Bicycle Ride During the Eclipse

Texbiker.net Posted on by

As I got ready for today’s bike ride I plotted the streets I would go on for the “Kingwood – SH 242 – Kingwood” route. It’s one thing to decide on the destination but the devil is in the details on which streets and roads will get you there. I wanted to ride at least 32 miles and I accomplished that with the ride coming in at 34.5 miles. I am now up to 586 miles for August leaving 214 miles to reach the goal of 800 miles. My plan is to ride about 32 miles each day this week.

Eclipse hysteria should be receding now. While I was biking I thought about the eclipse and whether it would be noticeable. I started biking at 11:06 am with the peak for the Houston area at 1:15 pm and completed by 2:45 pm. I didn’t notice any difference in the light until about 1:00 pm when the sunlight had a strange look on the ground (not looking directly at the sun). The sky had lots of blue and the clouds scattered about widely. I didn’t see anyone watching the eclipse until I was riding on Rockmead Drive in Kingwood where a man beside a landscape truck had something in front of his eyes looking towards the sun. At the start of the ride the temperature was 93 and when I finished at 1:45 pm it was 91. I wonder if the eclipse blocked enough sunshine to cause the lower temperature. The sun was bight but not full strength.

Other than the eclipse the ride went well. The wind was from the east at 12 mph and since I rode north and south mostly it wasn’t a big factor. I was able to get a top speed of 23 mph and keep my overall average at 15.0 mph from SH 242 until I entered Kings Manor and slowed for the residential streets and traffic.

I made a short stop at the New Caney Mobil station for ice and water to tide me over until I made it to the Valero station on Norhtpark Drive and I-69/US59 where I took a 20 minute break to eat a couple of fruit and grain cereal bars and drink more water. This was at the 27.4 mile point just a few minutes after 1:00. This is where I noticed the sun light change intensity and the shadows have a different look. After resting I rode on for the last 7 miles of the bike ride.

More great bicycle ride weather on Tuesday and I paln on taking advantage of it after I watch stage 4 of the Vuelta a Espana. I watched stage 3 before leaving on today’s ride. They climbed several mountain while I rode the flatland around Montgomery County.

RideWithGPS.com map and metrics

Strava Ride Summary (click on the image to go to Strava)

Strava Bicycle Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News August 20th 2017

Texbiker.net Posted on by

VBikes no longer require deposit

www.dentonrc.com

VBikes, the company in charge of all the yellow-wheeled rental bicycles around Denton, has made a major change.
Now, the company will not require users to put in a $99 deposit to use the bicycles, and will only charge the $1 an hour fee for usage. In a press release …

Eagle, butterfly bikes to take wing at Hotter’N Hell

Lana Sweeten-Shults | www.timesrecordnews.com


When it comes to the Hotter’N Hell Hundred, it’s always a zoo out there, considering the 10,000 to 12,000 cyclists that show up annually to the largest single-day biking event.
But it will be even more of a zoo, thanks to an appearance by the Austin Bike Zoo, a group of engineer artists that do more than tinker with bikes. They morph them into pedal-powered creatures.
Think an 80-feet-long bike snake.
Or a bike bat with an 8-feet-long wingspan.
Or a 12-feet-high, light-’em-up praying mantis.
The group — an interesting amalgamation of engineer-artists who create these …

Bike Rides & Hikes Meetup

San Antonio, TX
1,685 Bikers & Hikers

This groups activities are: mountain bike rides, road bike rides, and hikes.The bicycling and hikes will be in several parks around San Antonio and sometimes out of town.  We…

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Leon Creek — Intermediate MTB Slow Pace

Wednesday, Aug 23, 2017, 8:00 AM

2 Bikers & Hikers Went

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Transportation services to host abandoned bike sale

Reece Nations | www.dailytoreador.com


Texas Tech Transportation & Parking Services will host its annual abandoned bicycle sale on Monday, August 21 and August 28, starting at 8 a.m. Students and employees will be able to purchase used bikes online through their My Parking Account, according to the TPS webpage.
Every bike will be sold in used condition for $40 each. All purchased bicycles will come with a new U-lock and will be automatically registered to the customer’s …

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BYBESFbhItI/

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/899419074417111040

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/899352216968060928

Texas Bicycling News August 19th 2017

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Flashback: Fireworks ordinance gets makeover

