Mid-Afternoon Bike Ride In the Heat

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I got a late start today (1:15 pm) after getting home from church. The temperature was cooking at 96 degrees under partly cloudy skies, 6 mph westerly breeze and 58% humidity. The goal was to ride enough miles to get to 200+ for the week so I rode the “Atascocita – Walden” route for a total of 21.3 miles and the week ended at 207.6 miles. This is the 5th week in a row of 200+ miles and 6 out of the last 7 have been over 200 miles. This is how I reach my goal for the month and year. I am up to 383 miles for August leaving 417 miles to hit my goal.

My National Bike challenge rankings didn’t last long: I am 60th for Texas (up 1 place) and 1009th nationally (up from 994).

The bike was the Blue Norcross AL for variety and I think with the extra weight but shorter miles than when I ride the Stradalli the work effort was about the same.

After yesterday’s bike ride I performed maintenance on one of my home weather stations. I cleaned out some cobwebs, washed off mildew and replaced the AA batteries that looked like they were about to rupture. After the work I am now getting more realistic weather data.

No cyclist sightings along the ride today. Everyone was sensible to stay inside with the heat index at 115.

Not much change in the weather for Monday. I plan on biking but earlier than today.

Strava Bicycle Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest August 12th 2017

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Vacation at the station; Kids learn bike safety, more at police event

By Brian Knox | www.wcmessenger.com


One moment, a line of children’s bicycles sat motionless in a row outside of the Decatur Police Department Friday.
A moment later, excited kids were hopping onto them, positioning helmets on their heads.
“This needs to be a little bit tighter,” Lt. Delvon Campbell said to one child while tugging on the straps. “You see how that feels?”
He inspected the other helmets – “Good, good, good,” he said. …

8 AM start: Tour de Southern Walnut Creek Trail

Tuesday, Aug 15, 2017, 8:00 AM

Govalle Park
5200 Bolm Rd. Austin, TX

1 Austin Cyclists Went

We’re riding out at 8 AM for summer coolness.A moderate C-pace ride (roughly 11 to 14 mph) on The Southern Walnut Creek Trail from the trailhead at Govalle Park to the Abrupt End and return. Round trip is about 20 miles. The trail is paved for the entire distance, with a 1/2 mile hill on the outbound. We’ll regroup at the top of the hill on the ou…

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UPDATED Hike and Bike Trail Improvements Akin Park To Cargill Trailhead

www.texasbids.net

Prebid: 08/15/17 11:00 AM
Solicitation Title: UPDATED Hike and Bike Trail Improvements Akin Park To Cargill Trailhead
Status: bidding Report: 7950854
Country : United States State: TX
Location: North Side of Akin Park At Delwood To the Northeast Side of 4th Street At Cargill Long Park Trailhead Along Oakland Creek
Est. Low Value: $1,850,000 Est. High Value: $1,950,000
Scope: Hike and bike trail improvements, trail includes approximately 5,100 LF of 10-foot wide reinforced concrete, clearing, grubbing, excavation, backfill and compaction for grading, construction of abutments, headwalls, wing walls, safety end treatments, and handrails, pedestrian signals, electrical services, and pavement marking.
Notes: A pre bid meeting will be held on 08/15/17, 11:00 AM at City of Longview Public Works Service Center, 933 Mobile Dr., Longview, TX 75604. …

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Hot White Fluffy Dog Bike Ride

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Another hot and dry day for a bike ride. I chose the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” to the north for some variety and rode 36.6 miles pushing the month total to 362 miles, 438 miles short of my goal and the week to 186 miles. At the 10:13 am start it was 88 degrees and when I finished at 1:30 pm it was 96 with the heat index at 110 degrees. Thank goodness I had plenty of ice water with a stop at the Texaco station on FM 1314 after I came off of Gene Campbell Blvd. About 4 miles later I stopped st the Valero station at Sorters Road for a 25 minute break where I bought a very large Gatorade orange fountain drink for $.79, on sale. This 25.4 miles into the ride.

I could’ve started the bike ride earlier but I watched the BinckBank Tour from Europe on www.cycling.tv. Also since I wasn’t riding to the south no need to hurry to see other bicyclists along the route.

