Texas Bicycling News March 25th 2017

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Person of interest detained after 2 bicyclists struck, killed in Waller County

By Brandon Walker | www.click2houston.com


WALLER COUNTY – A person of interest was taken into custody Saturday, in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash in Waller County that killed two bicyclists and injured another, state police and Waller County officials said.
Victor Kevin Tome, 25, is considered a person of interest, according to the Waller County Sheriff’s Office. Officials were unclear as to Tome’s role in the incident, but confirmed a car crashed into a group of bicyclists near the intersection of Buller Road and Muske Road near Brookshire Saturday around noon. …

Suspect in custody after Waller County fatal hit-and-run

abc13.com

BROOKSHIRE, Texas (KTRK) — Two bicyclists were killed and another injured when a driver hit them in Waller County, according to the Department of Public Safety.
The three cyclists were part of a larger group at the intersection of Buller Road and Muske Lane when they were hit just before noon, the Waller County Sherriff’s Office confirmed. …

Clay Walker hosts 5th annual bike ride for MS

By Jake Reiner | www.click2houston.com


HOUSTON – Everyone around the Houston-area knows Clay Walker, the multi-platinum selling country star. How about the multiple sclerosis (MS) advocate?
“When I was first diagnosed (with MS), I was told I’d be in wheelchair in four years and dead in eight,” Walker said, “and here I am out here 21 years later, kicking off a bike ride with my good friend Bruce Culpepper from Shell.”
More News Headlines
Saturday marked the fifth annual Band Against MS …

Ride On: Bike Traffic Lights & the Most Cycling-Friendly Cities

www.thezebra.com

As cities and towns across the country are bolstering their efforts to reduce traffic congestion and pollution by becoming more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly, new initiatives and policies like city-sponsored bikes and protected bike lanes are increasingly becoming a part of a city’s infrastructure. To keep both cyclists safe and motorists safe on their shared roadways, some cities are upping the ante with bike traffic lights.
Austin Introduces Bike Traffic Lights
Austin, Texas will soon begin operating 12 bicycle-specific traffic lights in the downtown area on one of the most popular separated bike lanes in the city. Though bicycle traffic lights are more common overseas, just a handful of U.S. cities have bicycle traffic lights so far, meaning the added traffic lights in Austin will be a model …

Camino Tues/Thurs evening rides

by M_Murphy | www.bikemojo.com

Update – Starting Tues/Thurs, April 4th and 6th, ride times are being pushed back to a 6pm start***
CRCT/CRCC Tues/Thurs rides are here!!!!!
Tues/Thurs – wheels down 6:00 pm – Starting point is the large Gruene parking lot, 6:00 pm fast pace, slower folks sometimes start 5-15 minutes early, may or may not have regroups. Tuesday ride is Hueco Springs to River Road, to Canyon Lake Dam (dam depends on daylight available), Thursday ride is north up Hunter Rd then cutover to the east side of I35, down York Creek, over to …

Brand new Austin Mountain Bike Trails section, powered by MTB Project!!!

By Woody C. Harrison | www.austinridgeriders.com

ARR continues to give Austin mountain bikers the best experience. We’ve completely revamped the trails page with the incredible MTB Project app. Detailed descriptions of the trail from users, terrain and elevation info, and it’s constantly being updated.

Southern Tier At The Speed of Bicycle

By Gary Rapp | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 21 Marathon to Langtry Tx
Friday March 24, 2017, 116 miles (187 km) – Total so far: 1,306 miles (2,102 km)
Nice 20 mph tailwind out of Marathon today. Long data in the saddle. Stay behind the community center in Langtry. Open camped with no services.
The town existed because the steam engine train came through here many years ago to reload on water from a well. When the diesel engine was …

Day 22 Langtry to Del Rio, TX
Saturday March 25, 2017, 60 miles (97 km) – Total so far: 1,366 miles (2,198 km)

Tennessee Lowriders bent on the USA

By Nelson Quillen | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Ft Davis to Marathon
Friday March 24, 2017
Today’s ride was in two parts, I drove to Alpine and then rode backwards to meet up with Mark and Michelle. That part of the ride was pleasant but a little cold starting but warmed up fairly quickly. I ended up with 25.05 miles for that section. Part two was after Mark and Michelle dropped off some of their clothes in the truck I drove to Marathon and again starting riding backwards to meet them. There was a slight head wind when I …

