The Racing Post – January 2012 Issue
The Racing Post is a monthly magazine dedicated to those who ride bicycles and like to ride them – fast.  Event coverage includes Road racing, Off-road racing, Track racing, Triathlons, Bicycle rallies, and all levels of bicycle training.

New Years Day ride at Flat Rock Ranch
by Laura Scagno         Austin Ridge Riders
This is a Public Event posted by Doug with our friends at STORM (South Texas Off-Road Mountain Bikers)
Sunday January 1, 2012   Start Time 10 a.m.
Flat Rock Ranch, 342 Flat Rock Creek Road, Comfort, Tx 78013

New Years Day ride at Flat Rock Ranch. Wheels down at 10:00 am in the parking area. This will be a good ride for anyone who is not familiar wtth the ranch trail system. I plan to lead a no drop ride ride on the Lower Loop. If anyone wants to ride faster they are welcome to go on ahead.

The Centex Mountain Bikers and Racer’s Edge (CMBRE) is a meetup group of riders and racers in Central Texas. CMBRE will be an organized scheduler for races and other events, assisting racers in keeping up to date on what is happening where and when. CMBRE will also include scheduled ride calls at various trails around the state and even a few trips out of state. There will be skills clinics, some for free and some for a fee to help riders…

The following two articles show how the sellers are trying to limit the buyers (you and me) from finding bargains.

Sinyard letter spurs discussion
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
Mike Sinyard’s letter to retailers this week regarding Amazon’s Price Check App is escalating an industry-wide conversation and examination of the interaction between brick-and-mortar stores and the many alternate retailing channels popping up online.

Sinyard, the founder and president of Specialized Bicycle Components, warned his dealers about the new app and urged them to consider their loyalty to brands whose products are available through Amazon. He named…

Cateye cleaning up discounters
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)—Cateye USA president Thomas Prehn went on an Amazon buying spree of sorts last spring and summer. He has an office full of receipts and packages to prove it.

“I was probably Amazon’s best Cateye customer,” Prehn said Thursday.

Prehn was buying his company’s own products off of Amazon to try to identify their source so he could shut down deep discounters.

While Cateye sells some products direct to Amazon, oftentimes its products show up at discounts from unauthorized sources. While Cateye can’t tell a retailer what price to sell at, the company can identify…

After my bike ride on Tuesday saddles were on my mind thus this review made Texbiker.net today.

Review: Syncros FL Carbon Rail Mountain Bike Saddle
posted by Tyler (Editor)        www.bikerumor.com

Syncros’ FL product family is their lightweight, XC-oriented group of components. FL stands for “Freakin’ Light” and thus far, we haven’t been disappointed when we’ve thrown FL goodies on the scale. Most recently, I reviewed their FLavor tires and, despite a thick coating of leaves and mud on the trail, can’t bring myself to take…

Why You Should Check Your Chainring Bolts
posted by Tyler (Editor)    www.bikerumor.com

…So this doesn’t happen to you mid-ride.

While bike shops and warranty departments hate to hear it, this truly did happen while Just Riding Along (aka JRA). Coming around a corner, I put a mild amount of acceleration into my ride simultaneously heard and felt a crunch. The bike came to an immediate stop. Looking down, I assumed the chain had simply fallen off or…

Bicycle Safety Ordinances Considered
by Plano Star Courier
By Bill Conrad
One of the goals of the Plano Bicycle Association is to increase rider safety through education of both cyclists and motorists. A new ordinance being considered by the city council may make its job a little bit easier.

Earlier this month, the council heard a report from Police Chief Greg Rushin concerning an ordinance drafted by his department, with strong input from the association. It is modeled after a bill that was passed by…

Del Rio man completes cross-country bike race
Tumbleweed Smith         www.mywesttexas.com

The Race Across America, known as RAAM to bicycle racers around the world, is an endurance race that started in 1982 when four individuals raced from the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles to the Empire State Building in New York City. Racers who finish RAAM are in a unique group of athletes who have unbelievable strength and determination. A privately owned enterprise, RAAM has more distance and more varieties of terrain and weather than any other bike race. At 3,000 miles, it is 30 percent longer than the…

Tour de Life – Steve
WHAT’S GOIN’ ON…
I’m going to be biking all around:
Texas for 3 months, from January-March, 2012 (around 4000 miles)
Louisiana during April 2012 (around 1000 miles)
WHERE EXACTLY IN TX & LA ARE YOU GOIN’?
I have a little site that shows the route plan that I’ve come up with thus far. That address is: trackmytour.com/6434

There you’ll find a stop-by-stop text itinerary as well as an interactive map for the tour. From the tour route, I plan on sending in frequent dispatches from the road via writings/photos/videos…

I had to include at least one person who reflected on the year and what he plans to do in 2012.

So How Did I Do?
By Justin        The Plano Cyclist
Every year I have made some New Year’s resolutions for myself on the blog, and I like to check in at the end of the year and see how well I kept them. This year is no different – well, generally the check and the new resolutions are in the same post, but this year they will be…