Texas Bicycling News July 18th

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Luckenbach Loop

Pit’s Fritztown News        pitsfritztownnews.wordpress.com

After quite a long time [the last time was in August 2010] I did the Luckenbach Loop again, a ride that is described on Cycle Texas, a website for rides out of and around Fredericksburg. This ride takes you to Luckenbach, the town made famous by  Waylon Jennings in his song [listen to it here] “Back to the Basics of Love“, and then back to Fredericksburg again. This ride was one of my goals for the time after my cardiac rehab, not so much to find out if I could do on my road bike it but rather when. Actually, after my frequent rides out on Lower Crabapple Road here lately, and after having done the Twilight Twenty more than once on the Dancelli, I was pretty sure that I would be able to do the Luckenbach Loop. It certainly is about one and a half of that ride in length [more than 30 …

Hinton cycles way to Europe via Texas success

www.weatherforddemocrat.com


After a cycling spill late in May sidetracked plans for a scheduled trip to Belgium for racing competitions, Weatherford’s Hunter Hinton rehabbed his shoulder and earned a second chance for the trip to Europe.
Hinton and 10 other young racers will join Williams Cycling as they head to Belgium on July 20 for three weeks of racing against the best in the world — smack …

One Score And Two Years Ago Is No Way To Start A Wedding Speech

by Durango Texas        durangotexas.blogspot.com


I do some of my best pondering whilst rolling along via my bike wheels.
Today I decided to take my handlebars on a roll around the neighborhood to get me some endorphins and do some pondering on various ponderments.
Apparently “ponderments” is …

Dual slalom titles defended, new short track XC champs named at MTB Nationals

www.usacycling.org

Luca Cometti (San Diego, Calif./Intense Factory Racing) and Jill Kintner (Bellingham, Wash./Red Bull-Norco Bicycles) repeated as men’s and women’s professional dual slalom national champions, and Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./SRAM-Troy Lee Designs Race Team) and Chloe Woodruff (Prescott, Ariz./Team Stan’s NoTubes-Niner) took over as men’s and women’s professional short track cross-country national champions on Friday at the 2015 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships in Mammoth Mountain, Calif. …

Women 01 Master 30-34 XC
4.      Penny Borden (Waco, Texas)       Bear Mountain Wolfpack
Women 9+ DS
3.      Porsha Stockton (Allen, Texas)
Women 01 Senior 25-29 XC
4.      Brittany Parffrey (Katy, Texas)       Bicycle Heaven / PVA

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Eagle Springs – Walden – Huffman Memories

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Biking “Eagle Springs – Walden – Huffman” for the second time this year I was surprised how close the mileage was each time: 34.75 miles today and on 5/30/15 it was 34.71 miles. Usually the same routes vary by much more than that. I didn’t look at the map before leaving home at 11:03 riding the route that was in my mind. Below is an overlay of the ride routes. The red lines are what is different today from the May 30th ride. I used Google Earth to overlay the routes. (Click to enlarge the image)

7-18-2015 Route Overlays

May 30th route vs. July 18th route

The route goes by the site of my collision with a car at Atascocita High School back in 2013. I can still see me grabbing the brakes and sliding into the side of the car after the driver pulled out in front of me and stopped. I was not too concerned about that happening today with school out and a Saturday. This area has lots of home construction along W. Lake Houston Parkway. Traffic on W. Lake Houston Parkway going north wasn’t too heavy and drivers gave me plenty of room when they passed.

With the late start I saw only one other biker as I rode east over Lake Houston on FM1960. He was going west but I did not look up in time to wave. I suspect the Bike Barn Atascocita riders were all home by the time I got there.

It was hot. I looked forward to the rest stop at the Huffman Chevron sitting in the shade. I got there 23 miles into the ride and stayed about 35 minutes. I got an extra large cold drink and slowly ate a trail mix bar and two cookies. It took the full time to cool down and dry the sweat on my arms, neck and legs. My shorts were still wet even thought the Greensheet newspaper tried to soak up all of the moisture. It was limp when I put it in the trash along with 7 or 8 paper towels. The weather screenshots during the stop.

The SSW wind was tough going west with the heat and traffic. I managed to ride 16 to 17 mph and got the average speed up to 14.9 mph. I held it there until about the 32 mile mark in Kingwood. Stops and starts drug it down to 14.5 mph by the time I got home at 2:05. The last 2 miles I pedaled slowly due to the heat and being tired.

Miles for the week increased to 188.2. I plan on riding 25 miles or so tomorrow to get over 200 for the week. So I biked 486.77 in July. My goal is 834 so I need to ride 347 miles by the end of the month. With 13 days left I should be able to reach my goal. The weather forecast is rain free for the next 10 days but it will be hot.

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Texas Bicycling News July 17th

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Bicyclist killed after being hit by driver in Pleasant Grove

By: Calvert Collins        www.fox4news.com

Video


A driver has been charged on accusations of hitting a bicyclist Wednesday night and continuing with the victim in his windshield for more than a mile.
The victim was pronounced dead at a Dallas hospital just hours later.
Witnesses told police they saw a dark green Honda, driven by Silverio Alaniz, 19, hit the bicyclist at Lake June and Holcomb about 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
From how mangled the bike was, police believe the sedan was going pretty fast.
Witnesses called 911 to report a man sticking out of a windshield, so Dallas …

Around the Web: Transportation balance, station development, rails to trails

Brandon Formby         transportationblog.dallasnews.com


Chaney Shadrock walks her dog Maisey on the Katy Trail in Dallas on July 15, 2015. Shadrock keeps her walks short when walking Maisey. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)
Will more transportation options make us healthier?
Advocates for more walking, biking and transit options in major metro areas argue that rethinking infrastructure can play a role in improving mental and physical health. Buried in the post on Active Transport For Cities is this nugget: “If your city speaks of ‘balancing transportation choices’ rather than prioritizing walking, biking, and transit, it’s still car centered.”
When parking – not development – sprouts around rail stations
Blogger Darin at AtlUrbanist bemoans the decades-long wait for development around the Garnett train station in Atlanta that is currently surrounded by parking lots that …

Wheels up: Casual biking on the rise in S.A.

By Rae Jefferson        www.expressnews.com

Food, drink, socializing are part of the experience

Members of the cycling group, Street Ratz, pose for a group shot in front of a mural near North St. Mary’s and Richmond Avenue before embarking on a ride around the city on Saturday, July 11, 2015. The group went on a 16-mile ride while pausing to see murals around downtown and on the Westside.
Red safety lights flashed on their handlebars and under their bike saddles. The cycling group was a dozen strong and occupied the full width of the right-hand lane on Alamo Street in Southtown.
The riders peddled at a pace slow enough to hold a conversation, unconcerned with the headlights illuminating their cruisers, hybrids and road bikes from behind. At red lights, the bikers, all in their …

Bicycle rider robbed at gunpoint

By Kristianna Gross        www.kxxv.com

WACO – Waco police are looking for two suspects who robbed a man on a bicycle overnight and stole his bike and some of his clothes, leaving him stranded.
The victim was left wandering around Waco pantless. According to police, the man walked several blocks and knocked on people’s doors in the 900 block of Clifton until someone answered and allowed him to call 9-1-1.
Police say the man was riding his bike around 12:30 this morning in the 1100-block of Faulkner Drive, when he was attacked and …

Austin dentist hits cyclist in apparent road rage incident

www.myfoxaustin.com


Preston Tyree with ‘Bike Austin’ is an advocate for bicycle safety. He just doesn’t understand why some drivers see cyclists as a nuisance on the road.
“I think it’s because when people see us they think of kids playing and they think you know ‘this guy doesn’t have a job, he’s out playing, he’s out having fun, and I’m in my car going to work,'” Tyree said.
He’s frustrated to learn about what happened to a cyclist Austin Police documents refer to as “E Scott” on Wednesday morning. Police documents say Scott was trying to ride in the bike lane on Jollyville Road but the area was overgrown. So he …

Intermediate Ride @ Walnut Creek 5:30 PM

Wednesday, Jul 22, 2015, 5:30 PM

Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park
12138 North Lamar Boulevard Austin, TX

2 Mountain Bikers Went

This will be a intermediate level ride.Meet in the parking lot by the swimming pool. The route will make it easy for anyone to get back to the parking lot.   Helmets are required along with a bike in good working order.The ride last approximately 1.5 hours. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Just depends on how everyone is feeling on that particular…

Check out this Meetup →

Survey shows rising dealer metrics in a flat market

by Fred Clements        www.bicycleretailer.com

Editor’s note: Fred Clements is the executive director of the National Bicycle Dealers Association. Clements’ previous blog posts can be read on bikedealerblog.wordpress.com.
The number of bike shops continues to drop each year, with another 4 percent decline projected in 2015, but a new survey shows that several other dealer metrics are actually trending up.
According to the NBDA’s 2015 Specialty Bicycle Retail Survey, the average bike store is now larger in both dollar volume (over $1 million per year, an all-time high), and physical size (6,461 square feet), than ever before.
They are also improving in sales efficiency, with average sales of $185 per square foot, a record high for these surveys, and an increase of 3 percent from the previous year.
While there continue to be huge challenges, the IBD channel itself was apparently churning along fairly well in 2014. IBDs were responsible for $4.7 billion in retail sales last year, including used bikes, approximately 63 percent of the retail dollars spent on cycling in the United States. This reinforces the notion that while many are certainly fighting for their business lives, a lot of them are fighting successfully. Over half reported that …

