Texas Bicycling News Digest April 19th 2016

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Any other MS150 riders out there? I chose to ride the whole way on Day 1 and completed my first double century

by minidini10

www.reddit.com


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BP MS 150 2016 Movie

Bryan Kung

www.youtube.com

The BP MS 150 2016 is the largest MS charity bike ride in the world. Spanning 2 days and 150 miles from Houston, TX to Austin, TX, 10,000+ riders, and 3,000+ volunteers participate in one of the most fun charity events ever organized.

Scott’s BP MS 150 Bicycle Ride From Katy, to La Grange, Texas.

Scott Hawthorn

www.youtube.com

I set a goal of riding in this MS 150 after my total knee replacement to keep me and my physical therapy motivated.

Pop-pop T Goes West – Then East

By David Tatman

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Shepherd Sanctuary to Buna to De Ritter: Goodbye, Texas…Hello Louisiana
Tuesday April 19, 2016, 58 miles (93 km) – Total so far: 2,034 miles (3,274 km)
After our unplanned layover day everyone was ready to ride. Because of our hotel reservations in New Orleans we had to figure out how to make up the lost day. Compounding the problem was the fact we had a charity commitment tonight in Merryville, LA.
So what we did was take the van to Buna, TX then ride to De Ritter, LA. Now we’ll take the van back to Merryville for the charity event.
The morning was very warm but overcast. The roads initially were 4 lane divided highways with …

Around Town – Red Balloon Run & Ride

By J.D. Ryan

dfw.cbslocal.com


The iconic Red Balloon of The Children’s Health System of Texas will fly again this weekend for the annual Red Balloon Run & Ride to raise money.
“The Red Balloon Run & Ride in five years has engaged over 22,000 participants in the Dallas area and raised over $3.5 million dollars for Children’s” said Preston Walhood of Passion for Children’s. …

Bike Hutto Rolls Into National Bike Month With A Lot To Celebrate

bikehutto.org


May 2016 not only marks the second year of Hutto, Texas celebrating National Bike Month, but the one year anniversary of Bike Hutto’s official launch. Formed out of a need for bicyclists in the Hutto area to have social opportunities, bike safety education, and an advocacy voice for future infrastructure – Bike Hutto became the first bicycling advocacy organization to be formed in Williamson County. …

Freeride 512 Campout, Ride Sesh & Build Party at Rocky Hill Ranch

Saturday, May 7, 2016, 11:00 AM

Rocky Hill Ranch
578 Farm-to-Market 153 Smithville, TX

7 Mountain Bikers Went

Freeride 512 Campout, Ride Sesh & Build Party at Rocky Hill Ranch. May 7th& 8th. This event is subject to weather so please check back here for possible changes/ updates.Bring grillables and camping gear!Meet at 11 AM on Saturday. We”ll ride and build through Sunday. Meet at the FR512 park located at Rocky Hill Ranch by the back gate off Arrowhea…

Check out this Meetup →

http://www.meetup.com/HoustonCyclingClub/events/229507044/?rv=ea2&_af=event&_af_eid=229507044&https=off

The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group

Austin, TX
3,935 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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Let’s Meetup and Ride the Mountain Bike trails of Memorial Park

Monday, Apr 25, 2016, 6:00 PM

Memorial Park – Soccer/Rugby Pitch Parking lot
6501 Memorial Dr (29.765522, -95.444994) Houston, TX

1 Members Went

Intermediate MTB Ride – Every Monday at Memorial Park. 6pm until Danny gets tired or it gets too dark. (Usually about an hour) Join us every Monday for a fun, moderate pace ride through the Memorial Park Trails. We can do skills training or just play in the dirt.Meet at the parking lot by the Soccer/Rugby field. Bring your helmet and water. Add li…

