Texas Bicycling News – September 5, 2023

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Video: Child riding a bicycle hit by vehicle in Friendswood

Cynthia Miranda | www.click2houston.com

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas – An 11-year-old child was hit by a vehicle on Tuesday morning in Friendswood, Texas.

The Friendswood Police Department said the crash happened around 8:22 a.m. at Falcon Ridge Boulevard and Peregrine Drive. The child was riding a bicycle when he or she was struck. The injuries, police said, are said to be “non life-threatening.”

Police later arrived at the scene. The child was checked out by paramedics and taken to the hospital. Authorities did not identify the child or driver.

‘Just a disappointment:’ South Side residents frustrated by Roosevelt bond delays near Mission San José

Madison Iszler | www.expressnews.com

A couple crosses Roosevelt Avenue just north of Southeast Military Drive, Friday, Aug. 30, 2023. Roosevelt Avenue is slated to receive improvements via the 2017 and 2022 bond programs, including bike lanes, new sidewalks and a pedestrian bridge over the river. But TxDOT has refused to turn over a section of Roosevelt and the timeline for the improvements has been pushed back to 2028.

Kevin Sekula remembers bringing South Side business owners to his shop along Roosevelt Avenue near Mission San José to talk about long-awaited improvements coming to the corridor as part of San Antonio’s 2017 bond program.

Using $8 million from the bond issue, a stretch of Roosevelt from Steves Avenue to VFW Boulevard — a major corridor to San Antonio’s historic missions — would be getting new sidewalks, bike lanes, and a bridge over the San Antonio River for pedestrians and cyclists. …

Tour de Goliad set for Oct. 21

www.stexasnews.com

The 32nd Annual Missions Tour De Goliad will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21 with 10-, 30-, 50- and 65-mile routes.

Visit missionstourdegoliad.com to register, download an application, sponsor the bike ride or to get more information.

The event is sponsored by the Goliad County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center.

TxDOT invites public to engage in development of Pharr District bicycle plan

By Luis Montoya | riograndeguardian.com

Pharr District Engineer Pete Alvarez says TxDOT wants to “develop the best bicycle plan for our area.”

PHARR, Texas – The Texas Department of Transportation is inviting the public to interact on the development of a bicycle plan for the Pharr District.

Pete Alvarez, P.E., district engineer for TxDOT’s Pharr District, said his agency is planning for future bicycle mobility in Texas, and public input is requested.

“As riding bikes gains popularity in the RGV and the rest of the state, it is imperative we hear …

2024 Race #2 – South

texasmtb.org

This will be a SOUTH CONFERENCE ONLY race. Stay tuned for more information! February 4, 2024 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Edinburg man arrested after crash with cyclist, officials say

by: Steven Masso | www.valleycentral.com

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An Edinburg man was arrested after fleeing a crash with a cyclist, officials said.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Edinburg police officers responded to the accident in the area of University Drive and Sugar Road. Upon arrival, officers were told that a silver Chrysler 300 had fled the scene.

The cyclist was transported to a local hospital for treatment with minor injuries, a release from the Edinburg Police Department stated.

Officers were able to locate the suspect near Edinburg City Hall with the help of “good samaritans,” police added.

The suspect, identified as 66-year-old Jose Espinoza, was subsequently arrested.

The case remains under investigation.

Why Are Presta Valve Cores Removable? Distant Rain Clouds

Texbiker.net Posted on by

No route change today. Since it is Tuesday the route goes south and east on what I call Atascocita – Walden – Spanish Cove Drive. This would be the 21st ride on this route in 2023, probably the route I ride most often. I didn’t start as early as I wanted rolling away at 9:24 AM. After the recent number of flats I decided to air my tires to 80 psi instead of 70 psi to see if that helps. Today’s bike was the Cervelo Caledonia. The front tire has a removable Presta valve core and my pump screws onto the valve stem. After airing up the tube when I unscrewed the air chuck it loosened the valve core and let the air out. I tightened the valve core up with my fingers but not enough. Finally I used pliers to lock the valve core in place and it held. That caused most of the delay. I did see 4 cyclists on W. Lake Houston Parkway as I rode south they headed north.

Riding east over Lake Houston the clouds ahead looked like they contained rain which the forecast mentioned as a possibility. When I reached FM 2100 the clouds moved away and I continued south to Spanish Cove Drive. I would’ve skipped Spanish Cove Drive if they looked threatening. The hot weather has not ended but Space City Weather wrote that it might by the end of September. Weather for today’s bike ride: Start 89 degrees, 70% humidity, dew point 77.7, partly cloudy, wind S 6 mph; Finish 92 degrees, 58% humidity, dew point 74.6, partly cloudy, wind SW 12 mph gusts 17 mph. I didn’t realize the wind increased during the ride though coming back over Lake Houston was into a headwind and my legs worked hard. Link to my AXS.SRAM.com ride report. I finished at 12:14 PM. No rain on this ride.

