Moving and shaking in Austin, TX

I was volunteering at Yellow Bike at the time, but Rob D'Amico managed to make it out to last night's Chris Riley Campaign Kick-off Party at Threadgill's, and did a writeup on the event over at the BicycleAustin blog. From what he said it sounds like the turnout from the Austin cycling community was PHENOMENAL! That's great to hear. Chris Riley sounds like he's going to be a strong advocate for equal treatment and facilities for cyclists within City Council, and as I'm quickly learning it's a seat on that council that enables you to enact change in Austin more than anything else. I hope his campaign is over the top successful.

Also, another big thing is happening in the Austin cycling website scene. The guys over at Austin Bike Blog are undertaking the arduous task compiling a google calendar of ALL (and I actually mean ALL) the events, rides, races, and "bike culture" happenings that go down in and around town. I guess that last category is our rides, also known as the kind of events at which you can drink before, during AND after. If you want to check out this rather prolific calender, take a gander. This is something I've been rather excited about myself, since besides the occasional strange event that appeals to me, I rarely mention the myriad of weekly rides hosted by such groups as Austin Ridge Riders, Austin Cycling Association, Violet Crown, or the many other clubs and organizations around town that already have their own support networks. This new calendar has EVERYTHING! Definitely check it out if you're bored and in need of something to do that's not one of your standard ATXBS events. Their calendar is PACKED with stuff to do. I'm not even joking, today there are 8 events around town, tomorrow they have 14! Go cheer (or jeer) a tuesday nighter crit race, or hit the roads with the Violet Crown cycling club, or take your mountain bike out and ride the trails with some serious (though oftentimes not-so-serious) bikers; it's all about expanding horizons.

Great jobs Rob, Marcus and Elliot! I'm really digging all the coverage of the shit I haven't been able to make, either due to having a real job or having other shit to do at the time. Plus, it's been exciting to see your blogs grow in new directions and cover a wider breadth of stuff as they mature. Hell, I'm loving it if for no other reason than it lets me goof off and only cover the shit I give a damn about. Keep it up y'all!