Texas Hill Country over Thanksgiving -- Places to stay abd cycle?

[paczki]

I'm thinking of going to Texas for Thanksgiving -- there are direct flights on Jet Blue from Boston to Austin. Any suggestions of cycling friendly places to stay, to ride, to eat, and so forth? I'm looking forward to dodging armadillos instead of squirrels!

Thanks!

[paczki]

Good gosh, sorry for the typo in the header.

[texbike]

Paczki,

How long are you going to be here? Do you have any places that you need to be on certain days or are you looking for suggestions to build your itinerary around?

A day or two around Austin would be a good place to start! :)

Texbike

[paczki]

Paczki,

How long are you going to be here? Do you have any places that you need to be on certain days or are you looking for suggestions to build your itinerary around?

A day or two around Austin would be a good place to start! :)

Texbike

The plan would be from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving until Sunday. I'm trying to build an itinerary, find places to stay and think about what to do. I think we'll start and end in Austin.

Thanks!

Aaron

[aLexis]

I will be in town all week/weekend. We can definitely hook up for some good riding, in and out of town. Stay downtown. There are long rides to be done from town, and there is a lot more to do.

[texbike]

I'm not sure what your budget for hotels will be like, but the Hotel San Jose on South Congress would be a great place to stay www.sanjosehotel.com . They sponsor one of our local teams.

The hotel is just South of downtown and located in one of our cultural districts. It would give you easy access to great riding, music, coffee, and restaurants.

Mellow Johnny's is close by as is Bicycle Sport Shop which are the best of the large shops in town. Zilker Park is an easy bike ride away with access to some of the best urban mountain bike trails in Texas.

As for a couple points outside of Austin, I would suggest Fredericksburg which is a little more than an hour West of Austin. It is a beautiful little town with plenty of B&Bs and is a good base for some great rides. There is also the town of Blanco which is in the same direction as Fredericksburg. There are a number of great routes in the area that have that wonderful, hill country scenery.

Most of your group rides around Austin will be on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of that week (any maybe on Thanksgiving Day). I'll check the ride schedules for a couple of the groups and PM you with a list.

I'll also send you a PM w/my contact info. Feel free to call w/questions. I'd love to get together for a ride while you're in the area.

Cheers,

Texbike

[malcolm]

I was there in the last year or so and Nick Crumpton recommended some great Mexican places but I can't remember their names. See if you can round him up across the hall.

[texbike]

Too bad you won't be here on the 15th!

We have a nice little ride here called the Tour das Hugel.

It's an easy 100 (+) mile ride around town that takes in every major climb in the Austin area for an elevation gain of more than 14,000 ft.

Check it out at www.tourdashugel.com .

Cheers,

Texbike

[paczki]

Thanks for all this info! Awesome :banana:

[Steelhead]

Come on out for the Saturday and/or Sunday Austin Flyers Rides ! AustinFlyers dot com

[cmg]

Did the 40 mile tour last week in Gruene Texas, south of Austin. It went along River road, very scenic with little rollers. http://www.tourdegruene.com/maps/LongTour40m08.pdf

[girlie]

Lucky Ducks:)
girlie

[Lance Armstrong]

I will be in town all week/weekend. We can definitely hook up for some good riding, in and out of town. Stay downtown. There are long rides to be done from town, and there is a lot more to do.


I would love to join you all, if I am in town. LA

[paczki]

I would love to join you all, if I am in town. LA

That would be fun, especially if you wear your Bikesnob NYC t-shirt. Tres chic.

[Cdub]

Lots of good rides. aLexis is right, stay downtown and head toward the Damn. I think they call it the 'damn loop".

Does the ATC ride still happen Saturday morning?

You might still have to avoid a squirrel or two.

aLexis, I will be there the week before and the week after. \It would be fun to ride.

Cdub.

[gone]

Personally, I'd get away from Austin and head toward Fredericksburg. Lots of great riding in the area in all directions and much less traffic.

[39cross]

I'm not sure what your budget for hotels will be like, but the Hotel San Jose on South Congress would be a great place to stay www.sanjosehotel.com. Another plug for this hotel - my spouse & I stayed at the San Jose a couple of years ago, it was a nice little place with some funky soul. There was a good coffee place just down the hill and a bar with a good band across the street. I'd stay there again.

[-dustin]

Austin's great...

But Fredericksburg would be better for a relaxing vacation, in my opinion. I go back to Austin (former resident) to unwind from Dallas (current resident). I go to Fredericksburg (born and raised) to get away from it all.

[trophyoftexas]

Austin's great...

But Fredericksburg would be better for a relaxing vacation, in my opinion. I go back to Austin (former resident) to unwind from Dallas (current resident). I go to Fredericksburg (born and raised) to get away from it all.

