Texas Bicycling News Digest March 14th 2018

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Kerrville teen dies in hospital after being hit by vehicle while riding bike

www.ksat.com


KERRVILLE, Texas – A 17-year-old from Kerrville has died after he was hit by a vehicle while riding his bicycle Sunday night.

The teen has been identified as Matthew Cabello.

More News Headlines
Motorcyclist run off road by pickup truck, crashes bike, police say
The crash happened just before 8:30 p.m. Sunday on Memorial Boulevard near Riverside Drive in Kerrville. …

Bayou Greenway Day to highlight Houston Parks Board project

By Rebecca Hazen | www.chron.com


The fourth annual Bayou Greenway Day will be held at Tidwell Park, 9720 Spaulding Street, Houston, on Saturday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The free and public event, a collaboration with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, highlights the Houston Parks Board Bayou Greenways 2020 initiative, which is an ongoing project that is transforming 3,000 underutilized acres of land along different bayous into parks and connecting 150 miles of hiking and biking trails to different parks and communities. …

Volunteer Spotlight: Suzanne Wheatall

bikehouston.org


Suzanne Wheatall is our volunteer of the month. Suzanne puts in between 15 and 20 hours every month helping with tasks around the office, freeing up staff time to make Houston better for cyclists.

“We really appreciate her dedication to BikeHouston and her cheerful attitude,” says Bowen Roberts, Volunteer Coordinator. “It’s not easy to find a volunteer that is willing to come into the office on a regular basis.” …

Volunteer Spotlight: Todd Boring

bikehouston.org


If you volunteer with BikeHouston, chances are, you’ve had a shift with Todd Boring. Todd is a reliable bike valet volunteer, and is always available when needed. We talked to Todd about biking, volunteering, and BikeHouston.

Where are you originally from?

I like to tell people that I was born here. My dad was a medical student at Baylor at the time. I don’t think I established residency, though. We moved about nine months after I was born. I consider my hometown Ponca City, OK. That’s where I If you volunteer with BikeHouston, chances are, you’ve had a shift with Todd Boring. Todd is a reliable bike valet volunteer, and is always available when needed. We talked to Todd about biking, volunteering, and BikeHouston.

Where are you originally from?

I like to tell people that I was born here. My dad was a medical student at Baylor at the time. I don’t think I established residency, though. We moved about nine months after I was born. I consider my hometown Ponca City, OK. That’s where I …

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A Patch of Wildflowers Bike Ride

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I didn’t think I would ride over 38 miles on today’s ride but I ended up biking 40.21 miles. This is the first time biking the “Kingwood – Splendora – Kingwood” route this year and the longest ride this month. I almost matched the longest ride this year at 41.32 miles. This improved March to 398.9 miles leaving 186.1 miles to reach my goal for the month.

Along the northbound route I spotted the first patch of wildflowers this spring. There have been individual wildflowers but not a patch about 3 ft x 3 ft. All of the sunshine and 60 to 70 degree days probably brought them out. I almost stopped and took a photo but I thought I would see more later but no other patches spotted.

The ride started at 12:46 pm. I waited some hoping the temperature would get to 70 but I decided to not wait longer. The weather: start 69 (38% humidity), finish 71 (33% humidity), a few clouds, wind E 7 mph. I decided to replicate yesterday’s wardrobe since it was comfortable. That 7 mph wind had a bite to it when I was in the shade or the front side of me was not facing the sun.

No other cyclists along the route but there were a number of casual bicyclists in Kingwood.

Since the wind was not that strong I was able to build u my average speed to 15.4 mph and hold it there until I started back into Kingwood. When I turned back to the south in Splendora I expected the wind to become a headwind but it was from the left I was able to keep my speed at 18 to 20 mph most of the time. I finished the ride at 3:33 pm with the sun shining brightly.