Honeoye Riders Pedal the Southern Tier

By jim kersting | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 25: Comstock to Del Rio ( 30 miles)
Saturday March 25, 2017
We had an easy 30 mile ride since we had banked 30 the day before. After 20 miles we came to Lake Amistad which is a large reservoir. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amistad_Reservoir
We saw fast and fancy bass boats. Jo attempted to get an answer about ” the wall” from an immigration officer but it was too …

Texas tour

By Liam Healy | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Introduction
I will drive from Houston to Fort Davis. Along the way, I will stop in Austin to rent a mountain bike and try it for a day on one or more of the trails around Austin, then I will go to Fredericksburg and camp there for a few days while I ride a loops from there. Finally, I will drive to Fort Davis and camp in the Davis Mountains State Park where …

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Wildflowers and Horses Bike Ride

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The rain front passed through late last night and before sunrise this morning leaving damp streets until the sun came up and dried them out. With such beautiful weather I had to bicycle and choose the “SR242 – Old Houston Rd – FM1314” route. The last time I biked this route was August 24th 2016 riding about 3 miles more than today’s 42.38 miles. The bright blue sky was great and the wind was light at 6 mph from the SW most of the time. It was a little cool when I started at 12:22 (I got a late start from watching the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya on EuroSport) so I wore a long sleeve jersey under a University of Cincinnati Bearcat short sleeve jersey. The cool wind made the jersey choice a wise one.

Wildflowers are starting to bloom and while biking on SH 242 about 1/2 mile east of FM 1485 I stopped to take these pictures. Lots of horses grazing. I don’t think I noticed this many before at this pasture.

At the Chevron station at FM 1485 and SH 242 I made a quick stop to refill my waterbottle and pressed on to Old Houston Road. Up to that point biking on SH 242 was into the wind which slowed me down from the pace I set bicycling north along US59/I-69. Once I was riding on Old Houston Road the wind helped me get my speed back up all of the way to the finish (3:24 pm). With the help of the wind my average speed went up to 15 mph until I got back on the US59 south bound service road at the Mallard Creek apartments.

With today’s miles I am within 52 miles of reaching my 586 mile goal for March. With the weather forecast calling for more like today I should be back on the road.

Links to RideWithGPS.com and Strava.com metrics and maps.

Home weather at the start and airport weather at the finish.

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

Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News March 24th 2017

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Long Overdue Update

by brandonbabbitt | qcbs.wordpress.com


When we moved things into storage at the end of the year, we were still looking for a permanent location. While we haven’t yet found that perfect spot, we thought we’d let you know what else the team has been up to!
After a few absent seasons, we will be returning to the Saturday Denton Community Market! Opening day is April 1st at the Denton County Historic Park on Mulberry & Carroll from 9am to 1pm. We’ll have a booth with a mobile repair station. Have your bikes checked over and tuned …

America’s newest bikesharing program lets you drop off bikes basically anywhere

Chris Weller | finance.yahoo.com


Earlier this month, Bay-Area-based startup Spin introduced the first large-scale deployment of a stationless bikesharing program in the US.
As of March 11, Austin, Texas now has hundreds of orange Spin bikes randomly scattered around the downtown area, each available for rent whenever and wherever Austinites need them.
Each bike pairs with a mobile app that electronically unlocks the …

Southern Tier 2017

By Alan Young | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 27: Bracketville – Amistad Lake
Friday March 24, 2017, 44 miles (71 km) – Total so far: 1,639 miles (2,637 km)
Today’s ride was our first victim to the westerly winds we’ve been told about.
https://pageshot.net/images/e96b4b53-afbd-4e7b-bd64-dd5d9e070029.png
The 90 we rode on had a shoulder tho the surface was rough, until we reached Del Rio. We met a Dutch couple heading east, who got a lift yesterday, for 100 mile or so to beat the …

Let’s Ride – Barton Creek Greenbelt gnarly back trails

by TC | www.turnincranks.com


Went out for a little jaunt on Barton Creek Greenbelt with a couple of local shredders who took me on some trails I haven’t hit before. The …

Honeoye Riders Pedal the Southern Tier

By jim kersting | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 24: Sanderson to Comstock 90 miles
Friday March 24, 2017
Today actually started with a change to last night. After I finished the blog last night the strong gusty wind continued to rattle my tent and cover me and everything in it with dust. The RV park owner pulled up and said that the sheriff had told him that because of an oncoming big storm no one should stay in tents . The RV owner told us we should pack up and he had a guest room behind his house
We packed up in record-breaking time and walked our bikes over to the guesthouse where we spend the night listening to the metal roof rattle. It was a great guest room that was built out of stone with a really neat stone floor which I slept on with two pads underneath me while the girls got a really great featherbed . They vacated the bed at 5:30 and since I had to wait till 930 to go to the post office I climbed in the bed and I have a luxurious 2+ hours sleep. The hail and lightning storm with winds over 55 miles an hour never …

Cyclists and motorists must share road in safe manner

Bill Cullins | www.gosanangelo.com

On March 10, a local cyclist riding his bicycle on Link Road was struck and severely injured by a motorist who did not stop to render aid. The SAPD officer who investigated the accident stated that the cyclist was riding correctly in a safe manner and that the accident was not caused by anything the cyclist did.
A week earlier, another cyclist was involved in an accident with a motor vehicle while crossing an …

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New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Squeezing Between Pickups to End Dog Chase Bike Ride

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I checked the airport weather before leaving on today’s bike ride at 12:20 and wasn’t surprised to see the wind from the south at 20 mph and 30 mph gusts. I knew it would tough bicycling on the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route until I made the turn north at Old Atascocita Road and FM 2100. It lived up to that thought. I fought the wind most of the way with tired legs managing to keep my speed at 16 to 18 mph unless I was out in the open where the headwind could get at me. The 31.18 miles I biked moved me to only 94 miles left to hit my March goal of 586 miles.

The temperature dropped a few degrees from yesterday as a front approaches from the northwest later today. I decided to wear a light long sleeve jersey under a short sleeve jersey in case the wind chill was cooler than I like. Generally that was a good choice when I rode into the wind and a little warm with a tailwind. The overcast sky probably contributed to the cooler temperature.

Excitement arrived as I rode south on Fairlake Drive just before the left turn onto Old Atascocita Road. I ride these roads several times a week and never had a dog chase but today a man was sitting out front of the house on my left with a dog. The dog saw me and started racing from the house towards me with the man calling the dog’s name but the dog ignored him setting his gaze on me. I started pedaling faster and was concerned about turning the corner because two City of Houston pickup trucks were driving slowly to the intersection possibly blocking me and giving the dog a chance to catch me. The first truck moved through the intersection and I went in front of the second pickup which had slowed with me making the turn beside the truck. By now I could not hear or see the dog but I kept pedaling fast until I reached the railroad track and crossed it. I hope the dog is not outside tomorrow morning when the Clay Walker Band Against MS bike ride comes on this road.

After that cycling east on Old Atascocita Road with wind coming from my right seemed not so hard. Making the left turn onto FM 2100 the wind became a tailwind and my speed jumped. I stopped at the Huffman Chevron for a couple of minutes to rest my legs, wipe my brake levers off and drink some water before pulling back on FM 1960 for the 11+ miles to finish the bike ride. Crossing Kingwood Drive wasn’t hard as I beat the Kingwood High School dismissal by 10 minutes or so. The bike ride ended at 2:43. The wind held me back at times but I made it. When I went inside I looked at the airport weather and saw the wind from the SSE at 31.1 mph.

I went to Bike Werks yesterday to see about my rear wheel bearings. The set I had would not fit so Jeremy will order the bearings. They should arrive on Tuesday and I will take my wheel back to replace them. He tightened the bearings some to reduce the side to side movement in the meantime.

A front is supposed to pass through later today and this may impact biking on Saturday.

Links to RideWithGPS.com and Strava.com metrics and maps.

Home weather at the start and airport weather at the end of the bike ride.

SportTracks ride summary (click the image to enlarge it).

Ride summary