Texas Bicycling News Digest May 4th 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Save the Date: The wheels go round at Basin Bikefest

By Rich Lopez | www.mrt.com


The event begins with a two-mile Perfect Family Ride or cyclists can join on longer rides from 4.5 to 10 miles long. The highlight is the Bike Parade where participants are encouraged to decorate bicycles, wagons and strollers. Bikefest then shifts into carnival mode with a petting zoo, bouncers, crafty activities, refreshments and more. 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. May 12 at MCRC, 802 Ventura Ave. …

Kids’ Bike Rodeo

www.woodlandsonline.com


May 05, 2018 @ 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
A Kids’ Bike Rodeo will be held on May 5 at the Recreation Center at Rob Fleming Park at 8:30 a.m.
The purpose is to educate kids in a fun way about bicycle safety. Kids will learn how to read the signals, skills, bike helmet fitting, helmet decorating and fun activities! Snacks will be provided. Limited to 20 kids: RSVP ASAP at bikethewoodlands.org
Helmets are mandatory.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to inspect and make minor adjustments to kid’s bikes, helmets, etc.
For more information, please contact …

Erik Bikes Across America (Southern Tier)

By Erik Soballe | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Kerrville to Johnson City: Ranches Galore

Saturday April 28, 2018, 76 miles (123 km) – Total so far: 1,597 miles (2,570 km)
This ride was not what I expected. The first half was decent, biking through the steeply rolling hills of West Central texas. The weather was starting to get pretty warm. I biked past a plethora of amazingly stunning ranches. Some for sale. I drove past this beauty

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/2099032952_zpid/435600-_lot/globalrelevanceex_sort/30.236647,-99.004884,30.221704,-99.020784_rect/15_zm/

And it made me want to move to Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg is a smallish town with a funky mainstreet. I hear that it’s a popular weekend destination with the Austin crowd. …

Johnson City to Austin: Rained on and city traffic

Sunday April 29, 2018, 46 miles (75 km) – Total so far: 1,643 miles (2,644 km)
The morning started out horrible, drizzling and full on raining for the first 2 hours. Traffic was light with no vistas or notable features to mention on this ride out of Johnson City. I biked through Pedernales state park which featured an incredibly steep hill. After leaving the park, I was into heavier Austin traffic. Two lane roads, no shoulders, no passing zones. Luckily I …

Austin to La Grange: If you know what I’m talking about

Tuesday May 1, 2018, 80 miles (128 km) – Total so far: 1,723 miles (2,773 km)
Today was a solid day of biking. More and more cattle ranchers, a strong South easterly wind (great).

At lunch I stopped at Paw Paw’s in Bastrop for a burger, it was actually really good. The Texican. I recommend this stop if you’re in Bastrop Texas. …

La Grange to Navasota: No room at the Inn

Wednesday May 2, 2018, 65 miles (105 km) – Total so far: 1,788 miles (2,877 km)
Today biked from La Grange to Navasota. This was a pretty nice ride except the 85% humidity. The four H’s I hate (in this order) . Hills, Headwind, Humidty, and Heat. It was more flat that the previous central texas sections, with an 8 mph headwind or so. Pretty slow going over all.

I remet the biker I met in Fredericksburg from New Jersey. We shared our stories of the last couple of days, maybe I’ll meet him after our rest day in Houston.

I biked through Round Top, TX which …

Riding Along The Rio Grande

By shary koenig | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Mission to Pharr, TX: We Didn’t Go Far to Get To Pharr
Friday May 4, 2018, 20 miles (32 km) – Total so far: 583 miles (938 km)
Last night when we returned from our 3 hour car tour of Mission, McAllen, and Edenburg, I layed Down for what I thought was going to be a minute and never woke up until morning, 10 hours later. Since we both missed dinner we both had healthy appetites for breakfast.
Breakfast was an event at H.E.B., featuring sliced organic roasted turkey breast, freshly rolled vegetarian sushi, and 1/4 of a whole seeded watermelon. …

Riders can tour local neighborhoods during Bike Month

By Patricia Dillon | www.yourconroenews.com


Fernanda Suarez gives a brief safety and rules of the road lecture to cyclists gathered in the Panther Creek Shopping Center on Thursday, May 3, for the first of the Discover the Villages bike tours TXTRI in The Woodlands is hosting for National Bike Month.

Two dozen cyclist gathered early Thursday morning, May 3, in the Panther Creek Shopping Center in The Woodlands. All were wearing bright clothing and chatting as they waited for their tour guide to arrive. …

This weekend’s rides: Liberty Hill! Lamppost (anti-clockwise)!

by Thomas | steinerranchcycling.com

Saturday’s weather is looking better! Let’s head up to Liberty Hill for a breakfast taco! The route is 67 miles and can be found here: https://www.strava.com/routes/8561400 . After the ride we meet up at Lakeside for some discounted burgers and beer!

Sunday is our usual Coffee Shop ride. Our destination will be Lamppost Coffee in Round …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

Short Rain Detour Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Looking at the weather radar the rain is west of Houston so I figured biking to the south would keep me dry if the rain moved fast. Wrong! I chose the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route planning to bike 32+ miles and after adding a couple of side streets plus a short detour to get out of the rain I rode 35.25 miles. That short detour happened on W. Lake Houston Parkway riding south around the YMCA when it started to rain. A few drops and I would have kept riding but it start raining and looking south the rain appeared to falling harder. Making a u-turn at Kingwood Greens I cross W. Lake Houston Parkway and took the greenbelt to the YMCA to shelter under an awning. The ride started at 11:44 am.

After about 5 minutes the rain slowed so I resumed the ride. Crossing W. Lake Houston Parkway to get back on the route I entered Kingwood Greens Village on the street that makes a big “U” back to WLH Parkway. About 400 feet into the village the streets turned dry and the rain stopped. If only I had known before making the detour.

From there the rain disappeared for the rest of the ride though the sky stayed overcast. The weather during the bike ride: start 78 (88% humidity), overcast, wind S 5 mph. Finish 79 (87% humidity), overcast, wind calm.

The wind was much calmer today and my legs appreciated it. High humidity made for a muggy ride.

Two other cyclists passed me along the route: first was on Fairlake Drive and the other was on Old Atascocita Road at FM 2100. I hope they avoided the rain too.

No rest stop today as I didn’t want to linger on the route in case rain might come.

The return trip on W. Lake Houston Parkway to finish the bike ride was dry. I did feel a few sprinkles close to the end but no rain. After finishing at 2:22 pm I hosed the Canyon Endurace CF SLX to rinse the rain dirt off.

Saturday weather could be wet in the early morning but dry by mid-morning so i plan on biking.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest May 3rd 2018

Texbiker.net Posted on by

2018 Dragon Slayer. Registration opens May 4th at 6pm

Desert Nomad | www.bikemojo.com

A major format change is a staggered start based on the number of laps you sign up for. This will allow more riders to attend. Right now, there is no cap, but that may change to capping each distance category. Details in the flyer.

A change in the way prizes/swag are awarded will be in that lap finishers will blind-pull a folded index card from other folded cards from a box associated with the lap number (bigger and better prizes for finishing three laps). Your index card will name a specific prize or be a dud with some semi-inspirational quote or something on it. Three lappers will pull from three boxes over the course of their event for …

An enduring passion: Bicycle World team director prepares for Waco marathons

By Ken Sury | www.wacotrib.com


Natasha Van der Merwe is a world-class triathlete, but she first excelled athletically playing tennis in her native South Africa.

Van der Merwe became a top-ranked junior player who turned professional after high school. At 18, she moved to Germany and traveled playing the sport until she moved to the United States at age 21.

She coached at the prestigious John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels and later …

Video: Cyclists, Rice University students to rally for better safety after woman’s death

www.khou.com

Some Rice University students and faculty members will join the cycling community Thursday morning to call for better bike safety on Houston streets.

Rice community pushes for change at site of two fatal bike crashes

By Samantha Ketterer | www.chron.com


BikeHouston, Rice University students, faculty, and staff, and members of the community gathered for a demonstration at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Main Street Thursday, May 3, 2018, in Houston. A woman was fatally struck by a dump truck at the intersection last week.

A car turning onto Main swung in front of a pack of Rice University students who had just stepped out into the street, protected by a green pedestrian crossing light.

They weren’t hit but still scrambled back onto the sidewalk, shouting a chorus of “Heys!” and raising their arms in …

Public art bike ride, Cinco de Mayo festival: Six things to do in The Woodlands this weekend, May 4-6

By Abigail Loop | communityimpact.com


… 3. May 5: Youth Bicycle Skills 123

This program, hosted by The Woodlands Township, consists of bike stations that teach children better bike-handling skills. Children ages 5-12 may register for the program. Parents must be present. 3-5 p.m. $10. Lakeside Park, 5001 S. Alden Bridge Drive, The Woodlands. https://apm.activecommunities.com/wcscparksandrec/Home …

Texas student who walked one hour to and from school receives bike from sheriff’s office

By William Axford | www.chron.com


Joseph Alvarado, a student with Longview ISD in northeast Texas, received a bike from the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office after deputies learned he walked one hour to school and one hour home from school.

A northeast Texas student who walked one hour to school and one hour home every school day will have an easier commute thanks to the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office.

