Texas Bicycling News Digest August 23rd 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Nice Recovery Pace with Clo and Mo!

Leo Vela | www.strava.com

Double Trouble

Mike OnaFatty | www.strava.com

Gunning for Speed at the Greenway with Tim

Leo Vela | www.strava.com

Bid on Trinity Skyline Trail in Dallas

www.texasbids.net

Bid Date & Time: 09/13/18 2:00 PM Prebid: 08/31/18 10:00 AM
Solicitation Title: Trinity Skyline Trail
Owner Solic Number: PBSWW051 Status: bidding Report: 8865305
Country : United States State: TX County: Dallas Location: Dallas
Scope: Skyline Trail.
Notes: A Pre-bid conference will be held on August 31, 2018, AT 10:00 A.M. AT 320 E. JEFFERSON BOULEVARD, ROOM 303 DALLAS, TX 75203.
Plans: Plans and specifications for this project are available at 320 E. Jefferson Blvd., Room 307 Dallas, TX 75203 beginning August 22, 2018. Contact: Front Desk, Phone: (214) 948-4250, Fax: (214) 948-4670. Cost for plans and specifications is $15 per set. Cost of a CD with the plans and specification is $5.00. All items are non-refundable. …

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmyI0UhhkDS/

Alkek Velodrome gets a lift from Lawson Craddock

Dale Robertson | www.houstonchronicle.com

A year after Harvey began drowning much of Houston, there will be a grand celebration at the Alkek Velodrome Friday night. As many as 500 are expected for a night of racing revelry and no small amount of relief at the bicycle track, whose inner bowl filled with eight feet of water and sludge during the storm, then needed three weeks to drain.

No surprise that, though. Originally built for the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival, the Cullen Park venue was constructed smack in the middle of the …

CHILE CHILE! – VeloVlog #46

Prston Glace | www.youtube.com

Captain’s Blog – 8/23/18 – Weekend Ride, Bike MS Packet Pickup, Upcoming Events and Bike Raffle!

by danitza Velo Valero | cycling.powweb.com

“You can’t get good by staying home. If you want to get fast, you have to go where the fast guys are.” – Steve Larsen (Steve Larsen is the only American to have ridden in the world championships in 5 different cycling disciplines: road, mountain bike, track, triathlon and cyclo-cross).

8/25 Weekend Ride – SAG volunteers needed
Come out and join Velo Valero and the San Antonio Cycling Alliance this Saturday for a ride starting at the Valley Mart Exxon on 471/Culebra. There will be three routes, 34, 48 and 62 miles. The 34 mile goes south down 471, past Rio Medina to Castroville; stops at the Shell at 90, turnaround and come back. The 48 mile route will go down 471, thru Castroville, 90, 471, 484, Gross Lane, Macdona-Lacoste over to Lacoste & back. The 62 mile route goes out the …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Cascading Technology Effect Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Out for today’s bike ride on the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route the air felt lighter and cooler though there is a heat advisory alert starting at 9 am. I started at 10:06 am so I thought it would feel hot. Weather during the bike ride: start 87 (60% humidity), partly cloudy, wind SE 6 mph. Finish 93 (55% humidity), s few clouds, wind 6 mph. Maybe the humidity was the reason for not feeling so hot?

The 32.16 miles from the bike ride put my Canyon bike at 5,021.5 miles since I got it in late February. Only 83 miles left to reach my August goal of 800 miles.

I think I experienced a cascading technology effect at the beginning of the ride. On Monday I received my replacement TickrFit heart rate monitor. It paired with my Elemnt computer with no problem but not with the PowerPod power meter. On Tuesday I got a new phone (Pixel 2 XL) which then loaded all of my apps but when I opened the Wahoo Companion app to connect to the Elemnt computer I had to go through the setup process. So far so good but yesterday after the ride I checked the PowerPod to see if it was connected the TickrFit and it wasn’t. The speed sensor and cadence were connected to the PowerPod. So I made some “adjustments” using the Isaac program on the PowerPod hoping to fix the TickrFit pairing. At the start of today’s ride I went through the pairing process with the PowerPod to pair to the TickrFit. Not successful. Not remembering what the different LED colors meant on the PowerPod I tried several times and ended up forcing the “Out & Back Calibration” starting not once but several times. Somehow I managed to press the PowerPod button the right way and it started sending power readings to the Elemnt computer. This was about 4 miles into the bike ride. Later I will check the PowerPod with Isaac to see what the wireless settings are. I wish there was a phone app that would configure the PowerPod like the Elemnt computer.

The bike ride went normally though with all of the stops to work on the PowerPod impacted my average speed keeping it below 13 mph until about 16 miles into the ride. I stopped at the Huffman Chevron long enough to refill my water bottle, wipe some sweat off me and some dirt off the Canyon bike. This took about 8 to 10 minutes and then I was back on the Canyon riding west on FM 1960. I decided to try the large chainring since the wind wasn’t in my face. As long as I was shielded by the trees south of the road and east of the lake I turned the pedals at 19 to 20 mph but once I was over the lake the wind got the better of me. I stayed in the large gear but the speed dropped to 16 mph.

On the west side of Lake Houston I changed back to my normal gearing and kept my average speed just below 14 mph until I was in Kingwood. I finished the ride at 12:41 pm while the heat wasn’t near the the advisory level.

Hot weather will continue for a few more days. I should start earlier.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest August 22nd 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

El Pasoans say it’s important to have safety rules for streetcar rides

by Ryan Hill | kfoxtv.com


EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — People in El Paso are ready for the testing process for the streetcar to end so they can ride the trolley.

But, not everyone is familiar with how to share the road with it.

“I’m disabled so, I have to be aware of my surroundings at all times,” Sheldon Jones, South El Paso, said.

“I think people have forgotten how to drive period. Trolleys or no trolleys,” Juli Best, South El Paso, said. …

… Some people tell me they are concerned about how close the bike lanes are to the streetcar. They feel that they shouldn’t be right next to the trolley tracks.

FAST AND HOT

Virgil Skinner | www.strava.com

Huntsville miles w/Craig

Ron Gunnels | www.strava.com

Tree of Life fun

Remi – Blitz Racing | www.strava.com

Tuesday Torture none the less ride

John Kite | www.strava.com

High-Brew Tuesday

Jessica Danielle | www.strava.com

Tuesday Hills and Sprints with the Compound

Nona Drake | www.strava.com

Evening Ride

Eduardo Salas (Cyclones) | www.strava.com

Rice interfaces with City of Houston to improve transit safety

Elliot Stahr | www.ricethresher.org


The City of Houston responded to letters of concern regarding bike safety near Rice’s campus, raising uncertainty over the future of improvements for cyclists.

Both letters, from the Graduate Student Association and President David Leebron, pointed to Entrance 20 at the intersection of Rice Boulevard and Kent Street as particularly concerning.

Leebron sent a letter to …

Bike sale goes wrong when suspect pulls gun instead of cash

news4sanantonio.com


SAN ANTONIO – A potential bike sale went wrong last month.

Police said on July 28, the victim met a man on the 3100 block of Roosevelt Ave. to show him a bicycle that was for sale. Instead of making the sale, the …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/TXTad/status/1032409087781138432

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

1 1/2 Miles of Smooth New Asphalt Bike Ride

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For a change the back part of a bike ride enjoyed a tailwind. This happened on today’s bike ride on my “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route. Typically when the ride moves to FM 1314 the wind is out of the SE requiring extra effort from there all the way to the finish. Thanks to an August “cool front” moving through today the wind is out of the NW and W during the ride. This route produced a 36.43 mile long ride helping me close in on my goal for the month with 685.18 miles so far towards the 800 miles I set.

I planned to start earlier today but missed that by a few minutes rolling the wheels at 9:56 am. The weather was great during the ride: start 86 (72% humidity), partly cloudy, wind NW 8 mph. Finish 94 (50% humidity), a few clouds, wind W 6 mph. There was a hint of coolness but later this afternoon the high should be near or at 100 degrees. According to SpaceCity Weather the clear sky and low humidity will encourage the heat. Since I am finished biking today that’s okay.

Cycling NW on FM 1485 to Gene Campbell Road I was surprised when I reached the turn and saw new asphalt, turn arrows on the lanes and fresh lines in the middle and shoulders. This work had to be recent because the asphalt look new. I stopped and took these two photos. The first photo looks back to FM 1485 while the second points to the west. As I looked to the west I saw the road surface change from black to gray in the distance.

Bike Ride Gene Campbell Blvd Bike Ride Gene Campbell Blvd-2

Way out there at Nichols Lane the new surface ends but the new asphalt covers the worst part of the road. This section lasted about 1 1/2 miles. Smooth biking even when the trucks passed. Maybe the new pavement will be extended to FM 1314. Whoever resurfaced the road chose wisely to not put chip seal down and ruin a good cycling road.

Once I made it to FM 1314 the wind switched from my right front to a tailwind enabling me to ride easily to the Circle K/Valero at Sorters Road where I stopped to refill my water bottle. At this point abut 12 miles remained to the finish. Staying only long enough to walk inside and back out I got back on the Canyon and pedaled on. Making the turn onto Old Sorters Road put me back to riding into the wind whenever I broke out of the trees. This continued off and on until I was back to the I-69/US59 frontage road for the short hop to Kingwood Drive to u-turn north into Kings Manor and Kingwood. I finished the ride at 12:38 pm.

More great bicycling weather on Thursday when I should get below 100 miles left to my August goal.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary