WatermanAtWork Blog

Another brutal winter day here in Central Texas; 75º and sunny, so why not grab the bike and hit the trails? Today was another trip to Reveille Peak Ranch outside of Burnet, Texas. We’d been there before and had a good time, it’s a good place to ride.
It was a nice morning, perfect for riding. Rode out from the pavilion and went through the gate to the Race Loop/RPR trailhead

Started out on Reveille Peak Ranch(RPR) Trail and headed up to Decision Point on the Decision Point Trail

On the way, I stopped to play around a bit on one of the many rock sections

There a lot of trail options here; doubletrack, flowing singletrack, technical rock riding and extremely demanding and advanced technical singletrack trail riding

One thing for sure about this place; when the trail is marked “Very Difficult”, they mean it. There are many technical sections that will max out your bike and your riding abilities. Many of the trails start out looking pretty easy, like this section of the Race Loop Trail

Before you know it, the trail turns into gnarly rock gardens and rock sections

It’s easy to lose control on the twisty, narrow, rocky sections of singletrack. You think you can make it, the next thing you know, you are lying in a pile of rocks. Falling on rocks does not feel that great, no need to ask how I know that. Just take it easy on those “Very Difficult” trails and you’ll be fine.

I’ve got a bunch of video from riding at Reveille Peak Ranch and Walnut Creek, I’ll try to get it edited and on the WatermanAtWork.com website, along with more photos, as soon as possible.

Been a bit of a slowdown in blog entries lately; the holidays, bad weather and things like work taking a chunk out of the fun and games. We’ll try and get things rolling again in the new year.
Here in central Texas hill country, there are a lot of open spaces, but most of it is private property, mainly large ranches. There are ranches that still raise cattle, ranches that offer “canned” hunting and most recently, ranches that offer prime trail riding to off road cyclists. Recently, I had the chance to check out Reveille Peak Ranch outside of Burnet, Texas; a little less than an hour from Austin. Being used to the wide open mountains and forests of the Pacific Northwest, I didn’t know quite what to expect.
First thing; it was 70° and sunny the last week in December, not bad conditions for a day of bike riding. It costs $10 a day to ride at RPR, but along with the great riding, there is a fishing lake, a swimming lake, restrooms with showers and a pavilion where you can kick back and have a bite to eat and relax, so it’s worth it. Also, plenty of parking and a friendly staff to get you out on the trails.

There are 65 miles of trails on the ranch; singletrack and doubletrack/dirt roads, so there is something there for riders of every skill level. There is also a pump track and Super D course. I rode a bit of the Super D; it is a very challenging and technical course, better bring your “A” game for this trail. The trails range from decomposed granite singletrack to technical rock riding. Not exactly Utah slickrock, but plenty challenging none the less.

The trails on the lower section of the ranch are decomposed granite, which may be the best kind of trail material there is. Quick to dry out after rain, not too slippery, not too dusty when it’s dry. Stay on the trail and don’t test the puncture resistance of your tires on the cactus though.

Most of the ranch is open prairie type terrain, but there are plenty of wooded areas.

There aren’t any mountains here, but there is a few hundred feet of elevation gain. The lower trails are decomposed granite, the higher you go, the granite is not decomposed, it’s just plain granite.

There are large chunks of rock offering all kinds of technical riding opportunities.

Riding the rocks is a different challenge from riding on trails. The rocks here are grippy, not as smooth as desert slickrock and a good place to challenge your bike handling skills and test your bike’s suspension.

The upper trails are challenging and super fun. If you can clear all the sections here, you’re a pretty good rider. Great place to challenge yourself.

At the top of Inspiration Point, you get a good look out over Lake Buchanan and central Texas hill country.

After that, it’s downhill via the super challenging Super D trail or one of the easier downhill runs back to the pavilion. Maybe a quick lunch and back out on the trails.
Definitely will be coming back here.

The weather here in Central Texas has gotten a little cooler, making it just about perfect for bike riding. Once again, we hit the county roads outside of Leander, Texas for a ride through what’s left of Texas ranch country.
Not a lot of traffic on these county roads, most of the traffic is on the main highways(the ones with numbers), making it pretty nice for riding. Overall, the terrain would be described as “flat”, but there are some hills.

One thing about Texas; there is a lot of road kill. On this ride, I saw two dead deer, including a three point buck, two raccoons, a skunk, somebody’s pet dog(let your dog “run free” dimwit) and at least four dead armadillos. Problem is, even on these small backcountry roads, the speed limit is, like, 60 MPH. When the road is only twenty feet wide, there’s not a whole lot of room for animals to evade a full sized pickup doing sixty.
Today was overcast and cool, somewhat unusual for this part of the country recently and there were always thunderstorms off in the distance. Pick a route that takes you out of the storm’s path and you’re fine. It was also very windy. A 20 MPH headwind on these exposed, open roads is not much fun and a crosswind will send your bike flying off the road or towards the center line; keeps you on your toes.

Headed out from Leander, north on Round Mountain Road, then west on Farm to Market Road 1869, then north again on County Road 288/322 over to Farm to Market Road 1174 into swinging Bertram, Texas.

Hung a right on Route 29 for a ten mile ride along a 55 MPH highway with narrow shoulders to Liberty Hill. This was not the best part of the ride, but after riding on 29 between Bertram and Liberty Hill, you really appreciate the county roads with hardly any traffic. Once in Liberty Hill, it’s back on County Road 279 and headed back to Leander.

Today was a beautiful late fall day, perfect for riding the Central Texas hill country roads. It was sunny, but cool; about 60°F, not much wind. Rode out of Leander, TX, up Round Mountain and into the city of Liberty Hill.

Liberty Hill is a small town north of Austin, it really has that “old west” feel to it.

On the road through Liberty Hill, you pass Veterans Park, a small park dedicated to the citizens of Liberty Hill who gave their lives in service of the country. With tomorrow being Veterans Day, seemed right to stop, look around and reflect on what it all means. I was struck by how many names were on the memorial for such a small town, including a number of them that had the same last name.

If you get a chance on November 11, thank a veteran for their service. It doesn’t matter what you think about the wars our governments get us into, it’s always young men and women who bear the brunt of those decisions. Nobody wants peace more than a soldier.

I probably have said this before, but I’ll say it again; one of the best ways to see the world is from the seat of a bicycle. You are moving at a speed that is faster than walking or riding a horse, but it’s slow enough that you can see what is on the side of the road you’re riding on. Also, since you are not in an enclosed vehicle, you can feel and smell the environment around you.
So, I’m here in Texas and I am quickly finding out that it doesn’t take long to leave the traffic behind. There are a lot of county roads through ranch country, they go all over the place.

Every place is different; things are a little greener where it rains all the time, a bit browner where the sun is shining, but the sky is clear and blue

After living on top of a 2000′ mountain in the Washington Cascades, I’ve been kind of laughing at what they call “mountains” around here. I may have laughed a little prematurely; this is Shady Mountain, there’s no shade and it is a pretty stiff climb with my 11-25 “flat country” gearing

Here is another little hill. It is a 50mph downhill blast

At least you can go for a swim after a hot ride in Hill Country. Oh, well, never mind. I didn’t bring my speedo anyway

Tomorrow’s another day…..