Texas Bicycling News Digest October 15th

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McKinney Police Looking For Special Needs Bicycle Thief

dfwliving.com


McKINNEY (KRLD) – The McKinney Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a stolen special needs child’s bicycle.
The three-wheeled bike (pictured above) was taken from the front yard of a home on Mountain Ride Lane earlier this month.
A neighbor describes the possible suspect’s car (seen below) as a …

A Great Ride For A Great Cause (Breast Cancer Awareness)

Saturday, Oct 24, 2015, 9:00 AM

Performance Bicycle
4750 Fm 1960 Rd W Houston, TX

1 Bicycle Enthusiasts Went

Check out this Meetup →

Wednesday Night Ride

Wednesday, Oct 21, 2015, 5:15 PM

River Run Plaza
1071 Country Club Rd El Paso, TX

2 Cyclists Went

The leaderless rides of 18-22 miles begin at 5:15 p.m. (some riders may leave earlier or later) from River Run Plaza, 1071 Country Club; and at 5:30-5:45 p.m. from Rio Plaza, 6205 Upper Valley Rd (at Artcraft). The favorite route is a loop to Gadsden H.S. Optional dinner afterward at Hello Pizza, 1071 Country Club Rd. Start time varies later in sum…

Check out this Meetup →

Wind In My Wheels- A Journey Across America

By Richard Ostrowski        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Riding on the LBJ Highway: Fredericksburg to Johnson City, Texas
Thursday October 15, 2015
Breakfast was served at our Super 8 Motel this morning. I had toast, tea, and orange juice then headed down to the McDonalds for more breakfast. Bob and I were on the road by 7:00AM to our destination of Johnson City a distance of 30 miles. I averaged 10.8 mph. The shoulders were very narrow for the first 10 miles on route 290 but got wide after that.
Our ride today took us past probably at least a dozen wineries. Several had restaurants and B&B attached to them. A few were names I recognized. Of course the most interesting name was Fat Ass Winery. As I approached the entrance I saw a picture of a donkey.
We passed by the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park but decided not to stop.
We stopped at a gas station convenience store in the town of Stonewall for refreshments. It had a few tables that were occupied by 8 locals for their mornig coffee and discussion.
Bob and I arrived in Johnson City at 10:45 AM. We visited the Tourist Information office and found out about local restaurants, motels and campgrounds. Bob wanted to have lunch so we headed to the Pecan Brewery for beer and food. I had fish burritos which consisted of salmon , lettus and a spicy sauce. They were very tasty. While I was …

Ride Across Texas (RAT)

By Jason Reynolds        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Road trip to Texarkana
Friday October 9, 2015
Since my last post, I have continued training. Two weeks ago, Jeff and I rode a 90 mile route that started in Morgan, TX. The gravel was good and the scenery was even better. We saw a few buffalo and some deer that looked like elk on steroids. We thought the deer might be imported red stag for an exotic game ranch but their antlers don’t match the pictures of the red stag I have seen.
The next day, Jeff and I did a 65 mile road bike ride with our friends Tom and Don. I was pretty tired after two hard riding days, so I set the remaining training at 3 rides of 30-35 miles since then.
For the RAT, I wanted mountain bike tires that would be provide a smooth ride while on good roads but have enough tread to provide traction on the rough gravel sections. Last year while riding the mini-RAT, I met James Kennedy who works at a Bicycles Plus in Coppell. He used Vittoria Mezcal tires and highly recommended them. I ordered a pair from him and had installed one on the front a couple weeks ago when my front tire developed a bulge in the tread. I wanted to install the rear tire as close to the start of the RAT as possible so I tried to …

