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Beyond Bike Lanes meeting scheduled
Like the idea of cycling but worried about putting foot to pedal?
I love the sound of the Austin Cycling Association’s Beyond Bike Lanes program.
The series of neighborhood gatherings is designed to spur discussion about personal barriers to cycling and intimidation factors, and provide practical advice on everything from route planning to basic safety practices. (Light up! Ride in a predictable way! Obey traffic laws!)
Hopefully, the meetings will ease the worries of new or potential cyclists, and encourage some to make biking a part of their daily life. (I love riding my bike to work most days.)
The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 at The Peddler Bike Shop, 5015 Duval Street.
City of Austin Bicycle Maps, educational information, refreshments and free rides on a Fat cruiser will be provided.
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RAAM qualifier coming to Central Texas
The crazy folks who put on the Race Across America, that coast-to-coast biking jaunt otherwise known as RAAM, have announced a new series of (shorter!) races, and it includes a stop near Austin.
A March 17 Gran Fondo race in Marble Falls will kick off the 2012 RAAM Cycling Challenge. It’s one of nine races slated for across the country. Other stops are Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Northern California, Ohio, Southern California and Florida.
The event will feature a 120-mile race as the main attraction, plus 30-mile and 60-mile recreational rides and 200-mile and 400-mile races. The 400-mile race is an official qualifying race for the solo category of the annual 3,000-mile Race Across America in June.
“Locations for our Gran Fondo events were chosen for their strong cycling community as well as the opportunity for beautiful views from the bike,” says Rick Boethling, executive director of the RAAM Cycling Challenge.
For more information and to register, go here.
In related news, the award-winning documentary about RAAM, “Bicycle Dreams,” will be shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. The screening is a benefit for the Austin Cycling Association.
I’ve seen the film, an excruciating look at the sleep deprivation, pain and emotion that the cyclists goe through during the ride.
Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Tickets are available online here.
RAAM president Fred Boethling will attend the showing, and local RAAM veteran Susan Farago will speak at the event.
For more information about the film, go here.
Read a story I wrote about Farago and her team of Austin women who finished RAAM last year here.
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Upcoming fitness events: Dog yoga, 5K runs and more
It’s shaping up to be a busy week, fitness friends. Here are some highlights:
- Share the Love Fundraiser — Have you dreamed of a date with 2011 Austin Marathon winner and professional triathlete Desiree Ficker? Check out the Share the Love fund-raiser sponsored by Mauro Pilates, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2 at Bar 96 on Rainey Street. Admission is $20 and includes food from Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant, music and a silent auction featuring University of Texas basketball tickets, spa gift certificates, art and that date with Des. Proceeds benefit the Texas Advocacy Project, a non-profit organization that provides free legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. For more information go here.
- Color Run — Is your life too black and white? Color it up at the Color Run ATX, scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at Mueller Beach Park. Participants will line up at the start wearing fresh white T-shirts. They’ll dash through “color zones,” where volunteers will slosh them with non-toxic colored powder, also known as elf pixie dust. A post-5K party, featuring more color, live music and local vendors, will follow. Proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity. For more information, go here.
- Canine Center for Training and Behavior Open House — Is your dog a natural athlete? Ever wanted to do yoga with your pooch? Drop by the Saturday open house from 1-6 p.m. Saturday at The Canine Center for Training and Behavior, 6901 Old Bee Caves Road. Admission is $5 and includes food, drink, two raffle tickets, facility tours, a little dog yoga, Canine Good Citizen testing, agility training, air scenting and canine massage. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome. Proceeds benefit Austin Pets Alive. For more information go here.
- Run for the Green 5K — Save Muny presents a 5K competitive run through Lions Municipal Golf Course, 2901 Enfield Road, at 8 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 5. Runners will weave through the course’s oak trees, down fairways and around the course’s water features, greens and bunkers. Ben Crenshaw will serve as the official race starter. Entry fee is $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and younger. (A fun run is also planned.) The University of Texas, which owns the property, is considering closing the course in 2019 and replacing it with retail and apartment development. Proceeds will benefit the effort to stop the closure. Register here.
