Saturday Morning Scout-A-Route

Almost every Saturday (except in the heat of Texas summer), I find time to ride the Scout-A-Route. This is a group ride organized by Bike Austin that leaves the Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop at 9 am (8:30 am in the summers). It is just a great 3 hours outdoors to de-stress from spending all week inside an office staring at a computer screen.

The routes vary each week, although the ride leaders do have some regular routes. This past Saturday, we rode out to McKinney Falls, crossing the river on the Montopolis bridge (currently in the middle of construction to convert it from a vehicle to a pedestrian bridge). I never remember all the of the turns through the neighborhoods; and, that’s why it’s wonderful to have knowledgeable and friendly ride leaders!

The Scout-A-Route is split into two pace groups — the faster one leaving slightly before the slower one. There’s no time trial to place a rider in a group. Each rider decides which pace they want to try that week; and, since both groups usually do the same route, if someone starts in the first group but is struggling to keep up, that cyclist can always drop back to the second group. The slower group is led by Dennis on his electric bike. The faster group is usually led by Tai or by Joel.

Since this is a no drop ride, the group stops if anyone misses a light, as well as at various regroup points along the way. We also stop if someone has a mechanical issue, such as a flat tire; and, the ride leaders can assist with replacing tire inner tubes. (Cyclists need to carry at least one inner tube that fits their respective bike tire.) The group typically stops once for a long break at around the halfway point. Some of the favorite stopping points (in addition to McKinney Falls) include Thunderbird Coffee on Koenig, Mueller Lake Park, Nelo’s Cycles and Akins High School. Overall, the distance can be anywhere from 15-25 total miles.

This past weekend, we only paused at McKinney Falls before going on for a proper break at the Texaco gas station on Salt Springs Drive. Our next pause after that was from St Edward’s campus, where we had a great view of the skyline. We took a different route back to the bike shop from there, going through the Travis Heights neighborhood, past “The Academy” (the Mather-Kirkland House), which still looks majestic.

Once we start getting close to Mellow Johnny’s, riders start peeling off to go home. By the time we had arrived, there were only a handful of us left. Since Juan Pelota is inside Mellow Johnny’s, there are some who stay for some after-ride refreshments. However, I like to walk the block over to the Farmers’ Market at Republic Square and do a little sampling and shopping.

Full list of Bike Austin organized rides can be found here: https://rides.bikeaustin.org/.

Requirements for participation:

• Sign a waiver at the bike shop
• Helmet
• Extra inner tube for your bike
• plenty of hydration — water, energy drink, enough liquids for yourself to get through 3 hours out and about, especially important in the hot Texas summers