I'm an avid Rush fan and a couple weeks ago, they were touring their way through Texas. I had seen them on this tour already in 2007 (Red Rocks in Denver, and in Houston). They had modified the show a little bit and were going to go to some destinations they haven't been in many years as part of the tour extension. Some guys at work and I (in Houston) decided it would be really cool to go see them in Austin. My boss has a lake house on Lake Travis and we were going to make a road trip, boating, lake house party, concert trip out of it.
The day we were going to leave, my boss calls up and says that he needs to back out (work related). My good friend Kevin calls me as well and says that he needs to back out the same day because his kids were ill. Without a moment to spare, I call my brother Tom in Dallas and ask him if he wants to go in place of one of the other guys. He says sure and throws a tent into his car.
So my trip changed from a road trip with the guys at work into a nice motorcycle ride. I left on Wednesday morning and had packed my change of clothes, and a few miscellaneous items into my bags for the trip. Rush had previously played in Louisiana and Neil Peart (the drummer) rides his motorcycle (BMW GS1150 among other BMW's) from venue to venue, taking back roads along the way. I had hoped I might catch site of him on the way, but alas, no dice.
I headed up I-45, to I-10, passing by Sealy, then Columbus and turning northwest on Hwy 71. I got to La Grange and filled up on Hwy 77. Since I had plenty of time, I decided to take the back roads from there to Austin. I didn't have a GPS or a map, but knew this area fairly well (having a family farm just 10 miles north in Warda). I went up 77 for a few miles and then turned west and went along that for awhile. I believe it's the same route the MS-150 bicycles ride. Hilly, twisty and fun on the ST. Maybe a little daunting on a bicycle. I had been riding so quickly on the superslab that I came into a few turns a little too fast and needed to mellow the pace a bit. The roads were so empty that I saw maybe 4 cars the entire time I was back there.
Eventually I came to Buescher State Park. The previous week, my friend Kevin and I were contemplating camping and he saw that Bastrop State Park (that backs up to Buescher) was rated #2 in Texas as best places to camp. (We actually ended up camping in Goliad, but that's another story). I remembered looking online and seeing a road that went through Buescher into Bastrop and thought that might make for a fun ride and let me see both parks and decide if I want to come back and camp there another time.
Riding up to the Ranger booth at Buescher, there was no sign of life. A sign posted on the glass said, "Out to Lunch, back at 1 p.m." It was 12:04. Since I only wanted to ask permission to ride through (as some parks will often allow), I asked out loud if I could do so, and took the silence as an emphatic "yes".
Winding my way through the 1 lane road, it was quiet, and covered with large oaks that shaded everything. The camp sites looked nice, but since I had not talked to a ranger, I didn't want to hop off and explore any of the facilities, but it all looked nice. At the back end of the park I saw a ranger mending a fence. She had a small scooter, looked up and smiled a big wave and I rode on smiling and waving back. It was at this point I saw a sign pointing towards Bastrop State Park. I turned right and saw this sign. [steep grades]
Looking down the road, the trees changed from oaks to large pine trees. For this area of Texas it's a bit unusual and they are known as the "lost pines". The soil difference is what enables them to grow more easily than the grasslands around. The terrain also became progressively untamed. The Park Road 1C had been marked with spray paint to high light risky spots on the road (presumably for the afore mentioned MS-150) and that made it all the easier to look around while riding this very curvy steep road. Since I was in a Park, without a permit, and unfamiliar with where I was, I decided to not ride fast, especially being a 1 (maybe 1.5 wide lane road). Along the way I stopped and took a picture next to a creek. [picture below]
The road seemed longer than I expected, but when I finally reached Bastrop State Park (the back entrance), I didn't want it to end and the experience seemed too short. I even thought about doubling back and riding it back and forth again. But alas...I was just passing through and still needed to get around Bastrop. Entering the park, they had a sign "permit required to enter". Yet there was no way to obtain one. So I decided to ride forward and explain my plight if anybody was worried about it. I was now on Park Road 1A. It continued to wind around and drop down past a pond. The road "T-d" off and I turned right to climb up a hill and into some dense pine trees. The road twisted back around and looked up over the pond. There were some nice looking cabins back there that seemed to be spaced out well enough and with plenty of amenities (fire rings, picnic tables, etc...)
I turned back and rode down past the pond and headed towards the front of the park. At a cross road, I went straight across and ended up looping all the way around on 1A. I left the park and vowed to return some day.
