Texas Bicycling News Digest November 6th 2018

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Police: Lakeway man drives off after hitting cyclist

By: Chelsea Moreno | www.kxan.com


LAKEWAY, Texas (KXAN) — A man was arrested and charged Saturday for driving away after hitting a man who was riding his bicycle, police say.

When officers arrived at Ranch Road 620 near Lohman’s Crossing Road just before 5:50 a.m., they saw a damaged bicycle in the road and debris from the crash.

Austin-Travis County EMS took the victim to St. David’s South Austin hospital with a serious injury. …

Memorial Hermann cardiologist Konstantinos Charitakis, M.D., cycles his way to healthy living

By Shanley Pierce | www.tmc.edu


Konstantinos Charitakis, M.D.
OCCUPATION: Interventional cardiologist at Memorial Hermann Hospital; assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth
INTEREST: Cycling

As an interventional cardiologist, Konstantinos Charitakis, M.D., understands the importance of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. Whether he’s pedaling along the roads in Fulshear with former patients and his local cycling team or racing other enthusiasts online on his stationary bike at home in Montrose, Charitakis puts in 150 miles every week. …

Man arrested after allegedly trying to run over 3 cyclists on Northwest Side

By Fares Sabawi | www.mysanantonio.com

A San Antonio man is accused of trying to intentionally run three cyclists over with this vehicle Sunday, according to police.

Christopher Garcia, 58, was arrested Monday on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

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The cyclists called police to the intersection of Hillcrest and West Woodlawn. They told officers that Garcia nearly ran them over, according to his arrest affidavit. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

85 in November? Where Are The Voters? Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The wind let up today but the temperature made up for it. I got an earlier start today with wheels rolling at 10:51 am as I set out on the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route biking 33.57 miles. I am now at 125.34 miles for November, 35% of the 360 mile goal. I didn’t notice until after yesterday’s bike ride that my year to date miles as of 11/5/2018 exceeded my total for 2017 by 8 miles with 2018 at 7503 miles versus 7495 miles in 2017. 2017 miles are the most I rode in a year. So any more miles this year will add to the new record.

Weather during today’s bike ride.

Who would think the weather would be almost summer like in November. Don’t worry, starting late Thursday to early Friday this will change to much cooler.

During the ride today I passed four voting places. The first one in Bear Branch Village in Kingwood was deserted except for three HFD men sitting in the open communication zone. Next I passed Ben’s Branch Library in Kingwood. The parking lot looked full but I couldn’t see if there was a line to vote. In Atascocita I rode by the library branch. The parking lot had one car at the back and no body handing out flyers. The final voting spot was Creekwood Middle School in Kingwood. The parking lot was full but again I couldn’t see any line. I might have seen more if I rode closer.

Biking went as expected. I did see another cyclist by Ben’s Branch Library. We exchanged hellos and waved. He rode north and I continued to the south.

In Huffman I stopped at the Chevron station to refill my water bottle. It appears the station has new owners and staff. The person inside was new and the outside has been painted different colors from the white and gray. I stopped just long enough to get more ice and water.

Back on the road I went west on FM 1960 with the wind coming from my left side. This didn’t pose too much of a problem and I improved my overall average speed to 14.0 mph. I held that until the 31 mile point back in Kingwood. I finished the ride at 1:23 pm.

More of today’s weather on Wednesday with rain probability going up some. I plan on biking because I want to but also the “cold” weather that arrives on Friday will be here for several days.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest November 5th 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

In the wake of a deadly year for Houston cyclists, non-profit increases bike safety classes

By R.A. Schuetz | www.chron.com

Cyclists wove in and out of an obstacle course Sunday at the Rice University bike loop. In the sun of a flawless fall afternoon, they practiced what to do when things suddenly go awry: a rapid dodge for potholes and rocks; a hairpin turn that could save a cyclist being cut off by a car.

