SXSFixed

Here’s the elevation profile.

Somebody’s created a pretty nice little site to do this. Well, a couple somebodys. You can go here to input a link from a multi-point Google map, and then it’ll send you over to another site which will output the data. Bikely can do this too.

Pretty neat.

EDIT: I am a total nerd. Here’s the elevation profiles for the individual days…

Day 1 – 110 miles

Day 2 – 86.9 miles

Day 3 – 34.9 miles

View Larger Map

Okay, we scouted the route from here to Waco. And we’re glad we did. It would’ve been the most brutal way to start the most brutal day.

Firstoff, the first day is going to be ~110 miles. And with the original route, it would’ve been 35 miles of steep hills. Right at the beginning.

Now it’s been altered to a flatter start. It won’t get incredibly hilly until about 15 or 20 miles in. But from there on out, it’s smooth sailing.

On the morning of March 13, 2010, 13 fixed-gear cyclists gathered in downtown Dallas with one destination in mind: Austin.  They had been training for months in anticipation of the first-ever SXSFixed ride.  Over the next three days, the SXSFixed riders pedaled over 230 miles on untamed Texas roadways, through small towns and busy highways,  and arrived at the bike-friendly capital of Texas on March 15, 2010 at 1:00pm.

13 cyclists riding

3 near-hits

15 hours on the saddle per rider

2 flat tires

154 bananas consumed

158 minutes minutes of livestream footage

124 twitter updates from the road

3 wrong turns

238 miles per rider

2900 cumulative miles ridden

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SXSFixed 2010.  Austin, we’ll see you next year.

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View SXSFixed 2010 in a larger map

See more on SXSFixed 2010:
Livestream footage archive www.qik.com/LaceofBase
Photos www.flickr.com/LaceofBase

Thanks to everyone for their love, comments, re-tweets, and support.  It made the trip worthwhile.  -SXSFixed2010

Wish we could be there in time…

“It’s coming…

If you would like more info or if you want to volunteer contact:
Nikol (nikol.kinu@gmail.com)
or
Jon (610-737-7189 – jonjameskeller@gmail.com)”

As most of you know, I took a little drive down to Austin on business, however, took the opportunity to scout out the route (well, part of it) on the way back up. So, here’s the synopsis and some pics to boot:

Traveling out of Waco, the route says to take 84, which happens to be a highway-esk road, 4 lanes total, speed limit 55. The good news – there is a service road for most of the way and the traffic on the highway itself is comparable with Garland road (not during rush hour). There’s a bridge larger than the Ft. Worth or Zang bridges, but other than that, its relatively flat… a few rolling hills.

The rest of the trip is relatively flat – we travel through quite a few tiny towns with a ton of little eating spots… that’s really all I was scouting for, honestly.

Switching off between sections of rolling hills and sections of flat field land as far as the eye can see, the land was already starting to sprout for spring, so March should be gorgeous as far as scenery goes.

There’s another short stretch of highway-esk road when we hit FM 685 – but here’s proof that it is safe to ride around here:

Most of the crazy insane hills and not-so-Texas scenery starts around Dessau Road. The beginning of the road will take us through some pretty modern towns – HEBs, mini-vans, and pop up homes galore. But just when you think the suburbs will never end, the road turns into evergreen-lined road that meanders through the Austin countryside.

(Yes, I realize this photo isn’t the very meander-ey – but I was having too much fun driving to actually shoot a pic. Promise it’s there.)

I changed the route a little bit so we don’t hit 290 and the service road on 35. By doing so, we hit some killer hills right outside of Austin. And good news! There are actual bike lanes from this point on.

(Look close – you’ll see a few hilltops in the distance and the lane on the right.)

And of course, I couldn’t scout the route without starting at our endpoint:

I can’t wait to ride the hills leading up to the Capitol. Think Hampton Road or the White Rock Hills – just more of them in a smaller area. Again, bike lanes are everywhere, but I also saw cyclists take lanes, and – imagine this – cars were actually AWARE of them!

Overall – The roads, with the exception of a little town I can’t remember the name of, were AMAZING the entire time. Smooth, no potholes, no man-covers. Towns were spaced close enough for stops every 30-45 miles or so easily. Traffic was light the entire time.

I’m going to drive the rest of the route soon – updates will come shortly after. But I am completely pumped for this ride!

Now this is impressive. These guys went from Alaska to the tip of South America. Took them 3.5 years. Over 34,000 kilometers. I’d google that for mileage, but I’m lazy. Check out their site.

Here’s a trailer from 13 guys and gals doin’ a 350 mile journey through Japan. I think it took them a full week. Looks rad, hopefully we’ll have a chance to see a screening, *cough, Transit?

Tokyo to Osaka Teaser from John Murillo on Vimeo.