The sky was threatening most of the morning and it rained for a minute or so. But by the time I decided to go biking I checked the weather radar and no rain was in the area. So I set out on the “Atascocita – Huffman – Walden” route at 12:09 PM. This changes the route I ride most often by reversing the middle streets. I biked 32.98 miles improving April’s total to 156.04 miles and keeping me slightly ahead of the rate of 20 miles per day to reach my 600 mile goal.
My wife warned me about rain but it never fell on my ride today. Weather during the bike ride: start 73 (94% humidity), overcast, wind SE 9 mph. Finish 78 (81% humidity), overcast with haze, wind SE 12 mph. I overdressed based on the temperature and not taking the humidity into account. I wore shorts, a heavy long sleeve jersey, and a wind breaker jacket. After passing the half way point the sky brighten some as the sun overcame some of the cloud cover. This in turn heated me up making for a warm ride. I should’ve wore a light long sleeve jersey.
On Old Atascocita Road just west of the railroad tracks where the City of Houston ground off some asphalt earlier in the week today I was greeted with nice smooth new asphalt. Glad to see that solved.
On the way back home on Pinehurst Trail Drive at the Texas Laurel Trail intersection a large doe raced across the street from the yard on the right into the wood on the left. The two cars at the stop sign might have been surprised.
The 12 mph wind took a toll on my legs getting to FM 2100 but once on that road the wind generally was a tailwind until I was back on the west side of Lake Houston and riding into Walden. As I made my way back to FM 1960 the wind became a tailwind again and stayed there most of the way to the finish. Finishing at 2:45 PM the sun broke through the clouds some more making me glad to get out of the soak jersey and jacket.
Sunday weather is iffy which makes biking iffy too. I will make a riding decision after getting home from church.
SportTracks Bike Ride Summary
Strava Year Progressions YTD Miles Graph
2019 lead 2018 by 13 miles YTD but trails 2017 by 77 miles, and trails 2016 by 28 miles.
Scooters may be scarce along Houston-area sidewalks and streets, but it has made for a boom time for bike sharing.
Use of Houston B-Cycle, which has grown annually for the past five years, continues to climb as more stations come online and more people, both one-time users and frequent riders, grab a bike and go.
For the first three months of 2019, the number of trips — each time a bicycle …
Day 41: Fabens to Anthony
Monday May 6, 2019, 61 miles (98 km) – Total so far: 2,045 miles (3,291 km)
I think I explained yesterday we made a decision to bypass the main area of El Paso using the alternate route taking us northwest. This decision was based on information from cyclists on the Southern Tier west to east, Cathy and Craig Simons 2010 ride blog, and more recently Texans familiar with El Paso. The alternate did add 7-miles to our ride. That was fine with us.
Note: It is sad that a city gets a …
"Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) staff and consultant team members will guide participants through an open house, providing an opportunity for feedback and discussion on the citywide goals for parks and open space, as well as priorities for specific areas of the city. If you are unable to make it to one of the meetings, PARD will also provide a virtual meeting online and pop-up meetings at other locations around the city. The results from meeting series #2 will directly shape the goals, strategies, and actions of PARD’s Long Range Plan." …
NORTHERN WALNUT CREEK TRAIL – PHASE 1A
This project is a continuation of the Walnut Creek Trail Phase 1 project (5261.001). It will construct a 10′ wide trail with 2′ wide shoulders from Amherst Drive to the northern end point of the Phase 1 trail and the connection to the Mopac Trail currently being built by the Regional Turnpike Authority. Phase 1A has been broken up into two stages to speed up construction and reduce inconvenience to the neighborhood. The southern stage of the project includes the trail from Mopac to the south side of the basebal …
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — More than four months after an early morning hit-and-run accident, 17-year-old Elijah Chavis is still fighting to recover and remains hopeful the driver will be caught.
"I’m doing the best I can right now and cannot wait to get back up on my feet," Elijah said.
The incident happened early on Nov. 24, 2018, near Kuykendahl Road and Richey Road, which is just up the road from where the teen lives.
AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) – Amarillo’s Hike and Bike Master Plan is moving forward after the City of Amarillo approved updates focusing on making roadways with speed limits greater than 55 mph more bike and pedestrian friendly.
“The implications for a bike on those large infrastructure projects is pretty limited. We want to make sure we’re doing that safely,†said Kyle Schniederjan, Director of Capital Projects for the City of Amarillo. “What this update did is it really specified an …
AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) – UT student James Lentz is President of the Campus Bike Alliance. He and some friends in the Austin cycling community helped put together a "ghost bike" for Tony Diaz after he was killed by a Cap Metro bus in January.