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Free fitness DVDs, books
I’ve got a few things to give away. Let me know what you’d like, and why you deserve it. Best answers win.
I’ll pick winners in a week or so.
Up for grabs:
- ”What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Heart Disease,” by Mark C. Houston.
- ”Working Out Sucks! (And Why It Doesn’t Have To),” by Chuck Runyon.
- ”Yoga for Cancer Recovery,” a DVD.
- ”Jari Love’s Get Extremely Ripped!” a DVD. (I’ve got two copies)
- ”ChiWalking: The Five Mindful Steps for Livelong Health and Energy,” a DVD.
- ”ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running,” a DVD.
- 1. Yay for no dilly dallying at the start line. We got off right on time.
- 2. Burnet Road definitely doesn’t rank among the most scenic stretches of roadway in Austin. And that U-turn underneath U.S. Highway 183 was plain funky. This was a lot more industrial than the old cut through Northwest Hills. I miss Mesa Drive!
- 3. My husband dropped me off at the start line. We approached via Loop 360, and had no problems getting in at all. Plenty of parking. Ditto with the finish, which shifted this year to the Texas State History Museum.
- 4. Did you see all the discarded jackets and gloves and old T-shirts along the first half of the course? I hope someone collected those and donated them to charity.
- 5. I loved the two mariachi guys jamming on San Jacinto Boulevard. And thumbs up to the bag piper playing “Chariots of Fire” as we crossed MoPac Boulevard, too. Music is such a motivator.
- 6. You’ve got to love a downhill course. Fast and furious.
- 7. I wish volunteers wouldn’t fill the cups of Gatorade and water at the aid stations quite so full. I just want a couple of sips, not a full cup. So much waste!
- 8. Perfect weather, don’t you think? Start temp in the low 40s, finish not a whole lot warmer. I love running when it’s chilly.
- 9. I’m pretty sure a man wearing a full banana costume finished ahead of me.
- 10. I wish I hadn’t stopped to pee so many times. My finish time was 2:01:13. I might have broken the 2 hour mark! Still, I ran faster than I usually do, so I’m happy.
- 11. Those finishers medals were huge. Seriously. You could warm a tortilla on one.
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Reveling in the post 3M Half Marathon high
I’m reveling in a little post-half marathon muscle soreness today, but it’s nothing compared with how my legs felt after that 25K trail race at Big Bend National Park two weeks ago.
So. Thoughts on the 3M Half Marathon & Relay, which did some tinkering with its route this year?
What did you think of the race — and the new course? Other thoughts? Who did the relay? Did the exchange site along Great Northern Boulevard work for you?
Congratulations on your finish, runners!
Results are posted here.
(That’s me and my neighbor, Chris Bell, after finishing the race. Below is long-time Austin runner Keith Boone making his way along Shoal Creek. And that’s me with my gigantic finisher’s medal, suitable for cooking.)
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I am a swimmer
If you had to describe yourself in a handful of words, which ones would you choose? I’d include “swimmer” in my list.
Even though I run a few times a week and ride my bike to work, when it gets down to it, swimming is how I define myself. It doesn’t mean I’m particularly fast. It’s just that it’s that big a part of my life.
I love the water. I love the way it presses in all around me, offering up a full-body hug the whole time I work out. Something about that cool resistance brings me alive in a way nothing else does.
And I love the way I feel when I’m done with a hard workout — a delicious sense of fatigue soaking my body and a clear mind.
The water’s forgiving. It doesn’t jolt your knees or give you road rash when you fall. It sparkles when you dip your hand into it; it muffles the sound of the outside world.
Swimming makes you look inside, too. I can sort through problems or flesh out a story I’m working on all in my head, while I’m knocking off laps. And what other workout can you do while fully reclined?
