Why this ride
From Austin it runs 284 km to Austin; allow about 3 h 46 of riding. It goes by way of Mission Valero, Mission Concepcion, Mission San José and Mission San Juan. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Austin long day · Mission San Juan
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 284 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 46
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Austin
Austin sits where the flat Texas blackland prairie meets the limestone Hill Country, and that line, the Balcones Escarpment, is the reason the city is a good place to start a ride. West of downtown the land rises suddenly into oak and juniper hills cut by creeks, with the Colorado River, dammed into the long Lake Austin and Lake Travis, curling between them. The city grew here in the nineteenth century as the capital of the Republic of Texas, and the pink granite Capitol, which is taller than the one in Washington, still dominates the skyline.
Read the complete Austin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Austin is where the day begins. Next is Mission Valero.
2. Mission Valero
San Antonio de Valero is the formal name of what the world knows as the Alamo. The mission was founded in 1718 by Spanish Franciscans, who named it in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua and the viceroy of New Spain, the Marqués de Valero. It stood beside the San Antonio River, on land that offered water, irrigation and a place to teach indigenous families a farming life. By the end of the eighteenth century the mission was secularized, and its old chapel became a military post, whose name came from the Spanish word for cottonwood.
Read the complete Mission Valero write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mission Valero comes up 44 km in. Next is Mission Concepcion.
3. Mission Concepción
Mission Concepción is the quiet one, and many people think it is the best preserved. Its full name is Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña, and its stone church was completed in the 1750s, which makes it the oldest unrestored stone church in the United States still in use. It stands on a low rise a few miles south of downtown San Antonio, with two bell towers, a dome and a facade that is plain but beautifully proportioned. The Franciscans moved the mission here in 1731 from East Texas, where drought and conflict had driven them out, and here they found the river and a better chance.
Read the complete Mission Concepcion write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 122 km in you reach Mission Concepcion. Next is Mission San José.
4. Mission San José
Mission San José is known as the Queen of the Missions, and it earns the title. Founded in 1720, it grew into the largest and most complete of the San Antonio missions, a walled community with a church, granary, workshops, a mill and rows of small apartments for the indigenous families who lived inside. The compound still has much of its outer wall, and walking through the gate gives a sense of the size of the settlement. The church is the centerpiece, built in the late eighteenth century with a facade of carved limestone that is more ornate than anything else in the city.
Read the complete Mission San José write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mission San José, about halfway. Next is Mission San Juan.
5. Mission San Juan
Planning note
Mission San Juan sits at 175 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mission San José.
6. back through Mission San José
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mission San José write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mission San José comes up 219 km in. Next is back through Mission Concepcion.
7. back through Mission Concepcion
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mission Concepcion write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
263 km in you reach back through Mission Concepcion. Next is back through Mission Valero.
8. back through Mission Valero
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mission Valero write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mission Valero, late in the day. Next is Austin.
9. Austin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Austin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 284 km.
Leg by leg
Austin to Mission Valero
Austin → Mission Valero is 160 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Mission Valero to Mission Concepcion
Mission Valero → Mission Concepcion is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mission Concepción to Mission San José
Mission Concepción → Mission San José is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mission San José to Mission San Juan
Mission San José → Mission San Juan is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mission San Juan to back through Mission San José
Mission San Juan → back through Mission San José is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mission San José to back through Mission Concepcion
back through Mission San José → back through Mission Concepcion is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mission Concepcion to back through Mission Valero
back through Mission Concepcion → back through Mission Valero is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mission Valero to Austin
back through Mission Valero → Austin is 160 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.