"Got a bike from the Orange Bike Project, they donated an old frame, we spray painted it, we brought it out here and set it up. We had some flowers put …
Good luck to all our cycling friends riding from Houston to Austin on Saturday rolling out at 5am. Enjoy the 200 miles of smiles. Stay safe guys. pic.twitter.com/X96zdlGc8B
UPDATE: Due to a stormy forecast predicted for tomorrow morning, the DFW Tour de Cure Kick-Off ride is being postponed for another date. Please stay tuned for details regarding a reschedule date!
Preliminary reports are that our own Zachary Gregg just took 2nd on stage 2 of the Joe Martin Stage Race to move him to 3rd on GC going into the time trial, where he's also sure to excel. Way to go Zach!
Courtesy of our house photographer, Jason Moss, the first set of pictures are now available on-line on NWCC media server. I believe there are around 1500 pictures from the start, on the course, and the finish.
We had a fabulous time at the _dorba_ River Legacy MTB Trails for our first Wednesday night ride of the year! Over a handful of first time riders came out and our… https://t.co/IExVRa3csJ
— Dirt Side Sisters (@DirtSideSisters) April 5, 2019
Good morning from the Capitol! Are you planning to compete in the Cap 10k this weekend? One Central Texas man says competing in races like it has helped him lose more than 100 lbs. Check out his before and after. @KVUEpic.twitter.com/e0ekhRORmF
It's great when organizations can support one another in the communities in which we live! If you're in the Denton area this weekend, check out RideATAXIA Dallas –
Saturday April 6th – UNT Discovery Park, Denton, TX 6, 25, and 50 mile route… https://t.co/N1BLIFQ8SX
Warmer weather arrived and I took advantage by biking the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route for 39.13 miles. This boosts April to 123.06 miles towards my 600 mile goal. I started biking at 11:59 AM, earlier than the other rides this week.
Weather during the ride: start 73 (88% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind NE 10 mph. Finish 82 (67% humidity), overcast, wind E 7 mph. I overdressed for the last half of the ride wearing shorts, a thermal long sleeve jersey (the overdressed part), and a short sleeve jersey. Until I warmed up around 4 miles into the ride the long sleeve jersey felt comfortable against the wind but the later half of the ride I was warmer than I prefer.
I altered the route slightly by riding Eagle Drive to Loop 494 and then north to the street behind Food Town. When I got close to the service road I spotted pretty wildflowers and took these photos. The dogs came to the fence after I stopped to see what I was going to do and when I left the large dog raced along the fence as far as it allowed.
The dogs didn’t bark or make any noise while took the photos. I wondered who is taking care of them since the man who lived at the marine store/shop is in jail for killing a woman in a mobile home to the right of the wildflowers.
Leaving the wildflowers and dogs I rode underneath I-69/US59 by Caney Creek to get back to FM 1485 and go west to Gene Campbell Blvd.
So far the wind hadn’t been a problem and riding west on FM 1485 kept the wind at my back. I improved my average speed along FM 1485 to 14.0 mph and once I turned onto Gene Campbell Blvd. shielded by trees I nudged it up to 14.1 then 14.2 and by the time I got to FM 1314 it was 14.4 mph.
Before I made it to FM 1314 I stopped at the new development, Ports Mill (strange name to me). The streets are expanded and there are numerous new homes but I don’t see many occupied homes. Maybe they are away from where I took these photos of the new community center and pool.
Expecting a headwind while biking SE on FM 1314 I was surprised that I kept my speed at 16 to 18 mph and held my average speed at 14.4 mph. The wind was stronger when I turned right onto Old Sorters Road but not my much. Making my way through Briar Tree and Oakhurst before school et out helped me avoid the traffic. This continued as rode by the school in Kings Manor and Bear Branch too.
Finishing the ride at 2:53 PM was sooner than the other rides this week.
Saturday weather shows a 50% chance of morning rain which might get in the way of biking but I hope not.
SportTracks Bike Ride Summary
Strava Year Progression YTD Miles Graph
After not riding yesterday (Thursday) I fell behind 2016 (-29 miles) but maintained my lead over 2018 (+22 miles). 2017 still continues be ahead of 2019 (-120 miles).
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS — The Texas Department of Transportation will conduct an open house to discuss proposed mobility and safety improvements at I-35 from SE Inner Loop to RM 1431 southbound.
