Where to relocate in Austin area:SW Austin? (Houston, Frisco: relocation, house)

[kjtar]

My question is about where to look in the Austin area for future relocation: "Where is a good, centralized location to live based on:
Convenient to dog-free cycling rides that can contain some hillwork, but not exclusively hills? Other considerations could be easy access to expressways, but I live 176 feet from a nice bike trail system in Tulsa right now, and I'd want pretty easy access to either bike trails/paths or just being able to get on the bike, get out of the subdivision, and have a pretty good choice of
doing 3 or 4 different rides starting from the house. I know this might be kind of a tall order, but I'm open to any suggestions, as I basically only know that west is hilly, east is flat."

And one response I received:
"In my opinion, southwest Austin is the place to be in order to meet your criteria. Not only is there a 3-mile veloway, but plenty of paths, hills and expressway miles, eight of which are used for spring and summer time trials. Plus, you’re not far if you want to get out of Austin and ride to one of the small towns south or west of town."
So, given the above information, what towns/cities would you recommend? For example, when searching on Realtor.com, there is an advanced search capability that allows you to choose among various nearby locations (in this example, in the Austin area). So, any specific recommendations in order to localize my search?
Thanks very much to all,
TominTulsa

[Trainwreck20]

Try www.austinHomeSearch.com, I think it has some better 'refining' options. I am not sure what the zip codes are in SW Austin, but 78749 is one of the bigger ones (population wise).

[llkltk]

78739, enough said.

[austin-steve]

Try 78735,78736,78737,78739,78749

I see crazy people riding on the narrow roads furthwer SW of Austin such as 1826, 967, 150 all out toward Wimberley, Driftwood and down into Buda. Those are scenic and somewhat hilly, but I always worry about riders getting hit by passing cars. Some seem to intentionally ride out on the edge of the shoulder, leaving less room to pass, which I don't understand.

Steve

[Trainwreck20]

My wife rides s. MoPac on the weekends in the early morning, when there is very little traffic. It has increases over time, so that will probably become a 'non-route' for her in the next year or two.

As for the cyclist riding toward the line, I believe that the shoulders can build up quite a bit of debris (rocks, glass, garbage), especially toward the very edge of the shoulder toward the grass. The debris can be quite hazardous and could cause and accident, so many ride in the 'cleaner' sections toward the actual car lanes. In reality, it you are riding 1826, you are pretty crazy. S. Mopac (except for one short section) has wide, fairly clean shoulders with long lines of sight and not that much traffic.

[kjtar]

Thanks to all of you for the help. I'll go to that Austin Bike Club site (the one with the forum, I forget the exact name, now) and check out the rides. I've heard of that Mopac ride, what does that stand for? Any word on how the Austin velodrome project is developing? That would be a great addition. I know there's one in Frisco, TX and one in Houston, but Austin would be Awesome!
Thanks again,
TominTulsa

[Trainwreck20]

MoPac is short for Mossouri Pacific RR, which is what the railroad down the middle of MoPac used to be.

[Rae']

I agree w/Trainwreck on why cyclist ride close to the edge...more debri near the other edge, plus some place I want to make sure the car is going to be going around me (making sure they can pass by going into the other lane) rather than squeezing through and misjudging.

Meridian and Circle C neighborhoods all access the veloway, south Mopac loop, Escarpment bike lanes (which lead to Southwest Parkway and 360 rides), as well as convenient access to MoPac (Loop 1) for driving. The Mopac and Escarpment rides are mostly flat, whereas Southwest Pkwy and 360 have rolling hills. The veloway is not really conducive to long road riding, however it is a nice shorter workout, or good for trying new things. That's where I learned to ride w/ clips and w/ aero bars. It is a 3.1 mile loop w/ a few tighter turns which limits higher speeds.

There are also some areas off Parmer, and I know people that ride Parmer, but I actually have not, and have no desire to (scenery, traffic, proximity to where I live...).

Hope that helps!