512 Cycology

512 CYCOLOGY DANIEL KUSNER + TRUITT RAY

512 CYCOLOGY

+ YELLOW

Because of Texas roses.

And for the folk song’s reference to the sweetness of miscegenation.

Also, during the Belle Époque, ad makers for the cycling industry favored yellow because it referred to the enlightenment one achieves from pedaling.

That’s why the Tour de France jersey is yellow.

DANIEL KUSNER Prepared for the “Zine Society Library” exhibit at CentralTrak, the University of Texas at Dallas Artists Residency and Gallery: 2015-2016.

Edit: Photos:

Illustration: Text:

Daniel Kusner.

Daniel Kusner, Truitt Ray, Bryan Amann.

Forrest Carson, Bryan Amann.

Kerri Atwood, Truitt Ray, Daniel Kusner, Chad Holt, Lawrence Wright.

Published by: Quik Print, 8508 Cross Park Dr. Austin, TX 78754, 512-467-9382. ii

TRUITT RAY

IMAGES: • “512 Cycology,” Bryan Amann. (2015), cover.

• “Ann Richards: Longhorn Biker Mama,” Forrest Carson. (2015), page 2.

• “Kusner says,‘Snow down,’” UPI. (1955), page 3.

• “Leslie Cochran: Supertramp Pedaler,” Carson.

(2015), page 3.

• “Bicycle Annie,” Amann. (2015), page 3.

• “Paul Soileau,” Daniel Kusner. (2015), page 5.

• “Chad Holt,” Truitt Ray. (2015), page 6.

• “Haven A’Helia Kay,” Kusner. (2015), page 7.

• “Robert Drlicka, Ray. (2015), page 9.

• “David Yeomans,” Kusner. (2015), page 11.

• “Queer Riders,” Kusner. (2015), page 13.

• “Sarah Hughes,” Ray. (2015), page 15.

• “Dawson Weehunt,” Kusner. (2015), page 17.

• “Les deux Carrosses,” by Claude Gillot. (1707), page 19.

• “512 Cycology Crew,” Amann. (2015), rear.

• “Along the Way,” composites: Ray, Amann, Kusner.

RECOGNIZE: Daud Tashnick, Easy Rider Pedicabs, Sara Hughes, Haven A’Helia Kay, Forrest Carson, Kerri Atwood, Chad Holt, Stella Kusner, Lawrence Wright, Jeffery Flowers, Patience Halliwell, Charles Yusko,

Dan Grappe, Joe Rivera, Kyle McGaw, Simone Riviera, Bryan Amann, Johnny Minton, Cleat Broome, Jim Spencer, Heyd Fontenot, Ellen Kennedy.

(All y’all’s help was priceless.)

FOR MORE ABOUT THE CREATORS, VISIT 512Cycology.com 214trans4m.com

TruittRay.com BryanAmann.com KUSNER+RAY

O

nce you learn to do it right You can do it for life

Muscle, balance, Push those pedals (Push ’em real good) Fearless freedom flying On the downhill slope Persist against resistance When the going goes up You are the fuel You use the force Gliding, riding on the first replacement for a horse A physical memory In perpetuity You might lose your language But not this ability Uni, bi, tri, recumbent Pedicab or mountain bike Don’t stop Get up on it Do whatcha like — Kerri Atwood, lyricist-vocalist for The Sexy Finger Champs and Pong.

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KUSNER + RAY

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rustration arises when one goes against the direction of the intended current.

However, pistoning along on a bike nearly always feels like you’re on the right path.

“512 Cycology” isn’t inspired by the bravery of being road warriors.

It’s about being road worriers.

Worried that Austin’s narrow old streets and easygoing charm will vanish. And that both will be replaced by a technopolis ensnarled with drama queens who are unable to comprehend that honking a car horn is as shocking as spitting at someone.

Truitt Ray and Daniel Kusner aim to capture the people and places that surround Austin’s freewheeling “transportainment” energy.

As an exercise about traveling in unexpected paths and pivoting in new directions, “512 Cycology” acknowledges Austin’s “bike today, breathe tomorrow” ethos. It also highlights reasons to ride through the Texas capital in all its “more ass, less gas” glory.

512 CYCOLOGY

INCIPIT

NICE HANDLEBARS: Longhorn bikingmama Ann Richards pedals toward equality.

Wheely fun T

he “spirit of Austin” descended upon me while biking home from the Texas Governor’s Mansion. Ann Richards just concluded her final Christmas party as an elected official — right before the Bushes moved in.

The gathering was intimate. Only 18-or-so guests, and Yours Truly somehow scored a last-minute invite.

Upon entering the Greek Revivalstyle landmark, Molly Ivins apologized for not shaking my hand. That’s because both of hers were occupied with cocktail glasses.

Laughing with the twangy pundit distracted waves of sartorial panic. A pair of steeltoed work boots awkwardly punctuated my green woolen trousers and plaid vest.

My footwear couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than stormtrooper drag. But aside from a pair Nike crosstrainers, construction-site laceups were all I owned.

I figured, would anyone think twice about a pair of cowboy

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boots? Besides, who’d pay attention to my drab heels with a supernova like Ann Richards in the room?

The party didn’t last long.

The somber shock of gubernatorial defeat lingered with holiday-spice candles. Everyone there understood the moment was rare and nearhistorical.

As the governor put her hand on my back and walked me to the door, she thanked me for coming and asked about my holiday plans. I would travel to Chicago to be with my parents.

While wishing me a Merry Christmas, we reached the end of our path. She paused and looked toward the ground. Then her smile lit up like a jukebox as she poked me in the ribs and whispered, “By the way... Nice shoes.”

Biking home in those boots was a “no place like home” experience. I was too broke to own a car or buy a new wardrobe. But, like Cinderella, I crossed the palace yard. And Texas’ chief executive had me laughing myself silly while making me feel like a million dollars.

I love Austin.

••• Transportation is in my blood.

My grandfather Julius Kusner was a Chicago KUSNER + RAY

SNOW DOWN: Officer Kusner directs Chicago traffic in subzero conditions.

traffic cop. He directed the city’s most iconic intersection — the south bank of the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

My dad said, “If she had a choice, your mother would drive from the bed to the toilet.”

I can remember Mom biking only one time. It was election day. Someone was running late with the station wagon, and the polling station was about to close.

••• The women’s movement and biking have always worked in tandem. To men, the bicycle was a toy.

But to women, balancing on two wheels represented “a steed upon which they rode to a new world.”

Maybe that’s because sidesaddle pedaling is almost impossible.

The 1890s was the peak of the American bicycle craze.

In 1896, Susan B. Anthony told Nellie Bly, “I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”

••• Transportation helps people get on with their lives. While cars are often preferable, they’re not always possible, especially with urban America’s growing inequality.

512 CYCOLOGY

SUPERTRAMP PEDALER: Political crusader Leslie Cochran wasn’t the first ‘Austintatious’ biking nonconformist.

Simple and sustainable, bikes can lead to opportunity — even for the homeless.

••• When it came to panache, Albert “Leslie” Cochran was “Austintatious.”

Flaunting a lamé thong, stilettos and goatee, Cochran almost single-handedly embodied the “Keep ‘BICYCLE ANNIE,’ Austin Weird” A.K.A. ZELMA O’RILEY campaign.

Leslie supposedly led an unhoused life by surviving on the streets. He hitched to a pop-up trailer to a three-wheeled bicycle that carried his belongings and a message: a cardboard sign that read, “Maybe They’ll Stop Acting Like Punks With Badges And Stop Harassing Me.” A local business loaned him that bike in return for advertising.

Cochran, a seminal Austin mayoral candidate, was following a path paved by another streetwise nonconformist, “Bicycle Annie,” a.k.a. Zelma

O’Riley.

Born in Choctaw Nation, Bicycle Annie roamed West Campus on a two-wheeler wearing coiled braids and moccasins. In 1941, she began publishing “Up and Down the Drag,” a monthly magazine about military preparedness, pioneering activism and a concern for Native American rights.

She wrote, “It will take a woman to save America.”

With no visible means of support, she also campaigned for public office with her magazine endorsing, “Vote for Zelma O’Riley for First Woman President of the United States — she is Irish, she is Indian and she will care for you.”

••• Whether near-destitute or proclaiming, “IDGAF!” about riding a girl’s bike, pumping pedals can amp up cardiovascular health.

Bikes are also efficient tools to run errands without burning fossil fuels.

But coasting on a bicycle is the epitome of liberation, especially with miles of smooth asphalt ribboning toward a limitless horizon. And looking at Austin over a pair of handlebars may breed a freespirited psychology that’s anything but a vicious cycle.

— Daniel Kusner 3

CHURCH OF THE POISON MIND: Holding his Puegeot hybrid, Paul Soileau positively beams with holy bliss in front of Austin’s Dianetics nerve center.

Chain drive “Austin is already at the center of the bicycling culture, with flatlands on one side and hills on the other, and great weather for cycling.

All we need is more bikeways to make it the perfect place for bikes to rule.”

— Lawrence Wright, author of “Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief” and “Thirteen Days in September: The Dramatic Story of the Struggle for Peace.”

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A

rising star, Paul Soileau’s brightens Austin’s shimmering skyline. But he didn’t conquer the “Live Music Capital of the World” all by himself. Part of his strange brilliance depends on the kindness of strangers — especially when he’s inebriated.

The New Orleans transplant is the creative force behind trash-punk superstar Christeene “Fix My Dick” Vale. He’s also a SXSW expert who knows that two-wheeling to gigs is the best way to beat traffic.

“Seriously, you can’t drive. You won’t get to your destination — not during South By. So you bike,” he says.

With her ratty fright-wig, meth-tweaker contacts and slimy lipstick, witnessing Christeene bicycling to performances can leave passersby star-struck.

“You can’t get that reaction in a car. People scream — like they just saw Cruella de Vil flying down the road,” he says.

The post-show victory lap, however, can be especially tragic.

“I pray I make it home in one piece. One drunken spill, I was in heels and ran into a garbage can.

I fell over three times until someone came out and said, ‘Hey, girl. I’m walking you home,’” he remembers with wistful affection.

Soileau is accustomed to surviving without a motorized vehicle. And compared to the Big Easy, he favors our don’t-mess-with Texas roads.

“Oh, biking through Austin is much easier. In New Orleans, the potholes are deep as your knees.

You can die,” he warns.

Slaloming along our charming streets while heading toward South Congress also inspires Solieau’s verse-chorus skills.

“Biking gives me the best perspective to write

lyrics. The way you can see everything all around you is such a luxury. I remember hitting really good lyrics while living on 13th Street and biking to work at Jo’s Coffee.”

Which song? “‘Bustin’ Brown,” he says What lyrics?

“I ain’t messing with making no babies / That shit for the front and the tee-tee / I want sex / Triple X / Help me / Can’t you see?

“I wrote all my first songs in Austin,” he continues. “But bicycle time is good time. You have to fight the elements — going up hills. You use whatever you got to get where you gotta go. Today, I did everything I needed to do on a bike — when I could have convinced myself to drive a car,” he says.

Where’d you bike?

“To the East Side where my truck was stuck.

Someone tried to screwdriver the ignition off with a hammer. They left their tools in my truck and went through my glove compartment. All I had was a K.D. Lang cassette, which they didn’t take.

“I also biked to meet you here — at the so-called ‘church’ of Scientology. I hate these motherfuckers.

And don’t tell me it’s a religion, because it’s not.

And if they ain’t a religion, they need to pay taxes.

“I also biked to my HAAM appointment. In Texas, you have health insurance if you can prove you’re a working musician — and your income sucks. Even with Obamacare, I get dental care through HAAM. They offer psychiatric help, if you need it,” he explains.

Soileau is informed that he doesn’t need any medical, dental or psychological help. The only thing he needs is L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics.

“Don’t point at me when you say that,” he snaps.

KUSNER + RAY

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RESPECTED BY HER PIER: This dock on the Colorado River is where Easy Rider Pedicab chauffeur Haven A’Helia Kay was christened “The Duchess Von Synglespeid.”

“Parents who pedal around on the street with their kids in those deathtraps attached to the back of their bike belong in fucking prison.”

— Chad Holt, editor-publisher of Whoopsy! magazine and subject of the documentary “Total Badass.”

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Trans... portation I

was born in Andrews, Texas, which is in the Permian Basin just outside of Odessa....My dad was a pastor....I graduated high school in Lufkin and I moved to Austin for college — to follow a girl who broke up with me two weeks before I got here....

Of all the cities I’ve lived in, Austin is my favorite....

I started pedicabbing in fall of 2011...

I want my passengers to have fun. I want them to talk. I want us to learn about each other while I show them the city.

People fall into this habit of climbing into a cab and not talking — other than telling me where to go. A pedicab is intended to be a social experience, which really fits in with the design of the bike.

Because a pedicab is open-air instead of a confined space....

I identify as a queer trans woman. I also identify as lesbian. I’ve hooked up with guys but the experience has never been sexually satisfying. I’m extremely sapphic and blunt...

My cab isn’t very personalized. My last bike had a sticker that said, “A Woman Who Does Not Require Validation From Anyone Is The Most Feared Individual On The Planet”....

Another sticker said, “Sorry If I Missed Church.

I’ve Been Busy Practicing Witchcraft And Becoming A Lesbian”....

I always play music for passengers. Sometimes I play death metal, which inspires me to crush it while pedaling. Death metal also pisses people off.

I like rap, too. Like third-eye rap, which references spirituality.

Sometimes I play country music. Because who doesn’t like Hank Williams?

I like being near the river.

This is the same pier — the Four Seasons is nearby — where my friend dubbed me “The Duchess Von Synglespeid,” because I ride a fixed-gear bike.

But I’m very connected to water. I drink tons of water. Staying hydrated is a big part of this job.

I’m also on antiandrogens, which is a potassiumstrained diuretic. So that means I piss a lot.

My spirit animal is a squid. My sun sign is a Sagittarius, but I’m secretly a Scorpio — Scorpio dominant, and my Venus is in Taurus....

I’m a very perceptual person.

My style is “scary-cute.”

You don’t know if I’m going to kiss you on the face and make you cookies. Or just stab you.

KUSNER + RAY

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ONE-MAN CHARM MACHINE: By wheeling around his Motorola megaphone, Austin performance interventionist Robert “The Compliment Guy” Drlicka issues life-changing felicitations to passersby.

Positive cycle-analysis Y

es, of course, I know about Leslie Cochran. He’s the original “Keep Austin Weird” guy in the bikini. He actually lived about 200 feet from here. He stayed right on the other side of Bouldin Creek.

Our paths never crossed in real time. Leslie exited about the same time I arrived in Austin — three-and-a-half years ago. However, his spirit will always live here in Bouldin and on South Congress Avenue. His influence is everywhere in this town....

I think one of the most powerful and interesting things about being a human is our ability to become anything we want....

About five years ago, I was working on a project called “Road-Kill Awareness.” That’s when I started riding a lot. I would bike around and take photos of fascinating road kill. It was beautiful in its way. And it got people to think.

When you’re on a bike, you can see a lot smaller subjects. Bicyclists don’t usually hit any animals.

Then I added InsaneMan.com to my repertoire. I had just come out of a period of living off the earth in the wilderness. I think that’s selfexplanatory.

Now I’m mostly focused on The Compliment Guy. It’s amazing to see how 8

people change when you give them a compliment.

You can change their whole day with just a few words and the right intention.

The big biker guys are the best. They aren’t used to being talked to or teased. And if you say something like, “Nice posture, sir.” I mean — only if they have nice posture, of course.

Or maybe you say, “Nice man-pecs.”

You may not immediately get a smile. But you get them to listen.

And when they hear what you say to the next person, maybe, “Nice smile, young lady” or “Beautiful laugh, ma’am.’’ Then they start laughing, too.

They see that you’re treating them just like everybody else.

And they aren’t used to being treated like everybody else. They aren’t used to being treated well.

Maybe they see that we’re not all separate people walking around alone, but we’re all connected.

There’s something life-changing about altering a person’s perspective like that.

Giving compliments and getting laughs all day is like letting go and getting gold.

KUSNER + RAY

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WEATHER ON A TRAIL — OR ON A MOUNTAIN: When the temperature jumps, Austin meteorologist David Yeomans digs launching his Specialized rockhopper with 29-inch tires.

Nice day for trailblazing L

ike a cold front, David Yeomans enjoys rolling directly into Mother Nature’s path. And when it comes to being in his element, the KXANTV meteorologist prefers “extreme” mountain biking.

Before moving to Austin at 14, he grew up in Albuquerque. The Sandia Mountains was the Yeomans Family’s backyard. By the time he was in kindergarten, David was maneuvering gravity-defying stunts at invincible downhill speeds.

“Even at that age, I’d ramp curbs and lock up my rear break while midair, knowing it’d bring my tail down. And if I hit my front break midair, that’d bring my nose down,” he remembers.

While his dad led him to his first trails, David was accustomed to exploring on his own.

“That’s what’s so cool about biking. It’s like having a driver’s license before you can get one,” he says. “Biking gives you mobility and freedom.

Like you’re out there and away from home. It’s sorta dangerously fun.”

For his weatherman gig, he’s also known as the “station scientist,” which means he’s constantly checking radar conditions, the digital raingauge, the dew point and something called an “anemometer,” which measures wind speed.

“It’s one thing to be in the studio and cooped up behind all these instruments — watching 86 degrees drop to 74.

“It’s another thing to be out on the bike and feel that gust of wind hit you. To see the pollen get picked up in the air. To feel the temperature

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drop. To feel the humidity. Or feel a storm come in,” he explains.

For Austin off-roading, he digs the Barton Creek Greenbelt, The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and Boardwalk, and the Shoal Creek Greenbelt. He also praises the downhill action of Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnett.

What’s so great about off-road riding?

“High-speed mountain biking is about confidence. On trails, you gain technical skills while trying figuring out how to overcome obstacles,” he says. “Also, it’s about the scenery — especially in Austin.”

What’s Austin look like?

“You’re in the middle of a forest with dense trees and undergrowth. And there’s a beautiful flowing creek... Well, as long as we’re not in a drought.

But you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s easy to get lost on the Greenbelt, but you’re actually in the middle of a big city,” he says.

When it comes to weather conditions, what’s a no-go day for biking?

“When it’s wet. The rocks the on the Greenbelt get so slippery that it’s too difficult. Muddy trails with flying dirt are fun. But going a half-a-mile per hour over slick rocks without any traction... Not only does your back wheel spin, your front wheel slides off everything,” he says.

How about hellacious August day in the Texas capital with humid, scorching sunlight without any clouds?

“That’s when you hope the Greenbelt has flowing water,” he smiles. “Because you either jump in on a rope swing — or you ride through it.”

KUSNER + RAY

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CRITICAL MASKS: Queer Riders wait for the light to change during an October spooks-and-spokes ride.

Bike-sexuals B

uilding sweat equity in a spin class may have its virtues. But going nowhere on a stationary seems like running in place — especially with an entire city right outside.

Social rides are geared for those who enjoy traveling in packs. In Austin, there’s no shortage of two-wheeling orgies. (See sidebar.)

Unless you’re a bike cop, it’s difficult and extremely dangerous to ride sideby-side throughout an urban landscape. But group biking balances “strength in numbers” with a collective consciousness.

Queer Ride is Austin’s pride-ride that meets on Hump Day for night-seeing athleisure. It’s nifty way to meet like-minded “different spokes, different folks,” who can shift gears, let their wigs down and make everyone feel like they’re in a homocore bike-gang.

Everyone pulls up at south gates of the Capitol. At first, there’s a ... “beginning of the ‘Footloose’ prom” politeness that melts away after a few turns.

If you like music, don’t wear earphones on a group ride. Someone usually straps a ghettoblaster to a rear-mounted rack. But the volume is unobtrusive, which allows for chitchat as well as listening to safety calls like, “Bump!” (a road protuberance) or “Car up!” (auto approaching to your left).

Safety is important. And with other members scanning conditions, Queer Ride lends a communal layer of protection.

Queer’s pace is breezy. It’s also a “no-drop ride,” which means if your tire busts, you won’t be abandoned.

Group riding improves cycling habits.

With its vast-and-intricate network of bike lanes, Austin is an exceptionally friendly city. But the “share the road” ethos can give wobbly cyclists a false sense of security.

A lot of Austin cyclists are arrogant, entitled menaces to life and limb who are clueless to the fact that this town is also clogged with cars.

Group rides remind you to obey laws — not to risk blowing through red lights, ignoring pedestrians or daring to ride on sidewalks.

Queer Ride emphasizes safety lights — but (thankfully) they’re not helmet Nazis.

Almost like singing in a chorus, group rides are about harmonizing. Space becomes elastic. Members pass each other and travel at different speeds while still banding together.

With a well-curated route, you’ll be introduced to better, smoother paths, new sights and cool people who enjoy sweating too much to cave to “brave 12

hipster” drag.

When it comes to Queer Ride, don’t let weather put much of damper on deciding to go. Something about sloshing along together through a downpour becomes a gay ol’ time.

That’s something you can never get inside a spin studio.

AUSTIN-AREA SOCIAL RIDES For details, check calendar on AustinOnABike.com. ­ ­SUNDAYS • X21, with morning coffee.

• Bike Curious, art-viewing at night.

MONDAYS • Monday Mash, a sunrise pedal-crank.

• Vegan Social Cyclist Ride, cruelty-free.

• Bikin’ Betties, for anyone who identifies as a woman.

• Lend Your Legs, leading tandem rides with Texas School for the Blind students.

• Heavy Metal Fitness, headbangers unite in Pflugerville.

TUESDAYS • Yoga Ride, led by yogis.

• Walnut Creek Ride, meet at Govalle Park.

• Night Northside Ride, at Balcones District Park.

WEDNESDAYS • Queer Ride, homocore chain-gang.

• Hump-Day Nooner, pedal — then lunch.

• Heavy Breather, quick-paced endurance test.

THURSDAYS • TNSR (“Thursday Night Social Ride’), the behemoth. Like 300 cyclists.

SATURDAYS • Caffeine Cruise, hopped up on medium double-doubles.

• Scout-a-Route, freewheeling adventure.

KUSNER + RAY

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JOY RIDE: Pedicabbing propelled Sara Hughes into a ‘take me as I am — or take a hike’ profession.

Spokesperson A

m I a role model?

Yes, I’d like to think so.

Once I was a role model to a homeless gentleman.

At the time, I needed some money to pay my phone bill. So I got a cooler and some ice, and I sold cold water at an intersection in a tie-dyed shirt.

The next weekend, at that same intersection, a homeless guy was using my idea — selling cold water in a tie-dyed shirt. He was inspired by me to think that he could improve his life and get off the streets.

He said he would be getting his first apartment later that week.

And I try to be a role model to my four-year-old son. I was in a 10-year relationship with a woman. We have a son together. I’d like to think that I’m a role model to him. He calls me “Sara-Momma.”

When I was a young I went to a lot of different schools. Kids can always tell when you’re different — even if they don’t know exactly how. At the time, I didn’t even know myself. I was often excluded and I had to constantly defend myself.

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By the time, I was at Bowie High School. I told my mom, “I’m staying here — even if I have to run away.”

There were still some fights, but I stayed until graduation and attended Austin Community College.

I’ve been a pedicab driver with DirtNail for three years. Before that, I worked as a roller skating carhop at Sonic Drive-In. But at Sonic, I had to wear boy drag to work. Along with my “dead name” tag.

As a pedicab driver, I have the freedom to wear whatever I want. One of the best parts of this job is no one telling me how to be me.

And I love the camaraderie among the other pedicab drivers. If there’s any trouble, you’ve got five people zooming toward you to help out. We always have each other’s back.

I also like the open-and-outside quality of being on a bike. When the client is choosing a pedicab, the driver is in full view. So, in part, they are choosing you.

So it’s, “Take me as I am. Or take a hike.”

KUSNER + RAY

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RICKSHAW REVOLUTIONARY: Tricycle-taxi wallah Dawson Weehunt isn’t offended when women passengers grab his butt.

Human horsepower W

HO: Dawson Weehunt.

AGE: I’m 20.

WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR OCCUPATION? I drive a pedicab.

WHERE YOU FROM? All over Texas. Born in Dallas. Moved to Tyler.

Then Longview. Th en Magnolia. Then Austin. Then Lakeway. Then The Woodlands and back to downtown Austin.

WHAT LURED YOU TO AUSTIN? I moved here after I graduated from high school to, hopefully, go to the University of Texas. But I’ve yet to do that.

I’m going to community college.

I’m in Austin for a lot of reasons: friends, the culture ... I’m really involved with the residential co-ops here. I like the communities here — from the pedicab community to the activist community.

I’m vegan and like to bike and swim. Austin fits my lifestyle.

CAN YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST DAY AS A PEDICABBER? Yeah, it was absolutely terrible. It was in the wintertime and it started raining. I got no rides. The second day, it wasn’t raining, and I got $200.

HOW MANY FARES DID YOU WORK THE NIGHT YOU SCORED $200? One ride was $100. Then probably four rides for about $20-$25.