That’s why I swim at least four times a week. I show up at practice before the sun rises, eager for a coach to holler instructions at me. Coaches can push me to swim faster and stronger than I ever thought I could.
Many of my favorite memories involve swimming: Plunging into an ice-cold lake at the top of a mountain in New Zealand, leaping off a dock into Echo Lake near Lake Tahoe, skinny dipping in Lake Austin, chugging up and down the shoreline during camping trips in Michigan, swimming clear around Manhattan Island with a relay team last summer.
Swimming makes me happy.
What words do you use to describe yourself?
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FrankenBike is taking over the world! (Plus canoe races and swim clinics)
Six thousand runners, including me, have registered for Sunday’s 3M Half Marathon & Marathon Relay on Sunday, but three other cool outdoorsy events are planned for this weekend.
Prefer biking?
Check out the FrankenBabe and FrankenBike event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at The Parlor, 4301 Guadalupe Street. The event, created by Michelle Moore as a tribute to the lovely ladies of the Austin cycling scene (hey, that includes me!), includes free tune-ups for women, a “drag race” and live music by The Dela Rosas, Sailor’s Wife, Jason Ramsey, IPD and The Lucas Cook Band. For more information go here.
FrankenBike, by the way, is taking over the world. Or at least the state. The monthly free bike swap meets have spread to San Antonio, Corpus Christi, College Station, Houston and more. They’ve even picked up a sponsor — Independence Brewery!
Prefer paddling?
The Texas Winter 100K (also known as TWO), pushes off from the banks of Lady Bird Lake, underneath the Interstate 35 bridge, early Saturday morning and finishes at Fisherman’s Park in Bastrop that evening.
Packet pickup and gear check is from 3-8 p.m. Friday at the Holiday Inn Town Lake. A mandatory pre-race briefing is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at the hotel. Races begin at 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. Saturday, with an awards ceremony planned for 7 p.m. Saturday at Fisherman’s Park. For more information go here.
Prefer swimming?
Colin’s Hope is hosting a swim clinic from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at Nitro Swimming, 15506 West Highway 71 in Bee Cave. Olympic athletes Brendan Hansen, Kathleen Hersey and Garrett Weber-Gale will provide instruction and share their stories. The clinic is designed for children ages 7 and up. Cost is $35. Proceeds benefit Colin’s Hope, which works to prevent drownings. For more information go here.
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Ready for Sunday’s big run
My quads have recovered from the Big Bend Ultra 25K, so it’s time to run across the city again, as fast as I can.
The weather looks good for Sunday’s 3M Half Marathon & Relay: A low of 38 and high of 60, with sunny skies.
Look for me among the crowd of 6,000 at the start line. I’ll be wearing a tie-dyed shirt and a white cap.
Need last minute details?
Packet pickup is from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Norris Conference Center, 2525 West Anderson Lane, behind Northcross Shopping Center. Bring a photo ID.
The race starts on Stonelake Boulevard near Baby Acapulco Restaurant at 6:45 a.m. Sunday. Organizers suggest arriving between 5:45 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
Buses will shuttle runners from the finish line at the Texas State History Museum to the starting line starting at 8 a.m.
Enjoy your run!
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Texas Running Company hosts Diva Night on Wednesday
Texas Running Company is hosting a free expo with shoe and bra fittings, chair massages, refreshments and vendors from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25.
“Diva Night” will take place at the store’s downtown location, 1011 W. Fifth Street, Suite 110.
Everyone who attends gets a free goodie bag and entry into a raffle for prizes including shoes, apparel, gift certificates, foam rollers and stretch bands.
Vendors include Nike, CW-X , MyFitList, CryoStudio, iGnite Your Life, Austin BodyWorker, Austin Woman Magazine, Capital OB/GYN Associates of Texas, Austin Family and Sport Chiropractic and My Fit Foods.
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Trail bridge over Barton Creek closed for repairs
Heads up, trail users.