“A lot of people like to bike, but they don’t feel safe in terms of motorists,” said Inge Ford, a member of Bike Houston leading the free bike safety class with Regina Garcia. She hoped the class would give people the …

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Video: City releases finalized draft of pedestrian and bicycle plan

By: Victoria Larned | www.everythinglubbock.com

LUBBOCK, Texas – The City of Lubbock released their finalized draft of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, on Friday.

The main parts of the plan included putting in and improving bike lanes throughout the city, and improving sidewalks and crosswalks for pedestrian safety.

Greg Davis, owner of DFC Cycles and Fitness, said the …

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AP-TX–Texas News Digest 1 pm, TX

kztv10.com

… EXCHANGE-BICYCLISTS-TRAIL SYSTEM

RICHARDSON, Texas — Bicyclists across North Texas love the regional plan to have 4,000 miles of streets and trails that specifically address their needs. “Growth has brought in vehicle capacity. When the streets weren’t congested, four of five of us could get out,” said Bob Whitson of Garland, who now rides with larger numbers as a member of the Plano Bicycle Association. “You have to go up past McKinney to get out in the country now.” The Dallas Morning News reports he and dozens of others were universal in their approval of plans for regional trails and potential for safer bike trips recently shared by the Texas Department of Transportation at the Richardson Civic Center. By Ray Leszcynski, The Dallas Morning News.

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Upcoming Rides

Chasing Watts | chasingwatts.com

Lite Bike
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 @ 7:05 PM

MPPPL
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 @ 5:30 AM

Society Cycle Works Tuesday Night Ride
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 @ 6:30 PM

Wednesday Light Ride
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 @ 6:30 PM

Nite Bike
Thursday, November 8, 2018 @ 7:05 PM

SCW Thursday Night Ride
Thursday, November 8, 2018 @ 6:30 PM

SWCC Sunday
Sunday, November 11, 2018 @ 7:30 AM

Bike Barn West University Sunday Ride
Sunday, November 11, 2018 @ 7:30 AM

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Sunday Funday in the Rain!..Not made of Sugar

Troy Serrano | www.strava.com

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Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Lots of Wind With Large Rain Drops Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

More above normal temperatures today making for a good day to ride a bike. I put wheels down at 11:49 am on the first ride since Daylight Savings Time ended yesterday. Already the day seems to get dark too early. I rode the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route for a total of 33.38 miles. This boosts November riding to 91.8 miles, 25% of my 360 mile goal for the month. If the weather stays like this, which it won’t, I could almost reach my goal in a week and a half.

Wind blew strong during the ride helping me get to Tavola quickly with modest effort. Not so on the ride back to Kingwood. Weather during the bike ride.

I stopped in Woodridge Forest at the 5.4 mile mark and took these two photos to show the clouds and the wind wiping the flags from the south.

I never could get my overall average speed up to 14 mph. The segment from Tavola back to Kingwood mostly had a headwind driving the watts into the 200 to 300+ range and dropping the speed to 13 mph and below.

Below are graphs from today’s bike ride showing data from the PowerPod. Notice in the second graph with blue above and below the white line. Up the point I changed direction back to the south the blue mostly was below the white signifying a tailwind but when I turned back to the south the blue jumped to above the white line meaning a headwind. The headwind wasn’t as strong as Saturday’s ride but still a mean thing.

Powerpod Data and Charts

When I reached FM 1314 at the Stripes station some large rain drops started to fall and I took cover by the pumps. I figured the rain wouldn’t last long due to the size of the drops and the wind pushing the dark cloud to the north. After about 5 minutes I left the cover and went to the traffic light to wait before crossing FM 1314 and onto Old Sorters Road. The road was damp south of FM 1314 and a few drops hit me but they moved away or I rode away from them. One big drop landed on the Elemnt screen blurring the numbers for a couple of miles until it disappeared.

My timing was good to avoid school traffic at all three schools I passed. I finished the ride at 2:30 pm. Once inside I heard a few more rain drops on the skylight but not for long.

More weather like this for Tuesday and I plan on taking advantage of it.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary