Shiner Bash - Houston, TX

May 5, 2007

Outstanding. 85 miles of low traffic country backroads. Tons of sag. Need the addition of oranges and bananas at the rest stops.

This was a GREAT ride with challenges along the entire route. With almost 5000ft of climbing, an average ascent of 2.4% and a max at 10%, it seems that there was very little flat surface. Even though the stretch from rest stop 4 to Shiner was generally downhill, strong south winds, 25-30mph with gusts to 40mph and a variety of rolling surfaces made for quite a challenge. A number of riders dropped out by rest stop three. From there it thinned out quite a bit. I thought the ride was very manageable until the turn south on hwy 95. Then the terrain opened up a bit and there was very little to block the wind. On top of that the stretch from Cistern to Flatonia had some of the roughest chip seal around. It seemed to never stop going uphill even when the GPS indicated flat to -2% grade. The route was all through country roads and at this time for the year the wildflowers were a delight. Traffic was very light and the vast majority of pickups were SAG wagons. The thought of a cold Shiner beer kept me going. The post ride activity at the brewery was the best I’ve seen. It was a hoot. Live music (awesome pickers), free draft Shiners, great BBQ, a tour of the brewery and lounging under 300 year old oak trees. What could be better??? Recommendations for improvement: 1) Signs indicating a turn in the course should be added preceding the turn and be on the right hand side of the road, just like normal traffic signs. I almost missed two turns had I not noticed the sign across the road on the left. 2) Traffic control could be improved quite a bit. Even though police or fire department personnel were at some intersections, most were off on the side leaving bikers on their own. A couple of cross streets didn’t have stop signs and with a speed limit of 70mph, you had to be on your toes. 3) Mount a fresh water spray at the end so we can rinse off the salt and grime. The showers were great but it was too crowded. I’ll be back next year.

May 2006

What a ride to survive! I did the Austin/Shiner. This was a fantastic ride. Storms with lots of wind, rain, scary lightning and at one point bb sized hail. Unbelievable! That was the first 70 miles. The sky cleared up the last 20 miles and ended with a great finish with food and music. The best part after the ride was touring the Shiner Brewery. I can't tell you how refreshing that cold Shiner beer was after a ride like this. T-shirt was great, people friendly and the ride quite challenging. I strongly recommend this ride and look forward to next year!

 May 15, 2004

Dear Cyclist-
First of all, THANK YOU for participating in the 2004 Shiner B.A.S.H. last month. This year's bike ride from Houston, Austin, and San Antonio to the Spoetzl Brewery benefited the American Lung Association. Net proceeds will allow the ALA to continue supporting: a Gold-Standard smoking cessation program for teens; tobacco prevention program for elementary school-aged children; asthma education for 8-11 year-olds; environmental education for medical professionals; and clinical research at the Asthma Clinical Research Center located at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. We welcome any feedback, ideas, and suggestions to make next year's Shiner B.A.S.H. bike ride even better.
Currently, the ALA of Houston is busy planning for the 2nd Annual Bike to the Lake Tour, scheduled for September 18-19, 2004. This two- day, 150 mile (round trip) bike ride begins in Katy and will take cyclists down winding country roads, through historic towns and past picturesque fields to Lake Somerville State Park. Cyclists will then camp overnight and enjoy live entertainment and delicious meals-and then ride back to Katy the following day.

I rode my first Shinerbash back in May. This turned out to be my first century (actually 107mi) due to a miscalculation on my part. The Shinerbash 05 is the best ride of the 20 odd events that I have participated in. It was well organized and had the usual rest stop goodies. At the end we had hot showers, free tickets to a concert, food/drink tickets and a fun bus ride back to Austin. The only thing I would have added would be a post ride BBQ dinner separate from the concert area but I guess the elves & more ride spoiled me. lol.

May 2003

How one ride can do so many thing extremely well, and then turn around and do some things so horribly bad is puzzling. I rode the Houston to Shiner ride.
First the good. They started right on time. This ride had, by far, the best SAG support and on route mechanical help of any ride I have ever been in. There was a constant stream of SAG support vehicles traveling the route all day long. Not only were there mechanics trucks on the route, but mechanics at every rest stop along the way, all very helpful. All of the rest stops were well stocked with snacks and drinks, but curiously, no cups. Not really an inconvenience, but just unusual. All the people were very helpful and friendly. The finish line activities were great.
Now the bad. The late registration and packet pickup on the morning of the ride was a complete nightmare. If you were registering that morning you first stood in a long line to register. Once you registered, they told you to go stand in a longer line to pickup your ride number. Once you got your ride number, they then told you to go stand in an even longer third line to pickup your T-shirt, map, and the rest of your packet. And all three lines were right next to each other inside the Sun and Ski store, so there was a lot of confusion about what line you were supposed to be in. A real disaster. The only other complaint I had was that there were only three port-a-potties at each of the rest stops. Much more were needed. If you had to use one on the route, it guaranteed at least a 30 minute wait in line.
Hopefully, the organizers will learn from this years mistakes and make some corrections for next year. At least I hope they do, because the positives far outweighed the negatives, and I will defiantly be back next year. This was a very good ride and with a couple of corrections could be one of the best