Texas Bicycling News Digest March 30th 2018

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Video: Bicycle Boulevards make cycling safer in Sherman

By Brittany Breeding | www.kten.com


SHERMAN, Texas — Bicycle Boulevards are popping up around Sherman as the year-long project is finally becoming reality.

“One of the things we’re doing now is designating four streets — two north-south streets and two east-west streets — as ‘Bicycle Boulevards,’ meaning that …

Coppell plans to designate bike lanes on several streets

Victoria Atterberry | starlocalmedia.com


In 2016, Coppell started the bike lane discussion after several cyclists were injured on roads. To provide a safe way for residents to travel by bicycle, Coppell installed signs that said cyclists may use the full lane. Continuing its effort to keep residents safe, the City Council approved on Tuesday a project that will include the design signage and pavement markings designating on-street bicycle lanes for several streets. …

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Gazelle adds to sales and marketing groups in US

www.bicycleretailer.com

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (BRAIN) — Gazelle Bicycles has added five new independent sales organizations in the Western U.S: Axis Sports Group and Norcal Sports Group in Southern and Northern California; Brad Barber in Colorado; and Dean Kuzara and Aaron Malone dividing the Pacific Northwest.

Earlier this year the company announced it had hired GPM Sports Group, Tifosi Sales, and The Mansfield Group in the eastern United States. Gazelle Bicycles now has 35 independent sales agencies representing the brand in the U.S., with additional expansion goals set for Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Utah and Montana. …

Border Bike Trip, Day 20: The Richness of Traveling with Friends

By GRANT WISHARD | www.weeklystandard.com


Life has become immeasurably better since one of my very best friends Devon Powley rode into town, ready to bike with me through the toughest section of this whole trip: Big Bend National Park. He flew from Washington, D.C. to El Paso, took a train to the neighboring town of Alpine, and finally a bus to Marfa. With my blessing and approval he’s getting married in four weeks, making this week-long stint a kind of sick bachelor party, one with shooting pain instead of shots. The kind where you have zero fun with your amigos and run to your beloved with open arms. …

Bicyclists in Kerr County for 45th Easter tour

By John Sniffen | dailytimes.com

Approximately 900 bicycle riders are expected to participate in the 45th annual Easter Hill Country Bicycle Tour, which starts today and runs through Sunday.

This year’s tour will have its headquarters in the Lion’s Den of Schreiner University’s Cailloux Campus Activity Center. Riders started registering Thursday evening, and more will arrive today, said David Dick, who is directing this year’s tour for the host Houston Bicycle Club.

B-cycle’s UT expansion a towering success

by Caleb Pritchard | www.austinmonitor.com


When Austin B-cycle expanded its reach into the University of Texas campus area last month, its executive director predicted it would be a big success. It turns out his expectations were too low.

“Forty days into this, and we’re where we thought we’d be in six to eight months,” Elliott McFadden told the Austin Monitor on Thursday afternoon.

Since Valentine’s Day, when it cut the ribbon on nine new stations on the Forty Acres and the …

Video: Bike Rodeo teaches kids safety as weather warms up

By Sydney Kessler | www.ktre.com

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) – As the weather begins to warm up, people are wanting to spend more of their time outside, with much of it spent on wheels.

But to make sure that families are riding their bikes safely, Safety City in Lubbock is hosting their annual Bike Rodeo to recognize …

University Park says yes to bike sharing, but with conditions

Elvia Limón | www.dallasnews.com

Be careful where you park those brightly colored rental bikes in University Park, because leaving them in the wrong spot could cost you more than your time on the bike.

City officials pedaled their way into a nine-month-long pilot program for bike sharing at the City Council meeting on March 20. The program allows rental companies to operate in the city so long as they pay a $500 permit fee and agree to a number of terms, including providing a …

This weekend’s rides: Bee Creek! Red Horn!

by Thomas | steinerranchcycling.com

Saturday will be a fantastic day for a ride down beautiful Bee Creek! The route is about 62 miles and can be found here: https://www.strava.com/routes/3985679. After the ride we meet up at Lakeside for some discounted burgers and beer!

