"Keep Austin Weird"
~Unofficial City Motto~
On April 8th, Mike Broderick, Peter Saucerman and I flew to Austin Texas to participate in the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) Texas Hill Country 7 day bicycle tour. We were joined by David and Christina Vandershaf where the five of us formed the Sac Pac contingent of the tour's 47 participants.
We spent 4 days in Austin, 2 days prior and 2 days after the tour. It was a first time visit for the three of us so we were excited about exploring the city with a hip reputation. We were not disappointed. With an enrollment of over 50,000 students at UT, Austin is a youthful, high energy city full of history, funky and innovative architecture, a beautiful riverfront park, great neighborhoods, and a hopping night life. Austin is deserving of its reputation as the music capitol of the US with big name artists and lessor name musicians performing year around at a number of venues scattered through out the city.
The blog of our Texas trip is organized in seven entries:
Austin Scenes
State Capitol
University of Texas
Verde Camp
Rat Rods
The Hill Country Bike Tour
The Mighty Texas Dog Walk
The first entry of neat Austin Scenes begins below
For enlarged view, click twice on pic
Skyline of downtown Austin from a high hill
Walking across the Congress St. Bridge to downtown - Peter, Mike and me
Congress St. terminates at the state capitol
Town Lake running east-west bisects the city into north and south districts. Bridges crossing the lake have wide sidewalks allowing easy access to parkway trails on each side. There were runners and cyclists by the hundreds using the parkway at all hours of the day.
A must see for cycling enthusiasts is visiting Lance Armstrong's Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop located in the downtown area. The two-story, 9,000 square foot pedal palace is chock full of cycling apparel and equipment. A museum full of Armstrong memorabilia fills the basement.
Colorful display of bikes for sale
Two of the seven Tour de France yellow jerseys displayed in the museum
Peter checking out some of the bikes Lance rode
Looking out the window to one of Austin's new high rises
Tempted to buy one of Mellow Johnny's $170 jerseys . . . Phew! . . they did not have my size
Zoomie bike on display
A couple young Austin Flyers Racing Team members pose in front of the shop
Reflection of high rises in beautiful Town Lake . . . from under the Congress St. Bridge
View of 1st Ave Bridge
Time for a couple brewskies and music at an outdoor beer garden on So. Congress St.
Festive beer garden comes alive in the evening
We discovered a number of unusual eateries along the back streets in our neighborhood
Bouldin Creek serves outstanding breakfasts in home spun rustic setting.
Outdoor dining at Bouldins
Kickin' back with a good cup-o-joe
Simple, yet tasty breakfast - spinach and mushroom omelette with potato pancake
It started raining so we moved into the enclosed dining room at Bouldins
Some of the unique shops along So. Congress St (above and below)
Dinner at the Snack and Grill on So. Congress, another great eatery with decor of the 1950's
Nice presentation.
Burger with carmelized onions and cheese served with a side of cold slaw slacked my hunger . . . quite good!
Breakfast at another cool eatery on Congress St.
Great grub served on 5o's Jetson-style china
The homes in the Travis Heights neighborhood where we stayed was quite interesting. Alot of rehab and new construction are taking place. Here are a couple - historic and contemporary.
What baseball is to Cooperstown, bicycling now is to Davis with the opening of the Bicycling Hall of Fame on April 24th. On a rare sunny spring day, 14 Sacramento cycling enthusiasts rendezvoused at my house and rode over the Causeway to Davis to attend the grand opening of the Bicycling Hall of Fame.
Spring rains nourished the mustard grass to record heights. The peleton taking the scenic route into Davis. Marco Pantani leading the way.
~Separated at birth~
A typical day in the saddle, gotta' fuel the engine
Herb, Kay, Frank (aka Marco - note the ears), Mike
Mike, Bill, Kathy, Barbara
With Jennie :-)
Eric wearing his vintage B & L Bike Shop jersey from his UCD college days
Many vintage and classic bikes on display
Giraffe bike at the Farmers Market
Bill, Kathy, Eric, Marco, Herb and Kay
In the Rose Garden
