Texas Bicycling News April 3rd 2017

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500-mile bike ride to pass through Killeen

BY DAVID A. BRYANT | www.tdtnews.com


More than 100 wounded veterans and supporters will roll into Killeen on Wednesday as part of a more than 500-mile ride that started in San Antonio as part of the United Healthcare Ride 2 Recovery Texas Challenge for wounded warriors.
The 2017 Texas Challenge, benefiting the injured veteran riders of Project Hero, is a noncompetitive, therapeutic bike tour that will traverse north from …

Request for Qualifications – Design, Engineering, and Construction Oversight of a Multi-use Bicycle & Pedestrian Trail Along Upper Zacate Creek

www.texasbids.net

Central Texas Heroes: Justin Wise and Jered Wise

By Justin Earley | www.kwtx.com

WACO, Texas (KWTX) This fall will mark 16 years since the 9-11 attacks and two brothers who were in school at the time are now raising money for victims’ families.
They’re firefighters and they want widows and children of fallen firefighters to know they’re not forgotten.
Justin and Jered Wise are preparing for a 2,000 mile cycle ride to Ground Zero.
Justin was in college on that Tuesday September morning in …

Florida Bound

By Charles Brun | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 20: San Elizaro to Fort Hancock
Monday April 3, 2017, 36 miles (58 km) – Total so far: 1,126 miles (1,812 km)
Today was a short day in order to get back on itenerary which takes into account campgrounds and services.
I was up at 7 am with very noisy roosters heralding the start of another day. Are they programmed to wake everyone up early and then hardy make a peep all day? It was good sleeping last night as it was really ver cool. In my 20 degree down bag I was just right, though I had to have it fully zipped up.
The owner’s David Cantu came out meet with me as we were both having coffee at the same time. What a perfect time to discuss the local activities, politics (carefully of course) and the …

Honeoye Riders Pedal the Southern Tier

By jim kersting | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 34: Austin to LaGrange 70+
Monday April 3, 2017
We left Austin at 8 after rush hour, and we had an easy uneventful ride out of the city. We hit one road out in the rural-burbs where every dog chased us. A mix breed pit bull zeroed in on me and was very skilled at trying to tear out a chunk of my Achilles Tendon. He raced from one side to another but left me alone after Jo and Patti blew their ” dog whistle ”
This was Bob’s first day and we introduced him to a 70 mile day and 12 miles of severe uphills that I had to be walked most the time. He stopped at a post office at …

A Word From Our Director………. John Long

BikeHouston | bikehouston.org

I celebrated City Council’s adoption of the Bike Plan by riding down the old bike lane on Wesleyan as I peddled to an appointment last Thursday. That lane is a remnant of the 1993 bike plan and is too narrow, too close to traffic, and too full of debris, potholes, and puddles. Twenty-four years later we have a new plan that aims to create a network of high-comfort, high-safety bikeways on and off the streets. The next step will be the implementation of projects one-by-one. You can help by becoming active in your neighborhood groups and civic associations and by attending Capital Improvement Project (CIP) meetings organized by the …

Meet Dan Piette

BikeHouston | bikehouston.org


BikeHouston’s board has a new chair. Dan Piette, who is a consultant for start-up companies, took the baton from Regina Garcia last month.
With the Houston Bike Plan passed, Piette says it is good to take a good look at the goals and mission of the organization. “Our first priority is the safety of cyclists in the city. Too many people getting hit, getting hurt and getting killed on the roads in Houston. But the …

Upcoming Events

Greater Dallas Bicyclists | www.greaterdallasbicyclists.com

4/6/2017
6:30 Thursday Night Ride
4/7/2017
Mad Duck – Packet Pick-Up & Registration
4/8/2017
Rally Volunteers!!!!
4/8/2017
Lancaster Country Ride Rally 2017
4/9/2017
9:30 AM Sunday Roll
4/9/2017
9:30 AM Skill Builder By Request

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Power Meter Cascade Spending Bike Ride

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The weather forecast for yesterday (Sunday) turned out to be off base. The rain was just enough to cause me to not ride but I was back biking today. The bike ride was 39.59 miles long as I rode the “Kingwood – Splendora – Kingwood” route. This is the second ride with the PowerPod power meter and I am still trying to figure it out.

I did learn that the desktop program I have used for a number of years, SportTracks ST3, does not support the data file from the Wahoo Elemnt with power meter data. I must import the data using the Garmin .tcx data file format. An option is to use the online version of SportTracks but I am not excited about paying $59.95 per year. The desktop version is already paid for. My inclination if I am going to pay an annual subscription price is to use Strava.com. I use the free version of Strava.com and have for several years. I was happy until I added the PowerPod. Like upgrading a computer a simple upgrade can cascade into other upgrades which cost money. Another desktop program I have used off and on is Golden Cheetah. This program goes deeper into analysis than SportTracks but does not have a goal tracking function. I started setting goals last year and find this helps keep me on track.

Speaking of upgrades, I purchased a Barfly mount to improve the position of the PowerPod, moving it out front from below the left side of the handle bar beside the stem. More money spent in the upgrade cascade.

Back to today’s bike ride. The wind was very helpful riding to Splendora as I watched the watts reading report numbers below 100 for most of the time. At FM 2920 I made the u-turn nack to Kingwood and that friendly wind became a tough headwind. I expected the watts to go up but they didn’t go over 200 except when I stopped at a traffic light and restarted. Figuring out how the power meter works and what the numbers mean is ahead.

The cloudy sky and rain of Sunday left in the late afternoon and today the clear blue sky and 85 degrees made for perfect bicycling. I wore a short sleeve jersey and shorts and was comfortable. The weather looks like repeat for tomorrow. I hope to ride again. I am at the 10% point of reaching my 772 miles for April.

Golden Cheetah ride summary

Bike ride summary

I adjusted the Power Zones in Golden Cheetah to reflect the ranges in the Wahoo Elemnt app.This put 71% of today’s bike ride in Zone 2, Endurance. I need more rides to see if this is normal for me or what.

Link to Strava.com metrics and map.

[iframe http://rwgps-embeds.com/trips/13733606/embed 90% 700px]

Weather conditions at the start and finish.

Texas Bicycling News April 2nd 2017

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Southern Tier At The Speed of Bicycle

By Gary Rapp | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 27 & 28 Kerrville to Johnson City to Austin
Thursday March 30, 2017, 100 miles (161 km) – Total so far: 1,638 miles (2,636 km) …

Texas tour

By Liam Healy | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Willow City and enchanted Rock
Wednesday March 29, 2017, 67 miles (108 km) – Total so far: 124 miles (200 km)
I took TX16 north and then went on the willow City loop, which is very scenic. Continuing north on 16, I then turned left on FM965 and headed south back to Fredericksburg, stopping at enchanted Rock. I climbed the rock which was short but steep. The view was very good. I got back late but still daylight. Otto’s for dinner, was very good.

Morris ranch
Thursday March 30, 2017, 24 miles (39 km) – Total so far: 148 miles (238 km)
Took a short ride in the morning and returned to campground before noon. Then I spent way too much time looking for a place to have lunch, finally having lunch at a neo retro lunch counter downtown. After lunch I drove five hours west to fort Davis and camped in the Davis mountains State Park.

Davis mountains loop
Friday March 31, 2017, 78 miles (126 km) – Total so far: 226 miles (364 km)
The Davis mountains loop is scenic and mountainous, though it starts out with a long but gradual climb through ranch land. The roads are desolate. In the afternoon, the familiar Texas wind picked up from the Southwest, and was gusting over 30 mph. Fun when at my back, hard to control the bike when a crosswind. I got back to the campground at 6, too a shower and drive into town for dinner at the blue mountain bistro, which was good.

Big bend
Saturday April 1, 2017
I packed up and left the campground, went to the laundromat in town. After doing laundry, I visited the fort and then had lunch. The rest of the afternoon I waited at Stone village for the Adventure Cycling van to arrive.
Once we all meet and had an orientation, we went to dinner and then up the mountain to the McDonald observatory for a presentation on the moon, which was interesting and well done.
The cabins we are in are unheated stone and concrete with only a screen door, so it is necessary to put on lots of blankets. It rained some overnight.

Tennessee Lowriders bent on the USA

By Nelson Quillen | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Comstock to Del Rio
Wednesday March 29, 2017
Today the route was from Comstock to Del Rio, which was a fairly short day since we had to jump ahead to find shelter to avoid last nights storms. We stayed at the Lonesome Dove Campground and it was a wonderful place with very friendly staff.

Del Rio to Camp Wood
Thursday March 30, 2017
Today’s ride was from Del Rio to Campwood and was 52 miles for me. The road was terrible once we got out of Del Rio’s county. One of the ladies with another group described it the best I have heard so far. It is what is normally called chip and seal pavement but she called it boulder and seal. The stone they used looked more like crusher run rock than anything else. We stayed at …

Southern Tier – San Diego to St Augustine March 2017

By Charles Falsetto | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 30 Texas D13: Kerrville rain delay rest day – MLB Opening day
Sunday April 2, 2017
Glad I made it to Kerrville and Motel 6 before the heavy rain and storms bubbled up. For a number of reasons I’m taking today off and watching MLB opening day activities. Highlight of the day will be the Cardinals Vs Cubs matchup at Busch field St. Louis. Forecast for the next few days is good and then maybe a day or two in Austin exploring and enjoying the halfway point of my journey. One more hill to climb out of Kerrville then it should be mostly rollers to the gulf coast. Booked my flight to St Louis from Orlando May 13th and I’m sure that is doable, with time to spare hopefully in Merrit Island Florida.

Upcoming Events

Corinth Cycling | corinthcycling.wordpress.com

8:00am – Corinth Cycling Group Rides April 8, 2017 at 8:00 am – 11:00 am 101 S Locust St, Denton, TX 76201, USA Corinth Cycling Weekend Group Rides. All rides depart from southeast corner of Denton Square.
8:00am- Corinth Cycling Group Rides April 9, 2017 at 8:00 am – 10:30 am 101 S Locust St, Denton, TX 76201, USA http://www.corinthcycling.com/cccriderules.pdf 8:00am
8:00am – Corinth Cycling Group Rides April 15, 2017 at 8:00 am – 11:00 am 101 S Locust St, Denton, TX 76201, USA Corinth Cycling Weekend Group Rides. All rides depart from southeast corner of Denton Square.Upcoming Events
8:00am – Corinth Cycling Group Rides April 8, 2017 at 8:00 am – 11:00 am 101 S Locust St, Denton, TX 76201, USA Corinth Cycling Weekend Group Rides. All rides depart from southeast corner of Denton Square.
8:00am- Corinth Cycling Group Rides April 9, 2017 at 8:00 am – 10:30 am 101 S Locust St, Denton, TX 76201, USA http://www.corinthcycling.com/cccriderules.pdf 8:00am
8:00am – Corinth Cycling Group Rides April 15, 2017 at 8:00 am – 11:00 am 101 S Locust St, Denton, TX 76201, USA Corinth Cycling Weekend Group Rides. All rides depart from southeast corner of Denton Square.

Southern Tier At The Speed of Bicycle

By Gary Rapp | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 29 west Austin to East Austin
Sunday April 2, 2017, 29 miles (47 km) – Total so far: 1,667 miles (2,682 km)
Severe rain storm this morning. Left around 12:30 and met up with the group at Texas Chili Parlor for lunch in downtown Austin. Made it out if town this afternoon to avoid Monday morning rush hour traffic. …

Freedom Ride attracting new riders

By David Taylor | www.houstonchronicle.com


It’s early Saturday morning, and Kimberly is lacing up her shoes and checking out the air in her tires. The newbie is a little uncertain whether she can keep up with the group of riders she joined at War Memorial Stadium in Liberty for what she hopes will be a comfortable ride.
Less than a few miles into the race and she had a defining moment – try to keep up with their faster pace, or continue her leisurely ride and finish whenever. She laid back, but she …

Florida Bound

By Charles Brun | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 19: El Paso to San Elizario Texas
Sunday April 2, 2017, 31 miles (50 km) – Total so far: 1,090 miles (1,754 km)
I’ll classify today as a semi-rest day as I only ride 31 miles but spent the majority of time indoors.
This morning I stayed in my room at the Hillvue Motel until checkout time at 11 am. I enjoyed having a desk to work with my I-Pad Mini with a fast WiFi connection. This motel seemed almost vacant as it is older and well off the freeway, Interstate 10. Before the Interstate Hiway was built I imagine that there was a lot more people staying here. I am not one greatly value the …

Honeoye Riders Pedal the Southern Tier

By jim kersting | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 33: Austin rest day # 2
Sunday April 2, 2017

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Texas Bicycling News April 1st 2017

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Dallas County inmates repair bikes for kids in need

By: FOX4News.com Staff | www.fox4news.com


DALLAS – Some inmates at the Dallas County Jail are improving their own lives and the lives of children.
In the program, inmates learn how to repair bikes and feel the impact immediately when the new ride goes to a child in need.
The program has been described as a win especially for the children at Jonathan’s Place. The faces of the children when they receive bikes are blurred because they are in protective custody. The unexpected gift of a bike means …

Attention Houston Mtbers! New regular Tuesday group ride!

by 2ndchance | forums.mtbr.com


When/Where: meeting at Sugarland Memorial Park parking lot at 5:30 and rolling by 6 every Tuesday barring bad weather/trail conditions. First ride is this Tuesday 4/4
What: a no drop ride covering 10-14 miles of sweet New Territory and Brindley single track. Pace will be dictated by level of riders but necessary stops to keep group together will always be apart of the ride.
Come ride the best trail system in Houston..hope to see you there

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSWzlfcFfnz/

Northern Walnut Creek Trail – Phase 2

Austin Public Works Department | austintexas.gov

This project will design a new 1.8 mile long trail segment on the Walnut Creek Greenbelt. The trail will originate in Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park and end in the vicinity of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality offices, located at IH-35 and Walnut Creek, and connect to the southern end of the Phase 1 project.
Work in progress
The project team is analyzing alternatives to the original route and is still in design phase.
Public Meeting
Join the project team to provide your input and discuss the next steps for this segment of the trail.
Northern Walnut Creek Phase 2 Public Meeting
When: Tuesday, April 11
Where: Walnut Creek Elementary – 401 W Braker Ln, Austin, TX 78753
Time: 6 – 7:30 pm …

Revenge of the Wookiee: Episode 3, airing now!!!

by pulpwoddy | www.bikemojo.com

Our two riders have braved the horrors of the Pace Bend Forrest and are about to learn the shocking truth behind the question: Who is the Wookiee???
Volunteer for the 2017 Pace Bend MTB Race and Bike festival sponsored by Chumba Cycles USA.

Beer, bikes and alumni: Rice takes to track for friendly competition

By Brett Barrouquere | www.chron.com


Female cyclists prepare to compete in Rice University’s 60th Annual Beer Bike competition on Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Houston. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle )

Rice University racers sloshed around the track Saturday for the annual Beer Bike competition.
Sound strange? It’s uniquely Rice – and it just crossed its 60-year mark. …

The Racing Post April 2017

theracingpost.us

Southern Tier – San Diego to St Augustine March 2017

By Charles Falsetto | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 28 Texas D11: Camp Wood to Lost Maples CG
Friday March 31, 2017, 42 miles (68 km) – Total so far: 1,373 miles (2,210 km)
3123′ V, 4:35:59, 9.2 AvgMph 42 miles Friday March 31
Departed Camp Wood at 0740 under clear blue skies and negligent W. From Camp Wood the climb begins with a gentle 2-3% grade and grows to 9-10%. I believe the first sister of the three sisters climbed today took 1h 40m to Leakey and a lunch break. Today’s climbs were very tough and the roads packed with hundreds of motorcycles in the area for a rally starting tonight in Bandera. The final two sisters were shorter in distance but nearly as much vertical as the first with the same grades. The W was good and bad depending on the direction being traveled up the hill. Road condition was large rock chip seal however a concrete lined shoulder drain provided a …

Day 29 Texas D12: Lost Maples CG to Kerrville
Saturday April 1, 2017, 50 miles (80 km) – Total so far: 1,423 miles (2,290 km)
2331′ V, 4:45:25, 10.6AvgMph
Expected rain early this morning didn’t materialize so we hightailed it out of camp for the road slightly before sunup. Of course it was a quick wake up call as the road almost immediately began a 6-9% grade for several miles. Weather was overcast, humid and cool with favorable W most of the morning. I was pretty much in a rain drizzle all the way to Hunt. (32 miles) Passed a lot of really …

Texas tour

By Liam Healy | www.crazyguyonabike.com

LBJ to LBJ
Tuesday March 28, 2017, 57 miles (92 km) – Total so far: 57 miles (92 km)
I combined the Fredericksburg East and south maps from bicyclemaps.org, riding out to the Johnson ranch and State park. One road I was planning to ride on was a gated private ranch road so I backtracked instead of making a loop.
I visited the state park which has a museum that is mostly about hill country history, which was …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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