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Shaw's Bend Adventure

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Mudclod

Mudclod

0
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
1,082
Reaction score
657
Location
Killeen, Texas
First Name
William
Last Name
Rich
I had heard from an ADV rider that there was a low water crossing on a CR near Shaw's Bend of the Colorado River. I found it rare since most crossings are bridges or private land so I was interested. After googling Earth with no luck I set out on my search.
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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoWl5Zp5WvI"]Brushy Creek - YouTube[/ame]
 
Shaw's Bend is located between San Saba and Goldthwaite, and after a couple hours of great dirt roads I fueled up in town and met a nice couple on BMW's from Zephyr, they had never heard of TWT so I enlightened them!
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The road to the river was challenging to say the least thanks to some deep sand sections, and once I arrived I had a choice of directions to take and chose correctly on my first try. I soon saw why I had difficulty finding the crossing on Google Earth as the banks were lined with thick tree's. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keWDMPRyGtA"]Sand Road to Shaw's Bend - YouTube[/ame]
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While the flow was low, I still was concerned with dropping a 525 lb. VStrom with a full compliment of fuel, tools, camping gear and a twelve pack of fun! I scouted the river and found the line trucks were using was rather deep but solid so I kicked a line through the shallow rocky section even though they were very slippery. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofl7IbuxkOA"]Colorado River Crossing (pre walk) - YouTube[/ame]
 
I figured that if I dropped the Mighty VStrom it would be easier to strip and recover in shallow water rather than deep. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp-pKmpJUtU"]Crossing the Colorado River at Shaw's Bend - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeADLBlnK5o"]Shaw's Bend Texas - YouTube[/ame]
 
Once across I rejoiced and vowed to return next time on a lighter dualsport and do some recon on this beautiful but desolate location. Just curious if any other riders have found this watercrossing before?
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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxIHnZh_V-s"]Adventure ride to Shaw's Bend - YouTube[/ame]
 
Mudcloud, your a brave man.

Not to ride a rider a 525 lb. motorcycle to an unknown river crossing on a sandy/gravel two track road alone in the middle of nowhere with no one coming along for weeks.

BUT IN SHORTS!!!!!!!!!!! :eek2: :giveup:

:sun: good job.
 
Fantastic! Great report on an isolated location. Mind providing some info on your Kolpin fuel setup on the rear rack of that might Vstrom? :mrgreen:
 
Great ride report:clap:
Were you the guy my wife saw at a gas station in Copperas Cove Saturday morning 'in shorts with a camera on his head'? :rofl:
 
Thanks for the comments, Gravel Guy, you know me-I'm always ready. Looks like you found some of my favorite roads today around Lampasas and Oakala. Glad you enjoyed. The Kolpin set-up was considerably more affordable than a Rotopak from Rocky Mtn MC/ATV and is actually an ATV mount that I bolted to my stock rack giving me roughly 300 miles of range. I just replaced the windshield with a GIVI midsize that was on sale at Twisted Throttle. My last one was a rather pricey Cee Bailey that my ribs shattered (ha!) and I can't tell any difference between the two-like them both.
 
Looks like a great ride in a beautiful place! Thanks for sharing the fun :thumb:
 
JT, my neighbor Terry, and I decided we had to give this crossing a go and today was the day. We left a little after 9 am and completed a 267 mile loop of the hill country with the low water crossing of the Colorado as the apex of our loop. The recent rains made the river a bit deeper but still crossable.

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John was the sacrificial lamb - i.e. Terry and I made him go first. :)
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Making good progress.
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Almost there.
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Then it was Terry's turn. Terry is a beginner dirt rider and this was just his 2nd dual sport ride.
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He made it. No drops. :)
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Time for the Italian Supermodel to earn her pay. The Husky and I plunge in.
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It's not pretty, but I'm getting the job done.
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Done. No drops.
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That's a really fun crossing. Thank you, Will, for finding it and letting the rest of us know about it.
 
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Rock on Terry! Great adventure for a rookie. I can't believe you two old veterans didn't just wheelie across! ha! Glad you found it. I'll bet after a good rain it would be quite a challenge,eh?
 
Mudclod, I admire your grit and determination to seek out yet another water crossing! Your always up for an adventure, and even as long as youve been riding in the area your enthusiaism never flags! Great job dude! :rider:
 
Mud. I have ridden all those roads and I know that Trip found the crossing. I know that then you found the crossing. TXjames and I went bombing around and we still couldn't find it. Did you have to go through a closed gate? We found one to the east and we could see where the river was but didn't open the gate. All my TXDot maps blew out of my mapcase. Gee. Wonder how that happened? so we were flying blind by then. Gps with topo told me were close but the 2011 maps showed no road.


And to add insult to injury I blew the Big Ugly up badly on our way home from Castell.
 
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