Texas Biking News April 2nd 2020

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YT Jeffsy Bike Check!

by Ethan Fischer | centexmtb.com

Here is my 2019 YT Jeffsy AL Base.

I’m going to talk about everything on my bike and what changes I’ve made to it in the 8 months that I’ve owned it.

To start, I’ll go over the contact points. Before I even got the bike, I had a pair of Kona Wah Wah 2 composite pedals waiting to be put on. …

Find comfort in nature using these 6 biking trails in Houston

www.click2houston.com

HOUSTON – Whether you need another form of moving through the city to avoid public transportation, or if you want to stay active while practicing social distancing, biking is one of the best options available in Houston.

Before you grab your bike and helmet, you need to take some precautions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Houston and other cities in Texas have extended the stay-at-home order until the end of April and while parks remain open, but the use of benches, playgrounds and workout equipment is prohibited.

The order also requires everyone to maintain social distancing of at least six feet.

Keeping this in mind, these are six places in Houston where you can get in some pedaling action.

  1. Sandy Reed Memorial Trail …

NICA Is Done For (Race Vlog Ep.2)

Texas MTB

The NICA season in Texas is cancelled so we decided to throw up the footage from the last race hope you enjoy! Huge shoutout to Kaden follow him on Instagram below

Where to see bluebonnets and wildflowers in Dallas-Fort Worth while social distancing

By Stephanie Allmon Merry | fortworth.culturemap.com

Spring, as it turns out, was not canceled. While we’ve been locked up indoors, bluebonnets and other wildflowers have been popping up all around Dallas-Fort Worth.

"We didn’t have as wet of a fall as we did in 2018, but we are still seeing quite a bit of blooming," says Megan Proska, senior horticulture manager at the Dallas Arboretum’s Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden & Trials Gardens.

The bloom season should last until mid-April or so, Proska says, depending on the weather.

Thank goodness, then, that Tarrant, Dallas, and surrounding counties make exceptions to their stay-at-home orders for engaging in outdoor activity — as long as groups don’t gather and social distance is maintained. In fact, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price — an avid cyclist — has been touting the physical and mental benefits that time spent in the fresh air can bring. …

BE HERE NOW, Because Time Is Not on Our Side

A DUDE ABIKES | adudeabikes.com

For a professional cyclist, one hundredth of a second can mean winning or losing a race. For a jobless commuter / weekend warrior / fathlete such as myself, I really could not care less about speed. Which is good because I’m not fast. As in, lately most of my rides are around 10 miles per hour. However, the first quarter of the year went by and I rode 1,501 miles. But with the world having a prettay, prettay, prettay bad year, who cares about …

Texas Biking from Twitter

Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde Cassette Character Change

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I didn’t think changing the rear cassette on my Lynskey R300 would affect the ride character so much but it did. Yesterday after making a grocery run to Walmart I got my tools out and changed the cassette from the 11×34 that came with the Lynskey to an 11×25 that I ordered. The exchange went smoothly and took about 10 minutes leaving my hands greasy. That is why I prefer paraffin wax on my chains. My next project will make that switch too; both on the Lynskey R300 and Canyon Endurace bikes.

The Lynskey’s character moved from pedaling like a mountain bike to a road bike. The goal was for the Lynskey and Canyon to feel the same in similar gear combinations. With the 11×25 I no longer need to shift to the big chainring and back shift 2 gears on the rear to move at the same speed/cadence as the Canyon. Mission accomplished. I ordered a 36T chainring too but after today’s ride I don’t think I will need it. The new cassette drive train before the bike ride.

  • 4-2-2020 Lynskey R300 new 11x25 cassette-2
  • 4-2-2020 Lynskey R300 new 11x25 cassette-1
  • 4-2-2020 Lynskey R300 new 11x25 cassette-3

To go along with the new gears I activated a new pair of Pearl Izumi Elite Gel Gloves Red. My old gloves started looking an feeling tired. I think the gel got tired too. There’s something about new biking stuff that ups the adrenaline during a bike ride!

  • 4-2-2020 New Pearl Izumi Red gloves-1
  • 4-2-2020 New Pearl Izumi Red gloves-2

With the new things ready for a bike ride I rolled down the driveway pushing the Bolt’s start ride button at 11:40 AM. The chosen route: “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman”. By the time I finished the ride at 2:15 PM I covered 33.15 miles.

The wind during the bike ride started at 13 mph from the SE and ended up at 20 mph from the SE. Getting to the turn from headwind to tailwind at FM 2100 and Old Atascocita Road required a lot of effort. I worked hard to keep my speed around 15 mph up to that point. After the switch to a tailwind and the ride back to Kingwood my average speed went up to 13.4 mph from the 13.0 mph I managed to build in the headwind. The charts from my PowerPod show the headwind until around mile 21 with the blue above the white line in the chart below. (click the image to enlarge it)

4-2-2020 PowerPod Ride Summary

Today’s video includes other bikers, people walking and jogging, and what I saw as the bike ride moved along the route.

