Carolyn Gomez is riding the 180 miles from Houston to Austin — for the first time — this year.  Though never a cyclist, she was inspired to do this challenging ride by her mother Irene Valdez, who courageously has faced her life with MS for the past 14 years.  Her mother now uses a wheelchair for her personal mobility.

Carolyn, a member of Team Sun & Ski, wrote an essay, “To my mother from her daughter,” that was selected by the MS Society, Lone Star Chapter, for its 25th anniversary MS-150 “Art Bike” project.  She was one of 25 essayists selected to have a bicycle decorated in this program.

Gomez is shown here with her four-year-old daughter, Trinity

I had the opportunity to interview Carolyn by email.

Texbiker: What motivated you to choose this year’s ride?

Carolyn: My mother, who suffers from MS

Texbiker: Please describe your bicycle. (Brand, model, components, etc.)

Carolyn: Diamondback  Divine

Texbiker: Do you have any favorite bike stuff?

Carolyn: My favorite bike stuff is my biking shorts. lol

Texbiker: What do you think the ride will be like?

Carolyn: Challenging. But with me keeping my family and my mom on my mind, that should be enough motivation I would need.

Texbiker: Have you visited any of the route?

Carolyn: Personally,  No I have not visited the route yet, but I have been doing online research on the location of the ride

Texbiker: Other than the bike trails what training rides have you done?

Carolyn: I have been riding with my co-workers, who will also be riding in the BP MS-150 at the San Jacinto battle grounds.  I also rode the Tour De Houston (sponsored by Sun & Ski Sports) which was really fun.

Texbiker: How many miles have you ridden in preparation?

Carolyn: When I ride with my co-workers we have been riding at least 20 miles on Sundays, or when I ride the hike and bike trail I ride at least 10 miles a day.  I wish I could ride longer, but with a 4-year-old daughter waiting for me at the sitter’s, I have to cut my ride short (I need to pick up my daughter at least by 6:30 p.m.)

Texbiker: How will you spend Saturday night?

Carolyn: Call my family to let them know I made it okay to La Grange, thank God for blessing with a safe ride and pray for day 2 to be another safe ride for me and others who are riding. Then after that maybe getting a massage provided by Team Sun & Ski and relax and sleep in the Team Sun & Ski tent.

Texbiker: Do you think day 2 will be different from day 1?

Carolyn: Most definitely day two will be totally different from day one.   I am pretty sure it would be a little bit more challenging physically and mentally, but again with my mom on my mind and me knowing that my family is waiting for me at the finish line, it would be all worth it.

Texbiker: When you finish what will you do first?

Carolyn: Whether I am walking, crawling, or riding across the finish line, I will find my family and have a moment to cry. I will cry because not only have I achieved another major milestone in my lifetime (the other two are getting married and giving birth to my daughter), but I will cry knowing that I helped my mother and others get to the next step on having a cure for MS. Then I will call my mother at home to let her know that we did it.

Thank you, Carolyn. Best wishes for a safe and successful ride.

Bicycle Sport Shop is the behemoth of Austin bike shops. Whatever you want, they probably have it tucked away in a corner of their massive, warehouse-like central shop at south Lamar and Barton Springs.

Last month, I interviewed Leslie Luciano, Community Relations Manager, about the shop and got some quite interesting facts and tidbits about Bicycle Sport Shop and its history. Here’s what she had to say.

You guys have been around for a long time (over 25 years) in Austin. How has the shop evolved over the years?

Read the complete interview at austinbikeblog.org

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a series of articles we are doing to profile Texas handbuilt framebuilders.

Life is good right now at KirkLee. In just over 12 months, framebuilder Brad Cason has taken a  framebuilding business that was just an idea and generated a tremendous amount of buzz as an up and coming custom carbon brand to watch. KirkLee has been reviewed in the Nov/Dec 08 issue of Road, drew some notice at Interbike, was recommended by Velonews Tech writer (and framebuilder) Leonard Zinn, and is being found under the body of U.S. Road Champion Tyler Hamilton as his bike of choice when sponsors don’t force him to ride another bike.

Link to the full profile at Austin Bike Blog.

Unlike the Dallas Bike Coordinator, Houston’s Bike Coordinator, Dan Raine, appears to be in favor of bike lanes and bike mobility. Also he still has the job.

Dale Robertson writes, “Dan Raine owns seven bicycles, and he knows most of the bike routes and trails in Houston as well as anyone because he’s on them all the time. In short, Raine is hard core, exactly the kind of rainmaker the cycling community needs on its side — working from the inside.

After five months on the job as the city’s bicycle-pedestrian coordinator, he’s finally getting his arms around Houston’s 15-year-old comprehensive Bikeway Plan, focusing his attention on figuring out a way to fill in the system’s myriad of gaps and making logistical adjustments for the many changes the city has seen since its conception.”

Link to Dale’s full column at the Houston Chronicle Cycling Notebook.

Andy appears to be in Houston since he mentions Addicks and Bear Creek, two areas on the far west side of Houston. This blog excerpt was posted January 18th. Visit Andy’s blog for the full post.

“fresh meat
6.00 came way too early this morning but at least it was a relatively mild morning.  No sign of the skipper or Dave at the Beltway but another rider came up and introduced himself: Louis from Marketing.  It will be his first MS-150 and he hasn’t put in much saddle time so far this season.  Dave and Paddy soon appear – they’ve already ridden 100 miles this weekend and are ready for more.  Meanwhile Phil back in Blighty has been packing in the miles and getting his hill work done too – we need to find some topography pretty soon if you ask me.”

Eighty miles west  of Austin,  the Texas Hill Country is a scenic, uncrowded region of wooded hills and clear, spring-fed streams that offers some of the best road biking in America’s  Sunbelt,  especially  fall  through spring when most northern states are buried in snow. The two top cycling areas are, first:  the network of  low-traffic backroads that web the hills around Fredericksburg, a town  founded by German pioneers where biergartens  and German  culture  still  flourish;  and  second:  the  spectacular  100-Mile Mountain Loop in the western Hills where it’s more like Switzerland than Texas.

In  a  single week,  this  author’s  favorite bike  tour  takes  you  exploring  the  most exciting and rewarding roads in both areas (see  Resources).  While  pedaling  the  full length of the 100-Mile Mountain Loop you will  ride  for miles  through  the canyons of rivers  like  the Frio and Nueces, and wind along  high  ridges  like Horse  Collar  Bend, the highest road in the Hill Country.

Then  I  recommend  you  spend  three full  days  cycling  the  rolling  hills  near Fredericksburg, where one  loop ride takes you to Enchanted Rock, a huge pink dome of bare slickrock. On another, you cycle to the Willow City Loop,  famed  for  its  stunning  panoramas  and  blazing  displays  of bluebonnets  each  spring.  Both  rides  take you  through  the  heart  of  the  Hills,  past stone and  log  farmhouses built more  than a  century  ago  by  German  pioneers,  and through miles of open range where herds of
sheep and goats often wander on the roads.Motels  abound  in  Fredericksburg, which  is  an  excellent  place  to  overnight, as are Kerrville, Laekey, Rock Springs, and Junction.  State  parks  with  campgrounds also  exist  near most  overnight  stops. My recommended  route  will  have  you  pedal
nearly 400 miles, with an average day’s ride of  55  miles,  all  on  paved  roads.  Though it’s possible  to  ride  the Hill Country year-round,  the  best  times  are  spring  and  fall — mid-March through mid-May, and mid-September through mid-November. Resources:  The  website  www.tourvelo.org/txhills.html covers  every  aspect  of  Hill Country bike touring, including maps, when to go, state park campgrounds, overnight accommodations,  caveats,  and  a  complete  day-by-day tour itinerary with a route description.
–Norman Ford

link to the top ten tours

Elliott writes about his experience at austinbikeblog.org

Taking a two week intensive frame building class was just that, intense. Spending 8-12 hours a day working on one project in isolation allowed for quick learning, but also the days ran together in a blur.

Now that I’m back in Austin with my normal routine, Doug’s workshop in Niles, Michigan seems like a distant memory. However, I’ve received a certain confidence in my ability to not only build a frame but do handy work in general that I didn’t have just two week ago. Overall, it was a good experience and a well done class. I’m glad I went.

read Elliott’s full review

from Bike Frames Review

by Pat Carpenter

Any place where the terrain is rough and the sky is blue in Dallas, Houston or elsewhere in Texas is a place you’ll probably find mountain bikers. The sport of mountain biking usually refers to riding bicycles, which possess particular design characteristics, off-road, although sometimes the term simply refers to riding a mountain bike.

It’s a tough, demanding sport that requires endurance, good bike handling skills and a lot of self-reliance. It’s an individual sport that can be performed almost anywhere. There are certain aspects of mountain biking that are similar to trail running, more so than regular bicycling. And, because riders are often far from civilization, there is a strong ethic of self-reliance. Seasoned riders have learned to repair their broken bikes or flat tires to avoid being stranded in the middle of nowhere. This reliance on survival skills accounts for the group dynamics of the sport. Club rides and other forms of group rides are common, especially on longer treks.

read more at Bike Frames Review

from The Fort Worth Business Press

BY ELIZABETH BASSETT

Chris Watson had worked with the staff at Richardson Bike Mart for years. As a sales representative for bicycle companies, he was familiar with their buyers and their clientele, and when he approached them about a new product — a carbon fiber water bottle cage for racing bikes — the buyer wanted to know how many of the items could be made per week.

Watson thought about the manufacturing, which was done in a friend’s carbon fiber plant. All of the cages were hand-made by David Bradfield, Watson’s partner in the Arundel Bicycle Co., which they had just founded with a third partner.

Read more about Arundel Bicycle at the Fort Worth Business Press

Elliott McFadden writes at austinbikeblog.org

This article is part of a series I’m writing about my experience taking a bicycle framebuilding class with master frame builder, Doug Fattic.

I woke up before dawn this morning ready to get started. Since we don’t meet for class until 9 AM and I hadn’t exercised since Thankgiving, I got up and went for a run around Niles. It was quiet and snowing on my run and much of the town is quite charming in a rust belt way. The older part is along the river with surronding hills.