Texas Bicycling News September 2nd 2022

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Paris native, BMX Texas State Finals champion gives credit to Paris Pump Track for his success

by Trent Reed | myparistexas.com

Feeling happy, accomplished and exhausted after taking first place in the BMX Texas State Finals, 16-year-old James Carlton gives credit to the Paris Pump Track as the driving factor behind his latest success.

“I started riding at the pump track built in Paris, where I met pro-BMX/Mountain Bike/pump track rider Shealen Reno, who suggested I try racing in Desoto,” James said. “I went and was hooked since.”

James’ mom, Keitha, expressed how proud, excited and relieved she was when James won the title.

“And he finished the day without crashing, no injuries and no …

A mile-long bike lane is coming to Almeda Road to help cyclists get to NRG

Ryan Nickerson | www.houstonchronicle.com

Biking to the rodeo may be a little easier next year.

Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis recently told Houston Public Media that a bike lane under construction on Almeda Road should be completed by the end of 2022.

The 10-foot-wide lane will be located between Old Spanish Trail and Holly Hall St. It’s intended to make it easier for the area’s residents, who mostly live in apartments, to have an easier and safer route to NRG Stadium via bicycle.

Joe Cutrufo, executive director of nonprofit Bike Houston, threw the organization’s support behind the bike lane project after they learned …

HCSO hosts 10-mile bike ride for Childhood Cancer Awareness

by: Mia Morales | www.valleycentral.com

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Hidalgo County Sherriff’s Office has partnered up with local law enforcement to host a 10 mile bike ride. Brownsville animal charity, Texas Roadhouse to host fundraiser

According to a Facebook post by Hidalgo County, the 10 mile bike ride will start at 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 3 at the Richard R. Flores Stadium, located at 1800 S. Stadium Dr. in Edinburg.

The route will start at Richard R Flores Stadium, hitting the midpoint at Doctor’s Hospital Renaissance, and back to Richard R Flores. Mercedes offering sandbags ahead of rainy weekend

The event aims to raise awareness for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, set in September. Participants are asked to wear gold in honor of the Childhood Cancer Fighters.

To RSVP or for more information contact HCSO at (956) 279-8511 or email at hcso4gold@hidalgoso.org.

Heights serves as model for city’s bike future, advocacy group says

By Matt deGrood | www.theleadernews.com

Long known as the city where the automobile is king, Houston is working to shed that reputation with a host of projects aimed at providing bicyclists more options around town.

And the Heights and surrounding neighborhoods might be leading the way.

“I think in the core of the city, you can see the beginnings of a really strong bike network,” said Joe Cutrufo, executive director of BikeHouston, a local advocacy group. “Not only is it more extensive than people realize, but it’s higher quality than people realize.”

The Heights and surrounding neighborhoods are especially promising when people are looking for examples of what multimodal transportation might look like in the area, Cutrufo said, especially with some of the ongoing projects the city is working on in the area.

Crews in October will begin work on a plan to revamp …

Santa Fe Trail pedestrian bridge at Gaston-Garland-Grand reopens

By Renee Umsted | lakewood.advocatemag.com

The Santa Fe Trail pedestrian bridge near the Gaston-Garland-Grand is open again, the Texas Department of Transportation says.

It had been closed over the summer while crews could work on the 3G intersection in East Dallas, and it reopened Sept. 2.

Trail users had been using alternate routes to get around the area. Here’s the detour TxDOT ultimately landed on, and here’s the one that was initially proposed.

New access points will …

Texas Biking from Twitter

Mid Morning Start After Pulling Up Plants

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Before starting today’s bike ride I worked on removing some invasive plants in the flower beds around my house. The temperature was cooler than earlier in the week and I’ve been putting this off for several months. With that out of the way I got ready for the bike ride. Rolling out of the driveway at 9:56 AM wasn’t the latest start time this week but I wondered if this might expose me to the rain the forecast mentioned. I rode my Cervelo Caledonia bike on the “Community Drive – Cumberland – Oakhurst” route for 34.57 miles finishing at 12:36 PM and no rain. In fact the sky looked like rain was nowhere to be seen. This was the 5th ride on this route this year and the mileage about average. My overall average speed was the highest of all the other rides. I was concerned about the miles at the beginning so I went on some streets to add distance. It turned out those streets just got me to the average length. Good thing I didn’t leave them out.

9-2-2022 YTD bike Rides Community Drive-Cumberland-Oakhurst
9-2-2022 YTD bike Rides Community Drive-Cumberland-Oakhurst

I rode through Elm Grove Village, Sherwood Trails Village, Woodridge Forest on the way to US59/I-69. On E Knox St. at one of the RV parks a Montgomery County Hospital District ambulance was on the side of the street along with 2 Montgomery County Sheriff vehicles. Not sure what happened.

After riding the HH100 I noticed my seat bag had a hole in it. I ordered a replacement and today was the first ride with the new seat bag, a Lezyne using a bracket that attaches to the seat rails. It moved it back and up improving the visibility of the taillight.

9-2-2022 Lezyne Seat Bag Cervelo Caledonia-1
9-2-2022 Lezyne Seat Bag Cervelo Caledonia-1

Weather conditions: start 79 (humidity 87%, dew point 75), mostly cloudy, wind N 4 mph; finish 89 (humidity 66%, dew point 76), mostly cloudy, wind calm.

Link to my AXS.SRAM ride report.

9-2-2022 Strava Ride Data summary Community Drive-Cumberland-Oakhurst
9-2-2022 Strava Ride Data summary Community Drive-Cumberland-Oakhurst

Texas Bicycling News September 1st 2022

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Bike path to NRG Stadium under construction in South Houston

Adam Zuvanich | www.houstonpublicmedia.org

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who is funding the project, says it will provide another transportation option for residents near NRG Stadium and other popular destinations. …

Let’s Ride Bikes! from BikingATX

Bicyclist dies after being hit by car

by Gazette Staff | www.texarkanagazette.com

TEXARKANA, Texas — A bicycle rider is dead after being struck by a sports car Tuesday evening in a gas station parking lot.

The accident happened about 5:30 p.m. in the 4700 block of West Seventh Street. A Camaro was traveling east on West Seventh when the driver struck a vehicle turning into HealthCARE Express, said Sgt. Kim Weaver of Texarkana Texas Police Department.

The Camaro continued into the parking lot of the adjacent Road Runner and struck Joshua Simpson, 20, who was on a bicycle, Weaver said. The Camaro then struck another vehicle in the parking lot before coming to a stop.

Simpson was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he died of his injuries. The drivers of the Camaro and other vehicles reported only minor injures.

The crash remains under investigation.

Houston finalizing plans for 11th Street bikeway

By Matt deGrood | www.theleadernews.com

City staffers are finalizing a plan to add protected bike lanes along 11th Street in the Heights and reduce the number of driving lanes, despite pushback from some residents in the area.

Crews will begin work rehabilitating 11th Street this month, with plans to start construction on the bikeway part of the project in October, said Erin Jones, spokesperson for the city’s public works department.

“The bikeway design is still being finalized to include METRO bus stop improvements/relocations,” she said.

The 11th Street safety improvements project has been in the works for several years, but has received pushback from some area residents who argue it will make traffic worse, lead …

Long ride

Rosa Lavender | www.hccommunityjournal.com

The summer of 2022 began for Our Lady of the Hills graduate Chase Ballay (Class of 2021) in San Francisco and ended 67 days and 8,000 miles later on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Chase was part of two groups of riders who left from the West Coast and rode an average of 75 miles per day on the journey. They reached their goal on Saturday, Aug. 14, and were met there by friends and family.

More than 100 young men who are members of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at universities all over the United States left from San Francisco or Seattle on the journey known as the “Ability Experience.” This was the 35th year of the ride across America sponsored by the fraternity.

Chase is a member of the Eta Chi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth. He is …

Pedestrians, bicyclists account for 20% of Texas traffic deaths: TxDOT

By FOX 7 Austin Digital Team | www.fox7austin.com

AUSTIN, Texas – One in five fatalities on Texas roads last year involved pedestrians and bicyclists, so TxDOT is reminding Texans to follow the laws for safe driving, walking and biking.

TxDOT says that in 2021, 841 people died in pedestrian traffic crashes and 92 people died in crashes involving bicyclists, accounting for 20 percent of the nearly 4,500 fatalities on Texas roads.

TxDOT is reminding all Texans through its "Be Safe. Drive Smart." campaign to know and follow the laws, including the Lisa Torry Smith Act, which went into effect last year. The law was named after a Texas mom who was struck and killed in a crosswalk while …

Texas Mamma Jamma riders pedaling to beat breast cancer

by: Candy Rodriguez | www.kxan.com

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Later this month, more than 300 riders will gather for the annual Texas Mamma Jamma Ride to raise money for Lone Star Circle of Care’s Big Pink Bus.

“It’s literally a big pink bus,” explained Marion Martin, the ride’s director. “We ride the roads of Central Texas we serve five counties — Bastrop, Burnet, Hays, Travis and Williamson — and we bring mobile mammography to women who are underserved and who don’t have insurance.”

Since last July, the Big Pink Bus has traveled over 10,000 miles across Central Texas and more than 1,800 women have been screened on the pink bus. Martin said breast cancer was detected in three of those women and are now in active treatment.

“Our connection to those that …

Video: WebXtra: City of White Oak considering mountain bike trail upgrades

By Jamey Boyum | www.kltv.com

WHITE OAK, Texas (KLTV) – KLTV’s Jamey Boyum talks with White Oak City Coordinator Jimmy Purcell and Longview’s Flugers bike shop owner Dereck Yagle about their meeting to discuss upgrades to the White Oak Mountain Bike Trail.

Bicycle rider injured in Bryan collision

by: Matt McGovern | www.fox44news.com

BRYAN, Texas (FOX 44) – A bicycle rider is in the hospital after being struck by a vehicle on Thursday morning.

Bryan Police officers responded at 5:50 a.m. to the collision, which occured at the intersection of Shiloh Avenue and Stone City Drive. A bicycle rider was transported to the hospital with serious bodily injury. The automobile driver has been cooperative with the investigation.

Officers on scene determined the bicycle rider was traveling on the wrong side of the roadway. As of 9:09 a.m., the roadways in the area were reported to be cleared.

Saturday Morning Caffeine Cruise – September 3rd, 2022 from socialcyclingaustin

Video: 1 person seriously injured after being hit by car

By KCBD Staff | www.fox34.com

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock PD responded to an incident where a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle around 2:46 p.m. near 47th and Avenue Q.

Police confirm that the pedestrian was on a bicycle when they were hit. The victim was transported to UMC with serious injuries.

LPD’s Major Crash Unit is investigating the crash. Northbound traffic on Avenue Q has been reduced to one lane.

No arrests have been made at this time.

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

No Rain This Time Biking To Huffman

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I had several household chores before today’s bike ride so I didn’t get rolling until 9:36 AM. I decided to ride the route I got rained on Tuesday since the weather looked favorable today. I switched from my Cervelo Caledonia to my Lynskey Helix today thinking that might keep the rain away. No rain on today’s bike ride but I don’t think switching bikes had anything to do with that. The weather was actually pretty nice for the first day of September. The route today was my “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” one for the 23rd time this year. No other route gets this much usage. I biked 35.17 miles today which is a little above the average distance. With a new month I have a new goal of 720 miles and this is a good start. I need to average 24 miles a day to reach that goal. I saw one other cyclist on Fairlake Lane at the “S” curve but I missed getting him on video.

Weather conditions: start 84 (humidity 78%, dew point 77), a few clouds, wind N 4 mph; finish 90 (humidity 67%, dew point 78), partly cloudy, wind NE 5 mph.

Link to AXS.SRAM ride report. I finished the ride at 12:25 PM. Used the 35×13 gears 1:39:13, and the 35×15 gears for 35:30. Just 19 RD shifts.

9-1-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Atascocita-Walden-Huffman
9-1-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Atascocita-Walden-Huffman