Texas Bicycling News Digest November 3rd 2017

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Raul Alcala challenge comes to the Island

By RAUL GARCIA | www.valleymorningstar.com

Hundreds of cyclists expected to cross causeway

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND � You can pedal with one of the great ones in the cycling world this weekend.
Some may pedal only 5 miles on the Island while others will attempt the �ride to remember� with professional cyclist Raul Alcala for 50 to 100 miles around the Valley.
�The Raul Alcala Challenge � Gran Fondo began as a way to promote the awareness of bikes in …

Bike share options continue to grow in Dallas

By: FOX4News.com Staff | www.fox4news.com

The number of bike share options continues to increase in Dallas and shows no sign of slowing down.
OFO is the fourth company in the last several months to move hundreds of bikes into Dallas, and they may not be the last. Ofo joins three other companies — VBike, LimeBike and Spin.
While some cities opt for docking stations, which cost the city money, these are all dockless bikes. That means a rider can rent, ride and leave the bike at their destination.
Most people FOX4 talked to said they …

San Marcos To Celebrate Veterans With Veterans Parade

smcorridornews.com


Children are invited to join the Kiwanis Club Kids Bicycle Brigade by decorating and riding in their own parade from 9-10 a.m. preceding the main Veterans Day parade.
San Marcos City offices will be closed on Friday, Nov. 10 in observance of the Veterans Day holiday.
On Saturday, Nov. 11 the City of San Marcos will host the 2017 Veterans Day Parade at 10 a.m. The theme of the parade is Honoring All Who Served. …

Bicyclist dies; councilman proposes bike trails

Michael Maresh | www.palestineherald.com


Following the death of a 59-year-old bicyclist in Palestine on Wednesday, City Councilman Mitchell Jordan said the city should build bike trails. Without them, he said, bicyclists are at risk.

“We definitely need it,” Mitchell told the Herald-Press on Friday. “A bike trail can’t cost much. People want to exercise and enjoy life. Quality-of-life needs a boost.”

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Clifford Williams died, after a …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

This Is November Weather? Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

A shorter bike ride today on the “Atascocita – Walden” route totaling 24.6 miles. Warm weather continued:

  • 12:17 PM start, 82 degrees, 83% humidity, overcast, south wind at 8 mph
  • 2:13 PM finish, 85 degrees, 75% humidity, overcast, south wind at 8 mph

No stops today since the ride was shorter. I rode the Blue Norcross AL bike for variety. The Blue Norcross AL is heavier than the Stradalli RP-14 and my legs can feel it. Pedaling up an incline or into the wind requires extra effort. Since buying this bike earlier this year it has been ridden 764 miles.

I may skip tomorrow just because it is November. The weather forecast shows 80+ degree weather for the next week or so. My 275 goal is not that much of a stretch with 61 miles already rode. YTD I am at 6881. I need about 550 more miles to equal 2016 miles.

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Texas Bicycling News Digest November 2nd 2017

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November Member Profile: Chris Essig

bikeaustin.org


When and why did you decide to become a Bike Austin member?
As soon as I moved from Iowa to Austin, I knew biking was going to be my main mode of transportation when I got here so getting involved seemed pretty obvious.
What benefits or positive outcomes have you enjoyed as a Bike Austin member?
I enjoy major equipment discounts, access to sweet rides, opportunities to help out within the organization and meet other biker types.
Why is Bike Austin important to the Austin cycling community? …

Why Houston needs more protected bike lanes

Jessica Wiggins | www.houstonchronicle.com


In just a 30-day period, three people have been killed on their bikes in the city of Houston.
On Sept. 9, a man on his bicycle was killed crossing the Southwest Freeway between Hillcroft and Bellaire. On Sept. 21, Troy Stogner was struck and killed by a vehicle traveling on the feeder road of I-10. On Oct. 7, Taisheonna Kennedy was hit from behind by an SUV traveling northbound on the feeder …

Bicycling biologist pedals 10,000 miles along the Monarch butterfly’s migration route

Henry Gass | www.csmonitor.com


TAYLOR, TEXAS—It’s a cool, cloudy late-October morning in this small Texas town. Sara Dykman is outside a Wal-Mart, and she is, by her own admission, a bit grouchy.

But then you might be a bit grouchy too if you’d been pedaling a 90-pound bike eight hours a day for eight months along the 10,000-mile monarch butterfly migration route.

Ms. Dykman has been biking since March, when she left the alpine forest sanctuaries in Mexico’s Michoacán province where the iconic orange and black monarchs overwinter. The butterflies leave at the same time each year, embarking …

Video: Dallas Working With Bike Share Companies to Curb Problems

By Ken Kalthoff | www.nbcdfw.com

The city of Dallas is working with bike sharing companies to promote proper parking and courtesy as a fourth vendor joins the competition.
Ofo announced Thursday it is putting 1,000 of its yellow bicycles in Dallas.
“Because of the size of our operations, being the oldest and the largest, we …

BikeHouston Spoke&Word Newsletter November

BikeHouston


I ride my bike to work just about every day and then on the weekends for fun. All of those rides don’t compare to the rollercoaster ride October was. The month was packed full of events but the big one — other than the Astros’ playoff games and …

Tweener Nov 4, 8 AM Plano Bicycling Association

planobob | www.planobicycle.org

Let’s meet by 7:45 at the north end of the parking lot for sign-in and a tail-gate pre-ride chat. We will ride our usual 42 miles at about 15.5 – 16.0 mph.

Please do not park in front of the day care.

RIDE PARAMETERS:
• The goal is to keep the group effort smooth and consistent during the ride.
• In order to keep the effort smoother for everyone, the front riders will accelerate very gradually after stops and turns.
• If you want to work more, please take a turn up front by announcing your request and safely making your way up to the front, e.g. at a stop light, when given the …

Video: BIG HEARTS: HSU Professor Pedaling To Inspire Students to Lead

By: Brittany Pelletz | www.bigcountryhomepage.com

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB) — It’s not your typical college professor’s office. It has bikes and bike gear a plenty. It belongs to Dr. Coleman Patterson, the Director of Leadership Study and Professor of Management and Leadership at Hardin-Simmons University.

Patterson says, “I used to ride bikes a lot when I was a kid. I did some charity rides as a kid.”

But it wasn’t until later down the road, Patterson hopped on the biking lifestyle, “I wasn’t like a cyclist …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

Left the Long Sleeve Jersey at Home Bike Ride

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No need for a long sleeve jersey on today’s bike ride. Summer is back, baby! I can tell when my gloves are wet at the end of the ride. Leaving at 11:26 AM with 81 degrees (83% humidity added to the heat) the sky was mostly cloudy but it got better as the ride progressed on the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route to the north. The 8 mph SW wind helped ride strongly to Tavola. I shifted to the 34 x 13 gear combination as soon as I got on the north service road along I-69/US59 to get up to 18 to 20 mph. Watts did not increase since the wind was pushing me along. I noticed arriving at Tavola the average watts was 85 and average speed was 15.0 mph.

This changed when I made the loop in Tavola and got back to Roman Forest Blvd. where the wind was waiting for me. Now the average watts started increasing to above 100 with the extra pedaling effort into the wind. Since I didn’t ride yesterday my legs were up to the task. Sometimes the wind seemed to gust but I don’t know if that is true. The I-69/US59 south service road did not offer much of a wind break and Valley Ranch Parkway put me directly into the wind until the Grand Parkway. Riding under that the road began to offer some relief with the trees to the right.

The only stop was a quick one at the New Caney Mobil station at FM 1485 to refill my water bottle for the rest of the ride, about 15 miles to the finish.

Making my way through Briar Tree, Oakhurst and Kings Manor put me into Kingwood. I completed the ride at 2:06 PM. By then the temperature was 87 and humidity dropped to 69%. It felt good to ride in warm weather again. This will last a few more days. Nice start to November. My goal this month is 275 miles. As the weather cools and holidays arrive biking sometimes takes a backseat.