Midnight rider

Friday night.

I found myself standing beneath a moonlight tower.

165 feet tall.
Over a hundred years old.
Manufactured by Fort Wayne Electric Company.

Six bright lamps shining down on Zilker Park and 100 cyclists.

AWESOME.

Welcome to the 2nd Juan Pelota Moonlight Tower Constellation Tour. The goal? Ride all around Austin to view the 15 remaining moonlight towers, a citywide lighting system from back in the day (think 1890s).

I love this idea. Both that Austin is the only city left in the world to operate such a lighting system, but also that I could play follow-the-leader on my bike to see them all.

The ride was a perfection cross-section of the cycling community. I will admit I was expecting the group to be dominated by hipsters on fixies, but it was far more diverse: triathletes in sleeveless jerseys, roadies in full spandex, one parent-child pair, cruisers, BMXers, a recumber rider, single-speeders, commuters, MTBers, and more.

We rolled out at 8:15pm, and by the time we'd crossed Lamar Blvd, through Bouldin Creek, and into Travis Heights to the second moonlight tower, I think we'd lost a quarter of the group. Still, we pressed on, across the Congress Avenue bridge (over Town Lake and past some amused folks waiting for the bats to fly), through downtown, and into East Austin.


Contrary to popular belief, the east side of town isn't that sketchy. But just as I'd be wary to be caught in certain areas of Oakland, CA alone at night, there were moments when I was glad to be pedaling alongside 50 other cyclists, rather than by myself.

We stopped to regroup several times; each time the pack got smaller and smaller. I think the lack of maps and the steep little hills that pepper the Austin landscape took a toll on the weaker riders. We hammered up Chicon to MLK, over Manor, through UT, and up to 42nd. That's the northernmost tower.

After that the group blew apart. I counted 12 towers (there are 15) and decided I didn't mind heading back to Mellow Johnny's Juan Pelota cafe for some (free) beer.

We sat, drank, reveled, and mused that this was probably the best way to spend a Friday night. The end.