Texas Bicycling News Digest July 6th 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

City of Waxahachie’s free bike program pedals into year three

By Andrew Branca | www.waxahachietx.com


In its third year, the Waxahachie free bike rental program continues to encourage residents to find their own path to summer fun.
The program is made possible through donations of bikes from community organizations, local businesses, and individuals.
John Smith, Director of Parks and Recreation, stated the bikes provide a unique way to take in the city’s trail system. …

Spider mountain – Burnet, TX. New riding venue scheduled to have lift access

Seths Pool | www.bikemojo.com

So, for those who havent heard – Team Trail Party announced yesterday that Spider Mountain in Burnet, TX (5 minutes north of RPR) will be a new riding venue, and the biggest detail here is that it is planned to have a chair lift. they will be working with the former manager/trail developer of angelfire bike park to make this a reality. parts of the lift have already been delivered to the venue.

the place has 350′ of elevation difference to work with. it will be tough to make downhill runs long enough to constitute a lift, but if done correctly, this could be something pretty cool.

discuss!

Bid on Stinson Municipal Airport Hike and Bike Trail in San Antonio

www.texasbids.net

Bid Date & Time: 08/07/18 2:00 PM Prebid: 07/11/18 9:00 AM
Solicitation Title: Stinson Municipal Airport Hike and Bike Trail
Owner Solic Number: 33-00273 Status: bidding Report: 8757200
Country : United States State: TX County: Bexar Location: San Antonio
Scope: Construction of airport hike and bike trail. Work includes 400 CY of excavation; 3,030 SY of 4″ compacted depth flexible base; 30 LF of 18″ dia corrugated metal pipe; 3 CY of concrete footing; 1,409 SY Of 5″ thick concrete trail; sodding. See attached files.
Notes: A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Wednesday, JULY 11, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. at Stinson Municipal Airport, 8535 Mission Road, #200, San Antonio, Texas 78214. This project has a “prevailing wage” requirement.
Plans: From Designer, $125 non-refundable. See attached files.
Outside Link:
https://webapp1.sanantonio.gov/bidlistingsnew/Content.aspx?id=3585
Owner Type: Public …

This weekend’s rides: Down Redbud! Lamppost!

by Thomas | steinerranchcycling.com

Wear your white jersey at your own risk this weekend. They can get stained easily with wet street grime.

Saturday we will change things up a bit with a generally anti-clockwise dam loop that includes the Cuernavaca/River Hills climb and a descent down Redbud to down town. The route is at least 57 miles with 3600 ft. of climbing and can be found here: …

Mission Trails / Buddy Ride

Daniel Cruz | www.strava.com

THIN BLUE LINE

Brad Didier | www.strava.com

Thursday with Cyclones

Eduardo Salas (Cyclones) | www.strava.com

Walnut Creek + Antigua Cruz Tequila Primes

Raul E. | www.strava.com

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

Tavola Big Rocks, Energized Legs Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I felt energized during today’s bike ride for some reason. The legs had some zip and I kept a nice pace. Route selected was the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” which I have biked for several days. I bicycled 34.62 miles. Wind was light which probably helped my energy and I didn’t face a strong headwind most of the ride. Weather during the bike ride: start 83 (75% humidity), partly cloudy, wind NE 6 mph. Finish 91 (58% humidity), partly cloudy, wind E 9 mph. I started at 10:36 am and finished at 1:11 pm.

Biking north on Loop 494 and FM 1485 at the railroad crossing I saw another cyclist biking south in an all blue kit. I almost missed him because he was hidden by the cars until one pulled ahead exposing him. I made a hasty wave but not sure he saw me.

Once I got to Tavola I stopped and took these photos for the gravel bikers.

Bike Ride Tavola-1

Bike Ride Tavola-2

I didn’t go on the big rocks. The new streets will appear one of these days and the rocks will leave.

Looping through Tavola when I got to Roman Forest Blvd. I made a stop at the Shell station for water and ice before heading west to I-69/US59 to ride south back to Kingwood. The wind continued to be friendly and I kept a steady pace through Valley Ranch, Briar Tree, Oakhurst and Kings Manor before entering Kingwood. Overall average speed was 14.4 mph until the 30.5 mile mark where the pace slowed in Kingwood.

More nice weather on Saturday. I am torn between biking early and watching the TdF replay or watching the TdF and then biking. I am leaning to biking early option.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest July 5th 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Dallas scoots forward with smart but light regulation of dockless bikes and motorized scooters

Dallas Morning News Editorial | www.dallasnews.com

When the arrival of new technology disrupts the ordinary flow of things, it can be tempting to sit on the sidelines and wait till all the possible hiccups are burped out before fully embracing what’s new.

We’re glad that’s not what happened in Dallas despite the concerns about the growing fleets of brightly colored dockless bikes scattered across the city’s sidewalks — and sometimes in bushes, lakes and parking lots. As …

Can Dallas Become a Bike City?

By Peter Simek | www.dmagazine.com


Earlier this year, Councilman Philip Kingston proposed the city earmark upwards of $2 million each year to create new cycling infrastructure. The move comes in the wake of Dallas’ great bike-share experiment, during which numerous start-up companies flooded Dallas streets with tens of thousands of rentable, dockless bikes, to decidedly mixed reviews. Those bikes—which some see as an eyesore, while others see as a glaring indicator of the lack of adequate infrastructure for bikes—have raised the question of …

Bid on University Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle Enhancements in El Paso

www.texasbids.net

Bid Date & Time: 07/18/18 2:00 PM Prebid: 07/05/18 10:00 AM
Solicitation Title: University Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle Enhancements
Owner Solic Number: 2018-827 Status: bidding Report: 8753026
Country : United States State: TX County: El Paso Location: El Paso
Est. Low Value: $950,000 Est. High Value: $1,100,000
Scope: Work includes Base Bid I: approx 97 CY excavation (roadway); 740 LF concrete curb & gutter (Ty II); 387 SY driveways and turnouts (conc); 873 SY 4″ concrete sidewalk; 19 EA curb ramp (Ty 7); 1,076 LF of 2″ Sch40 PVC conduit; 91 LF of 2″ Sch80 PVC conduit by bore; 5,193 LF elec condr (No. 8) insulated; Base Bid II: approx 1,024 CY excavation (roadway); 609 SY 8″ concrete pavement (concrete reinforced – CRCP); 4 EA adjusting manholes (sanitary); 780 LF refl pav mark Ty I (W) 4″ (SLD) (100 Mil); see attached file.
Notes: A non-mandatory pre-bid conference will be held on July 5, 2018 at 10:00 AM at 218 N. Campbell, El Paso TX, City 2 – Basement Conference Room. Last day to submit written questions will be on July 5, 2018. This project has a “prevailing wage” requirement. This solicitation has some or all federal funding, additional requirements may apply.
Plans: From Owner, See attached file.
Bond: 5% bid bond
Owner Type: Public

5 things to do this weekend

By Autumn Owens | www.yourstephenvilletx.com

The weekend is approaching with some great happenings in Stephenville. Make it a good one! …

… 4. SlimPickins Saturday Pedal

Grab your bicycle and head to SlimPickins Outfitters at 8 a.m. Saturday for its Saturday Pedal event. The route will begin at the business and shoot for 25-30 miles with a stop for coffee at a store in Lingleville. Riders should bring water, snacks and basic bike repair gear. For more information visit the Facebook event page. …

More than 2,100 dockless bikes, scooters licensed in Austin with addition of Uber’s Jump

By Daniel Salazar | www.bizjournals.com


Another dockless transportation option is now on Austin’s streets, this time from Uber Technologies Inc.

Uber announced this week the local launch of Jump, a dockless electric bicycle service, the latest way to quickly cover short distances in the urban core. Scooters and bikes have popped up downtown in the past few months as Austin experiences the same wave of interest in the vehicles seen in other cities worldwide. …

The Trail Foundation plans fall Twilight on the Trail fundraiser

Pam LeBlanc | fitness.blog.austin360.com


Heads up, users of the Butler Hike and Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake.

The Trail Foundation, the non-profit organization that works to maintain and enhance the 10-mile trail in downtown Austin, will host a special event this fall to close out its 15th anniversary celebration. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

Watts Efficiency, Floor Pump and High Water Bike ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After dumping 5.5″ of rain at my home yesterday the weather turned around for today’s bike ride on the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route. I set out at 10:35 am, a little later than I planned but not bad. I bicycled 34.18 miles improving July to 138.34 miles, leaving 661.66 miles to reach my July goal of 800 miles. Weather at the start and finish from my home weather station.

Wind was light to calm posing no major problem for cycling. The temperature was lower probably from the rain cooling the ground off some. When I rode over the San Jacinto River on W. Lake Houston Parkway I saw the water level increased from the runoff of yesterday’s rain. Later as I crossed Lake Houston on FM 1960 the water was higher too.

No rest stop on today’s ride but I did stop for a couple of minutes at the Huffman Chevron to refill my water bottle. The pumps were shut down today because a crew was working on the tanks so not much activity. This was at the 22 mile point in the ride.

Biking west on FM 1960 from Huffman went nicely thanks to no headwind to speak of. The PowerPod watts maxed out around 120 and sometimes dipped to 0 when a car or truck went by sucking me and the wind along. I was thinking of watts expended and efficiency. While generating high watts is impressive the real measurement is how few watts are needed to generate the fastest time or speed from point A to point B. For instance coasting downhill for 10 miles would require low watts but speed probably will be determined by how aerodynamic the biker becomes. Also I was reminded by the PowerPod instructions to not change the calibration too many times. While different powermeters report different watts outputs for a given effort consistency from the powermeter used will be the best way to compare results.

I made my way back to Kingwood and in Town Center passed another cyclist going the opposite direction for my only sighting today. The ride finished at 1:13 pm.

Weather forecast for Friday looks like today’s with some scattered rain possible in the afternoon. Bike early and stay dry.

While I was out biking UPS delivered my new floor pump, the Lezyne Floor Drive Bicycle Pump from Performance Bicycle. It was on sale and my current pump is many years old. I did not realize how big the gauge would be but that is a good thing with my older eyesight.

 

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary