Texas Bicycling News April 24th 2016

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CLUB MEETING

Waco Bicycle Club

Monday, April 25, 2016
Sergios at 7:00 p.m.
608 Austin Ave, Waco, TX 76701
Sergio’s will be opening just for us.
You are welcome to bring your bikes inside: there will be an easy road ride before, and a night ride through Cameron Park after. Sergio’s has private parking in the rear, and both rides will depart and return from there. Check back here closer to the meeting date for more information.
We are attempting to accommodate the schedule of an important guest, and I will be giving a short presentation on “dumbing down” trails.

Discussion of the following items
*Huaco Bowmen – Meetings with city officials–Park Superintendent, Director of Parks and Rec, and Assistant City Manager over parks–about the status of the 40 acres occupied by the Huaco Bowmen
*Discussion of “dumbing down” trails
*Possibility of becoming an IMBA chapter
*Some details on three new trails in progress
*Some details on a pump track (maybe two!)

Ride Like A Girl – NEW LOCATION: Zilker Park at Rock Garden Picnic Area

Monday, May 23, 2016, 6:00 PM

Barton Creek Greenbelt – Zilker Park at Rock Garden Picnic Area
2201 Andrew Zilker Road Austin, TX

23 Mountain Bikers Went

Based on the theory that women learn new skills differently from men, these rides are designated as “for women only”.The concept is simple:  meet at local bike trails for all-women group rides and mountain biking skills instruction.  Riders break into small groups based on ability and then hit the trail.  After the ride, we regroup for a raffle of…

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Ride Like A Girl – SEASON OPENER Ride and Party

Monday, May 16, 2016, 6:00 PM

Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park
12138 North Lamar Boulevard Austin, TX

50 Mountain Bikers Went

RLAG is back!  Come out for the Season Opener ride and party.  There will be grillin’ happening after the ride, so bring a side item to share.Based on the theory that women learn new skills differently from men, these rides are designated as “for women only”.The concept is simple:  meet at local bike trails for all-women group rides and mountain …

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The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group

Austin, TX
3,936 Mountain Bikers

Meet other local mountain bikers to organize rides, review trails, gear and trade tips. All skill-levels welcome. We’ll try to organize rides that fit all experience levels. M…

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International Mountain Bike Association Awareness Ride

Saturday, Apr 30, 2016, 9:00 AM

Performance Bicycle
4750 Fm 1960 Rd W Houston, TX

1 Bicycle Enthusiasts Went

“We are moving our bike ride back to the shop! Every Saturday morning meet up at the store at 9 AM to get ready to leave on our weekly group ride. Please bring a helmet, water and a positive attitude and be ready to have fun! We will leave from the store parking lot and go through the neighborhoods behind the shop away from the busy traffic of 1960…

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International Mountain Bike Association Awareness Ride

Saturday, Apr 30, 2016, 9:00 AM

Performance Bicycle
7549 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX

2 Cycling Enthusiasts Went

You’re invited to join our Saturday morning, beginners group ride starting from and ending at our W. Houston, Performance Bicycle store. The ride is for beginners and those getting back on the saddle. The average pace will be between 10 and 14 miles per hour and the ride will last approximately one hour. We’ll explore some of the local bike paths a…

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Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Good Legs Bad Weather Bike Ride to Huffman

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After yesterday’s long ride I wasn’t sure how my legs would do today. My plan was to ride at least 30 miles but as I was riding the legs were doing good so I lengthened the ride changing to the “Atascocita South – Walden – Huffman” route instead of the shorter “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman”. I ended up biking 35.52 miles which is about what I need to average each of the remaining days in April if I am to reach my 772 mile goal. My shorter route would have required me to make up the shortage on another day but now I am at least even. April miles are up to 598 leaving 174 miles to go. I was looking at my rides this month on a calendar to see if I had biked one or two more days I would much closer to my goal but who knew we were going to have the rain. Maybe a couple of days I took off for no real reason would have helped. Moral of the story, don’t count on riding later in the month to make up.

Weather was a concern on today’s ride. The blue sky of yesterday was replaced with an overcast sky. Looking in the distance to the west it looked like rain and the forecast showed a possibility of rain. It also was cooler too; 78 when I left home at 12:32 and 74 when I got back at 3:18.

