Texas Bicycling News Digest March 21st 2019

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Honeoye Riders Reverse the Southern Tier 2019

By jim kersting | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 22: Conroe-Bellview, Tex. Thursday March 21, 2019, 69 miles (111 km) – Total so far: 1,227 miles (1,975 km) We thought about heading toward Houston until the Deer Park fire broke out on Monday. We read about the poor air quality, road closures and shelter in place orders. Not a good route for cyclists. So we’ve traveled north of and around Houston although we are further south of Brian’s planned route. It’s been relatively flat which allowed us again today to add on miles to the daily pedaling output. We started out in busy Conroe during rush hour. One of the benefits of …

April Ladies of the Lake Ride

by Kim Murphy | www.facebook.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 7 PM – 9 PM CDT White Rock Alehouse & Brewery 7331 Gaston Avenue, Suite #100, Dallas, Texas 75214 It’s been a long winter, but spring is finally here!!!!!

It’s time to dust off those bikes and helmets and join us for our April social ride around White Rock Lake. Meet in the White Rock Alehouse parking lot by the trail entrance. Wheels roll at 7:00 followed by food and drinks after. Can’t wait to see all you lovely ladies!

Mayor’s Pop Up Ride Sunday March 24th at 3 PM

by Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop (Fort Worth, TX) and FitWorth | www.facebook.com

Sunday, March 24, 2019 at 3 PM – 4:30 PM CDT

Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop (Fort Worth, TX) 4801 Edwards Ranch Road Suite 125, Fort Worth, Texas 76109 A short ride through Clearfork. The ride location has been updated for safety reasons. The location change also means that there’s no after party at Righteous. Parking and meeting at Orthopedic And Sports Medicine at 2901 Acme Brick Plaza, Fort Worth, TX 76109

Join our mayor, FitWorth and the collective cycling community of Fort Worth as we show visiting journalists what the Fort Worth cycling scene is all about! 3 PM Sunday March 24th, we hope to see you there!

BKXC Takes a Dip in the Barton Creek Green Belt in Austin Texas Video

www.trailforks.com

Bruce and Robert’s Southern Tier Adventure

By Bruce Cline and Robert Goss | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 25 Kerrville to Johnson City Texas: The best of Roads the worst of Roads Thursday March 21, 2019, 69 miles (111 km) – Total so far: 1,575 miles (2,535 km) Distance 69 miles climbing 2500 Plus Our day started incredible until we deviated from the ACA map to see LBJ. We are in the heart of Texas. Sing it Billy…

The hill country has been fabulous. Our first 30 miles were on back roads with barely any traffic fairly smooth and lots of animals. We could not have asked for a better tar filled chip sealed Private Road . That was however after the 14 to 15% pitch to get up to the plateau, ouch. We saw…

Denton parks officials seek input from mountain bikers

www.dentonrc.com

A focus group meeting on Monday seeks input from the trail, mountain bike and BMX riding communities for Denton’s future parks master plan.

The public meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at the Denton Civic Center, 321 E. McKinney St.

Staff representatives from …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Blue Sky, Construction Detour Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After a sweet treat on yesterday’s bike ride I thought that might be hard to top but the weather for today’s ride was superb with a clear blue sky and temperatures in the mid 70’s. I chose the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route riding to the north and biked 34.49 miles improving my March total to 481.20 miles, 104 miles away from my 585 mile goal.

Starting at 11:56 AM I dressed for the 71 degrees and chilly wind with shorts, long sleeve thermal jersey, and wind jacket. Weather during the bike ride: start 71 (32% humidity), clear, wind 4 mph. Finish 75 (28% humidity), clear, wind NE 5 mph. The light wind didn’t impact my speed too much but it was strong enough for some wind chill whenever I rode in the shade.

Normally on this route I take Community Drive east from the I-69/US59 service road but the last time the construction along Loop 494 where the Grand Parkway crosses filled the shoulder forcing me into the main lane riding north. I took these photos today to show some of the construction at Community Drive and I-69/US59 for the Grand Parkway east section.

To avoid the construction on Loop 494 I continued north on the service road to Eagle Drive which goes from the service road to Loop 494 beside New Caney High School. There is a traffic light at Loop 494 but it doesn’t trip for bicycles so I waited for a car to pull up behind me to change the light. This put me a couple hundred yards north of the construction.

