Texas Bicycling News October 17th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Ride Across Texas 2015

Bicycles Plus

Driving across Texas takes long enough, but these guys did it on 40+ pound bikes, 8 days and 900 miles! It was a long journey but they never stopped pushing! Nice work gents!!!

http://www.meetup.com/Easy-Riders-Houston/events/226132738/?a=mc1_grp&rv=mc1&_af=event&_af_eid=226132738&https=off

Wind In My Wheels- A Journey Across America

By Richard Ostrowski        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Austin Texas Here We Come: Johnson City to Austin
Friday October 16, 2015
Another Self prepared breakfast in the cabin this morning. Purchased a Subway Breakfast sandwich last night and heated it in the microwave. No fast food restaurants in town and the only restaurant in town does not open early enough.
Bob and I got on the road at 7:00 AM in preparation of our 55 mile trip from Johnson city to Austin Texas. I had an average speed of 8.7mph, due to lots of hills. This was a long day due to the heat (93 degrees), the numerous breaks and the confusing route changes. But we overcame all our days adversities and got into Austin 13 hours later. Our motel room was a welcome site and we slept very well after our cycling work out.
The landscape was a variety of ranches and cultivated farm land. We passed thru the edge of the Pedernales Falls State Park which provided some …

Rest Day in Austin, Texas: Downtown Austin Texas
Saturday October 17, 2015
We took a rest day today from cycling. It was a day of relaxing with not a lot on our schedule. Our first priority was to turn off our alarms last night from the usual 5:30 AM and sleep in. We had a leisure breakfast at 8:00AM.
I called my nephew Mathew, who lives north of Austin in the suburb of Cedar Park. We planned to get together for Lunch. He brought Mia his daughter and we had lunch. I had to get to a bike shop to pick up my pannier rain covers that were ordered 2 weeks earlier. We also visited two other bike shops for a ..

Update: White Oak Bayou Trail just north of Heights Bike Trail is getting better…

by ThatGuyinHouston        www.reddit.com

Rode it today and was glad to see crews working on Saturday! They have the slope almost back to normal and hybrids & mountain bikes can ride the dirt again. (Last weekend it was pretty rough there). Photo from today.
I logged 40 miles, starting way up NW near my house and …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/655527216323821568

Texas Bicycling Event Reminder

Ride Like An Eagle – Atascocita High School

Texbiker.net Posted on by

This morning I got up early (for me) and drove to Atascocita High School for the Ride Like An Eagle bike ride. The sun wasn’t up yet as I pulled into the parking lot but it wasn’t long before it was. I preregistered for the ride and walked over to get my ride number and packet. On the way I saw Chris and his wife that I met at Houston Jeep People many months ago. We talked about the ride and caught up since our last meeting.

This was the first time for the ride and I wasn’t sure how many people would attend. I got number 23 and looking at the preregistered sheet at the table I guess 60 to 70 people signed up. How many showed up might be different. It was chilly (62 degrees on the Jeep’s thermometer) but the worst part was the NE wind. I estimate the wind was 12 to 15 mph.

At 8:00 we got our instructions and lined up behind the Harris County Precinct 4 cruiser and rolled out to Will Clayton Parkway to begin the ride. Prior to the start a young man on the PA mic lead us in the Star Spangled Banner a-Capella and then a prayer for a safe ride. The cruiser lead us all the way to FM2100 and Old Atascocita Road. From there we were on our own. I forgot to take weather screen shots at the start but at the first rest stop I grabbed these.

Don’t believe the wind speeds. It was gusty and I rode hard on Old Atascocita Road east of FM2100 to stay at 16 mph. Once I reached the turn and the rest stop the wind was from my back left side and much friendlier.

One of the challenges organized rides have is marking the route. Today the route was marked with orange (52 mile) and blue (40 mile) tape arrows on the road and signs at turns. This worked good but there were a few times when I would have liked to see arrows between route changes or intersections to reassure I didn’t make a wrong turn. I was familiar with many of the roads we were on but south of Crosby I have gotten lost on another bike ride because I missed a turn. Not today though. I stayed on the route all of the ride.

