Month: April 2010

le Tour de Bean

We cooked up an idea that involved a casual bike ride through Austin while stopping at some of the locally-owned coffee shops.

First Annual le Tour de Bean

The morning of the First  Annual le Tour de Bean hosted 35 cyclists who arrived bundled up (since it started out a bit chilly) and ready to begin a caffeinated cruise through Austin. Our goal for the ride was for cyclists to get out on the streets, learn new cycling routes, meet new people and learn about new coffee shops. We were well received by the coffee shops and the weather warmed up nicely thanks to the sun coming out in full force.

We covered a total of 10 miles, 4 coffee shops, and lots of good conversation and adventure along the way. Cyclists had the opportunity to purchase the official le Tour de Bean coffee mug and enjoy discounted drinks at our last stop.

Official Coffee Mug

We had tri bikes, road bikes, and even a rockin’ orange cruiser bike!! We had not just adults but some children as well who came with their dad. It truly is refreshing to know that we can ride through Austin on a Saturday morning to enjoy what Austin has to offer.

Motor traffic was kind to us for the most part and we did are best to obey the traffic rules, because  if we as cyclists aren’t going to obey the laws, why should we expect motorist to?

We are planning another casual ride in Austin… so stay tuned!

TdB Coffee Stop

Snow Day?

Winters this year were a little different than winters in the past. Usually we drop into the 30’s a handful of times and then it’s back to mid-40’s. This year, the winter bought multiple days of below freezing temps and at one point, I saw the thermometer read 11 degrees–for Central Texas, that’s just unheard of.

For my birthday this year, my friend and I had planned a breakfast bike cruise through downtown…Mother Nature had other plans. On February 23rd, the forecast called for snow!I figured we’d see a couple teeny tiny snowflakes and then deal with the slushy mess on the roads. To my surprise, we saw big snowflakes and the flakes actually “stuck” so that we had a layer of snow on the ground.

What happened to the bike ride? My birthday coincided with IHOP’s free pancake day!!! We changed our plans to a birthday breakfast at IHOP. From our table, we could see the snow coming down while enjoying yummy pancakes and coffee. I couldn’t have asked for much more on my birthday. While my significant other was out of town, I was able share my birthday with some of my closest friends and enjoy the downtime. We also couldn’t resist running outside in the middle of breakfast for a picture.

We couldn’t help be run out and take pictures in the snow since it happens so rarely here!!!