Texas Bicycling News Digest June 12th 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Combined community effort makes bike track possibility a reality

by Lea Emerson | eparisextra.com


On Sunday, June 10, information was released that Paris, Texas, was on its way to being home of the largest pump track in America.

What began as a brainstorming meeting has developed into a proposal and plan to further cyclist attractions in Paris, Texas, making our hometown a destination location for cyclist throughout the nation. …

Ride with The Lake Houston Bike Chicks!

Mary Maxwell | www.strava.com

Got beat up by Shawn

Brian Cho | www.strava.com

How many people are killed or injured riding bikes?

Napoli Shkolnik PLLC | www.lexology.com

Biking is a great form of exercise, is a fun way to get out in nature, and is a popular means of transportation for hundreds of thousands of people across the country. However, biking is also one of the most common types of roadway accidents. Many bicyclists are struck, hurt, and killed every year by vehicles on the road and many other biers get hurt in other accidents while they are out riding. In 2015, 818 people lost their lives in bicycle/motor vehicle crashes, more than two people every day of the year in the U.S. This represents a 6 percent increase in bicyclist fatalities since 2006 and a 12.2 percent increase from the …

Local pastor pedals prayer intentions to Texas shrine

Ashleigh Kassock | www.catholicherald.com


A sleeping bag, toothbrush, protein powder, water and vitamins, are just some of the essential supplies Father Terrence R. Staples, pastor of St. Isidore the Farmer Church in Orange, will bring with him on his 1,400-mile bike ride from Florida to Texas this July. In addition to the 60 to 80 pounds of gear loaded onto his Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike, he also brings the prayers of his parish. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Sprinkle Some Heat on Me Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I didn’t take any photos during today’s bike ride but if I could take one of the heat that’s the one I should’ve taken. The weather during the bike ride: start 91 (53% humidity), partly cloudy, wind S 12 mph, gusts 21 mph. Finish 95 (48% humidity) partly cloudy, wind S 7 mph, gusts 20 mph. When I got home one of my home weather stations said the heat index was 111 while the other one was at 104. Either way it was a hot day for biking.

Home Weather Finish

The later start (11:32 am) pushed me into the heat of the day while I rode the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman) route for 34.23 miles. This puts June at 379.99 miles and the week at 78.39 miles. The reason for the late start was a trip to Lowes for parts to finish my sprinkler system repairs. More on that shortly. I didn’t expect any other cyclists along the route and that was the case. I did need to navigate heavy traffic at Kingwood High School on the way to Atascocita. Not sure why everyone was leaving the high school. Maybe summer school let out?

The first stop for ice and water was at the Chevron on the west side of Lake Houston on FM 1960 at Atascocita Shores. That carried me to Huffman where the second stop at the Chevron was longer for a rest break of 20 minutes or so. The Dean Foods milk crates were waiting for me and the Greensheet newspaper soaked up some of the wetness of my bike shorts while I cooled off drink ice water while I checked my emails. On the way to Huffman I saw a crew from the Harris County Flood Control District installing water flow measurement equipment on the north side of the causeway close to the east end. I passed them when I rode west from Huffman still working. A hot job with no shade.

During the bike ride I went over the things I needed to do to fix our lawn sprinkler system. I started working on it after yesterday’s bike ride when it was a little cooler. First I made a trip to Lowes to gather what I thought I needed. As I started to repair zones and turning the water on and off many times I saw a place washed out from a leaking pipe. Digging down and baling out the water in the hole I saw a gash in the pipe which explained why several sprinkler head didn’t have much pressure and sprayed very little. Since I didn’t have the parts to repair the gash I started repairing the heads that were broken along the driveway but I ran out of daylight and energy. Back at it today when the sun goes down some with the repair parts and three sprinkler heads left to replace. Hopefully this gets the system up and running. I have a new control unit that I can manage from my phone  so that cut down the running back and forth to the garage to test the system yesterday.

No traffic when I crossed Kingwood Drive on the way back home and I finished the ride at 2:31 pm. Resting now before tackling the yard. It needs watering since we haven’t had any rain this month so far. None on Wednesday so I plan on biking. Sunday looks like rain will arrive and might hang around for a couple of days.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest June 11th 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bicyclist struck, killed by dump truck in Taylor

Drew Knight | www.kvue.com

TAYLOR, Texas — A bicyclist was killed Monday in Taylor, Texas, after being struck by a dump truck on North Main Street, police said.

According to the Taylor Police Department, officials responded around 3:06 p.m. to the collision at the intersection at Sixth and North Main Street. Police said the bicyclist suffered massive internal and head injuries after being ran over. Michael Webb, 40, of …

UPCOMING RIDES

Fort Worth Bicycling Association

Dill Road Adventure
Sat, June 16, 2018 8:00 AM Willow Park, Tx
Britton Romp
Sun, June 17, 2018 8:00 AM Sublett and 287, Arlington, Tx
River View
Sat, June 23, 2018 8:00 AM Rio Vista High School, Rio Vista TX 76107
Ride Across Johnson County
Sun, June 24, 2018 8:00 AM Commerce St, Burleson, Tx ( RR Tracks )
Willow Park Warbler
Sun, July 01, 2018 3:00 PM Willow Park, Tx
Bicycles Inc. – Century of the Month
Sat, July 07, 2018 8:00 AM Bicycles Inc. – Arlington
Italy Cruise
Sun, July 15, 2018 8:00 AM I35E and Dale Evans – Shell Texas Best Smokehouse

Upcoming Rides – Chasing Watts

chasingwatts.com

Hey there! Here are some upcoming rides this week…
Tuesday Society Cycle Works Evening Ride (3 Loops)
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 @ 6:30 PM

Tues Night Smackdown
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 @ 6:00 PM

Handlebar Cyclery TNW
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 @ 6:00 PM

HAM: Taco Tuesday
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 @ 7:00 PM

McIntyre’s Sprint Zone Wednesday
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 @ 6:20 PM

West Bike Scene @ Sun & Ski Memorial Mall
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 @ 7:00 PM

Memorial Park Crit Series
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 @ 5:00 PM

SUGAR LAND WEDNESDAY NIGHT WORLDS
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 @ 6:00 PM

Thursday Society Cycle Works Evening Ride (3 Loops)
Thursday, June 14, 2018 @ 6:30 PM

Thurs Night Smackdown
Thursday, June 14, 2018 @ 6:00 PM

Catalina Ride
Thursday, June 14, 2018 @ 5:30 AM

Alkek Championship Series
Friday, June 15, 2018 @ 7:00 PM

Road Group Ride: Pearland Cycling Club
Saturday, June 16, 2018 @ 7:30 AM

Blue Agave Cycling Ride @ Society Cycle Works
Saturday, June 16, 2018 @ 7:30 AM

Cool Cat 45 Miler
Saturday, June 16, 2018 @ 7:00 AM

Bike Barn – Champions
Sunday, June 17, 2018 @ 7:30 AM

Bike MS rides to Lubbock, July 21-22

By Karin McCay | www.kcbd.com

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) –
Bike MS is the largest fundraising bike series in the world. It’s the reason we will see hundreds of cyclists on the road later this summer riding more than 100 miles to raise money to support people affected by multiple sclerosis.

Already, more than 250 cyclists are ready to make the two-day ride, hoping to raise $400,000 to fight M.S.

The two-day event starts on July 21 in Midland and …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Wind Gusts Bogged My Legs Down Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I made a mistake before starting today’s bike ride: eating a oatmeal raisin cookie. The result was an upset stomach for about 9 miles and maybe longer. I usually eat something before leaving a on ride and didn’t think today would be different but for some reason it was. I tried drinking water to dilute the sugar in my stomach and that may have helped. I remember reading that too much sugar intake during exercise may upset your stomach and I have to agree. Next time I will probably eat a banana.

Starting out at 10:10 am on the “SR242 – Old Houston Rd – FM1314” route the plan was to bicycle at least 40 miles and I accomplished that by riding 44.16 miles. This pushes June to 345.75 miles, 43% of my 800 mile goal.

The weather during the bike ride: start 88 (65% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind S 14 mph, gusts 21 mph. Finish 95 (47% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind S 14 mph, gusts 25 mph.

Wind was a problem after I stopped at the Chevron station on SH 242 at FM 1485. Those gusts bogged my legs down and my speed dropped from 17 to 18 mph to 12 to 14 mph. Sunday was a rest day and I can only imagine how tired my legs would have been in the wind if I hadn’t rested. I stayed at the Chevron station for a few minutes drinking ice water to cool down and rest before tackling the next section to the Valero station on FM 1314 at Sorters Road.

If I thought my legs suffered getting to FM 1314 I was mistaken. My speed dropped more as the wind seemed to send a gust at me whenever I tried to get my speed above 14 mph pushing me back to 13 mph or below. The Valero station finally appeared and I stopped at 12:41 pm planning on 30 minutes of rest. I sat on the bottle water display in the shade and drank water while eating a couple of granola bars. Feeling somewhat refreshed I went inside, refilled my water bottle and went back outside to resume the ride.

The wind was still coming at me as I rode to Old Sorters Road where I turned right and got a short reprieve thanks to the change indirection and some trees. Turning into Briar Tree riding by the schools the wind was back and I slowed down. From there to getting back into Kingwood there were sections of headwind and a few tailwind relief. My water was getting low as I entered the last mile and I was glad to finish at 2:13 pm and drink the last of the water leaving a little ice.

More of the same weather on Tuesday but maybe the wind will drop down some.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary