Car Guy Magazine Car Guy Magazine Issue 1114 | Page 38

Highway 16 south gets twisty and leads you to RR337
- one of the Three Twisted Sisters of the Hill Country. First,
you have to stop in the town of Medina, the “Apple Capital
of Texas.” If you like apples, explore Love Creek Orchards
Cider Mill & Country Store. Stop and eat something. You
are going to need it.
If you are still unprepared for the killer roads after eating all of that apple pie with cinnamon ice cream, but rather
see real cowboys, head south on 16 to Bandera, the “Cowboy Capital of the World.” You are now in the land of dude
ranches and honky-tonks. After getting your fill of riding and
roping, head north up 16 and then west on RR337. Strap on
your seatbelt, because the real ride has just begun.
RR 337, first built in 1948, starts your adventure into
the heart of the best roads in the Hill Country. RR337 takes
you through Vanderpool along one of the most spectacular
routes in the Hill Country. It crosses creeks, pastures, and
then rises almost half a mile above sea level into steep canyons
and wooded hillsides. It is mountainous and rugged; as you
can imagine, a straight road will not follow this terrain. It will

Deadwood BBQ in Mason.

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eventually meet up with the other two Twisted Sisters, RR 335 and
336. Do these three roads all day and you won’t even care about
the Tail of the Dragon.
North of Vanderpool on RM 187 is the first museum of Texas
dedicated to vintage motorcycles. The Lone Star Motorcycle Museum, owned by Allan and Debbie Johncock, houses over fifty bikes
in pristine condition in a 7,300-square-foot building with a blackand-white checkered floor. One of the most stunning motorcycles
ever produced, the 1954 Vincent Black Shadow, is housed here.
Also, you can get genuine Aussie pies from Allan’s native Australia.
For lunch, Vinny’s Italian Restaurant is world-class food found
right in the heart of Texas. Vinny is a Brooklyn native who married
a Texan and retired in the Hill Country.
Heading north will get you to RR 336, another Twisted Sister
with the curves, elevation changes, rugged mountains, steep cliffs
and thirty miles of black ribbon twisties. These roads are through
open range cattle country, so be cautious. Built into the road at
property lines and fences are metal pipe cattle guards that have
been placed there to keep cattle from wondering from one farm
to the next. Amazingly, these units of pipe are quite smooth and