A Sunny Sunday Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

No rain in sight today. Being Sunday I rode an easy route: “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman”. The later start time of 12:29 gave the temperature time to get to 93 but at least there was no rain in the view of the local radar.

I rode 32.49 miles taking a break at 20.3 miles in Huffman at the my favorite Chevron. The shade is handy and a little girl came out of the store and waved at me as I sat on the curb. I only ate one snack today the cold Powerade made the temperature feel not quite so hot. Screenshots of the weather while I was there.

Nothing really special about today’s ride. I did follow another rider going west over Lake Houston on FM1960. I never got close enough to see any details about him though.

This route is the one I ride the most because it is easy to get started and the bike almost goes on autopilot. This is a summary of the times I rode this route in 2015. 31 times on this route.

Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sun, Sep 6, 2015 12:29 PM 2:11:32 32.49 489 14.8 20 — — 1729 8410
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Fri, Aug 21, 2015 2:37 PM 2:10:45 32.97 591 15.1 20.5 — — 1796 8319
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sun, Aug 2, 2015 12:12 PM 2:07:04 31.71 689 15 20.4 — — 1783 7864
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Fri, Jul 31, 2015 11:04 AM 2:10:29 31.72 673 14.6 21.1 — — 1797 7939
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Fri, Jul 24, 2015 11:39 AM 2:16:00 33.68 568 14.9 22.1 — — 1830 8607
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Thu, Jul 23, 2015 11:28 AM 2:17:37 33.58 604 14.6 21.1 — — 1853 8326
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Tue, Jul 14, 2015 11:04 AM 2:15:57 33.24 656 14.7 20.5 — — 1837 8043
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sat, Jul 11, 2015 8:54 AM 2:22:56 34.74 482 14.6 19.4 — — 1829 9148
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sun, Jun 28, 2015 12:26 PM 2:06:30 31.41 479 14.9 20.4 — — 1672 7719
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Thu, Jun 18, 2015 12:27 PM 2:15:01 34.2 633 15.2 21.6 — — 1905 8532
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sun, Jun 7, 2015 11:21 AM 2:04:21 31.33 486 15.1 21.3 — — 1692 7414
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Mon, Jun 1, 2015 10:34 AM 2:15:19 33.35 505 14.8 20.1 — — 1799 8611
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sat, May 16, 2015 11:09 AM 2:18:09 33.12 1004 14.4 21.1 — — 1966 8213
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Tue, May 5, 2015 2:12 PM 2:10:58 31.93 1296 14.6 21.1 — — 2050 7869
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sat, Apr 25, 2015 1:46 PM 2:19:42 34.26 732 14.7 21 — — 1939 8451
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sun, Apr 19, 2015 12:03 PM 2:02:15 30.55 817 15 21.3 — — 1767 7846
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Wed, Apr 15, 2015 11:59 AM 2:13:52 33.85 574 15.2 20.6 — — 1829 8573
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Mon, Apr 13, 2015 11:45 AM 2:16:16 33.81 810 14.9 22.3 — — 1905 8395
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sat, Apr 11, 2015 12:23 PM 2:19:10 34.41 538 14.8 24 — — 1864 8483
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Mon, Apr 6, 2015 12:10 PM 2:13:18 32.86 751 14.8 21.3 — — 1900 8251
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Tue, Mar 31, 2015 11:49 AM 2:12:36 32.6 679 14.8 21 — — 1826 8105
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Fri, Mar 27, 2015 1:48 PM 2:11:50 32.32 955 14.7 21.9 — — 1885 8307
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Wed, Mar 25, 2015 2:12 PM 2:10:22 32.19 912 14.8 21.7 — — 1853 8142
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Fri, Mar 20, 2015 12:11 PM 2:04:13 31.41 614 15.2 21.7 — — 1717 7998
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Wed, Mar 18, 2015 2:11 PM 1:59:20 30.31 594 15.2 22.2 — — 1687 7697
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Mon, Mar 16, 2015 1:16 PM 2:10:40 32.14 568 14.8 21 — — 1743 8442
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Wed, Mar 4, 2015 11:21 AM 2:10:53 32.66 702 15 21.6 — — 1841 8203
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Tue, Mar 3, 2015 3:27 PM 1:59:27 29.34 659 14.7 21 — — 1641 7645
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Sun, Feb 8, 2015 12:17 PM 2:15:02 33.07 879 14.7 22.3 — — 1923 8234
Atascocita – Walden – Huffman Tue, Jan 27, 2015 12:17 PM 2:16:36 32.09 469 14.1 19.7 — — 1684 9011
Atasacocita – Walden – Huffman Sat, Jan 17, 2015 1:55 PM 2:02:54 29.84 686 14.6 21.2 — — 1686 8118

