Riding season is not quite over & I am already thinking of next year's big trip. My bike calls Calgary Canada home and is ready to go on it's first big trip and start putting some major miles on her. This summer I broke my Lo in on a 6 hour ride to Sturgis North (Salmon Arm B.C.). Next year I would like to go all out.

I always dreamt of hopping around Southern states and taste the culture. Which brings to ask, what biker ralleys in Texas are worth checking out? I prefer small scale events of nothing more than 10k riders. Where there is a lot of fun and action in one spot....and not just folks sipping beers and admiring bikes. Good rides & vibes.

Next year I will make it a 2 week trip. Where from Calgary to somewhere like Texas would be about a 30 hour straight ride..ride hard for the first couple days and then take my time once I am close. The biker rally would be my focal point for a few days before I head back.

Any advice or experiences on the Texas rallies would be appreciated. I know you folks have a few of them.

Cheers

 

Not exactly a smaller rally, but the ROT Rally is in Austin in the beginning of June. Austin is a good hopping off point to anywhere in the hill country. ROT is lots of fun. There is also a rally in Bandera, TX. I'm not familiar with that one but I think it might be smaller than the ROT. Bandera is also located in a part of TX that has some good riding. There's also the Rally in the Pines in Longview, TX. Just some suggestions.

 

Thanx bud...will google them.

How many at Rot btw?

 

I've heard like 40-50k bikes in the past years that I have been. A google search turned up numbers anywhere from 40K all the way up to 200K. Kind of a wide margin.

 

The Boo Run in Jefferson, TX is a nice smaller rally with some nice country rides in the area.


Hobe

 

White Buffalo bikefest in Snyder,Texas at the first part
of October each year. This years dates are Oct.6,7,8 and
it is the 6th year of it this time, smaller for sure with under
10k, but does seem to be gaining popularity. Foghat last
year and .38 Special this year for Sat.night concert. Wide
open West Texas riding on that one for sure.

 

It's been years, so I'm not sure what it's like right now. But Hwy 83 runs from Canada (near Regina) all the way to Mexico. It skirts the Black Hills to the East and is a pretty straight shot from Minot, ND to at least Wichita, Kansas. You can make a lot of time on that road. Back then, it was a two laner for most of the trip but really good shape. I kept the car pegged at around 110 mph most of the way and never saw a LEO until I hit Wichita.

Don't know if that's a route you'd want to take, but thought I'd throw it out there since you're wanting to make some time.

 

Like said ROT and the first weekend of November is the Lonestar rally in galveston. This is big too though.

check out http://www.lets-ride.com/event/texas.htm
There's lots of listings there.

 

One thing about Bandera and even some Austin, is the Texas hill country. I want to ride out that way more, but I'm in Dallas and have to plan a (long) weekend for a ride like that. Won't see much from the Interstate (I35).

 

You're coming a long way and Texas is a big state. Not sure of your ride plan, but if you come in from the Panhandle, try to stay to the east of Amarillo for a more scenic trip. Go to Google maps, select the terrain option and look for something other than "flat"....Hwy 70, 208, and even hwy 207 are much more interesting than I-27/hwy87...