WAR VIII - Honky Tonk Heroes Like Me

We made it through the blistering summer heat to the official start of Fall.  No, not the equinox, dumbass - ACL.  Prepare yourself for thousands of hipsters, hippies, and weekend vegans to decend upon our town to tromp down the grass at Zilker Park.  Well, at least we get some excellent music.

So, this week we are going to break from the ACL Indie Scene by going back to Texas music roots - the Honky Tonk.  You don't need a giant flag, a pesant shirt and a 'crotch stash' to enjoy Texas music.  All you need is a cold Lone Star on a picnic table and quarter for the jukebox.  We will ride out Wednesday a visit a few of Austin's saloons, where we will be able sip a cold one while sitting on an old oak bench.  Places where PBR isn't considered 'retro'.

We are going to try something new this ride and not schedule dinner.  Hopefully we will finish at a more reasonable hour.  So, please feed youself before the ride.  We are starting this week at Shoal Creek Saloon, so I suspect a few folks will meet up early and eat there - I know I will.

The Ride - Wed, 9/24

-  Depart Shoal Creek Saloon, 7:15pm - sharp!

-  Ride is approx 9.5mi

-  Planned stops: Shoal Creek Saloon, Uncle Billy's Brew's & BBQ, Mean Eyed Cat

-  Please wear a helmet and bring a light

-  Suggested attire - Pearl Snap Shirt

Remember - no planned dinner on the ride.  Eat first or go hungry.  Or, be social and come eat with the family at Shoal Creek about 6:30.

If you want to add another 10mi or so, I'll be departing my house at 6pm.

The Map

Nightime is coming eariler and the vampires are out.  Please come to the next ride lit up like a damn Christmas tree.  Garlic is optional.  Johnny Law requires a red tail light and a white front light.  I hate to side with The Man, but he's right on this one.  You don't have to spend a lot, just grab something like this: Come on baby light my fire.

WAR VII - Margaritas

Ride Time: Wed, 9/10, 7:15pm

On September 16, 1810, Manuel Hildalgo rang the bells of his town church calling everyone to fight for Mexico's independence from Spain.  10 years (or one long Spanish siesta) later, Mexico stood alone.

We USAmericans celebrate our independence by blowing shit up.  However, the Mexicans have a much more refined celebration tool - Tequila!

So, this week's W.A.R. will celebrate diez y seis (a bit early) with a salute to the Margarita!  We will take off on our bikes and declare our very own independence from work and cars in search of a few of Austin's finer Margaritas!

Planned stops are Trudy's, Opal Divines and the first East Side location on the W.A.R. - El Chile!
As usual, our ride will likely include a few additional locations central to the theme.  

The Plan: Ride starts at Crown & Anchor.  We roll at 7:15pm SHARP!  If you want a pre-ride Dos Equis, chug and pay up by wheels down.
Ride ends at Trudy's Texas Star at 9:30-10:00pm.  Distance: 8-10miles.  Please wear a helmet and bring a rear bike light.

Special attire for this ride:  Guyaberas!

 

If you want a bit longer ride, I'll be departing from my (new) house - 5612 Shoalwood by 6:30pm and getting in 10+ additional miles.  I'll be towing the tunes, so it won't be fast!

The Map.  See you there, bring a friend.  Via con Dios!

 

Also, this new Blog allows you to post comments, so if you have suggestions etc, post them!

More rides to plan for!

If you are marking events on your calender, make sure to add these two events:

1) The 26th Annual Harvest Moon Cruize - Sept 14 - Lamar Ped Bridge - 2am

This happens once a year. I caught it last year (by accident). This is as 'Austin' as you get, folks. There will be 400-500 riders leaving the Lamar Ped Bridge at 2am and going on a leisurely ride around Austin. There are frequent stops where everyone parties and dances. People haul beer, kegs, coolers, sound systems and everything else you can imagine. It's really quite amazing. Ride usually finishes somewhere downtown about 5am. I stumbled upon this ride last year (quite literally) and it was really amazing. Try to plan on it. Note - that day is a Sunday - ride starts at 2am (you can also look at this as really late Sat night). I know it's late, but it is worth it.
http://www.atxbs.com/?q=node/336

