Texas Bicycling News Digest March 23rd 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Biking Bad: Cycling Ordinances in the Houston Area

By Alex Wukman | www.freepresshouston.com

In Houston, spring and cycling go together like beer and crawfish — and spring cycling in Houston means the BP MS-150. The thing is, riding a bike in H-Town, like almost everything else, is a trade-off. Sure it’s great cardio, but it involves fighting traffic. And fighting traffic is basically a blood sport in this city. …

Council votes to move several road projects forward

www.roundrocktexas.gov

An efficient transportation network takes careful planning and execution, and City Council authorized important steps toward making several projects a reality at Thursday’s City Council meeting. …

…Contract for engineering of Gattis School Road, segment 3

Council voted to select Rodriguez Transportation Group to prepare schematics as well as plans, specifications, and an estimate for segment 3 of the Gattis School Road project. This portion of the project will reconstruct the existing four-lane roadway to a major divided arterial road with improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Right and left turn bays will be provided at the intersections where Gattis School Road meets A. W. Grimes Boulevard, South Creek Drive, Joyce Lane and Double Creek Drive. The turn lane improvements will enhance traffic flow at the existing major retailers within the area. …

Downtown Austin Alliance hires executive director to lead mobility, traffic efforts

By ABJ staff | www.bizjournals.com

… Prior to joining Movability, Pfannenstiel was director of special events at St. David’s Episcopal Church in downtown Austin. Among the programs she established while working at St. David’s is a commuter bike parking program for downtown workers, which gives bicycle commuters shower facilities and a safe place to store bikes and gear during the work day. Before moving to Austin, Pfannenstiel was operations supervisor for the transit system in Cheyenne, Wyoming. …

Between bikes, buses and highways, Katy area has hands full with transportation challenges

By Amelia Brust | communityimpact.com


Living in the Katy area comes with transportation challenges on multiple sides, for commuters, students and other residents. Government officials and advocates are looking for ways to move people from point A to point B faster.

Some say biking could offer relief around recreational areas and farther east to the Energy Corridor. But others, including Andy Meyers, Fort Bend County Precinct 3 commissioner, are more concerned with connections between I-10 and FM 1093. …

Medical City Arlington to Give Away Bicycle Helmets for Kids Saturday

www.nbcdfw.com


Medical professionals will give away 300 bicycle helmets Saturday to children in Arlington so that they are protected while being active participating in sports on wheels.

The helmet giveaway is being hosted by Medical City Arlington and is conducted …

Southern Tier USA 2018

By Dennis Hughes | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Austin to La Grange: 73.1 miles, 1607 ft
Wednesday March 21, 2018, 73 miles (117 km) – Total so far: 1,618 miles (2,604 km)
There was a huge sigh of relief in Austin, as the bombings will now stop. Many people were on eggshells in and around town.
We stayed in the southern part of town and got out of town as quick as we could. Austin is generally a bicycle friendly city and …

La Grange to Navasota: 75.6 miles, 2992 ft
Thursday March 22, 2018, 76 miles (122 km) – Total so far: 1,694 miles (2,726 km)
We headed east and north out of La Grange. The only thing I still know about La Grange, comes from the ZZ Top song, that was on the Tres Hombres album, in 1973. ZZ Top was my first concert and I guess the album and concert date me. …

Coast to Coast With Bubba

By Bobby Rone | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 21 – Marathon, TX – Rest Day: Tour of Big Bend National Park
Friday March 23, 2018
Today, Bubba rented a couple of vans, and, along with 6 other staff vehicles, we had an all-day excursion into Big Bend National Park. From Marathon, the park entrance is about 45 miles, but it is another 35 or so miles down to the Rio Grande. In between is park headquarters and visitor’s center. It was a great day of sightseeing and hiking.
Two things struck me about this park: First, it was very mountainous and …

The Limo Bikes to Bayous and Beaches

By Marilyn Swett | www.crazyguyonabike.com


Lake Arrowhead SP to Jacksboro, TX: Victorious but pooped
Thursday March 22, 2018, 59 miles (95 km) – Total so far: 81 miles (130 km)
“Oklahoma, where the wind goes whistling down the plains.” Oh, wait…….we’re in Texas!
We were up with the sun this morning. The wind had died a bit during the night but was still with us. It had been a chilly night and I was glad that I had packed my heavier Thermarest sleeping bag liner, tights and long sleeve top as they made me a lot warmer.

