Happy Birthday, Sarah Chow @ Ramen Tatsu-ya

Today was my co-friend-worker's birthday, Sarah Chow. She is probably just as sarcastic as me, but she delivers the dry humor much better than I ever could. We had a good lil chit chat, ate some REALLY good food at Ramen Tatsu-ya. Had a beer.  Good times.

 It was a great meal. I really want to go back there again, because this stuff is the real deal. I had a hard time finding this place on my bike, because there is not a sign for it. It was in a shopping center with a LONG line of people. So I thought/hoped that was the place I was supposed to go to. Long lines mean good food. The word must have gotten out that this place is the real for real deal banana peel.

This was about an 8 mile bike ride. The way back was dark, but I found my way home with google maps and only a fraction of it was unfamiliar grounds. I pretty much can get to any restaurant off of 183 (which is a highway/freeway/loop thingy in Austin similar to Mopac/I-35 but less dramatic and I  really only frequent 183 to get to shopping /eating destinations) thanks to all the neighborhood streets surrounding it. 

The picture above is the view from the pedestrian bridge that I take to cross Mopac on the way home. The street below shows how awesome the bike lanes to the far right can be in Austin. Most streets anywhere nearby my apt have bike lanes, except for places I DON'T want to bike on anyways, (although I sure did bike on them tonight) like busy ole Anderson lane. FYI, I mainly stayed on the  sidewalks on Anderson, (in case any family members are reading this).

Again, like other nights, there's no way I exerted more calories than I consumed tonight and now I must remember that just because I biked 8 miles, doesn't mean I can eat whatever I want. I musn't lollygag on the bike and must always push myself if I want to see any results from this form of exercise.

Dad- It's very true what that lady said to you that one day about lollygagging, I've thought about that a lot! Anyway, good night!!

Thursday Night Social Ride 10/23/14

This was an interesting social bike ride. I started from my apartment, and rode downtown about 9 miles, by myself. I just now know where to go without looking at my phone/GPS. There were a lot of people, maybe a hundred or two, who met in this spot downtown, and we all rode bikes throughout the eastside, and ended up at a park to chill for a bit then to a bar. I skipped the bar and biked home. Altogether, I did about 30 miles on my road bike, so it was a pretty decent night. I didn't consume more calories than I burned, I think. 

This couple here would have to be my favorite couple. She's so much fun to be around, and is goofy/quirky just like me. Her boyfriend, her, and I share the same sense of humor, and they're both fun to ride bikes with. 

John and I put our bikes against each other to hold them up, since I don't have a kick stand. I don't think a lot of people have a kick stand, that must be something for cruiser bikes or something. I guess road bike builders/engineers think it would weigh the bike down. I could always install one, but it would probably just get in the way.

Around the time I took this pic of the bikes leaning, I ran into the guy who fixed my bike last year on a whim on the Halloween ride. What had happened on that ride, I was new to social riding, and the derailleur broke off into my wheel. This guy in a mask notices the conundrum I am in, made it a single speed right then and there on the side of the street on MLK, then the next day replaced my derailleur with a really nice one and charged me almost nothing.

I like how people know how to fix stuff like it's nothing, I want to learn to fix my bicycle stuff one day and return the favor, pay it forward, for other new cyclist just trying to have a good time on a bike, but find it hard to pay for what the shop charges for repairs. I should first learn how to fix a flat without it taking nearly an hour...

What happens at TNSR stays at TNSR, unless someone decides to post to the FB page. Basically, we all learned how important helmets are that night, and we all had a good ride, like always.

Wednesday Titaya's Ride (Thai food bike ride) 10/22/2014

My friend JJ and I decided it would be cool to make a bike ride, something casual, that goes to new and interesting food every Monday. Try new food,then  burn off the calories by biking, right? Well, the route was great, we rode through some neighborhood streets that I live by, but have never biked through before. The only bad thing, was the restaurant is closed on Mondays. We'll have to pick a new destination, maybe Caribbean food or Jamaican or something. It seems as though most restaurants that aren't corporations close on Mondays around here. Maybe it's because they're so busy on the weekends and Mondays are considered their day off? That was JJ's take on it. Seems legit.

This was a cool looking church with a nice glow in one of the neighborhoods.

I just can't get enough of this single speed bike. It's so light and easy to ride, because it's all just one gear. Sometimes, I think I could hop on curbs and stuff with it, but I won't try that...because I'm chicken. At the end of the ride, my wrists always hurt because I have the climb the hills without easy gear shifting. I have to stand on the bike and pedal with all that I got, which makes me realize how strong these people are, that have always had single speeds/fixed gears, and they have always  flown up the hills like nothing. One day, I'll get to that level of strength, but it's fun trying. 

This park was called Sparky park...I think. Wow, I was surprised by the art there. It was so unique! That's why I like Austin so much, because you see parks like this in the dark corner of a neighborhood, behind other businesses, and it doesn't quite belong there, but yet it SO does. Man, I love Austin. 

Here's some more art on the walls. Those are rock-like substances. I want to say limestone...

Sparky Park plaque

This is the Thai restaurant that the ride ended at. It's called Titaya's. Everybody that lives in Austin knows about this place. Their tables are always full, there's always a wait, no matter what time of day. Seriously. This place is that good. I ate pad thai, ordered it level 2 spicy but it came out EXTREMELY spicy. So, my friend told the waiter that I physically couldn't eat it because it was so spicy, and the waiter came back with no spicy so it was all good. I ended up eating WAY too much pad thai, though. It was so delicious, I thought about it the next day. That's when you know you ate something good. Mmmmmm pad thai. 

Leaving the restaurant, rode by this karaoke place. Don't know the name, because the only word that I could read was Karaoke, the sign was in some kind of Asian lettering. I wanted to go in and have a drink, but there were too many questions in my head. And it was getting late. 

San Antonio Ride 10/19/2014

On Sunday, me and John went to San Antonio and rode our bikes from my sister's house to the Riverwalk. We didn't know where we were going, we just typed in the address and wrote down the instructions and started riding our bicycles. It was about 13 miles away. We rode most of it on the sidewalk because there weren't any bike lanes, really. The sidewalk was kinda rough. I don't want to sound like a city-snob, but I am SO grateful for our awesome bike lanes in Austin. Compared to San Antonio, the lanes are bold and bright and EVERYWHERE! I think the trip was nice, because it helped me appreciate my city's streets. 

 This is the first thing I saw when I walked down the stairs with my bicycle. There were lots of people there on the riverwalk, so I eventually just walked my bike to get through the crowds. I need to get a new bell. Lost my last one on a social ride. Thought some kids might find it and have fun with it, so I didn't go back to get it when I heard it fall off my bike.

We ate fajitas at some place I think called Ritas. It was hard to tell where we were at, because for one, I am not observant, and two, there are restaurants smooshed together that all look the same with outside patios and bright colors. I really liked the fajitas, mainly because I forgot to eat a substantial meal. It was getting kinda late, and I was getting kinda hangry. 

Good thing we got a table outside facing our bikes! I rode the Fuji single speed. It was difficult, and whoever said San Antonio doesn't have hills, they must have never gone the streets I went down. I mean up. People call it Flatantonio, but I guess that's depending on which part you are in?

Thurday Night Social Ride

Thursday night I finally got to ride my bike again! It had been 11 days since my last bike ride. I had my sister's wedding the week prior and because of that, I was working early so I could get off early on that Friday to be at the ceremony rehearsal.

The Thursday night social ride ended at a bar downtown, but instead, our little group of people who had to work the next day went to eat at 24 diner. I had a chicken chopped salad. It was awesome, they really put all other salad preparers to shame. There was so much protein in there and avocado, and oh man it was so good. The leaves of lettuce were rich and strong. I want to learn how to make that kind of salad, but I bet you the vegetable stuff was grown in someone's backyard. It just wouldn't make sense any other way. Because I'm telling you, those ingredients were SO good.

Anyways, I lost my bell tonight. I kinda liked that thing. It didn't make anybody move to the side for me, but at least they lifted their heads and looked around when they heard it and eventually saw me and moved even though it was a moot point by then...maybe I need a louder scarier horn instead of a cute little bell.


This ride ended up being a 30 mile night by the time I pedaled home.

Sunday Bicycle Ride- Fuji Single Speed!

Today was a good 20 miles ride from my apartment to downtown with the single speed bike for the first time. I was pretty nervous about not having any gears, but I did ok. It was not easy, but it wasn't the most difficult ride I have been on. I have been on worse rides. I had to stand up and pedal up some hills, but it wasn't bad. I came home feeling tired, but the feeling of being excited to ride a different and "new to me" bike outweighed the exhaustion. I can't wait to ride it again, it's really cool. I liked not having to think about changing gears, and instead, just giving it my all.  

This is the bike in front of the power plant, that I heard rumors that they were tearing down. It's a pretty old building, I don't know much about it, but I sure do like seeing it and using it to remind me where I am. I like to use this building to know I am near Cesar Chavez, and the Forst Bank tower reminds me that I am near 6th street. 

Today was Stevie Ray Vaughan's birthday, and he likes the Fuji too.

Went to Rocket first then rode back home. They have a big window in the back, which provided some good lighting for this pic. 

Stopped at a gas station for Red Bull and Bubbalicious.

I cycle across this bridge on the way home from rides. Never thought to take pictures of the way it looks at night, but it looks pretty cool to me. It's cool to see a different perspective of Mopac. Dare I say SONDER?! haha (inside joke for Dad and Samantha).

Saturday-Inner Space Cavern tour

Didn't ride a bike here, but went to see Inner Space Cavern for the first time. It was pretty awesome and I wish my family was there to see it too. It's located in Georgetown, TX, which was about a 30 minute drive down I-35 north past Round Rock. 

Apparently, they were drilling while constructing I-35 and accidentally came across a badass cave. 

The adventure tour sold out, the one where you crawl and stuff, so we took the regular tour. There were kids there and babies and old people, all kinds of people visiting the cave. 

They color-code the areas that they have been to before. There are some places that you can  crawl into, like secret passageways. 

This looked like ice cream to me.

The tour guide was a girl from high school. She had lots of food metaphors when pointing out the cave formations. One of the metaphors was chicken nuggets, and it made us go get some nuggets afterwards. 

The cave was so beautiful. It wasn't cold at all. 

Bones from sabre-toothed cats, wolly mammoths, etc

Wednesday Night Social Ride

Sometimes social rides have themes, and this social ride was a drag theme. A person I know, that I have seen on the Caffeine Cruise was leading his first social ride with Queer Ride. These guys are all so much fun to be around. They are really sweet, and good at riding bikes. We ended up in the Mt Bonnell area, which is my favorite cycling training neighborhood. HUGE hills, you just wouldn't know what it felt like to almost die on a bike until you rode around those hills, for real.  

Ok Maybe I am exaggerating, but it was a rough ride. We finally ended up at a gas station, I bought a beer, it was like 9pm by then, then we rode to a park near my apt called Ramsey Park. We drank a beer, then I rode my bike BY MYSELF back home in the night. It was cool. I felt really independent and daring. I came home to find out that there was a drunk guy on a bike who crashed into 3 of the guys on the ride and they swiftly left as a group to get away from him. Also, one guy pedaled over a pothole and fell and it caused a couple of others to fall with him :-( Riding in groups can be dangerous sometimes, but I still prefer that to riding alone.

These guys are in dresses, for the theme of the social ride for the night, looking so pretty. They let me take pics of them at the basketball court at the park. I felt so lucky to be around these guys. They made me laugh more than I have in a really long time. 

Next time, I will wear a dress!!! I have been looking for a bike ride to ride a dress in, and I know just which one I want to wear! 

This is the stop light before I cross the pedestrian bridge on the way home. It's like the last leg of the ride pretty much. 

 The site from the crosswalk

Got home at 11pm after being up since 7ish. It was an AWESOME DAY!!!!

Wednesday Night Train to Social Ride

On Wednesday, my day was pretty long, but it was glorious. I biked to work but then took the train to downtown. I wanted to ride with the Queer Ride, which meets every Wednesday at 7:30pm at the capitol. Not sure if I am supposed to capitalize that, no pun intended. 

I wasn't sure where the capitol was, thought maybe it was on 11th street, so I just looked for the capitol poking out of the sky then biked towards it. It was uphill. VERY uphill, but it was a nice little ride from the train station. 

Pretty buildings were all around me, I was on Congress street. Congress goes downhill all the way and dead-ends at the capitol.

Here is my bike in some sweet lighting. I mean, that lighting is just so beautiful to me. I tried to take pictures of the capitol up close, but it reminds me of taking pictures of the moon. The moon is always big and beautiful and quite a site to see, but you take a picture of it and it looks like a little white circle. Lets just say I have lots of "outtakes" pics of the capitol that don't do it any justice.

All I want to say about Congress, is that someone had a drug overdose in the Subway bathroom and therefore, NOBODY on that street will let you use their bathroom. I went into 7-11, Quiznos, Chipolte was closed, Subway, nobody would let me in. I finally found this little place called Holy Cow, they serve grass fed beef burgers, and the first thing I did was beg him to let me pee, but he was like "dude, you need a key for the bathroom, just take this key and go, no big deal". There were more words, something like " hey I dont eat cow, but I will buy so many burgers from you when I get back from my bike ride I swear, you saved my life"....something like that was said.

I didn't ride that many miles today leading up to Queer Ride, but I sure did explore a lot. I had a homeless guy who was probably my age ask me why I put all my lights in my bag when I locked my bike. I wasn't answering him, because he was talking so fast and sounded way too excited and loud, so he answered the questions for me. I couldn't help but smile, he was not a mean person, just kinda creeped me out because he was so fixated on what I was doing and he was slurring a lot, maybe he was drunk. When I finally pedaled off, still not saying anything to the guy,  I gave him a peace sign and then he said "woooooo yeah"! It's the little things haha.

This is some statue thing by the capitol, I think I need to go back and read the info on it because it looks really important. There were lots of people taking pictures , families, Quincerra girls in big blue dresses, I felt kinda in the way. I heard "OK Kids, say toliet paper!!!" . I guess that replaced the "Say Cheese!" from when I was a kid taking pictures.


Ok, so by this time I was tired and ready to go home. It was like 7pm, I had been up about 12 hours riding to work, working, then riding to the capitol. I opened up a red bull, chugged it, then the people from the social ride walked up, we chilled for a bit then started riding our bikes for another 16 miles.

Wednesday Commute to Work

Yesterday, I said on Facebook if I don't commute to work, then I owe everyone who clicks "like" on my status $5. Then I upped it to $75. I had 39 likes which made it $2,925. So I made sure I woke up early this morning and rode to work. Luckily, I have a really sweet boyfriend who made sure my tires had air in them, that I had a Red Bull in hand, and that I had my bottles full of water, a little Nerds candy surprise for when I got to work, some leg cramping vitamins, etc. I got to use his flat kit bag, and  he even rode to the train with me!

This is the end stop, at Howard station which is a 2.9 mile bike ride from here to work. The first stop was about 4 miles from my apt, called Crestview station (not pictured).

 I am going to start riding a red Fuji single speed once the seat is replaced, so for now, will continue on with the Purple Warrior, as my friend Sarah calls it. This is the bike rack at work. I'm the only one who uses it, so I had a lot of room.

 I even had enough time to take a shower at work! I brought my towel and shampoo, etc, so it all worked out perfectly. :-D

Tonight, after work, I made plans to go to a bike ride called Queer Ride, starting point is at the Capitol downtown. I have been to that ride a few times, and the guys who run that ride are AWESOME and fun and so sweet. I can't wait to pedal with them. I'll be sure to post pictures if I still have any battery left. 

My first bike on the social rides...

My first social ride was Sept 7, 2013. It was for North Austin Social Biking. We rode to an abandoned parking garage for our midway park stop and I believe the ride ended at Brick Oven, or maybe it was Brooklyn Pie Company, I can't be too sure. It was a lot of fun and I felt like I was going to die from overexertion and having TOO much fun!

I was riding a very crappy bike that I got on Craigslist for like $35 from an older lady who never rode it. It was not tightened very well, very bouncy half cruiser half mountain bike sort of thing. I had a lot of fun on it and thought I was going SO fast, but the truth is I was slow compared to everyone else. They all hinted that I needed a road bike, and I eventually found a good deal on Craigslist. It's funny to look back and see what I used to ride so many miles on compared to now.