Overrated Austin Area Roads

1348 Views 35 Replies 30 Participants Last post by lil_biker, Mar 28, 2005

zrx24

Discussion Starter · Dec 31, 2003

A fellow Rexer is coming in from Shreveport this weekend and wants to me show him some of these Austin area roads he's heard so much about. This got me to thinking about which roads around here are REALLY worth showing off and which roads are overrated.

From a pure riding perspective (scenic attributes not considered) I would have to say that the Devil's Backbone (Hwy 32) is probably the most overrated road in the area. The "good" part is terribly short and to REALLY get some enjoyment out of it you have to be travelling at completely insane speeds for the street.

Park Road 4 is probably next on my overrated list. Nice scenic road with some great turns, but I've never felt comfortable at all riding that road at the speeds that would really make it shine - primarily due to fear of LEOs for some unknown reason. And like the Devil's Backbone, there's just not enough "good stuff" for the length of the trip out there.

What Austin area roads fall on your "overrated" list?

1 - 20 of 36 Posts

The Analog Kid

· #2 · Dec 31, 2003

2222- 4 lane, undivided, residential. Nice road but too much traffic with oncoming traffic always taking turns too wide for my comfort zone. High LEO presence.

pretzel

· #3 · Dec 31, 2003

Gee, I was just out on PR4 for the first time and thought it was my new favorite. Then again, I was there on Christmas day and saw almost no one

Overrated? I don't know if it's highly rated to begin with, but 1826 to Driftwood maybe (too much traffic)

Tyler Durden

· #4 · Dec 31, 2003

zrx24 said:
Park Road 4 is probably next on my overrated list. Nice scenic road with some great turns, but I've never felt comfortable at all riding that road at the speeds that would really make it shine.

I don't agree that PR4 is overrated, but I too feel uncomfortable on it for some reason. I find myself falling behind fellow riders on PR4 all the time, and these are guys I've ridden with elsewhere and had no problems keeping up. I don't know why, but I'm not real comfortable riding there at a fast pace, I always take my time on it. I still like riding it though, mostly because 1431 to Marble Falls is probably my favorite route near Austin so getting there and back is half the fun.

+1 on 2222

zrx24

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 31, 2003

AustinVFR said:
2222- 4 lane, undivided, residential. Nice road but too much traffic with oncoming traffic always taking turns too wide for my comfort zone. High LEO presence.

2222 has been off my rating list for years.

Now back in the mid/late 80's it was Number 1 on my list when it was a two lane all the way out to 620. It absolutely rocked back then! :thumb

savoy6

· #6 · Jan 1, 2004

lime creek road is pretty good. 1431 past lago vista towards marble falls is pretty good. rr12 to wimberley is good. 1174 off of 1431 is a pretty good one. park road 4 along with what is it fm 976 or 972 that is out there also.

Gixxer Vixxen

· #7 · Jan 1, 2004

imho lime creek is the most overrated. so many deaths, injuries, and just general catastrophies have happened on that road. it's ok to ride i guess, but i'm always so damn paranoid i end up slow as shit and nervous as hell. just not worth it.

azoomm

· #8 · Jan 1, 2004

Gixxer Vixxen said:
imho lime creek is the most overrated. so many deaths, injuries, and just general catastrophies have happened on that road. it's ok to ride i guess, but i'm always so damn paranoid i end up slow as shit and nervous as hell. just not worth it.

+1

mnellis

· #9 · Jan 1, 2004

Gixxer Vixxen said:
imho lime creek is the most overrated. so many deaths, injuries, and just general catastrophies have happened on that road. it's ok to ride i guess, but i'm always so damn paranoid i end up slow as shit and nervous as hell. just not worth it.

I gotta disagree with you on this one. My opinion is that Lime Creek is one of the best roads in the area. It's smooth, very tight and a great variety of both on-camber and off-camber turns.

Lime Creek is no different than any other great road that is remote. There are some hazards that pop up. Dirt on some of the insides of a few turns can be a problem if the turns are not treated with a little respect. (i.e. if it's blind turn and you go barreling along without knowing what's behind the curtin then you might get bit).

The worse crash I've ever had was on a road in southern Virginia. It put me in the hospital and unable to use the right side of my body for a month. It wasn't the roads fault, in fact, it's a great road and I'd go back and ride it again in a heartbeat but I'd probably ride it through first.

Lime creek is a technical road that is tight. People crash on it like they crash on any other road. It's more complex to ride fast than other roads. You have to ride it in lower gears at slower speeds. You have to break harder and many people accelerate harder and highside. Not the roads fault. Lime Creek has more giggles per mile than almost anything else I've come across in the Austin/San Antonio area.