The gathering is scheduled for Thursday, April 4, at Carver Elementary School Cafeteria, located at 4901 Scenic Lake Dr. in Georgetown. It’s scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to provide an …
… The project will also improve the intersection at I-35 and SE Inner Loop, construct a westbound to southbound continuous flow intersection at Westinghouse Road, improve the existing southbound I-35 frontage road from north of SE Inner Loop to RM 1431, reverse the entrance/exit ramps along the southbound I-35 frontage road between SE Inner Loop and RM 1431, and add bicycle and pedestrian sidewalks and paths.
The Margaret McDermott Bridge over the Trinity River in downtown Dallas is the city’s ne’er-do-well relative who shows up every year or so for yet another handout. Is it a mercy for us to give her more money, or have we just become codependent?
Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the $115 million hike and bike bridge was scheduled to open two years ago. It remains closed because the engineering firm in charge of construction insists the bridge, …
“Got a beautiful new bicycle and it’s so pretty,†said John Lewis.
Lewis suffers from macular degeneration and his motorized bicycle is his only means of transportation. And after his old bike was stolen,
“I just went into a depression I was just hurt I didn’t know what I was going to do,†said Lewis. “I had to go to the store and couldn’t’ get there.â€
So several members of the community rallied together and raised nearly …
Galveston, TX – April 4, 2019 – A new bike-safety law aimed at making Galveston a safer community for cyclists will go into effect on May 1 and require all people cycling at night to have lights on their bikes.
Galveston City Council in January adopted the new regulations at least in part in response to recent deaths from biking collisions. Two cyclists were struck by cars and killed last summer and a video of a cyclist on …
Response from the Mayor on Road Safety
On March 26, 2019, BikeHouston in partnership with LINK Houston led a coalition of 23 people who ride bikes, walk, take transit, and drive cars to share their stories of loss and concern for road safety with the Mayor and City Council…
Starting today at 5:15 p.m. at the Museum of Regional history, downtown Texarkana will host Friday night tours that are part bicycle ride, part history lesson.
Tours organized by the Texarkana Arts & Historic District will continue April 12, 19 and 26, with a new addition this time in free, post-ride appetizers served at Pecan Point Gastropub & Brewery. Tour-goers can bring their own bike or rent one for $5.
Day 40: San Blanca to Fabens
Thursday April 4, 2019, 62 miles (100 km) – Total so far: 1,984 miles (3,193 km)
We lodged at the Historic Sierra Blanca Inn last night. It was a very nice owned by Letye and her husband. They recently purchased the Inn and began making improvements.
Letye told us she was sad because one of her dogs was ill and died. We expressed our condolences.
The Inn states it provides a Continental Breakfast but we learned it wasn’t available until after 7 a.m. That won’t work for cyclists that get up early and hit the road in the dark. Jim shopped the breakfast offerings and returned with a bag of goodies for the room. Later, a staff …
If you ride your bicycle regularly, you may have noticed that lots of little stuff happens that probably doesn’t happen for people dependent on cars to get around. Sometimes it’s big stuff, like you: go on a long ride, compete in a race, get a new bike, set a personal best on that Strava segment. The little stuff that goes on, while not as headline-worthy, is just as interesting, to me at least. There is often more than meets the eye if one is willing to look …
Texas Bicycling from Twitter
What a fun family evening at the @DrivewayLife. Our ride zone was a huge hit and the kids lap was stacked! Great teamwork and lots of fun. We’ll do it again soon. pic.twitter.com/AuN8I1rhM5
"Use of Houston B-Cycle, which has grown annually for the past five years, continues to climb as more stations come online and more people, both one-time users and frequent riders, grab a bike and go." – @DugBegley for @HoustonChron#KeepHoustonRollinghttps://t.co/mD3A8VajRc
— Martin Russell 🚲ðŸðŸ¿ï¸ (@russell_dallas) April 4, 2019
Our friends at the Trinity Strand Trail have this fun event coming up, and it is an awesome way to help them continue to make the trail even better!! https://t.co/vq3LLJmMLh
Can we hit $1000 in the next 9 hours!? Big thank you to those who have already donated! Donations to Texas Cycling's #UT40for40 Campaign benefit freshmen through PhD student riders who competitively race mountain,… https://t.co/sjZE7GJjgS
MVC was well represented at the 2019 Ouchita Challenge in Oden AK on 3/30 by Kent McCormick, Bill Nagel, Brian Zollenger and Micah Porter. The 8 mile gravel start in the rain rendered glasses useless and kits totally… https://t.co/32Vgqhp1gg
Let’s show Dallas just how big the bike community is!! Register to lead a ride, or find a group to ride with, and be there!!! pic.twitter.com/eQaUf5HoJE
