Texas - Austin

I am going to be attending a convention in Austin in August. (It'll be cool by then, right?) The convention hotel is the Hilton Austin at 500 E. 4th Street.

I'll be driving to Austin and I'm thinking of taking a bike to ride while I'm there.

Is there any chance I can ride directly from the hotel without risking immediate death?

Since I'll have a car I guess I can drive someplace and ride and that I can figure out -- though I'd appreciate any suggestions -- but I am curious about riding in what seems to be a downtown location.

And if anyone has any idea how a Hilton will take to a sweaty, tubby guy walking through pushing a bike I'd be curious to hear about that, too.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Downtown Austin is very bike friendly. You'll be just a few blocks from Lance's shop, Mellow Johnny's and there are plenty of routes that leave from there.

About the Hilton, call them...

As Creaky said, downtown Austin is pretty bike friendly. Once you get away from downtown it varies more.
It probably will not be cool then, however.
Though you'll be so close to the convention center that pulling out the bike might not be worth it -- just walk!

Don't dare miss Mellow Johnny's - coolest bike shop I ever saw.

They will probably look down their noses at you in the HIlton, but other than that, Austin loves cyclists.

+1 on not missing MJs while there.

I am going to be attending a convention in Austin in August. (It'll be cool by then, right?) The convention hotel is the Hilton Austin at 500 E. 4th Street.

I'll be driving to Austin and I'm thinking of taking a bike to ride while I'm there.

Is there any chance I can ride directly from the hotel without risking immediate death?

Since I'll have a car I guess I can drive someplace and ride and that I can figure out -- though I'd appreciate any suggestions -- but I am curious about riding in what seems to be a downtown location.

And if anyone has any idea how a Hilton will take to a sweaty, tubby guy walking through pushing a bike I'd be curious to hear about that, too.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I've dragged road bikes into plenty of nice hotels. The only hassle is the elevator.

Coming from Athens GA, I'm sure you'll do better in the heat than others coming in from milder climates.

There are all sorts of options from the Hilton that get you out of downtown pretty quickly. Depending on your timing, I'd be happy to take you on a tour. My brother was in town last month and I did a nice 24 loop with him that hit many several interesting spots in Austin, including Mellow Johnny's, the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, Chuy's (where the Bush daughter's were busted using fake IDs), Lance's house, Mt. Bonnell, UT, etc... If we can't hook up, I'd be glad to plot out a route for you.

Coming from Athens GA, I'm sure you'll do better in the heat than others coming in from milder climates.

There are all sorts of options from the Hilton that get you out of downtown pretty quickly. Depending on your timing, I'd be happy to take you on a tour. My brother was in town last month and I did a nice 24 loop with him that hit many several interesting spots in Austin, including Mellow Johnny's, the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, Chuy's (where the Bush daughter's were busted using fake IDs), Lance's house, Mt. Bonnell, UT, etc... If we can't hook up, I'd be glad to plot out a route for you.

Where can I find Lance's house? I'm hoping to be able to drive by on my trip later this month.

Surely the "cooler by then" part was a joke, right? August is still HOT in Texas. Notable cooling-down will not happen until well into September. Not sure about the climate in Athens, GA, but if you can handle summer in GA, you should be able to handle Texas. I notice a big difference in the humidity just driving to Austin from the Houston area.

surely the "cooler by then" part was a joke, right? november is still hot in houston. Notable cooling-down will not happen until well into december. Not sure about the climate in athens, ga, but if you can handle summer in ga, you should be able to handle texas. I notice a big difference in the humidity just driving to austin from the houston area.

ftfy

Thanks everyone. Now, I'm not sure about taking a bike because my wife wants to do other stuff on the way back and I'm concerned about just leaving it sitting on the back of the car. So, who knows?

I was kidding about the heat. August in Texas has got to be awful, same as it is here in GA.

I do appreciate all the suggestions and help.

Will you have room in the back seat? Even on weekday rides I've seen some who take one ... or both wheels off and put the bike in the back seat so it can be locked up/ protected. Wrap it up in an old blanket or use a big plastic yard bag to keep grease dirt off.

It is usually very cool in Austin in August. The temperature usually isn't over 85 at 5 am.
The Hilton is the home base of the Livestrong Challenge. They should be used to having cyclists stay there.
The 2 best rides from that location would be to head west, either on Barton Springs or 6th street. If you go down 6th, you can connect with Lake Austin Blvd and then some residential streets to Mount Bonnell. From Barton Springs you go south on Loop 1 to Loop 360. There are a bunch of different variants from there. If you want to drive somewhere, get on Loop 1 south and follow the signs to the Wild Flower Center. This is across the street from the Veloway, which is a great place to start any ride. You could actually ride your bike there, but there is no good way to get back to downtown on a bike. The bridge you cross going south doesn't have a shoulder going north. There are plans to fix this problem sometime in the next 10 years.

East Side Pedal Pushers rents bikes by the day, they're right around the corner from the Convention Center. They don't have a website, but here's the info:
1414 E 5th St
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 826-3414
Lee or Scott will hook you up.

It is usually very cool in Austin in August. The temperature usually isn't over 85 at 5 am.
The Hilton is the home base of the Livestrong Challenge. They should be used to having cyclists stay there.
The 2 best rides from that location would be to head west, either on Barton Springs or 6th street. If you go down 6th, you can connect with Lake Austin Blvd and then some residential streets to Mount Bonnell. From Barton Springs you go south on Loop 1 to Loop 360. There are a bunch of different variants from there. If you want to drive somewhere, get on Loop 1 south and follow the signs to the Wild Flower Center. This is across the street from the Veloway, which is a great place to start any ride. You could actually ride your bike there, but there is no good way to get back to downtown on a bike. The bridge you cross going south doesn't have a shoulder going north. There are plans to fix this problem sometime in the next 10 years.

LOL! I was about to have a heart attack until I read the 2nd sentence there. :thumb: