Where should we go?

Where do you go when you have a cruiser, beautiful Texas spring weather, and a free afternoon? Llano for BBQ at Coopers? (If you haven't been it is a carnivores delight! A little on the expensive side, but well worth the almost neanderthal experience. I actually forgot to use my fork. Look for details of our next visit coming soon.), Bastrop for the piney woods smell?, Luling to see the old mill?, there are so many options.

How about Wimberley? Since this was our first out of the city of Austin ride, it was a perfect distance, curvy, 2 lane road headed to "A Little Bit of Heaven" according to the Wimberley Chamber of Commerce.
Route:
Mopac-S to 290-W to R-12-S
Return via:
R-12-N to FM-3237- N to FM-150-N to 290-N to Mopac-N
(Those that are not from Texas or have not traveled in Texas: R= Ranch Road- usually a two lane road, but on occasion it will have 4; FM= Farm to Market Road- usually a two lane road, connects the small towns and is usually considered the backroad to somewhere)


View Larger Map

New Rider Tip: You want to stop and stretch those legs and backs out after about 30 minutes. There is a rest stop on the right after the 71-W and 290-W split.

Ranch Road 12 is one of my favorite roads. When I attended Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) in San Marcos we use to ride out to Wimberley. You could find a nice secluded spot to stop and neck if your roommate was commandeering your room that weekend. From Austin to Wimberley, the Ranch Road 12 winds and curves to the hills above and the creeks and rivers below. At this time of year, it is still green and sprinkled with pink, blue, and yellow wildflowers.

Just as you enter town on the left is the Wimberley Chamber of Commerce. We sauntered in, me with my fringed black leather jacket and black boots, looking like a one percenter wannabe to find a dignified Southern lady behind the volunteer desk dressed in a light blue-jean jumpsuit with a white mock-turtleneck shirt with a red, white, and blue scarf tied around her waist. When she addressed us, it was like molasses, a Southern drawl from way back. She hooked us up with a restaurant, Juan Henry's Restaurant, locally owned of course; a great, colorful map of the Hill Country, and a few pamphlets on the bed and breakfasts for our future visits. She was truly delightful!

Another reason to stop is the really cool- 3-D model of the Hill Country!

The short ride over to Juan Henry's was lovely, especially because we missed it the first time and ended up cruising down River Road. Here are some photos that I stole from the Internet. (We will have our own as soon as one of us purchases a nice digital camera or remembers his.)

We had enchiladas and tacos and discussed the route back. Originally we were just going to go back the way we came, but after looking at the Hill Country 3-D model at the Chamber of Commerce and the new map, we decided that FM 3237 looked like an interesting ride. It curved up through the hills and had a higher elevation than RR12, which we thought would give us a better vantage point.

Overall the ride back to the metropolis of Austin was a beautiful, quiet ride until “Jackass in a f$%^#*! Dodge Viper” roared by. We assume that the posted 55 mph that everyone else was cruising at did not pertain to him. There was no warning of his approach, but as we jerked to our left to see the rapid racing blue with white stripes Dodge zoom past, we felt the spray of pebbles as he cut back into our lane a close ½ car length ahead of us. “Asshole!”