Travelling to Texas
 

Hi everyone!

I’m travelling to Texas in November from the UK for a wedding and want to make the most out of the trip. I would like recommendations on:
1. A place to hire a motorbike?
2. Roads to ride!

I haven’t booked my flight ticket yet but it looks likely that I will either fly into Houston or Austin.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

Here are a few pre-recommendations:

You don't need to say which airport you'll arrive at (Houston and Austin are only a couple of hours apart, which is a blink of an eye in Texan terms), but it'll help with specific suggestions.

You do need to say here what you said in your other query--that you're looking for a Harley or Triumph, if that's truly important.

You definitely need to say how long a time you want to spend riding in the US, since suggestions will be very different for a five day trip vs. a monthlong journey.

It'll really be helpful if you state what sort of riding you want to do. Your interest in Harley Davidsons suggests big, open-road journeys of the sort which bore me to tears, so if that's the case I'm going to leave suggestions to others, but without some clarity from you I'm just guessing wildly.

And you need to say what you like to actually do and see: cities, countryside, mainstream or alternative culture, mountains, deserts, music, arts, festivals, beer joints and roadhouses, trashy roadside attractions, camping or hotels, etc. etc. etc.

Any clarification by you will increase the chances that responses will be useful, in addition to making it more appealing to go to the trouble of responding. Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Thanks Mark,

Yep I want an easy holiday - last year I spent riding around Africa so this year I want a Triumph or something like that to ride around in and enjoy some tarmac. Sorry if that bores you.

It’s only for a week/10 days but absolutely would like to to travel out of the cities - countryside/mountains. I have a farm in the UK so to see some ranches etc is exactly what I would. The wedding is in Kerrville so heading in that direction to start with.

Just any suggestions or recommendations at all I am interested in hearing from people

Thank you in advance

Hello,

I live in Texas. Kerrville is a good place to start your ride from. Near there is a famous motorcycle route called the Twisted Sisters or Three Sisters. You will want to ride that for sure. After that I would head to Big Bend National Park. Really beautiful riding out there in the Park and the areas around there. No traffic at all. Don't know your experience with riding in Texas but assuming you don't have any I would tell you the state really is as huge as advertised. Make sure you google the distance to see how long it will take to get places. Outside of the cities you will be able to make good time as the roads are pretty good and people drive pretty fast. Expect 80 miles per hour on the interstate and 65 or more on secondary roads. If you don't want to go to Big Bend the next choice would be the Texas Hill Country in the Austin area. For a motorcycle I would suggest using Eagle Rider to rent a Harley Davidson. Although I ride a BMW GS I rented a Harley Street Glide a couple years ago for a week ride thru British Columbia and it was awesome. Really impressed that the bike handled way better than expected and was near perfect for touring around and site seeing. I would just call the Local Harley Dealer where you fly into for the bike rental. Austin preferably. If you are going to have a passenger I would skip the Street Glide and go for the Electra. Just google Big Bend and Twisted Sisters for information. You could possibly go straight to Big Bend then loop back thru Hill Country and Twisted Sisters. That would be great if you have the time. Butler motorcycle Maps sells a good map showing the best roads in the hill country for motorcycling. Not a lot of roads in Big Bend area so a specific map is not needed. You will find most people in Texas to be pretty friendly. It is cowboy country the more west you go. They tend to be more tight lipped but if you initiate the conversation they are generally great. Make sure you have your passport and don't carry anything illegal as you may go thru a Border Patrol check point.

I live in Texas hill country west of San Antonio. The hill country is a perfect place to ride. I'd stay away from Houston ( traffic sucks). I seem to recall you could rent bikes in Kerrvill. It's been quite a while since I've seen those adds though. Austin or San Antonio maybe. Central Texas has the best roads (hill country). Big Bend in western Texas is good too. I ride a sport tourer and a duel sport with some free time occasionally if you want to try to meet up. Welcome to Texas.


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