Weather during the bike ride: start 76 (72% humidity, 66.4 dew point), overcast, wind SE 13 mph. Finish 75 (74% humidity, 66.1 dew point), overcast, wind SE 20 mph. Part of the reason for starting when I did was waiting for the temperature to get above 70. My kit: shorts, long sleeve thermal jersey, and a light wind jacket. With the temperature but cloudy sky the jacket kept me comfortable; glad I wore it. Friday’s forecast: high of 79. Scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon. High 79F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. I plan on biking as I ride towards my 600 mile goal for April.

4-2-2020 SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Year to date comparison to previous years’ mileage

4-2-2020 Strava Year Progressions

Texas Biking News April 1st 2020

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bicyclist injured after hit-and-run, Beaumont man arrested

By Chris Moore | www.beaumontenterprise.com

Beaumont police arrested a 52-year-old man after a bicyclist was the victim of a hit-and-run wreck Sunday.

Officers responded to the call just after 9 a.m. in the 5300 block of Delaware Road, according to a news release from the Beaumont Police Department.

“Officers arrived and located the victim who was unresponsive,” the release said. “While en route officers were able to locate the suspect vehicle at Delaware near Eastex (Freeway). Witnesses on scene observed the suspect vehicle strike the victim and …

Decent Uncrowded Biking Option: River Oaks Neighborhood from bikehouston

Chris King and PDW plan interactive map of retailers open during pandemic

by Dean Yobbi | www.bicycleretailer.com

PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) — In this time of uncertainty, two companies pooled their resources to help retailers let customers know about their status during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Portland Design Works and Chris King Precision Components combined to create a nationwide interactive retailer locator map. Clicking on a link will call up the shop and its current status (hours and operating procedure).

The sign-up period began Tuesday and the map goes live Friday, with retailers able to join and update their status during the pandemic. In the first 24 hours, 400 shops registered, for free, said RoseMary Sindt, PDW’s marketing manager. The immediate goal is …

Locals take to hike, bike trails to relieve stress

By Matt Faye | www.beaumontenterprise.com

Darin Lopez often enjoys the local hike and bike trails throughout Beaumont, frequently utilizing the Gulf Terrace location off Phelan Road to either walk with his father or jog solo to stay in shape.

He usually runs around sunrise, with the trail relatively sparse.

In recent weeks, however, Lopez has noticed those same trails seem a bit more crowded. In his opinion, it’s no coincidence the increased traffic comes at the same time as the …

6 Austin Bike Paths Every Cyclist Should Explore

BY DAVID LEFFLER & TREY GUTIERREZ | www.austinmonthly.com

Whether you’re looking for shady trails or more intense gravel biking routes, you’ve got options.

Violet Crown Trail

Shrouded in greenery, and with convenient access to a number of swimming holes along the Barton and Gaines Creek Greenbelts, this 6-mile mountain bike trail provides a welcome reprieve from Austin’s summer heat. The route’s main Zilker Park trailhead often swells with dogs, hikers, and day drinkers, so consider starting your ride at the farther-flung Spyglass or 360 trailhead entrances.

The Lost Pines Forest of Bastrop

In 2011, Bastrop was ravaged by the most destructive wildfire in Texas history—a blaze that devoured more than 30,000 tree-lined acres southwest of Austin. While scars from the burn still remain, this 13-mile ride, winding along the …

Chasing Miles on Painful Knee’s

Jose Gonsalves-Barreiro | www.strava.com

STRADE BIANCHE

Paolo Margio | www.strava.com

Mt. Nebo January 2020, Grape Creek, Texas

Pedal Pushers | roy-pedalpushers.blogspot.com

On a nice January day, Christine and I decided to get out and try to keep in shape for the upcoming cycling season. Little did we know that the organized tours we had signed up for would be postponed or cancelled. So I am glad I brought my camera with me on this ride. It seems that all we will be doing is local rides, unless we are ordered to shelter in place. …

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

No Fooling With The Wind Bike Ride to Tavola

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Earlier in the morning when I got up the temperature stood at 49 degrees. I was optimistic it would warm up to the predicted 75 as the sun came up. By 11 AM it cross into the low 70’s as I started getting ready for today’s bike ride. I chose the”New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route riding north and wheels rolled at 11:26 AM. I covered 35.18 miles by the time I finished at 2:04 PM. My April goals are 600 road miles and 30 Zwift miles.

Biking north with the help of a 16 mph SE tailwind I built my average speed up to 14.2 mph as I rode into Tavola. This took me east winding among trees and homes but my jacket flapped in the wind. Making my way through Tavola I arrived at Roman Forest Blvd. to begin the ride back to Kingwood. From that point the tailwind became a headwind. When I finished the ride and checked the weather the wind was still out of the SE but eased 14 mph. The temperature topped out at 74 but it was warm enough for me to sweat putting salt streaks on my black windbreaker jacket.

With the headwind I thought my average speed would go down but instead I added to it settling in at 14.4 mph until I rode into Kings Manor and started riding slower as I came to stop signs and other barriers. By the end of the ride my average speed was 14.0 mph.

Thursday the weather loses the blue sky: high of 77, Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers in the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 77F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. I plan on biking before the afternoon rain showers have a chance to keep me inside.

4-1-2020 SportTracks Bike Ride Summary