Texas Bicycling News July 14th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Texas 4000 to make stop in Grande Prairie

By Alexa Huffman, Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune


Twenty-eight cyclists from Austin, Texas will soon be rolling into Grande Prairie during the longest annual charity bike ride in the world.
Thursday, the cyclists will stay at Bowes Family Garden at Revolution Place before departing the next morning at 8 a.m. to continue the Texas 4000 bicycle ride.
“We work with them so they can be comfortable and feel like their at home even though they’re in an 18,000 square-foot room,” said Jane Cada-Sharp, general manager of Revolution Place.
“We just do our best to look after them and make them feel welcome not only to …

SSSSSSSnake!

by June Bug        www.bikemojo.com

Me and the mister went for a morning ride @ WC. On the next little side loop past Severe Consequences (going north, between trail markers 208 and 204) there is a short but steep little drop into the loop. Mr. JB had just gone down it when I noticed the south end of a snake on the left side of the trail. I got a little closer and snaky Snake was just hanging out, flicking its little red tongue to check things out. I didn’t want to roll down with the snake RIGHT THERE, so I decided to just go straight and meet Mr. JB at the exit of the loop. About the time I start to roll, snaky Snake starts to crawl off and just….disappears. I took a second to look and I realized Snake had crawled over a piece of square-edged limestone about 10 inches high, aligned it’s snaky body along the bottom edge of the stone, with its head held up a few inches — the most perfect ambush position for any little unsuspecting critter that came along over …

The Adventure Bike Park lives!

by dimitrin        www.bikemojo.com

Ok, those of you that have been around awhile know that a group of Cedar Park riders have been kicking this along for a few years now. The project stalled for awhile but tonight it came roaring back to life with full support of the current parks board. It looks like a committee or workgroup will be developed to define and continue the progress. The initial thoughts are that the committee will consist of 3 parks board members, 1 or 2 city council members and 2 or 3 additional mountain biking citizens. This means it may be a good time for any of you mountain biking Cedar Park residents to get on board and help move this project along.
Meetings are always the second Monday of each month at the city buildings on 450 Cypress creek rd. In fact, some of the staff approached me about taking them on a group mountain bike ride that will terminate at the Dig Pub with beers. Imagine that.
I was actually impressed at the amount of support we had by the end of the meeting.
Seems like a lot of folks are interested in this mountain bike thing!
Big props go to …

Brays Bayou Tiger #6 Trails Improvements

www.texasbids.net

Bid Date & Time: 07/30/15 10:30 AM        Prebid: 07/21/15 1:00 PM
Solicitation Title: Brays Bayou Tiger #6 Trails Improvements        Owner Solic Number: F-TIGER4-0006-4
Status: bidding            Report: 6440028
Country : United States     State: TX    County: Harris        Location: Houston
Est. Low Value: $1,940,000    Est. High Value: $1,940,000
Scope: Work includes 1.6 miles of new concrete trail, structural canopy, pedestrian railing, grading and drainage, storm sewer, SWPPP, fencing, site amenities, trail signage and landscaping.
Notes: A pre-bid meeting will be held at Conference Room 246 at City Hall Annex, 900 Bagby, 2nd Floor.
Plans: From Owner.        Owner Type: Public
Buyer: Houston, City of
Address: PO Box 1562 900 Bagby St, Room P101
City: Houston    State: TX    Zip/Postal Code: 77002
TEL: 713-837-0311    FAX: 713-247-1811
Website: http://www.houstontx.gov
Contact: Richard Odlozil …

ARR – Trail Work Day – Rocky Hill Ranch

Saturday, Jul 18, 2015, 9:00 AM

Rocky Hill Ranch
578 Farm-to-Market 153 Smithville, TX

7 Mountain Bikers Went

It’s time for a trail work day on the trails out at Rocky Hill Ranch!Come on out on Saturday, July 18th at 9:00am and join the Austin Ridge Riders and our Trial Steward Lee as we clean up the storm damage on the trails. Focus will be on the  trails up to the power line with Pulaski, McLeod, and rogue hoe work.Please bring jeans, work shoes/boots …

Check out this Meetup →

Few bike renters at Fair Park, Observer finds

Elizabeth Findell        cityhallblog.dallasnews.com


Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and City Council member Carolyn Davis try out the city’s first bike-share program at Fair Park Nov. 13, 2013.
The city of Dallas’ much-touted $125,000 bike-share program at Fair Park logged only 73 paying customers during the first half of 2015, according to numbers leaked to The Dallas Observer.
The Observer had previously reported on how its efforts to get any information on the bike-share program were rebuffed by Friends of Fair Park, a nonprofit which operates the bike program. The Texas Attorney General’s Office said the group was not a government entity subject to open records requirements, despite the fact that the city …

Cowtown’s Bluster & Blather Makes Some Ill While I Am Annoyed At Non-Presidential Bushes

by Durango Texas        durangotexas.blogspot.com


I decided to take my handlebars on a roll around the neighborhood today. Upon doing so I soon came upon the obstruction you see here, obstructing the already narrow sidewalk.
My opinion about this Fort Worth obstruction will likely be a bit negative. So, be …

Houston’s Vision Zero

BikeHouston


BikeHouston asks that Houston focus on reducing road fatalities for all road users
BikeHouston asks that the Mayor of Houston and all community leaders in the metro area to adopt a Vision Zero Fatalities campaign by 2025 for all road users.  Looking broadly at our roads we see that 227 people died in road violence in Houston 2014 (~ 2 people every 3 days) which is on par with our 239 homicides. Tragically by 2009 Houston road fatality rates were 50% higher than in Austin, Dallas or Fort Worth. Unfortunately TxDOT data reveals that vehicles collided with people on bikes or on foot 940 times last year in Houston, a 63 percent increase from …

Who wants to be a Metroplex BIKE STAR???

bikeabledallas.com

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG, http://www.nctcog.org/) is putting together an educational campaign to reach motorists, pedestrians, and people riding bicycles. The goal of the campaign is to bring awareness to road safety and encourage us all to look out for each other and be cautious when out and about. The theme of the campaign is “Look Out Texans: Bike, Walk, and Drive Safely”.
NCTCOG’s Active Transportation Team is looking for volunteers to participate in a photo shoot next …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/621042989129797632

https://twitter.com/BSS_Road_Club/status/621023082350804993

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

A Short 30 Foot Incline But Nothing Like the Tour

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After watching stage 10 of the Tour I left home (11:04) to ride a much flatter “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” terrain. Nothing approaching 10% incline on this ride. I think the steepest incline was the 30 feet of greenbelt trail I rode up to get back on Forest Village Drive. I went on the trail to add a 1/10 of a mile to the ride. Entering the trail gradually drops about 8 feet and then runs about 200 feet with a sharp left turn up a sharp incline. I usually get out of the saddle to ride up the 30 feet rising up 12 to 15 feet. To keep it interesting the pavement is not even at the bottom and the top where there is a section of fence sticking out near the edge of the exit. After that the rest of the ride is Houston flat. I ended up biking 33.23 miles. I am not sure the extra trail section made much of a difference but it is a change of scenery. I have biked this route 23 times out of 104 rides this year.

The weather continues to be hot. A partly cloudy sky doesn’t hide the sun much and the wind was around 5 mph most of the ride. Thankfully the humidity dropped below 50% at my home weather station by the time I got back home at 1:58. The temperature at home then: 101, heat index 114. It wasn’t quite so hot when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron at the 22.9 mile point.

Before arriving at the Chevron I thought my timing would coincide with the Amtrak train passing through Huffman but I left at 1:08 before it arrived. Sitting in the shade at the Chevron station the breeze did it’s work and slowly dried my arms, jersey and shorts. When I stood up the Greensheet newspaper I sat on was soaked. One of these days I will read it before I sit on it.

Traffic was light to normal along the route. No issues with anything.

As I got ready to leave home my wife put a strip of gauze and tape over my neck incision. I didn’t realize it on yesterday’s ride until I got home that my helmet strap rubbed the area and some blood and fluid ran down my neck. I washed my jersey and helmet strap to remove the blood. The gauze did the trick and today no problem.

Last night when I took the trash out I checked my front tire and it was slightly softer than the rear tire. To be safe I took the wheel inside (it was still 90+ outside), removed the tube, pumped it up and checked for a leak. I couldn’t find any leak so I did the water test and still couldn’t find a leak. I put the tube back in the tire and remounted it. Airing the tire up I pout the wheel back on the bike. This morning the tire was still hard before the ride and after. Not sure what the problem was.

Lately the rear derailleur has not shifted from the 3rd gear to 4th, 4th to 5th and 5th to 6th without going pass the gear and shifting back. I turned the barrel adjuster 1 turn but that didn’t help. While I rode I thought of some possible causes and when I got home I sprayed some WD40 on the rear derailleur pivot hinges to see if dirt buildup might be the problem. I will check later to see it loosened up any.

I am making progress on my July goal of 834 miles. I am at 368.34 miles so far with 17 potential biking days left. Year to date I am up to 3585 miles.

