Sunday

It's hot here in central Texas. Today's high was around 97 degrees. So I had to get my ride in early.

I loaded up and left the house mid morning, the temp was already 85. I hopped on the bike and rode to the gas station down the street, where I filled up and added some Tekron to the tank, trying to clean up the carbs so that I can get all 3 cylinders firing all the time, not part of the time as they are currently. When you are wound out over 5000 rpm on two cylinders and the third one kicks in it almost throws you off the back of the bike. Never rode a bike with nitrous, but I'm sure that's how it feels.

Anyway, for those following along at home, I headed south on Brodie Lane in Austin to FM 1626, my “get out of town with the least traffic” route. Once on FM 1626, I headed south, marveling at the new houses added in the last 5 years. Pretty soon, this will be as suburban as my neighborhood. I passed FM 967, where I often turn west, opting instead to take a longer route. There was a bicycle race going on on FM1626, and I passed many pedalers. It was too hot to exert that much energy. They had a flagger at the intersection of FM 1626 and 2770, but the race turned left and I turned right, and the flagger didn't even say hello back to me, much less flag traffic for me.

Once on FM2770, it's a short journey past the Hays County High School to FM 150. This is where FM 2770 ends, but the road continues as a county road. At one time, this road was the main route between Austin and San Antonio, and a historical marker points out that the outlaw Sam Bass robbed a stagecoach on the road. I will ride that way another day, though, for right now I will follow Horace Greeley's advice and “Go West, young man.” OK, I'm a coupla decades away from being a young man, but it fit.

FM 150 heads west, then turns north at the metropolis of Hay City, which consists of 1 gas station/convenience store at the junction of FM 150 and FM 3237. I stopped at the convenience store and topped off the internal fluids with some Gatorade, and spoke with a couple on metric cruisers. They were new to riding, but were really enjoying the hill country.

Fluids replenished, I decided to head down FM 3237 to Wimberly. As FM 3237 goes to the south side of Wimberly, I decided that I might as well head south on Ranch Road 12, then south to FM 32 and west on FM 32 to the stretch of road called “The Devil's Backbone.” The backbone is a road that runs for several miles across the top of a ridge, with the Blanco River valley to the north and the Guadalupe River valley to the south. In the old days, this was a narrow, dangerous road. Now it has been rebuilt so that there is a wide lane each direction with full, paved shoulders on each side. Instead of twisties, the curves are sweepers, where you can go at high speed. One of my favorites spots on earth, Was Riley's Tavern, is on the backbone but as it was before noon on Sunday they were not yet open, so I stopped at a roadside park for some water. I shared a shady parking spot with a couple on a Road King, and we discussed various roads in the area. I gave them some info on a few routes, then I headed back the way I came heading toward the house and the air conditioning.

FM 32 east to Ranch Road 12 north, through Wimberly, to Elder Hill Road. There was construction going on on 12, looks like they are adding shoulders, something that will make the twisty road safer, I'm sure. Elder Hill Road is a county road that runs from 12 to FM 150 at Driftwood. It is a typical county road as it follows cow paths and makes 90 degree turns around fields.

As I rode along, I had two guys on Harleys in front of me. One of them almost missed a corner, going downhill to a right hander that started at the shade line. He almost ran off the left side of the road. Good thing there were no cars coming the other way. In the last two years, the cattle guard that was at the entrance to the curve has been removed, making the turn easier than it was.

From there, I hit FM 150, north to FM1826, north east on FM1826 to route 45 to route 1. The corner from 45 to 1 is a 90 degree turn on 70 mph roads, it can surprise you if you aren't ready for it. I saw a car parked on the side of the road then saw a truck that had run off the road into the trees on the side. I turned around and went back, but the car that had stopped was leaving, so I guess the truck had run off the road earlier and the folks got a ride.

From there, I slipped home, where the temperature had risen to 95. The AC felt good.

In the afternoon, I went to a little beer joint/restaurant on Lake Austin, to hear some good music by Stacy Steger and Jimmy Lafave at the Pier. You really can't beat a place on the lake, where boats can come dock and the women wear bikinis.

I love this town.