“One of the few aspects of living in Austin that’s become less of a hassle over the last 15 years is riding a bicycle,” writes Kevin Curtin in his recent essay, “The Joy of Bicycling in Austin.”
Deleted bike scene from Slacker … ? pic.twitter.com/egoTeSlf0e
— Marty (@BBrosMarty) April 24, 2023
Meanwhile, Aaron Chamberlain biked the I-35 “Hell Route” from Austin to San Antonio for Texas Monthly. (He previously rode every street in Austin and circumnavigated the entire state of Texas.) He writes:
Everyone wants to ride the best routes. The beautiful routes. The fewer cars the better. Sure, I do too. But what about these poor routes? Who will ride them? I almost feel a responsibility to ride them.
This ethos reminded me a bit of the skateboarders I’ve read about, who take the ugly or invisible parts of the city and turn them into a playground.
Aaron recently tipped me to this skate video, victims of boredom, by Igna, a local Austin skater and filmmaker who is still in high school. I found myself mesmerized by it, for at least two reasons: one, it just delights me that there are teenagers out there cutting it up like this and making trouble (I find the title ironic, as these kids seem like conquerers of boredom), and two, one of my favorite things about biking in Austin is that it gives me glimpses of a city I’ve never really seen. This video does the same.
