Texas Bicycling News October 28th

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Bike donated to police department

Lisa Seiser / Valley Morning Star        www.valleymorningstar.com


Doug Thompson and Palm Valley Police Chief Alvaro Garcia pose in front of the new police bike donated with the aid of Thompson and Kay Conly. The city presented both Thompson and Conly letters of appreciation, stating how “gracious” of a donation to be able to …

Texas Wheels of Justice

montgomerycountynews.net


Oct 17th dawned clear and cool, a perfect fall day in South East Texas. Upbeat music coursed thru the crowd of colorfully clad participants cruising thru the parking lot and the level of energy was palpable to the over 400 volunteers and riders in attendance. The Montgomery County fairgrounds were alive with excitement as participants readied their equipment for the grueling work ahead.
Inside the building the atmosphere was quite different. Multiple law enforcement agencies were present as Ride Director Eric Gray explained the reason for the events outside. The Heroes Ride was born out of the loss of fellow Law Enforcement Officers as a way to give back, raise awareness of Officers killed in …

Spooky Cross Preview

By Adam Spears        texasbikeracing.com

With a haunted race location, Spooky Cross weekend is sure to be a real treat again this year. Get the costumes ready!
With the Halloween weekend quickly approaching and the temps finally starting to drop, it means the annual Spooky Cross weekend is coming. This year, Spooky Cross returns to the Halloween weekend and that the first day of racing will be on Halloween itself. This race is always a big draw for the Dallas racing contingent, but it’s also a weekend we get to welcome lots of Austin and Houston racers for two days of Halloween-inspired bike racing and plenty of debauchery, bike racing style.
The Spooky Cross location is once again at historic Dallas Heritage Village at Old City Park, just south of downtown Dallas. This unique park so close to the city center acts as a preservation and teaching setting about …

Hiking and biking will boost lake’s appeal

###  Ron Jenkins Star-Telegram        www.star-telegram.com

The National Park Service will help see what it would take to bring hiking and biking trails to Lake Arlington.
Although no money will be involved, the park service has awarded Fort Worth a technical assistance grant, which can be equated to having a staff person focus on the project.
This person would also bring experience to Fort Worth’s Planning and Development Department as it identifies trail corridors and lakefront accessibility.
The grant also would help the city compete for federal dollars for …

Longhorn Cyclocross Race #4 – Final results

www.webscorer.com

Race info
Sport:     Cycling – cyclocross
Location:     San Angelo, TX, United States
Start type:     Mass start
Racers:     34
Laps:     5
Timed on:     iPad
Timed with:     Webscorer PRO 2.0
Updated:     Wednesday, October 28, 2015 7:25 PM (GMT-5)

Planning group surveys bike lane, sidewalk needs

www.gosanangelo.com

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The San Angelo Metropolitan Planning Organization is conducting two surveys regarding the need for bicycle lanes and additional walking trails and sidewalks in the city of San Angelo.
The public can take the surveys at sanangelompo.org. Each survey consists of six questions and should take less than two minutes to complete. The deadline to complete the surveys is Nov. 30.
The surveys are …

San Antonio launches bike habit survey

By Katherine Blunt, Staff Writer        www.expressnews.com


S.A. is updating its Bicycle Master Plan
To plan for city growth and changes, San Antonio has launched a survey to assess residents’ bike habits.
The survey, available online until Nov. 20, asks residents how often they use a bike and what types of improvements would make biking easier, safer and more appealing. The city will use the results to update its 2011 Bicycle Master Plan.
“Since that plan came out, there have been a lot of changes in …

Team Meeting 11/5

Texas A&M Cycling Team        amct.tamu.edu


The next team meeting will be Thursday, November 5th, at 8 PM in REC 255. We will be discussing cyclocross season and other items. We are hoping to …

Eastbound from California

By Kevin OLeary        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 24: Marfa to Marathon, TX
Tuesday October 27, 2015, 57 miles (92 km) – Total so far: 1,107 miles (1,782 km)
Posted via email Wed Oct 28 13:37:01 2015 PDT
It was a cool night — the low was forecast to be 37 in Marfa — and I slept like a baby in my sleeping bag. And when I got up in the morning I was very pleased that my tent was dry. Packing up a wet tent is not a good way to start your day! However I did discover that my front tire was flat. After removing the punctured tube I found a tiny sliver of wire sticking to the inside casing and it turned out that this was the culprit. After inserting …

Day 25: Marathon to Sanderson, TX
Wednesday October 28, 2015, 56 miles (90 km) – Total so far: 1,163 miles (1,872 km)
Posted via email Wed Oct 28 19:22:01 2015 PDT
I set the alarm on my watch to wake me 15 minutes earlier. The motivation for this is the wind I’m encountering in west Texas; it seems to increase as the day progresses so I’m hoping to slightly decrease its impact on me.
I slept reasonably well but a howling wind woke me at about 6am. It didn’t last but it was not a good sign.
Today I managed to get started at 8:15am which is my earliest starting time. The sun was just over the horizon and my vision was impaired because I was …

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Riding Into The Wind Was Hard

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The hard places on today’s ride was riding west on Stroker Road and FM1960 from Huffman to Atascocita Shores. Riding east I hit 20+ mph and quickly raised my average speed from 14.2 mph to 14.7 mph in just a couple of miles. Today’s ride cover the “Stroker Road – Huffman” route. The weather cooperated with 82 degrees, scattered clouds and a strong NNW wind. The NNW wind caused the problems when I rode into it. My leg speed bogged way down trying to move into the stiff wind.

I really needed a rest stop at the Huffman Chevron to allow my legs to recover for the ride west on FM1960. There places with no protection from the wind on this stretch. I got some help from the passing traffic sucking the wind with them but it didn’t last long enough. Today was a longer ride coming in at 41.65 miles. I was at 29.93 miles when I rolled into the Chevron station at 2:08. The weather while I rested.

When my legs felt rested I rolled out for the 11 miles to home. Turning right into Atascocita Shores put me among houses and trees which helped to deflect the wind but it was still an effort whenever I was out in the open. I expected to wait when I got to the Kingwood Drive but there was no traffic and quickly rode across. I got home at 3:38. The temperature cooled to 80 degrees by then but the wind was still there. Supposedly a cool front is moving through with the wind.

[iframe https://connect.garmin.com/activity/embed/940878994 465px 500px] [iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/422115467/embed/dc9c69b7809444ed5c8be33be3e7ededfb14777b 590px 500px]

I rode the “Stroker Road – Huffman” route 11 times this year. A summary comparison is below.

Activity Name Start Time Distance Elevation Gain Avg Speed(Avg Pace) Max Speed(Best Pace) Calories Total Strokes
Stroker Road – Huffman Wed, Oct 28, 2015 12:05 PM 2:48:30 41.65 233 14.8 21.9 1970 10431
Stroker Road – Huffman Sat, Oct 10, 2015 11:29 AM 2:45:46 40.46 276 14.6 20.2 1871 10535
Stroker Road – Huffman Sat, Sep 12, 2015 12:17 PM 2:43:01 40.75 866 15 20.6 2296 10614
Stroker Road – Huffman Thu, Jul 2, 2015 9:43 AM 2:46:56 41.94 574 15.1 19.9 2262 10392
Stroker Road – Huffman Thu, Jun 11, 2015 11:25 AM 2:40:25 40.33 587 15.1 20.1 2152 9760
Stroker Road – Huffman Fri, Jun 5, 2015 10:06 AM 2:35:49 39.81 564 15.3 21.3 2153 9861
Stroker Road – Huffman Sat, May 23, 2015 11:56 AM 2:37:20 39.34 840 15 20.9 2238 10277
Stroker Road – Huffman Wed, May 6, 2015 2:53 PM 2:34:29 38.51 1273 15 22.3 2352 9700
Stroker Road – Huffman Tue, Apr 21, 2015 12:47 PM 2:34:08 39.08 827 15.2 20.4 2221 10280
Stroker Road – Huffman Mon, Mar 23, 2015 2:00 PM 2:34:27 38.13 574 14.8 21.2 2087 10239
Stroker Road – Huffman Mon, Feb 9, 2015 12:18 PM 2:41:03 39.56 912 14.7 21.6 2272 10102

