I just started riding on Berkman Drive recently when I discovered I could avoid the scary 51st street bridge with the low railings by cutting through on Mueller and going past Dell Children?s Hospital, but I do notice a difference. I?ve been cycling up and down Duval a lot since April and there are lots of cars parked in the bicycle lane and I?ve never had a problem taking the lane on Duval.

I?m guessing it is because there are so many bicyclists going up and down Duval street as opposed to Berkman where there are a lot less bicyclists so people have had years to get their knickers in a twist and get over it so bicyclists are just an accepted part of their commutes which supports your argument that we need to stay on the streets as much as possible so they can learn that we are here to stay.

My commute to work runs the length of Riverside. The
recent rains have caused the grass to really grow and
the sidewalk is no longer visible.

I see other bike-commuters who use the same route and
I invite them to contact the city about cutting the
grass. It isn't nagging and whining. The city doesn't
know that there that much bike traffic on Riverside.

The sidewalk is five feet wide at some parts and
seven feet wide at others. It makes for a safe and
pleasant ride.

FYI, for those of you who ride East of Austin. They've nearly finished the junction of SH130 and FM973. The old Hog Eye road exit is now permanently closed, and the new overpass and exit to Nez Perce Trace is open. It's actually fairly cycling-friendly. You cross SH130 on a wide, 360-style shoulder.

Bloor Road is still closed - and looks a long way from opening. Some other cyclists have told me Blue Bluff East of Manor is now passable by bike... though it still has a road-closed sign. I haven't tried it.

Considering the Loyola bike lanes, I would now rate out East as quite accessible by a bike commuter. There are still sections of 973 with no shoulder... but if this is a preview of things to come, it appears that will be changing soon.

I don't think it's safer to take the S. 1st steet across the bridge vs. the pedestrian path, do you? Car traffic is often very heavy on that bridge.

There is information about this on BicycleAustin

This is my usual route to Bastrop, but the last I looked any kind of
shoulder or second lane disappears after FM 973. All the work on TX130
may change that, but I still expect only 2 lanes well before Webberville.

As usual, if there is not enough room to safely share a lane, do not
share it, or even make it look sharable. Overtaking drivers must put
themselves somewhat over the centerline if they want to pass, and it
should be obvious to them from hundreds of feet away that this is their
only option.

Fortunately, the lanes are so narrow that it is obvious that a bike and
a car cannot share it. But if you squeeze to the right in a misguided
effort to be accommodating, you will be rewarded by being passed way too
close. I know. I have been there and vowed not to let it happen again.

Also, from experience, you should even try to guide motorcycles onto or
over the centerline, so that the next vehicle back will register your
presence (even if you are otherwise comfortable sharing the lane with
the motorcycle). Remember that the effect you have on surrounding
traffic is an important aspect of your overall visibility.

I would advise using mirrors to monitor the approach of pursuing traffic
and remote strobes to signal your awareness of them. If that still
sounds dicey, do whatever else that you can to up your visibility, even
at the cost of weight or fashionability. This here is all the road that
we get, and we need to adapt ourselves to its reality.

I prefer 969 to 71 because even though I do not get a shoulder, there
are plenty of times without traffic, whereas 71 would be nonstop noise.
And since shoulders can vanish capriciously, I would have to merge
into a busy traffic lane. I would rather be in the traffic lane to
begin with.

... I think Woodrow is a fine route to consider in many cases. The road itself is fine (and superior to [Shoal Creek Blvd] at the moment, especially when heading southbound). As for getting there from the northwest, bike route 22 (Far West-Greenlawn-Daugherty-Justin) is a good one. I know, I know, too many stop signs on Justin for your taste. My wife and I don't have a problem with them. That said, there's another way across from Far West which is actually superior, anyway. That being: Greenlawn-Greenhaven-Richcreek to Woodrow. I see quite a few people using that route instead of the Justin leg of route 22. You only have three stops between Far West and Woodrow this way (SCB, Burnet, Yates [and Yates is a very low stress stop]).

Of course, Woodrow is more useful if you're ultimately going downtown via North Loop-Guadalupe. If you're going to the river via North Loop-Bull Creek-Jefferson-Johnson Creek, or North Loop-Bull Creek-Jefferson-29th-Lamar, it's a little bit more out of the way to cut over to Woodrow and then cut back on North Loop. (maybe an extra kilometer's work). SCB makes much more sense there.

But in general I often use Woodrow as an alternative to SCB when heading southbound. Less so northbound. Grover's less attractive because it seems to have more speeders, and you get an extra stop at Brentwood.

I'll also recommend avoding the worst of the Ohlen/183 intersection. Heading north, you can take a right on Contour to hook up with Fairfield, cross 183 on Fairfield, and hook up with Parkfield that way.

The reason to do this is that, when heading north on Ohlen, the driveway into Target just past 183 provides a very high risk of getting hit with the right turn of doom.

I too use Fairfield for crossing 183. One detail about my route is that I take my second left off of Fairfield to head up to Ohlen. By doing this I can make an easier "jog left" crossing of Ohlen (turn left onto Ohlen then turn right off of it). If I make my first left off of Fairfield, I must make my left turn off of Ohlen, meaning a possible wait in the left lane and a turn across oncoming traffic.

After crossing Ohlen, I take Hunter's Trace up to Colony Creek, and pick up Parkfield there. I admit that I do not like riding on Parkfield northbound (uphill) between Rundburg and Rutland (downhill is no problem), and will often (should time allow) turn left at the stop sign on Quail Meadow, using QM to cross Rund and Rut, then cut back to Parkfield.

Two common destinations for me in this area are Regal Plastics at Metric & Rundburg (for coroplast, Lexan polycarbonate sheets, and reflective vinyl), and T&S Seafood Restaurant (for dim sum) at Ken & Lamar.

Here is an alternative to taking Payton Gin Road (a rather busy and narrow street that is prone to speeding) to Parkfield:

Just before you get to the intersection of Payton Gin Road & Olen (the first traffic light)
On your left is a convenience store
Cut across the parking lot of the convience store and cross Payton Gin Road
There is a neighboorhood street almost directly in front of you.
Take that to the end. It is wide, slow and not busy.
At the end of the road turn right.
Follow this road to Parkfield and turn left.
Sorry I don't know the names of these steets and don't have time to Google it.

This route is shorter and safer. (be careful crossing Payton Gin Road after the convience store)
Parkfield has bike lanes almost the entire way.

• Westlake Dr
• Bee Caves Hills
• Oasis Bluff Dr
• 360 Hill
• McNeil Drive
• Comanche Tr
• Toro Canyon
• 2222 Hill
• Red Bud Trail
• Far West
• Bluegrass Dr
• Lost Creek Blvd
• Courtyard Dr
• Bullick Hollow
• Jester Blvd
• Beauford Dr
  

I've been reading updates on the construction taking place on 45th St. It's great that sidewalks are being added between Burnet Rd. and Highland Terrace, but I don't see anything about bike lanes. I suppose that means that they're not included. (And there's no parking on 45th St. How do residents manage if they can't park on their street?)

The alternative to 45th St. between Burnet and Bull Creek is Hancock to the north, and 38th St. to the south. Bike lanes would be a great addition, since there's a moderate hill that makes it hard to ride at a steady pace.

* S. 1st from Barton Springs Rd to 71
* Anywere on Lamar, Riverside, Oltorf, Metric, Parmer, S. Mopac, William Canon, Cameron Rd, Dessau,
* Parmer even has a shoulder and I don't think I've ever managed to ride it (always on the shoulder) without some kind of audio assault.