Hi {{contact.first_name}},
October is the payoff month in the Hill Country. The heat is finally gone, the mornings turn cool and clear, and the country opens up for the best riding of the year. The cypress along the rivers starts to turn, the ranch roads run quiet, and a full day in the saddle feels good again from the first mile. This is the month Austin riders live for, so get out and use it before the short days close in.
Ride of the Month: The Twisted Sisters
A hundred miles of the best curves in Texas, and October is the day to ride them
Run west to Leakey and link the three Ranch Roads riders call the Twisted Sisters, 335, 336 and 337. It is roughly a hundred miles of tight switchbacks, blind crests, and long sweepers climbing in and out of the Frio and Sabinal canyons, the closest thing to a mountain road Texas has. In October the air is cool, the pavement grips, and the canyon country is as good as it gets. Base out of Leakey or Medina and take the whole loop.
Fuel up before you start, services are thin out there. Ride the blind crests like something is coming the other way, watch for gravel washed into the shaded corners, and give the free-range livestock and deer plenty of room. Stop at the Bent Rim Grill or the Ranch 337 lookout and let the bike cool before the run home.
Closer to town, the Devil's Backbone on RR 32 out of Wimberley rides beautifully in the fall light, and the Willow City Loop is even prettier now with the color coming in. Want a longer day? Point it to Enchanted Rock and the Llano country, or chase the cypress color along the rivers around Concan. All of it is at its best in October, before the first hard norther blows the leaves down.
Fall Riding Safety: Texas Edition
October is prime riding in Central Texas, and it brings its own set of hazards as the season turns.
- Deer season is on. The rut is ramping up hard across the Hill Country, and the ranch roads are thick with deer at dawn and dusk. Scan the shoulders and tree lines, cover your brakes, and never swerve blind across the center line.
- The northers bring wind and a temperature drop. A fall cold front can drop twenty degrees and kick up hard gusts in an hour. Check the forecast, dress in layers for a morning that starts cold and warms up, and expect crosswinds on the ridgelines and the lake bridges.
- Cool, damp mornings and shaded curves. The first cold mornings leave dew and the odd patch of fog in the low river bottoms, and the shaded canyon corners stay greasy longer. Give them easy throttle and long following distance until the sun burns it off.
- The days are getting short. Sunset creeps earlier all month and the low evening sun sits right in drivers' eyes on the ride home. Assume they cannot see you, keep your lane position where you always have an out, and get your light and reflective gear on early.
Know Your Texas Law
- Fault gets split, and there is a cutoff. Texas uses modified comparative fault. Your recovery drops by your share of the blame, and if you are found more than 51 percent at fault, you collect nothing. How the crash gets documented decides the number.
- The minimums are low, so lean on UM/UIM. Texas requires only 30/60/25 in liability, which does not go far after a serious motorcycle wreck. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is your real backstop when the driver who hit you carries the bare minimum or nothing at all.
- Helmet rules turn on age and coverage. Riders under 21 must wear a DOT helmet, no exceptions. If you are 21 or older, you can legally ride without one only if you completed an approved safety course or carry at least 10,000 dollars in medical coverage for crash injuries.
- You have two years. Texas gives you two years from the date of the crash to file an injury claim. Evidence and witnesses fade fast, so do not sit on it.
Ride Nation Austin
The local chapter is where Hill Country riders post weekend miles, call out fresh gravel and deer from the ranch roads to the Sisters, and share the shots worth putting your helmet on for. Post where you rode this month and tag us. It is your scene, run by riders who actually ride these roads.
Last Weeks for the $20,000 BikeWin Giveaway
You are on this list because you entered, which means you are already in the running for 20,000 dollars toward any motorcycle you want, drawn December 10. Got a buddy who would want a shot? The entry page is open and free.
Enter the giveaway
A driver turning left across your lane on I-35. Gravel on a Twisted Sisters corner out past Leakey. A distracted commuter who never saw you on MoPac. If you ever go down, you want a lawyer who rides these roads and knows how Texas fault rules get used against riders.