Thursday the clouds come back but the temperature bumps up a few degrees. Rain is at a 10% chance. Sounds like a good biking day.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Bike Ride Summary

Strava Bike Ride Summary

 

Texas Bicycling News Digest March 13th 2018

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Bike Laredo: Grassroots Advocacy and City-Making

texastrailsandactivetransportation.org


Bike Laredo, within less than a year since its inception, has been able to coalesce the voices of City of Laredo officials, City of Laredo staff, the Texas Department of Transportation, and mobility advocates with a resolve to work towards the implementation of an active transportation system that is equitable, accessible and safe for all types of commuters. Additional Information: Laredo sits on the banks of the Rio Grande River, on the U.S.-Mexico border. It has a ubiquitous car culture that has …

North to Alaska: Lovejoy grad to bike from her alma mater in Austin to ‘The Last Frontier’

Garrett Cook | starlocalmedia.com


Cancer has hovered in the background of the life of Samantha Wendt, a former resident of Lucas and a 2013 graduate of Lovejoy High School, for a long time.

When she was younger, her cousin, Katie Wendt, was diagnosed with leukemia. Katie and the rest of Samantha’s extended family live in small towns in Illinois, so Samantha, being younger and not interacting with her cousin in person very often, was shielded a bit from the harsh realities of a cancer diagnosis. …

Cyclist suffers broken bones, internal injuries in Haltom City hit-and-run

Claire Z. Cardona | www.dallasnews.com

A bicyclist suffered serious injuries last Wednesday after being struck by a car that did not stop, Haltom City police said.

Officers found the cyclist about 9:45 p.m. March 7 in a northbound lane of the 2100 block of North Beach Street. The victim was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital with several broken bones and internal injuries, police said. …

Shimano or Shimona? Knock-offs spotted on bikes brought to shops for service and assembly

by Lynette Carpiet | www.bicycleretailer.com


Mechanics say Shinano, Shimona and SunRun components are showing up on bikes bought online.
SAN ANTONIO (BRAIN) — Mechanics across the country are reporting that bikes brought in for service or assembly are coming spec’d with knock-off components. Often, customers bring the bikes in new in the box and mechanics are having trouble setting them up to work properly. Customers also are unaware that they bought a bike with look-alike components.

“We had a customer who thought they were getting a great deal on an online bike with Shimano gear system, but a closer look shows the bike is equipped with Shinano gear system,” said Whit Snell, owner of Bike World, which has four stores in San Antonio. “We have also seen Shimona parts and instead of SunRace, they equip with SunRun,” he added. …

Mayor Turner, other officials announce street improvements in TSU, UH area

By Brittany Taylor | www.click2houston.com

HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis announced on Tuesday a plan to improve six to seven streets in the Texas Southern and University of Houston area.

At a 2 p.m. news conference, Turner and Ellis discussed which street locations will be fixed by improving and building additional sidewalks, fixing drainage problems that will help reduce street flooding and making bike lanes in the Third Ward area. …

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A Few Clouds Bike Ride

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A few degrees warmer at the start of today’s bike ride. Choosing the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route I biked 33.63 miles. The weather: start 67 (41% humidity), finish 72 (36% humidity), few clouds, wind calm.

Started the bike ride earlier today leaving at 12:38 pm and finished earlier at 3:04 pm.

I made a decision to dress lighter today thinking the abundant sun and light wind would allow me that luxury. Riding wardrobe: shorts, long sleeve thermal jersey, short sleeve jersey and windbreaker jacket. Missing from yesterday’s ride: leg warmers and full finger gloves. The first few miles were chilly but once my body warmed up I didn’t notice the missing items.

One other cyclist was out in Atascocita Shores. He was dressed about the same as I was.

Numerous school age children were enjoying the spring break weather.

Nothing out of the ordinary along the route. The Canyon Endurace CF SLX continues to impress me riding smoothly. The disc brakes stop quickly without the carbon rim squeal. I will be watching the Continental 4000 II tires to see how they hold up compared to the Continental GatorSkin tires I normally ride. The road debris can take a toll on tires.

More great biking weather in Wednesday’s forecast but I would prefer the temperature to be in the 80’s.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bike Ride Summary

Strava bike ride summary