Sunday is our usual Coffee Shop ride to Red Horn. It is 50 miles and is at an endurance pace typically finishing around a 17mph average speed overall. While we make great efforts to …

California to Florida – across the USA

By Julian McCarthy | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 32: Austin TX: final rest day turns into a triathlon
Friday March 30, 2018, 24 km (15 miles) – Total so far: 1,849 km (1,149 miles)
I slept well but going to bed early means I wake up early. Main plan for the day was my training run (I had missed last week’s in Del Rio due to hamstring issues. Having done 5k in Phoenix and 6k in El Paso, I was targetting to jump the 7k and do 8k in Austin.
So, breakfast early and then allowed plenty of time to digest but to get out running before it warmed up. Mission accomplished! I managed 8km across downtown, down to the river path, with nice shade and loads of other (much fitter) runners out training. Gorgeous sunshine and not too hot. …

Coast to Coast With Bubba

By Bobby Rone | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 28 – Kerrville, TX to Blanco, Tx: More of the Texas Hills
Friday March 30, 2018, 59 miles (95 km) – Total so far: 1,554 miles (2,501 km)
Today’s ride was a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good: The weather was perfect for bike riding today. We started out at 50 degrees and clear, and ended at 76 degrees and sunny. The scenery was good as we rode through the Hill Country. I saw a few turkey and deer. I even saw my first bluebonnets of the trip, but they have been scarce so far.

The bad: The hills today were far more difficult than any …

Pacific to Atlantic

By Matthew McCoy | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Hello Texas!: 59 miles
Wednesday March 28, 2018
Farewell New Mexico. Today I cycled 59 miles from Las Cruces, NM to the Road Runner RV Park in El Paso, TX. I came into Texas today by such an obscure back road that there wasn’t even a sign to welcome me to Texas, but I am here nevertheless. I hope I like Texas because I will be here a long time. One-third of the …

El Paso, TX to Fort Hancock, TX: 45 miles
Thursday March 29, 2018
Today’s ride was short but a stop at Fort Hancock was necessary as it sets up a further sequence of places with services that are within a day’s ride of each other, as I start my crossing of the wide open spaces of West Texas. The route today paralleled the Rio Grande and the border and had much irrigated farm country filled with pecan trees. It feels great to be out of the El Paso metro area and on an open farm road again. …

Southern Tier on a Recumbent 2018

By Joseph Valenzi | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 28 – March 30 Good Friday – Kerrville TX to Blanco TX: All downhill from here?
Wednesday March 7, 2018, 59 miles (95 km) – Total so far: 1,540 miles (2,478 km)
Since we are over halfway done, I figured it should be all downhill from there, but I was sadly mistaken. We had LOTS of ups and downs today. Check out my speed chart below to see. That can get old: grinding up hill at a crawl, quick zoom at sphincter puckering speed, then up again at a crawl. Still, even with the headwind, it was a lovely day, and the scenery continues to be beautiful.
The towns, even the small ones along the way, are much larger, with more interesting shops and places to eat than they were further west. For example, we had an excellent brunch stop, and our lunch was at a winery! This is not hardship travel. On the …

The Limo Bikes to Bayous and Beaches

By Marilyn Swett | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Taylor, TX to Rockdale, TX: Flowers, flowers, everywhere
Friday March 30, 2018, 26 miles (42 km) – Total so far: 355 miles (571 km)
“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun. I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay
By the time we checked out this morning and made a brief stop at a Walgreens, it was 10:00 am. Not our earliest time to leave on this trip but we were recovering from yesterday’s long haul and today was a much shorter ride.

Don routed us off the busy main roads out of town and out onto quiet lightly rolling country roads. We enjoyed a peaceful ride past many farms and ranches despite the cold NE headwind. …

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Clear Sky, Cooler Weather Bike Ride

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After several days off the bike (last ride was Monday) I rode today along the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route for a total of 34.1 miles. This puts March at 809.91 miles, well past my 585 mile goal. Researching my past March mileage to 2010 this is the most miles for the month. The closest was 722 in 2016.

Wednesday the weather was all about the rain but today the sky is clear. The weather during the bike ride: start 74 (humidity 52%), clear, wind N 13 mph. Finish 76 (humidity 48%), clear, wind N 12 mph. I wore a slightly different set of clothes since the wind was from the north and the temperature in the mid 70’s: shorts, long sleeve thermal jersey with a long sleeve jersey over that. My thought was the regular long sleeve jersey would act as a wind break while the thermal jersey kept the chill out. It worked pretty good. Biking into the headwind I was comfortable.

When I got to FM 1960 and Atascocita Shores Drive before turning right to cross Lake Houston another cyclist was turn onto Atascocita Shores Drive north of FM 1960 but he was busy making the turn and didn’t see me.

Riding across Lake Houston I saw the water level was up due to the rain on Wednesday and early Thursday. It is a good thing the Coastal Water Authority lowered the water level by 2.5 feet before the rain or some places might have flooded. Cedar Landing Restaurant on the east side of the lake was almost taking in some water and might have earlier if the water level was higher. Some homes along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River have water on their property but the pictures I saw showed the homes on stilts above the water with the ground covered in water. Since Hurricane Harvey the capacity of Lake Houston and the San Jacinto River are less than before.

Returning to Kingwood along Atascocita Shores Drive there was a home that flooded but no repair work has been done. Homes on both sides are being repaired. Today I saw why no repairs were done: the home has been demolished and all that is left is the slab. A couple of dump trucks were full waiting to haul it away.

As I biked back into Kingwood I stopped at Tailwind Bicycles, a new shop that opened last October I believe. I went inside and everyone was friendly. I looked around to see what they have. I saw two brand of bikes, Fuji and Orbea, on display and some accessories. There was a large sofa by the repair area with a couple sitting there while one of the shop people worked on a bike. I think it was one of their bikes. I walked out and resumed the bike ride to the finish.

Traffic was light today with schools out for Good Friday. I started the bike ride at 12:12 pm and finished at 2:39 pm.

More great weather on Saturday and I plan on biking.

Strava Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest March 29th 2018

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Video: Texas A&M student on bike braves knee-deep water to give class presentation

abc13.com

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KTRK) — While some students at Texas A&M University were caught completely off guard by Wednesday’s storms, sophomore Ben Garcia says he knew rain was on its way.

What Garcia didn’t know was a river would suddenly form in the middle of …

FrankenBike Houston #86

by Chris | frankenbike.net

Navy Veteran cycles cross-country to raise funds

By: Andra Litton | www.ktsm.com

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Tracy Sefcik suffers from a brain tumor, asthma and epilepsy, but she’s a woman on a mission. She doesn’t let her health get in the way of helping her brothers in arms.

Sefcik is a Navy Veteran who is cycling more than 3,000 miles to raise money in support of the Gary Sinise Foundation.

She’s cycling from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida, raising more than $22,000 so far for veterans and first responders. Sefcik says …

Border Bike Trip, Day 19: Prada in the Desert

By GRANT WISHARD | www.weeklystandard.com


The road from Van Horn to Marfa, Texas, is unbelievably boring. I woke up from a night in a highway motel that involved multiple trips to the McDonalds next door and A Perfect World on cable, and went straight back to—you guessed it—McDonalds. Holding my second McGriddle in one hand and my phone in the other, I was surprised to see that the day’s route involved one turn. Just one. Turn left onto Route 90 and keep the handlebars straight for 73.7 miles. …

Coast to Coast With Bubba

By Bobby Rone | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 27 – Concan, TX to Kerrville, TX: Half way!!!!!
Thursday March 29, 2018, 74 miles (119 km) – Total so far: 1,495 miles (2,406 km)
Today we reached the halfway point, somewhere on Texas route 39 near Hunt, TX at the famous “boot fence” ( see pictures). The ride today was maybe the best so far. It was my favorite for sure.

I left out in heavy, low fog and 50 degree temperatures. After about 10 miles of relatively flat roads, the sun came out, the fog lifted, and we started the longest and hardest climb of the day. It was several miles long with some sections of 6% and 7% grades. Near the top we had a SAG stop with good views of the surrounding Texas Hill Country. Afterwards, most of the …

Early Spring on the Southern Tier

By Peter Gillott, Julian McCarthy and Poppy Holmes | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 30 : Johnson City to Austin
Wednesday March 28, 2018, 55 miles (89 km) – Total so far: 1,666 miles (2,681 km)
There was an horrendous thunderstorm in the night and we had reason to be thankful that we were in a cabin with Dave and Kathy and not in a tent. Meeting at breakfast, we were in two minds whether to go on to Austin or …

Joe’s Southern Tier Adventure

By Joe Athas | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 45: Marathon-Sanderson
Wednesday March 28, 2018, 52 miles (84 km) – Total so far: 1,286 miles (2,070 km)
Today was a complete contrast to yesterday. I woke up early and went to the “French Grocer” in town to buy some rations and some coffee grounds for breakfast. The kitchen at La Loma was pretty well equipped despite it being outside. I hung around a bit drinking coffee, John woke up shorty after and joined me. We had a very late start to our day, ate some breakfast at the cafe oasis, and …

Day 46: Sanderson-Langtry
Thursday March 29, 2018, 60 miles (97 km) – Total so far: 1,346 miles (2,166 km)
John and I woke up around 8 at the motel and got our stuff together by 8:30. We were treated to an Indian style breakfast by the hotel owner, Danny. I’m not quite sure what it was, but it was pretty tasty and fairly satisfying. We cycled on to a town called Dryden which appeared to be completely wiped off the map. The ACA maps told us there would be a convenience store, however it has long been closed. We cycled on and stopped at a few picnic rest areas to get out of the …

Southern Tier on a Recumbent 2018

By Joseph Valenzi | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 27 – March 29 Thursday – Rio Frio TX to Kerrville TX: The Hill Country and the Half Way Point
Tuesday March 6, 2018, 73 miles (117 km) – Total so far: 1,481 miles (2,383 km)
Yesterday turned out to be such a pleasant rest day, that it was kind of sad to be back on the bikes again today. But this was a big day – the day we crossed the midpoint of the trip.

No rain was predicted last night so I had taken the giant garbage bag off my seat which serves as a rain cover after fixing the bike. Oh, the spring did come. It only took me 20 minutes to replace it. It’s as good as new. Anyway, when I looked out the door this morning I was surprised to see everything was soaked. Not from rain, but from fog and dew. My seat was sopping wet. Lesson learned. We are not in the desert anymore.

It was foggy because it was cold. It was in the low 40’s. Everyone scurried back to their kits to put on …

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Texas Bicycling News Digest March 28th 2018

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Former paramedic stops by Lufkin in coast-to-coast ride for awareness of emergency vehicles

By AUSTIN KING | lufkindailynews.com


A former paramedic raising awareness for public safety on emergency vehicles by riding from coast to coast has reached Lufkin in his journey.

Border Bike Trip, Day 18: In the World of Bicycle Tourism

By Grant Wishard | www.weeklystandard.com


After a whirlwind visit to Casas Grandes and Colonia Juarez on the Mexican side I crossed back into El Paso late Friday night to pick up my bike from the mechanic. I still had a few hours of daylight, so I set off immediately for Clint, Texas, a small farming town 20 miles outside El Paso. It was nerve-wracking to get back on the bike, five weeks after I fractured my elbow. Wounded stallions such as myself rarely make it off the racetrack, much less back to the starting gate for a second attempt. …

Park improvements part of spring upgrades at Lake Waco, dam

www.chron.com

WACO, Texas (AP) — Lake Waco is kicking off spring by opening spruced-up park facilities, starting with 2.8 miles of fresh asphalt across the Lake Waco dam.

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports the Lake Waco Dam trail has reopened after nearly six months of closures for the sake of a $1 million project to reinforce the dam. …

… The dam trail has been popular with cyclists, walkers and runners since it opened in 2000, but it has been closed several times for maintenance in the last few years. …

Southern Tier on a Recumbent 2018

By Joseph Valenzi | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 26 – March 28 Wednesday – Rio Frio TX: Rest Day
Monday March 5, 2018
I’m better today, after feeling really crabby yesterday. There is very little to do here, and nowhere to go, so everyone slept in, had breakfast and is now piddling around and/or napping. We were all beat yesterday. We had some rain overnight, but the worst of the thunderstorms were off to the east. The forecast promises to be good for the next few days which will help.

We are staying in a four bed cabin. I’m bunking with …

The Limo Bikes to Bayous and Beaches

By Marilyn Swett | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Gatesville to Temple, TX: Hup 2, 3, 4
Wednesday March 28, 2018, 35 miles (56 km) – Total so far: 279 miles (449 km)
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton
You know you’re officially in the South when the hotel is serving grits for breakfast and puts out a carafe of sweet tea next to the coffee pots!

It was a cold, gloomy morning when we exited the hotel today. The worst of the storms had moved on and it looked like we would have a mostly dry ride.

We turned east on Hwy 36 toward Temple. The pavement was …

Captain’s Blog – 3/28/18 – SAG volunteers needed

by danitza | cycling.powweb.com

It happens to the best of us. You sign up to ride 30+miles on your first practice ride and reality reminds you that you have not ridden in a long time. You are starting to wonder what to do if your legs decide to quit on you, suddenly, you hear what sounds like music to your ears: “Are you doing OK?” It is the friendly SAG volunteer…God’s sent answer to prayer! It was 2015 for me, and I still remember the wonderful feeling of knowing that they were checking on me. That reassurance …

Joe’s Southern Tier Adventure

By Joe Athas | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 44: Marfa-Marathon
Tuesday March 27, 2018, 57 miles (92 km) – Total so far: 1,234 miles (1,986 km)
Wind can be the most demoralizing thing on a fully loaded bike.
I woke up today feeling pretty good for a camping night’s rest. I did wake up twice at night, once to pee and once just because. The quality of sleep is increasing, but my legs still don’t quite have enough room to spread out to feel all that comfortable at night. I love my mummy bag, keeps me super warm, but the positions I can sleep in are quite limited. I’m excited for some warmer weather where I don’t need to zip it up all the way.

Anywho, I woke up at first light and beelined for the “lobby” at El Cosmico. They had …

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