Texas Bicycling News May 8th 2016

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Hard Hats for Little Heads

By: Chelsi Smith & Jeremy Thomas

www.kxii.com


GAINESVILLE, Texas (KXII) — Local surgeons at North Texas Medical Center gave away free bicycle helmets Saturday in Gainesville.
The giveaway was part of the statewide “Hard Hats for Little Heads” program, which promotes kids to exercise regularly and teaches them the importance of wearing a helmet when riding a bike. …

Riverbend Work Party

ghorba.org

Event category: General
Trail: River Bend
Saturday, May 21, 2016 – 6:45am
Time to clean up patch up and weed eat after the flood. If we get enough peeps, we’ll berm some of the corners too.
Stating early to beat the heat. But if you show later, just call me. PLEASE txt me at the below number if you’re planning on showing so I can let you know of any change in plans.
Parking will be under the power lines on of Wimberly Canyon Drive. If you got a truck, you can drive down the power easement to the trails, gate will be open.
What to bring: …

Dick Nichols Park. Intermediate and Advanced Beginner ride (2 groups) 10 am

Saturday, May 21, 2016, 10:00 AM

Dick Nichols District Park
8011 Beckett Rd Austin, TX

18 Mountain Bikers Went

Helmet , eye protection and working bike required, spare tube suggested.We will have two or more  groups.After the ride will probably go for lunch somewhere near downtown.This is an unsanctioned ride.  Ride at your own risk.

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Barton Creek Greenbelt (Sculpture Falls Parking Lot) Advanced ride level

Tuesday, May 10, 2016, 4:00 PM

Sculpture Falls
Sculpture Falls, Barton Creek Greenbelt Trail Austin, Te

4 Mountain Bikers Went

The trail is much more technical than Walnut.  The trail has some nasty drops,  tough climbs, roots and rocks, so this group is not for beginners.  I  recommend knee and elbow pads to accompany your helmet.  We will be riding various trails,  dump truck,  hill of life,  violet crown, ect..People always ask me for an idea of what skills you need fo…

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Faces in the news: Memorial Ride honors Trooper Travis Locker

By Andrew Branca

www.waxahachietx.com


Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper James Colunga rode in honor of fallen Trooper Travis Raburn Locker during the Texas Peace Officer Memorial Ride from April 31 to May 1 from Katy to Austin. Seventy-two bike riders and 16 motorcycle riders took part in the event. Locker started his career with DPS on June 29, 1960. He lost his life in the line of duty Nov. 9, 1969 at Brookside Road and …

Bike for Mike was awesome as always.

the sci guy

www.bikeforums.net


I did the 35 mile route, and crushed it. I think my avg speed was around 17 for the whole ride – even on my heavy ass Cross-Check. Commuting to work daily on my heavy ass Trek has really helped.
For this ride its better to do a shorter route because you get back to the winery earlier, and you don’t have to worry about the food and beer and wine being gone. So, it was an awesome time. Y’all should have come. I’d estimate there were maybe 300-400 riders.
Here’s some pics. …

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Texas Bicycle News May 7th 2016

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Fort Worth bike lanes, then and now

by Bike Friendly Fort Worth

www.bikefriendlyfortworth.com

What bike infrastructure has the city of Fort Worth implemented in the last six years? Let’s look.
This 2010 map shows the proposed bike lanes and sharrows from the Bike Fort Worth plan.

The southern tier!

By Cheyenne Dolin

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 25: Fort Hancock – Van Horn: Thirsty
Tuesday May 3, 2016
Yesterday seems like miles away now, though I suppose it is. I ate breakfast at the restaurant across the street from the police station, next to the 76. She made amazing food, they’ve been there for thirty years now. As usual the first twenty miles were beautiful, farms and sheep ranches against the backdrop of blue mountains. Only a few cars passed me on the country road. Then I had to hop on the I-10 for a couple miles and deal with some construction. The shoulder was large enough that I didn’t feel completely uncomfortable, but like all cyclist I’m sure, the sound of a big rig passing is rather unnerving. Then onto a red frontage road. Took a lunch break at the picnic area and read all the graffiti names and years on the walls. Had to jump back on the I-10 for another joyous (not) 8 miles and pass through a …

Day 26: Van Horn – Marfa: Marfa art vortex
Wednesday May 4, 2016
I’m sitting on the window sill of an abandoned gas station market, enjoying the shade under the awning. The town where I’m eating lunch (an apple and a pb&j) is Valentine; I’m watching pigeons and sparrows fly in and out of an open window of an abandoned home. They fly in without question, suggesting they and their ancestors have been doing this for some time. All the buildings are abandoned here, except some of the homes, which house a population of 219 people. There is also a gas station here, which apparently receives a lot of mail every February 14th. I’ve ridden 34 flat miles since Van Horn, and I quite enjoyed the first 20. The morning is my favorite, especially when I can get away with not wearing sunglasses, it feels like I’m seeing the world in proper color. I’m also more present and …

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Problems Galore Biking to FM686

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As I got ready to leave while I ate an apple and other snack I reviewed possible routes for today’s ride. Yesterday I planned on riding east today but I thought maybe I should go north. In the end I stuck with my plan and rode the “FM1960 to FM686 – Back Extended” route. Bad choice it turns out. More on this shortly.

Rolling out the driveway at 11:59 the weather was gorgeous. Low 80’s with a few small clouds dotting the blue sky and a SE 9 mph wind waited for me as I rode to Atascocita and beyond. I saw another bike rider before I got to FM1960 and later another lady biker passed on Fairlake Drive.

The ride was going great until I got to 22.25 miles when I heard something hit my rear wheel and made a noise each time the wheel turned. I quickly stopped and checked the front wheel just in case I heard wrong. Looking at the rear wheel the problem was quick to find. A bright sliver piece of metal stuck out of the tire about 10 inched from the valve. I was on FM1960 with traffic buzzing and I decided to walk to Huffman – Eastgate Road where it wasn’t so busy and noisy. It was about 2/10ths of mile and I picked a spot and began working on the tire. I pulled what looked like a nail out and it was longer than I expected, about 1 1/4″. Next I got the tire tools out and removed one side of the tire and pulled the tube out. The hole was easy to spot. Roughing up the tube with sandpaper I applied glue, waited for it to dry and put a patch on it. The patch looked like it glued on perfectly. I put the tube back in the tire, mounted the tire and began pumping it up. The tire started to air up but would not get hard enough to ride. I pumped it up again and still not firm. I unscrewed the pump hose (I use a Lezyne pump) and reconnected it thinking maybe I didn’t have it tight enough. I did this a couple of times without success airing up the tire. Unscrewing the hose a silver part came out of the tire valve and I thought the tube was ruined and the valve stem broke off. Without thinking I unscrewed the part from the pump hose and threw in the grass. After a couple of minutes when I removed the tube from the tire it dawned on me what I saw was the Presta valve core and now I had to use the spare tube in the seat bag. I installed it in the tire, mounted the tire and pumped it up. When I unscrewed the pump hose a big whoosh of air came out of the tire. The valve stem was in the in of the pump hose. I removed it from the hose, screwed it into the valve stem and tried again. Same result. I tired again and the valve core kept coming unscrewed. The valve core has two flat sides to allow a wrench to tighten it. My problem: no wrench. I tired using two Allen keys squeezing the core to tighten it and that helped some but it came unscrewed again. Next I thought the hose end sticking to the core and poured some water into the hose end. Screwing it on the tire valve I did not tighten it as much as before and pumped up the tire. This time I slowly unscrewed it and the core stayed in the valve stem. Success!!! If that had not worked I was going to call my wife to rescue me. Now I had to decide whether to continue riding the route or turn back. I decided to continue riding east on the route. While I was working on the tire several people stopped to ask if I was okay or needed help. I told them I was doing okay but if they had come by near the end of the ordeal I might have answered differently. UPDATE: Turns out the reason the patch did not work is I missed a second hole at the edge of the patch. I found this at home after removing the original patch and putting on a new one. When I aired up the tube I could feel and hear the air escaping. I haven’t had much success putting a patch on another patch. I retired the tube and put a new one in my seat bag. UPDATE #2: I peeled the small patch off the leaking original tube and put a larger one on. Pumping up the tube with the floor pump the tube appears to be fixed. I put it back in my seat bag for the next major flat.

Rolling back to FM1960 to cross to the east bound shoulder every car in this part of Liberty and Harris Counties came by. After several minutes a break in the traffic arrived and I rode to the othe side and headed east. As I was riding I started thinking about the probability of riding over a nail in an 8 foot wide shoulder. I figured it was pretty small but I did it. Some of the numbers: 8 ft. wide shoulder = 96″. Take away 2 feet on each side of the shoulder where the most debris is and the rumble grooves leaves 48″. The nail was maybe an 1/8″ in diameter, the tire was 23mm wide or 7/8″ wide. Dividing 48″ by 7/8″ gives 64 strips 7/8″ wide in the remaining 48″ wide shoulder. So the probability is 1 in 64. I didn’t do all this math while I was riding but I thought about it. Now that I cleaned this small portion along FM1960 east the next biker has a lower probability of getting a flat. Maybe my formula needs to use the width of the nail. In that case the probability is 1 in 384. Even less likely to happen.

Riding past the Dayton Food & Fuel Store at FM686 I turned around to ride west and the traffic starting passing by again. I think they were waiting for me to try to cross FM1960. I stopped at the Dayton Food & Fuel store, washed my hands from the tire repair and refilled my water bottle. Walking outside I drank some water and got a “brain freeze” from the ice cold water which took several minutes to leave. Recovered I got on the bike and rode west back to Huffman where Is topped at the Chevron station for a real break. The Edge 520 screen when I got to the station.

5-7-2016 Huffman Chevron

I sat in the shade to eat 2 granola bars and drink 32 oz. of Powerade. Leaning against the gas pump canopy support pole I felt my back muscles. Most of the tire repair action was me standing up bending over the rear tire and my back was sore now. I stayed there for about 40 minutes. The shade was cool and the breeze dried up what little perspiration I had. The weather while I was at the Chevron station.

My back felt better after resting and eating. I got back on the bike and headed for home. Riding west on FM1960 and through Atascocita Shores I started getting “phone disconnected” messages from the Edge 520. I had a couple earlier in the ride but they reconnected. Now the disconnect message came but no reconnect messages appeared. The 520 still recorded the ride data so I wasn’t too concerned. When I stopped at our mailbox and stopped the 520 I waited for it to save and upload the ride. The save part happened but the upload didn’t. Also the LiveTrack kept going when it is supposed to stop when the end ride button is pressed. After leaning the bike against the fence I turned the power off on my phone planning on starting it up to see if this allowed the upload to happen. When I checked the 520 on the bike it was froze on the power off screen. Apparently turning the phone off caused that. I pressed the 2 buttons to restart the 520 and it went through its steps. It connected to my phone and not long after that the ride data uploaded to Garmin Connect. I also noticed the speed showing on the 520 would jump wildly with the new speed sensor. I would look and the speed would be 20+ mph and then drop to 9 mph. I thought maybe the battery was low but when I checked the battery in the 520’s settings it said it was okay. Not sure what is going on. Overall the speed data looks okay. Oh how great technology is!!!

In the garage I got an old tube and removed the valve core from it and screwed it in the tube I brought back with me. Testing the pump hose on it the core unscrewed again. I put some oil in the end of the hose and that seems to fix the problem. The core stays in. Now all I have to do is patch the tube again. Pumping it up with the floor pump the air comes out around the patch. I don’t know I missed the hole or the glue/patch was no good. I will try another brand of patch kit, Park Tools I think is what I have.

The good weather holds for Sunday but I will probably ride a short ride because it is Mother’s Day.

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Texas Bicycle News Digest May 6th 2016

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MSU men’s cycling wins another conference crown

By Donny Victory

www.timesrecordnews.com


Midwestern State men’s cycling team earned its ninth consecutive conference championship last weekend in Commerce as the Mustangs remained undefeated in conference competition for the past four years.
Mother Nature did her best to steal center stage, wiping out many of the scheduled races, but the Midwestern Men’s A riders were not to be denied their time in the sun.
The Men’s A competition races were the only …

May 14 cycling fair offers free helmets, bike inspections

www.dallascitynews.net

Dallas Park and Recreation has teamed with American Society of Safety Engineers Southwest Chapter to host a family-friendly bike fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 14 at Cotton Bowl Plaza in Fair Park.
An on-site obstacle course for cyclists ages five to 14 will re-create real-life cycling situations. Attendees can practice scanning for automobiles, develop correct riding postures, learn intersection safety tips, and detect and avoid road hazards such as tree limbs, pot holes and rocks. …

Ride to honor: Local officers cycle to honor Jones

By Deanna Kirk

www.corsicanadailysun.com


Imagine riding a bicycle in the Hill Country, pulling the hills while the sun is beaming down.
Then picture riding that bicycle 150 miles from Katy to Austin.
Two local law enforcement officers did just that April 30 and May 1, and they did it to honor the memory of their fallen comrade, Officer Chester Jones. Sr. Trooper John Cabano with the Department of Public Safety and Officer Dante Johnson with the Navarro College Police Department both made the decision to participate in the Texas Police Officers Memorial Ride. …

Proud traditions: Cycling Scenes in College Towns

Drew Hulse

www.redandblack.com


The Athens Twilight Criterium is not only the biggest cycling event each year in Athens; it is one of the biggest cycling events nationally all year.
However, Athens is not the only city to host large cycling events. It isn’t even the only college town. Two of the biggest other cycling-based annual events comes from the University of Texas with the Texas 4000 and at Indiana University with the Little 500.
From Austin to Anchorage
“As you know, Austin, TX is kind of known for being weird, and there’s nothing like being weird with the cyclists,” said University of Texas alumnus Josh Hernandez.
The weirdness he’s referring to was a 70 day, 4,000-mile journey from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska with 70 other UT students in 2015. Together, they raised $750,000 to fight cancer.
The Texas 4000 has been a student-run, student-led organization at the …

Intern, sidewalk riding, grazing greenlit at council

By Erik McCowan

www.gonzalesinquirer.com

GONZALES — The Gonzales City Council met in regular session on Tuesday evening and approved a variety of issues from hiring an intern for the Gonzales Economic Development Corporation (GEDC) to signing off on grazing leases for several city parcels.
City Manager Allen Barnes began the resolution to discuss hiring an intern for GEDC by describing it as a good way to bring students back to town who are ready to graduate college yet needing a final bit of coursework to complete their studies. In this case, GEDC had found monies to enlist the help of a paid intern in the amount of $2,000 over the course of the summer to assist the organization. All they needed was council’s approval. …

Vehicle strikes student on bicycle

www.texarkanagazette.com


Middle-schooler was taken to St. Michael with nonlife-threatening injuries
A Redwater Middle School student on a bicycle was hit by a vehicle driven by a high school student as both were leaving school Thursday afternoon, said Dr. Kathy Allen, Redwater Independent School District superintendent.
The middle-schooler was alert and conscious when paramedics arrived, Allen said.
After school was released, Allen said the student was hit as the students left the high school parking lot …

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

by Thomas

steinerranchcycling.com

Happy Friday!
Tomorrow’s weather looks great! Let’s get some hill work in on the Bee Creek route (aka Cozy Cove) including all the cool loop extensions. The route is 62 miles and can be found here: https://www.strava.com/routes/3985679 . After the ride we hang out at Lakeside next to the start for some great discounted burgers and beer. …

Three questions with a Beginning Racer

by dctolley

bicyclesportshop.wordpress.com


Why is Thomas Lea of Steiner Ranch Cycling stoked? Because he just successfully completed his third Beginning Racer Program clinic, in which he learned the finer points of riding a fluid echelon and handling his bike in close quarters. (Also, he won a $150 gift card raffled to clinic attendees by clothing company Eliel Cycling.)
Bicycle Sport Shop’s Beginning Racer Program is a progressive series of five cycling clinics, aimed at equipping cyclists with the skills and knowledge necessary to race their bikes with confidence. The …

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