With the longer route I needed to keep a steady pace to try to avoid getting caught in the rain. The plan went well and I took a break when I got to the Huffman Chevron. My 520 screen when I got there.

4-24-2016 Huffman Chevron

Looking at the western sky I knew the stop better be short. No Powerade today. I sat down on the curb under the canopy to eat a trail mix bar and a granola bar to power me back home. I checked the weather on my phone and could rain approaching.

The orange dot in the right picture is the Chevron station. I will ride west through the green areas to Atascocita and then north. It was going to be race. I left the station around 2:30 riding west on FM1960. About 1/2 mile after leaving the station I start feeling an occasional small drizzle drop. I watched the approaching cars from the west to see if their wipers were on but I didn’t see any. The last thing I wanted was get over Lake Houston and the rain catch me. The last refuge was the Exxon station before getting on the causeway, still no wipers. So I rode across the causeway. I could feel very light rain but the road wasn’t getting wet, just me. It stayed this way as I rode to Pinehurst Trails and turned right. The drizzle slowed at times but was with me as I made my way to W. lake Houston Parkway. I thought maybe getting north of the river the drizzle would stop but that didn’t happen until I reached the YMCA when it stopped. But north of Kingwood Drive it began again all the way home. After putting my bike away I went into the house and while putting my shoes and helmet away I could hear the rain start to hit the skylight. As I write this now it is raining more and I would have been very wet. For a change I beat the rain home.

I almost forgot about the boy on a BMX bike taking a header in Town Center. I was coming down the street towards Fuddruckers and at the intersection I saw the boy ride up over the curb and then lean forward pulling the rear tire up off the ground. This went well for about 10 feet and then he went to far forward and flipped over the handle bars landing on the pavement. I rode up to him and asked if he was okay and he said he was. His two friends rode offer and were helping him up. No helmet but that would not look cool.

Tomorrow’s forecast calls for overcast sky, a high of 86 and a 25% or less chance of rain. I should be able to ride.

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Texas Bicycling News April 23rd 2016

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Bastrop State Park – New Trail Coming

by kerryp

www.bikemojo.com

For years we in the Bastrop and Centex area have hoped for more mountain bike trails in the TPWD parks here.
Those hopes came to fruition a couple of years ago when TPWD agreed to build trails in Buescher.
Those trails turned out great IMO and we had a fun place to ride that was friendly for all levels of riders.
The recent fires in Buescher have been a setback, but the trails will be repaired and re-opened some time in the near future.
Before the Bastrop Complex Fires (the bigger fires prior to the Buescher fires) there was a push to build mtb trails in Bastrop State Park (BSP) too, but those haven’t made it off the ground because the fires badly damaged BSP and there were bigger issues to concentrate on.
TPWD staff released news at last nights Friends of the Lost Pines meeting that …

Southern Tier – Finishing at the Start

By Tom Mobley

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Finishing Where We Started: Las Cruces, NM to El Paso, TX
Friday April 22, 2016, 54 miles (87 km) – Total so far: 949 miles (1,527 km)
On April 15, 2015 we departed the El Paso Airport Townplace Suites for a tour of Big Bend and west Texas. Today, we finished at that same hotel, thus completing the entire Southern Tier. Granted, we did it in 4 sections, but that has worked well for us.
The final day was certainly no “triumphant” ride in. About 5 miles into the day, a local racer type came in from the right and rode along with us for a bit. “Windy today” were his first words, followed by “It never comes from this direction. It always blows the other way.” This direction, of course, meant from the SSE, which was the exact direction we had to ride all day.
This was no big surprise for us as we were about to enter Texas and …

9 AM start- Tour de Southern Walnut Creek Trail

Tuesday, Apr 26, 2016, 9:00 AM

Govalle Park
5200 Bolm Rd. Austin, TX

5 Austin Cyclists Went

Start Time is 9 AM!Weather permitting…A D-pace ride (roughly 11 to 13 mph) on The Southern Walnut Creek Trail from the trailhead at Govalle Park up to the Abrupt End at Lindell Lane just north of Decker Lake.  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 periodical…

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Visit Dallas rider loses memory after racing crash