In fact, DOUBLE DITTO! Don't get me wrong, I love Austin and it's a great place to hang out.....but if you want to SEE TEXAS and RIDE TEXAS then you've got to head out into the Gillespie County region....include a little Kerr County if you can. I don't think that there's a better "slice" of Texas around than a ride on the Willow City Loop....I mean, it looks like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood would be riding up from behind a mesquite tree at any time!

40 years ago, when Austin was much much smaller, I thought it was about the coolist place around.....well, it's still pretty neat but it's also out-grown it's road system to the point of it being a real pain in the butt to get around in....and you'd double that 'pain in the butt' feeling by being a stranger in town trying to figure out where to go and what time of day to go there! Loooooooong delays in traffic are the norm in Austin.....longest delay you'll have out in Fredericksburg is waiting for the deer, sheep, goats, and cows to clear the road!

[39cross]

How about the Ft. Davis area? It's a long ride from Austin, but when I visited I thought it would be a great place to cycle.

Anybody ridden a bike out there?

[nicrump]

How about the Ft. Davis area? It's a long ride from Austin, but when I visited I thought it would be a great place to cycle.

Anybody ridden a bike out there?


yes. all the time. it is great riding and almost real mountains.

[39cross]

yes. all the time. it is great riding and almost real mountains.Another place out that way - I had forgotten about this - but we drove from Marfa down to the Rio Grande. Nice rollers. In fact I saw a group of cyclists riding, looked like some sort of camp. I thought I'd like to ride there someday too. Have you ever ridden those roads?

[Cdub]

Don't forget about Leaky. Search for the 'Killer Diller" race. good climbing and empty roads.

[RPS]

If cycling is the main objective of my trip I prefer Fredericksburg because I can ride in all directions out of town, traffic is very low, and to me it feels much more peaceful and relaxing. You just need to know which back roads to take for the best routes. I’d stay off the main roads when possible; not that they are bad but the side roads are that much better IMO.

Fredericksburg is small and may not appeal to everyone who is looking for a lot of activity – particularly at night. In the past I’ve been surprised how early some of the businesses close.

The Leaky area has good climbs (about a mile long and maybe 15 percent) and is only about an hour’s drive from Fredericksburg. We sometimes stay in Fredericksburg and drive to Medina or Vanderpool to ride from there for one of the days. You can also start from Bandera – depends on how long you want to ride.

[-dustin]

Starting Black Friday, all shops on Main St. are open until 9pm. While not much, it helps somewhat.

[texbike]

If you make it out to the Medina/Vanderpool/Leakey area, be sure to check out Lost Maples St. Park. The riding in the park isn't great but the hiking and scenery is fantastic.

Texbike

[trophyoftexas]

....great song title, eh!? No really, I've have lots of favorite things I like about the Hill Country, Fredericksburg in particular....but WAY up on the list is the fact that you can buy a beer and take it out and walk right up and down Main Street and as long as you don't jaywalk you'll not get a second glance from anyone! Ahhhhhhh Texas, you may not want a beer but it sure is nice to know you can have one!....when and where you want it!.....tell me now, am I livin' the High Life!!!!????

[paczki]

WAY up on the list is the fact that you can buy a beer and take it out and walk right up and down Main Street and as long as you don't jaywalk you'll not get a second glance from anyone!

I'm there! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[-dustin]

A friend of mine has a restaurant on Main and 16N. 2 doors down is a wine/ beer shop that's got "over 350 different beers." That place is amazing.

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v358/43/35/7900229/n7900229_48013546_1765.jpg

[mikki]

I'm thinking of going to Texas for Thanksgiving -- there are direct flights on Jet Blue from Boston to Austin. Any suggestions of cycling friendly places to stay, to ride, to eat, and so forth? I'm looking forward to dodging armadillos instead of squirrels!

Thanks!

Fredricksburg Inn. Great place and very bike friendly.

[billrick]

You have to hit the Rather Sweet Bakery in Fredericksberg, for pre-ride calories. Open for breakfast and lunch.

:)

[trophyoftexas]

You have to hit the Rather Sweet Bakery in Fredericksberg, for pre-ride calories. Open for breakfast and lunch.

:)

Best damn cinnamon (sp?..should be sinnamon!) rolls EVER!...and cheap, too! BUT, be in line by 7:45 cause they close when they are sold out!!!!....Like Tom says "you snooze, you loose!" I know a couple of great little B&B's out on Lower Crabapple, too, if you need more info other than the B&B Cyclismo stuff I sent you.......and billrick is also correct cause Rather Sweet is really good too, and better hours than Deitz Bakery. Several really good places to eat down there...if you go to the Auslander (can't imagine that you wouldn't) be sure to get the chipotle chicken-dealy 'cause they are SMOKIN' GOOD with your favorite German-style beverage! (hint hint hint!)