From that point the ride followed the route and nothing out of the ordinary. In Tavola I rode through two areas where houses are under construction. I am not sure where the buyers come from but several had “bought” or “sold” signs out front.

Reaching Roman Forest Blvd. I rode west to I-69/US59 to head back to Kingwood. I expected the wind to provide some resistance but instead it helped me up my speed and improve my average speed to 14.0 which I held until mile 31.5 when I was in Kingwood on the trail along side Kingwood Drive. I finished the ride at 2:35 PM.

More great biking weather on Friday but I will start when the basketball NCAA game is over between UC Bearcats and Iowa in Columbus, OH.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Strava Year Progressions Miles Graph

I am trailing 2016, 2017 and 2018 by about 60 miles each year.

Strava Year Progressions Graph

PowerPod Bike Ride Data

PowerPod Bike Ride Data

Texas Bicycling News Digest March 20th 2019

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bruce and Robert’s Southern Tier Adventure

By Bruce Cline and Robert Goss | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 23 Bracketville to Leakey, Texas: They Don’t Call It The Hill County For Nothin’ Tuesday March 19, 2019, 70 miles (113 km) – Total so far: 1,448 miles (2,330 km) What a day! Despite seeing the spikes etc on the ACA maps and worrying about the climbs, the start of the Hill Country was awesome. We enjoyed the scenery as much as any day since early in the trip and how nice to be off Highway 90. But first, forgot to post able John and Lata last night. We met touring cyclist John and his dachsund Lata. They are riding east to west on a heavy duty Salsa. Lata is 15 lbs, food five pounds, extra water for the dog, plastic crate and. Kryptonite lock, ughhhh, add 30 lbs. Great guy and see his adventure at www.hawkdog.net/Wordpress.

We enjoyed the …

Video: Bagby Corridor renovation to benefit cyclists and pedestrians

By Elissa Rivas | abc13.com

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The gateway to the west side of downtown Houston, the Bagby corridor from Franklin Street to the curve at Clay Street, is set for a major renovation.

"It’s a street of parks. It’s a street of civic buildings, in the theater district," says Bob Eury of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority.

He’s touting the addition of a two-way bike lane which is …

Bikefests and Beginner Clinics

by NTX Trails | ntxtrails.com

Bikefests and Beginner Clinics by NTX Trails Leave a Comment

Bikefests and Beginner Clinics I had yet another super weekend of trail-filled fun. My son and I were fortunate enough to ride two different trails and experience two different events this weekend. We went north to the 1st Annual Cross Timbers Backcountry Bikefest on Saturday, then headed to Horseshoe on Sunday to help out at the DORBA Beginner Clinic.

Bikefest @ Cross Timbers

If you missed Bikefest on March 17-18, 2019, you missed the North Texas mountain bike event of the spring—if not the year. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of a Cross Timbers—a fantastic NTX trail—Greg Broussard and company planned and …

Audio: ARK-LA-TEX CHALLENGE 7TH ANNUAL RIDE APRIL 6

kkyr.com

The Ark-La-Tex Challenge 7th Annual Ride to benefit Texarkana Resources for the Disabled, Inc. is coming up on Saturday, April 6, at Liberty Eylau High School.

The Ark-La-Tex Challenge is a Cycling race in Texarkana and is unlike any other race meaning that experienced or novice riders who participate will be riding through three states in one ride. The Ark-La-Tex Challenge will be offering five different distances to accommodate different cyclist levels. The race begins at the Liberty Eylau High School at 9AM for adults and 9;30AM for kids and ends there after a 70 mile route that will take riders through 3 states but not …

Vjdeo: Fort Worth ISD Begins Safe Routes To School Projects

dfw.cbslocal.com

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – New sidewalks and crosswalks are just some of the improvements coming to more than half dozen Fort Worth Independent School District elementary schools.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments gave a grant of more than $3 million to the city to fund the projects. All the money will go toward improving ways to get kids to school safely.

The seven area elementary schools picked to receive grant money were selected due to lack of sidewalks, the number of pedestrian and bike crashes, the percentage …

Vjdeo: Surprise! Co-workers pitch in to replace stolen bike

By Emily Akins | www.kten.com

SHERMAN, Texas — Jake Coulson rides his bike every day to work, no matter the weather or road conditions.