Sitting in the shade the light westerly breeze felt good as the cold Gatorade went down. When the time came to leave I had to remind myself that the bike ride needed to finish and the remaining 12 miles were out there waiting for me to go. Riding SE the breeze felt good blowing through my jersey and keeping the sweat from running down my arms.

Somewhere along the route I managed to output 1256 watts for the high. Maybe that was when I sprinted to put my max speed up to 22.8 mph?

Nothing out of the ordinary crossed my path but I did see one cyclist on the streets of Elm Grove Village as I made my way out of Kingwood. We waved at each other. Later in Woodridge Forest a lady was out looking for a missing pet clapping and walking along. A couple of streets later I saw a white fluffy dog running through some yards and I circled back to ask the lady if she was looking for this dog but I couldn’t find her.

National Bike Challenge ranking after today’s ride improved.

National Bike Challenge Raniking

First time I am ranked below 60 for Texas and triple digit ranking for national, before I was above 1000. I can’t make it to #1 for Houston though.

More hot weather on Sunday. I plan bicycling around 25 miles to put the week over 200 miles.

RideWithGPS.com map and metrics

Strava Bike Ride Summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest August 11th 2017

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For the Cyclist: Tackling North Texas’ Hotter’N Hell Hundred

By James Martin | texashillcountry.com


Unsurprisingly, the sport of cycling in Texas, as with other sports, is extreme and requires true grit. Cycling in Texas takes riders all over the state and immerses them into some harsh environments. Texas’s famous race, the Hotter’N Hell Hundred, takes cyclist through grueling, dry terrain around the Wichita Falls area of North Texas. Though not as long as the …

Little Devoted to Houston Bike Plan in $495 Million Bond Package

By Meagan Flynn | www.houstonpress.com

Houston cyclists had something to celebrate back in March, when City Council voted to adopt the Houston Bike Plan. It marked the first time in more than two decades that the city planned to comprehensively upgrade its crumbling biking infrastructure, which was last fully revamped in the early 1990s. The lanes had become full of potholes and debris. The stripes were only barely visible on some …

Monthly Women’s Ride

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Bid on Community Park Hike & Bike Trail in Princeton

www.texasbids.net

Prebid: 08/31/17 10:00 AM Prebid Mandatory: yes
Solicitation Title: Community Park Hike & Bike Trail
Status: bidding
Report: 7973174
Country : United States State: TX County: Collin Location: Princeton
Scope: Construction of approx. 4,137 LF of 8′ wide reinforced concrete trail in community park, 786 Cy of excavation, 33096 SF of Furnish and Install 6″ Reinforced Concrete Trail, 767 CY of Prepare 6″ of Subgrade, 62 LF of Furnish and Install 15″ Reinforced Concrete Pipe, 4 ea of Furnish and Install Single-Barrel Sloped Headwall for 15″Reinforced Concrete Pipe, see attached file.
Notes: Written question deadline: 09/07/17 by 5:00 PM. A mandatory …

Bid on City of Boerne Trail System Expansion Project in Boerne

www.texasbids.net

UPDATED City of Boerne Trail System Expansion Project
Prebid: 08/01/17 2:00 PM
Solicitation Title: UPDATED City of Boerne Trail System Expansion Project
Owner Solic Number: 0915-11-033 Status: bidding Report: 7938371
Country : United States State: TX County: Kendall Location: Boerne
Est. Low Value: $2,500,000 Est. High Value: $2,500,000
Set Aside Types: MBE/DBE (Minority / Disadvantaged)
Scope: Trail system expansion project. Work includes approx 1,839 CY roadway excavation; 22,975 SY soil retention blankets; 363 LF of 24″ drill shaft;903 SF retaining wall; 8 LF of 8′ x 3′ concrete box culvert; 102 LF of RC pipe (arch); 1 EA adjusting manholes; 8,523 SY of 5″ concrete sidewalk; 500 LF of 1″ PVC conduit; 50 LF of 2″ PVC conduit; see …

Mansfield Trail Connection to City Spine Trail project

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Along the Trinity River, a biking trail comes dangerously close to sliding into the water

Robert Wilonsky | www.dallasnews.com

At the moment, the Trinity Skyline Trail is the most significant amenity that runs along the Trinity River near downtown Dallas. And a piece of that trail looks like it’s in danger of sliding into the river.
City officials said Friday they’re aware of the erosion imperiling the trail beneath the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Repairs, in fact, are scheduled to …

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