Just curious if anyone is going to Austin from Evansville Indiana area. I will be leaving there Saturday afternoon, heading west on 64, to Mt Vernon, south on 57 to 55 to Memphis, 40 to 30 to Dallas then 35 to Austin. Will be stopping half way depending on the weather. Be in Austin to visit my Son and his family early afternoon on Monday. I don't mind riding alone but always good to have a riding buddy.

 

Live in Ft Worth and do the Austin thing a lot, so have a big pointer.

AVOID 35!!! That highway is always backed up for hours, under construction, or having some dumbass drivers texting and swerving all over lanes on it. It is literally one of the worst highways to ride on in Texas, anybody from up here that has ridden it will say the same thing.

Another reason is Waco, right now is a very bad time to ride a bike through there thanks to the Twin Peaks thing. Waco PD looks for any reason to pull bikes over right now, see horror stories on the DFW riding pages about riding through there and getting pulled over for no reason then they were on a bike "and might be a problem" in the eyes of the law. That place has always been a bit looney, right now it has just gotten much worse if you are on a Harley (and maybe other cruisers as well).

If you are going from Dallas, may be easier to go down 45 and cut across on 14 or some state highway like that, plus a lot more scenic. There is nothing like some hill country riding away from the city believe me as I do it about 20 or so times a year. Plus if you swing through Taylor I highly recommend Louie Mueller's BBQ, best beef (not pork note you so about 3 pounds of meat) ribs ever. Well worth the detour for that alone.

 

I moved away from Austin 10 years ago and traffic on 35 was always stupid!!!! That's one piece of advice you cant ignore!!!!!

 

It's only gotten worse since then!

 

Avoiding 35 sounds like a great Idea. Thanks for the tip.

 

35W through fort Worth is generally alright. 35E through dallas however is Hell on 2 wheels. Nothing but construction, debris, giant potholes, and heavy traffic from Denton all the way through Lancastet.

If you can, swing through West Tx and visit the Czech Stop. It's a gas station/diner/bakery with astounding Kolaches. Folks from DFW will drive all the way down there for a box of kolaches (I rode down there earlier this week actually).
I haven't been hassled going through waco recently,but it's still an uncomfortable place to be riding through.