Often times I feel like living in Texas, especially smack in the middle like I do, is really the wrong place. It's because Texas is just so danged big, you have to go a long way just to see anything else, even if it's just something else in Texas.
In November my wife and I went on a long trip up to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Driving home, day 1 took us from Montana through Wyoming complete and nearly to the New Mexico border of Colorado. Then day two was an hour in New Mexico and eleven more hours just in Texas, and we didn't go all the way across!
Every time I see a ride posted here on TWT and I want to join, it's always at least an hour or more of riding from my house just to get to the starting point. Then I have maybe a 2-4 hour ride, followed by another hour to get home. It's just too much! I have interesting roads to ride right out of my back door, but lots of the more interesting roads in Texas are many hours from here. I'd love to go ride on them, but I really don't want to ride to them.
During our trip to Yellowstone we took some killer back roads through Colorado along the western side of the Rockies. I instantly wanted to be there with my bike. I thought about planning a trip with my dad and some friends to go ride this route. Maybe stay up near Wyoming overnight, ride back another route the next day. But to do that, we'd literally have to trailer the bikes and charge hard for a 13+ hour drive to and from the start/end point. Because Texas.
I'm in Cedar Park, my house just less than a mile from the Austin city limit on the NW side. I'm not really looking for twisty roads to ride fast. I'm mostly looking for beautiful roads to experience. So far, I have done 1430 to and from Marble Falls, including taking side trips off down Trails End, through Lago Vista all the way wherever the roads lead. I run out and loop around Volente Rd and Lime Creek Rd so often, I have worn a path. We often ride out 183 to Briggs, turn up 243 back towards Bertram, hook up with 1174 and take it back to 1431, which is a great ride. Sometimes we cut the corner and do Cow Creek Rd or even do Cow Creek to 1174 and back to 1431, the Smithwick Lollipop. For longer rides I love going out to Lake Buchanan all the way to the Canyon of the Eagles park, then backtrack over to Park Rd. 4 back to 281, to Marble Falls and back on 1431. That's like a 5 hour route. Going East, looping around Granger Lake is fun but that's a lot of suburban highway to get to 30 minutes of nice roads. I have considered running Park Rd. 1 through Buescher and Bastrop State Parks but that's over an hour to get to either end from here, and that's an hour by the fastest route, 70-80mph flat slab highways.
What am I missing here?