The Twisted Sisters

So a buddy and myself are loosely planning a trip to ride the "The Twisted Sister" sometime this fall. I downloaded gps tracks from here (TWT) and was wondering if it can be ridden in a day or should we plan on a couple of days?
Ill be riding my 2014 DL1000 and my buddy will be riding his FZ09. This will be his first time riding in this area but not mine. My time has been in a car traveling or camping in the surrounding areas, never on a motorcycle.
We are planning to "HQ" in Kerville to start out but is this a good starting point? We will be staying in hotels to start with but camping might be in the plans.
Any input would be appreciated!

It's not that far. Google Maps puts that route as 265 miles and just over 5 hours riding time. I've ridden all those roads. You could quite easily leave Kerrville in the morning, have a late lunch in Leakey, and be back at a Kerrville motel in time for a nap before dinner.

Whether you do it in one or two days is going to come down to your style and your limits. If you like to stop and take pictures, add a couple of hours to the total time. Also bear in mind that a lot of those roads are pretty harsh pavement, and you'll feel fairly pounded after about four hours. If you like to rip and zip, you have an iron bottom, and your shoulders don't tire out, it's not a particularly hard single-day trip. If you like to linger and enjoy the view, putter along below the speed limit, or if you tire out after a half day's riding, make it two days. Your choice.

Only ridden the 3's three times but always mid week.

Lot's of cattle guards on 336 so heads up, falling rocks as well
I've seen some decent sized boulders on 335.

I try and get out early and stay in Junction so it a
45 minute ride to the start of the good stuff.

Remember to visit the motorcycle museum if you never have.

Mid-week is definitely the best time to go, and I would schedule two days if you really want to stop and see the sights along the way. Here's my motorcycle trip there from a couple of months ago. We based in Junction (lots of affordable lodging there). As you can see around 8:45, weekends at the Sisters are ridiculously crowded with all kinds of nonsense:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb3MU8SJWj8"]The Best Motorcycle Ride In Texas : Three (Twisted) Sisters & Hill Country Roads - YouTube[/ame]

Is Leakey in the heart of all the good stuff?

jdsmetx said:

Is Leakey in the heart of all the good stuff?

Click to expand...

Yes.

I'll third the mid-week idea. On the weekends it can be crowded and slow. I have only been out there a few times, but leaving from Comfort or Kerrville, we always make all three in a day.

m

I've always spent a couple of days riding the sisters - often spending the night at a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg. The ONLY time I rode it in one day was at the insistence of the wife who had never ridden the roads before. We rode out from Katy for a Pie Run and she wanted to continue on to the sisters. Against my wishes, but wanting to keep her happy - we headed out after lunch. It turned out to be a serious error as she crashed her bike that day. She wasn't seriously hurt (more pride than anything else), but the bike was pretty messed up. We managed to duct tape it back together and she rode it home, but that was an awful day. I really think it was more fatigue than anything else. As such, from my perspective at least, give yourself a couple of days. There's so much beauty to see and trying to do them all in one day is really grueling. There was an inn in Leaky I stayed at once that was a good "home base". The inn wasn't anything to write home about, but it was perfect for exploring the sisters.

If you ride to the area, ride the sisters the next day. Like said above, the 3 can be done in a little Over a half day of steady riding. We just did a 3 day weekend, riding to Bandera on Friday, sisters on Saturday, and back to the house today. It wasn't crowded at all on the sisters. Prolly due to the heat, which was more tiring than the ride. I clocked 655 miles for the weekend.

Do yourself a favor and eat a Mac n Earnies Roadside Eaterie in Tarpley.

Amazing Cabrito Burger and the Ancho-Chili quail is delicious.

Kerrville south on 16 to Medina, west on 337 to Leakey and Campwood,north on 335 to 41,east on 41 to 336,south on 336 to Leakey,continue south to 470, then east to Utopia and Bandera, north, back to Kerrville. keep to the posted speed limits, watch for deer, slow down if you see a moving black mass ahead, a buzzard will always fly across the road. good luck stay safe. BTW, a weekend ride may get your photo on TEXAS MOTO PHOTO.
The HILL COUNTRY is my back yard, I ride once or twice a month.

That looks like my route. I have ridden it many times. The route can easily be ridden in a day. A few years ago, I rode this route exactly, then added an addition 150 miles, all in one day. The only issue is how long you spend at various stops. If it is your first time, plan to stop at the Motorcycle Museum. It is only open March to November on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Kerrville is a good central point, as is any along the route. For a number of reasons, I usually stay at the River Inn Resort on Hwy 39, the River Road, but it is harder from there to get to food, gasoline, etc after riding. Most local riders will stop at the Hunt store, it is usually a good place to hang out and have a hamburger or a stuffed pork chop.

...

We are actually up in Hunt today heading home. Hope Pt Aransas was good for you.

Heading out there Monday. I like to stay in Bandera. River front cabins if you can get one, they fill up fast. If camping, across the road is the Pioneer RV park. They have nice tent spots down by the river and good showers. Good night life within walking distance. Don't miss the motorcycle museum in Vanderpool. Kerrville is to busy for me.

Riding time varies a LOT by the kind of rider you are. I've been with a couple of guys who stopped a lot, and we did one leg of the three in 6 hours. I've ridden them by myself, leaving Fredericksburg at 7am and was back in F'burg for cocktails at 4pm. I tend to not stop much, but I did enjoy lunch and a couple of photo stops.

It's not bad, scary, etc unless you aren't used to curves and hills. In the hilly parts where you have limited line of sight you can't be stupid fast as there are some decreasing radius corners and cars that could wander in your lane. But it is beautiful, there are some fast flowing sections, there are nice overlooks and places to take a break.

It can be windy and cooler than F'Burg so plan your gear accordingly. Enjoy!

Dave.

For a cold glass of sweet tea and pie make sure to say hi to the ladies at Lost Maples Cafe in Utopia. Chicken fried steak was good there also.