Carbon Unit

I am considering a move to Austin for a job. I have been Googling anything I can about cycling in Austin and what seems to come up mostly are complaints from Lance Armstrong and others that the growth of Austin has really hurt cycling in the area.

Is there still good places to ride in Austin? Are there many bike lanes and bike paths in Austin where it is possible to avoid cars? What I really like and I don't get much of it where I live in Orange County, California, are country roads with little traffic. The traffic here is heavy but the roads are wide and have bike lanes.

Don in Austin

There are a bunch of bike trails. They are not connected as well as they could be, but you get to know work-arounds. There are lots of bike lanes. For country roads with little traffic I would ride outside of Leander or Neiderwald. For whatever reason, the country rides that a lot of the roadies take are on roads where I consider the traffic unacceptable. I ride after work twice or more per week and there are lots of neighborhoods where you have the streets to yourself. If you would PM me I will give you a phone # and be happy to talk to you. If you choose to move to or visit Austin I will be more than happy to show you around the places I like to ride but if you are a 20 mph type of dude you will have to bear with me!

Don in Austin

alpha_bravo

There are at on of great rides in Austin. Even though it may have grown, it's still by far the most cycling friendly city in the state. There is a good summary of some quality Austin rides here by Mike Weiland. They're complete with photos and elevation descriptions:
https://www.roadbikerides.com/index/user/weiland/42

All the local shops there have shop rides and can accommodate any level of cyclist from the true hammer addict to a more leisurely pace.

If you're willing to get in your car and drive 30-45 min, there are rides in Bastrop, Marble Falls, Georgetown, and San Marcos feature very little traffic on deserted country roads with plenty of hills.

adamrice 

The official sport of Austin is complaining nostalgically about how much better things used to be (and I play the game too). Cycling in Austin is not as good as it used to be because of very rapid suburban development, but it's still pretty good, objectively speaking, and you can pretty much choose whether to ride hills or flats by choosing to ride west or east. I'm mostly talking about longer distance fitness riding here. We've got a lot of country roads which have no shoulders but generally light traffic, and high-quality highways with wide shoulders, good pavement, and a lot of traffic. Cycling on these can be hairy, especially crossing off-ramps (I knew one cyclist who was killed doing just that).

Urban cycling is a mixed bag: I think the city's heart is in the right place in terms of improving bicycle facilities, but many of its efforts seem poorly thought-out or are, well, compromised by compromises with other interests (see: Shoal Creek Boulevard).

Mash Master

Cycling in the North part of Austin and Cedar Park are good. I don't particularly like riding in the downtown area. I'd stay north of 360 personally. There is a lot of rides on the weekends here for just about every level of rider.

Carbon Unit

Thanks for replying. It looks like there is still good riding in Austin and I am glad to hear that. What I typically do is long fitness rides by myself or with a group. Having interesting surrounds make the ride so much more enjoyable. Riding in big city traffic is not only dangerous but boring too. So it is good that there is still open country to ride in on the outskirts of Austin.

Mash Master

check out the austin cycling association they run rides on every saturday and Sunday

H-Bear

Mellow Johnny's Sunday group ride was a lot of fun (did the Dam Loop). If needed, you can shower up at the store afterward for only $1.

Calendar Link

rainycamp

Go to Map My Ride (mapmyride.com) and do a search for rides in Austin. You'll get more hits than you can ride in a year.