Texas Bicycling News July 6th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

MoPac closures tonight as bike/pedestrian bridge moved into place

by Pam LeBlanc        fitness.blog.austin360.com

Heads up, cyclists and pedestrians. Your bridge swings into place tonight!
The last piece of a 525-foot bicycle and pedestrian bridge will be positioned over the Union Pacific railroad tracks south of Duval Road tonight, according to a press release from the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.
The bridge is part of a shared use path that will run alongside the southbound Loop 1 frontage road from the city of Austin’s Walnut Creek Trail to the Capital of Texas Highway near the Arboretum.
Two southbound lanes of Loop 1 (MoPac) will be closed between Parmer Lane and Braker Lane starting at 8 p.m. The northbound frontage road will be closed at Braker Lane. The …

Riding from Northern Washington to Austin Texas starting August 7th

Pete Frederickson        www.crazyguyonabike.com

I’m a 34 year old male from Washington state looking for riding buddies on this epic tour starting August 7th from Winthrop WA to Austin TX, taking the Sierra Cascades, Western Express, Grand Canyon Connector and Southern Tier routes. I’ll be towing my dog in a trailer so it’ll be slow going(as well as hot!), but I’m giving myself 3-4 months to finish the trip. Folks are welcome to join at any point in the tour. Come share in the adventure! …

Trees down at Pace Bend and issues

by Spicewookie        www.bikemojo.com

I did a recon ride and some maintenance, but encountered more work than my hand saw was interested in. I’ll have minions out there Monday. I was working mostly on the North end of the park and didn’t get to Wookie Way, NXNW, or the Crotons. Any reports of downed trees blocking the trail on those?
Also, there’s still lots of flagging tape up from the Pace Bend Race and Dirt Remedy. This stuff needs to GO! Anyone …

Construction of Hike and Bike Trail from Jesse H. Jones Park to US Highway 59, Precinct 4 RE-BID

www.texasbids.net

Bid Date & Time: 07/27/15 2:00 PM
Owner Solic Number: 15/0106, 15/0146    Status: bidding        Report: 6311965
Country : United States         State: TX        County: Harris        Location: Houston
Scope: Construction of hike and bike trail.
Plans: From Owner.
Update Notes: Amendment 1 issued, see linked file.Attached file. Amendment 2 issued, see linked file. Re bid, bid date changed from 06/08/15 to 07/27/15, new bid no added, limited info, contact Owner for further details.
Owner Type: Public …

Three Saints Ramble

Sunday, Jul 12, 2015, 7:45 AM

Across from Rio Plaza
Park across from strip center at 6205 Upper Valley Rd (just north of Artcraft) El Paso, TX

8 Cyclists Went

Meet at 7:45 a.m. at Rio Plaza, 6205 Upper Valley (at Artcraft; park across from strip center. Roll out at 8 am Pace: Intermediate- 15-17 mph avg. Flat terrain. Ride Leader: Danny Cavazos,[masked]

Check out this Meetup →

Royal Highschool 359er Loop – 44 miles

Sunday, Jul 12, 2015, 6:45 AM

Royal High School
2520 Durkin Road Brookshire, TX

2 SH!FT starters Went

This ride is a perfect warm-up for the upcoming Hills of Coldspring ride!Rollout at 7am from Royal High School in Brookshire, TX.This route is 44 miles long with 800′ of elevation change.There is a gas station in Monaville at 11 miles and 32 miles. We can stop once, or stop twice depending on group thoughts.This area is used by a lot of cyclist…

Check out this Meetup →

Ride Interview – Peach Pedal 2015 – Weatherford, Texas (July 11th)

www.wheelbrothers.com

Whether or not you’re already considering heading out to Parker County Peach festival the weekend of July 11th, consider contributing by way of joining the Peach Pedal 2015. It aids in supporting the community and also offers scholarships for Weatherford College students. WC’s Vice President Brent Baker gives us the juicy details below.

Why join your ride?
For the great views, friendly people, and the Parker County Peach Festival!
How long has your ride been around?
27 years
What was the motivation behind starting the ride and who benefits from it?
I wasn’t part of the group that started the ride, but it was started as a compliment to the Parker County Peach Festival. This is my 12th (and final) year to direct the ride. We have a …

Leon Creek Greenway Construction Closures

by HammerTime        www.bikemojo.com

The Leon Creek Greenway where it crosses underneath Hausman Road will be closed from 6:00am to 7:00pm on Friday, July 10 for bridge construction activities associated with the Hausman Road project (managed by the City’s TCI Department). There will also be intermittent closures from Saturday, July 11th through Tuesday, July 14th (6:00am to 7:00pm), while crews work on setting bridge panels into place. During this time, construction crews will …

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/bicyclesplus/status/618105708547063808

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

17 Mph Wind on a Longer Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I altered the “New Caney – FM1485 E – Huffman” route to be the “Roman Forest – FM1485 E – Huffman” on today’s ride. Instead of turning east on FM1485 at Loop 494 I continued biking to Roman Forest Blvd. and then turned right going on Roman Forest Blvd to Appian Way and then Galaxy Blvd to Coach Light Lane and on to FM1485 east. I figured this would add about 2 to 3 miles to the other route which it did for a total of 45.52 miles today. I was surprised to see another biker on FM1485 at Casey Ridge going the opposite way; we waved at each other.

The weather continued hot (97 degrees and 110 heat index at my home weather station) with a strong south 17 mph wind with 21 mph gusts (KIAH weather station data). The wind was nice drying up sweat quickly but when I turned south on Galaxy Blvd it was a head wind almost all the way to Huffman, about 16 miles. I had build my average speed up to 15.5 mph riding through Roman forest and thought the headwind would slow me down and lower it but I actually got it up to 15.6 mph by keeping a steady 16 mph or more pace into the wind. It did drop as I exited The Commons at Lake Houston onto old FM2100 and then the new FM2100 where there was no protection going south. By the time I got to the Huffman Chevron it was down to 15.4 mph.

Huffman weather

The break at the Chevron was longer than I planned. My wife left me a message that my old manager had called me and asked me to call him back which I did. We talked 10 or so minutes while I cooled down in the shade. The strong wind felt great and the sweat dried up quickly. At that point I was at the 33.3 mile point with about 12 miles left to get home.

Tuesday weather forecast looks like a repeat of today with less wind. I plan on another 40+ mile ride.

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Texas Bicycling News July 5th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Cycle Miles for Smiles

cyclemilesforsmiles.org

Support us in this  7943 km/4964  mile cycle tour over 58 days (11 rest and 47 cycling days) from Times Square, New York in two big smiles to Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, June 3 to July 28 as we care for the less fortunate and take essential surgical care where it is most needed …
4 July, Saturday Paris, TX
5 July, Sunday Arrive approximately 17:00  Mercy Ships Tyler, Texas
6 July, Monday Tyler, Texas  (Not cycling)
7 July, Tuesday Dallas, Texas*
8 July, Wednesday Ranger, Texas
9 July, Thursday Sweetwater, Texas
10 July, Friday Midland, Texas
11 July, Saturday Pecos, Texas
12 July, Sunday Sierra Blanca, Texas
13 July, Monday Sierra Blanca, Texas*  (Not cycling)

Wichita man offers help, tools and a willing ear for homeless cyclists

By Oliver Morrison, The Wichita Eagle        www.kansas.com


If each functioning bike speeds along in basically the same way, each broken one has a unique story.
This is a lesson that Alan Kailer, 61, has learned in his first months repairing bikes for the homeless in the parking lot of Open Door on Wednesday mornings. This is the first time in recent memory that bike repairs have been offered at the shelter. Kailer doesn’t see the fancy bike-shop bikes – with expensive parts finely tuned by silver screwdriver – that he rides and was used to fixing. …

… Kailer retired to Wichita last year after 35 years as a corporate lawyer in Dallas, where he was a member of the local bike club. So it was natural for him to join Bike Walk Wichita, the city’s bicycle advocacy organization. When someone asked if anyone would be willing to help repair bikes for the homeless, Kailer volunteered. …

Stick to the Plan

by Ray Garza        rgvcycling.com

We all have good intended plans to do this or that. Mine so happens to be to lose the weight. I really need to do this for medical reasons as I mentioned in my other post (2015 New years Resolution Follow Up). We all struggle to stick with it and sometimes it’s easy for me and other times it’s not. The month of June has been hard for me. Doctor or family visits have taken my off my rhythm but the one thing that I have noticed is that I have developed a battle cry or mantra, “Stick to the Plan!”.
June has been several Dr Visits to the urologist and that means getting off the bike prior to and after the visits. Add wet weather and family dropping in for visits and you get a recipe for disaster. It’s during these time that I tend to eat more than I should and of the wrong things too. I know I gained two to three pounds and that is the direction I do not …

Cyclists tackle conquer Louisiana terrain in ‘La Vuelta d’Acadiana’ road race

BOBBY ARDOIN| Special to The Advocate        theadvocate.com


ARNAUDVILLE — Many cyclists arrived Sunday shortly after dawn to unload lightweight racing bikes and contemplate their impending attack on the flat St. Landry Parish terrain.
Hours later, smeared with bug spray and sunscreen, the riders gently glided past the starting line along languid Bayou Fuselier, ready to battle a breezeless Acadiana morning smothered in July heat.
Engaging roads with near sea level elevations, the 200 or so riders in the annual La Vuelta d’Acadiana road race weren’t challenged by the steep climbs typical of so many competitive races. …

… Mark Barnett, 49, of Houston, was among a large Texas contingent. Barnett said he too was attracted by an inviting course. …

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/617908306913427456

https://twitter.com/BlakePowitzky/status/617716440163086337

https://twitter.com/BlakePowitzky/status/617716396915589120

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

Heat Index Blows Past 100 Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I was sitting at the Huffman Chevron cooling off from riding 22.8 miles on the “Atascocita South – Walden – Huffman” route up to this point. After eating a Kashi Trail Mix bar I pulled out my phone to take a screen shot of the Huffman weather conditions and check email. As I was looking at the weather page it hit me, “feels like 113 degrees”. While it was 93 degrees when I took the screen shot up until I stopped at the Chevron station I had not been too hot to be uncomfortable. The 50% humidity and 12 mph S wind kept me dried enough that sweat wasn’t a problem. I didn’t need that many paper towels to soak up the perspiration as I sat in the shade of the pump canopy. Later (4:04) when I got home my home weather station showed 97 degrees and a 112 degree heat index. Hello, summer in Texas!!

Huffman weather
Huffman weather
Home weather at the end

Home weather at the end

The ride distance totaled 34.7 miles today. I got a late start (1:09) because I watched stage 2 of the Tour de France after I got home from church. I didn’t want to wait until after the ride because I might see a spoiler on Twitter or email. I wanted to ride longer than my usual Sunday ride since I took a rest day to celebrate the 4th of July. With today’s ride I rode 215.13 miles this week. That’s two weeks in a row over 200 miles. I am at 139.87 miles for July towards my 834 mile goal. The wind hindered my speed some and I averaged 14.8 mph from 23 to 32.4 miles when it started to slow down as I rode through Kingwood to home.

Watching the Tour today I could see the impact weather has on biking. Many times the terrain comes into play but today the wind split the peloton and several contenders lost time. The terrain where I ride is much like today’s stage, flat as a pancake but sometimes windy. I am 2 to 3 times the age of the pro bikers in the tour so I have to not be so hard on myself when I cannot ride as fast as I want to.

Monday’s weather looks like more of today’s. I am watching some of stage 3 before I bike, maybe all of it depending on what time it finishes. The route for tomorrow is 40+ miles.

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