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So, I'm moving out past Driftwood. It's a done deal and I've already gotten some of my stuff out there. On the trips out, I've been scoping out the highways and getting kinda a good feeling about biking on them.
First, I always remember how courteous the drivers were on FM 969 when I biked from Austin to Bastrop. No honking, no aggressiveness, they just moved into the other lane and passed me.
So, I'm interested in your opinions of these freeways if you've biked them before:
* FM3237 / Old Kyle Freeway between Wimberley and Kyle -- 60mph speed limit, minimal shoulders, but the stretch I've driven had very good visibility and not a whole lot of traffic. I would guess one car every 30 seconds to every five minutes.
* FM150 from FM1826 to the Old Kyle Freeway -- a couple of brutal hills, but otherwise I get the same impression about this that I do about the Old Kyle Freeway
* FM1826 -- this doesn't feel as good to me, but for no tangible reason. The strange thing, though, is that at the FM1826 / 45 intersection, there are dedicated bike lanes to facilitate getting from 45 into a left turn onto 1826. This makes no sense to me since 45 has a 70mph speed limit, no shoulder, and no bike lane.
I've not had the chance to get the bike out onto any of this yet. I imagine that most of what I would bike would be FM3237 from FM150 to Wimberley, possibly from FM150 to Kyle, and *maybe* using 150 + 1826 + 45 to get back up into Austin on occasion. Google Maps shows the best route to Austin being FM3237 all the way to Kyle, then Jack C. Hayes Trail up to the Old San Antonio Road.
I know that the people who bike across country can't be too picky about their bike facilities, so this has got to be somewhat safe, but what do you guys think?
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150 south to Old Kyle, past Salt Lick/Camp Ben has less traffic, less hurry.
1826 north of 150 is the least friendliest.
No give, no shoulders, big hills.
Also can be better or worse depending on time of day.
Make sure you are in high visibility gear and use judgement as to when to assert yourself in your lane and when to play gutter bunny.
Also, I know you ride a recumbent, however......
Violet Crown Trail is under construction.......better with a converted mtn bike or cyclocross bike.....
However, will get you from 1826/150 area all the way in to Zilker Park when complete.
Separate from motorists.....
Something to think about.....
Last edited by AusTexMurf (2013-09-04 10:24:22)
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Violet Crown Trail is under construction.......better with a converted mtn bike or cyclocross bike.....
Yeah, that'll be sweet. It goes within a thousand feet of my house (at Dick Nichols park) and goes pretty close to my work.
I've been waiting for the Mopac greenbelt pedestrian bridge, but that would be just as good ...
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"Dripping Springs is a great place to ride. The roads between here and Austin aren't that great, so it isn't a good place to commute from or in general to be a transportation cyclist. However, if you are a recreational cyclist, there are many rides that can be done from Dripping Springs to Wimberley, San Marcos, Blanco, Johnson City, Fredericksburg, Marble Falls and so forth. I, personally, don't go into Austin to ride very often because I don't like the traffic and the constant stop signs and lights. If you like quiet country roads, we've got plenty of them. Of course, not all of the roads out here are as quiet, smooth and wide-shouldered as we would like, but most of our rides involve primarily good roads, with occasional stretches of sub-optimal. You do need to like to climb, though.
I know the Fitzhugh-12 area pretty well. You don’t want to head south on 12 for sure, but you’ve got a number of ways that you can go from there – Fitzhugh all the way to Johnson City, or Bell Springs to south of 290, out 12 and Hamilton Pool to Round Mountain, lots of options. If you can give me information on what sort of distances you are looking for, I can point you at some routes. Depending upon distance and speed, I may even be able to hook you up with some riders."
Post from the Texas Regional Bike Forum, just a few days ago, Savanni.
I know that you are primarily a transportation cyclist, but sounds as if he has some significant experience cycling in your area that might apply.
If you send me your email address, I can get you folks in touch.
Best,
Murphy
You can reach me at:
bubmurf@gmail.com
Last edited by AusTexMurf (2013-09-06 09:20:11)
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I'll be living off of FM3237, hence my emphasis on that. Every road for my neighborhood connects to there.
I'll also not be commuting every day since during the time that I'm out there I'll be on sabbatical. Certainly not commuting to Austin. It's just that my habit, even for leisure rides, is to go out, grab the bike, and go. I could change my habit so that it involves loading the bike into my car and going to a better destination (I'm rather fond of the Mt. Gainor Road loop), but I'm less likely to do that on my own.
That said, I would *hate* to bike on 290, Hamilton Pool Road (I hear constant rants from my overprivileged and out of shape family members about bikers on that road), or highway 12.
Hence, my questions.
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FM3237 is a no go, at least for a lone cyclist.
I've been out here for a while now. I did one single ride of a mere 8km on FM3237/Old Kyle Freeway. I got some great speed going, and it was the middle of the day so I had minimal traffic. But, even with the mirrors to watch traffic from behind, it was still nerve wrecking. I huddled close to the side of the road, ready to ditch in an instant. And I wasn't even dealing with some of the hills between my house and Wimberley. I was on relatively flat ground for that ride.
However, I can use a very short stretch of FM3237 to get to Lone Man Mountain Road, which is *very* nice. A 35 mph speed limit and almost no traffic at all. Sadly, it connects only over to HW 12. I've not taken much of a peek at HW 12 yet. I know that the area of HW 12 that goes through Wimberley is pretty bikeable (actually, most of Wimberley feels pretty bikeable, and bikes feel like the *perfect* way to tour the city). But this connection is a couple of km north of Wimberley. Also, there's going to be a brutal uphill to get to it. I'll check it out soon.
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I was told that Darden Hill and Mt Gaynor roads are reasonably friendly for cyclists.
No personal cycling experience on those roads, here, though.....
Keep us posted.
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I've not heard of Darden Hill and will make a point of finding it. Mt Gaynor, however, is really wonderful and I'm going to get my bike out there next week some time. It's also popular enough on weekends that if you get into mechanical trouble, help will probably be by within twenty minutes or so. :-)
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