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Local orthopedist recovering after a distracted driver hit him while cycling

by Ann Wyatt Little

www.fox7austin.com

Dr. David Savage is back in the office at Texas Orthopedics and he’s glad to be there. His road to recovery continues after he was hit by a driver while cycling in March.
“I worked that morning and had the afternoon off and I like to cycle as a hobby,” said Savage. Out on the road and on two wheels Savage has logged thousands of miles cycling. A hobby that he loves and one that took a …

Tour de Wildflower Trails Bike Ride

by Rodney Bynum, Maverick Chain Gang

www.facebook.com

Saturday, April 23 at 9:15 AM in CDT
$25 entry fee has been set. Registration(7:30-9:00) and the start is in town at the closed Milsteps Grocery, 302 S. Main(parking available,) The finish point will be on a vacant lot beside the Dollar General store. Registered riders will receive a swag bag from TxDot with a t-shirt and other fun/useful items. Finishers will be rewarded with a medal. You like medals, don’t you?
Proceeds, above cost, from sponsors, donations, & entry fees will go to benefit the local Rainbow Rooms, with a small amount being held as seed money for next year.
WHAT ARE RAINBOW ROOMS? …

Austin Ridge Riders Pace Bend Race Results

www.usacycling.org

Spicewood, TX
Apr 9, 2016 – Apr 10, 2016
XC Men 19-29 Cat1
XC Women 19-39 Cat1
XC Women 19-99 Pro/C1
XC Men 19-99 Pro/C1
XC Men 30-39 Cat1
XC Men 40-49 Cat1
XC Women 40-49 Cat1
XC Men 50-59 Cat1
XC Women 50-99 Cat1
XC Men 60-99 Cat1
XC Men 15-18 Cat1
XC Men 19-99 SSOpen
XC Women 19-99 SSOpen
XC Women 15-18 Cat2
XC Men 15-18 Cat2
XC Men 19-29 Cat2
XC Women 19-29 Cat2
XC Men 19-99 SS2/3
XC Men 30-34 Cat2
XC Women 30-39 Cat2
XC Women 40-99 Cat2
XC Men 40-44 Cat2
XC Men 45-49 Cat2
XC Men 50-99 Cat2
XC Men 35-39 Cat2
XC Women 1-10 Cat3
XC Men 1-10 Cat3
XC Men 11-12 Cat3
XC Women 11-12 Cat3
XC Women 13-14 Cat3
XC Men 13-14 Cat3
XC Men 15-18 Cat3
XC Women 15-18 Cat3
XC Women 19-29 Cat3
XC Men 19-29 Cat3
XC Men 30-39 Cat3
XC Women 30-39 Cat3
XC Men 40-49 Cat3
XC Women 40-99 Cat3
XC Men 50-99 Cat3
XC Men 19-99 FatBike
XC Women 19-99 FatBike

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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See the Flooding Bike Ride

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Yesterday we had heavy rains in the Houston area. At my home we got 7.75″, much less than the 18″ some places received. The weather forecast said rain was possible again today but it seemed to be holding off. Before I got dressed to ride I got a call from the Weather Channel asking if I would like to be interviewed tonight about the rain and what I saw. This is because of the Personal Weather Station I have on wunderground.com. I finished getting ready and left the house at 1:22 planning to ride the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route. Since my Edge 520 has worked with any issues the last 2 rides I decided to not use my backup Ride With GPS app. This was a bad decision. More on this later. As I was riding through Town Center Park I got a call from the person at the Weather Channel telling me they would not interview me tonight after all because other events/news more important had come up. I think the Houston flooding was now considered “old” news. Maybe someday I will make my network debut.

Riding through my village in Kingwood I could see lots of leaves and small limbs laying in yards and streets. My house had water overflow from the street during early Monday washing debris and my newly installed mulch into the street and neighbor’s yards. It was strong enough to move a bunch of big plastic bags with plant trimmings around too. Continuing on to the south I stopped along Kingwood Drive at a bridge where I could the effects of the high water that was now gone down a lot.

I crossed Kingwood Drive riding south on Bens Branch Drive when it started to rain. I hoped it was an isolated shower but as made my way to W. Lake Houston Parkway it increased. I stopped under a tree to wait for the traffic to pass and ride to the other side of WLHP and some shelter at the YMCA. I got there and waited until the rain slowed. Then I resumed the route going south through Kingwood Greens. The rain slowed and stopped before i got back to WLHP. As I passed one of the holes on the golf course I saw how high the water was and too this picture.

The log in the water at the back of the photo is floating to the left. Normally I cannot see the water from this spot. From there I rode on the WLHP bridge over the San Jacinto River and too these pictures.

Just to the right edge of this photo is the log/tree in the picture above. The water is much deeper here than normal. These are more pictures as I rode across the ridge.

Those are boat house roofs peeking above the water. They normally are well above the water and on the shore.

At this point because of the rain delay I decide to shorten the ride to the “Kingwood-E Lake Houston Pkwy” route. One of the streets in Walden backs up to Lake Houston and as I ride by I can see the back yards of some of the houses. Water has encroached in to them swallowing play equipment and boat docks. The streets are dry now and I head to E. Lake Houston Parkway on the east side of the lake. The Cedar Landing Restaurant has water over the pier and into the outside eating area and part of the parking lot.

Turning around I head back home through Atascocita to home. Up to this point my Edge 520 had recorded the ride but after crossing Kingwood Drive and passing Creekwood Middle School the 520 froze. I tried to save the ride but froze on the screen saying it was saving. I was about 1 1/2 miles from home and I decided to not mess with it until I got home. Before the freeze I got 2 phone disconnected messages as cars passed me, making me think stray Bluetooth signals caused the problem. When I got home I washed the Stradalli and went inside to figure out what went wrong with the 520. I managed to get the data from the 520, uploaded it to RideWithGPS.com, export the data file from there, import it into SportTracks, export it from SportTracks and upload it to Gramin Connect and Strava. This is what drives me crazy when the 520 freezes. Now I have decided to turn Bluetooth off on the 520 and see if that makes a difference. This will stop the Live Track feature which I really like.

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/8594334/embed 600px 600px]

[iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/550678181/embed/f1e4d24e76394017e0be7b2740b48a2f5a5aafdb 590px 405px]

Texas Bicycling News Digest April 18th 2016

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July bike tour to begin in Bangs

koxe.com

The Heart of Texas Cyclists, a Brownwood-based bicycling club, is holding a bike tour in conjunction with the Bangs Flamin’ BBQ Cookoff and Red Hot Trade Days. The event will be Saturday, July 30 at the Bangs Community Events Center.
The tours will feature distance options of 35 km, 60 km, and 100 km. Top three finishers in each route distance will receive awards, with the 100K top finisher taking home a trophy. Special awards are also …

The Coolest Jerseys of the 2016 BP MS150

By Marco Torres

www.houstonpress.com


HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 16: The National Multiple Sclerosis Society hosted the annual BP MS150 fundraising bike ride on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Although the weather forced the cancelation of Day 2 of the ride, that didn’t dampen the spirits of the more than ten thousand riders who rolled almost 100 miles from Houston to the Fayette County Fairgrounds in LaGrange, Texas all in the spirit of funding research to find a cure for MS.

MSU cycling fares well before rain hits

By Donny Victory

www.timesrecordnews.com

Midwestern State Cycling has not been slowed down so far this cycling season. And the only thing that slowed them on this race weekend was the weather, as the Mustangs hosted the Fourth Annual Vuelta de Viento.
The Mustangs dominated the course Saturday before …

Two Years Old

by Donald Day

bikesanantonio.blogspot.com

As I write this post, It’s coming up to the 2nd anniversary of this blog. Two years ago, I’ve seen the city of San Antonio change it’s mind from putting bicycle lanes in the right place to putting them down streets that really don’t need them. The latest example can be found on Trinity and Martin and San Jacinto and Martin. Narrower lanes do make the streets better, but it’s been my experience that a bicycle lane would do more good down Colorado and/or Martin. Since the start of this blog, the city has gone from actually building stuff that works, to just building stuff which I’m dubbing “green smoke.” It’s there to say “hey, we’re making a progress” when in fact they’re not. Since I’m not spending a lot of time in …

Pop-pop T Goes West – Then East

By David Tatman

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Shepherd Sanctuary to Shepherd Sanctuary: Updated 4/18 – Ain’t Going Nowhere Today.
Monday April 18, 2016
The sky opened up around 3:00 this morning and hasn’t stopped raining since with lightning & thunder. The rate of rain has slowed down a bit, but there are flash flood warnings everywhere.
I rode along with the leaders this morning to check the roads in the van. We only got 2 miles down our route before we had to turn around as the road was flooded over. According to our local hosts the area between here and our next destination is all low country with a couple of large lakes and rivers to cross – so we’re going to spend the day here at Shepherd Sanctuary.
You could not ask for a better place to be stranded for a day so we’re very lucky! If we had been stranded in a state park or some of the other locations we’ve been in, we’d all be sitting in the rest rooms trying to stay dry and warm. Cooking and meals would have been a disaster. Here we’ve great accommodations for the day with …

Southern Tier eastward 2016

By Luba Agranovich

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Luba: trouble
Monday April 18, 2016, 44 miles (70 km) – Total so far: 1,992 miles (3,206 km)
Finally, long promised rain caught up with us. We woke up to its heavy sound. Will we be able to cross the Sabine River to Louisiana today? I would do anything, ride in any rain not to stay another night at our motel. The cyclists we met before were stuck for a week waiting to cross this river. We told Richard we had to go no matter what and hurried to our breakfast diner. Richard was not coming for a long time, turned out he noticed a flat when leaving the motel. When we, finally, left the diner a spoke on Leonid’s bike broke. We pressed on in spite of the rain and Leonid’s wheel making scary sounds. But we …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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Texas Bicycling News Digest April 17th 2016

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BP MS 150 ends a day early but still raises more than $12 Million

By KEYE TV

keyetv.com


The BP MS 150 wrapped up Saturday night after a 100 mile ride from Houston.
Day two of the annual BP MS 150 bike ride from Houston to Austin was cancelled because of the rain.
This year’s ride ended La Grange instead of Austin.
The 2016 ride raised more than $12 Million

Thousands participate to fuel research at the BP MS 150

KTRK TV

abc13.com


HOUSTON (KTRK) — Weather may have cut the ride short, but it didn’t dampen the spirits thousands of cyclists and 3,500 volunteers in the BP MS 150. This year, because of the threat of bad weather, the ride was Saturday from Houston to La Grange. …

An Austin Apartment High-Rise Without A Parking Garage? It Might Become Reality

By Tony Cantu

patch.com


It’s an in-your-face way of encouraging more people to ditch their cars in congestion-ridden city, and it’s crazy enough to work.
How do you encourage people to take public transportation or bicycle to work instead of driving their cars and adding to congestion. You build them a luxury apartment complex that has no parking area, that’s how. …

Austin Bicycling Advocates Seek $150M From City Coffers To Build Safer Paths

By Tony Cantu

patch.com


If the level of bicyclists meets advocates’ goal, some 20,000 vehicles would be eliminated from downtown traffic each day.
The Urban Transportation Commission is seeking $150 million from the City of Austin to develop its Bicycle Master Plan aimed at making the roadways safer for bicyclists. …

Great Ride Series Beginner Ride

Saturday, Apr 23, 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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Go for an easy beginner ride

Saturday, Apr 23, 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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Stone Fort Bike Ride kicks off first cycle

By NICOLE BRADFORD

dailysentinel.com


The clouds overhead looked threatening Saturday morning, but it didn’t rain after all on first-ever Stone Fort Bike Ride, which left the County Expo Center at 8:30 p.m.