If it wasn't for the police activity out there I'd ride it much more often

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banzai125

· #10 · Jan 1, 2004

Lime creek Rd is where i learn how to ride............

Chris S

· #11 · Jan 1, 2004

I'm w/ Mike...I loved LCR when I rode on the street. Sure, there are gravel spots, but they're at the same locations every time, so you learn where to be especially careful. Too bad about all the residential growth and increased police presence there, though...it's def. not as safe to speed there anymore.

My vote for most overrated roads would have to be 2222 and Devil's Backbone (32?).

JeffSnAusTX

· #12 · Jan 1, 2004

I met a guy Tuesday by the name of Brian Kincaid, an Austin sportriding original... He talked about 2222 being 2 lanes, the 2 homes on LCR, "Thurma Bend", Vanderpool runs, and many other roads in the area (10 years ago, before he moved to Southern CA). He's one of the SoCalRPM riders - very very talented.

Back in IL we'd do long weekend trips to Deal's Gap. I did nearly a dozen on my VFR in 2 years. There was nothing in IL except a few tracks a couple hundred miles away.

When I visited here, I thought the roads were :eek and :thumb I still think they're fun and scenic, but the population boom over the past several years (long before I arrived) has changed things from what Brian described. Back to one streetbike for me... and hopefully I'll keep a steady job to afford a track-only bike and track days.

RDeazy

· #13 · Jan 2, 2004

banzai125 said:
Lime creek Rd is where i learn how to ride............

And it's where I'm learning right now, you just have to scope it out in both directions a couple times, but it's sweet, so sweet......

archren

· #14 · Jan 2, 2004

Chris S said:
I'm w/ Mike...I loved LCR when I rode on the street. Sure, there are gravel spots, but they're at the same locations every time, so you learn where to be especially careful. Too bad about all the residential growth and increased police presence there, though...it's def. not as safe to speed there anymore.

+1

Gravel, cops, and the latest threat (since I've been out there)... large, mean black dogs. wtf I nearly hit that fucker riding a friend's SuperHawk a while back. That was scary. :shake

Gixxer Vixxen

· #15 · Jan 2, 2004

i can't count the number of times i've seen a car cross over into oncoming traffic b/c they can't manage the turns.

i'm not saying the road itself has commited evil. all i'm saying is that the road has conditions on it that make it an unsafe ride (as many of you have pointed out yourselves). that's what leads to it being overrated. it's not this joyous, no-worries road for whatever reason.

SquidwardKX

· #16 · Jan 2, 2004

Chris S said:
I'm w/ Mike...I loved LCR when I rode on the street. Sure, there are gravel spots, but they're at the same locations every time, so you learn where to be especially careful. Too bad about all the residential growth and increased police presence there, though...it's def. not as safe to speed there anymore.

My vote for most overrated roads would have to be 2222 and Devil's Backbone (32?).

+1 but then again...I've only ridden "the backbone":rolleyes once and only been on LCR twice (once in minivan and once on a bike) I liked 16(?) pretty well though

yosmithy

· #17 · Jan 2, 2004

archren said:
+1

Gravel, cops, and the latest threat (since I've been out there)... large, mean black dogs. wtf I nearly hit that fucker riding a friend's SuperHawk a while back. That was scary. :shake

HHHAHA, that dog has his sights set on twins, 90 degree's for sure!!!

I Have been here since July, 2 years ago, and that damn dog has chased my SuperHawk almost every run. At this point I have just figured him into the riding equation.

"Hard right, black dog, pin it"

Neil,

Tyler Durden

· #18 · Jan 2, 2004

yosmithy said:
HHHAHA, that dog has his sights set on twins, 90 degree's for sure!!!

I guess so, because I keep hearing about the dog but have never seen him once. I guess he likes inline 4's.

Reyndogg

· #19 · Jan 2, 2004

That dog is an equal opportunity twin hater... 90 degree and 60 degree :laughing

he didnt have any love for my mille when i still had it at all :eek

RoundRockR6

· #20 · Jan 2, 2004

Re: Re: Overrated Austin Area Roads

Tyler Durden said:
I don't agree that PR4 is overrated, but I too feel uncomfortable on it for some reason. I find myself falling behind fellow riders on PR4 all the time, and these are guys I've ridden with elsewhere and had no problems keeping up. I don't know why, but I'm not real comfortable riding there at a fast pace, I always take my time on it. I still like riding it though, mostly because 1431 to Marble Falls is probably my favorite route near Austin so getting there and back is half the fun.

+1 on 2222

Those decreasing radius turns sneak up on you.

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