The bike and pedestrian bridge over Barton Creek, on the south side of the hike and bike trail around Lady Bird Lake, is closed between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. until Feb. 6 for repairs.
This morning, workers were removing the heavy wooden timbers that pave the bridge, which spans the creek just west of Lamar Boulevard. (I love the sound those boards make when I pedal over them!)
They’ll replace the old boards with new ones.
In the meantime, hikers, runners, dog walkers, stroller pushers, cyclists and everyone else who uses the trail can head about 20 yards south, crossing Barton Creek via the Barton Springs Boulevard sidewalk.
That’s a narrow sidewalk, so pay attention!
(Top photo shows bridge from the west side, bottom shows it from the east side.)
Corrects to note the detour is via the sidewalk on Barton Springs Boulevard, not Riverside Drive.
Austin Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Victor Ovalle says it will cost $1,860 in materials for the project.
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Runners: Please light up!
The other morning as I was biking to swim practice, I came upon a string of runners on Shoal Creek Boulevard.
They were running north in the quasi bike and parking lane.
Not a single one of the half dozen or so runners was wearing a light or had reflective material on their clothing. Most were wearing dark colors.
Thank goodness my husband yelled at me, “See the runners?”
I didn’t.
I’ve got a recurring nightmare that involves me either hitting a cyclist or pedestrian with my car or crashing into someone with my bike. (I’ve also got one that involves me getting hit, and that’s why I wear a fluorescent vest and tons of lights when I bike.)
I know lots of Austin runners are preparing for the upcoming marathon. You’re out early or late, logging the miles after dark.
Please make yourself visible!
Here are a few websites to get you started:
Brooks makes a great line of gear called Nightlights. Check it out here. The picture above shows me wearing the Nightlights vest that I bike in.
A new product called Knucklelights is designed to be worn on runners’ hands. Pretty cool.
REI and local running stores carry clip-on lights that can be attached to caps or shirts.
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Free boot camps scheduled
For the next month, you can help out a great Austin non-profit at the same time you whip your muscles into shape.
Empowered Fitness and The Settlement Home for Children are teaming up to offer free boot camps. The workouts are at 10 a.m. Saturday mornings between Jan. 21 and Feb. 25, in the soccer fields by the lake and playground at Mueller Park in Austin.
Andrea Mendoza, owner and head trainer at Empowered Fitness, will lead the 30-minute boot camps. Pilates instructor and stretching specialist Colleen McCoy will lead the cool-down.
Participants don’t have to pay a fee, but are encouraged to make a donation to The Settlement Home, which helps abused and neglected children and their families.
The non-profit organization needs donations of scrapbook supplies, stuffed animals, blank journals, headphones, batteries, disposable cameras, art supplies, crayons, coloring books, jewelry making kits, cookbooks for children, board games, exercise DVDs, sports balls, nail polish and beauty and haircare products. Monetary donations are also needed.
For more information, email empowered.fitness@yahoo.com. For more information about Settlement Home for Children, go here.
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Latest comments
Rule 1. Don’t run stop lights and stop signs. Rule 2. See Rule 1.
... read the full comment by Bob | Comment on Beyond Bike Lanes meeting scheduled Read Beyond Bike Lanes meeting scheduled
I would like to have: ChiWalking: The Five Mindful Steps for Livelong Health and Energy, a DVD.
I already walk, but would love to have more energy.
Thanks
... read the full comment by Len | Comment on Free fitness DVDs, books Read Free fitness DVDs, books
Thanks for your generosity! I don’t need or want any of the DVD’s or books you are giving away. I have read Houston’s book and recommend it. I practice ChiRunning to maximize my efficiency and minimize my injury potential. You are giving
... read the full comment by Marvin Jansen | Comment on Free fitness DVDs, books Read Free fitness DVDs, books
I’d love to try the ChiRunning DVD. I certainly love running but have been plagued with injury.
... read the full comment by Bridget | Comment on Free fitness DVDs, books Read Free fitness DVDs, books
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