Day 1, Excited and hoping experience helps.
Saturday October 10, 2015, 138 miles (222 km) – Total so far: 138 miles (222 km)
Up at 5:45 am, showered and down to breakfast at 6:00 am and spent a little time meeting and greeting other riders who were also staying at the Hampton Inn, which is our official starting point of the ride. Got dressed, bike loaded and went outside to await the 7:00 start.
I know that there were approximately 70 riders who had registered for the RAT, but it appeared that maybe around 50 of them were at the start line. It appears that several had to cancel due to various family, training or other scheduling issues.
We took a few pictures and Annette Jensen suffered the first failure of the ride, when her clear lens glasses snapped as she put them on. Good thing she also had a pair of sunglasses ready, even thought it was still fairly dark.
7:00 am and we were off. It didn’t take very long for me to decide that my new Vittoria Mezcal tires were awesome on pavement as we headed out of Texarkana. My bike was also handling better because I had replaced the shock with a rigid fork and I also replaced the Thudbuster seat post with a rigid seat post. I also installed Profile Designs T3+ aero bars. This reduced the …

Day 2, This is going to be a great day
Sunday October 11, 2015, 80 miles (129 km) – Total so far: 218 miles (351 km)
I let us sleep in until 7 today because we rode so awesomely yesterday and today would be an easy 80 miles from Paris to Farmersville if we took the NETT trail from Ladonia to Farmersville. The official route was 91 miles from Paris, but it would be fun to ride on the trail if conditions permitted. Lesson learned, never assume an 80 mile ride is going to be easy unless you are 100% sure of the ride conditions. I was soon to find out that fatigued legs, heat and headwinds would make the 80 mile day just as hard as the 138 miles on the first day.
We left our hotel and cycled to downtown Paris, passing several unique buildings and stopped for breakfast at Nancy’s Café. My cousin and I found this place last year and as many cyclists know, if the owner’s name precedes the word Café, then you are likely to get great food. We had great …

Day 3, Starting the need for strategic stops
Monday October 12, 2015, 101 miles (163 km) – Total so far: 319 miles (513 km)
Suzee woke Jeff and I up at 5:30 and she had prepared a fantastic casserole for breakfast. Suzee is a big cycling advocate in Farmersville and volunteering to host us and fix breakfast shows how strong she works to promote cycling in her area. She has also hosted a Caught on the NETT event to help promote the trail and is planning another one next year.
We left Farmersville around 6:45 and had 50 miles until the first town that we would actually ride through. At mile 36 we elected to go 3 miles off route to find food and water in the town of Melissa. Jeff and I bought Ultimate Meat and Cheese burritos at the Sonic and refilled our water bottles at the gas station across the state. The proprietor in the store couldn’t believe how far we were riding today, let alone our plans for the week.
A few miles down the road, we caught up with Roland and Dave. We rode with them into …

Day 4, Now this makes the training worthwhile
Tuesday October 13, 2015
We got up at 5:15 and we were on the road at 6:45. We crossed over I-35 in the dark and had a nice quiet ride on a road that was surprising flat. We road 15 miles to Era where we found a very new gas station/convenience store/Subway. The people there were very friendly and we had great breakfast sandwiches.
After leaving Era, we started to encounter some more hills, but nothing major and 17 miles later arrived in Muenster with plans to eat some good German pastries at a local bakery. We found the bakery and overloaded on our sugar intake, but we couldn’t help it. The pastries made us eat them. There was a Dollar General store right across the street from the bakery. I was able to buy a 10 pack of large band aids for $3.00 and thus solved the “bad stitching rubbing me the wrong way problem”. Thanks Dollar General. …

Day 5, The end is near and I didn’t know it.
Wednesday October 14, 2015, 50 miles (80 km) – Total so far: 369 miles (594 km)
Jeff and I had made plans to get up at 4:30. Because the ants caused me to get up at 2:30, I decided to break down my campsite at 4:00. I moved most of my things quietly over to the restroom area, so I had lighting to pack and wouldn’t disturb the other cyclists. When Jeff got up, he was surprised to see that I only had a few things left to pack.
We drank breakfast shakes and rolled out of the campground at 5:45 on our way to Holiday which was the first potential stop for real food and drink. About 2 miles from the campground we ran into a newly graveled road. For about 8 miles we battled a dangerous/hazardous/crappy bike riding road that had about 3″ of loose rock across the whole road. There were no packed track areas to ride in and consequently it took a lot of effort to ride and avoid wiping out. This segment was absolutely awful.
It took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Holiday where we met 4 RAT riders from Amarillo that we had seen off and …

The Latest Useless Bike Lane

by Daniel Day        bikesanantonio.blogspot.com

The latest Useless bicycle lane is now open.  Has been open for almost a month now and you can use this latest uselessness on Arsenal along the HEB headquarters.

To understand why this was built, you’re going to have to listen to a awesome podcast called 99% Invisible, episode name Arsenal of Exclusion.  It talks about how infrastructure can be used to funnel and control human behavior.  In the case of this useless protected bicycle lane, it is used to encourage people on bicycle to not ride down S Flores, but to choose S Main instead and connect with the protected …

Cyclist sues after APD vehicle right-hooks him & city denies fault

bicycleaustin.info

[http://kxan.com/2015/10/14/cyclist-file … ved-crash/](http://kxan.com/2015/10/14/cyclist-file … ved-crash/)
(The video has a lot more information than the article itself, including surveillance footage of the crash.)
KXAN wrote:
A man has filed a lawsuit in Travis County against the City of Austin, for an alleged officer-involved crash that occurred last October. The plaintiff alleges negligence and negligence per se.
According to court documents, Mark Collins was riding his bicycle the morning of Oct. 24, 2014 on East 6th Street when an officer made a right turn onto Sabine Street, “careening their vehicle directing into the path of Plaintiff Mark Collins and his bicycle, causing the severe injuring and damages hereinafter complained of.”
The lawsuit claims Collins lost consciousness, suffered a knee sprain, abrasions, and other injuries. …

Jack & Adam’s is now Bicycle World

by Corey Carter        www.cycleaustin.com

Okay, so maybe I’m a little late to the game here. According to this bicycleretailer.com article, Austin’s premier triathlon shop Jack & Adam’s merged with Texas Endurance Sports, owners of Houston-area Bicycle World, in March. In the article Jack & Adam’s owner Jack Murray states “There are no plans to rebrand Jack & Adam’s”, but that must’ve changed based on the ad below from the October issue of …

Longhorn Cyclocross Race #2

www.webscorer.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2015 6:28 PM (GMT-5) – Final results
Sport:     Cycling – cyclocross
Location:     San Angelo, TX, United States
Start type:     Mass start
Racers:     32
Laps:     6
Race winners …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/CycleAustin/status/654843527331844096

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https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/654812543706226689

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New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

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Ron Cooper 531 Frame and Fat Tire Bike

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After riding to the north yesterday today I headed to Huffman east and south of Kingwood. The route name, “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” is one I ride frequently but I changed some of the streets. The total miles came in at 32.57. This was the 35th time on this route in 2015, easily the favorite route I ride. It’s a favorite because it is easy to get started, the roads are good and traffic is good for riding. I rode this route too because on Saturday I riding the 52 mile route at the Ride Like An Eagle Bike Ride starting at Atascocita High School. I want to keep my legs fresh.

The weather was stellar again with a clear sky, light wind (6 mph from the south) and low humidity (25%). I don’t how long this will continue but it is great while it is here. The temperature was 91 when I got back home at 3:35. I left home at 12:22.

Nothing different about the ride. I did have a conversation with a man at the Huffman Chevron when I was taking a break, He asked if my bike had a carbon fiber frame. I replied “yes” and he told he had a Ron Cooper frame in his garage. He bought it from the UK as a custom frame and paid $6000 for it. He said he could have got another Ron Cooper frame 1 pound lighter for an additional $1000 but decided he could just lose 1 pound of weight for a whole lot less money. We talked about bike weights before he went inside the store. On the way back out he stopped to tell me he lives on a farm and bought a fat tire bike to ride there. He said the fat tires are perfect for riding on the dirt, mud and water. He has the tires inflated to 10 psi.

