- Joined
- Jan 1, 2005
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- Location
- Buda, TX
- First Name
- Rich
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- Gibbens
Dual Sporting in the 3 Sisters’ Neighborhood
What an excellent day it was. True, it was a long day – the odometer on my KLR read 334 miles when I got back home to Austin and I had been on the road for 10 hours – but those 334 miles were all good to great miles. I love motorcycling on days like today.
My KLR riding buddy Mike McSpaddin and I had plans today. Big plans. We were going to spend the day exploring some new-to-us dirt roads south and west of Kerrville. My BMW R100GSPD riding Uncle had given me a dual sport route he had gotten from the BMW group he rides with. I hadn’t ridden any of these roads previously so today was as good as any to do some exploring. The thing was, the roads weren’t very close to Austin – it was about 100 miles just to get to them – hence the reason this was going to be a big day. I figured it would be 300 miles and about 8 hours long. Start early, ride all day, keep moving, don’t stop much or for long. There are roads to be ridden and new places to be explored.
Mike and I decided to meet up at the Dairy Queen in Blanco at 9 a.m. this morning, rain or shine. The weatherman was predicting showers for this morning and thunderstorms for this afternoon. Nothing serious or steady, just passing showers and/or thundershowers. It shouldn’t be enough to stop up, so rain or shine we were going to do it. After meeting up, we were going to fly south and west to Comfort, TX and then on to Center Point, TX at which point our dirt road explorations would begin.
Blanco is about an hour west of Austin, so I rolled out of my driveway at 7:45 a.m. No showers, but lots of really thick fog. I’m glad it wasn’t raining, though the fog was quite thick. Visibility was really poor and it didn’t help that my visor kept getting condensation all over it. I discovered that when I turned my head to the side the wind would blow most of the condensation off half my visor. When I turned my head to the other side the wind would blow the water off the other side of my visor. The fog was s thick I had to turn my head to the side every few seconds or my visibility got really bad. As long as I kept the condensation on my visor down, visibility was acceptable. So I rode down the road turning my head first left then right. Yes, my friend, I drove for 2 hours in the fog today continuously shaking my head “no”, which seemed to really amuse those following behind me for some reason.
Mike showed up at the Dairy Queen, but surprise, surprise, no KLR. It turns out he hasn’t totally unpacked from his recent trip to Big Bend and the KLR is one of those unpacked items. Instead, he rode his big BMW R1100GS dual sport.
Mike & his GS at a brief stop in Comfort, TX. With a name like Comfort, you just gotta stop.
After a quick trip west on 473 to Comfort, we ran hwy 27 west over to Center Point. Luckily, by the time we hit Center Point the fog was totally gone. The sun was out and the skies were now blue with a few cloulds. Game on!
We grabbed 480 south through the heart of Center Point, watching our speed due to the local yokel that followed us through town. I think he just happened to be going in the same direction we were and wasn’t deliberately following us – there is no mistaking a KLR or a GS for many of the sport bikes that pass through the area on their way to ride the 3 sisters. My guess is the sports bikes likely draw the unwanted attention of local law enforcement as the few other police we passed today payed us no mind at all.
Speaking of the 3 Sisters – this is what I call the 3 most famous roads in this area. Roads that riders far and near journey specifically to ride. These 3 roads are County Roads 335, 336, & 337. Others call them the Holy something or the other, but I prefer to call them the 3 sisters. 3 sisters that are sure fun to ride.
Anyway, back to the story. As we made our way through Center Point we were on the lookout for Elm Pass road. According to my map it would lead us to Old School Road, which would, in turn, lead us to Prestige Road. We weren’t completely clear about any of the details on where to find Elm Pass road as even the dual sport route I had gotten from my Uncle didn’t include it on the trip. But, find it we did and off we went.
Elm Pass road turned out to be quite the twisty, up and down roller coaster. It’s an excellent road that I recommend to you. However, we rode all the way to where Elm Pass ended at Hwy 173 and no Old School Road. Retracing our steps back up Elm Pass, we kept our eyes peeled hoping to spot the turn off to Old School Road. No luck – no Old School Road anywhere.
I flagged a car down to ask if he might be able to direct us to Old School Road and disaster struck. Mike had a Pink Floyd moment (A momentary lapse of reason) and neglected to put down his kick stand before letting go of the bike. Down went the big GS, despite Mike’s best efforts to stop it. The bike was down and Mike’s shoulder was wrenched from trying to stop 600 lbs that was firmly in the grip of gravity. I quickly helped him pick up the bike, which was no worse for the wear. Mike’s shoulder bothered him the remainder of the day, but it wasn’t bad enough to keep us from continuing our journey. To top it off, the dude in the car didn’t know where Old School Road was. Sorry, no pics of the downed GS.
After a little more exploration we found Mason Creek Road (or something similar), a dirt road, generally heading in the direction we expected Old School Road to head. Off we went. Sure enough, a few miles later Mason Creek intersected with Old School Road. We turned onto Old School Road, crossed a pretty valley, and then climbed one of the many hills in the area.
The view from Old School Road, looking back over the valley we had just crossed.
My KLR really likes this kind of stuff. I like it too.
After topping the hill, we ran a ridge line for quite a ways until again dropping down into a valley. At this point we came upon the turn off to Polly’s Chapel. This chapel is named for Policarpo Rodrigues (1829-1914). He was a Texas Ranger, army scout and guide who settled in the Privilege Creek community in 1858. He converted to the Methodist faith and built the chapel of native stone with his own hands in 1882 where he later preached. The chapel is still in use today.
First view of the chapel on the only road to it.
KLR and GS enjoying the tranquility and silence at the chapel.
Texas recognizes this chapel as a historical site.
Inscription on the chapel. Note the date this was inscribed.
From there we headed south, following Privilege Creek Road to Hwy 16. Our next target was Kyle Ranch Road.
More to follow.
What an excellent day it was. True, it was a long day – the odometer on my KLR read 334 miles when I got back home to Austin and I had been on the road for 10 hours – but those 334 miles were all good to great miles. I love motorcycling on days like today.
My KLR riding buddy Mike McSpaddin and I had plans today. Big plans. We were going to spend the day exploring some new-to-us dirt roads south and west of Kerrville. My BMW R100GSPD riding Uncle had given me a dual sport route he had gotten from the BMW group he rides with. I hadn’t ridden any of these roads previously so today was as good as any to do some exploring. The thing was, the roads weren’t very close to Austin – it was about 100 miles just to get to them – hence the reason this was going to be a big day. I figured it would be 300 miles and about 8 hours long. Start early, ride all day, keep moving, don’t stop much or for long. There are roads to be ridden and new places to be explored.
Mike and I decided to meet up at the Dairy Queen in Blanco at 9 a.m. this morning, rain or shine. The weatherman was predicting showers for this morning and thunderstorms for this afternoon. Nothing serious or steady, just passing showers and/or thundershowers. It shouldn’t be enough to stop up, so rain or shine we were going to do it. After meeting up, we were going to fly south and west to Comfort, TX and then on to Center Point, TX at which point our dirt road explorations would begin.
Blanco is about an hour west of Austin, so I rolled out of my driveway at 7:45 a.m. No showers, but lots of really thick fog. I’m glad it wasn’t raining, though the fog was quite thick. Visibility was really poor and it didn’t help that my visor kept getting condensation all over it. I discovered that when I turned my head to the side the wind would blow most of the condensation off half my visor. When I turned my head to the other side the wind would blow the water off the other side of my visor. The fog was s thick I had to turn my head to the side every few seconds or my visibility got really bad. As long as I kept the condensation on my visor down, visibility was acceptable. So I rode down the road turning my head first left then right. Yes, my friend, I drove for 2 hours in the fog today continuously shaking my head “no”, which seemed to really amuse those following behind me for some reason.
Mike showed up at the Dairy Queen, but surprise, surprise, no KLR. It turns out he hasn’t totally unpacked from his recent trip to Big Bend and the KLR is one of those unpacked items. Instead, he rode his big BMW R1100GS dual sport.
Mike & his GS at a brief stop in Comfort, TX. With a name like Comfort, you just gotta stop.
After a quick trip west on 473 to Comfort, we ran hwy 27 west over to Center Point. Luckily, by the time we hit Center Point the fog was totally gone. The sun was out and the skies were now blue with a few cloulds. Game on!
We grabbed 480 south through the heart of Center Point, watching our speed due to the local yokel that followed us through town. I think he just happened to be going in the same direction we were and wasn’t deliberately following us – there is no mistaking a KLR or a GS for many of the sport bikes that pass through the area on their way to ride the 3 sisters. My guess is the sports bikes likely draw the unwanted attention of local law enforcement as the few other police we passed today payed us no mind at all.
Speaking of the 3 Sisters – this is what I call the 3 most famous roads in this area. Roads that riders far and near journey specifically to ride. These 3 roads are County Roads 335, 336, & 337. Others call them the Holy something or the other, but I prefer to call them the 3 sisters. 3 sisters that are sure fun to ride.
Anyway, back to the story. As we made our way through Center Point we were on the lookout for Elm Pass road. According to my map it would lead us to Old School Road, which would, in turn, lead us to Prestige Road. We weren’t completely clear about any of the details on where to find Elm Pass road as even the dual sport route I had gotten from my Uncle didn’t include it on the trip. But, find it we did and off we went.
Elm Pass road turned out to be quite the twisty, up and down roller coaster. It’s an excellent road that I recommend to you. However, we rode all the way to where Elm Pass ended at Hwy 173 and no Old School Road. Retracing our steps back up Elm Pass, we kept our eyes peeled hoping to spot the turn off to Old School Road. No luck – no Old School Road anywhere.
I flagged a car down to ask if he might be able to direct us to Old School Road and disaster struck. Mike had a Pink Floyd moment (A momentary lapse of reason) and neglected to put down his kick stand before letting go of the bike. Down went the big GS, despite Mike’s best efforts to stop it. The bike was down and Mike’s shoulder was wrenched from trying to stop 600 lbs that was firmly in the grip of gravity. I quickly helped him pick up the bike, which was no worse for the wear. Mike’s shoulder bothered him the remainder of the day, but it wasn’t bad enough to keep us from continuing our journey. To top it off, the dude in the car didn’t know where Old School Road was. Sorry, no pics of the downed GS.
After a little more exploration we found Mason Creek Road (or something similar), a dirt road, generally heading in the direction we expected Old School Road to head. Off we went. Sure enough, a few miles later Mason Creek intersected with Old School Road. We turned onto Old School Road, crossed a pretty valley, and then climbed one of the many hills in the area.
The view from Old School Road, looking back over the valley we had just crossed.
My KLR really likes this kind of stuff. I like it too.
After topping the hill, we ran a ridge line for quite a ways until again dropping down into a valley. At this point we came upon the turn off to Polly’s Chapel. This chapel is named for Policarpo Rodrigues (1829-1914). He was a Texas Ranger, army scout and guide who settled in the Privilege Creek community in 1858. He converted to the Methodist faith and built the chapel of native stone with his own hands in 1882 where he later preached. The chapel is still in use today.
First view of the chapel on the only road to it.
KLR and GS enjoying the tranquility and silence at the chapel.
Texas recognizes this chapel as a historical site.
Inscription on the chapel. Note the date this was inscribed.
From there we headed south, following Privilege Creek Road to Hwy 16. Our next target was Kyle Ranch Road.
More to follow.
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