Hey Gang,
I'm new to the area and look forward to meeting some other folks who might be interested in linking up from time to time for a weekend ride. I have a 9 month old and wife(who likes some time on her own during the weekend), so I'm up for the weekend morning greasy-spoon ride with a good long weekend camping trip on occasion.

Also-I'm looking for the best bike shops/dives that aren't the typical dealership scene. I've already found the Cycle Gear on Burnett and been to the BMW/Triumph shop, Ducati shop(disappointed there) and Woods Fun center. Oh, and watched a motogp race at Lovejoys downtown.

I'll look forward to meeting some of you guys/gals!

Best,
Chris

I'm interested...I love the austin area. Just not sure if I can overcome the butt pain from houston.

Houston isn't too bad. Maybe there is a worthy ride in the middle. I do recommend you consider a Corbin. The stock seat was the first thing to go on my Versys. It makes a HUGE difference. Check on this forum for a used one(where I bought mine) or Ebay.

Actually you just gave me a great idea. Well great in my head anyway.

I'm not getting a corbin but will send my seat out to be modified. Just need to secure another vehicle for the downtime which is where my idea comes into play.

There is a group that meets at the gas station on Bee Caves and 360.. mixed bikes..there are 4-5 Versys in the group. They break up into smaller groups and ride somewhere for breakfast at 7:30 on Saturday mornings...

Thanks- have you ever ridden with that group? What is their riding style?

Hey daviscr5,

Welcome to Austin! Hope you like it...don't know many that don't!

As far as bike shops go, I really like Q.Z. Cycles on Parmer. John, the owner is a great guy. I do most of the work on my bikes myself, but anything I don't have time to do myself (or just don't want to), I take them there. He's straightforward, honest, and has extremely fair pricing. I've recommended him to a few other riders in Austin and they've had nothing but good things to say about him as well. He's pretty easy to get in touch with and lives close to the shop and can meet you most anytime for drop-off/ pick-up. He seems to be able to work on anything and has a shop crammed full of bikes...half of which, he admitted to owning himself. ;) Check out the shop online for reviews.

Maybe I'll see ya around sometime on the streets of Austin!

Thanks- have you ever ridden with that group? What is their riding style?
Sorry... missed your post... I have ridden with the group and would say that it was a spirited ride....never had a problem with the Versys. Riding a Bandit 1250 now...

davis, cr5 - welcome.

I bought Hamie's Versys, so I'm still learning how to ride it. :)

I haven't ridden with that group yet. What Hamie describes as "spirited" might be outside my realm, so I've not joined them yet. But I'd be up for a leisurely run.

I've been considering a run out to the airport at Fredericksburg for a lunch at the diner there. I've flown in for lunch as a pilot before, but I've not been doing much flying lately. Figure it'd be a nice ride out there and back to AUS.

Drop me a line if you're interested.

I'd be up for a weekend ride when I get the chance -- which lately hasn't been nearly as much as I'd like but I'm hoping to change that soon.

The MSTA (www.sporttouring.us/) group has regular and special rides in the area. They usually meet up in San Marcus or Dripping Springs and ride around the Hill Country -- normally at a non-ludicrous pace.

I'll have to look into the 360/Bee Cave's group, too.

daviscr5, I live in Austin and ride my versys as often as I can on weekends (which lately has been a lot less than I'd like). I'd be interested in going on group rides.

In terms of shops, I go to Central Texas Powersports for all my needs. Great sales team, great service shop so far; they have pretty decent selection on helmets and gear as well.

I'm up for a ride. I'm home the next couple weekends.

I'm pretty sure I could make a Friday ride. Early half of the day or something. Looks like it's going to be 60F by 9AM (20% chance of rain), so probably pretty nice riding weather. Anyone interested?

As far as tempo, I'm a rookie (riding for 6 months), so not too spirited.

Let me put up some suggestions:

Time: 10AM - 2PM, break for lunch somewhere.

Route: I'm probably not the best one to come up with a suggestion here. I've kept quite close to the Lake Travis area +1h in every direction. How about a trip out to Fredricksburg?

I'm supposed to be working Friday but I don't think we're actually going to get anything done, so I may just piss off and go riding that morning.

I like the idea of a ride to F-burg, although I know it'd only take an hour to get out there on 71. A more roundabout path would be in order.

Anyone with some experience here recommend some routes?

How about something like this?

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&doflg=ptm&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=213323283894955816300.000498a3a5e719a3bd2b2&ll=30.165314,-98.313904&spn=0.814496,1.454315&z=10

Holy Lord... you guys are tempting me....

Be a long ride there & back for me, but I've done it before.... Damn. If I knew the weather was going to be a little friendlier....

Tempting.

I've got a work issue which reared its ugly head this morning, and I'm trying to deal with it today so that I don't have to deal with it tomorrow. The problem is that I might have to, tomorrow, which means being close to home.

I'll PM you some contact information and we'll see about it. If it's looking more rainy, might not be any fun.

Ok, shoot me a PM if you're interested. Weather looking ok for tomorrow so at the present moment I'm on for doing this ride.

Ok, shoot me a PM if you're interested. Weather looking ok for tomorrow so at the present moment I'm on for doing this ride.

Shot you one already, but I'll send you another with my contact info.

I should know in about 3-4 hours whether or not I can go.

-b

That's weird, I haven't received one yet. I'll send you my contact info as well.

Looks like a nice ride and weather improving in the afternoon. Wish I could tag along with you guys...Currently V-less though :( Suffering withdrawal at the moment, which is improved only slightly by the fact that I get to drive an F350 in the meantime.

Maybe I'll catch ya on the next one! Let us know how that route goes! I've done 290/71 to Luckenbach, but not the southern part that I remember...

This ended up being a solo ride. I took a slightly different route:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=213323283894955816300.000498a3a5e719a3bd2b2&ll=30.254322,-98.327637&spn=0.81376,1.454315&z=10

About 2 hours both ways. This was my first time being on a bike for this long, so I don't really have much to compare against, but I had a lot of fun. Parts of the route had nice slow twisties with good visibility (between Blanco and Fredericksburg); the roads were mostly good the whole trip. Had lunch at Mamacita's in Fredericksburg, was quite tasty.

I also saw another Versys (on county road 201, on my way back). First one I've seen other than my own.

This ended up being a solo ride. I took a slightly different route:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=213323283894955816300.000498a3a5e719a3bd2b2&ll=30.254322,-98.327637&spn=0.81376,1.454315&z=10

I also saw another Versys (on county road 201, on my way back). First one I've seen other than my own.

That was quite possibly me. I did manage to get out late this afternoon and took an abbreviated route as well - depending on when you were on your way back, it could have been me - I was on CO201 for part of it. Red Versys, white helmet?

Today was my first good long ride since I got the bike. Learned some things, which I'll post about in another thread here in a few...

Yep, red versys. I was on a black versys.