I was at 20.51 miles when I reached the Chevron station in Huffman. I stayed a little longer than usual trying to time my arrival to cross Kingwood Drive after the Kingwood High School dismissal. The weather when I was at the Chevron station.

I used Yahoo weather because the Wunderground app would not load.

Riding back home from Huffman the wind tried to slow me down and was successful until I reached the west side of Lake Houston and turned north.

The weather repeats tomorrow (Friday) and I plan on riding. With today’s ride I am over 6000 miles for the year.

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Texas Bicycling News Digest October 14th

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Portions of Southern Walnut Creek Trail closed for maintenance

by Pam LeBlanc        fitness.blog.austin360.com


Heads up, cyclists.
Maintenance work on the Southern Walnut Creek Trail continues, and the portion of the trail between Loyoa Lane and the trail spur at the Austin Tennis Center is now closed.
The trail will remain closed today through Friday and again …

Austin BikeFest: A Celebration of the Austin Bike Community

BikeTexas.org


BikeTexas is pleased to announce the second annual Austin BikeFest presented by Capital Metro at Govalle Park (5200 Bolm) on Saturday, October 31 from 12:00-4:00 p.m. The event is free and open to all ages.
BikeFest, a celebration of the Austin bike community, will feature bike games, an obstacle course with bike-thru haunted houses, a Halloween costume contest, BikeTexas Fashion Show presented by Ilonka Designs, BikeTexas KidsKup balance bike course, alternative trick or treat, bike polo, Frankenbike (bike swap), unicycle football, Buffalo Soldiers (America’s first mountain bikers), live …

Wind In My Wheels- A Journey Across America

By Richard Ostrowski        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Moving Along in the Hill Country: Kerrville to Fredericksburg
Wednesday October 14, 2015
Another breakfast at McDonalds put us on the road for an early start. Bob and I was pedaling to Fredericksburg by 7:00AM. The trip was 22 miles long and I averaged 9.9 mph. There was one major climb followed by several rollers. Traffic was very light and the shoulders were 10 to 12 feet wide.
The Landscape was farm country. We also passed several wine vineyards. It was a pleasant ride because wind was not a factor and we finished the ride by 10;30 AM before the heat of the afternoon which later climbed to 93 degrees.
Fredericksburg is one of the most popular getaway vacation spots in the central part of Texas. Its a historic town with plenty of …

No Tears on the Southern Tier

By Judy Gamble        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 35: Silsbee, TX to Merryville, LA: Hello Louisiana!
Wednesday October 14, 2015, 54 miles (87 km) – Total so far: 2,002 miles (3,222 km)
54 miles, 334′ climbing
Our stay at the Red Cloud RV Resort last night was nice. Rather than go to town and pay a restaurant to cook for us, we went to the large grocery store and picked up a frozen lasagna, caesar salad and garlic bread. Oh, and a bottle of white wine. All for about 30 bucks so we were far ahead dollar wise. The kitchen at the resort is high quality, like what we might have at home with a living room attached, flat panel TV etc. so we set ourselves up for a couple hours of indoor accommodations. It was a nice way to spend the evening and I think we had a better meal than we would have in …

Sunset Valley Elementary’s Bike to School Day

by djcurtin        bicyclesportshop.wordpress.com

We’re really happy to have helped Sunset Valley Elementary School with their third Bike/Walk to School Day last week and are inspired by the success they have had. We hope you will be too. Read all about it below!