[iframe https://connect.garmin.com/activity/embed/890463080 465px 500px] [iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/386574189/embed/1213b534ee1a136823eeca04021c8349bdc80ede 590px 500px]

Texas Bicycle News September 5th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Fitness calendar

www.dallasnews.com


Cycle for Cystic Fibrosis, Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Sept. 12 CF Cycle for Life Dallas features 30- and 60-mile bike rides through scenic portions of North Texas, starting and finishing at The Shops at Highland Village, 1701 Shoal Creek, in Highland Village. The event is a rally, not a race, focused on fundraising for finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. Registration is $35 with a $150 fundraising minimum. Participants must be 16 to participate. Helmets are required. For information, call 214-871-2222 or visit fightcf.cff.org, then click on “Cycle for Life.”
The Oct. 3 Wish 100 bike rally starts and finishes in Historic Downtown McKinney, 111 N. Tennessee St. It features a family friendly 11.9-mile ride, along with 17.3-, 41.3- and 63.1-mile routes for cyclists of all ages and abilities. On-site registration and …

Traffic Skills 101 Classes In Richardson, Texas – September and October 2015

by dickdavid        bikefriendlyrichardson.org


Because Richardson is such a Bike Friendly Community, we thought it would be great to hold a couple of Traffic Skills 101 classes this fall.
Traffic Skills 101 (TS101) gives cyclists the confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. Through TS101, students learn how to conduct bicycle safety checks, fix a flat, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques. We recommended this class for adults and children above age fourteen. The curriculum is fast-paced, and prepares cyclists for a full understanding of …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/MitchellGSides/status/640297468559814656

Texas Bicycling Event Reminders

No Singing In the Rain On This Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I set out to ride the “Fairlake Drive – May Park Community Center – Huffman” route leaving home at 11:53. Before leaving I checked the weather radar for rain. There was a big patch over Baytown to the 35 miles southeast of where I live. My thought was the rain would move to the east out of the route area and all would be dry. Nice thought that lasted until I turned into Kingwood Greens off of W. Lake Houston Parkway. there was another biker doing the opposite headed where I came from in a big hurry. I rode on Kings View Drive about 100 feet and the rain start coming down. Maybe it was just a spot and I could ride out of it. Nope! It started raining harder so I moved to the sidewalk under the trees to get away from the rain. The trees went away and I rode back onto the street going fast to get back to W. Lake Houston Parkway.

Across W. Lake Houston Parkway sits Kings Harbor, a group of buildings with restaurants and shops and most importantly a parking garage. I waited for traffic to pass and darted to the parking garage but a slow pickup truck was in front of me waiting on a car that was backing up for some reason. The car stopped and I rode around the truck and ducked into the garage as the rain increased. I was dripping wet but I was out of the wind, kind of. With the rain the temperature dropped from the 96 degrees at my house to somewhere in the 80’s. Being wet I could feel the change. I waited in the parking garage for 20 minutes or more for the rain to at least slow down. Finally the puddles showed just a few drops landing in them and I left to continue the ride.

I wasn’t sure if I would ride the route I planned but as I approached FM1960 the streets were dry and I decided to stay the course until I ran into rain again. Riding through Walden the streets continued dry and I made it back to FM1960 to ride over Lake Houston. No rain so I stuck to the route. Once I was on the causeway the shoulder was damp but not enough to be a problem. Fairlake Drive and Old Atascocita Road were dry as well. Going north on FM2100 to Huffman the sun came out and I hoped I would dry off some. At Huffman I turned right onto FM1960 and began riding to Huffman – Eastgate where I would turn. As I got closer I saw some flashing lights near the turn. It was a wrecker pulling a pickup truck out of the west bound ditch. He wa heading east on the shoulder and I did not get a good view of the pickup truck until he made a u-turn and came my direction. The front of the pickup truck had connected with a pole and the smashed the front end quite a bit.

Making the turn onto Huffman – Eastgate the road was wet again because of the overhanging trees but once I was out from under the trees the road was dry. It stayed that way to the May community Center, from there back to FM2100 and then to the Huffman Chevron where I took a break at the 28 mile point. Waling inside the store I was hit by the cold air conditioned air against my soaking wet shorts and jersey. My new Pearl Izumi Elite Gel Vent gloves were soaked as was my wrist bands. I tried a bunch of paper towels to soak up the water from the wrist bands but it wasn’t too successful. Getting back outside quickly I sat down under the canopy on a Greensheet newspaper. I ate my snacks and drank some Powerade. I checked the weather on my phone:

The yellow and green rain was between me and home. I looked at the western sky and a dark patched moved over Huffman but no rain fell. I got up and the newspaper was soaked. I checked the weather radar again and the rain had moved to the north and I got ready to leave.

