Texas Biking February 12th 2020

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Volunteer Sign-Up – North Park Subaru at Dominion 21st Annual STORM Hill Country MTB Challenge

www.bikereg.com

Sat Mar 14 – Sun Mar 15, 2020 Comfort, TX Volunteers will be added to the front gate list and have their land use and camping fees waived.

  1. Camping – there will be plenty of space to put up a tent in the camping area if you would like to camp out. There is a shower facility that volunteers will have access to.

  2. Parking – Park at the volunteer shed or in the general parking areas. If you are camping, you can drive in and park next to your campsite.

  3. Food for volunteers. Saturday Dinner – food for volunteers Saturday evening. Sunday Breakfast – TBD. Sunday Lunch – You will be able to put together a "build your own" brownbag lunch that you can take to your volunteer post for the day. Sunday Post-race meal – we will be preparing food for volunteers.

  4. T-shirts are provided for volunteers. Select your size when you sign up for your volunteer spots. …

9 Hacks to Upcycle Your Inner Tubes

BY MARC LINDSAY | blog.mapmyrun.com

As we become more attuned to waste and trying to find multiple lives for our possessions, there’s an obvious opportunity for cyclists: inner tubes. Flatting is never fun, and while patching and reusing tubes as many times as you can is still the number 1 way to recycle old tubes, there comes a time when they just won’t hold air like you need them to.

Instead of tossing them, there are plenty of ways you can get more use out of those old rubber tubes. Check out these nine hacks to save money and put your inner tubes to use for years to come. …

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Zwifting The Herd’s Bull Run – Whole Lotta Lava

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The Herd gathered for the 12:00 PM start in Zwift with 303 Zwifters signed up. As the countdown went to zero we rolled out and I felt good that I could stay with the group today. But that didn’t last long as they rolled away leaving me behind. I caught a few stragglers and passed them but they or others rode by me. I hung on to one rider for a short period of time until he slowly moved away. From there I rode alone except for when The Herd rode back down the climb going the opposite direction. I am thinking yesterday after the Spin Down I engaged Ergo Mode and that affected my ability to stay with other Zwifters. After today’s ride I turned it off and tomorrow (weather forecast tells me I will be inside) I will see if that makes a difference. I tried to turn it off during the ride but was unable to.

Somehow I finished 38th in Group D Basic 2. I have not noticed the Basic 2 designation before. Previously on January 15th when I rode The Herd’s Bull Run this designation did not show up. The course on January 15th was Richmond UCI Worlds while today I think we rode Watopia.

Links to Strava Activity page and SportTracks activity page.

Texas Biking News February 11th 2020

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Jackson Hill Pop-Up Bike Lane a Success!

City of Houston Planning Department | houstonbikeplan.org

Thank you to all who helped us test a new street design on Jackson Hill Street at Scotland Street on Saturday, January 25. The Pop-Up Bike Lane was a big hit with Buffalo Bayou trail users and passersby. Your input has helped shape the final proposal for the Patterson Street corridor connecting White Oak Bayou to Buffalo Bayou. The project will now enter the design phase for the next 4-6 months. Construction will begin soon thereafter. …

11th Street Bikeway in Design Phase

Houston Bike Plan | houstonbikeplan.org

Status: In Design

The 1.5-mile segment of 11th street from Shepherd to Michaux is currently in the design phase. Based on community support and a preliminary feasibility assessment, the 11th Street project will advance into detailed study and design, including safety treatments along the project corridor, such as a pedestrian refuge island at 11th and Nicholson. Additional refuge islands will be considered along the corridor. The project team will continue to share information with the community, including the preliminary designs, and collect input throughout this process. Design Details

In addition to being identified in the Houston Bike Plan, the 11th Street Bikeway proposal aims to improve safety for people driving, biking, and walking in the Heights area.

