Texas Bicycling News July 29th 2017

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Denton resident starts cargo bike company

Jenna Duncan | www.dentonrc.com

When Aaron Powell and his family went to Denmark and Sweden last year, they wanted to try to get around both countries only on bicycles.
Not only was it easy, but also they saw kids piling into bikes with built-in carts and carriers everywhere, Powell said. When they got home, he wanted to order one so he could bike with his young daughter, Kathryn. But he …

Hoping to snag young entrepreneurs, Startup Aggieland has high school pitch session

By AIMEE BREAUX | www.theeagle.com


Local entrepreneurial gurus lobbed questions at nervous teenagers touting product prototypes on Texas A&M’s campus Friday afternoon.
“Did you get a feel for how long you would have to ride the bike with the generator to charge it once?” posed James Lancaster, owner of a local business incubator, to a group of teens attempting to sell him on the idea of a phone charger powered by pedaling a bicycle.
The friendly back-and-forth was …

Austinites Should Be Aware of These New Bicycle Signals

By THC Staff | texashillcountry.com

Whether you live in Austin or plan on traveling to the Texas capital sometime soon, you should learn the ins and outs of the new bicycle signals. Back in January, Movability Austin wrote that the signals would be installed in early 2017. “The idea is to improve safety for both cyclists and motorists on roadways where both users share space and traffic lights,” they explained. Now, the …

Liberty Hill Lions Rip Roarin Ride Oct 7 2017

by shopper8707 | www.bikeforums.net

A beautiful ride through the Hill Country of Texas including 14,28,50, 65 and 79 mile options click here for course map. SAG and MSET supported.
The ride starts at and ends at the Lions Foundation Park at 355 Loop 332 next to Liberty Hill Intermediate. NOTE NEW LOCATION The start is at 8 am and the course will be open until 2 pm. The International Sculpture Garden Festival will start at 10 am.
Rest stops manned by …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/891325526148886529

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Surprise Early Start to See Other Cyclists Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I surprised myself by starting today’s bike ride at 8:34 am. If I started early I would have time to watch the replay of the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian on www.cycling.tv after the ride. I chose the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route with the hope of seeing other area cyclists along the route once I got to Atascocita. The first cyclist appeared at the corner of Kings River Drive and W. Lake Houston Parkway so my plan looked good because I usually see more by the time I get to this spot. A few miles later I saw a lady cyclist after I rode through Walden and on the way to FM 1960. At one corner I saw a sign stuck in the ground with the Tour de Cure logo and “100” with an arrow. At another corner a sign said “rest stop 1 mile”. I wasn’t aware of the Tour de Cure being this weekend.

After I reached FM 1960 and started biking east over Lake Houston the cyclists started to appear. I estimate between 30 to 40 passed me between Atascocita Shores Drive and FM 2100. They were in groups of 2 to 8 or so. I didn’t try to take any photos but I waved and said hello to each biker as they passed me. Some responded and some didn’t.

At 20.4 miles I stopped at the Huffman Chevron to refill my water bottle with ice and water. I only stayed a few minutes and headed west on FM 1960. Up to that point the wind had not been tough but that changed coming from the west at 9 mph with 17 mph gusts. When I got to Fairlake Drive a few more cyclists crossed FM 1960 ahead of me and I followed them. About a third of the way over the causeway I caught and passed two cyclists saying hi as I went by. Ahead I saw a cyclist standing with his bike on the ground and the wheel in his hands. I slowed to ask if he was okay and he said he was. I kept riding working hard to regain my speed with the headwind fighting me. Making the right turn onto Atascocita Shires Drive two more cyclists were there. That was the last riders I saw until I was on W. Lake Houston Parkway about to come off the bridge over the river when I checked my rearview mirror before moving to the left and saw four cyclists coming up to me from behind. Not long after that they passed me with an “on your left” announcement and I slowed to get room to move to the left lane and turn into Kingwood Greens. From there no more cyclists to the finish of the ride at 11:00 am.

With today’s ride of 32.6 miles I am at 177.7 miles for the week and 847 miles for the month. Checking the National Bike Challenge standings I am 2nd in Houston, 67th in Texas and 1,167 nationally. The last two are a slight improvement from last week.

More hot and dry July weather tomorrow (Sunday) and I will plan on biking with the hope of riding 24 miles or more to hit 200+ for the week.

Link to RideWithGPS.com map and metrics

Strava ride summary (click on the image to go to Strava.com)

Strava Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News July 28th 2017

Texbiker.net Posted on by

MoPac bike bridge stunning, but plays hard to get to

By Ryan Young | www.dailytexanonline.com


A bicycle and pedestrian bridge opened along South MoPac last month, giving cyclists and joggers a new way to cross Barton Creek. Visitors can enjoy nature, gaze at the beauty of the hill country and take a break from a busy Austin lifestyle.
Besides being a destination itself, the bridge is supposed to fill a big gap in Austin’s growing urban trail network and encourage more bicycle travel. But after spending $14.5 million and nearly 4 years on its construction, some are wondering if the effort was …

VERIFY: Do cyclists have to stop at stop signs and red lights?

www.khou.com

Several KHOU 11 viewers have asked if cyclists have to stop at red lights and stop signs like other vehicles do.
With more and more bikes on the roadways, there seems to be more tension with drivers as they share the roads. So what does the law say? …

Bell Avenue reopens with bike lane

Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe | www.dentonrc.com

Crews reopened Bell Avenue on Thursday afternoon to traffic.
The project began in late April, with city crews from the street and wastewater departments replacing the water and sewer lines under the road. Damaged curbs and gutters were also repaired or replaced before the street was rebuilt.
The project included removing a pedestrian bridge over Bell Avenue that was no longer in use by …

City of Brownsville Receives Promotional Grants from BCIC for CycloBia Brownsville, The CHALLENGE

www.cob.us

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (July 28, 2017) – The City of Brownsville is proud to announce it has been awarded $9,990 in Promotion & Community Event Grant funds from the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) for CycloBia Brownsville and The CHALLENGE RGV.
BCIC Promotion & Community Event Grant funds of $5,000 were awarded to the Public Health & Wellness Department for The CHALLENGE RGV, and grant funds of $4,990 were awarded to the Traffic Department for CycloBia Brownsville. Grant funds will support newspaper, radio and television advertisements and promotional signage, including vinyl and street banners for CycloBia Brownsville in 2017-2018 and The CHALLENGE RGV in Spring 2018.
CycloBia Brownsville is a …

Autopsy reveals Steamboat cyclist’s cause of death

Matt Stensland | www.steamboattoday.com


Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg on Friday said an autopsy revealed the cyclist who died Thursday suffered a traumatic neck and head injury.
He essentially broke his neck and died immediately in the crash, Ryg said.
The man was identified as 69-year-old Philip (P.D.) Sohn.
Sohn split his time between Steamboat Springs and Conroe, Texas.
He is survived by his wife, Bonnie; daughter, Amy (Adrian); son, Paul; and four grandchildren. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

PowerPod Free, Goal Reaching Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After taking a day off I rode today on the “Kingwood – SH 242 – Kingwood” route for a total of 35.0 miles putting me at 815 miles for July surpassing my goal by 15 miles. with three potential biking days left I plan on adding to the mileage.

Leaving home at 10:37 am I biked through several Kingwood villages before making my way to Woodridge Forest and then I-69/US59 for the ride to SH 242. It was 91 at the start with a partly cloudy sky and light wind from the SW at 8 mph. At the 1:40 pm finish the temperature increased to 98 (might hit 100 later) and I was perspiring heavily. Inside the A/C felt chilly but good.

No PowerPod watts readings on today’s bike ride. The PowerPod would not connect to my desktop computer with the Isaac software and after several emails with support they said to send it back for repair. Hopefully it is warranty repair since I bought it in late March 2017. This is the second time I sent it for evaluation of a problem. The PowerPod worked during the ride but I couldn’t connect to my computer to download the ride data. Fortunately the power data transfers to my Elemnt computer and is combined with the other data.

I made a rest stop at the Valero station at Northpark Drive and I-69/US59 at the 28 mile point. They have fountain drinks for $.79 so I decided to get a Gatorade and rest in the shade to drink and eat the snack crackers I brought. Several people commented about how hot it was for riding. I stayed about 20 to 25 minutes. Then I got back on the Stradalli to finish the 7 miles to the finish. When I exited the Valero station and crossed Northpark Drive to take the old road back to I-69/US59 a Houston Policeman was talking to several men out of their trucks and cars about something. Earlier he had pulled into the Valero station and stopped near a pickup truck where a man was changing a tire on a SUV, got out and talked to the man waving his arm as if pointing for the man to go someplace. Not sure what that was about or if it was connected to the group of people I saw on the old road.

As I biked passed the unopened Kingwood Emergency Hospital some workmen were erecting the sign posts for the hospital. Maybe someday it will open. The construction fence still surrounds the grounds.

There are two bike races live streaming tomorrow (Saturday) morning so I am not sure how I will schedule biking but the weather should be great.

July Bike Rides Summary

July Bike Rides Summary

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

Strava Bike Ride Summary biking bicycling