Geez - traffic in Austin is getting bad! I feel like a speedbump waiting to happen! Last couple of rides I've taken to cutting through neighborhoods. Found some mean hills doing that. :D

Anyway, any Austin area riders have any secret routes devoid of angry drivers in 4000+ pound vehicles that think cyclist are an annoyance?

Geez - traffic in Austin is getting bad! I feel like a speedbump waiting to happen! Last couple of rides I've taken to cutting through neighborhoods. Found some mean hills doing that. :D

Anyway, any Austin area riders have any secret routes devoid of angry drivers in 4000+ pound vehicles that think cyclist are an annoyance?

Howdy!

Yeah, traffic is bad and is getting worse. What part of town do you ride? Here are two areas I like to ride and IMO traffic isn't too much of an issue.

Eastern Travis county. Once you're east of Dessau/Cameron Rd, the traffic lightens up big time. The layout is easy to learn and there are lots of route options. Better ride 'em while you can. Tx 130 is going to have a hugh (i.e. negative for cyclists) impact on the area. The growth projections are off the chart. The once quiet county roads will be packed with cars. Ugh.

Liberty Hill. If you ride the county roads west and north of Liberty Hill, the traffic (especially on Sun) is almost nil. Lots of route options and hills to boot. Great scenery, too.

Thanks - I ride in N. Austin for right now. I'm a little new - I'm more a runner who's gotten into cycling via an injury. Right now I only go out for 20 miles or less at a time. Some of the hills up in N. Austin are wicked, or I'm a wuss. :D

Any roads in particular in these areas you're talking about? I suppose I could just grab a map and go exploring... ;)

I'm south in Dripping Springs. It's nice to be able to leave the house and disappear into the country. I encourage you to check out the Austin Cycling Association. You can pick up their monthly paper at most bike shops. They have a number of group rides listed. It's nice to meet up with other cyclists and you'll learn some good routes to ride.

www.austincylcing.org

Thanks - I ride in N. Austin for right now. I'm a little new - I'm more a runner who's gotten into cycling via an injury. Right now I only go out for 20 miles or less at a time. Some of the hills up in N. Austin are wicked, or I'm a wuss. :D

Any roads in particular in these areas you're talking about? I suppose I could just grab a map and go exploring... ;)

You won't go wrong with BSDC's suggestion about the ACA. Look for rides outside the city. My suggestion: A good start/end for the exploring types is Hendricksen High School in Pflugerville. It's on FM 685 and Kelly Ln. Bring a map.

PS - you're not a wuss...some of those hills in and around north Austin are knee breakers - 14% or greater grades. Been there ... done that.

Thanks for the advice. The ACA sounds like a good place to start.

Not www.austincylcing.org. The link to the rides is http://www.austincycling.org/rides.html
By the way, helmets are required on ACA rides.
In north Austin, check out Parmer Lane between Mopac and FM 2243. There's traffic and accompanying noise, but the wide paved shoulder lane is nice.

I'm south in Dripping Springs. It's nice to be able to leave the house and disappear into the country. I encourage you to check out the Austin Cycling Association. You can pick up their monthly paper at most bike shops. They have a number of group rides listed. It's nice to meet up with other cyclists and you'll learn some good routes to ride.

www.austincylcing.org

Thanks for the advice. The ACA sounds like a good place to start.

Tomorrow is a Meet and Greet Ride. ACA Ride Page (http://www.austincycling.org/rides.html) I had planned on doing the Sprinkle Sprint today, but it's Sprinkling pretty heavy! Regarding the Parmer Road mention, I live up in Avery Ranch, and heading north on that road is pretty decent, with traffic dropping off after you pass 1431. By the way, the road is named Ronald Reagan something or other after that point, Williamson County being as it is. ;)

Thanks - I might do the meet and greet ride tomorrow. If the weather clears today I'm supposed to do a Dam loop. Uuuugh - don't want to think about it if its still windy.

I ride Parmer up that way all the time - I usually go up to Leander Rd and turn around there. Someone told me the little one lane country road it turns into at that point goes all the way to Liberty Hill?

If you're up to it (riding among what I would consider fast cyclists (18-22mph avg for 50+ miles), there's usually a group ride leaving Einstein's Bagels at 8am Sat and Sun.

Someone usually posts if/when the weekend rides are going to happen.

Check it out.

http://violetcrown.org/

The bunch is mostly VC cyclists, but it's open to everyone.

Thanks - I might do the meet and greet ride tomorrow. If the weather clears today I'm supposed to do a Dam loop. Uuuugh - don't want to think about it if its still windy.

I ride Parmer up that way all the time - I usually go up to Leander Rd and turn around there. Someone told me the little one lane country road it turns into at that point goes all the way to Liberty Hill?

Pretty nice right now, so I think tomorrow will be good... If you do the meet and greet, I'll catch you from the pics on your blog. I'll be riding a new blue C'dale R5000, (with 26.2 miles on it), wearing a Chi Chi's jersey, and sporting a small space saver spare around my middle, (that I am trying to get rid of, of course!).... :)

Wow - depends on the terrain if I could maintain that speed for that long. Doing the Dam loop I average more like 15mph - but its a little hard to figure with my gps computer as it doesn't factor the time spent waiting at lights, ect...

Yeah - I'd like to make the group ride. Uuuugh, 8am eh? Darn early birds. ;)

Geez - traffic in Austin is getting bad! I feel like a speedbump waiting to happen! Last couple of rides I've taken to cutting through neighborhoods. Found some mean hills doing that. :D

Anyway, any Austin area riders have any secret routes devoid of angry drivers in 4000+ pound vehicles that think cyclist are an annoyance?



Watch out for that pothole that got Ekimov

Wow - went for a great ride today with the ACA. I did 55 miles through what they called the New Sweden Flatlands. They're not flat at all - more like rolling hills, but I guess that's about as flat as it gets here in Austin. :) Lot of fun and had a great time. There'll be a couple of pics (not enough I'm afraid) on my blog site. I definitely want to ride out there more. GREAT place to ride.

Anyone doing the Armadillo Classic next week? I signed up for the 125 mile ride. I don't know what I was thinking. I hope I can hang onto the bike for that long. :D

Parmer Lane/ Ronald Regan Blvd turns into a county road CR 268 at FM 2238. About 1/2 mile north of there, there is an always-wet low water crossing. Best thing to do is take off shoes and socks and walk across carrying your bike. Don't try riding it!! It's a nice spot to cool off too.
Then there are a couple of twists and turns in the road and it changes name but eventually it ends up at FM 29. Crossing over, you are close to the western edge of Lake Georgetown.
For more details see the ACA map for the "Cedar Park Fever" ride.

Thanks - I might do the meet and greet ride tomorrow. If the weather clears today I'm supposed to do a Dam loop. Uuuugh - don't want to think about it if its still windy.

I ride Parmer up that way all the time - I usually go up to Leander Rd and turn around there. Someone told me the little one lane country road it turns into at that point goes all the way to Liberty Hill?

just outta curiosity: what chainring and cassette do you use climbing Jester, that subdivision area off 2222? I rode Austin for the first time in years back in April and it was my first time up Jester hill. All i had was my stock 53, 12/23 or whatever it is and it killed my knees.

I'm going to ride Austin more often this summer and plan on tackling Jester again...and again.


any advise is appreciated.