Texas - Preseason training in TX?

I'm considering organizing a preaseason "training camp" to somewhere warm (or at least warmer than Kansas City) for a few days in Feb or March with a few guys from my racing team, probably mostly strong cat-3 and cat-4 guys and am looking for advice from you Texans on some good venues.

At the top of the list right now are the Austin and/or San Antonio areas - Austin because I've heard that it has an excellent cycling community and some nice climbs, and San Antonio mostly because we'd be bringing our families and I've heard that it's a great place to hang out. Both are within driving distance of KC (just barely though), which would be much more convenient than flying.

Weather: Hoping for 50's to 70's and of course dry.
Terrain: Looking for varied terrain including flats, rolling hills, and sustained climbs (the longer the better)
Other: Lots of strong group rides would be good too since we won't know the area. Having a good LBS nearby would be nice as well.

We'd probably do long morning rides then clean up and spend afternoons/evenings split up in "vacation mode" with our families.

I was thinking maybe ride in Austin and hang out in San Antonio? Any opinions on this approach, or other ideas? Any ideas on good areas near these two cities (or others) to lodge/ride/hang out? Any good links to other resources that would help me plan the riding and/or vacationing?

Any suggestions, tips, and advice is appreciated!

blaronn -

These sites may be of interest to you:


http://www.austinbikeroutes.com/index.php

http://www.ms150.org/ms150/riding/recommended_rides.cfm

I think you'll find that staying in San Antonio, or somewhere to the west of there, and riding some of the country to the NW, West and SW of San Antonio to be quite enjoyable.

Back and forth between Austin and San Antonio will get old after the second day. That section of I-35 is some of the heaviest traffic in the state. I haven't been down there since last summer so I don't know if its still "barrel city" with construction. I hate that stretch of highway.

And in my opinon San Antonio is much more user friendly than Austin. San Antonio is a tourist town. Austin, while having its share of attractions, just isn't quite the same. West Austin traffic is a mess.

Some great routes here http://www.sabikerides.com/#ROUTES

Click the links and you can look at the individual maps.

Native Texan here...just sayin'

I just got back from riding around White Rock Lake here in Dallas- rode in my shorts and T-shirt. Beautiful weather. The problem is, there's no way to guarantee that for a trip, and you may get down to Austin the one day it's cold and rainy or even snowy.

I get the impression that Austin has a lot of cyclists, but isn't necessarily a good place to ride itself- but lots of hilly country in all directions outside of town. It's really pretty out by Enchanted Rock, although I haven't ridden a bike in that area. If you time it right, you may catch a bunch of bluebonnets in bloom.

I recently picked up a book, "Best Bike Rides- Texas" by Andy White, and a number of them are in that general area; might be helpful if you can buy or borrow a copy ahead of time.