Texas Bicycling News Digest October 27th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Austin BikeFest includes bike-through haunted house

by Pam LeBlanc        fitness.blog.austin360.com


Think you’ve got enough nerve to pedal through a haunted house?
Head to Govalle Park, 5200 Bolm Road, on Halloween to find out at the second annual Austin BikeFest, sponsored by Capital Metro.
The free event will feature bicycle games, a costume contest, a BikeTexas fashion show, a balance bike course for kids, bicycle polo, unicycle football and a chance to learn how to ride a bicycle and unicycle. You can even ride your bike through an obstacle course that includes haunted houses. Kids can trick or treat, and the …

Park Improvement Education Series – Trail Design | November 14-15

by Chardog        www.bikemojo.com

Register here: Park Improvement Education Series – Trail Design
Park Improvement Education Series – Trail Design | November 14-15
9:00 to 4:00 | Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve | 805 N Capital of Texas Hwy Austin
The program for this workshop will focus on all aspects of trail design, management and stewardship activities.
Participants will be exposed to management techniques and processes such as: Trail selection, design features, route considerations, project criteria, descriptions, required tools and safety orientation.
We will also be looking at various in-field management techniques as the entire group will be …

Ant Hills Work Party!

GHORBA.org

Event category: General
Trail: The Anthills (Terry Hershey Park)
Sunday, November 1, 2015 – 9:00am
Weather permitting… Let’s get the trails in great shape so we can ride the baby Jesus out them through the holidays into next year.
We’ve got lots to do so the more people that show up the better. Main goals will be …

Trail Work Party-Timberlane-To Repair Bridge Crossings

GHORBA.org

Event category: General
Timberlane MTB Trails, United States
37° 5′ 24.864″ N, 95° 42′ 46.4076″ W
See map: Google Maps (link is external)
Trail: Timberlane
Saturday, November 21, 2015 – 9:00am
Hey guys,
This will be my first work party so bare with me…We have 4 bridge crossings that are in need of repair. I will need some strong hands to help move the bridges back to there original locations and re anchor them to the ground. Most bridges are still in great shape and just need to be moved, others are in need of repair and board replacement. Depending on the …

2015 Texas Cup Mountain Bike Series Final

www.tmbra.org

Excruciation Exam
Jan. 2, 2016
Warda, TX

Bigger Ring Challenge
Jan. 16, 2016
Coldspring, TX

Miles of Dis-Comfort Marathon
Jan. 30, 2016
Comfort, TX

24 Hours of Rocky Hill race recap!

myemail.constantcontact.com

What an epic weekend for the 21 st annual 24-Hours of Rocky Hill! With fires in nearby Bastrop threatening the ranch earlier in the week we were happy the event could go on. Thanks as always to Pam & Grey Hill for graciously allowing us to use their fantastic ranch!
Thankfully winds kept the fire away!
Filip from our Title Sponsor, Pickle Juice, was on-site to keep you going cramp-free throughout the entire 24-hours of racing. We were also happy to have Mike and the gang from The Collective Brewing Project out for the …

Dutch Cycling Experts to Focus on ThinkBike during Texas Conference

www.the-netherlands.org

Dutch cycling experts will attend the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ conference in Austin, Texas, on Friday to share their experiences in helping American cities improve their bicycling infrastructure through ThinkBike Workshops.
Since its debut in 2010 in Toronto and Chicago, and organized in cooperation with the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Dutch Cycling Embassy’s ThinkBike Workshops have brought Dutch bicycle design and culture to many cities that are part of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, including Austin, Pittsburgh and most recently, Houston.
The Dutch Cycling Embassy is …

Oct 26 Quinlan Texas

Peg and Jan Bicycle tour 2015        cassh015.com

We are at a beautiful campground on the shores of Lake Takowani. P&J got 50 in today and plan on getting to Athens Tx tomorrow. Winds have been favorable and should continue through tomorrow. We are just 40 to 50 miles east of Dallas to we have a lot of civilization out here. There are a lot of homes on what look like 20 to 40 acre lots with horses, goats and other assorted animals.
I saw the first longhorn today. Down here I see …

Oct 25 Bonham Texas
Texas…the last time we came into Texas with bicycles we were hear for a month. That was in 2013 when they rode from west to east. It is 1000 miles across Texas and this trip we have about 400 to cover. Entering Texas is like it was when we entered Florida on the west east trip. It’s bitter sweet in that P&J see the end but don’t want it to end.
P&J got 52 miles in today through some rough roads with no shoulders and no traffic being it’s sunday. They could see the decline in prosperity that they saw in most of Oklahoma just a few miles south of Durant. As they crossed into Texas it became more apparent. P&J commented …

Oct 27 Athens Tx
Nice day today. Wnds from the north at 5 or so and sun. Temp got up to 78. It seems that most of the Shoulders in Texas so far have been tared but with a wery grainy or rocky mixture. This causes a vibration in the bike handle bars that is very annoying. Oh well, if it’s not the wind or rain or temp its the grainey shoulders. I usually don’t let any of this bother me.
P&J decidedc a day off tomorrow was in order. They have been riding for 8 straight days tkking advantage of the winds and weather. We found a beautiful campground for the two days with

Hotels in The Colony, TX Add Bicycle Rental to List of Guest Amenities

www.prweb.com

Rent a Bike During Your Stay at the Residence Inn or Fairfield Inn and Suites Dallas Plano/The Colony
The Fairfield Inn and Suites and the Residence Inn Dallas Plano/The Colony invite guests of the hotels to jump on a bike and take a ride around the neighborhood. The hotel campus offers a fleet of Trek 7.4FX Hybrid 21-speed bicycles available for rent and is the latest addition to a list of amenities for hotel guests to make the most of their free time. The two hotels adjoin the Cascades Events Center and the new Courtyard by Marriott Dallas Plano/The Colony, opening in Spring 2016. All properties are managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts, which operates over 100 hotels in the U.S. and Canada, and developed by …

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5 Day Bike Ride Interruption Ended

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Rest days! I last biked 5 days ago. Between a day spent at the Houston Medical Center with my wife to rain from the Hurricane Patricia remnants the bike did not leave the garage. Yesterday an overcast sky and a stiff north wind (23 mph with 30+ mph gusts) most of the day caused me to shift to a 3 mile walk around the Hunters Ridge Village in Kingwood. Fast forward to today. Around noon the clouds started to break up and the sun came through. The temperature finally moved from 64 to the low 70’s. I got dressed to ride with a short sleeve jersey over a long sleeve one. I headed out at 12:45 on the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route.

Along the route I looked for evidence of the 5″+ rain we received over the weekend. The only signs were lots of pine needle piles in the street and the higher water in Lake Houston. I stopped on the FM1960 Lake Houston Causeway about midway and took these pictures:

The trees in the left picture usually stick up out of the water several feet higher. The middle picture shows a couple of stumps. The one farther away has a bird perched on it.

It felt good to be out on the road again. Nothing unusual on the ride. I stopped at the Huffman Chevron at 20.95 miles into the ride for a break. I waited long enough to time my arrival at Kingwood Drive to be after the high school dismissal. I left the Chevron at 2:49. The weather screenshots while I took a break at the Chevron station.

Notice the wind speed in the left picture. This cost me a lot of effort when I left Huffman to ride home. The headwind was stiff riding across Lake Houston until I got near the west side of the lake. For some reason when I approached the turn onto Atascocita Shores Drive the wind let up some. By then I built up my average speed to 15.1 mph. I got back home at 3:38 biking 32.71 miles.

When I reached Kingwood Drive there was no traffic for a change and I got across without stopping.

This was the 36th time on the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route in 2015. Mileage stats: 675.15 miles for October, 6192 miles for 2015.

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