By Mark Wilson | www.yourglenrosetx.com

… The council members voted 5-0 to approve $6,000 for the CareFlite Paluxy Pedal bicycle ride event, which will be Oct. 7 in Glen Rose. Proceeds from the Paluxy Pedal, will benefit the LDL Educational Resources Foundation, which supports education, health and environmental projects for people in Somervell and adjacent counties. …

Cyclists hit the road for 22nd annual Vernon Burnin’ Bike Ride

www.timesrecordnews.com


More than 200 cyclists hit the streets in parts of Wilbarger and Foard counties at about 7:30 on a warm, muggy Saturday morning for the 22nd annual Vernon Burnin’ Bike Ride.
The annual ride, which is co-sponsored by the …

Educator for everyone, Stephens’ newest principal does it all

starlocalmedia.com

Stephens Elementary School will start this school year with a new principal in Jeffrey Waller. The West Texas native has an extensive career in various roles in education and enjoys teaching both children and adults. He attended Odessa College in Midland then went on to attend the University of North Texas in Denton where he earned his bachelor of science and then went on to get his master of education at Texas Christian University. He has taught and coached at several school districts in North Texas. …

… You mentioned you liked being outdoors – what sort of things do you like to do?

I’m an avid cyclist, I race for a local cycling team, Frisco Crest RBM; I’ll be going to the Hotter’N Hell and racing the 100K with my team and then we’ll go to state. I do triathlons – once the season is over for road racing then I’ll pick up triathlons. I’m about to get back into track racing, and I …

Bike ride: Critical Mass

Friday, Aug 25, 2017, 7:00 PM

Market Square Park
300 Travis Street Houston, TX

21 Outdoor Adventurers Went

We will meet at the corner of Milam and Congress on Market square across from Barnaby’s Café.Parking suggestion is City of Houston Lot “H” jury parking lot 1643 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77007. There are lots ($7-$10) all over the place. Get there early to give you time to find one.Approximately 15 mile ride.From the Critical Mass Website: “Criti…

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Dallas Bike Ride Early Registration Now Open

www.biketexas.org


BikeTexas is delighted to be partnering with a new, 20-mile, closed-course, recreational bike ride coming this fall!
Dallas Bike Ride is Saturday, November 4th at 8 AM, and early bird registration is now open. Visit https://dallasbikeride.com to learn more and sign up today.
This family-friendly day out is much more than a bike ride: 20 miles of car-free fun, free bike mechanic support, music along the course, rest stops with snacks, and a party at the …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/DKMBCholo/status/899037780063522817

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/898994651624914944

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/898959819557584896

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Stopped Up Toilet, Biker Fixing A Flat Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The ride did start early today (early for me that is) but I was delayed by a stopped up toilet that I had to repair. The Elemnt’s start button was pushed at 8:57 am as I headed out on the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route. I selected this ride to the north because the Lake Houston 5K/10K run was going on around the YMCA on W. Lake Houston parkway and traffic would be a nightmare. With this start time the temperature was 85 with 80% humidity so the lower degrees was offset by all of the moisture in the air. It didn’t take long for me to produce lots of sweat but moving helped cool me. Later when I finished at 11:35 am the temperature was 94 but the humidity dropped to 68%, not great but better. A partly cloudy sky and light 6 mph breeze from the west completed the weather scene.

I passed another cyclist around Elm Grove Elementary School around 1.7 miles into the ride. Later I saw another bicyclist sitting on the curb fixing a tire on Avalon Park Drive and Briar Berry Lane. A Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff was parked a few feet away with the amber flashers on alerting the surprisingly heavy traffic on  Avalon Park. Normally this little section is void of traffic and I never saw a bicyclist there before. I would’ve stopped but he looked like he was okay and all of the traffic made it difficult for me to ride to where he sat.

Riding on Valley Ranch Parkway the many yellow wildflowers in the grass caught my eye.

No rest stops today because I was trying to finish the ride in time to watch some of the Vuelta a Espana TTT live but I didn’t make it. I stopped at the New Caney Mobil station at FM 1485 and I-69/US59 for ice and water to carry me home. I will watch the TTT replay instead.

I am making progress in the National Bike Challenge rankings.

National Bike Challenge Standing

As of today I am at 168 miles for the week, 551 miles for the month and 5126 miles for the year. I am not biking tomorrow to rest but will resume on Monday. This will be the fewest miles biked in a week since the week of June 19th when I rode 148.8 miles. I am 249 miles away from my goal for August and 1674 miles away from my goal for the year. My legs feel like they need some time off.

Strava Ride Summary

Strava Bicycle Ride Summary