Riding back onto west bound FM1960 I felt a few rain drops and made a mental note of places to get out of the rain if it picked up. Fortunately the drops were few and I kept riding. Once I was on the causeway over Lake Houston there would be no place to hide from the rain. The drops continued but not enough to get me any wetter than I already was. I rode through Atascocita Shores and Kings River back to W. Lake Houston Parkway. The streets were damp until I got to the Parkway. It was dry until I turned left onto Kingwood Greens Drive. The streets were damp again. I made a big “U” back to W. Lake Houston Parkway on Kings View Drive for the final 3 miles home. From there no more rain drops to home.

I got back home at 3:45 and washed the bike. I am getting way to much practice washing a bike. This is the 3rd time in a week.

Where I stand after today’s ride:

  • 187.06 miles this week
  • 153.81 miles in September. My goal is 340 miles.
  • 5282 miles for the year. My goal is 6500 miles.

A summary of the rides on this route this year.

Activity Name Start Time Distance Elevation Gain Avg Speed(Avg Pace) Max Speed(Best Pace) Avg HR Max HR Calories Total Strokes
Fairlake Drive – May Park Community Center – Huffman Sat, Sep 5, 2015 11:53 AM 2:45:52 39.75 577 14.4 20.2 — — 2092 10613
Fairlake Drive – May Park Community Center – Huffman Wed, Aug 19, 2015 10:54 AM 2:44:33 40.92 650 14.9 20.1 — — 2246 10618
Fairlake Drive – May Park Community Center – Huffman Fri, Aug 7, 2015 10:09 AM 2:55:03 42.35 696 14.5 22 — — 2296 10599
Fairlake Drive – May Park Community Center – Huffman Mon, Jun 29, 2015 10:49 AM 2:52:31 42.38 801 14.7 21.4 — — 2341 10441

[iframe https://connect.garmin.com/activity/embed/889087461 465px 500px] [iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/385664753/embed/34a1c2b5a9a65a6c7b50878f0fe5817976c4a0ac 590px 500px]

Texas Bicycling News September 4th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bicyclist critically hurt in hit-and-run collision

By Dale Lezon        www.chron.com


A woman was critically injured early Friday morning in a hit-and-run collision when a vehicle slammed into her as she rode a bicycle along a street in northwest Houston.
The incident happened about 3 a.m. on North Shepherd near 34th Street, according to the Houston Police Department.
Police said a person called 911 after seeing the injured woman lying in the southbound lanes of North Shepherd. When officers arrived, they determined from evidence at the scene, including the mangled bicycle, that a vehicle had rammed the woman. The driver left the scene.
The woman, whose …

Coming to a low-volume, low-speed street near you!

bikeabledallas.com


The bike network in Dallas is growing before our very eyes! We’ve added shared lane markings on a number of low-volume, low-speed streets in Oak Lawn, Lakewood, East Dallas, and North Dallas.
A year ago, we had 17.8 miles of bicycle facilities on the ground. As of today, we’re at 37.3 miles, and there is more progress on …

Tuesday: Intermediate/Advanced Mountain Bike Ride at the Ant Hills

Tuesday, Sep 8, 2015, 6:15 PM

15200 Memorial Dr
15200 Memorial Dr Houston, Te

2 cyclists Went

This will be a medium to fast pace ride through the Ant Hills of Hershey Park! Bring WATER, spare tube/tire, snacks, etc…Helmets required. Call if you are going to be late so we can wait for you. Wheels rolling by 6:30! See you there

Check out this Meetup →

Marvelous Massey Rd

Fort Worth Bicycling Association        www.fwbaclub.org

Monday, September 07, 2015 8:00 am
Ride some of the area’s most scenic terrain on the way to the Massey Rd hill climb.  Your prize at the top is a view of the whole world toward Granbury and Glen Rose.  One catch, you have to do the 66 or 82 mile route for Massey Rd.  The shorter routes both feature great low traffic country roads and beautiful scenery but no Massey Rd.
All are welcome! You do not have to be a club member to participate. There is no fee.  Just good roads and good ride riding companions.
And for those who care to take a …

Traffic Skills 101 Clinic

Plano Bicycle Association

Traffic Skills 101 (TS101) is a fast-paced class that will give you the confidence to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. You will learn how to conduct bicycle safety checks, fix a flat, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques. We recommended this class for adults and children above age thirteen.  The classroom portion is completed online at www.bikeed.org prior to the class. You should expect to spend 1.5 – 2 hours doing this. The skills and riding portion will take 5 – 6 hours.
Date: September 13, 2015
Time: 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
Who:  All aged over 13 are welcome. Under 18? Then a parent or guardian must sign your waiver
What to bring: …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/639813953942499328

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Texas Bicycling Event Reminders