll arrive.
 
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