[iframe https://connect.garmin.com/activity/embed/833334460 465px 500px] [iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/346053553/embed/fe95e639c093892094792cac6e5a4b490b93eb66 590px 500px]

Texas Bicycling News July 13th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Trail Run, Sunday Morning Routine, Blue Trail Carrollton Texas

K. Wolf

MTBiker Visiting from Melbourne Australia!

by reannabrowne        www.bikemojo.com

G’day all,
Like many Australians at the moment, we are taking some time off and heading your way!
As a keen female mountainbiker I’d love the opportunity to be able to hit a couple of local trails while I’m there.
We will be visiting Austin from 8-10th August and I’d love to be able to get out on some of the trails with the locals.
I can’t seem to find any local MTB tours, so thought I’d post something here.
Knowing that I wont be able to bring my beloved Giant dualie from home I’ve done some early investigating and think I might be able to hire something from Mellow Johnnys?
Worst case, I noticed Mellow Johnnys hire roadies and have scheduled rides?
Anyway, just posting this on the hope that I might be able to get some local knowledge / insight, happy to jump on a all girls or mixed ride (should then be such a thing), or even pay for a 1-2 hour tour from a local?
Thanks in advance all,
Reanna
several replies …

Pancake Breakfast Ride (Las Cruces Airport)

Sunday, Jul 19, 2015, 7:15 AM

Mesilla Municipal Parking Lot (just south of The Bean)
Avenida de Mesilla (NM Hwy 28) Mesilla, NM

12 Cyclists Went

One of the club’s most popular rides! Meet at 7:15 a.m. at the Mesilla Municipal Parking Lot on NM 28 (just south of The Bean). Roll out at 7:30. 26 miles, 15-17 mph pace. Mostly flat, some climbing up Picacho and a few rollers. The pancake breakfast is at the Las Cruces Airport – cost is $6 donation, includes pancakes, omelet, bacon, juice, coffee…

Check out this Meetup →

Tour of George Bush Park, Houston, TX on a Mountain Bike

by William Bernal        blushingbush.com

Tour of George Bush Park, Houston, TX on a… by huddlepoint

Bicycle theft reports, registrations on the rise

by Tyler Whitson        www.austinmonitor.com


Bicycle theft is an issue in every city, and Austin, with its enthusiastic cycling community, is no exception. Data that the Austin Monitor obtained from the Austin Police Department show that the number of reported bicycle thefts has increased slightly in the past year, though that corresponds with a spike in the average number of bicycles registered with the department every month.
From July 2014 through June 2015, there was an average of about 121 cases reported to the APD every month, a two-per-month increase over the previous 12-month period. During the same time frame, average monthly registrations increased from about …

His Hill Mountain Biking – 2015

Ben Rebmann

This video was taken over my week at His Hill Ranch Camp in Comfort, Texas. My knee is okay now.

Cycling JR 1 – July 11, 2015 / Zube Park / Start – 26 miles

CyclingJR1

After two weeks out it was nice getting out and riding with the group. The sun was out, and so was the humidity! Temps started in the mid 70’s. Took the Fuji SST 2.0 out for a ride. You couldn’t have asked for a nicer day, in Texas, for a bike ride. Hang on and enjoy as we roll the back country roads for our morning “spin class!”

Peach Pedal 2015

Timothy Drennon

GoPro view of segments of the peach pedal bike ride in Parker Co. Texas.

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/620625414667440128

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/620576595120652288

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

New Caney – Gene Campbell Road 3rd Time This Year

Texbiker.net Posted on by

No Tour today so I left home at 9:55 biking “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” to the north. Being Monday traffic was lighter than some other days. Riding from FM1485 to FM1314, about 5 miles, only 4 cars passed me going in my direction. I rode north on Loop 494 from Porter to New Caney to get around the Grand Parkway on US59. On FM1314 the Grand Parkway overpass work zone still blocks the east bound lanes. I waited for a break in the traffic to get through the work area on FM1314. The deck of the overpass looks like it is in place, the approaches on each end need work and the workers are working on the sides of the overpass. They might finish before the end of the year.

The ride today was 36.54 miles long. At 25.4 miles I stopped at the Stripes station for a break. I was there about 45 minutes soaking up the shade, ate my snacks and drank Gatorade to cool down. My average speed got up to 15.0 mph for a brief but settled back to 14.9 mph at 32 miles. By the time I got home riding through Kingwood it was down to 14.6 mph.

No biking yesterday (Sunday). My neck incision was sore and my wife insisted that I stay home. I think I aggravated it on Saturday while driving and turning my head too much to the left. When I bike I try to turn my head with my shoulders. This does not seem to stretch the incision as much. It was better today and after the ride I am not having any pain.

I rode this route 3 times this year. A summary of the rides.

7-13-2015 Route Ride Comparison Summary YTD

During the rest stop I took these screenshots of the weather.

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