Courtney, Gorry break away with U23 XC wins at Mountain Bike Nationals

www.usacycling.org

Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif./Specialized Factory Racing) and Cypress Gorry (Brevard, N.C./Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team) wasted no time collecting the U23 cross-country national titles on Thursday in Mammoth Mountain, Calif., claiming the first two Stars-and-Stripes jerseys of Day 2 at the 2015 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships. …

Men 01 Junior 15-16
5.      Bradyn Lange (Austin, Texas)       787 Racing
Men Junior 9-10
4.      Lance Lakoski (Austin, Texas)
Men 03 Master 50-54
3.      Jeff Westerheide (Dallas, Texas)       Dallas Bike Works

Andy Coulbeck completes ‘Everesting’ attempt on Big View Drive

by Pam LeBlanc        fitness.blog.austin360.com


If you live in the River Place neighborhood, you may have seen a cyclist pedaling up and down the bike-swallowing hill on Big View Drive last weekend.
That was Andy Coulbeck, a 51-year-old software developer originally from Leicester, England, in the midst of an “Everesting” attempt.
For the uninformed: To properly “Everest,” a cyclist must bike up and down a single hill until he or she has …

Listening to Those Not Heard

BikeHouston


Jonathan pictured above commutes to work at a Montrose bar and restaurant from downtown on his bicycle. Jonathan feels fine riding his bike during the day but less safe at night, when he is riding home. He does not have lights on his bike or wear a helmet. He said he would put lights on his bicycle if some were given to him.
Did you know that there are hundreds if not thousands of people who rely on bicycles to move around Houston? This is a group who often gets left out of the planning and design process and is a group highly vulnerable to crashes and fatalities. They are often riding at night without lights or helmets to get to work.
BikeHouston intern, Nabiha Hossain, wanted to change this dynamic and took on the project of interviewing bicycle-dependent residents to ensure their voice is heard in the current Bicycle Master planning process. She found that while …

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Grand Texas Shows Signs of Life

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I rode the “SR242 – FM1314” route for the second time this year. I have avoided this route due to the Grand Parkway overpass construction on FM1314. I rode through the work zone again today without any problem. The 2/10’s of a mile biking in the work zone with a concrete barrier on the right doesn’t allow any movement for traffic to pass but today not one car or truck was in sight behind me. The opposite direction traffic was light and did not cause any concern. The workers attached forms to the west side of the overpass for the sides and may pour some concrete soon.

Cutting short watching stage 13 of the Tour (it was hot there too) I left home at 10:07 in a bid to avoid some of the heat. There were some clouds but the sun dominated the sky most of the ride. The weather conditions when I stopped at Stripes 34.8 miles into the 44.3 mile long ride.

Before reaching Stripes I passed the site of Grand Texas and was surprised to see construction activity. On the south side of SH 242 land has been cleared for what will be the entrance to the motor racing track. On the north side of SH 242 at the corner of US59 a new Valero station is being built. From there to Grand Texas trees have been cleared expanding the open area from the road to the tree line. Once upon a time this land was a tree farm for Champion Paper. To the north of the Valero spot more land is being cleared by the southbound service road. I am not sure what that is for. The next ride is this area I will go by to see if any signs are up.

I made a quick stop at the Chevron station at FM1485 and SH 242 for ice and water. That was at 19.6 miles into the ride. I planned on stopping longer at the Stripes store and wanted to be sure my water lasted the 15 miles.

With the light wind and lower humidity I did not have much trouble with excess sweat running until I stopped for traffic lights. I got the average speed up 15.2 mph while I was on SH 242 and after the stop at the Chevron I increased it to 15.3 mph. I held this until the stop at Stripes where it fell to 15.2 mph and then riding home through Kingwood it dropped down to 14.7 mph as I slowed for stop signs and residential street turns. I got back home at 1:53. My home weather station then.

7-17-2015 Home Weather Finish

The shade at the Stripes store is getting narrower as summer heads to fall. I will need to move my resting spot to the pump canopy. This might allow the breeze to get to me better while I sit. One lady asked if I thought it was too hot and I said no, it is just right. As long as I am moving the heat doesn’t seem that bad. It’s when I stop and the sweat has a chance to collect that I feel hot. It took 8 paper towels plus a Greensheet newspaper at Stripes to soak up all the sweat I had. By the time I finished I was not sweating. I was there about 35 to 40 minutes.

I am hoping to ride over 200 miles this week and with today’s ride I am at 153.45 miles leaving 47 miles and two biking days. If I ride 30+ miles tomorrow (Saturday) Sunday can be an easy day to set up next week’s biking. The weather forecast looks dry for the next week or more.

A summary comparison of the two rides on this route this year.

7-17-2015 Route Ride Comparison Summary YTD

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