Or at least that was how he got to his job at Academy Sports and Outdoors in Sherman before his bike was recently stolen from his apartment complex.

"We knew his situation, and we really felt for it," said co-worker Alex Veasley. "We knew what it was like to …

VCC: Humpday Ride….easy pace today for 60 miles

Leo Vela (VCC) | ww.strava.com

Nice route but not so much after a long day at work

Russell Pecot | www.strava.com

Bruce and Robert’s Southern Tier Adventure

By Bruce Cline and Robert Goss | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 24 Leakey to Kerrville, Texas: Loving the Hill Country Wednesday March 20, 2019, 58 miles (93 km) – Total so far: 1,506 miles (2,424 km) What a day in the Hill Country! Two days in a row of wonderful riding, incredible scenery, lots of wildlife and a very good day! Since we were by the Frio River, George can sing about learning to swim, and the only song I know with the Frio River in it…..

Honeoye Riders Reverse the Southern Tier 2019

By jim kersting | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 21: Kountze to Conroe, Tex. Wednesday March 20, 2019, 79 miles (127 km) – Total so far: 1,158 miles (1,864 km) Pedaling directly, (almost in a straight line) to the next destination has its benefits. It’s very efficient so many miles can be pounded out. The downside is that it can be very b-o-r-i-n-g! Even so, there were a few exciting moments. We came upon an overturned timber truck that overshot a right hand turn. Happy had an unexpected chance to show her skills as a cow wrangler. Finally, 20 miles from the finish, while battling a headwind, we had a chance to hone our visual skills by seeing all kinds of quirky, seen only in Texas kinds of things. …

Two Retired Amigos on Winter Tour

By Douglas Wood | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 24: Willis to Navasota Tuesday March 19, 2019, 52 miles (84 km) – Total so far: 1,240 miles (1,996 km) Last evening David suggested a different route. David took Jim in the car to show him the route. It was a back country route keeping us off 150 longer. It turned out very well. The countryside was very nice with many cattle farm operations. It was a peaceful 8-10 miles. …

Day 25: Navasota to LaGrange Wednesday March 20, 2019, 66 miles (106 km) – Total so far: 1,306 miles (2,102 km) We settled into the Red Velvet Inn last night. Our room had a small little bucket on a table with a note and ear plugs. Apparently lots of trains go through Navasota all times day or night. When you ride a bicycle for several hours you do not hear much after falling asleep. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/DPDBikeSgt/status/1108540690286473216
https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/1108458717849272320

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

A Bike Ride With a Sweet Purpose

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I like it when a bike ride has a purpose. Today I altered my usual sequence and rode the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Extended” route to take me by the Huffman Dairy Queen to stop and get a free cone. For a number of years Dairy Queen gives away a free cone on the first day of spring which is today.

Thankfully the weather cooperated so that eating the cone wouldn’t be chilly affair. Weather during the bike ride: start 72 (32% humidity), partly cloudy, wind E 5 mph. Finish 75 (30% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind NW 9 mph. I wasn’t fully into the warm weather believing the wind still felt chilly so I wore shorts, a long sleeve thermal jersey under a wind breaker jacket. At first I wondered if maybe I should have added a short sleeve jersey to the mix but after I warmed up it felt comfortable. I started a little late at 12:23 PM but this gave time to warm up a couple of degrees. I better enjoy the low humidity because in a few weeks it will ramp up.

I wasn’t the only cyclist out enjoying the first day of spring. I met the first biker on Pinehurst Trail around Farmingham Drive at 11.5 miles. The second came from the south on Fairlake Drive 16.3 miles into the ride.

Taking the “extended” route took me north of FM 1960 on FM 2100 to Smith Road which looped back to FM 1960 riding in front of the Dairy Queen on E. Lake Houston Parkway. Sitting at a table in the sun I ate the ice cream knowing this will probably be the on DQ cone for the year. The sugar propelled me from there to home finishing at 3:08 PM.

Thursday weather should be a repeat of today (Wednesday) but no free cone. I plan on biking.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTrack Bike Ride Summary

Strava Year Progressions Graph

Years 2016, 2017, and 2018 still total more YTD miles. 2013 is not too far behind my 2019 miles. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Strava Year Progressions Graph Bike Ride miles

PowerPod Bike Ride Data

PowerPod Bike Ride Data