Texbiker.net

Captain’s Blog

Good morning and happy Wednesday! …It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago many of us were climbing up the massive Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi.  Hopefully everyone has recovered physically from this incredible challenge (and forgotten about the brutal headwinds and the lines for the showers), and is ready to saddle up do it all again next year.  As I mentioned earlier, if you have a story you want to share and/or some photos, please send them to cycling@valero.com and I’ll get them posted to our web site.     We already have a number of Rider Testimonials loaded, and our Photo Gallery is growing every day.

Lots of pictures and ride highlights.

link to the Captain’s Blog at Velo Valero

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from www.mysanantonio.com

Tony Ralf is known for doing crazy things to raise money for the MS 150, the annual bike ride that benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

This year, Ralf has committed to doing something he’s never done: riding in the 160-mile, two-day event. Now renamed Bike MS: Valero Bike to the Beach, the ride begins at the AT&T Center on Oct. 4 and winds up in Corpus Christi on Oct. 5.

It’s a big deal for Ralf, considering that he hadn’t been on a bike in four decades before he started training. He’s usually behind the scenes, setting up the event, supporting the riders and raising money.

By Michael D. Hernandez / El Paso Times

Tumbling headfirst over the handlebars was not how Eastsider Tyler Cope pictured the beginning of his trek across the country, but there he was June 2, sprawled out on a California highway, scraped up and his cycling helmet cracked but intact.”Day 1 was probably the hardest part,” Cope, 21, said about cycling uphill for dozens of miles away from the ocean, then crashing. “It was just like a big mental game that I had so much riding against me. If it was day after day like that, I really didn’t know if I could do it but, after a little while, all that got me stronger.”

Link to the full story at the El Paso Times

Tumbleweed Smith writes about his riding in the west Texas mountains with his grandson for Tumbleweed’s birthday.

from the Midland Reporter-Telegram

It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: ride my bicycle through some Texas mountains. My son, Kevin, had been wanting to do it for sometime, too.

We decided to do it, finally, after years of just talking about it. And we decided to do it on my birthday.

On the way to the mountain country, we stopped at Peyton’s Bikes in Midland and picked up some equipment for the trip. I bought a nifty mirror for my handlebars, some bike shorts and a pair of riding gloves.

We decided to make a family vacation out of it. On the afternoon before the ride, six of us checked into the Maverick Inn in Alpine. We swam, relaxed, had a delicious meal and later that evening looked at the stars through powerful telescopes at the McDonald observatory.

link to the rest of the story

I don’t know about you but I am beginning to see more and more stories about people riding bicycles to work. With gas at or above $4 per gallon whatever was holding people back from riding a bike to work seems to be getting pushed aside.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram ran this story, “More workers are riding bikes to work to sidestep high gas prices” online today.

What have you seen?

from Fort Worth Business Press

Local bike shop caters to recovering gas guzzlers
BY ELIZABETH BASSETT

Panther City Bicycles, which opened in March 2005, sells a full range bike accessories and bicycles, all of which require zero gas. What they do require, though, is someone with an interest and a desire to learn about cycling, whether for slow tours around the neighborhood, grueling races or commuting to work, said Jason Magby, proprietor.

“The cool thing about this job is it’s not about need, it’s about want,� Magby said.

link to the full story