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Big Bend Ranch State Park - B.U.T.T. Follow up ride.

Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
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1
Location
Austin, TX
Howdy folks, as a follow up to our Third Annual RideDualSport Big Ultimate Terlingua Tour @ BBRSP, which Tourmeister attended, my brother and I returned to BBRSP last weekend.

My Brother and I left Austin, TX. Wednesday after work, and arrived in Presidio around Midnight, and snoozed in the truck on the park entrance road.
Awaking at 6:30 am Thursday, we finished the drive to park headquarters and had breakfast in the Bunkhouse, then pitched our tents at our South Leyva campsite.
Who could ask for more?
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Our first day we took in the Los Alamos loop which starts at this residence.
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Afterwards we decided to go into Fresno Canyon, which has a great view at the decent.
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This strange hole was dug in the river bed by a very thirsty animal of some sort!
We must have scared the animal off - it is a fresh hole (moisture at the claw marks)! I never knew animals could sniff out water like that.
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We were pretty well spent after riding some of the Fresno Canyon creek, so we went for a short day hike rather than riding more.
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More to come...
 
That doesn't look like a "Kosmic KLR" you're riding Patrice, did you enjoy the Z?
 
Howdy Mudclod! Yes the DRZ 400 was a great bike for BBRSP. I finally got the suspension dialed in on the DRZ, by starting with some compression and rebound settings I found on the internet, then tweaking the settings as I rode the bike.
Before dialing in the suspension the DRZ was bouncing all over the place, and impossible to keep on my chosen line. Now both wheels are responding great, I have more control and extra traction. The DRZ does not wear me out like the KLR does in BBRSP, I can ride longer and more safely, and not be totally whooped after the ride.
Good hearing from you!
Cheers!
 
Great pictures!
Thank you Kojack, BBRSP is the crown jewel of Texas in my book, glad you are enjoying it!

A very windy cold front blew into the park overnight (the same front that dumped a lot of rain on Austin).
The morning was really cold so we wore extra layers for the 30 mile ride down the main park road to the entrance of the Cienega Mountains.
This was to be DoctorDR's first ride through Cienega, and my second.
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We chose to enter the Cienega Mountains via the West Casa Piedra trail head.
We stopped here to shed our extra layers, since we knew some rough riding was coming.
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The Cienega's have some pretty steep rocky climbs which require lots of attention!
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Just chilling and enjoying the view! I have an idea to try some light-weight primitive camping in this area - by motorcycle of course!
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This long rolling uphill along the fence line, gives you a chance to really get your mojo on.
The DRZ 400 was handling particularly good compared to the last time I rode here, since I dialed in the compression and rebound settings
on the forks and shock. The DRZ now gets good traction and goes where I point it, rather than skipping and bouncing off the road.

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Here I am trying to find the exit from Cienega, which is in those trees somewhere.
So few riders make it here it is hard to see any visible tracks to the exit.
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This is what we were looking for!
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Fooling around in the the Cinco Tinajas.
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DoctorDr is mighty good at campsite cooking!
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We filled up on pasta, spinach and pork chops - I was so full I had to skip the beer.
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By Saturday morning the cold front had blown through and we were greeted with warm weather.
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For some tasty technical riding I like Las Burras - so we rode it to the trailhead.
It has some nice rocky climbs with some tight turns.
The entry to Las Burras has some horse pens, so be aware that you might encounter some horse riders.
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On the way out of Las Burras, we turned right to go to Guale - which probably has one of the best views in all of Texas.
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After Guale we went to Chorro Vista, which was a smoother 4X4 road, with rolling hills - and excellent views.
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We finished Saturday with 68 miles of incredible riding within the park. The last hour was spent trying to conserve energy,
as fatigue set in, making hard to get out of the seat and pick good lines.
The more popular part of the park (Rancherias and Javlelin) makes up Oso Loop which includes one of the roughest hill climbs in the park.
I did notice portions of Oso Loop were looking rather chewed up - compared to just a few months ago when I was last there.
Sadly King Kong hill will eventually be Chimpanzee Mound.
RideDualSport was first organized ride in BBRSP when it was opened to vehicles three years ago and I witnessed the the virgin condition of the roads.
I hope that all future group rides in BBRSP - hosted by any organization - will continue to be small in numbers. Its a double-edged issue for sure - and I will try to do my part to minimize my impact on the roads. That said, BBRSP is a magical place that never ceases to amaze me, and we are very fortunate to be blessed with having access to it.
Cheers!
 
The ride looks great, but, remind to camp with you guys...sure know how to cook and eat!
 
The ride looks great, but, remind to camp with you guys...sure know how to cook and eat!
Thanks Mudclod! As teenagers we worked at our Dad's restaurant, my brother was in the kitchen, and I was a dish washer and bus-boy. You can guess how it played out in the campground. He cooked I washed.
Cheers!
 
Glad your enjoying it RG!

Water in the desert! This was cool. This short hike made me realize that there is tons of great stuff to see, if one is willing to hike rather than ride.
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Signs of spring!
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After a bit more fooling around we were ready for some IPA - this brand is really sharp and hoppy, quite tasty.
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:tab It think it was Steve that was speaking at the recent Terlingua ride and he mentioned that DS riders are currently the largest "user group" of the BBRSP. Part of the appeal is the rough condition of many of the roads. I would hate to see the park "smooth" them all out as the park gains in popularity... :doh:

:tab Those Fresno Canyon shots really make me want to go back NOW! :rider:
 
Howdy Tourmeister, a Jeep driver at the park noticed the smoothed out portions of some of the roads and talked to the Park Superintendent about it.
Apparently road grading will be kept to a minimum - just enough to be able get a park vehicle in to rescue someone, or some other emergency. I was glad to hear it!
Cheers.
 
:tab At Uncle's ride a few weeks back, Steve mentioned something about trying to get an all terrain EMT setup for the park. He didn't go into specifics of whether it would be a 4 X 4 jeep or maybe something like a serious ATV or Polaris Razor. That would allow them to keep the roads in rougher condition but still effect recovery of a person if needed.
 
Yep, the TPWD dude that was there mentioned three things they were working toward. 1- a rescue/extraction mechanism 2-an east entrance to the Ranch 3- detailed trail maps with colorized difficulty ratings.

They know what needs to be done BUT it's been a long hard struggle against internal politics and some misguided traditions. The situation will likely change for the better soon as some folks retire.

I thought it was way cool to send a TPWD guy out to visit with us and discuss/ask for ideas about the future of the facility. I mean, it makes sense, but we are talking about TPWD here. :shock:
 
Another thing that TPWD Steve mentioned, was to e-mail the TPWD Executive Director, Carter Smith, and express how much we enjoy being able to ride BBRSP and to please continue the good fight to keep it open. I've e-mailed him to say thanks, and to also suggest that they make some of the trails into loops, instead of out and back rides and also to please consider making some single track for the off-road bunch.
 
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Nice photos and review!:clap:

Where is that water fall - is that the Rio Grand?
 
Sandman, glad you enjoyed the report! The water was in the park, it was a short hike off the main park road. Cheers!
 
Thanks to all of you for continuing to give TPWD positive feedback about riding in BBRSP. Its very important to show the agency and its staff that we enjoy the park, can co-exist with other users, stay only on the roads, and ride responsibily! With the terrible budget situation for Texas parks, the more revenues we can bring in for them the better.

I think this great attitude and responsible approach will pay off in a big way, and may lead to other opportunities for dual sport riders in other locations, in the future.

Thanks!
 
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