By VeloNews.com


Denver’s KDVR reports that 25-year-old Lauren De Crescenzo (Visit Dallas – DNA) is suffering from memory loss after a brain injury sustained in a racing crash.
De Crescenzo was competing at the San Dimas Stage Race in California on April 2 when she caught a handlebar in the metal fencing that lined the road near the stage 2 finish. Sustaining multiple injuries in …

VIVA STREETS!: Community gets active in Downtown Harlingen

www.valleymorningstar.com


HARLINGEN — Hundreds turned out for a first of its kind event in Harlingen yesterday.
Viva Streets offered residents a safe, fun, and open environment in which to walk, ride their bicycles, skate, jog and enjoy all the other activities being offered.
The Bermea family was drawn to the event because it offered an opportunity to be active. …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/724058966364413952

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/724036687656062977

https://twitter.com/_DevinParker/status/724001388053823489

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/723918076765454337

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Almost A Metric Century Bike Ride

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As I was getting to leave on today’s ride I told my wife I needed to ride 200 miles if I was going to reach my mileage goal for April. Then I laughed and said 50 or 60 miles will be how far i ride today. To go that far I decided to ride what i call the ” Montgomery County” route. Except for the first couple of  miles and the last 4 miles this ride was in Montgomery County. I wasn’t sure how far I would ride since i haven’t done this route since October 22nd 2011. Back then I only rode 48.43 miles compared to today’s 61.12 miles. The difference is because I rode FM3083 to Loop 336 today rather than staying on SH242 to FM1314 like in 2011.

The weather was so perfect I couldn’t keep myself from riding a shorter route. The sky was clear, the wind light and the temperature was in the 80’s. I think I would order weather like this for almost every bike ride. I got an earlier than usual start (for me at least) leaving home at 10:52 and I got back home at 3:42. This is the longest ride this year.

I stopped at the Valero station on FM3083 and Albert Moorehead Road to refill my water bottle and give my legs a break. I wasn’t there too long. This is my Edge 520 screen.

4-23-2016 Valero Station

The average speed was great due to the lack of wind. Before I got to the Valero station I passed the spot of a tragic truck and SUV accident a few days ago. The pavement was scarred and 4 crosses were standing back from the road.  I saw the Conroe city limit sign on FM3083 and it caught my attention with the population number at 71,000+. I can remember when it was around 25,000. Conroe is no longer a sleep town north of Houston.

The weather conditions when I was at the Valero station.

Rolling away from the rest stop I continued north on FM3083 to Loop 336 where I turned left to ride to FM1314. Traffic was good until I approached FM1314 where a piece of heavy equipment was being loaded onto a trailer parked in the right lane. I got around that and positioned myself in the left turn lane waiting on the signal to change. Riding southeast on FM1314 the light breeze offered more resistance than I had up to then but I was able to maintain a good pace. The shoulder is smooth and wide on FM1314. After crossing SH242 about a mile further the shoulder changes from asphalt to concrete and is even wider. For some reason the concrete shoulder seems to have more sand and rock debris than the asphalt but this might be location specific rather than road surface related.

When I reached the Shell station at Cumberland Crossing I stopped for a longer break to drink some Gatorade, eat a trail mix bar and a granola bar. I was tempted to buy something else but I resisted. I found a cool spot out by the pumps in the shade. The light breeze felt good while my legs recovered for the 14+ mile ride to home. People stopped at the Church’s Chicken store in the station building and I kept looking at the food pictures in the window but my resistance held up. The weather while I was resting.

Along with the great temperature the humidity was a dry 38% keeping my jersey dry. I did notice while I sitting by the pump that my shorts has salt in the ribs of the material. Somewhat rested I left there and rode on to Old Sorters Road to take the streets through Briar Tree and Oakhurst to get back to Kingwood. I could see some evidence of high water from the Sunday night rain in places along the ride but the water has drained out of the ditches the roads I was on.

Once I was back in Kingwood I slowed down as my legs were starting to notice how far they had pedaled. This pulled my average speed down from 15.7 mph to the final 15.2 mph average speed at the end.

I am now within 210 miles of my April goal. With 6 potential biking days left (Thursday I cannot ride) it will be a tall order to reach my goal but I will keep biking and see how close I can get. I will need to ride an average of 35 miles each day.

I did see one other biker near the end of the ride.

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