Texas Biking News October 26th 2021

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Souther Tier, San Diego to St Augustine

By Chin Wu | www.crazyguyonabike.com

2021-10-25: El Paso to Fort Hancock

Monday October 25, 2021, 55 miles (89 km) – Total so far: 974 miles (1,568 km) Today I am heading toward Del Rio. But first I need to get out of El Paso. For that I use Google. I can see where I am on the map. And I almost missed a road that I didn’t see first and I had to use sidewalk. It felt that I was in El Paso until I got to Socorro. Then the farmlands start.

Weather wise, it’s similar the past few days. It was cool in the morning but got hot in the afternoon. There was some headwinds but nothing major. Today’s ride was relatively short and flat. There are pecan groves, cotton farms and alfalfa farms.

Twice today dogs started chasing me when I rode by. One of them, a german shepherd, was not fenced in and …

2021-10-26: Fort Hancock to Van Horn

Tuesday October 26, 2021, 77 miles (124 km) – Total so far: 1,051 miles (1,692 km) Leaving Fort Hancock at 7:30 am, it was cold and I had to put on my down jacket. Most of the stores were not open, even the Family Dollar. Today’s ride could be divided into two parts. The first part meandered along the country road. I saw many farms growing alfalfa but mostly raising horses and cows. I know ranchers use horses to round up cows. But do they need so many horses?

There are a few border patrol agents driving in the side roads looking for something. Considering I can see the mountains in Mexico. Trying all I could, I didn’t see a border wall.

Riding in the morning was very enjoyable. The temperature was cool, and the road was smooth with very little traffic. I spent the next half morning close to I-10, mostly on the …

Southern Tier in 2 parts

By Winnifred Homer-Smith | www.crazyguyonabike.com

High Island to Port Arthur: A definite reminder of the Texas love of chip seal. And headwinds.

Sunday October 17, 2021, 47 miles (76 km) – Total so far: 1,420 miles (2,285 km) Today was not a lot of miles, and the weather is definitely cooler than it has been, so I took it easy getting ready this morning. The first 20 miles of the ride were pretty much a repeat of Friday: I rode back to Winnie, and even managed to have headwinds. Both ways. I am so used to living near San Francisco where the wind direction for much of the year is the same. Here, it changed 180 degrees over the two days. Oh, well, it wasn’t a terribly strong wind.

When I reached Winnie, I took a diagonal road east to minimize my time on Highway 73. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that road, just that it would be long and a bit dull – two fast lanes of traffic each way with a generous shoulder for me. Good choice, because when I got on 73, I realized that it had a very rough chip seal shoulder. Ugh. But, only one more day in Texas, and I knew I’d get through it.

After a few miles I looked up to see a huge, shimmering flock of birds. They were still too far away to identify, but I enjoyed watching them as they shifted and changed in the amazing way bird flocks are able to. When I reached the area, there was a …

Port Arthur to Abbeville (no, I didn’t ride 145 miles)

Monday October 18, 2021, 43 miles (69 km) – Total so far: 1,463 miles (2,354 km) A new state! I have a goal of riding in every state. Before this ride, my total had lingered at 44 done, 6 to go. Pre-Covid, I thought I would finish in 2020, but between postponing this trip and scrapping a trip to Alaska, no states added. Now I have reached 45/5. I had already spent some time riding in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

In the morning, I decided to go for a late start. I had somehow damaged the cord that connects the spare battery to the e-bike & I wanted to call a couple of shops that opened at 9:30 to see if they had a replacement. The route looked pretty empty & I thought there might not be cell service on much of the ride. We headed out in the car towards the southeast corner of Port Arthur, at first following some of the weirder directions Google offered. We were going in more or less the right direction, but wandering through a maze of residential areas when it was easy to see on the map that there were plenty of major roads available. And yes, we checked to be sure we were getting car, not bike, directions.

Eventually we made it to a park at the base of the Gulfgate Bridge. (I was pretty happy to to have been driven through the rough roads and onto this busy, no shoulder bridge.) I called the bike shop. No luck there. But then I set off on my ride, which would …

GHOST GLOW RIDE

VR Social SS | www.facebook.com

Friday, October 29, 2021 at 6:00 PM CDT VR Social SS 317 Spring Street, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482 ATTENTION GLOW RIDERS! Get your Halloween costume on and let’s ride…..

FREE Family bicycle riding event (perfect for Trunk-n-Treat rounds). We will meet at VR Social, IN COSTUMES and ride to ColemanPark.

**PHOTO BOOTH will be open after the event if anyone wants a picture! All proceeds benefit Let Love Live Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.

Cannot wait to crowd the streets with Ghosts & Goblins on bikes!

This is part of the ScreamFEST week of events …

Houston bar in East Downtown apologizes for ‘tasteless’ sign about bike accidents

Jay R. Jordan | www.chron.com

The food truck-themed bar is backpedaling after putting up a marquee blaming cyclists for ‘90%’ of bike accidents.

A bar in East Downtown is reeling from backlash over a marquee sign posted Monday that drew criticism from Houston cyclists and advocacy groups.

For a short while Monday morning, Truck Yard Houston’s sign read "Study shows 90% of bike accidents can be avoided by buying a car like normal people." The message, which bar representatives later chalked up to a "stupid and ignorant decision," was quickly noted by BikeHouston and Critical Mass Houston, two organizations that seek to change the …

‘Gravity riding’ biking tower planned for Frisco park near PGA headquarters

By Leah Waters | www.dallasnews.com

The 164-acre Northwest Community Park would feature a 40-foot-tall “gravity riding” structure and 9.5 miles of trails.

Frisco Parks and Recreation officials on Oct. 19 presented an early concept for a “gravity riding” biking tower at a park near the upcoming PGA Frisco headquarters, as originally reported by Community Impact Newspapers.

Presented as a roughly 40-foot-tall fixture for cyclists, the tower would sit on the 164-acre Northwest Community Park east of Teel Parkway. Frisco Parks and Recreation Director Shannon Coates presented construction plans for the park to the city council during the Oct. 19 work session, a project estimated to cost $24.5 million.

Renderings showed a $2.43 million, 100-foot tower. However, Coates said the …

Arrest made in hit-and-run crash involving dump truck and man on bicycle

Katrina Webber | www.ksat.com

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police have arrested a man who they believe was driving a dump truck when it ran over a man on a bicycle, critically injuring him.

Christian Gomez, 25, was booked into jail Monday night on a charge of failure to stop and render aid with serious bodily injury.

An arrest affidavit says Gomez turned himself in as the driver involved in the crash, which happened before 7 a.m. Monday on Fran Fran Street, not far from Highway 90 and South Zarzamora.

Police found the victim, a man believed to be in his 50s or 60s, on one end of the block, unconscious and …

City of Tyler gets opinion of community members for upcoming road projects

by: Frank Jefferson | www.ketk.com

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – It seems like almost everywhere you look, there are construction crews working on East Texas streets.

The city of Tyler is preparing for two major changes. …

… Another plan, expected to begin that same year is the extension of the “Legacy Trails.”

“It’s going to be our really first big urban trial that’s going to allow traffic on a bicycle in and out of town,” said Bill Lewis, Tyler Bicycle Club.

For this, the city was recently awarded a nearly three million dollar grant by TXDOT.

“We’ve competed against cities just like us all across the states of Texas and we won the grant and we want to show that we will be supportive of such a trail like this,” said Lewis.

As the president of the Tyler Bicycle Club, this trail extension is music to Lewis’ ears.

“It’s going to be something that Tylerites have thought about and hoped for a for a really long time,” said Lewis.

The open house will last over the next 10 days.

The SunPedal Ride, A Solar-Powered E-Bike Project, Is Covering Thousands Of Miles Across The US Raising Awareness

By Jake Richardson | cleantechnica.com

If you haven’t been paying attention to electric bikes, you might be surprised that the size of their global market may reach well over $60 billion by 2030. In some areas, depending on conditions, e-bikes could replace much larger fossil-fuel vehicles for personal transportation, because they cost relatively little to purchase, power, and maintain.

To raise more awareness about the presence and versatility of electric bikes, Sushil Reddy and Luis Fourzan are riding theirs around the United States, covering thousands of miles in the process. Reddy, a Guinness Book of World Records holder for longest e-bike ride, and Luis Fourzan, a clean energy advocate and outdoor enthusiast, have traveled over 1,500 miles in the US on e-bikes so far. They intend to finish in Houston, Texas, after traveling 6,498 miles. Octopus Energy, an energy provider that sources energy from renewable sources, has an office in Houston and is sponsoring the e-bike ride. …

Video: Virginia athlete doesn’t let broken bike stop her from competing in Ironman Waco

By Gordon Collier | www.kwtx.com

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Traveling 70.3 miles in a day is no easy feat when there are no motors or horsepower involved – and you have to swim, bike and run.

The Ironman Waco triathlon attracted people from all over the country who were up to the challenge.

All the planning and training that goes into competing in these events is time consuming and costly. It requires not only physical fitness, but a level of discipline and dedication that, quite frankly, most people don’t have.

Imagine the frustration felt by Beni Gras-Thompson, who traveled to Waco from Virginia to compete in the triathlon, only to unpack her bicycle and learn it had been smashed in transit.

Luckily, a local bike shop …

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After About A 2 Month Absence I Rode Today’s Route

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The bike ride began at 10:06 AM, a few minutes earlier than yesterday. Mostly cloudy skies and humidity higher than the temperature meant a muggy ride. Riding my Canyon Endurace bike I decided to follow my “Kingwood to Ramsey Road – Huffman” route. Along the route 3 other cyclists passed me. Today’s ride of 39.27 miles was the longest of the 9 times on the route in 2021. These miles got me to within 11 miles of last October’s total of 822. I’m at 811.6 miles. I think I can surpass October 2020 with 4 potential biking days left. Year to date I’ve biked 8,421 miles, 323 miles more than last year at this time.

Not sure why there is an almost 2 month gap from my last ride on today’s route.

10-26-2021 YTD Bike Rides Summary Today's Route
10-26-2021 YTD Bike Rides Summary Today’s Route

A front should arrive around sunrise tomorrow with some rain. Depending on how much and how long it rains I may not get to ride. So far in October I’ve missed 2 days, both because of rain. The wind increased today from yesterday taxing my legs on the way to Ramsey Road. After a short break at the bridge on Ramsey Road the ride back mostly involved a tailwind from my left rear quarter. Mostly cloudy today with some darker clouds popping up from time to time. Humidity and dew points hung around the temperature resulting in a muggy but normal bike ride. Weather summary: start 78 (humidity 94%, dew point 76), mostly cloudy, wind SE 10 mph; finish 83 (humidity 77%, dew point 75), mostly cloudy, wind SE 12 mph. That 12 mph wind converts to 19 kph which would be a strong one for the European peloton. The temperatures, humidity, and dew point will drop after the front passes through leaving several sunny but cooler days.

I finished at 1:21 PM with no rain or sprinkles.

10-26-2021 RWGPS Bike Ride Route Map
10-26-2021 RWGPS Bike Ride Route Map
10-26-2021 Strava Bike Ride Summary Data
10-26-2021 Strava Bike Ride Summary Data

Texas Biking News October 25th 2021

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Bike-themed coffee shop opens soon in East Dallas

By Sarah Blaskovich | www.dallasnews.com

Dallas Bike Works will soon have its own coffee shop.

Pull Through Coffee Bar will be a walk-up window on the side of the East Dallas bike shop, created and owned by Christina James, a barista, competitive cyclist and employee at Dallas Bike Works.

James’ family is from Bogota, Colombia, and her extended family owns a coffee farm. “I have seen how hard they work for it,” she says. “You end up appreciating it a little bit more.”

Pull Through Coffee was her idea, intended to bring even more of a community to Dallas Bike Works — a place where bike enthusiasts already …

Concrete bike barriers on Waugh coming in from bikehouston

SAPD: Truck driver took off after striking, dragging man on bicycle

Rebecca Salinas | www.ksat.com

SAN ANTONIO – A man who was riding a bicycle on the West Side Monday morning suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a truck whose driver left the scene, according to police.

San Antonio police said the man, who is believed to be in his 50s or 60s, was hit, dragged and run over by a dump truck or gravel truck on Fran Fran Street near South Zarzamora Street.

The man was dragged about 30 feet, police said, and his bicycle was lodged under the truck. The bicycle was found at the other end of the street after it had been dislodged or manually removed, police said.

The bicyclist was unconscious and …

Video: Man describes seeing dump truck driver run over bicyclist, then leave

Katrina Webber | www.ksat.com

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – San Antonio police have begun putting together some of the details of a hit-and-run crash on the West Side Monday morning, thanks to one witness.

Eric Abby was on his way to work just before 7 a.m. when he saw the crash happen near the intersection of South Zarzamora and Fran Fran streets.

He says he saw what looked like a gravel or dump truck hit, run over and drag a man on a bicycle, then keep going. …

Bike Barn News

Email Received 10/25/2021

From our humble beginnings 39 years ago, to being the Houston area’s favorite bike shop, we have built success by serving the needs of our community and helping make Houston an incredible place to live and ride a bike. It has been an unbelievable journey and today marks the beginning of a new chapter.