HAVE YOU GOTTEN LOST? No. I have my phone. I just Google shit.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET FLAT TIRES? I’ve had four. I’ve been doing this for six months.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR YOU TO GET HIRED? Well, you have to get your license, which takes about two weeks — for processing. After that, it took about 30 minutes.

BEFORE THIS JOB, DID YOU HAVE ANY BIKE-TAXI EXPERIENCE? No, but I rode my bike everywhere.

DESCRIBE YOUR PASSENGER’S EXPERIENCE? Depends on where we’re going. My favorite rides are people who just want to see Austin. So they’re, like, “Take me around.”

Those fares have the coolest rides because I know the cool bike paths. We always have a blast.

A lot of people are just drunk and trying to get to the next bar.

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DO YOU NARRATE RIDES WITH, LIKE, TOURISM INFO? Not really. I just talk to customers. I’d rather focus on them.

HOW DO YOU CONVINCE PEOPLE TO HIRE YOU? Mostly by talking to them.

I don’t try and call out a lot. Whenever I’m driving around — like if I’m sitting and I haven’t gotten a ride for a long time — then I’ll try and really get one.

Most of the time, I just play music really loud and make my presence known.

BEST TIP? That’s a hard one. I got a back massage once. That was incredible.

As far as money goes, I got $200 for one ride.

DO PEOPLE HIT ON YOU? All the time. Mostly ladies. They’ll grab my butt.

If it was the other way around, that would be sexual harassment. But since I’m a dude, it’s more, like, flirty....

ANY CLOSE CALLS WITH MOTORISTS? Yeah, I’ve been hit before. Nothing too severe. It kind of wiggled a bit.

DID THEY STOP? We were all stuck in traffic together. I changed lanes without realizing it. Someone rear-ended me.

But it was my fault.

WHAT EVENT ROLLS IN THE MOST BUSINESS? South By. Without a doubt. That’s like a 10-day marathon. UT games are good.

Business conventions are consistent. Those are during the day, and not many other pedicabbers are out. The demand is still high, but since I’m the only pedicabber out there, I’ll make, like, $300 on a Tuesday.

MOST OBNOXIOUS BEHAVIOR? Oh, there’s been multiple incidents of people trying to not pay me. Or trying to get into fights... Most pedicabbers carry Mace because of that.

Some real assholes out here.

HAS THIS JOB GOTTEN YOU LAID? In an indirect way, yes. But not directly.

HOW EXHAUSTED ARE YOU AT THE END OF A SHIFT? I’m absolutely fucking dead.

KUSNER + RAY

512 CYCOLOGY

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KUSNER + RAY

512 CYCOLOGY

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512 CYCOLOGY LEFT: Claude Gillot’s “Les deux Carrosses.”

RIGHT: The “512 Cycology” crew, clockwise from left, Jeffery Flowers, Patience Halliwell, Charles Yusko, Dan Grappe, Haven A’Helia Kay, Daniel Kusner, Sara Hughes, Truitt Ray, Kyle McGaw, Simone Riviera and Joe Rivera.

Photo: Bryan Amann.

Look at what the cabs dragged in

O

riginally, “512 Cycology” was solely focused on Austin’s booming pedicab industry. That “rickshaw revolution” concept, however, proved to be too narrow — too elaborate.

During research, I seized upon French theater designer Claude Gillot’s best-known painting, “Les deux Carrosses” (“The Two Coaches,” 1707), which hangs in The Louvre.

Gillot was inspired by “Foire Saint Germain” (1695), a comedy about an altercation that erupts

between two cabmen and their passengers (commedia dell’arte characters Arlequin and Scaramouche, both dressed in women’s clothing).

The sketch is about frustration over traffic congestion.

When the carriages meet in a narrow alley, each taxi refuses to back up and let the other pass. The show concludes when a passing black-robed judge attempts to mediate the conflict but instead becomes the focus of the collective ire and is chased

offstage.

For the Austin 2015 version, we relocate this traffic jam to an alley off of 11th Street between San Jacinto Boulevard and Brazos Street — across from The Texas General Land Office.

A 12-person crew turned out. Two members — Bryan Amann and Charles Yusko — drove in from Dallas. Exaggerating road rage turned into an afternoon of sidesplitting adventure.

— Daniel Kusner