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Mopac

02.27.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

The first real “road” ride I did when I started biking last summer was Mopac.

Mopac Expressway (also known as Loop 1) runs south-to-north through Austin, west of the downtown area. By the time it gets down to my part of town, traffic has thinned out considerably, which makes it an attractive ride venue. It’s still a divided four-lane highway. It also has wide shoulders.

On weekend mornings, Mopac south of Slaughter Lane hosts many bikers. The ride along this section of the expressway is simple: Go south a couple of miles until Mopac turns west. It becomes Texas 45 at this point. There’s still a marked shoulder, but the paint line that defines it presses toward the curb as you approach some entrances to residential subdivisions. The road here has some long uphills. Stay on the wide shoulder all the way out to Ranch Road 1826.

mopacmap.png

Just before you get to 1826, check traffic and cross into the left shoulder. At the junction, you can turn left, and stay on the shoulder for the northbound 1826 traffic. It was recently resurfaced. In about 100 yards, you’ll reach the eastbound lanes of Texas 45. Cross the traffic lanes and pick up the shoulder. This is the start of a downhill section, which features two or three nice descents. It’s fairly easy to top 35 – even 40 mph along this stretch.

Once Texas 45 reaches Mopac, you follow the curve around to the north, and several uphill climbs to the stoplight at LaCrosse. Here, you have the option to turn right and head for the Veloway – just a quarter-mile down – or turn left on LaCrosse to the southbound lanes of Mopac, and do another Mopac loop.

From my house, it’s about 2.5 miles to Mopac. The out-and-back loop is 8.12 miles. If I do three “Mopac Loops” I’ve done 29+ miles.

It’s not my favorite ride in the area, but it’s convenient if I want to get out on the road.

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The Veloway

02.23.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

I live in Austin, Texas, which has many opportunities for biking. In the southwest corner of the city, where I live, it doesn’t take long to get out to some lightly-traveled country roads. Austin sits right on the boundary between mostly flat prairie to the east, and the Texas Hill Country to the west.

But one of the best rides around isn’t out in the country. It’s the Veloway, a track built especially for bikes (and inline skaters).

The Veloway was built as part of a metro park. It’s a paved asphalt road, running 3.1 miles in southwest Austin, near the intersection of Mopac Expressway and LaCrosse. It’s right across the street from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Bikes entering the Veloway must cross a gravel parking lot (It’s the only place on the trip where you have to watch for nasties that can puncture your tires). You steer between a gate and a large rock, and you’re on the track. It runs in a clockwise direction overall, but has plenty of left turns, too. Once you’re on the Veloway, watch out for riders coming around from the right for another lap. Ease out onto the track, and find your pedaling rhythm. The first part of the ride is mostly flat, with a slight rise leading to a right-hand sweeping curve, which then lets you build speed as you hit a slight downhill. At the bottom of the slight slope, you have a fast left curve. You’ll probably be over 20 mph at this point. Then the track starts to rise almost imperceptibly, except that your legs can feel the increased resistance, and you have to downshift two, or three, or even more times to handle the upward slope.

veloway2.png

The pale yellow line traces the route of the Veloway.

Then you get to a welcome landmark, the “Caution – Snake Crossing” sign (I’ve never seen any snakes use the marked crossing, although you can bet they’re lurking back in the underbrush). It’s welcome, because after a right curve, there’s a sharp left turn leading up a short hill, and then it’s downhill. Start pumping hard, shift into your highest gear, and go. You’ll be up around 25 mph or higher, but then you have to deal with a 180-degree hairpin turn. Downshift, go wide, turn into the apex, and accelerate out. You can pass folks here who took the hairpin cautiously. Then you power into a wide left turn, another 180-degree bend, and accelerate through a flat stretch to the next hairpin. You’ll come out of that into a fast, flat section which ends with an abrupt, short but steep hill. Downshift, hit the hill, stand up on the pedals, and you’re at the top.

A fast, flat section leads you back to the same route you took on the way out, but your route bears left, into another barely noticeable upslope. Fast downhill esses bring you to another rising incline, and the speed really scrubs off here. But at the top, you build speed to take a quick right, a quicker left, and an  even quicker right, which leads to the last brief uphill before you arrive at the parking lot and the entrance to the Veloway. My favorite ride is 2.8 miles from the house to the Veloway, three laps around the track, then back home. It’s just under 15 miles total, and takes just under an hour.

As you might expect, all kinds of bikers use the Veloway. It’s a popular place for parents to bring their kids, because it’s safe, and away from traffic. Plenty of adults on mountain bikes and hybrids like it, because it’s an easy and challenging ride all at the same time. Hammerheads in full racing kit run practice laps there, and you’ll find plenty of weekend warriors in biking clothes, too. Despite all that, it’s rarely crowded. Weekend mornings seem to see the heaviest use. Even then, you’ll never find yourself in a crowd. The Veloway is Austin’s cycling jewel. It would be great to have one or two more, so this biking experience would be easily accessible from all over the city.

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My riding inspiration

02.21.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

So how was it that I decided to get into biking, after never really considering it much before?

My wife.

She’s president of a professional organization that sponsors a local charity ride, and figured that as president, she’d better be a visible participant in the project. It’s a well-organized ride, and provides training rides four months before the event. They start small, and work up to substantial mileage.

At the beginning, six-mile rides left her huffing and puffing. By the month of the ride, they were after work pick-me-ups. On the weekends prior to the ride, she rode 25, 28 and 28 miles.

The effort is all the more impressive because of her bike. She rides a 15-year-old Trek hybrid. It’s heavy and slow. But she learned a lot during the training rides. She bought padded bike shorts and a jersey, and a friend “demanded” that she ditch the styrofoam helmet she owned since the early ’90s. The ride trainers also suggested she swap the knobby tires on the hybrid for narrower, smoother tires. And last but not least, she got clipless pedals and real bike shoes.

Her sister came down from Dallas to be at the finish, and the two of us drove out to the park where the riders would come in. On a narrow county road just before the park, there she was – her red biking jersey really stood out. But she was walking her bike, not riding. We pulled up alongside, and she told us she had fallen at a water crossing a few hundred yards back. She couldn’t disengage her pedal cleat fast enough as she approached the water, and went down. Injuries were minor–a few bruises and some “road rash,” and as we pulled our car into the parking area, we could see her get back up on her bike for the finish. We parked the car, grabbed the camera, and hurried to the finish line, but by the time we got there, she was already in the finishing chute with a big smile on her face.

Pat on Bike
Nearing the finish.

In the finishing chute
In the finishing chute. Her friend and ad hoc trainer, Scott, is right behind.

The ride was undoubtedly the most athletic thing this middle-aged woman had ever done in her life, and it left her with a great sense of accomplishment. It also proved to me that with a little effort, I could get there, too.

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