It took us about an hour to pack up and by 8:30 we were back on the road. When we reached the front gate we stopped to fill up our bottles with cold water from the building’s drinking fountain. Don also talked to the rangers about a potential route on the east side of the lake. It sounded as if there …

Jacksboro to Mineral Wells, TX: Boy, I sure need a spa treatment!
Friday March 23, 2018, 36 miles (58 km) – Total so far: 117 miles (188 km)
“They call the wind Mariah.”
Even though we were up early this morning, Mariah was blowing at the top of her lungs. We were still headed due south right back into another headwind.

For others cycling through here, Jacksboro has several fast food places and cafes, as well as a market. There were also 2 other motels on the west side of town.

Back on Hwy. 281, we continued on into the wind. South of Jacksboro the hilly land changed to flatter plains with large cattle ranches and oil wells. …

California to Florida – across the USA

By Julian McCarthy | www.crazyguyonabike.com


Day 24: Langtry TX to Del Rio TX: another very tough day in every way
Thursday March 22, 2018, 33 km (21 miles) – Total so far: 1,805 km (1,121 miles)
Dave, Kathy and I had a good (warm night and sheltered from the wind) on the back steps of the community centre. We were up at 0630 and after a brief Skype call with a colleague and a light breakfast we were off with the plan of avoiding the wind, and getting 28 miles in to Comstock (45km) where I was going to meet Poppy and Peter who had been aiming for a walk into Seminole Canyon to see ancient cave paintings
Unfortunately no-one had told the wind gods of our cycling plans and we had another massive headwind combined with numerous sharp up and down hills where pretty much immediately the pain behind my left knee started to get worse. Dave diagnosed a strained hamstring, and there is not an easy or instant solution. Not wanting to make things worse, and with nothing to prove to anyone, after 30 km I decided to stop and flag a lift to Comstock (18km) and wait for the others there. Clearly …

Day 25: rest day in Del Rio TX: relaxing day off
Friday March 23, 2018
We tried to have a lie in but struggled to manage past 0730. The free hotel breakfast was quite reasonable and the waffle machine was fittingly churning out Texas-shaped waffles. The five of us sat for ages chatting, and getting our money’s worth.
Number one task was laundry. The hotel does not have a guest laundry, and the neighbouring laundromat was closed for repairs. We all were …

This weekend’s rides: Dam Loop! Red Horn!

by Thomas | steinerranchcycling.com

Saturday is gearing up to have light attendance. Some of us are doing the annual BBQ and Beer ride between Llano and Fredericksburg while others are coming up with some really lame and shameful excuses. This will be one of those Saturdays where you can just show up at the regular start and see who is there and pick a ride. The Dam Loop is pretty good in these situations. After the …

2 arrested after hit-and-run crash killed bicyclist at Spring area park

abc13.com

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) — Two suspects are in custody after a bicyclist was hit and killed at a Spring area park Friday morning.

Authorities tweeted that around 9:30 a.m. that they were looking for a suspect who hit the bicyclist, crashed their vehicle and fled into the woods.

A perimeter was set up around Pundt Park on 4129 Spring Creek. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/AndarooWillis/status/977353156244983811

27 MPH Wind Gusts Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I knew the wind was going to be tough today but that is part of a bike ride. I made it to SH 242 pretty easily but making the turn to the south was when the hard pedaling began and it didn’t let up until I made the u-turn under I-69/US59 at Kingwood Drive. All of this took place riding the “Kingwood – SH 242 – Kingwood” route for a total of 34.09 miles. These two screenshots from my phone show the weather around the start of the bike ride (12:14 pm) and the finish (2:49 pm) at the airport to the southwest of Kingwood,

Start
Finish

The weather during the ride: start 81 (57% humidity), partly cloudy, wind S 12 mph gusts 25 mph. Finish 82 (53% humidity), partly cloudy, wind S 15 mph gusts 27 mph.

Riding to SH 242 I could pedal at 19 to 20 mph without too much effort. Watching the power output on the Elemnt computer I was 200 watts or less. I built my average speed up to 15.2 mph but this start blowing away when I turned to the south. My speed dropped to 10 mph at times when a gust would hit and I worked hard to get back up to 14 to 15 mph. Watts now were 200 and up most of the time except when I stopped pedaling because my legs couldn’t turn anymore. I got a little relief when I turned right onto Valley Ranch Parkway and rode west with the wind coming at me from the left. The shopping center buildings blocked the wind some and after I crossed under the Grand Parkway and crawled up the slight incline I had the trees to block some of it.

Any time I was out in the open the wind came at me sometimes pushing me to the side but I held the bars and regained my line. I stopped at the FM 1314 traffic light and needed the rest. After it changed it was a fight to get to the next one at Northpark Drive where I rested again waiting for a green light. At the Kingwood Drive u-turn I stopped long enough for the turning traffic to pause and then was back on the northbound service road with a tailwind. From there I wove my way through Kings Manor and then into Kingwood with the still making it hard.

Finishing the ride I was relieved so that my tired legs could recover. Could be more wind tomorrow too.

For the week I stand at 175.03 miles, 677.79 miles for March and 1512.09 miles year to date.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest March 22nd 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Sherman establishes first ‘Bicycle Boulevard’

By Emily Akins | www.kten.com


SHERMAN, Texas — The City of Sherman is trying to make the roads safer for cyclists by establishing Bicycle Boulevards.

City Council member Shawn Teamann said there’s a lot of bike traffic on certain roads, so the boulevards will help make motorists more aware of two-wheeled vehicles. …

Southern Tier on a Recumbent 2018

By Joseph Valenzi | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 17 – March 19 Monday – El Paso TX to Ft. Hamilton TX: Who knew El Paso was so big?
Saturday February 24, 2018, 62 miles (100 km) – Total so far: 917 miles (1,476 km)
The beautiful weather continues. We have really been lucky. Cool temperatures, good winds, sunny skies. It’s been great so far. But El Paso was a pain to go through. Almost half the day was spent getting through it. I made a lot of wrong turns, there were lots of lights, lots of traffic. Just city riding stuff. That’s the way it goes. Other than San Diego we have been able to avoid most of that. My BIGGEST mistake in El Paso was not looking for Rosa’s Cantina before I got into town. Almost everyone of my vintage knows the Marty Robbins song El Paso, which concerns a cowboy and a Mexican girl at Rosa’s who is not that into him. It has been scientifically proven to be the best story song of all time. …

Day 18 – March 20 Tuesday – Ft. Hancock TX to Van Horn TX: Along the Borderlands
Sunday February 25, 2018, 72 miles (116 km) – Total so far: 989 miles (1,592 km)
Although it was 34 degrees to start today, it warmed up quickly. The unbelievably great weather continued. I feel so lucky in so many ways – lucky to have the time to be on this trip, lucky to be healthy etc. The good weather is just more good luck. Today, there was hail and tornado warnings back home in FL, and my kids in IN and MD had a snowstorm. I hope our luck continues.
We met two separate …

Day 19 – March 21 Wednesday – Van Horn TX to Marfa TX: Stick a fork in me I’m done
Monday February 26, 2018, 74 miles (119 km) – Total so far: 1,063 miles (1,711 km)
Most of today was great, but at the moment I am so tired, I can’t even sit up to write this journal. The last 20 miles of the ride, besides being uphill were rough chip seal that just shook and shook the bike. Throw in the headwind and the second long in a row and I was left with nothing.
Before that it was nice! The best part was lunch in the town of Valentine. The school there sells us lunch as a fundraiser for the big class trip. They do LOTS of other fundraisers too. But for this one they cooked burritos at home, four different kinds, brownies and they had soda. It was nice. Talking with the kids was even better. This town has only about 180 people. The school (K-12) has about 30 students if I remember correctly. The high school part has I think 10 kids. Six …

