Currently in Austin for vacation. I have possiblility of relocating for work at the end of the year. I’ve ridden around quite a bit so far and was wondering what areas aren’t littered with traffic? Have been in West lake, rolling wood, cap of TeX highway, bee caves, old bee caves, all of which I found have considerable traffic. Is their anyother place aside from Tarrytown that is quick to get to from downtown that doesn’t have a lot of cars. Any quaint country roads close by? Also, townlake I found was swamped with people. Is their any other good dirt trails close by that isn’t littered with people. Love the fact that their are more hills than I thought their would be. Only problem in the Westlake area is that it was a narrow road with considerable traffic. I love the greenery and Barton Springs.
St. Edward’s park on Spicewood Springs was my go to for a good trail run. Not a ton of trail but fairly technical on the west side with good ascents. The green belt is great as well.
I miss riding 360. Lots of traffic but big, wide shoulders with great hills and little stopping.
Traffic going North/South is pretty much going to bad for a long time. Austin is growing way too fast for its infrastructure.
Are you referring to low traffic for riding or for living/commuting?
If you start your rides earlier, you can get outside the city in no time and to more open roads out east, west, southwest. I like fitzugh and the round mountain/Hamilton pool road loop.
As for running, did you go to the east side of the trail? Mopac side gets crowded but if you stay east, you can weave back on the other side of the dam and get you will see very few people. You could start at the 35 bridge, go east and probably get in 8 miles.
I see a lot of people riding on roads I would not when it is busy (Parmer, Mopac, etc.). Some of these roads have on-ramps which there is no way in heck I would ever do that. Every time I am in Austin for a few days I take the trainer with me but we drive there.
There are some country roads that look great but I do not remember which ones they were, also were a bit out of town too.
I see a lot of people riding on roads I would not when it is busy (Parmer, Mopac, etc.). Some of these roads have on-ramps which there is no way in heck I would ever do that. Every time I am in Austin for a few days I take the trainer with me but we drive there.
There are some country roads that look great but I do not remember which ones they were, also were a bit out of town too.
Parmer has a decent shoulder all the way from West of Mopac to Hwy 29 and beyond. Rolling hills, not too busy when Parmer turns into Ronald Reagan. It’s not the most visually stunning ride, but can get in good work without super heavy congestion. As mentioned earlier, wake up early and you’re in good shape.
I can do a 2 hour ride inside the city (inside Mopace/183/I-35 and Ben White) with very little traffic at almost any time of the day. It’s a good ride with good hills and areas that you can do longer sustained efforts. As for traffic, there good roads (and times of the day) and bad roads. You named most of the bad ones.
Old San Antonio road going south is a good one, there are many out east and to the SE (you can even stop in and get fab BBQ in Lockhart). West and SW is the most challenging terrain and once about an hour from downtown, the traffic becomes very light. As others have mentioned the Parmer/RR road way up north is decent, but I find it to be one of my least favorite rides (I lived in Europe for a decade so flat dead straight roads bore the hell out of me).
Best thing for you to do, is to join one of the many group rides and learn the better roads. They are out there.
Im going to Austin mid-June for work for a few days and staying downtown. I checked Mellow Johnnys and Pedal Harder and they have a spin class where you can rent bikes. Any other suggestions for riding and also any good pools that are close other than the Y?
As for pools, there is Barton Springs (200m OW style), Deep Eddy (33m) and Big Stacey all within a few blocks of the city center. You can also get in a drop in pass for the UT Masters program.
Oh the pools are great. Deep Eddy, Big Stacy, and definitely Barton Springs. You can even bring a wetsuit to springs since it is a little chilly. But, not bad. Nice bike rentals are about $35-$45 a day at Mellow Johnnys. I brought my own bike though.
Currently in Austin for vacation. I have possiblility of relocating for work at the end of the year. I’ve ridden around quite a bit so far and was wondering what areas aren’t littered with traffic? Have been in West lake, rolling wood, cap of TeX highway, bee caves, old bee caves, all of which I found have considerable traffic. Is their anyother place aside from Tarrytown that is quick to get to from downtown that doesn’t have a lot of cars. Any quaint country roads close by? Also, townlake I found was swamped with people. Is their any other good dirt trails close by that isn’t littered with people. Love the fact that their are more hills than I thought their would be. Only problem in the Westlake area is that it was a narrow road with considerable traffic. I love the greenery and Barton Springs.
Thanks,
Chris
My first few months in Austin the traffic bothered me - I was used to riding in Australia where cyclists had their own lane, speed limits were slow, no on / off ramps and generally very safe. That doesn’t exist here in Austin - but I got over that when I realized either I ride on roads with cars (often times going 40mph+) or I don’t ride at all. For the most part, the routes the previous posters provided are those with less cars - but they are still generally roads with cars going pretty fast. You can find lots of neighborhoods to ride through that are very hilly and have less cars if that’s your thing.
The earlier you go out and ride and the farther you go from the city center (either west, south or east) the less traffic you’ll generally encounter.
Sorry for the late reply. So, I am guessing your ride inside the city consists of roads mostly near scenic drive area? Also, was wondering your opinion of the Circle C area? Didn’t get have the time to go there. Is it good for cycling? How about running? It seems like there are running trails.
the roads around circle c are pretty nice to ride around on, and you can wander down to the veloway from there which is a 3 mile bike only loop that is really nice, and the South Mopac Loop starts there which is a great place to get in an 8 mile TT effort. The traffic is worse than it used to be but they also recently improved the shoulders on it.
It makes for a nice route at times of day when traffic is low.
Sorry for the late reply. So, I am guessing your ride inside the city consists of roads mostly near scenic drive area? Also, was wondering your opinion of the Circle C area? Didn’t get the ability to go there much.
compared to many other big/bigger cities, riding in austin is outstanding. Of course the entire population of california has pretty much moved here, so it is getting worse with traffic. Even out on parmer, there are more and more subdivisions going in. Parmer goes all the way to I-35 now, so you can get in a lot of miles without a crazy amount of traffic, even if you get a late start. Of course this time of year, you’ll have to fight a head wind all the way back if you start south and ride north.
Chandler Rd runs from north Round Rock all the way to Taylor now, with wide shoulders. Lots of places for rides up north, but i’m not super familiar with south routes. I even have loops in neighborhoods for hill rides.
as for trails, there’s no shortage of trails in/around austin.
Yeah it seems like a nice area, but just didn’t have the time to explore everything. Do you know if you can swim there if not part of the community. If they have masters, etc. Looks like the running is pretty good too.