At the exit there is a golf course. And just beyond that, an F4 parked outside the park. I hopped back onto Hwy 71 and rolled on in towards Austin. I was headed to McKinney Falls State Park.
(continued below)
The day we were going to leave, my boss calls up and says that he needs to back out (work related). My good friend Kevin calls me as well and says that he needs to back out the same day because his kids were ill. Without a moment to spare, I call my brother Tom in Dallas and ask him if he wants to go in place of one of the other guys. He says sure and throws a tent into his car.
So my trip changed from a road trip with the guys at work into a nice motorcycle ride. I left on Wednesday morning and had packed my change of clothes, and a few miscellaneous items into my bags for the trip. Rush had previously played in Louisiana and Neil Peart (the drummer) rides his motorcycle (BMW GS1150 among other BMW's) from venue to venue, taking back roads along the way. I had hoped I might catch site of him on the way, but alas, no dice.
I headed up I-45, to I-10, passing by Sealy, then Columbus and turning northwest on Hwy 71. I got to La Grange and filled up on Hwy 77. Since I had plenty of time, I decided to take the back roads from there to Austin. I didn't have a GPS or a map, but knew this area fairly well (having a family farm just 10 miles north in Warda). I went up 77 for a few miles and then turned west and went along that for awhile. I believe it's the same route the MS-150 bicycles ride. Hilly, twisty and fun on the ST. Maybe a little daunting on a bicycle. I had been riding so quickly on the superslab that I came into a few turns a little too fast and needed to mellow the pace a bit. The roads were so empty that I saw maybe 4 cars the entire time I was back there.
Eventually I came to Buescher State Park. The previous week, my friend Kevin and I were contemplating camping and he saw that Bastrop State Park (that backs up to Buescher) was rated #2 in Texas as best places to camp. (We actually ended up camping in Goliad, but that's another story). I remembered looking online and seeing a road that went through Buescher into Bastrop and thought that might make for a fun ride and let me see both parks and decide if I want to come back and camp there another time.
Riding up to the Ranger booth at Buescher, there was no sign of life. A sign posted on the glass said, "Out to Lunch, back at 1 p.m." It was 12:04. Since I only wanted to ask permission to ride through (as some parks will often allow), I asked out loud if I could do so, and took the silence as an emphatic "yes".
Winding my way through the 1 lane road, it was quiet, and covered with large oaks that shaded everything. The camp sites looked nice, but since I had not talked to a ranger, I didn't want to hop off and explore any of the facilities, but it all looked nice. At the back end of the park I saw a ranger mending a fence. She had a small scooter, looked up and smiled a big wave and I rode on smiling and waving back. It was at this point I saw a sign pointing towards Bastrop State Park. I turned right and saw this sign. [steep grades]
Looking down the road, the trees changed from oaks to large pine trees. For this area of Texas it's a bit unusual and they are known as the "lost pines". The soil difference is what enables them to grow more easily than the grasslands around. The terrain also became progressively untamed. The Park Road 1C had been marked with spray paint to high light risky spots on the road (presumably for the afore mentioned MS-150) and that made it all the easier to look around while riding this very curvy steep road. Since I was in a Park, without a permit, and unfamiliar with where I was, I decided to not ride fast, especially being a 1 (maybe 1.5 wide lane road). Along the way I stopped and took a picture next to a creek. [picture below]
The road seemed longer than I expected, but when I finally reached Bastrop State Park (the back entrance), I didn't want it to end and the experience seemed too short. I even thought about doubling back and riding it back and forth again. But alas...I was just passing through and still needed to get around Bastrop. Entering the park, they had a sign "permit required to enter". Yet there was no way to obtain one. So I decided to ride forward and explain my plight if anybody was worried about it. I was now on Park Road 1A. It continued to wind around and drop down past a pond. The road "T-d" off and I turned right to climb up a hill and into some dense pine trees. The road twisted back around and looked up over the pond. There were some nice looking cabins back there that seemed to be spaced out well enough and with plenty of amenities (fire rings, picnic tables, etc...)
I turned back and rode down past the pond and headed towards the front of the park. At a cross road, I went straight across and ended up looping all the way around on 1A. I left the park and vowed to return some day.
At the exit there is a golf course. And just beyond that, an F4 parked outside the park. I hopped back onto Hwy 71 and rolled on in towards Austin. I was headed to McKinney Falls State Park.
(continued below)
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