Texas Bicycling News September 15th 2022

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Dallas drivers now face fines if caught parking in bike lanes

By Everton Bailey Jr. | www.dallasnews.com

Parking in a bike lane can now lead to a fine up to $200 in Dallas.

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday OK’d a change in the city code to prohibit cars from parking in designated bike lanes. There previously were no rules specifically stopping people from blocking the lanes.

The new rules won’t apply to roads where the whole street is shared by bicyclists and other motorists.

“This is going to make bike lanes safe,” said council member Chad West, a biking advocate who represents areas of the city with designated bike lanes, such as along South Polk Street in Oak Cliff. “If you drive around Dallas you’re going to see cars parked in them all the time because there’s nothing prohibiting people from doing so right now.”

Dallas officials are in the midst of …

Saturday Morning Caffeine Cruise – September 17th, 2022 from socialcyclingaustin

Best area for road cycling from BikingATX

Austin Bike Bulletin: Bike Camping! from BikingATX

Southeast Texas Bike Plan

www.setrpc.org

As a response to the Metropolitan Transportation Plan 2040 by the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Southeast Texas Bicycle Plan was created for the Jefferson-Orange-Hardin three-county region. The plan is a guiding document or road map to help the region prioritize proposed bicycle routes along existing roads in a way that is not too prescriptive or limiting to the entities that will implement them. The end goal is to provide a basis on which to improve upon in the future. Making bicycling safer and more convenient will have positive impacts on the region’s residents in terms of improved health and increased mobility options.

From a robust public outreach process that included a …

Houston’s Veon McReynolds on bikes and grapes

Jay R. Jordan | www.axios.com

Have you ever met someone carrying a small child’s weight in grapes on a bike? I recently did and wanted to tell you about his plight.

The intrigue: I met Veon McReynolds by happenstance Friday as he loaded bags of gum drop grapes onto his custom-built bicycle outside the MacGregor H-E-B.

When I say bags of grapes, I mean dozens of bags.
I asked him how many pounds he purchased, and he showed me his receipt: 89.93 pounds, plus some other fruits and veggies.

But, why? McReynolds, who goes by Dr. V, is a "health fanatic" and bike ride organizer in …

Non-profit biker group works to give children of addiction merrier Christmas

By Travis Hairgrove | www.heraldbanner.com

Since 2016, Bikers Against Addiction has raised money through events to support drug and alcohol recovery programs as well as organizations that serve children of addiction.

One of the main projects that Bikers Against Addiction takes on each year is collecting donations of new bicycles, tricycles, scooters and skateboards to be given as Christmas gifts to children who’s parents are recovering from addiction.

“We buy and/or collect new tricycles, bicycles, scooters and other riding toys each year for children whose moms are in recovery,” said Bikers Against Addiction founder and president Jessica Shaw. “Those women can’t deal with buying Christmas gifts because they’re busy trying to get better so that they can get back to their kids.”

Once the riding toys are collected, Bikers Against Addiction partners with multiple service organizations – such as …

Newest segment of hike-and-bike trail now open near site of former East Austin power plant

by Jessica Taylor | cbsaustin.com

An East Austin neighborhood is getting the revamp they’ve been wanting for decades.

The City of Austin held a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday to highlight the newest segment of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at the old Holly Street Power Plant. The work to bring the trail to the area comes after years of collaboration with various groups in the community.

"Once people see it, there’s no going back," said Austin City Council Member Sabino "Pio" Renteria.

The Holly Power Plant has been controversial in the local …

Olney-ites compete in Hotter ‘N Hell

By: Will Sadler | www.olneyenterprise.com

Olney was well represented this year at the Hotter’N Hell Hundred, with several hometown participants entering the nation’s oldest and largest cycling event in Wichita Falls to test their metal amid scorching temperatures on Aug. 25-28.

The Hotter’N Hell Hundred is an annual event that began as a celebration of Wichita Falls’ centennial in 1982. The race event got its name from a hundred-mile race, on a hundred- degree day, to celebrate a hundred years. With 10,000 and 13,000 registered riders, the four-day event is one of the largest cycling competitions in the world.

