If you’ve read my previous post, Austin Texas picture show, you know that I love visiting Austin, Texas.

So when the opportunity came up to tag along with my girlfriend’s trip to the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, I had to jump on it.

Granted, I knew it would be busier this time around with the conference/festival in full swing, but I had every intention of making the most of it.

Frankly, I was just looking forward to some good breakfast tacos and a break from this frigid winter we’ve been having.

First item on the agenda was to set up a session at the Walnut Creek pumptrack with Austin local, Buddy Sardenga.

Buddy was kind enough to not only pick me up in his sweet van–with flames on the sides–but allow me to borrow the infamous Beelzebike 20666’er bike (if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and click the link…it’s so rad!)

I probably should have taken more than this “behind bars” shot but I was having too much fun and we only had time for a quick session, so this will have to suffice. Rest assured, Buddy (and all the other super cool locals) were shredding Walnut Creek.

Next up was to visit some local Austin bike shops.

This, of course, meant a trip to Empire BMX.

I actually ended up at Empire twice during my time in Austin. They were always quick to help, knowledgeable and in-stock of whatever I was looking for.  Every town should be so lucky to have a shop like this…thankfully you can still get their great service online.

After Empire, I made the trip out to Ozone Bike Dept.

While not a pure BMX shop per se, they did have a nice selection of Firemans Texas Cruzers in stock. The shop guys were super helpful and were quite open to helping me out with any custom options I might want to make, if I were to consider a Firemans build.

Ozone also probably has the best bike shop t-shirt that I have ever seen.

After that, it was off to Bicycle Farm.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this place beyond the fact that I had heard that they have a ramp in the backyard.

What I did get when I arrived, was a really cool bike shop experience! Walking in, along the side of the building, was a bunch of old and mid-school frames hanging up for sale. We’re talking an old Dyno, a Mosh frame and a bunch of other cool stuff. If you’re a BMXMuseum type…this will be right up your alley.

Turns out this shop carries both new and used bikes . The first thing that caught my eye was this Sunday build that the shop did up in a custom color.

This thing was sooo nice!

And yes, the shop did have a ramp in the backyard.

If you put two and two together at this point…yes, I took the Sunday out for a spin on the ramp! (Unfortunately, I was so worried that they might get me to stop, that I didn’t ask anybody to take a picture…which I probably should have…they seemed pretty chill.)

After some laps, I checked out some more cool stuff in the shop. We’re talking not only a 22″ Indust frame but a very nice looking 24″ Indust Cuatro frame! (If only my suitcase was bigger…)

All and all, a very unique shop and one that perfectly encapsulates the Austin vibe…super easy-going but serious about giving you a good experience.

Good times all around.

Tip of the hat Austin, for treating me so well.

Postscript:

I was also hoping to hit PCBMX in Pflugerville, which I have heard good things about, but ended up running out of time. Will have to check them out next time.