I’m fairly new to triathlon and the whole cycling thing (first tri in May this year, got a bike a couple of months before that). I’m curious if any of you guys have any favorite bike routes that you wouldn’t mind sharing.
I live in NW austin (near 183/mcneil) so most of my rides start from there. I routinely ride down 360 to 6th/mopac (where I work) and back. I also like riding down 360, cutting over to SW Pkwy → 71 → bee caves → back up 360. And taking Parmer north until it becomes a 2-lane road (there’s a water crossing I’ve only been across once). Although that ride is kind of boring.
I like to do time trials around the old airport. It’s a .8 mile loop with alittle hill. It’s not that scenic, but there isn’t any traffic or stop signs.
You can get some route maps from the UT cycling club website
Nelo’s Pro Cycles has a nice route that’s on their website. Rides are MWF but I think they’ve stopped for the winter. Check their website for the directions.
I haven’t lived there in a while so there may be too much traffic for this but on weekends I used to like going down 360 to Bee Cave road, then take Bee Cave to 71, then take 71 to 620 then to the dam and sometimes farther and back or if you are really ambitious you can take 620 to 2222 and reach 55+ mph on the descent, although there is no shoulder. For shorter trips I used to take 360 to West Lake Hills and go all the way until you get to Red Bud then take Scenic to Mt Bonnell. May be too much traffic nowadays to do this safely during some times of the day. In the colder/wetter months a mountain bike may be better for you. You can either do City Park or the Greenbelt trail starting from Zilker or 360.
Austin cycling association (http://www.austincycling.org/) has a ton of free rides and if you join you can have access to all of their maps. Good deal if you aren’t familiar with the area.
I’ll be there for Thanksgiving. Flying in on Tuesday, leaving Sunday. My first time in Austin. I’m very excited; I hope it lives up to the hype! And I am in charge of cooking the bird on Thursday!
go south to Canyon Lake by way of wimberely and the hills then come back on the (relative) flats along I-35…
go east to lockhart by way of san marcos and then take 2001 back up to the 35 feeder road. or 969 east to bastrop then north to elgin and back in.
go west to johnson city on fitzhugh or if you’re really up for it… fitzhugh to johnson city to marble falls and then back to cedar park… that ride is killer.
All these rides are incredibly rural and low traffic (except for the 281 stuff out west) It’s really cool that i can live downtown and be able to roll out from my pad and do all this. Dont know of very many other cities this size where that is possible.
Awesome. I was wondering if anyone had any good routes around 620. And I’ve seen some guys biking on 2222, but I’m a little scared to get on that road. Like you said, no shoulder, and very busy. The ride to mt bonnell sounds awesome.
aus_tri - thanks a lot for those rides. Man, I used to live on fitzhugh, my dad still has a house out there… that ride sounds insane!! It would be very scenic, but jesus it sounds long. I’ve never gotten to johnson city any way other than 290, and that would be a serious ride. great suggestions!
And taking Parmer north until it becomes a 2-lane road (there’s a water crossing I’ve only been across once). Although that ride is kind of boring.
Keep going past where it becomes a two-lane.
Join ACA and get access to their maps library. The great thing about Austin is that you can pretty much ride anywhere and in a short time be outside of town with lots of good riding.
I wonder why nobody has mentioned Parmer Lane. If you are on 183/McNeil, Parmer is not only an excellent choice, but also one of the best all around Austin. It has an extra wide shoulder and super long parts without traffic lights. I recommend you take a left on Parmer if coming from 183 (heading West). You will pass 620 and 1431. I also recommend you go beyond 2244 were the road changes from a super wide to a rural road. You can keep going until you hit 29 in Georgetown. There is also a very nice hill about 5 miles after 2244. If you see a low water crossing, you will know what I’m talking about. If you return all the way to Parmer and Mopac and back it’s about a 35 mile loop. Some people take a right on 29 to Georgetown. I have yet to find the guts to do this … with a 1.5 foot shoulder and fast cars … not for me.
BTW. Someone on the txbra.org website posted an article about Parmer getting an extra lane and losing the shoulder. Wondering if anyone here has some info.
2222 from 620 to 360 is fine, and yeah, the descent will have the cars checking their speedometers as they go around you, but from 360 to 620 its worse since you will be climbing that hill and the road sucks.
You can also climb Jester just for fun.
Basically, as Aus_tri and the others have said, every direction has great routes, but you need to either ride with someone to show you a few or get some good maps. The Dam Loop is the staple crop of cycling routes with a good mix of hills, flats, and scenery, and you can add on to it very easily(Fitzhugh to Hamilton Pool rd, 2222 out to Volente and then back in to Anderson Mill, etc…)
You can either do City Park or the Greenbelt trail starting from Zilker or 360.