Traffic was friendly and gave me a wide berth. I encountered 2 dogs but I rode away from them. Other riders said they had more dog encounters than that. Chris said he had 8 dog chases. Before the ride I told a Texas National Guardsman about a particular house on Ramsey Road and Lord Road with a big German Shepherd and he radioed a person who said they would check it out. When I got there the dog wasn’t outside.

I was in and out of the wind as the route progressed. A nice stretch was on US90 from Crosby to Pineland Road. I sped along at 20+ mph but I was passed by another biker on his aero bars. He didn’t have a number so I think he was on his own. Along the route I saw a number of other riders who were probably on their own as well. Generally they were going the opposite direction and I didn’t see any ride numbers. These roads are popular to ride on.

Once I passed Sheldon Road on US90 it was new roads to me until I reached Aqueduct Road. Riding through Eisenhower Park was a first time for me. The roads were good and the traffic nonexistent. I stopped at a rest stop just before exiting the park and chatted with the people there. At that point I had about 7 miles to the finish. By then I was warmed up and the wind wasn’t quite the problem it was earlier. I finished at 11:45 at Atascocita High School.

Pictures I took at the start and along the ride.

The weather at the finish.

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Texas Bicycling News Digest October 16th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Free bicycle helmets for small children

by The Independent, Liberty Hill        lhindependent.com


Bicycle helmets will be provided to children (ages 4-11) on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 9am to 1pm at the front of Liberty Hill Junior High School, 13125 W Hwy 29. Any child can receive a helmet until the supply is exhausted.
The helmet giveaway is part of a statewide effort – Hard Hats for Little Heads – which was launched by the Texas Medical Association (TMA) in 1994. The program promotes fun exercise and teaches kids and parents about the …

Denton bicycle lover creates customizable ‘Caboose’

by Chad Robertson        ntdaily.com


After pulling a scrapped Mount Shasta Legacy bike from a dumpster and revamping it back to life in 2011, Hayden Davis fell in love with the world of bicycles.
Davis, a 22-year-old printmaker and biking aficionado, has innovated a way for people to carry whatever they can comfortably fit into a cubic foot of space on the back of their bicycles.
Davis’ new product is called The Caboose, and it …

First Aid While Biking on the Trail

By Darryl        lovingthebike.com


Accident happens anywhere. We need to take precautionary measures at all times. In this article, we will discuss first aid while biking on the trail.
Biking is a good hobby but we cannot deny the fact that there’s also danger in it. Well, that also applies in all hobbies and activities both outdoors and indoors. It is best to prepared so we know what to do when someone meets an accident.
Among the most common injuries that can happen on the trail includes: …

http://www.meetup.com/Come-Ride-With-Us-Meetup-Group/events/226115869/?a=me2_grp&rv=me2&_af=event&_af_eid=226115869&https=off

October Ramblings and a Little Bit About Everything

Johnny Guzman        bicyclepointofview.blogspot.com

October Rambings: It’s still summer in Texas, back to mountain biking and why
I’ve been riding a fixie lately.
In a few days, the weather pattern will change and then we will be complaining why it’s so freakishly cold here in Texas. For now, we are still getting high’s in the 90’s, although mornings are a lot cooler than they were a few months ago. Texas weather changes in an instant. Many times trees here do not get to show off their fall colors before a cold snap comes and shakes all the leaves off of them. Winters in Texas are very hard. They are as cold as up north but usually without the snow and the general wintertime ambience. What we do get in the winter here in texas are strong winds, cold winds, howling winds. Wind gusts that can easily knock someone off of …

10/17 & 10/18 rides! Dam Loop! LIVESTRONG!

by Thomas        steinerranchcycling.com

This is the LIVESTRONG weekend (the ride is actually Sunday)!
Saturday John Nadolksi will be leading the famous Dam Loop ride! Show up at the usual place and time (Cups & Cones @ 7:30am) for some Dam fun!
Since Sunday is the LIVESTRONG ride attendance for the coffee shop ride may …

Ride in the 43rd Annual BikeHouston Moonlight Ramble on Oct 24th!

bikehouston.org


BikeHouston Moonlight Ramble is in it’s 43rd year! This event has been coordinated by BikeHouston for the past 10+ years and is our largest ride and fundraiser. This year, it’s happening the night of Saturday, October 24th.
Last year, there were about 1500 riders of all ages and backgrounds that took to the streets of Houston in this late Saturday night ride. This year, we added the ability for registrants to fundraise leading up to the event, just like other rides that benefit nonprofits (think MS150, Tour de Pink, Park to Port, etc). If you would like to fundraise with friends, there are also …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/655194284375842816

