Shop to Shop, bike racing in Austin.
An alleycat in Austin that was more of a party with a little bike riding
The free race started at Fast Folks on East 6th Street, The one and only checkpoint was No Comply Skate Shop and then back to Fast Folks for the finish. It was a very short race.
It was the typical sort of race beginning where we lay our bikes down and have to run up to them at the sound of a yell or siren glass braking.
The race passed through an intersection with access to Interstate 35. For some reason, I stopped for the red light … when I came to my senses I resumed racing and had to catch all of the people who passed me. Oops.
A band played before and people milled about. It was more of a party than anything.
Then the race happened. I managed to dehydrate myself rather well before and I really couldn’t remember the last thing I ate. The past two weeks I didn’t take care of myself very well and I felt it during the 6 or 7 miles of racing.
Oh well, so what? I finished and wasn’t last.
After the race, people talked, drank beer and just had a good time. Some of the hipsters did their fixed-gear tricks while others just enjoyed the nice afternoon.
They announced the top 5 finishers, who all won something. The first place finisher won a pair of wheels with green Velocity rims and Formula hubs – black, I think. One of the kids with the bull horn walked around with it for a while yelling things to people and being obnoxious. It was hilarious.
I think he had conversations with it. The police siren definitely got some use as well.
After the race and some time relaxing with yet another rock band, it was time for the trackstand competition. I wanted to borrow a fixed gear for the contest to redeem my awful performance earlier.
But I didn’t. I didn’t even ask anyone. I took photos instead.
Although I really stood out – or at least I felt like I did – it was still fun. I may complain about hipsters in Austin like I did in Brooklyn but overall, Austin is always a good time. The bike people are a hoot, the weather is good and the girls are hot.
I go to Austin whenever I can. I always have a camera or two with me and I’m always up to shoot photos at a bike-related event of some sort. Hell, even a non bike elated event …
A cursory glance at some previous posts here shows some vastly different views of the greater cycling community. Some of the riders are “cyclists” while others are “bike people”. Many are both, some are neither.
OK, Austin, au revoir.
Austin on Two Wheels
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Austin has a thriving bike community and a pretty good infrastructure to support it. The community isn’t just “cyclists” and it really isn’t “bike people”, it’s a mix. In one weekend, without riding very far, I shot bike polo, BMX dirt jumps, a triathlon. After all of that, there was a cancelled group ride starting at midnight. And that wasn’t all of it, either.
Bike Polo!
Bike polo has its own followers and fans. My first time seeing the game played in all of its wonderful chaos was at Eastwoods Park in Austin.
Basically, if I have it right (please correct me if I don’t), there are two teams of three who try to get the ball between the cones or the goal of the other team.
To start off the game, someone needs to yell “polo!” If a player/rider puts a foot down, they have to ride away from the play and tap a post nearby. I think bike polo is generally played on tennis courts so the posts holding the net are tapped.
The game goes until one of the teams reaches a certain score, then it’s done.
(more photos on Flickr and more to come)
West 9th Street
This time the riders were hitting everything but the big doubles, at least while I was there. This place, simply known as West 9th Street, started in the 80′s or earlier and is free and open to the public – as long as they’re on BMX bikes. I knew about it when I raced BMX in the early 90′s and it wasn’t new. It’s always good to see younger kids here as well as old farts my age. I was surprised with the number of girls riding and the big stuff they were hitting. Awesome.
At one point a small Red Bull truck/car showed up. Out sprang two cute, young girls handing out free cans of Red Bull. You know your spot is on the map when this happens.
Capitol of Texas Triathlon
I knew about the triathlon but I thought it was over by the time I rode away from the BMX kids on W9th toward Congress Avenue. Lo and behold, the triathlon was in the end of the cycling portion. Awesome.
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
The night before some of this happened, Alamo Draft House screened a 35-mm print of “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” to a loving outdoor audience in a clearing across from Progress coffee on San Marcos Street and East 5th Street. That first scene when Pee-Wee brought out his bike, the place erupted in applause. One of the guys working the ticket tent was dressed in a grey suit just like Pee-Wee. I have a photo of him in Progress, which is a fantastic place by the way. I plan to go back regularly and you should as well.
I don’t have very many photos of this – I mean, it’s a movie.
Light Tower Ride
After the movie, at around midnight, the Light Tower Ride was scheduled to roll away from the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge but it never happened. The ride was postponed due to lightning. No big deal although it would have been a pretty good way to end a weekend of two wheeled chaos.
Sunday I head back to the Defense Information School in Fort George G. Meade, MD (between DC and Baltimore) for a week. I’m attending the 17th Annual Department of Defense Military Photography Workshop as one of 25 selected to go. I’m stoked.
I expect it to be a good time and maybe I’ll learn something.
Hopefully I can make blog posts of the adventure, we’ll see what happens.