One solution to improve safety for all road users is to convert 11th Street from its existing four-lane configuration to that of a two-lane configuration with a center turn lane. How does this make it safer? …

Austin Street and Cleburne Street Bike Lanes Under Construction

Houston Bike Plan | houstonbikeplan.org

Austin Corridor Status: Under Construction Estimated Completion: Summer 2020

A central component of the planned regional bikeway network is the Austin Corridor. This route connects Buffalo Bayou to Brays Bayou through Downtown, Midtown and Museum Park using new on-street bikeways and existing trails in Hermann Park. The Austin Corridor connects to jobs, schools, parks and other central city destinations, as well as planned networks in Near Northside and Third Ward. This project was funded through the Harris County Precinct One Partnership. Project Updates

Improvements to curb ramps, sidewalks and curb and gutter in targeted areas along the corridor have been completed. Pavement repair/repaving is underway. Striping will begin shortly thereafter. …

Cleburne Street

Status: Under Construction

A high-comfort bikeway is planned for Cleburne Street between La Branch Street and Hutchins Street. Construction will also include ADA curb ramp repair, sidewalk repair and pavement repair in targeted locations along the route. This route is part of the Third Ward Bikeway Network and is funded by Harris County Precinct One. Route Map

Dedicated on-street bike lanes (blue) are planned from La Branch St. to Hutchins St. …

Pearland Ride Cycling Studio now open in Pearland

By Morgan Slutzky | communityimpact.com

Pearland Ride Cycling Studio opened on Dec. 23 at 3518 E. Broadway St., Pearland. The full-body cycling studio offers nine 45-minute classes a week. Classes consist of cycling and upper-body weights. The locally owned business works to make sure all clients feel like family.

4th Annual Resaca City Bike Tour

San Benito Chamber of Commerce | www.facebook.com

Our 4th Annual Resaca City Bike Tour was AMAZING! We had cyclist of all ages riding in our 20 mile, 40 mile and 60 mile routes. It was a beautiful day, although it was windy. We want to thank the San Benito TX City Hall, our sponsors, volunteers, vendors, riders, you made Saturday’s event a success!

Thank you to Boswell Elliff Ford for being the Title Sponsor! Culligan Water of the Rio Grande Valley for being our Water Sponsor!

Austin Road Projects Timeline Toward Completion Released

By Tony Cantu | patch.com

Road projects may seem interminable, but state officials assure the motoring public the end of construction to various projects is near. …

… I-35 from Rundberg Lane to US 290 East: The project team is moving forward on the southbound I-35 to southbound US 183 flyover with further work on the bridge beams and decks. Additionally, the new St. John’s bridge bicycle and pedestrian path will be open in early February. This project is expected to complete in mid-2021. …

124 Consecutive Days of Bicycling… and Counting

A DUDE ABIKES | adudeabikes.com

After a couple of days off the bicycle, I began riding daily on October 11, 2019. Every day since then, I’ve mounted my trusty steel steed Sophie, the Fairdale Weekender Archer to go places. Some days just a few miles were traversed; most days it’s closer to 20 miles, and a few even more. There have been no true rest days, as I am still walking and doing yoga daily, and now I’ve added an occasional lap swimming into the mix. It’s all rather exhausting, even if a particular ride isn’t taxing. The cumulative effect seems to be taking its toll. What’s A Dude with no car and #BikeGoals to do? Take the bus? Pshaw!

Rest would be the obvious answer; I’ve blogged about it, and even the pros do …

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Zwifting The Herd’s Tuesday Group Ride After Spin Down

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Since buying in August 2019 I put off the spin down ride on my Wahoo Kickr Snap smart trainer until before today’s Zwifting. Maybe I should’ve waited longer. It only took a few minutes to do the spin down. Using the Wahoo Utility app the instructions said to slowly pedal up to 23 mph, stop pedaling and let the trainer spin down to a stop. All went as planned and I finished the spin down with 3 minutes to the start of the ride at 11:55 AM. The ride lasted an hour using the Harrogate course.

The course includes some undulating hills and downhills, of course, but not a lot of flat sections. Not long after starting I noticed my legs felt tired and I could not get above 200 watts like in previous rides, not for long but bursts. The whole ride was like that, particularly riding uphill. Before 8% to 10% climbs challenged me but today I slowed down and seemed to barely get to the top. That was when I began to suspect the spin down on the smart trainer changed the calibration. I don’t have any data except my struggling legs throughout the ride as proof. Watching my position among the group of 635 riders signed up I started out in the mid 200’s, improved to the 190’s and began falling down to the 450’s position but at the end I finished 34th in Group D, in the top 6% of the group. I am not sure how I did that based on what I my legs performed during the ride. My average watts was 96 while the rider in front and rider behind me came in at 159 and 160. I was very efficient, I guess. To confirm this somewhat, Strava gave me three ribbons for fast times. Wednesday I will have a chance to try again with the weather forecast calling for rain and temperature in the 50’s.

Maybe another factor was the length of time of the ride. This is the first hour long Zwift ride since January 27th when I raced stage 4 in the Tour de Zwift.

Screenshots from today’s ride.