The Best Bike Route Between Austin and Bastrop

Bruce Porter, Austin, Texas

With special thanks to Preston Tyree for sharing his intimate knowledge of the country roads east of Austin

I was motivated to find a good cycling route between Austin and Bastrop after riding FM 969 a few times. A perfectly horrid road for cycling: 50 mph highway with no shoulder and lots of traffic. FM 969 is part of Adventure Cycling’s Southern Tier route (Section 4, Map B), and I’m very pleased to report that Adventure Cycling has adopted this new route for the new edition of their mapset! Although this route is about 6 miles longer than FM 969, it’s well worth it. I’ve made every effort to show how this good route intersects with the Southern Tier’s main route both in Bastrop and Austin.

Map

Cue Sheets:

Eastbound: Austin to Bastrop

Westbound: Bastrop to Austin

Austin is a wonderful town. Adventure Cycling has several recommendations of what to do in Austin, but the recommendations are outdated. Here’s what I’d recommend.

If you’re riding the Southern Tier through Austin, also see my recommended route through south Austin – an alternative to busy Congress Avenue used on So. Tier Section 4, Map A.

Please send me corrections and suggestions.

“Private note” to Sean, who is currently riding the Southern Tier: I suggest that you follow the Southern Tier from Kerrville to Kyle, then take the Austin Alternate route nouth into Austin. Alternatively, take my route instead. My route is only a bit better than the Austin Alternate – it avoids Congress Ave, which is busy and unpleasant, but it involves a bit more zig-zagging. You can get my route by following the link above, or by reading your email.