2) Tour de Fat - Oct 18 - Festival Gardens 9am-4pm

Crowder and I went last fall and this was eaisly the coolest thing I did last year This event is sponsored by the New Belgian Brewery (Fat Tire) and is a very weird blend of a bike parade/carnival/revival. The brewery brings all sorts of bizarre bikes. Beer, live music, and a short, very fun bike ride. Strange costumes are highly encouraged. This is a good event to bring the family as well. Seriously - don't miss this one.
http://www.tour-de-fat.com/city/austin

This event is really hard to describe - youtube is worth 1,000 words - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pChGFDlwSXo




If you are looking for more bike stuff to do in town, check out this blog and subscribe to his mailing list. www.atxbs.com (Austin Bike S*it)

-mat

WAR VI - Are you ready for some football?

The Wednesday urban Assault Ride makes it's 6th appearance this week in a salute to Football Season.

Damn, it's been a hot summer. But the sweltering heat of August welcomes this week's hero, Football Season! If you are like me (and you probably wish you are), you've had it with baseball, golf and synchronized diving. It is time for some good 'ol US American football. The Longhorns debut this week against the Florida Atlantic University Burrowing Owls. The Owls are apparently one of the finest High School Teams in the state of Florida. Should be an interesting year for the Horns with a lot of new talent. So, let's welcome in Football Season with a bike ride. We will meet at the Alumni Center and do a 'Texas Football Tour' with a loop around the stadium, and a tour of some classic Longhorn sports bars, including Scholtz's, The Tavern, and local legend - Creekside.

As an added bonus, Wednesday is LBJ's 100th birthday. The LBJ library will hold a birthday bash with FREE Rudy's BBQ and Amy's Ice Cream. The event will be held at the LBJ Library from 6-8pm. Parking might be tight, so get there early or ride in. Thanks to Charlie for the idea! There will be no scheduled 'Long Ride' this week, so you'll have an opportunity to honor LBJ by eating free food. As an added bonus, the Clock Tower will be lit up with '100' all night, hopefully to honor LBJ's birthday and not the estimated number of Colt McCoy interceptions this year. The LBJ event is not 'on the ride', if you want to attend, go beforehand. It's going to be too crowded to try and meet up, so you are on your own.
http://www.lbj100.org/


The Ride:

Start/End: The Alumni Center, across from the Stadium on San Jacinto
Time: Ride leaves at 7:15pm SHARP, return approx 10p
Distance: 8-10miles
Difficulty: Easy
Bring: Helmet, bike lights (front and rear), lock, beer money
Attire: All riders are strongly encouraged to wear some Longhorn gear

The Map

WAR V - Back to School

The Wednesday urban Assault Ride continues for part V - Back To School!

Well, it is time for all of the kids to go back to school. Check that - it's time for YOUR kids to go back to school. Yeah, that's right - we're old. But riding into West Campus last ride brought back memories of what school really is about - keg stands, frat parties, beer bongs, and the god-given right to have a couch on your front porch without shame! We might be getting older, but we ain't done - and this Wednesday, get prepared to go Back To School!

Our ride will take us to a few old haunts, and I can pretty much promise we'll ride by somewhere you: A) lived B) threw up C) both. Plan on meeting at Posse East. Wheels down at 7pm sharp - no waiting. If you want a pre-ride beer, hey man, that's up to you. My mom is sending me a check, so if it gets here in time, I'll join you. Ride will start at the Posse East and end at the Crown (optional finishing beer), so park there. This will be a fairly tame ride, so bring a friend. We should finish up about 9:30pm.

If you are up for more of a challenge, meet at my house. Wheels down at 6:30pm SHARP - no waiting! We will have a brisk ride to the Posse East to get a few more miles in.

The Groups:

Seniors - Meet at Mat's House (808 Ethel 78704) - ride at 6:30p - 18miles total
Freshmen - Meet at Posse East (if you have to look it up, you aren't invited) - ride at 7pm - 7.5mi total

Bring: Bike, rear blinky light, helmet, beer money


See you at orientation

The Map

WAR - IV - Vive le Tour!

Nothing says ‘teamwork’ like lighting your buddy’s cig while riding in the Alps.

Congratulations to Carlos Sastre, this year’s winner of the Maillot Jaune – the Yellow Jersey. He either out-rode or out-doped the rest of the field up Alpe d’Huez to take an insurmountable lead. The Tour is cycling’s premiere event, but has been plagued with scandal for the past, well 80 years or so. No matter, drugs or no drugs these guys are amazing athletes and ride a blistering 2,200 miles in 23 days. Depending on whom you believe, Floyd Landis rode it with either a belly full of Jack Daniels or a Testosterone patch on his junk. Either way is manly in my book.

So, this week’s Wednesday urban Assault Ride (WAR) will feature a Texan’s salute to the tour. We will ride down Austin’s Champs Elysees and I promise we will see the Eiffel Tower. A few stops are planned at some of Austin’s finer ‘European’ watering holes. Bring your bike and all the EPO you can eat. The post-ride drug test location will be the rear wheel of Crowder’s new bike.

Meeting Points:

The Breakaway Group – 6:30pm – Mat’s House – 808 Ethel (Est. 18-20mi total)

The Peleton – 7:10pm – Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. http://www.mellowjohnnys.com/ (Est. 8-10mi total)

Mellow Johnny is a Texan version of the French ‘Maillot Jaune’

They have good Espresso if you get there early!

Return time will be about 9:30pm

Required: Bike (most any kind will do), helmet, bike light (rear at least), beer money

Recommended: Lock, bell

Special Equipment: None

The Map

WAR III - Rooftops

W.A.R. Part III – Sniper Fire!

Ok. This time, I promise no insane hills. Seriously. I promise.

The Wednesday Assault Ride will make it’s third appearance on 7/16. This week, prepare for a tour around the city with a theme of “Up on the Roof” (insert The Drifters into the background). We will have a nice ride, with a few visits to some lovely Austin Rooftop bars where we will drink beer and look down our nose at those dirty car drivers. (Thumbing your nose is optional) The ride will finish with a view of the (almost) full moon from an undisclosed secret rooftop top location.

Meeting points:

Manly Men – Mat’s House – Wheels Down @ 6:30pm (Est. Distance 15-18mi)

Girly Men – S.R.V. Statue on Town Lake @ 7:00pm (Est. Distance 10-12mi) – Park at Threadgills, RunTex, Etc.

Return time will be about 9:30pm

Required: Bike (most any kind will do), helmet, Rear Light, beer money

Recommended: Lock, bell

Special Equipment: None

The Map

WAR II - Swimmin' Holes

Ladies and Gents and Sean,

The 2^nd Bi-Monthly Wednesday Assault Ride (WAR) is on! Most of you missed the inaugural WAR ride, but it did end with a message on my work voicemail that said ‘my ass hurts and it is all your fault’. That was fun to explain to the secretary.

Every other Wednesday there will be an Urban Assault on Austin via bicycle, We will have different routes each week, and explore the city on two wheels. Often times, we get thirsty, so there are planned pit stops. Basically, we are talking a pub crawl in spandex.

This week’s ride will focus on officially surrendering to the heat. Don’t worry about watering your dead lawn or slathering even more sunscreen on the kids. Just get on your bike and ride. This is a ‘no-drop’ ride, meaning we go as fast as slowest rider, so everyone can come along. Routes are in the 12mile range – not hard.

Required: Bike (most any kind will do), helmet, beer money or credit card

Recommended: Bike light, lock, bell

Special gear required this week: Hawaiian shirt, $10 cash and clothes you can get wet / swim suit (tiny bikini for the ladiezzz)

Time: Wed, July 2 Wheels down at 6:30p (we LEAVE at 6:30)

Where: Mat’s house – 808 Ethel

I’m guessing we will finish at around 9-930p, depending on pit stops. You can always bail out early.

Pedal on……

The Map

WAR I - The Beginning

Here is where it all started.

The Map