Bikes, Farms, and a Love for the Austin Local Food Scene
By April on Dec 3 Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Food & Beverage, Sweet Bikes Add a Comment
It’s that time of year again when we really start to think of what we are thankful and grateful for. I myself am grateful that I live in Austin TX and have the ability to ride my bike most of the year. If you don’t already know this about Austin, we do not really experience all 4 seasons, which can be a bummer and can be awesome too! We also have the opportunity to eat really great-tasting, fresh, locally-sourced and grown food. There are so many community gardens and small farms in our area that need to be discovered. Edible Austin’s Eat Local Week showcases these plots of nutrition to the public by offering the Urban Farm Bicycle Tour, pig roast and harvest dinner (Did someone say PIG ROAST?? Yes please!), Drink Local Coffee Festival, Texas Craft Brewer Mini Festival and more!
Rows of deliciousness at Boggy Creek Farms
My personal favorite of all of the planned events is the Urban Farm Bicycle Tour. The rolling farm tour helps to support the awesome kids at Urban Roots. I have had the honor of riding with the eager locavores around town checking out farms and such the last two years and this year will be no exception. Besides meeting lots of fun, like-minded people, you get to ride around and get a personal look at the different farms/gardens around town and really engage with the folks that keep them going. My pal Leslie Luciano from Bicycle Sport Shop also clued me in on the 30+ raffle prizes, which include a Trek FX2, food from local restaurants and goodies from area businesses. Each stop on the tour will earn you a raffle ticket giving you more chances to win the more gardens and farm stops you visit! It’s a win-win situation! She even told me that there will be chefs at every stop this year. The one thing that had been missing the previous years is food every where you go, (yes, besides the wonderful stuff that is growing) so this makes it a catch-all! Biking for tasty food, meeting lots of great people, helping to fund Urban Roots AND the chance for fabulous prizes. Does it get better than that? Oh yeah, because it’s supposed to be a high of 77 and mostly sunny tomorrow. Bring-it-on!
Danny Slinging Tea at the Zhi Tea Party Stop on Farm Tour circa 2009
Look for me out and about! I’ll be doing my thing on Twitter, letting the masses know what I’m checking out and falling in love. It’s winter, it’s a new season of eatin’. That’s something to celebrate on it’s own.
Ding your bell when you pedal by!
Gettin’ Spooky In Austin TX
By April on Oct 29 Filed In Austin, Texas, Live Music, Sweet Bikes 3 Comments
Word up and Happy Friday to you all! It occurred to me that maybe some of y’all are like me and are procrastinators when it comes to figuring out what you’re going to do for Halloween weekend this year. If that’s the case and you live in or around the Austin TX area, I’ve got a cool list of things that I plan on doing and thought maybe you’d dig too! Have your own agenda this weekend? Post it in our comments section! We don’t care where you live, just tell us what you have going on!
Friday 10/29
Personally, I am laying low tonight, at least that’s my plan. There is so much going on Saturday that I can’t possibly handle Friday too, but if you are looking for something fun to do, check out the Do512 page. There are so many events going on that you’ll have to come up with 3 different costumes just so all of your peeps won’t catch you wearing the same thing out Friday-Sunday! Below you’ll see the costume I’ve chosen for today. Yup, I am the only one here at Sweet Leaf Tea dressed up today. That’s alright. It wouldn’t be Halloween if I didn’t rock some crazy outfit! Still looking for costume ideas? @SweetLeafCharla wrote a cool post last year where she shared some good ideas. Consult and get creative!
Scary monkey recpetionist, at your service!Saturday 10/30
Saturday 10/30
There is an INSANE amount of stuff going on this Saturday in and around town. Even the boot camp that I do, Fitness Unleashed is planning to have a costumed workout tomorrow morning. I won’t be there, but I’m sure it’ll be entertaining! Here’s a look at what I have coming up, but if it’s not your bottle of tea, don’t sweat it. Use that link I shared above for Do512 and check out what else is going on.
Tour de Fat The awesome folks at New Belgium throw an annual party dedicated to all things bicycle, sustainability and BEER! It starts this Saturday at Fiesta Gardens at 10:00AM for a COSTUME-FILLED parade and then the shenanigans begin! Roll on up, dress crazy, act wacky, but always, drink responsibly. It’ll be early yet!
Longhorn Game If you know me then you know that football is not my shtick but since I live in a burnt orange-crazed town, I think it’s only fair to mention that there is a game at 6PM against the Baylor Bears. Go get your tailgate on with some @TitosVodka and a touch of Granny, and watch some Horns throw down. Plus, you football fanatics will keep people off the streets for those of us out on bikes in costume.
Back to my reality…
Zombie Ball This party will be so freakin’ ridiculously off the chain that if I can’t find the time to use my tickets with all of the other fun stuff I have on my dance card, I’ll cry. Yes, really. It’s supposed to be THAT cool of a party. These partying zombies even combined their efforts with the Austin Bike Zoo to offer everyone a parade-type ride from the Red Scoot Inn to the Seaholm with all of the other zombies. MOREEEE BRAINSSSSSSSSSS!!
Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) These guys are amazing live and are playing both Friday night and Saturday night at Stubb’s. Tickets are sold out but if you have the chance to see them, DO IT!
Did you go to STS9 and decide that you needed a little more? Good, head on over to The Parish. You will not be disappointed by what you see and hear. I am a HUGE fan of aural delights and Saturday night in Austin will be filled with them. Spooky, sultry, bass-filled and ELECTRONIC!
Yes, this was a real sign here in Austin a while back. Those pesky hackers!
We are dying to know where you plan on spending the weekend. Holla!!
Muddy Buddy: The Best Sunday Ever
By Smashley on May 20 Filed In Activities, Austin, Texas, Events, Food & Beverage, Muddy Buddy, Sweet Bikes, Uncategorized 4 Comments
When my alarm went off at 5:45AM on Sunday morning, I wondered what in the world had possessed me to sign up for the Muddy Buddy. It was still dark outside, and let me tell you, I’m not exactly a morning person. Before I could hit the snooze button, my co-worker and “buddy” Jake called to let me know that he was on his way to pick me up. Ug- no turning back now.
An hour and two Clif bars later, we got to Pedernales Falls State Park. That’s when it dawned on us that this wasn’t going to be the “walk in the park” that we had thought. It wasn’t the lack of a costume (or muscle mass) that made us nervous, but the sheer lack of training (Jake actually confessed that he hadn’t been on a bike in 6 years!). Regardless, we donned our helmets, named the bike Bernie (graciously on loan from April), and made our way to the start, taking our place in the midst of a throng of excited, costumed teams of women. The only co-ed duo, we were clearly in the wrong starting wave, but that was fine by me.
Man, we had a blast! The biking was really, really intense. I have no shame in confessing that I had to dismount and walk Bernie the bike down a few treacherous passes. Jake wasn’t so timid, and rode over the craggy terrain with reckless abandon like a pro, passing ladies left and right.
When we got to the mudpit, it was as glorious as I had remembered, lukewarm with a consistency like lumpy brownie batter. Sounds gross, but it’s freakin’ awesome.
As we crossed the finish line, we were cheered on by Danny, who had been giving out free tea at the race all morning.
It was exhilarating! The nice folks with Columbia even took our photo on the winners’ podium. We were on top of the world (and covered with mud).
So where do you go from there? The Salt Lick.
Well, to the showers first, which are really just garden hoses, and then to nearby Driftwood, for some of the best BBQ around. Jake, a recent transplant from North Carolina, hadn’t seen the Texas hill country, and was rightfully impressed. The Salt Lick didn’t fail to disappoint either.
Bellies full and thoroughly exhausted, Bernie the bike, Jake, and I headed back to Austin. I have to say- it was one of the best Sundays ever. I wish we could do it all again.
To quote Russell (Muddy Buddy ’08, ’09)- Muddy Buddy- freakin’ awesome!
Pedal for a Cause!
By April on Mar 5 Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Sweet Bikes 1 Comment
Tea’m Sweet Leaf Tea is sweating it out mile after mile training for the upcoming MS 150. Besides the great training rides we’ve been doing with our friends at Austin Cycle Camp, there are several charity rides in the fabulous Hill Country just SCREAMING for you to join in on the fun!!!!
Tong & Rich holding their autographed Gary Fisher pix after training ride
Is there anything better than pedaling around on a bike for a good cause?
Pedal Thru the Pines: Distances of 16, 27, 50 or 65 miles in beautiful Bastrop Texas. Date: 3/6/10
Please Be Kind to Cyclists Ride: Routes of 20 and 40 miles along with some fine family-friendly routes. Starts downtown at Pure Austin. Date: 3/13/10
Spokes n’ Spurs: Distances include a 6 mile family ride along with a 14, 28, 44 and 62.5 mile route. Date: 3/20/10
Rosedale Ride: Distances include 20, 43 and a 63 mile loop. (And let me say that they always have the COOLEST t-shirts!) The parents and teachers come out to support this ride and it’s impossible to not roll away feeling great for doing your part to help their school. Date: 3/27/10
Pedal Power Wildflower Ride: Distances of 12, 23, 36 and 62 miles beginning in Johnson City. (I’ve done this ride before and the views are stunning!) Date: 4/10/10
The Sound of LOVE
By JamesDrinkard on Feb 22 Filed In Austin, Texas, Celebrities, Guest Blogger, Live Music Add a Comment
Welcome to a new week! I hope the week (and weekend) went well for everyone, though it’s been a crazy one for sure. Here in central Texas we finally got some sunshine! After over a week of rain (and no biking…), that’s about all I can ask for. Social Cycling ATX ride, anyone?
So the highlight of this week for me was being able to crank the new Angels and Airwaves new album, titled Love. This was a SUPER big deal and long awaited for me. It’s been over two years since they’ve released any new music, so needless to say, us AVA fans were ready for this!
The album was scheduled to be released on Valentines day, but was released two days early for premium members on their website and on Fuel.tv. And the best part? It’s completely FREE! That’s right, $0. So if you’re in the mood for some great music, click HERE and give it a listen. This band very well could change your life as much as they’ve changed mine.
If you really dig ‘em, they’ll be touring the U.S. In April and March. Believe me, you don’t wanna miss one of these shows! (Think U2 mixed with punk rock)
And in other news, THE Gary Fisher will be in Austin the 26th and 27th! Friday night, he’ll be doing a Q and A session at Mellow Johnny’s bike shop, followed by a 9 A.M. ride Saturday morning. So if you’ve always wanted to hang out with the father of mountain biking, here’s your chance.
“Going out and riding every day… when will this be a prescribable item? We have a very powerful cure for what ails this world. It’s called a bicycle.” – Gary Fisher
Well said. This guy has it figured out!
I hope you got out there and enjoyed the weekend! Soaked up some vitamin D, some vitamin Tea (cheesy, I know), and “just keep livin’… l-i-v-i-n‘”…
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