rpenmanparker 

So OP, are you not acclimated to city street riding?

RoboIsGod

OK great good to know. Yeah I'm hoping it dries up a bit more so I can go for at least a short ride today.

I'm staying pretty close to the downtown area on South 1st.

Darth Steele

ummm..yeah...lots of riding

K.Katso

Which cross street? There's a couple of good restaurants down there.

RoboIsGod

S 1st and Barton Springs. EDIT: Worth mentioning is that I'm a vegan.


Ok serious question: WTF is this cold and how much of this should I expect for the next 2 months? I was not expecting it to get much lower than 40 and therefore only have the gear for such temps. I suffered pretty bad yesterday and came home with numb hands. I'm getting some of my colder weather gear shipped down here but I'm hoping I'll have to use it pretty sparingly.

rpenmanparker 

We get a couple of cold spells like this during a normal winter. Some winters a lots warmer. Not this one.

K.Katso

You shouldn't have any problem finding food there, but I wouldn't be able to give you any recommendations unfortunately.

It never lasts. A week at the worst most of the time and then it warms back up again.

dstrong 

From 1st and Barton Springs, you can easily get to both Bicycle Sport Shop and Mellow Johnnys. BSS has a ride calendar under the tab "Events & Resources"...look for the rides for the Lamar store. MJ's website, "Rides and Events", has a listing of rides. They have a regular "Truancy Ride" on Fridays and several rides each weekend.

Weather wise, this is as cold/wet a start to the year as I can remember since I started road biking almost 10 years ago. It looks like this crappy weather will be with us though mid-week next week then will start getting back to "normal".

FYI...I used to ride Bee Caves Road/360/620 all the time before we moved south. Riding on a 60 mph highway takes a little getting used to and there are definitely some spots that are more "sporty" but I never had any trouble. We ride south a lot, on Old San Antonio road. The stretch between S. Austin and Buda is kinda dicey but I don't feel like my life has been in any more danger than on other roads.

Feel free to PM me if you want additional info. I ride out of South Austin (Circle C) and we have a lot of regular club rides.

RoboIsGod

I really appreciate all of the info everyone!

I'm planning on doing the MJ100k tomorrow but am a bit confused on the start time. I've seen 8:00am and 8:45am. I just called the shop and they guy who answered wasn't exactly sure. Their website says 8:45 but he said they might be going back to the earlier time of 8. If anyone has a clue please let me know!

Also, for a Saturday fast/hard ride, which would you say is 'better', the MJ100k or the Bat City ride?

grwoolf

I'm a Bat City guy and our Saturday ride can have fast/hard sections, but it's not a "hammerhead" ride if that's what you are looking for. We try to keep the group together (regroup on hills and fast sections) or sometimes split into a couple groups. We typically average ~19-20mph, but sometimes with quite a bit of climbing. I have not done the MJ ride for a while, but I remember the pace being similar and I remember it starting at 8. My biggest issue with the MJ ride is that it starts in town, so you have all the stop signs and neighborhood crap before you get onto any open roads. That's OK since you're staying in town, but I'm not a fan. We actually ride into town sometimes (not my fav and typically a more social pace).

Also, keep in mind that the road race season starts tomorrow and lot's of people will be racing. There will still be some people doing our ride, but expect a smaller group and maybe a slower pace. We're a pretty friendly group (no roadie attitudes for the most part), I'd encourage you to come out to a ride sometime.

RoboIsGod

Hey thanks a lot for this information! I will definitely check out your guys' ride in the near future.

Hhmmm now I'm not even sure what to do. I've been lazy and not getting up early to ride, so maybe I'll just swing by MJ's at 8:45 and see if there is a group riding. 8am start time might be a bit early for this guy.