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/655038111924252672

Texas Bicycling Event Reminders

Don’t Fence Me In With Parkway Construction Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The excellent biking weather continued for today’s ride. The blue sky and 90 degree temperature called me to the roads on the “Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch” route to the north. The wind when I left home at 12:19 was strong from the NE at 13 mph with 18 mph gusts but this died down to 6 mph from the east by the time I got back home at 3:33. Depending on which direction I rode the wind helped or hindered, of course. I added a few extra streets to get the mileage up to 36.15, a couple of miles longer than usual for this route. I soaked up the enjoyable weather as I rode. My timing was pretty good to miss the school dismissal lines except for the Valley Ranch Elementary and Elm Grove Elementary schools.

Riding northwest on FM1314 to Cumberland Crossing I stopped at the Grand Parkway overpass construction and took these pictures. (click on the image to enlarge it)

Construction is moving along. In the first picture you can see the pads draped over the guardrail where new concrete has been poured to slow the curing. With the super dry weather we have moisture does not stay around long.

From there I rode back towards Porter to the Stripes station for a rest break. This was 23.95 miles into the ride. I went inside and got a Diet Peach Snapple and headed to the pump canopy to enjoy a trail mix bar and a granola bar. I enjoyed sitting under the canopy so much I delayed getting back on the bike.The weather while I was at Stripes.

When I got on the bike I rode north on Valley Ranch Parkway into the Grand Parkway construction and took these pictures. (click on the image to enlarge it)

The middle picture shows two diggers. They were making loud noises as they tried to dig into the hard dirt. The left picture shows the road going east. It looks like there might be a service road connection to US59. Turning around I rode to US59 and took the southbound service road to Northpark Drive and then back into Kingwood.

14 times I have rode the”Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch” route this year. See the summary comparison below.

Tomorrow I bike the Ride Like An Eagle Bike Ride from Atascocita High School, about 10 miles to the south of my home. The weather could be slightly cool at the start (60 degrees) but warming to the low 80’s by noon. A long sleeve jersey and short sleeve jersey may be my wardrobe. No leg warmers, I will tough it out until it warms up.

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Activity Name Start Time Distance Elevation Gain Avg Speed(Avg Pace) Max Speed(Best Pace) Calories Total Strokes
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Fri, Oct 16, 2015 12:19 PM 2:30:01 36.15 243 14.5 20.2 1658 8738
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Fri, Oct 9, 2015 2:29 PM 2:19:48 34.71 151 14.9 21.3 1626 8212
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Fri, Sep 4, 2015 12:27 PM 2:25:15 35.15 525 14.5 20.2 1862 9092
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Thu, Aug 13, 2015 11:14 AM 2:26:13 35.15 479 14.4 19.9 1889 8759
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Fri, Jul 10, 2015 10:56 AM 2:19:15 34.75 509 15 19.9 1857 8765
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Tue, Jun 30, 2015 12:17 PM 2:15:45 32.9 463 14.5 21.5 1772 8354
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Mon, Jun 15, 2015 9:59 AM 2:20:53 34.82 528 14.8 27.3 1905 8491
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Wed, Jun 10, 2015 11:04 AM 2:27:33 35.28 417 14.3 19.7 1857 8679
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Wed, Jun 3, 2015 9:30 AM 2:11:51 33.04 407 15 21.3 1775 7962
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Thu, May 28, 2015 11:07 AM 2:12:14 32.76 482 14.9 20.5 1780 8365
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Sun, May 3, 2015 11:19 AM 2:03:04 31.53 709 15.4 21.7 1805 7891
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Wed, Apr 22, 2015 12:25 PM 2:13:56 32.78 646 14.7 21.2 1818 8275
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Wed, Apr 8, 2015 11:06 AM 2:14:18 32.53 919 14.5 21.1 1889 8192
Oakhurst – Cumberland – Valley Ranch Wed, Apr 1, 2015 11:57 AM 2:10:08 32.32 692 14.9 21.4 1843 8096