Ride Report: The Power of the MSTA Connection
Rider: North Georgia Local
Mission: Annual Winter Fly & Ride
Location: Texas Hill Country (Medina, Leakey, and the Sisters)
Home Base: Texas Hill Country Resort (The legendary High Top)
We like to say you join the MSTA for the rides, but you stay for the friends. This trip was the ultimate proof of that.
While the North Georgia mountains were locked in their winter slumber, I was looking for a mid-winter “surgical strike” on two wheels. I hopped on the MSTA members’ forum, posted my dates, and mentioned I was flying in solo. Within hours, the “Texas Gang” reached out. Michael Gilliland and the crew didn’t just give me route advice—they adopted me for the weekend and treated me like I’d been riding the Hill Country with them for decades.
The MSTA Advantage: Instant Community
There is a massive difference between riding a region solo and being “vetted” by the locals. By the time I landed in San Antonio and made the climb up to the Texas Hill Country Resort in Medina, the plan was already set.
My digs for the long weekend at Hight top. Nothing fancy and just perfect.
Staying at the old High Top is a rite of passage for sport-tourists. Perched on that ridge, it serves as the perfect theater for the nightly “after-action reports.”
Dinner for 1. Hunt bros tasts the same everyhere, but the Jarritos is better on Texas.
My neighbors at the camp. Buncha jacksses.
The first morning Michael and the gang met me for breakfast at the OST Restaurant in Bandera, and the Texas hospitality was immediate. There was no “new guy” awkwardness; we were all speaking the same language of lean angles, late apexes, and the hunt for the perfect ribbon of asphalt.
The Ride: Georgia Gaps meet Texas Sisters
Do you know these 3 gals?
Coming from the tight, technical gaps of Wolf Pen and Blood Mountain, I thought I knew what “technical” meant. Michael and the guys showed me a different version:
* The Pace: These guys embody the MSTA spirit—quick, smooth, disciplined, and efficient. We tackled the Twisted Sisters (335, 336, 337) with a flow that you only get when following riders who know every cattle guard and limestone sweep by heart.
* The Scenery: The North Georgia hardwoods are beautiful, but the Hill Country is dramatic. One minute you’re carved into a canyon wall on RR 337, and the next the horizon opens up into a rugged, scrub-oak expanse that feels like the true West.
* Local Secrets: They led me to the “roads between the roads”—those FM (Farm to Market) connectors that aren’t on the “Top 10” lists but offer the best pavement and zero traffic.
Camp Mystic. 27 lost their lives in the July Flood.
Very very sad. 🙁
“One of Their Own”
The highlight of the trip wasn’t just the lean angles; it was the hospitality. Whether we were grabbing a quick bite at the Bent Rim Grill or a quick coffee or nice shanty after the days ripping, the Texas crew made sure I was looked after.
There’s a unique bond in the MSTA. It didn’t matter that I was the “fly-in guy” from Georgia; to Michael and the gang, I was just another brother on two wheels who appreciated a well-taken corner and a good story at the end of the day.
Summary: Why I Do the Fly & Ride
This wasn’t just a weekend getaway; it was a reminder of why this association exists.
* Skip the Slog: I traded two days of interstate droning for three days of world-class technical riding.
* The High Top Vibe: Staying at the Texas Hill Country Resort kept us right at the “starting line” every morning.
* The People: I arrived solo and left with a Texas “wingman” crew.
Texas has a way of getting under your skin, especially when you have the right people showing you the way. My winter “escape” was a success, and the Georgia mountains feel a little smaller now that I’ve tasted the scale of the Hill Country. Thanks again boys, can’t wait to be back!