Joseph Alvarado, a student with Longview ISD, got a new bike from the sheriff’s office after deputies discovered he walked a …

Dallas Needs To Build for Bikes

BY ALEX MACON | www.dmagazine.com


One of the oft-noted ironies of Dallas becoming the de facto bike share capital of the U.S. is the fact that, traditionally, the city has not been hospitable to anything on two wheels. In fact, a positive side effect of the bike share boom—the National Association of City Transportation Officials estimates a 25 percent increase in bike share trips taken in the U.S. in 2017—is an increased awareness that many cities lack suitable infrastructure for bicycles. Just look …

Pedaling all the way to Padre

www.valleymorningstar.com


It’s quite a spectacle when hundreds of bicycles cross the Queen Isabella Causeway as the final stretch of the 30-mile bike race called Pedal to Padre, set for Sunday, May 6.

The annual event draws about 1,500 riders and is in its 22nd year.

As always, the mission is to have a fun, safe and …

Riding Along The Rio Grande

By shary koenig | www.crazyguyonabike.com

La Joya to Mission TX: Overnight in Sharyland

Thursday May 3, 2018, 15 miles (24 km) – Total so far: 563 miles (906 km)
Sharyland , TX was a town started by Mr. Shary , a large land owner and later philanthropist who built schools and gave back to the community in many ways. His town has been absorbed by the larger town of Mission, but his name is on the road signs, schools, community gateways and all over the place. Our B& B host, Joseph gave us a first rate tour of the surrounding towns this afternoon. Thank you Joseph, I really enjoyed seeing the changes and growth to this area through …

New section of Shoal Creek Hike-and-Bike Trail opens near downtown

Pam LeBlanc | fitness.blog.austin360.com


A section of the Shoal Creek hike-and-bike trail near downtown that has been closed for nearly three years reopened this week.

The $4.6-million Shoal Creek Gap Project closed a missing link in the route between the bank on the west side of Shoal Creek and the existing trail. The project included relocation of water and wastewater lines, bank stabilization, trail lighting and …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Rusty Bridges, Turtles Galore and Wind Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The legs were tired today. The tailwind helped compensate while biking north on the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route but the headwind showed how tired they were. The best I could get my average speed up to was 14.5 mph but that was short lived once I rode into the stiff south wind.

With the warm weather today’s attire was shorts and short sleeve University of Cincinnati jersey. The red and black goes great with the Canyon Endurace CF SLX color.

While I was brushing my teeth before getting ready to leave I thought about a different set of streets for my exit from Kingwood. I biked these before but not on this route. Wheels down at 11:09 am I set off to Elm Grove Village then to W. Lake Houston Parkway going north to Royal Brook Village. While I was on W. Lake Houston Parkway before getting Royal Brook I stopped and took these photos.

The bridge is old and rusty with noisy boards riding over it. As I was getting ready to leave after taking the bridge photo I looked down in the water and saw more turtles than I can remember seeing in one place. Click on the photos to see better. Most of them were more than 15″ from head to tail with a couple even larger.

With the turtles behind me I continued north on the trail along W. Lake Houston Parkway crossing Mills Branch Drive to enter Royal Brook Village. I took these photos at the bridge over a gully the trail crosses.

From there I rode north into Country Colony an older subdivision that has new construction again. I turned left and rode west to Ford Road. Waiting on traffic I turned left again headed to North Kingwood Estates and the streets to take back through Elm Grove Village, Sherwood Trails Village, and Woodridge Forest to get to I-69/US59 where the route resumed the usual direction.

Making my way through Tavola I saw the extra starting streets would probably add a couple of miles to the route by the time I finished. This would help me move closer to my mileage goal for May. On Roman Forest Blvd. I rode to the west with the wind helping. I dreaded the next left turn onto the I-69/US59 south bound service road because the tailwind would switch to a headwind. It did that but coming from my left side rather than a headwind the pedaling wasn’t quite as tough as I expected. But I still slowed from my pace getting to Tavola. I got a short reprieve from the wind biking west on Valley Ranch Parkway behind the stores but when that turned back to the south the wind caught me again. Add a couple of inclines and the legs power went down as I watched the watts go up but the speed go down.

Briar Tree and Oakhurst were not much different except where streets switched directions briefly and the wind helped or hurt. Exiting Oakhurst I rumbled across the paver bricks in the road over a drainage ditch bridge the developers thought would look nice. They are not quite as bad as the pavers in the French road race but the wheels on the Canyon Endurace CF SLX jumped around producing a rough ride. And for added measure there is another shorter section about 200 feet south of the bridge. They look great and don’t cause cars a problem but bicycles is another issue. Sometimes I ride on the sidewalk/trail to the left of the road to avoid these bricks.

My teeth, feet, and and hands calmed down after the bricks and I biked on through Kingwood Place, back to I-69/US59 and onto Kings Manor before entering Kingwood for the last 4 miles to the finish. It went well with the wind getting blocked some with houses and trees. I rolled to the finish at 1:53 pm.

More good biking weather on Friday.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Bike Ride Summary