Texas Bicycling News Digest May 12th 2016

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NSGA: Bike units, dollar sales up in 2015

by BRAIN Staff

www.bicycleretailer.com

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (BRAIN) — The National Sporting Goods Association found that consumer-reported sales of sporting goods equipment, athletic footwear and athletic apparel was up 4 percent in 2015. The NSGA published its 2016 edition of its Sporting Goods Market report this week.
In the cycling category, Dustin Dobrin, director of research and information for the NSGA, said sales of complete bikes were up 2.4 percent in units compared to …

Worldwide Ride of Silence

BikeHouston.org

On May 18th, join fellow Houstonians in a silent, slow-paced ride in honor of those who have been injured or killed while riding on public streets. Arrive at 6:30 pm, Mayor Turner speaks at 6:45 pm, and the ride departs at 7:00 pm. This is just one ride location of an international event raising needed awareness of the risks and hazards encountered by people on bikes not only in Houston but around the world. …

Don’t Be Afraid to Bike to Work—BikeHouston Will Show You How

By Katharine Shilcutt

www.houstoniamag.com

Bike to Work days throughout May will lead group rides through downtown, Sugar Land, The Woodlands and more.

It should come as no surprise that the famously bike-friendly Dutch lead the western world in bicycle commuting. In the Netherlands, commuters routinely choose biking over driving, with a solid 30 percent of the country cycling to work each day. The U.S., by comparison, has only a fraction of bicycle commuters: 2 percent, though you can imagine that percentage is even lower in a city like Houston. To be fair, the Netherlands offers a more bike-friendly climate than the U.S., and we …

Denton salutes law enforcement officers during Police Unity Tour

By DUSTIN HOLT

www.stardem.com

Emma Long City Park – Austin, Texas Mountain Bike

Mitchell From

city-state-cc-processing.nationwidemerchantaccounts.com

An extremely sweaty summer lap at Emma Long City Park. I haven’t ridden there much since I quit working in Austin back in ’11, so I was due for a return. I thought that because it was a cooler-than-normal morning, I’d take advantage, but the humidity was WAY up. I was zapped after the first mile or 2; grace went out the window after that. I thought I broke my foot when it caught the stump mid-slide at 3:40, lucked out though.

Texas 4000 Cyclists Begin 70-Day Journey to Alaska for 13th Annual Ride Benefitting Cancer Research on June 3

By PR Newswire

news.sys-con.com


AUSTIN, Texas, May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — This summer, 68 student cyclists will ride from Austin to Alaska as part of Texas 4000, the longest annual charity bike ride in the world. For 70 days, the cyclists will pedal together for more than 4,000 miles, beginning June 3 — Day Zero — at the University of Texas campus, where a ceremonial send-off will take place on the LBJ Lawn. Philanthropist and businesswoman Luci Baines Johnson will speak to the group of civic leaders, volunteers, riders, family and friends. …

Going Green to Texas

By Ken Sidenblad

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Lubbock, TX. To Crosbyton, TX.: Best rest area ever
Thursday May 12, 2016, 54 miles (88 km) – Total so far: 429 miles (690 km)
It was a rather uneventful day, cloudy, cool with a stiff head wind all day. There’s not much to see but miles and miles of dirt until just east of Crosbyton. As I came off the cap rock the view was great and the down hill ride was fast to the bottom of the canyon. I kind of hit a wall coming onto Cosbyton and had doubt I could go any …

The southern tier!

By Cheyenne Dolin

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 28: Marfa – Alpine: Beer!
Friday May 6, 2016
I got up around nine and had breakfast with Gary; he cooked me vegan eggs and made toast out of homemade bread. We talked for a couple hours about adventures and politics. Gary was such a cool guy! The ride into Alpine was beautiful and I was feeling very zin, even though the wind was against me – I just took it one pedal at a time. Just before Alpine I ran into another east bound cyclist, Tom, and we rode to the bike shop together. I think the guys at the bike shop finally fixed my front break problem. They also had the best prices and were the coolest shop guys I’ve …

Timber Lane XC STS Eliminator Race

GHORBA.org


Come out for a short track eliminator on the Timber Lane MTB trails!
Race and registration details coming soon! Click www.timberlaneud.com/parksevents (link is external) for official schedule.

Flower Mound police ‘ticket’ kids for good deeds

www.crosstimbersgazette.com


Each year, 7-Eleven, Inc. helps thousands of local police officers recognize the good guys, specifically the young ones.
For the 21st year, 7-Eleven is working with law enforcement agencies across the country to distribute free Slurpee drink coupons through Operation Chill, its popular community-service program.
Big-city departments and small-town forces alike, including the Flower Mound Police Department, use the Slurpee coupons to enhance relationships with the young people of their cities by …

Protecting the melon goal for free bicycle helmet giveaway at Ortiz Elementary

By Timothy Chipp of the Abilene Reporter News

www.reporternews.com


A physicians group and an organization of doctors’ spouses teamed up Thursday morning to provide students at Ortiz Elementary School with a little extra protection for their noggins, just in time for youngsters to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness.
The Texas Medical Association Foundation and the Big Country County Medical Society Alliance gave out the safety equipment as part of Hard Hats for Little Heads, gifting helmets to students who …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/AustinBikePed/status/730827652257488897

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Extended Bike Ride

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The wind let up today while I rode the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Extended” route to the southeast. The mostly cloudy sky though didn’t hold the temperature down as it was 88 degrees when I left home at 12:21. I think 90+ degree days are not too far away. The humidity was 62% to 70% depending on which station you want to take making it feel muggy until I was moving but whenever I stopped the sweat appeared quickly on my arms. My home weather station before I left home.

5-12-2016 Home Weather Start 1214PM

Nothing really special about today’s ride except I rode the “extended” version of the route to add a couple of miles to the ride. The ride came in at 35.28 miles long. I arrived at the Huffman Chevron at 1:51 pm where I took a break before heading for home. My Edge 520 screen when I arrived at the station.

5-12-2016 Huffman Chevron

From the Chevron station it would be another 14 miles to home. I made it past the elementary school on E. Lake Houston Parkway before the cars gathered to collect the children and Kingwood High School was already dismissed before I got to Kingwood Drive. I used the traffic light at W. Lake Houston Parkway to ride across the busy street arriving back home at 3:28. The weather had not changed much from when I started.

5-12-2016 Home Weather Finish 340PM

The heat index hit 100 explaining why it felt hotter than yesterday.

I am making progress reaching my mileage goal for May. (click on the image to enlarge it)

5-12-2016 May to Date

Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon but I think it will miss our area. I am at 143 miles so far this week, riding each day so far. Hopefully I can keep the streak alive.

The two maps below are live. Click on them to see more data.

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Texas Cycling News May 11th 2016

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Ride of Silence commemorates bicyclists killed by vehicles

by Zach Urness

www.statesmanjournal.com


Cyclists of all ages and ability levels are invited to participate in the Ride of Silence on Wednesday, May 18, sponsored by the Salem Bicycle Club.
There is no charge to take part in the 8-mile silent ride, modeled after a funeral procession, meant to commemorate riders killed or injured in collisions with vehicles. …

FrankenBike San Antonio # 71: May 21, 2016, 10am-4pm

by Chris

frankenbike.net

FrankenBike San Antonio #71 will be held at the White Elephant Coffee Company located at 1415 S Presa St #107, San Antonio, TX 78210. Andrew and Christian will be your event host for this particular event so be sure to ask for them when you arrive if you need any help.
Load-in starts @ 9am and we all need to be packed up and off the event grounds by 5pm. If you have any questions please fell free to Contact Us via phone or email.
We are looking forward to another great day in San Antonio!

FrankenBike Houston #64: May 21, 2016, 10am-4pm

by Chris

frankenbike.net

FrankenBike Houston #64 – May 21, 2016 from 10am-4pm – will be held at Houston Cycling Centres SOUTHWEST SCHWINN located at 6607 S Braeswood Blvd Houston, TX 77096. Kirby is the event organizer for FrankenBike Houston so be sure to ask for him when you arrive if you need any help.
Load-in starts @ 9am and we all need to be packed up and off the event grounds by 5pm. If you have any questions please fell free to Contact Us via phone or email.
We are looking forward to another great day in Houston!

FrankenBike Austin # 130: May 28, 2016, 10am-4pm

by Chris

frankenbike.net

FrankenBike Austin #130 will be held at the new home of BikeTexas and we can’t think of a better location to celebrate Bike Month! The address is 3301-B East 5th Street 78702 at the corner of Allen and 5th. There is plenty of room for everyone so bring it if you got it!

Ride of Silence set to be held May 18

lubbockonline.com

The 14th annual Ride of Silence to honor cyclists killed or injured while riding on public roadways will be May 18.
The Lubbock ride will start at 7 p.m. at the Texas Tech Z-1 parking lot at 19th Street and Texas Tech Parkway, east of the credit union. Participants, who will include members of the West Texas Cycling Association and other cyclists, will ride 11 miles on a predetermined route down …

JOIN ME FOR A BIKE RIDE

Tuesday, May 31, 2016, 6:30 PM

TRAILS AT MARINE CREEK (TCC NW campus)
4801 Marine Creek Parkway Fort Worth, TX

3 Outdoor Women Went

The new trail at Marine Creek is great for bike riding.  We will do a 5.75 mile out/5.75 in for a total of about 11 miles around the lake.  Beginners/no-drop ride.  Call me for any questions.  [masked]

Check out this Meetup →

Ride to La Mesa NM Grps A and B, Staggered Start No Group C ride.

Saturday, May 14, 2016, 7:15 AM

River Run Plaza
1071 Country Club Rd El Paso, TX

18 Cyclists Went

• Group B meets: River Run 7:15am, Roll Out 7:30 am• Group B Pace: 14-17 mph avg• Group B Route: Ride Hwy 28 N to LaMesaReturn by same routeValley. Approx 43 miles• Group A meets: River Run 7:45 am, Roll Out 8:00 am• Group A Pace: 18-21 mph avg• Group A Route: Same as Group B (to La Mesa, return same route)• Ride Leaders:B Group RL Alan Mo…

Check out this Meetup →

Memorial Day Activities!

Waco Bicycle Club

us13.campaign-archive1.com

Wheres: Rides depart from Redwood Shelter, Picnic at Dougherty home: 2727 Lindsay Hollow Road, right around the corner from the Cameron Park Clubhouse. (Ride there, no parking at Doughertys. I will let you know if Clubhouse parking is available)
Whens: Monday, May 30th, Memorial Day, 10am-2pm
*Ride(s): Role out 10:10am from Redwood Shelter, both road and off-road.
*Picnic will commence at Dougherty home around noon.
What: We will ride and then have a cook out with all food provided. There will be vegetarian options.

El Paso Bike Month Calendar

www.whatsuppub.com

Fri., May 13
7:30 a.m.–10 a.m. – Ride For Reading
Meet at 5650 N Desert Blvd. (Crazy Cat Cyclery)
Ride for Reading donates books to children from low-income areas to promote literacy, as well as educating children about bicycling. Participants will deliver books on bikes to a local elementary school.
11p.m. The Midnight Ride
Details TBA. Visit ElPasoBikeMonth.com for updates.
Sat, May 14
8:15 a.m.–10:30 a.m. – Upper Valley Tour Groups B & C
Across from Rio Plaza Park across from strip center at 6205 Upper Valley Rd. (Just north of Artcraft.)
No drop ride. Depending on weather and winds, one of four routes will be selected by the ride leader. Depending on the route, there’s usually a mid-point social-coffee-refreshment break.
10:30 a.m.–2 p.m. The Winery Ride
La Sombra Antigua Winery (430 La Vina Rd, Anthony, NM 88021)
7 p.m.–8 p.m. – Bicijangueo
Details TBA. Visit ElPasoBikeMonth.com for updates. …

The southern tier!

By Cheyenne Dolin

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 27: Marfa rest day: So many personality types and free! Stuff.
Thursday May 5, 2016
Took it easy today. Started the day at a dinner and then went on the first half of an art tour of Donald Judd’s and other artist’s work at the Chianti museum. The work were instillation a of modern and minimalist styles, but I’m not sure I fully appreciated the work. Maybe I just don’t understand the philosophy behind it. Judd said his work is without metaphors and that he just wanted to display the materials themselves while accounting for the space it was in. While I didn’t find his mill aluminum boxes particularly inspiring or beautiful, the way they looked as a whole in the old brick artillery warehouse with the wide open windows overlooking a vast desert of tall dry grass was, in fact, beautiful. I got lunch at the foodshark truck, ordered the marfalafel and it was delicious. While there I met two couples who were from San Francisco, though neither originally. One of the couples was moving to Huston and were lawyers. The other two had recently gotten married, a beautiful Asian American and a French man. They were traveling through america in a rental car they’d rented and had done a similar route as I had. They told me about a free movie showing that night and a concert. After that I headed to to the post office to send out some postcards and it was there that I …

Going Green to Texas

By Ken Sidenblad

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Tatum,NM to Lubbock,TX: Wow what a tail wind
Monday May 9, 2016, 100 miles (161 km) – Total so far: 370 miles (596 km)
I was up at first light and leaving my camp spot at 07:45 and rode to Stripes for breakfast tacos and coffee. The wind was really blowing out of the west and right on my back. After a few hours of some good fast riding I called Frannie and told her I was going to try for a century ride. I asked her to call Brookdale in Lubbock and tell them I may be there a day early. About forty miles out I called Frannie and informed her I would make Lubbock and …

2016 Ride of Silence

Plano Bicycle Association

www.planobicycle.org

Wednesday 5/18
Trishop
Tri Shop Parking Lot – 6101 Windhaven Parkway, Plano, TX
6:45 PM – Pre-ride instruction, speakers, and introduction
7:00 PM – Ride of Silence; 7 mile route at slow pace
Post-ride – TBD for food and fellowship

Going Green to Texas

By Ken Sidenblad

www.crazyguyonabike.com

To Brookdale Remington Lubbock,TX: Stopped by to say howdy
Wednesday May 11, 2016, 4 miles (6 km) – Total so far: 374 miles (603 km)
At 10:00am I told my trike adventure story to the residents of Brookdale Grand Court and it was well received. Axel was a big hit and I got many questions about him and my tour. After a good lunch Axle and I made our way to Brookdale Remington Park for another show and tell. We rode in the front door and thru the …

APD officers taking part in Police Unity Tour

By Paul Valamides, KACU

www.reporternews.com


Abilene Police Department officer Joshua Ward is serving Abilenians from the East Coast this week as one of 2,500 officers cycling 300 miles as part of the Police Unity Tour.
“It’s just a sea of blue for miles,” Ward said, referring to participants’ blue jerseys. “They shut down six-lane highways for us.”
The event is among several activities scheduled for National Police Week, …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/730410154584346625

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Friendly Wind Bike Ride and Nasty Wind Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I should have paced my ride a little better today. The ease of riding north with the wind behind encouraged me to ride faster than I should have because when I turned into the wind my legs were not going to be able to push the pedals as hard and fast as I wanted. I chose the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route not because of the wind but to rotate the direction and add variety to biking. Today I rode 38.06 miles, slightly longer than this route usually goes. In Oakhurst I added a “U” to the right where I usually turn left on Mills Branch Drive.

That wind I enjoyed until riding on FM1314 back to Porter was from the SE at 11 miles when I checked at the Cumberland Crossing Shell station on FM1314. Before leaving home at 12:18 the airport reported the wind from the SE at 21 mph and when I got home it had dropped to 14 mph from the SSE with 17 mph gusts. The mostly cloudy sky allowed the sun to peek through some and the temperature was around 85 degrees at the end of the ride. At the beginning the sky was overcast but gradually the clouds broke up as the forecast said they would. Do I write too much about the wind? It is a major force a bicyclist has to overcome. I see this when watching the pro races. Sometimes it breaks the peloton and teams use it as a strategy.

I set a nice pace until the wind interrupted it. On Gene Campbell Road riding west toward the Walmart Distribution truck entrance I stayed in front of an 18 wheeler for about 3/10 of mile before he reached the entrance. I was riding 18 to 20 mph and there was just enough oncoming traffic that he couldn’t go around me and make the turn. I was relieved when he turned and he was probably glad to get away from me too.

Not much excitement on today’s ride. No sirens, fire trucks or emergency vehicles. I did notice when I stopped at the Cumberland Crossing Shell station for a break that I saw more Harris county Sheriff cars (3) than Montgomery County Sheriff cars (0). The station is well within Montgomery County. This is what my Edge 520 showed when I stopped at the Shell station.

5-11-2016 Cumberland Shell

My timing wasn’t very good. If I took a 30 minute break this would put me in the midst of the Briar Tree school traffic which was about 4 miles away. I took a little longer break thinking this would let the traffic disperse by the time I got there but my timing was wrong there too and I had to work my way through the school buses, day care buses and parents’ cars. While I was waiting at the Shell station I drank some Gatorade and ate some snacks. The weather from my phone while was there.

Once I got past the Briar Tree schools the Kings Manor school traffic was long gone and the Bear Branch school traffic was too. I got back home at 3:44.

It looks like the Edge 520 problems are resolved. I did get a phone disconnected alert 54 feet from where I pushed the start button but the phone connected alert came not too long after that. From then on the ride data accumulated. My confidence is high enough that I don’t use the Ride With GPS phone app as a backup. I hope this doesn’t bite me. I do keep an eye on the 520 to see if the mileage is increasing during the ride.

Thursday’s weather forecast looks like a repeat of today with a chance of rain. More biking on the agenda. Friday’s forecast calls for a 75% chance of rain starting around 2 pm. This can change though.

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