Comments on: Bicycling: Comparing Pittsburgh to Austin

By: nathan

nathan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:59:18 +0000

I hear you Doug, it’s not completely flat at all. _

It’s all relative. For example, if you grow up in the Allegheny Mountains, you feel like they’re big. The first time you hit Denver or the Tetons, you realize that “big” is a very subjective term.

I was just back in Austin this weekend and regardless of hills or bikery, that is one of the best cities in America, and easily my favorite.

By: Doug McLaren

Doug McLaren — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:49:55 +0000

I’m not saying that Pittsburgh isn’t hillier than Austin — I’ve never been there, so I couldn’t really say.

However, I certainly do not agree with `Austin is basically completely flat’. It’s not, not even close. Doesn’t mean there aren’t even hillier places — it just means Austin isn’t flat.

By: nirav patel

nirav patel — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:29:47 +0000

Now living in Pittsburgh for almost a year, and after spending six years or so in Austin, it was great to come across this article. Every city has it’s plus and minuses when it comes to biking. I love how this city is divided by some huge parks with easy neighborhood access points. It takes some time to find your routes, but when you do you are rewarded. And so far I’ve enjoyed the urban rides in the city. I posted up some of my favorite downhills:

http://tinyurl.com/qb9zvo

I agree with Nathan regarding the hills. Here they are much steeper and in more frequency than in Texas. It’s all good!

By: Henry

Henry — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:00:16 +0000

Nathan,
Interesting comparison more for the lack of much of a connection between the two cities. I have lived in both twice in the last 25 years, and have been an avid cyclist in both cities. Except for the weather lots of great cyling in both places. Forget about Lance – remember Danny Chew and Matt Eaton ?

By: nathan

nathan — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:12:27 +0000

I’ve spent some significant time in Portland, OR, Elliot and while I definitely agree with you that it’s probably the pinnacle of cycling with it’s plethora of bike lanes and cyclists in general, you guys still definitely have a really great setup here.

The bike routes themselves, though they’re often just part of the streets, are really beneficial to helping a person find their way. When you don’t have to look at every street sign, you can focus on safe riding even more.

So many comments on this post.

By: elliott

elliott — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:04:54 +0000

Just go to Portland, OR, once and you’ll stop being impressed by Austin real fast. I’m glad to hear others think our city is bike friendly, but we have a very long way to go.

By: nathan

nathan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:13:32 +0000

Sorry Doug, didn’t mean to offend!

But according to that map (couldn’t find much info on the Web), Austin’s elevation change is about 450′ at the river to 900′ in some of the further out hilly areas. So that’s a change of 450 feet. And almost all of downtown seems to be flat.

Compare that to Pittsburgh’s changes (less than 700′ at the banks of our rivers vs. 1450′ at the top of our hills) and you can see my reason for comparison.

So the key term there is “relative”…and believe me, not having as many hills is a good thing!

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:52:00 +0000

As an Austin resident for the past 12 years or so, it’s always interesting to hear the ‘outside’ perspective on Austin’s bike community. I often take for granted all of the positives that we have. But Austin has a long way to go, also. We tend to focus more on recreational/sport cycling (like the hike and bike trail) and less on transportation cycling, although that is changing, thanks in large part to the awesome, tireless bike advocates we have fighting for us.

By: Doug McLaren

Doug McLaren — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:37:16 +0000

`Austin is basically completely flat’

Are we talking about the same Austin? Austin, TX? Gateway to the Hill Country?

Here’s a topopgraphical map for you –

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/texas/txu-pclmaps-topo-tx-austin-1896.jpg

http://www.tourdashugel.com/Information.html is a bike ride they do in Austin where just about all they do is go up and down hills — 105 miles, 14,600 feet of climbing.

By: Bicycle News Roundup, 10/20/08 | Austin Bike Blog

Bicycle News Roundup, 10/20/08 | Austin Bike Blog — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:14:20 +0000

[...] Bicycling: Comparing Pittsburgh to Austin, ClickNathan As you probably may or probably may not know, I’m currently on the road, for awhile. Right now I’m staying in Austin, TX and I’m blown away by the biking infrastructure here. If you take a look at what this city has done and then compare it to our own beloved Pittsburgh, it’s both a little heartbreaking and equally inspiring. [...]