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Hill Country 500: the event that refused to die

Joined
Jan 1, 2005
Messages
4,465
Reaction score
1,222
Location
Buda, TX
First Name
Rich
Last Name
Gibbens
Riders, please add your pics and stories to this report.

I was all set to ride the Hill Country 500 the weekend of May 21-22 but the weather refused to cooperate. Daily rains, some heavy, soaked the hill country leading up to the event, filling the creeks and making the many low water crossings in the area questionable at best. After a 2 inch deluge on Thursday and a thunderstorms (with lightening) predicted for both Saturday and Sunday I reluctantly cancelled the event.

But some riders would not be denied. "To heck with it", they said, "I'm riding anyway." So, on Saturday morning 20 riders showed up at the designated meeting spot in Blanco to give it a go. I decided I would ride on Saturday with the die-hards and then head home to Austin, skipping the ride on Sunday.

After a rider's meeting with divided into 2 groups - I led the group containing the smaller bikes and Tourmeister led the group of big bikes.

It rained on and off for the first 4 hours but by noon the rain cleared up and we actually got quite a bit of sun. The predicted afternoon thunderstorms never showed up.

The low water crossings were all flowing fast and deep, making the crossing challenging. However, the roads were mostly in good shape -no mud and no dust. :sun:

Here are some of the pics I got. I will post more as I get them processed.

Hill%20Country%20500-3-XL.jpg



Hill%20Country%20500-5-XL.jpg


Hill%20Country%20500-6-XL.jpg


Hill%20Country%20500-7-XL.jpg
 
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Great looking photos. I have some video that I will edit and post here.
 
Thanks again Richard. Great ride.
My first DS ride. 380mi. Wow !!!
Come to think of it , that's the longest ride on any of my bikes and I did it on a XR650L.
Who woulda thunk it.

Gotta admit , I did not like I10 but we had to get back asap.

Ok ,
I need to go through my bike , need more gear.
I need more stuff.
I need more time off work.
I need more .......
 
Great ride richard, the tracks were great. Me and Tommy finished the game at round mountain late sunday afternoon.
 
Our first deep water crossing of the day.

 
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Here are a few. I'll post a couple more and try to see if i can figure out how to include a video.
 

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three more:

  • "Stephanie" crossing in style
  • Post Ride Brews
  • The legendary KTM field side repairs
 

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