The Sunset Valley Elementary (“SVE”) School Bike/Walk to School Day (http://www.walkbiketoschool.org/) is a bi-annual event that takes place during the fall and spring semesters and focuses on encouraging students to go to school by bike or foot.
The October 7, 2015, event was a huge success. The event was held by …

Week Five 2015 Preview – Webberville, CX-TOBER and HTXCX No. 3

by joeyTWOwheels        texascx.com

Well well well – a guy writes about a super straight course (as shown on published maps), and the course designer pulls a literal 180º. Last weekend’s course at Treaty Oak Ranch in Austin was super fun, twisty, technical and hot.
In fact, one racer got so hot he repeatedly launched his carbon CX racing frame into the air after …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Texas Bicycling Event Reminder

Grand Texas Signs of Life Bike Ride

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I can’t begin to describe how beautiful the weather is today in southeast Texas. The humidity is the lead item in the weather: 22% when I left home at 12:08 and 21% when i got back at 3:37. Whenever I stopped I was almost instantly dry. Sweat was nonexistent. In fact when I first sat down in the shade at Stripes I felt chilly even thought the temperature was 93. The blue sky looked great and the 9 mph SE breeze accentuated the dryness. This should Houston drier than Phoenix.

Riding a route I have only been on three times this I went to the north on the “SR242 – Old Houston Rd – FM1314” route. The last time was almost 2 months ago. Back then i commented on the lack of activity at the Grand Texas site on SH 242 west of US59. Today I saw this:

The construction appears to be utilities. As I rode further west on SH 242 I could see land cleared to the north behind a screen of trees. On the south side of SH 242 the RV park is starting to take shape. Several Entergy electric trucks were working at the entrance to the Grand Texas RV Park.

Riding on SH 242 I was fast enough to get the average speed up to 15.6 mph. I maintained this until I reached the Stripes station. My route went south on Old Houston Road to FM1314. I took these pictures at the intersection at FM1314 looking west.

Once upon a time Country Village was a promising subdivision but it never reached its potential. Old Houston Road is a nice asphalt road from SH 242 to FM1314 and I ride it when I don’t want to take SH 242 all the way to FM1314. From these photos it was about 6 1/2 miles to the Stripes station. I got there at 2:16 with 30.03 miles ridden out of what total 41.9 miles. I took my usual spot under the gas pump canopy to eat and drink before leaving for the 11+ miles to home. The weather screenshots while I was Stripes.

Notice the 10% humidity, even drier than my home weather station. While I was eating a young man in a black pickup truck pulled up and asked if I needed a ride home or if I was resting. I told I was okay and just taking a rest break.

Usually when I leave Stripes I ride through Briar Tree and then Oakhurst subdivisions but today after going through Briar Tree I turned in Auburn Trails and then to the southbound US59 service road. I wanted some variety. Riding south on the service road I was able to maintain 18 to 19 mph even though the wind was from the SE. Arriving at Kingwood Drive I made the u-turn under US59 and rode north to Kingwood Parq. Riding through Kingwood Parq brought me to Loop 494 where I went north to enter Kingwood at Kings Manor. My timing was good with the elementary school already dismissed and the traffic gone. From there I rode residential streets until I reached Kingwood Drive where I took the greenbelt trail parallel to Kingwood Drive to South Woodland Hills where I moved back to streets for the rest of the way home.

October miles are increasing faster than last year. I am at 454.74 miles this year compared to 640.14 miles for all October 2014. I think with 17 days left in October I should surpass last October’s total. 2015 year to date I am at 5972 miles.

The beautiful weather is supposed to stay around until the weekend. More biking planned for tomorrow. Saturday I am riding at Atascocita High School.

Summary of all the rides on the “SR242 – Old Houston Rd – FM1314” route this year.

Activity Name Start Time Distance Elevation Gain Avg Speed(Avg Pace) Max Speed(Best Pace) Calories Total Strokes
SR242 – Old Houston Rd – FM1314 Wed, Oct 14, 2015 12:08 PM 2:46:01 41.9 217 15.1 20.2 1954 10762
SR242 – Old Houston Rd – FM1314 Mon, Aug 17, 2015 10:26 AM 3:00:20 45.13 696 15 20 2456 11732
SR242 – Old Houston Rd – FM1314 Sat, Aug 1, 2015 10:31 AM 3:06:15 46.7 909 15 21.1 2647 11590

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