Group Riding Skills (GRS)

www.planobicycle.org

Want to be more confident riding in groups? Want to ride more safely in groups? Want to help others ride better in groups? Then take this Group Riding Skills clinic and you will learn to dodge obstacles, ride in close proximity to other riders, make emergency stops, and communicate with other riders. There is no pre-work to do as part of this clinic. The clinic has a short classroom portion, but the majority of your time will be spent learning and practicing riding skills. A short group ride will follow to hone your new skills. This is a fun, practical, and informative clinic.
Next class: Sunday, April 24 …

A Tour Across Texas and Oklahoma to Kansas

By David Duncan

www.crazyguyonabike.com

Traveling across Texas to join OK Freewheel 2016: Camping out along the route
Our trek north across Texas is scheduled to coincide with OK Freewheel 2016 (http://okfreewheel.com/). We will leave the Stough Farm just east of Marion, TX on Friday morning, June 10th, arriving in Madill, OK a week later on June 18th. Mark will head back home to Marion while Dave will join the organized ride that ends on June 25th in Caney, KS.
Last year we both carried way too much stuff in tailers and panniers all the way from Bulverde, TX to Hollis, OK. This year we are in for a treat: Mark’s wife, Melissa, is joining us as far as Madill, OK and will be towing a travel trailer with their Ford F-250. She’ll carry all our gear and Mark will sleep in comfort. …

Our Route Across Two States: This year’s route includes portions of past journeys
Since we head generally north from the San Antonio area each year, we anxiously await the OK Freewheel route announcement. The starting town for Freewheel determines which side of the DFW Metroplex we swing around. After 7 years, we’ve learned a lot about which roads are smoother, less traveled, and not quite as steep. We also have to take camping locations into consideration. Texas is a big place, and the further you travel west of I-35, the more widely spaced the daily destinations become. Here’s the rundown of this year’s route across the Republic of Texas:
Day 1 – Mark’s farm just east of Marion, TX to Lockhart State Park.
Lockhart State Park has been our first night’s stop every year except for last year, but we’ve always started from the Garden Ridge, TX area. This year we will start our adventure a little closer to our destination. Most of the route is identical to previous years once we connect with FM 20 where it intersects FM 2623. To get to that intersection, we use portions of the Dave’s Ride routes that begin and end at McQueeny Baptist Church. Dave’s Ride occurs each year in July and is named after the churches former pastor who was killed while riding his bike about 11 years ago.
Day 2 – Lockhart State Park to Elgin, TX.
This route was to be identical to the route we …

2nd Annual Lampasas Hillacious Bike Tour: A great new ride that may become an annual tradition!
Luis and I were approached at the Easter Hill Country Tour as well as at the LBJ 100 to ride this tour up in Lampasas, Texas, so we took them up on their offer and are really glad we did! The ride was held on April 9th.
The hills were certainly plentiful, but no worse than any we climbed on the prevous two organized rides.
We left my house in Bulverde at 5:30 a.m., arriving in Lampasas at 7:30. We had received an email advising where to turn off US 281 in town and to look for volunteers wearing orange vests. After only a few blocks after we turned, we noticed a group of about a dozen kids wearing orange vests getting instructions from a guy that looked familiar in front of the old post office. The guy was the ride director we had met 2 weeks earlier in Kerrville. We asked where we should park and he said, “right here”. So, we parked in front of the old post office and unloaded our bike and trike.
After being on the road for 2 hours, we both were in need of a restroom, so I asked the volunteer kid on the …

Upcoming Rides

Maverick Chain Gang

maverickchaingang.org

May 7, 2016
Scottsville – out and back – 21.7 miles
Meet at: Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 4700 Victory Dr, Marshall, TX
– 9:00 a.m.

May 14, 2016
Elysian Fields – out and back – 32.5 miles
Meet at: Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 4700 Victory Dr, Marshall, TX
– 9:00 a.m.

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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