Scenic Loops of Texas

About

This is a challenge with no time constraint: ride your motorcycle around 28 scenic loops, take selfie photos at designated locations on those loops, and turn in the photos for each scenic loop completed.  Note that you may also receive credit for completing a loop as a passenger on a bike; just be sure to take a photo of you and the bike at the designated locations.  (On each loop, the designated locations are Points of Interest, or POIs; for details, see the loop descriptions below.)

After you complete 1 loop, you can receive this program patch:




Then, after you complete 7 loops, you can receive one of the rocker patches, like this:


After you complete 14, 21, or 28 loops, you can receive other rocker patches.  These patches mount around the program patch, as shown:

How to Play

You may complete these loops either during a HOG group ride, or during a solo ride:

During a group ride: If you complete a scenic loop during a group ride that is led by a Road Captain from the Longhorn Chapter of the HOG, then you may enjoy the ride without taking any required photos, because the Road Captain will ensure that you receive credit for completing the loop.

During a solo ride:  If you complete a scenic loop while riding solo, or during a group ride that is not led by a Road Captain from the Longhorn Chapter of the HOG, then please ensure that you ride to and take a photo of your motorcycle at each Point of Interest (POI) on the loop.  (The pages linked below identify each loop's POIs by name, address, photo, and global coordinates.)  Save your photos on your phone or camera, and name each photo such that it identifies you, the loop,and the POI.  (A nifty way to do that is to incorporate into each filename your name, the letters "SL" (for "Scenic Loop"), "NN", where "NN" is the number of the loop - from the list below - and "M", where "M" is the number of the POI - from the loop's page.)  Then, after you've collected and named the photos for a loop, EITHER: send your photos via email to Bob Hagar at bhagar@tx.rr.com, OR post your photos in the website's photo album, and then send a note to Bob to tell him where to find them.

No matter how you complete a scenic loop, please note that conditions on the loop may change.  In particular, a POI may disappear, or POI circumstances can change, such that ready access to a POI becomes difficult.  If you can't find a POI, or if you encounter any condition on any loop that you consider to be a safety hazard, please describe that condition in a note to bhagar@tx.rr.com.  (Thanks!)


Links to Solo Loops

Just below are links to each of the individual scenic loops.  In each of these links, you'll find:
 -  a map of the loop,
 -  a map of an example route to and from the loop,
 -  names, addresses, and photos of each Point-of-Interest in the loop,
 - gpx files of both the loop and the example route.

Further below are links to the "combo" loops.  (You may find a discussion about combo loops in the Strategy for Completing the Scenic-Loop Challenge. )















 
Links to "Combo" Loops

In the map above, some scenic loops are located adjacent to one or more other loop(s).  Also, some scenic loops are located between the metroplex and one or more other scenic loop(s).  Those observations prompted the idea that if a rider planned to complete a particular scenic loop, then he or she may also plan to complete the adjacent or in-between loop(s) on the same ride.  That idea prompted development of the combination (or "combo") loops linked below.

In each of these links, you'll find:
- a map that shows the scenic loops included in the combo loop,
- a map that shows the route for the combo loop,
- a link to a downloadable pdf summary of the combo loop, and
- a link to a downloadable gpx file that describes the combo loop.

(For details about the POIs in the combo loops, please refer to the links above for the constituent loops.)

Recommended Strategy

Here's a document that describes one way riders can complete the scenic-loop challenge with the minimum number of miles: Strategy for Completing the Scenic-Loop Challenge.  This certainly isn't the only way to complete the challenge, but reviewing this document can give you some insights to consider in your planning.