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156228491699938&id=334560489937

Southern Tier USA 2018

###By Dennis Hughes | www.crazyguyonabike.com
Ft. Hancock to Van Horn: 73.6 miles, 1788 ft
Saturday March 10, 2018, 74 miles (119 km) – Total so far: 969 miles (1,559 km)
Woke up in the very small town of Ft. Hancock, TX. Sure glad I am not hitching up to this wagon to cross the desert. Man, those folks must have been really hardy. …

Van Horn to Ft. Davis: 81.2 miles, 1788 ft
Sunday March 11, 2018, 81 miles (130 km) – Total so far: 1,050 miles (1,690 km)
With the change to daylight savings time and being in the very western edge of the Central time zone, sunrise did not happen in Van Horn until 8:15. On top of that, it was drizzling and lows were near 40 degrees. What a crummy way to start the day. We …

Ft. Davis to Marathon: 53.8 miles, 1134 ft
Tuesday March 13, 2018, 54 miles (87 km) – Total so far: 1,104 miles (1,777 km)
Leaving Ft. Davis, we began the day with a little climbing on US Hwy 90. Nice road with an 8 ft shoulder, even though the surface was a little rough, with the typical Texas chip seal. I think TX tries the find the biggest stones possible for their resurfacing projects. To say the least, it makes for a rough ride. …

Marathon to Sanderson: 53.9 miles, 828 ft
Wednesday March 14, 2018, 54 miles (87 km) – Total so far: 1,158 miles (1,864 km)
Continued on Us Hwy 90, with no turns. So no one has gotten lost, yet. We did have a headwind once again today. The general topography was a downhill ride over 54 miles. We went through some rolling hills with some interesting rock formations that date back 230+ million years ago. …

Sanderson to Del Rio: 119.8 miles, 3994 ft
Thursday March 15, 2018, 120 miles (193 km) – Total so far: 1,278 miles (2,057 km)
I have been worried about this day since the route was created. I looked for any option available that would give us a shorter day. The small towns we went through were dead or dying with only one motel available and zero to one place to eat, In the long run, I still feel I made the correct decision. We rode …

Del Rio to Camp Wood: 79.1 miles, 1769 ft
Friday March 16, 2018, 79 miles (127 km) – Total so far: 1,357 miles (2,184 km)
Del Rio to Camp Wood was somewhat of a holiday, as we only did 79 miles and 1800 ft. We traveled through the town of Bracketville. I had a weird question, what does the local high school name their mascot. The truth be told, they are the Bracketville Tigers. Nice football stadium and separate track a field facility.
Went by several ranches that have …

Camp Wood to Ingram: 80.2 miles, 4781 ft
Saturday March 17, 2018, 80 miles (129 km) – Total so far: 1,437 miles (2,313 km)
We woke early, having looked at the weather forecast last night, that said we had a chance of of thunderstorms today. It was cloudy, most of the morning , but no chance of rain. We ate breakfast at Cafe Falcon and shared the place with a fairly large motorcycle group, both in numbers and in girth. They were one of many motorcycle groups on the same roads we were riding today. There were Honda groups, Harley groups, BMW groups and even a few car groups enjoying the roads of the …

Ingram to Fredricksburg: 37.3 miles, 1587 ft
Sunday March 18, 2018, 31 miles (50 km) – Total so far: 1,468 miles (2,363 km)
We cut a few miles and about 400 ft of climbing, by taking a more direct route, through Kerrville and hwy 16 to Fredricksburg. Cloudy and cool day, until we arrived at the Inn on Barons Creek. Even though we arrived really early, we were able to get into our rooms by about 12:30. Duncan and Marjorie ran into some cyclists from the Denver area and HeartCycle, also from …

Every Child Has A Dream–Southern Tier 2018

By Anthony Youga | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 16 — El Paso, TX to Van Horn, TX: Foster Kids
Monday March 5, 2018, 113 miles (182 km) – Total so far: 1,034 miles (1,664 km)

Day 17 — Van Horn, TX to Marfa, TX: Lots of “Nothing”
Wednesday March 7, 2018, 74 miles (119 km) – Total so far: 1,108 miles (1,783 km)

Day 18 —Marfa, TX to Marathon, TX: My First Business Mentor
Thursday March 8, 2018, 55 miles (89 km) – Total so far: 1,163 miles (1,872 km)

Day 19 — Marathon, TX to Langtry, TX: Instead of 55 miles, let’s double down
Friday March 9, 2018, 115 miles (185 km) – Total so far: 1,278 miles (2,057 km)

read more about the trip across Texas

California to Florida – across the USA

By Julian McCarthy | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 18: El Paso TX to Fort Hancock TX: flat and easy. There by 1pm and a warm welcome at the church
Friday March 16, 2018, 92 km (57 miles) – Total so far: 1,248 km (776 miles)
I was up at 0630 and planning to get out by 0730 with Dave and Kathy. We all had a team breakfast and then were off promptly as planned.
Navigation was simple, but the suburbs of El Paso are huge. It was a good 30km before we were in countryside but the roads were quiet, flat and with a good tailwind. My leg felt better and I am finding ways to cope with it. It helps that Dave and Kathy are probably a bit slower so I can choose my own speed more easily (although I must say Poppy and Peter have been very understanding indeed). But great to be back in action. …

read more starting at this page

Coast to Coast With Bubba

By Bobby Rone | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 17 – El Paso, TX to Ft. Hancock, TX: Cold!!!!
Monday March 19, 2018, 63 miles (101 km) – Total so far: 927 miles (1,492 km)
Left this morning from El Paso in the low 40’s and breezy. It was cool all day. They are predicting 38 degrees in the morning at Ft Hancock. Can’t complain, though. We had a good 10mph tail wind all day and the sun was bright. It was a nice pleasant ride.
The first 20 miles today was through suburbs of El Paso and a good bit of traffic, although there was a good shoulder to ride on. After that, we turned southeast and rode a Texas farm road parallel to the Rio Grande. The whole day was passing through extensive agricultural fields – mostly cotton, pecan orchards, and alfalfa. These are irrigated from the river. We are also riding parallel to I-10. Most of the towns along the way are very small and dusty, with any new business along the interstate. …

read more starting at this page

The Limo Bikes to Bayous and Beaches

By Marilyn Swett | www.crazyguyonabike.com

What’s Up this Year?: Another epic tour for the Limo
BAYOU – a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area, and can be either an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), or a marshy lake or wetland
The term bayou can also refer to a creek whose current reverses daily due to tides and which contains brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, notably the Mississippi River Delta, with the states of Louisiana and Texas being famous for them.

A bayou is frequently an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is moving much more slowly than the mainstem, often becoming boggy and stagnant. Though fauna varies by region, many bayous are home to crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, catfish, frogs, toads, American alligators, American crocodiles, herons, turtles, spoonbills, snakes, leeches, and many other species. (Wikipedia) …

Route Details: Where are we going?
First of for all you map lovers: don’t expect any maps from us this year. We might do some daily maps, if Don feels motivated. At the end of a tiring day, it’s enough for him to just edit and post our pictures!
We did a full route map for last year’s tour before we left home and ended up deleting it because we changed our minds several times during the trip on where we were going, ultimately following a different route than what we had originally posted..

So, in a nutshell, here are our plans now:

PART 1:

Drive from Denver to Wichita Falls, TX where we will leave our car at a friend’s home. (because Wichita Falls is at a lower elevation, it should have warmer weather than Denver). Then bike south to Galveston, TX. …

Wichita Falls, to Lake Arrowhead State Park, TX: Welcome to Texas!
Wednesday March 21, 2018, 22 miles (35 km) – Total so far: 22 miles (35 km)
“You can all go to hell; I will go to Texas” ― David Crockett
After 2 days of driving, we finally arrived in Texas last night. At least it’s nicer weather here than when we left Denver which had 4 inches of snow on the ground.

It took a little while to get organized this morning but we had a short day planned, so it didn’t matter too much. Since we were leaving our van here in Wichita Falls with some friends, we had to make sure that we had everything on the bike …

LUBBOCK IS THINKING ABOUT IMPROVING BIKING AND WALKING AROUND THE CITY

awesome98.com


The city wants us to help them in creating and developing a new master plan for Lubbock’s walking and biking needs. I think its way overdue, but better late than never.

If you have ever complained that its too dangerous to ride your bike or walk in Lubbock, you’re not alone. I try to ride my bike a lot when the weather is good, but I make sure I stay away from any big streets because even having to cross them quickly is damn near impossible. …

Signs Going in At McAllister Park Trails, Thanks To REI Grant

BRENDAN GIBBONS | therivardreport.com


A network of trails in McAllister Park in north-central San Antonio will soon be easier to navigate, thanks to a partnership involving a mountain bike group, City staff, a park support organization, and outdoor retailer REI Co-op. …

Pair of local community events scheduled for April

www.commercejournal.com

… Also planned for April 14 is a “Bike safety Rodeo,” a free event from the Commerce Independent School District. An obstacle course will be set up downtown, where guests will ride through the course, learning bike handling and safety techniques along the way. Children of all ages are encouraged to bring their bikes, but some bikes will be available to loan for the day. The first 100 children will receive a free bicycle helmet, courtesy of Live Oak Professional Center and the Texas Medical Association, and riders that finish the course will be put in a drawing to win a free bike. …

DALLAS NOW BOASTS THE BIGGEST BIKE SHARE FLEET IN THE U.S.

OBED MANUEL | www.centraltrack.com

Dallas Has 18,000-Plus Rental Bikes On Its Streets — And Now Motorized Bikes And Scooters Are About To Enter The Market. Does City Hall Have Any Plans To Regulate This Shit Yet?
Seven months into bike sharing’s arrival in Dallas, it’s safe to say that everyone has an opinion on the relationship our city is developing with the startup companies who appear to be scattering their wares, well, pretty much everywhere. …

Video: El Paso man trades truck for bike to avoid construction and traffic

Josie Ortegon | www.kvia.com

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man traded in his truck for a bike in the midst of the ongoing construction and traffic.

Shawn Finley tells ABC-7 he sold his truck seven months ago and purchased a bike to get around town. His decision has completely changed his outlook on transportation and life. …

Dallas City Staff Want To Regulate Share Bikes, Avoid Talk Of Docking System

By Brooke Rogers | dfw.cbslocal.com

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – It’s a site many Dallas citizens have reluctantly become accustomed to seeing: share bikes all over the sidewalks, seemingly without a home, riders or rules.

“You’re just about getting knocked over whenever you’re walking down the sidewalk,” says downtown Dallas resident Sherry Clark. …

Campus sees bike-friendly changes

By Grace Amiss | www.tcu360.com

Fort Worth’s push for more bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly roads has made its way to TCU.
City workers re-striped the streets around campus with bike lanes, during spring break to remind drivers to make room for those pedaling along. Julia Ryan, a senior transportation planner for the city, said the additions are a step in improving overall transportation in Fort Worth. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Change of Direction Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The spring weather continues making for a nice day to ride a bike. I chose the “Atascocita – Huffman – Walden” route which changes the direction for the middle parts of the route compared to the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route. The bike ride was 33.55 miles long which pushes the week total to 140.94 miles. Wheels started rolling at 12:27 pm and finished at 2:54 pm.

Weather: start 76 (52% humidity) Clear, wind SE 16 mph, gusts 22 mph. Finish 78 (50% humidity) Clear, wind SE 20 mph.

That nasty wind was a challenge when I rode into it but at least riding over Lake Houston it wasn’t trying to grab the wheels and push me around. My wardrobe choice: shorts, long sleeve and short sleeve jerseys provided the proper warmth even in the shade.

Two other cyclists spotted. The first was on Old Atascocita Road just west of FM 2100 and the second was ahead of me by a couple hundred yards riding west over Lake Houston. I thought I might catch him but he turned right onto Atascocita Shores Drive while I turned left.

The sun felt great but it could become cloudy next few days for biking.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary (click on the image to enlarge it)

Bike Ride Summary