Hugh Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Sluggo said: Downtown in the early 80’s. $5 cab ride from Bouldin and Annie. Or you could take the Dillo for free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) Trip down memory lane: Vulcan Gas Company (the original one), Armadillo World Headquarters, the original Conan's Pizza at 29th and Guadalupe, the Salvation Sandwiches food cart on the Drag that had a carrot cake sandwich with some kind of flavored cream cheese filling. Pato's Food Cart, also on UT Campus on 26th St. They had a breakfast Burrito Macho that seemed to be filled with everything leftover from when the Pato's Restaurant on 38th 1/2 St. closed up for the night before. For example, sometimes there would be french fries in the filling. Glorious, if you didn't think about it too much. Also Patos, RIP. The original burned down, the rebuild had no character; now the location is Cherrywood Coffee House, about a block east of I 35, near Fiesta. The original Academy Surplus Store (now Academy Sports and Outdoors) on the I 35 frontage road across from Hancock Center. It was a warren of dark narrow isles, but you'd always find what you needed eventually. It's now a rock shop -- rocks, they sell actual rocks. Ozone Bike Department on Guadalupe, which turned into a BSS satellite location, soon to be TREK. My very first Austin bike (Motobecane) in Austin was from FreeWheeling Bicycles on 2401 San Gabriel St., after my original bike was stolen off the porch from our house on 16th and Pearl St. Freewheeling's owner, Frank Cook, passed away in 1999 and his widow Angie kept it going along with the same staff until 2013 when Angie decided to sell. Several people on the original staff had reached retirement age and a change in the city master plan doubled property taxes. Back in the day, pre mountain bikes, it was THE roadie bike shop. RIP Frank Cook. Even after all these years, I still remember him as a wonderful guy. Edited December 24, 2020 by June Bug 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAF Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 1 hour ago, June Bug said: Ozone Bike Department on Guadalupe, which turned into a BSS satellite location, soon to be TREK. Soon to be for rent, I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chongo Loco Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Or you could take the Dillo for free.Yeah, we used to take it from 1st and Congress over to Texas Chili Parlor every now and then. PITA to have to repark twice to go to lunch downtown. I never saw the logic of all their “smart growth” plans if they took away free public transportation like the dillo. Think it’s all bullshit that they’d rather raise parking rates and charge for nights and weekends as a revenue booster than do any actual smart growth planning. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinned elbows Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Cool river...or cougar river ...Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Man Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 On 12/21/2020 at 2:30 PM, AntonioGG said: +1 He is a mechanical engineer and also had tons of history with cycling in this city and insights into the bike industry. Another place where you could spend a lot of time hanging out. Yes he was a good mechanic but I cant remember which election it was but he wouldnt stop ranting about whichever candidate was the devil. He closed soon after and I had forgotten about him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Man Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 9 hours ago, June Bug said: The original Academy Surplus Store (now Academy Sports and Outdoors) on the I 35 frontage road across from Hancock Center. It was a warren of dark narrow isles, but you'd always find what you needed eventually. It's now a rock shop -- rocks, they sell actual rocks. That bizzare location along with the 2 story one on Burnet were great haunts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Man Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 I was walking the dogs the other day and I started chatting with a guy (at a distance) as he was bringing in all his Amazon boxes on the porch. He said there was a time when you came home with store labeled bags and as a kid you had an idea what was coming in. He specifically mentioned Oshmans which I had completely forgotten about. Last thing I likely bought there were golf clubs, they had a "ski slope" to take lessons even, way ahead of its time. To others... I became acquainted w/ Mrs Taco Man at what is now Stubbs on Red River- god only knows what the name of it was in 1985- Oz/ Cave Club perhaps. My favorite place to go barring back when was a bar near Esthers Follies- Spy vs Spy- lots of good SKA and Raggae and the house band was awesome. As far as bike shops @olddbrider Spin City shop was probably the first shop I got to really know who ran it. It was roughly half way home on my commute and more than once I would swing in for a 10 min tweak or replace a tube. Just recently closed Southwest Cycles were good people that always took care of me. I really miss Drew from Revolution Cycles but hes doing pretty dang well in Bentonville so good for him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAF Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 6 minutes ago, Taco Man said: That bizzare location along with the 2 story one on Burnet were great haunts. I used to hang out at both those locations - my fly fishing gear plus my early camping gear all came from there. The Burnet location eventually housed Elsi's, which moved from it's spot in a former home where Rosedale Village is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 (edited) Back when there was a tiny bike shop run by a somewhat eccentric guy at the intersection of 29th and Fruth, a half block off Guadalupe. The bike shop was at the south end of what at one time likely had been a convenience store. The other end was an army/navy surplus store. I just checked on google maps and although almost every other piece of property around it has been developed, the Quonset Hut military surplus store is still there in the same building, unchanged. For reference, this would be about a block away from Spider House Ballroom and the Taco Shack on Guadalupe and up the street from Trudies mexican food. Is Firehouse Bikes still in operation? Also noticed yesterday that Chango's on Guadalupe has closed. Their fresh corn tortillas were awesome. Edited December 25, 2020 by June Bug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAF Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 I also noticed that just down from Mellow Johnny's (somewhat surprisingly, still open) my former lunchspot Thundercloud Subs has vanished, replaced by some sort of fancy sign - I couldn't tell if it was an eatery or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 One store that's probably still open: In the Before Times, I rode my bike over to the the Domain to buy my SiL some fancy paper at the fancy paper store and went past a Peloton storefront. They're probably doing OK, but who can ever forget this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinerider Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 On 12/24/2020 at 4:45 PM, Taco Man said: As far as bike shops @olddbrider Spin City shop was probably the first shop I got to really know who ran it. It was roughly half way home on my commute and more than once I would swing in for a 10 min tweak or replace a tube. Just recently closed Southwest Cycles were good people that always took care of me. I really miss Drew from Revolution Cycles but hes doing pretty dang well in Bentonville so good for him. Yeah, that was my "local" bike shop since it was about 3 blocks from my house. Always cruised over to buy what I needed from them as much as possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 RIP the Brazilian food restaurant between Clown Dog and Posse East; it's now Taco Joint Takeout. Clown Dog Bikes, next door, is still open. Their location is close to campus, which has been deserted for months, but they are still operational. They are literally a hole (trapezoid, actually) in the wall shop, opposite end of the 3-business strip mall with the Posse East at Duval + San Jacinto, down the block from Crown and Anchor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olddbrider Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 5 hours ago, Shinerider said: Yeah, that was my "local" bike shop since it was about 3 blocks from my house. Always cruised over to buy what I needed from them as much as possible. Chuck, I think I cruised past you in the opposite direction on Suburban Ninja a couple of weeks ago. I think it was a Thursday evening and we were heading out for a night ride. Looked like you were heading back to the parking lot. I tried to say hi once I realized it was you, but we were already pretty far apart. Anyway, thanks for the mention! I definitely miss Spin City and I'm thankful for all the great folks I met through the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAF Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, June Bug said: RIP the Brazilian food restaurant between Clown Dog and Posse East; it's now Taco Joint Takeout. Clown Dog Bikes, next door, is still open. Their location is close to campus, which has been deserted for months, but they are still operational. They are literally a hole (trapezoid, actually) in the wall shop, opposite end of the 3-business strip mall with the Posse East at Duval + San Jacinto, down the block from Crown and Anchor. That was Sampaio - the owners split up, and Sampaio moved for a short while to Burnet Rd, where Gusto is now. The original was renamed Sao Paulo, and they own the taco business which is currently in the San Jacinto location. Sampaio on Burnet was not terribly good, and the noise in there was deafening. We went once, and never returned while they were open. Edited December 28, 2020 by TAF 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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