[nakedjig]

I'm from Seattle and have never been to Texas except to change planes in DFW. I'm considering moving to Austin in the next couple of years, but a huge contingency on where I move will be what the riding is like. Given that Austin is in the hill country, I assume it's pretty good. I just wanted to get some opinions from the locals on what it's like down there, in terms of twistiness, police presence and weather. How often is it so hot you don't want to ride? Keep in mind that I'm from a place where 80 degrees is pretty damn warm.

Judging the from the activity in the Texas forum, it looks like there's at least a few of you on bikes down there

I'll be moving mostly so I can stretch my dollar a little farther. It's really expensive to live in the Seattle area. I'm in the high-tech industry (Microsoft, specifically) and Austin is one of the few places in the country that seems to have a good high-tech job market. House prices look pretty decent and I expect that I wouldn't take much of a pay cut if I moved. If anyone's in a similar job, I'd appreciate hearing your opinions on the local economy and job market.

Also, how's the highway/freeway traffic? It's absolutely miserable up here, so I'm sure anything's an improvement. Specifically, what's the commute from Travis or Round Rock to Austin like?

How's the pavement out in the hills? I doubt you have the mudslide and snow problems we do, but you have heat-induced cracking, right?

 

[Morfeus077]

It sux, flat and all the roads are straight... the blacktop is also full of pot-holes EVERYWHERE!

 

[The Analog Kid]

Morfeus077 said:
It sux, flat and all the roads are straight... the blacktop is also full of pot-holes EVERYWHERE!

and you wonder why nobody likes you....

 

[Fah_Keenay]

Austin Riding

I lived in Seattle about ten years ago. I wasn't t riding then, but did some cruising in the country. Hard to beat the geography out there. We have good riding in the hill country with many choices for routes and destinations. Obviously less elevation changes, but some. Some twisty roads with better visibility due to smaller vegetation. You'd have to get used to the roads being dry. For my taste the roads are quite good. Rural roads frequently smoother than those in the city. No logging trucks to rut them . In my opinion sportbikes get profiled somewhat by the coppers. Have to use common sense on the straights.

Good track day availability with two tracks within 3 hours. Traffic is a concern but less so than in Seattle unless you have to use I-35 alot (our I-5 equivalent). More ways around it than you have in Seattle.

Very active riding community. World famous Texas hospitality.

Come on down!

 

[nakedjig]

Thanks. I was really hoping I might hear from someone who could compare the two locations.