9-5-2023 Strava Ride Summary Atascocita-Walden-Spanish Cove Drive
9-5-2023 Strava Ride Summary Atascocita-Walden-Spanish Cove Drive

Texas Bicycling Action – September 4, 2023

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Dallas-based company builds bikes for kids

www.nbcdfw.com

The company “Integrity” built and donated 28 bikes to children at a charter school.

Wild Weekend with Elite TT, Omnium and Match Sprint Championships!

Alkek Velodrome Greater Houston Cycling Foundation | shoutout.wix.com

TNR Sprint Night was pretty lit but nothing compared to what was in store Saturday and Sunday! Don’t forget to check the Calendar for upcoming events including USAC TNR tomorrow!

Upcoming Events

5:45pm Tues 5th Sept – USAC TNR

5:45pm Tues 12th Sept – Lapathon Eliminator

5:45pm Tues 19th Sept – RoY Finals

Sept 30-Aug 7th – UCI Master Track Cycling World Championships (Manchester UK)

Sat Oct 21st – Recognition, Awards & Junior Fundraiser Night

Nov 10-12th – USAC National Madison Championships (Detroit)

8:30am Sat Nov 11th – BellVelo Gravel Race #1 (Bellville)

8:30am Sat Dec 9th – BellVelo Gravel Race #2 (Bellville)

8:30am Sat Jan 6th – BellVelo Gravel Race #3 (Bellville)

Texas Hills Country Loop – Quick Q on safety
by u/DannyBeeReal in bicycletouring

Scrap One Route, Labor On The Replacement On Labor Day, Back On My Lynskey Helix

Texbiker.net Posted on by

For several days I’ve been planning on riding the Spring Creek Greenway until yesterday. I was scrolling through Strava activities and came across photos by Don Hollingshead on the Spring Creek Greenway Strava page showing construction between mile marker 3 and 4 from the US59/I-69 trailhead.

The greenway is closed and Don says a sign shows it will be that way until September 11th. I guess I’ll wait until later in the month to ride the greenway.

I wanted to ride at least 40 miles today so I scraped the Spring Creek Greenway for the New Caney – Roman Forest – Valley Ranch route. This would be the 4th time on this route in 2023. For some reason I haven’t biked this one more. I rode my Lynskey Helix bike for the first time since August 1st. I had taken it out of the bike rotation to sell it but no one was interested so it is back. I had to make a couple of minor adjustments to the Lynskey before starting today’s bike ride and this delayed the start to 9:05 AM.

9-4-2023 SportTracks 2023 Rides New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch
9-4-2023 SportTracks 2023 Rides New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch

For the first time in many weeks the Space City Weather email today mentioned rain. The sky looked good when I started but when I reached New Caney light rain started. Looking back where i came from rain was coming my way so I took shelter at St. John of The Cross Catholic church on Payne Road. That was a good choice because the rain arrived seconds after I rode under the porch. It didn’t last more than 10 minutes. I got back on the back and rode around the puddles and on to Tavola. The streets were wet in Tavola until I crossed Tavola Drive on Via Principale Parkway. They stayed way as I rode through Roman Forest until I returned to US59 at Lilliput Farms. I stopped at the Shell station for a few minutes and the rain stopped.

Riding back to Kingwood the roads were dry and the sky didn’t look too threatening. I took a break under TX 99 on Valley Ranch Parkway for a snack. while I sat there cars from the south started appearing with windshield wipers on. Not a good sign. I finished and started riding south on Valley Ranch Parkway which was dry until around Azalea Blvd. where puddles showed recent rain. But the rain didn’t return and I rode on with damp streets popping up occasionally.

All was going great until I hit a sharp rock with the rear tire on Loop 494 on the way to Kings Manor. I hoped it would go flat but by the time I reach Kings Manor Elementary school it was flat. I walked to the benches under under the cover and set up shop to get back on the road. When I pulled the tube out I saw 3 other patches and decided to put my spare tube in rather than patch the tube. I did that but the spare tube wouldn’t air up. I took it out of the tire and found the 2 snake bite holes in the original tube. Opening the patch kit I quickly saw the glue was not new. I roughed up the rubber on the tube, squeezed the last drops of glue onto the tube and spread it with my finger. I almost applied a mid-sized patch but changed my mind because of my weak record patching flats and applied the large patch, pressed it freely on the glue and aired up the tube. It held air and I put it in the tire, aired it up until the bead snapped onto the rim, and put the wheel back on the Lynskey. During all of this I heard thunder in the distance and hoped I could ride home before more rain. I did, finishing at 2:01 PM.

9-4-2023 Strava Ride Summary New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch
9-4-2023 Strava Ride Summary New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch