Austin Road Biking
Submitted by jlinwood on Sat, 2010-08-28 00:55
Road Bike Races and Rides: 
Rosedale Ride
Heart of Texas Recumbent Rally
Pedal for Puppies
Great Austin to Shiner Pedal - Shiner 100
Pedal Thru the Pines
Road Bike Routes: 
Ironman 70.3 Austin Bike Route
South Mopac - Texas SH 45 Bike Route
Parmer Lane Bike Route
Shoal Creek - Great Northern Bike Route
Loop 360 Bike Route
Dam Loop Bike Route
Bike Paths: 

Lance Armstrong Bikeway

The Lance Armstrong Bikeway is an east-west bike path through downtown Austin north of Lady Bird Lake. Parts of the bikeway will be on dedicated bike path (for instance, the west portion of the bikeway by Lamar and Mopac), but the downtown and east portions will be on bike lanes on city streets.

Using Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike trail as a commuter option is not practical for many bike commuters because of the number of runners, walkers, dogs and other users of the trail. The bikeway is dedicated to bicycle traffic only.

6.00miles

Veloway

Austin's best completely traffic-free road bike and inline skating path is the Veloway in far Southwest Austin at Mopac (Loop 1) and La Crosse Blvd near the Wildflower Center.

The Veloway is only open to bikes and inline skaters - no runners, walkers, dogs, joggers or other "obstacles"! It's paved, a one-way loop, and wide enough that you can comfortably pass slower bicyclists or skaters on the left.

The loop is 3.1 miles long and is not as boring as it sounds - lots of tight turns and there is one short but steep uphill.

3.10miles
Bike Stores: 

Mellow Johnny's

Mellow Johnny's is famously co-owned by Lance Armstrong, and the store serves as a mecca for all things Lance, down to the Juan Pelota coffee stand inside the store.

The bikes for sale aren't just for Tour de France winners here though - Mellow Johnny's is trying to seriously encourage commuter cycling, and has some interesting options. They also carry mountain bikes, time trial bikes, race wheels, and a large line of apparel, shoes, and helmets.

Downstairs, Mellow Johnny's offers bike fit services and specialized spin instruction.

Location: 
400 Nueces Street
Austin, TX 78701
See map: Google Maps
Phone Number: 
512 473-0222
URL: 

http://www.mellowjohnnys.com/

Bicycle Sport Shop South

One of the largest bike shops in Austin, Bicycle Sport Shop South is on South Lamar just south of Riverside. They carry road bikes, mountain bikes, and a pretty large selection of accessories.

Bicycle Sport Shop also rents bikes - really nice road and mountain bikes. Call and reserve a bike in advance if you know you are going to be in town, really far in advance if there's a popular race that weekend.

Location: 
517 S. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX
See map: Google Maps
Phone Number: 
512-477-3472
URL: 

http://www.bicyclesportshop.com/

Bicycle Sport Shop North

Bicycle Sport Shop North is one of the older, larger bike shops in the northwest part of town. The main store is Bicycle Sport Shop South, but this store has a pretty good selection, especially of nutritional supplements. The service department here can be less busy than the south location.

There aren't a lot of rides or events out of this store, but the Great Hills area on the other side of US 183/Research Boulevard is great for hilly road riding, and you can always head down Jollyville to Loop 360.

Location: 
10947 Research Blvd
Austin, TX
See map: Google Maps
Phone Number: 
512-345-7460
URL: 

http://bicyclesportshop.com/

Bicycle Sport Shop Parmer

The Parmer version of Bicycle Sport Shop serves the Round Rock/Cedar Park/Avery Ranch area, and makes a good base for riding Parmer Lane, especially if you need to get new tubes or get a quick fix of something on your bike.

Location: 
9900 W. Parmer Ln
Austin, TX
See map: Google Maps
Phone Number: 
512-637-6890
URL: 

http://bicyclesportshop.com/

Bike Coaches and Instruction: 
Austin Cycle Camp
Group Rides: 

There are some great shop rides in Austin on the weekends.

Jack and Adam's has three groups that go out on Sundays. Once a month, the J and A shop ride rotates over to Steiner Ranch in west Austin for some big hills, followed by half price brunch at the Steiner Steakhouse.

Austin Tri-cyclist has the most serious group ride in town on Saturday mornings, with an A and a B group that usually goes out on the Dam Loop.

Mellow Johnny's has a Sunday morning group led by 787Cycling that does a fast ride - they also have several other rides for intermediates and beginners.