Today, Lee and I want to share some exciting news for Bike Barn, our employees and our customers. Bike Barn has entered an agreement to transfer our ongoing business to Trek Bicycle. This is an exciting new chapter for our shops, but also a very tough decision for us personally. For the last 19 years, we have made so many great friends and had the privilege of working with incredible employees that have become our Bike Barn family. It has been a joy to see more people riding bikes in Houston, to see the cycling scene grow and the City of Houston rally behind bikes. The cycling industry has become part of our souls – we will miss our amazing customers and friends. In Trek, we found a partner who shares our vision of getting more Houstonians on bikes, as well as our philosophy with customers and employees.

Trek has been a valuable partner of Bike Barn during our 39 years. We share a similar focus on providing an amazing customer experience and recognize that our employees are the key to our success. Going forward, we believe that Trek is the right company to continue what we have built and will continue to put our employees and customers first. The transition to Trek won’t happen until early December, so we are still here to help and look forward to seeing you in our stores.

Thanks for your support over the years, we sincerely appreciate it. This is a new day for Bike Barn, but we are confident that The Trek Bicycle stores of Houston will take our shops to an even better place.

Explore Austin teaches kids life lessons through outdoor adventures, mentorship

Nicole Villalpando | www.austin360.com

On a recent Saturday a group of ninth-grade girls canoeing on Lady Bird Lake raced each other back to the dock.

"I was going so fast," ninth-grader Alondra Parra says. "My arms are sore. It was fun."

On this day, ninth-grader Jolena Martinez was reminded, "it’s really hard to do canoeing."

"With canoeing you have to communicate with someone," Alondra says.

The girls group is one of 20 groups of Explore Austin participants. Across town, a group of …

Bicyclist assaulted after man intentionally hits him with vehicle

by: Julianna Russ | www.everythinglubbock.com

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Lubbock Police Department said a bicyclist was assaulted Thursday in the 2000 block of 50th Street after an encounter with a shirtless man.

Lubbock police responded to a hit-and-run call Thursday at approximately 9:09 p.m.

According to a police report, the suspect’s vehicle hit a bicyclist and then got out and punched him.

The victim told police he was riding his bicycle when he saw the suspect parked on the side of the street with the car door open, so he went around and continued riding.

According to the police report, the suspect then …

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The Brown And White Dog, Above Normal Weather

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It’s the last week of October and I have the opportunity to ride enough miles to beat October 2020. The weather behaved and I got on the Canyon Endurace earlier than normal leaving at 10:13 AM and finishing at 12:56 PM. I rode a route I usually do later in the week. I wanted a little variety riding north but not past Community Drive. The “Community Drive – Valley Ranch – Gene Campbell Blvd” fit that. I altered the route some by going east on FM 1314 to Loop 494 and north to Community Drive rather than stay on the US59 frontage road to Community Drive. This made today the longest ride for this route since I started doing it in 2021 riding 37.22 miles. I’ve only ridden the route 5 times, all in 2021.

10-25-2021 YTD Bike Rides Summary Today's Route
10-25-2021 YTD Bike Rides Summary Today’s Route

October weather continues to be above normal but that may change when a front arrives on Wednesday. Normal high is 79.5 and the low is 56.3. Wind was light allowing me to set a good pace in almost any direction. The best pace was on FM 1314 riding NW and the return to the SE. I built my overall average speed up to 14.4 mph and kept it there until I made the u-turn under US59 at Kingwood Drive and stopped for traffic long enough for my bolt computer to subtract a .1 mph.

Weather summary: start 79 (humidity 86%, dew point 74), mostly cloudy, wind SW 6 mph; finish 85 (humidity 71%, dew point 74), partly cloudy, wind variable 5 mph. No need for a long sleeve jersey but I wore arm sleeves for sun protection.

The brown and white dog was waiting for me at Rock Creek Drive and Northpark Drive. As I pedaled faster going west on Northpark he raced beside me in the grass barking until he reached the magic spot where he stopped quickly though there was plenty of grass left. The other dog didn’t show up.

10-25-2021 RWGPS Bike Ride Route Map
10-25-2021 RWGPS Bike Ride Route Map
10-25-2021 Strava Bike Ride Summary Data
10-25-2021 Strava Bike Ride Summary Data