Races included: 25- to 100-mile street route bike races, an off-road race of just …

Family of cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver in Dallas hoping driver is caught

www.fox4news.com

The family of Billy Watley is hoping for answers as police work to find the person who fled after hitting him while he was riding his bicycle Sunday morning.

29-year-old man arrested in death of cyclist struck in Dallas hit-and-run

By Jamie Landers | www.dallasnews.com

A 29-year-old man was jailed Thursday in the death of a cyclist struck in a hit-and-run last week in the Rylie area of southeastern Dallas.

Kenneth Lloyd Connors III was booked into the Dallas County jail on a charge of an accident involving death, a second-degree felony, with bail set at $100,000. He did not have an attorney listed in court records.

About 7 a.m. Sunday, police say the victim was riding his bicycle in the 12900 block of Kleberg Road, near Cool Mist Lane, when he was struck by a white SUV.

The man, who has not been identified, was …

Thursday Hills with Blitz

Dan Carrion- Blitz Racing | strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

The Balmoral Blue Lagoon and The Railroad Overpass

Texbiker.net Posted on by

It’s been almost a month since I checked on the progress at the railroad overpass on Timber Forest Drive in Balmoral. I decided today was where i would bike to see how it was going. I got a late start at 10:09 AM from catching up on Texas bicycling news while I was away in Galveston yesterday. I rode my Lynskey Helix bike on the Atascocita -Balmoral – Walden route. Typically this route is 34 to 35 miles and today I rode 35.1 miles. So far this year I rode this route 11 times and most of them have been on Thursday for some reason. The video shows the railroad overpass construction. The Balmoral Blue Lagoon looks so finished and the railroad overpass so unfinished. What takes so long?

9-15-2022 YTD Bike Rides Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden Route
9-15-2022 YTD Bike Rides Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden Route

I’m making good progress for a 200 mile week with 149.03 miles so far. September is looking good as well with 514.59 miles or 71% of my 720 mile goal. Year to date 2022 stands at 7,250 miles exceeding 2021’s 7,127 miles and 2020’s 7,005 miles.

Since Monday’s minor cool front I’ve enjoyed below normal humidity, dew point, early morning temperatures. Those held for today’s bike ride but will probably go away later today on Friday. The wind was 7 to 8 mph during the ride not challenging my legs as much as yesterday in Galveston. Weather overall: start 82 (humidity 57%, dew point 65), a few clouds, wind NE 7 mph; finish 88 (humidity 53%, dew point 68), partly cloudy, wind E 8 mph.

I stopped at Balmoral and took this photo of the lagoon.

9-15-2022 Lynskey Helix Balmoral Blue Lagoon
9-15-2022 Lynskey Helix Balmoral Blue Lagoon

I was busy changing the Lynskey’s RD during the bike ride according to the AXS.SRAM.com ride report with 29 changes. I used the 35×13 gears the most with 1:38:03 time out of the total moving time of 2:59:29.

No Strava medals today.

9-15-2022 Strava Bike Ride Summary Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden
9-15-2022 Strava Bike Ride Summary Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden

Galveston Island: Isla del Sol, Jamaica Beach, And The Seawall

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I backed the Jeep out of the driveway before 8:30 this morning on my way to Galveston. My plan was to bike Galveston Island when I got there. I arrived at beach access point 32 around 10:30 after driving west of there to refresh my memory of the road situation. I unloaded the Cervelo Caledonia, put on the rest of my biking clothes and set out.

I decided to divide the ride into two parts: beach access point 32 west to Pointe West and ride to Jamaica Beach to the east because the road had a wide shoulder in both directions. The second part I would ride on the Seawall. It was easy riding to Pointe West and making the u-turn where the shoulder went away but riding to Jamaica Beach was hard because of the NE 14 mph (and higher) headwind. At Jamaica Beach the shoulder disappeared and I made the u-turn to go back to beach access point 32.

Packing the Cervelo back in the Jeep I thought I stopped the Bolt computer but I should’ve paused the ride and as I drove back to the seawall every time I stopped and started I heard the beep from the computer on the Cervelo. Needless to say when I checked the computer after parking on Holiday Drive it recorded my drive from the access point to there. I had edit the ride when I got back home.

Biking the seawall had the same challenge with the wind. Riding SW was easy but making the turn at the west end of the seawall and riding back to the parking spot was hard work. With school in session the beach was mostly deserted and the parking spots empty in most places.

It was a good change of scenery for biking and a little different from my bike ride June 8th when I combined the two sections I used today. Then I rode 41.93 miles and today I rode 31.96 miles, leaving out the section of San Luis Pass Road (FM 3005) that doesn’t have a shoulder.

This broke up the ride into different Strava activities. On the Isla del Sol to Jamaica Beach I recorded PR on Jamaica Beach to Terramar Beach (23:13). The Seawall ride produced a lot more top results: 7 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals. There was one for 13 of the 16 Strava segments I biked. Four of them: PR on 13th to Pleasure Pier (4:37), PR on 45th to 61st ST. (6:11), PR on Seawall race (21:50), PR on 29th to 37th – no lights! (2:50). These were all with the tailwind but I also set some into the headwind.

9-14-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Galveston Island Isla del Sol
9-14-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Galveston Island Isla del Sol
9-14-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Galveston Island Seawall
9-14-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Galveston Island Seawall

Texas Bicycling News September 13th 2022

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Cruise Austin’s iconic Circuit of the Americas track during bike nights this fall

By Brianna Caleri | austin.culturemap.com

It’s the Circuit of the Americas, not the Circuit of gas-powered vehicles. Starting on Tuesday, September 13, bicycles are taking over. Tuesdays at 6 pm, anyone who owns a bike can take the activity to the max on the 3.41-mile track. After pedaling their hearts out or enjoying a leisurely coast, riders are invited for drinks and food truck snacks.

Bike Night is already a tradition at COTA, where bikers have had years of fun on two wheels without worrying about any traffic. The series paused this summer and is back for cooler nights, bike gods willing.

Bikers can take a break at any time and can spend it peering off of the Observation Deck, if they consider hanging out on a …

Thursday Night Social Ride – September 15th, 2022 from socialcyclingaustin

San Antonio’s Síclovía has a new route | Here’s where they’ll be biking and skating

Author: David Lynch | www.kens5.com

The biannual community event reliably draws tens of thousands of San Antonians.

SAN ANTONIO — The biannual Síclovía event – a day for San Antonio cyclists, rollerbladers, skaters and families to commune with one another in the heart of the city – returns Sept. 25, a Sunday.

The health-focused community event, which typically draws thousands and is organized by YMCA of Greater San Antonio, will close down some city streets to vehicles so participants can safely gather. This year’s route runs along North Main Avenue south of Ashby Place before making turns onto Lexington, Augusta, Brooklyn and North Alamo (see …

Texas Tumbleweed 100 bike ride attracting many more riders than last year; organizers hoping for cooler weather than 2021

John Key | www.moorenews.com

With 15 days to go to the start of the 10th annual Moore County YMCA Texas Tumbleweed 100 bike ride that takes place on September 17, 87 people had registered to take part, almost double the number from last year, according to Susan Riseling, chief organizer of the event.

The riders are not just coming from the nearby area. There are people from Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Oklahoma City; Mesa, Arizona; Albuquerque; Santa Fe; San Antonio; and Austin who have signed up and paid their fee of $40/$50 per rider ($25 for children 13 to 17). Last year, there were only 46 entrants at the same time. …

TxDOT Blocks San Antonio Bike Lanes

By Diana Ionescu | www.planetizen.com

Bike advocates often face an uphill battle in their efforts to build safer bike infrastructure in their cities. But even well-meaning local efforts to improve road conditions for people on bikes can be thwarted by state agencies. This is the case with San Antonio, as reported by Jared Brey in Governing.

“Like a lot of other big cities, San Antonio has tried to make some of its streets safer for bikers and pedestrians. In 2017, voters approved a bond measure to fund a range of public-realm improvements, including 200 miles of new sidewalks.” One project funded by this bond, a two-mile redesign of Broadway that would have added bike lanes, was nixed by the Texas Department of Transportation, who claimed that, as a state route, the road could not be narrowed from its six driving lanes, despite having worked with the city on the project for years.

“The moves are in keeping with …

Texas Biking from Twitter