Months before the Great North American Eclipse of 2024, which would follow a 124-mile-wide “path of totality” from Texas to Maine on April 8, my friend Eric Birns found the perfect place to experience several minutes of darkness within the path: Ingram, Texas, the closest location to our home in Ventura, California.
Not only would Ingram be in the path of totality, it’s also located in the heart of Texas Hill Country. Riding the renown Twisted Sisters – Ranch-to-Market Roads 335, 336, and 337 – has been on my moto bucket list for years, so we hatched a plan.
Scan QR code above or click here to view the route on REVER
First, we’d borrow a couple of Grand American Touring bikes from Harley-Davidson. Second, we’d load them up and spend two long days riding 1,400 miles from Ventura to San Antonio (hotels within the path of totality were expensive and booked far in advance). Third, we’d position ourselves in Ingram on the morning of Monday, April 8, allowing us plenty of time to settle in before the eclipse was predicted to begin at 12:14 p.m. (totality would start around 1:34 and last 4 minutes, 27 seconds). And fourth, after the eclipse, we’d spend the rest of the week enjoying some scenic riding (“The Great Wide Open,” our report about riding through the Big Bend area of Texas, was published in the March issue).
Getting There | Texas Hill Country Motorcycle Ride
If you must log back-to-back 700-mile days on major highways, Harley’s Road Glide and Street Glide are good choices. They are comfortable, offer good wind protection, deliver generous torque from their throbbing V-Twins, hold plenty of gear (boosted with optional Tour Paks), and have top-notch infotainment systems.
Many motorcyclists hate interstates, but they can’t be beat for efficiency. We spent most of the first day crossing the deserts of California and Arizona on Interstate 10. For a little variety, east of Phoenix we hopped on U.S. Route 60, winding our way through Devil’s Canyon in the Superstition Mountains and passing through the mining towns of Superior and Globe.
We crossed into New Mexico at sunset and crashed hard in a cheap motel in Lordsburg. After waking up dark and early to find frost on our seats, we put on our warmest layers and wind-blocking rainsuits to fight the 10-degree wind chill as we continued east on I-10. We were cold and numb when the sun finally began to rise above the horizon in front of us, blindingly bright but not yet warm. After two hours of freezing our tails off, we thawed out in a Cracker Barrel while filling our bellies with hot coffee and a gravy-slathered breakfast.
The rest of the day was an uneventful “eastbound and down” cruise to San Antonio, where we checked into a Motel 6 and walked to the nearest bar for a celebratory beer.
Elusive Eclipse | Texas Hill Country Motorcycle Ride
On Monday morning, we rode an hour north on I-10, passing several brightly lit DOT signs that warned “NO STOPPING ON HIGHWAY TO VIEW ECLIPSE.” Soon after exiting at Kerrville, we started seeing homemade signs posted in yards and driveways offering parking spaces for $20 and up. We followed Main Street through town to neighboring Ingram. There was an eclipse festival near the high school, but parking cost $60.
We pulled into a small shopping plaza called The Dam Center, so named because it’s across the street from Ingram Dam, a low, wide concrete barrier on the Guadalupe River. We paid $10 each to park, which gave us access to a bathroom at Domino’s Pizza and food at the Que-Zeen BBQ trailer. Alas, the PowerHour Church and Dam Tattoo were closed, so redemption and indelible souvenirs would have to wait.
As the eclipse approached, the parking lot filled and a crowd gathered atop Ingram Dam. There was a party atmosphere, with families grilling, kids playing, and teenagers riding innertubes down the dam’s short spillway.
Cloudy conditions meant that we got only peekaboo views of the sun using disposable eclipse glasses like what you wear for a 3D movie. As the partial eclipse progressed, the sky grew progressively darker, as if a storm was brewing.
When the eclipse became total – when the moon blocked out the sun’s direct light and only its corona was visible around the moon’s perimeter – it was as if the Spirit in the Sky immediately turned down a dimmer switch. It wasn’t totally dark, more like a spooky twilight, but dark enough for streetlights to come on.
The clouds robbed us of an unobstructed view of the eclipse, but it was a surreal experience nonetheless. Birds stopped chirping, and the sky took on a strange appearance, what one website described as a “360-degree sunset.”
All too quickly, the totality ended, like someone flipping on the lights at a party. Everyone was bummed it was over, and after the long lead up, the comedown was hard and fast. As folks packed up and headed home, we geared up and hit the road.
Twisted Sisters | Texas Hill Country Motorcycle Ride
We rode west on State Route 39, a rolling ride among shade trees alongside the Guadalupe River and then its South Fork. The farther we rode, the more rural the area became, family homes giving way to sprawling ranches. After 25 miles, we turned south on Ranch-to-Market (RM) 187, a gently curving road that goes past the Lost Maples State Natural Area, which offers camping, hiking, and fishing.
At the Lost Maples Country Store in Vanderpool, we turned west on RM 337, our introduction to one of the famous Twisted Sisters. RM 337, which stretches across Bandera and Real counties, is the longest of the three sisters at 56 miles, from Medina in the east to Camp Wood in the west.
The Hill Country gets its name from lumpy terrain made of limestone and granite. Much of the topography includes exposed rock, narrow clefts, and features such as springs, caves, and sinkholes where water has eroded soluble rock. Most of the land is privately owned, and it is the Ranch-to-Market roads carved into the craggy landscape that make the area such a popular destination for motorcyclists.
Riding west on RM 337, Eric and I rumbled up and over a ridgeline and wound through several tight, narrow canyons, crossing into Real County, known as the “Swiss Alps of Texas.” With unforgiving rock walls on one side and guard rails on the other, riders need to be on top of their game.
See all of Rider‘s Texas touring stories here.
We soon descended into the Frio River valley, where the land flattens out. We pulled into Leakey, a small town of 315 residents that’s the county seat. Motorcyclists are welcomed with open arms in Leakey, which has gas, food, and lodging. Just west of town on RM 337 is the Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop and Bent Rim Grill, a gathering place that claims to be the “Official Headquarters for the Three Twisted Sisters” and sells a wide variety of Twisted Sisters merchandise.
We topped off our tanks in Leakey and rode north on U.S. Route 83 a short way before veering left on RM 336. Just past a self-storage place is The Hog Pen on 336 BBQ, another motorcycle-friendly spot. We continued north along the West Frio River, and soon the road ascended and followed several narrow ridgelines. Looking at a topographical map of this area (or more likely, Terrain view on Google Maps), the land has a wrinkled appearance, like the folds and contours of the human brain. Weaving into and out of those crevasses and crannies is RM 336, making it ideal for motorcyclists who love curves.
After about 12 miles, RM 336 flattens out on a broad plateau and the curves open up, giving riders a reprieve. A few miles later, the road ends at State Route 41. We turned west and cruised for 14 mostly straight miles to the northern terminus of RM 335, the third Twisted Sister.
See all of Rider‘s South touring stories.
We were ready for more curves, and soon enough we dropped into the brain terrain like we’d enjoyed on RM 336. The tight bends don’t last, though, as RM 335 soon begins to follow the gradually curving course of Hackberry Creek. There were still plenty of ups and downs to keep us entertained, and we enjoyed having the road to ourselves while admiring the rugged scenery on a bluebird spring day.
After nearly 30 miles, RM 335 ends at the town of Barksdale. We rode a few miles south to Camp Wood and then turned east on RM 337, which we rode for its entire length to Medina. On its western end, RM 337 is characterized by wide, graceful curves and a roller coaster of hillcrests.
See all of Rider‘s touring stories here.
East of Leakey, we repeated part of RM 337 in reverse, back to the Lost Maples Country Store. From there, we rode south on RM 187 for a mile and then continued east for the final leg of RM 337, a fast and fun romp through big sweepers and over several rocky ridges to Medina. After turning south on State Route 16, we soon arrived in Bandera, a cool little town known as the “Cowboy Capital of the World.”
Riding the Twisted Sisters route in a clockwise manner, from Medina to Camp Wood, up to State Route 41, and back down to Leakey, is about 140 miles and can be done in a few hours. But that just scratches the surface of what’s on tap in Texas Hill Country, which covers 31,000 square miles in 18 counties.
Texas Hill Country Motorcycle Ride Resources
- Texas Tourism
- Kerrville/Kerr County, TX
- Frio Canyon, TX (Leakey, Concan, and Rio Frio)
- Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop & Bent Rim Grill (Leakey)
- Real County, TX (Leakey and Camp Wood)
- Bandera, TX
