Texas Bicycling News Digest June 19th

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It only took a decade, but the Mockingbird Pedestrian Bridge is actually going to happen

by Joe Simnacher        cityhallblog.dallasnews.com


Two years to the day after the ceremonial groundbreaking, there’s light at the end of the Mockingbird Pedestrian Bridge saga.
On Aug. 12, Dallas plans to award a construction contract for the bridge that will link the Katy Trail with DART’s Mockingbird Station and trails to the north.
“We are currently evaluating the bids that were received on June 11, ” said Chiamin H. Korngiebel, senior program manager with the City of Dallas. Construction is expected to begin in October and take 15 months, putting the target completion date …

Memorial placement for Dan Hertweck

www.facebook.com


Saturday, June 20
at 5:00pm in CDT
1800 Antoine Dr Houston, TX 77055
Dan leaves behind three children and a family of friends that he loved and loved him dearly. Please join us to celebrate his life and his love of cycling

Government Canyon Natural Area

MTB Project        www.mtbproject.com/

15.7 miles     994’ Ascent     1,379’ High     2% Avg Grade (1°)
0% Singletrack     -994’ Descent     1,023’ Low     19% Max Grade (11°)
“The trails are challenging with lots of rocks.” — julio De Leon on Jun 17, 2015

High wheeler will pedal into our hearts in Park Cities Fourth of July parade

by Kirk Dooley        www.dallasnews.com


On July 4, Jim Whorton will ride his high-wheel bicycle in the Park Cities Fourth of July parade for the 40th year in a row. From a local tradition standpoint, that puts him up there with Ed Bernet’s band, the Scots’ football home winning streak and Caruth Homeplace.
The most fascinating aspect of Whorton’s four-decade feat is that he will soon celebrate his 80th birthday.
He was born in the West Texas town of Tahoka 79 years ago and graduated from high …

2015 Texas 4000 Team rolls into  Waynesville as part of 4,000 mile cycling trek

www.waynesvilledailyguide.com

On the longest annual charity bicycle ride in the world, the Texas 4000 team will be rolling through Waynesville on Saturday, June 20, 2015, just 22 days after departing from Austin, Texas on their way to Anchorage, Alaska. While in Waynesville, the 2015 Texas 4000 Team will celebrate and share hope, knowledge and charity with friends and family before continuing on their 70-day journey.
The 72 undergraduate and graduate students from The University of Texas at Austin will brave the rain, sleet, wind, snow, heat and pedal more than 4,000 miles in the fight against cancer. After 18-months of leadership development training, volunteering, fundraising, and cycling, riders are put to the …

It’s been a bad 3 weeks on Houston streets

by 66venable        www.bikeforums.net

Three Houston Area Cyclists Killed in Three Weeks
Three Houston Area Cyclists Killed in Three Weeks | Houston Press
Richard Tomlinson and his group Houston Ghost Bike post memorial bicycles to mark every spot where a Houston area driver has hit and killed a cyclist. When Tomlinson started the group a couple years ago, he’d hoped to raise awareness, to get more motorists to safely share the road with cyclists and, eventually, to see local bike fatality stats fall.
But lately cyclists are dying on the roads faster than he can get the painted-white ghost bikes out to crash sites. It could be a while before he chains a ghost bike out on the corner of Antoine and Long Point, where an Isuzu box truck ran over a cyclist Monday evening.
“We still have another bike to set up before we can even get to that one out at Antoine,” Tomlinson said.
One recent national survey of major metro areas shows that on average five cyclists die in crashes on Houston streets every year. But cycling advocates say the crash at Antoine caps an alarming spate of recent cycling deaths, with three cyclists hit and killed by Houston area drivers in just three weeks.
The first was cyclist …

6/20-6/21 Oasis Brewery and Jester King Father’s Day Ride! (SUNDAY IS 8:30 START)

by Thomas        steinerranchcycling.com

Hello lovely SRC! You are lookin’ tight (that was not a comment about our new Elite Craft jerseys).
This weekend is a great mixup. Saturday is the 3rd weekend of the month and that means we end up at the Oasis Brewery for some suds, grubs, and hangin out in crusty/sweaty spandex! We will leave from Cups & Cones at the usual 7:30am for a nice 58ish mile ride northwest up to Nameless road and Round Mountain. We have done this route once before and it has some very nice roads (except that construction zone that Eric took us through :-). The country store in Liberty Hill will be our refuel spot (where its a good idea to have …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/MitchellGSides/status/612108726162493441

https://twitter.com/megtrue/status/611763054158544896

https://twitter.com/rsmitten6/status/611268258742693888

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/611920142042308608

https://twitter.com/ChrisDeg18/status/611932026619334656

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

High Humidity Produces Lots of Sweat

Texbiker.net Posted on by

As I sit at home after today’s ride on the “FM1960 to FM686 – Back” route I can hear thunder from the direction I rode. Looking at the weather radar rain covers a substantial part of the route from Huffman to home. Fortunately I missed that but as humid as it was (69% to 77%) I was covered in sweat as probably as wet as if I was riding in the rain. The major difference is the dirt and grime from the rain. I washed the bike when I got home because of the accumulated dirt from sweat and water bottle condensation from the ice cold water moving through the hot (90 degree) humid air.

At the turn around point at FM686 and FM1960 I stopped at the Dayton Food & Fuel store to wipe some of the sweat off and wrung out my gloves. It didn’t do much good though. After a few miles headed back to Huffman the gloves were as wet as before and my headband was dripping sweat. With the Tropical Storm Bill weather it will take a few days to evaporate the water standing around and get the humidity below 50%. The weather in Huffman during the rest break:

Today’s ride was a longer one at 42.46 miles. I added a couple of streets to be sure I was over 40 miles. June miles are 586.85. I am less than 400 to reach the 968 mile goal.

Thanks to a calm wind and flat long stretches of FM1960 I averaged 15.8 mph for most of the ride after the 17 mile point until 40.2 miles. It dropped to 15.6 mph overall during the last 2 miles home. I waited several minutes to get across Kingwood Drive traffic and rode slowly through the winding streets.

I left home at 10:31 and finished at 2:10. I took a longer than usual break at the Huffman Chevron trying to dry off some.

Home weather station at the end of the ride

Home weather station at the end of the ride

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Texas Bicycling News June 18th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bike camera captures drive-by hurl at cyclist

By Julia Jenaé        www.kltv.com


TYLER, TX (KLTV) – A vehicle passenger was charged 8 months after he allegedly pelted a cyclist in the back with a pipe object. Cameras mounted on the cyclist’s bike captured the incident, and helped police track down the suspect.
On October 31, 2014, husband and wife John and Joyce Adair were traveling south on Highway 69 in Tyler on their bicycles.
A pickup truck approached them on the road and without warning, an object flew from the truck, hitting Joyce in the back. The recovered object, an altered PVC pipe with a …

#pincusOnTheRoad2015 : Tulsa Tough

texasbikeracing.com


Michael Pincus, 21, is an engineering student at the University of Houston, and a member of the Super Squadra elite cycling team. He’ll be sending TBR summer race and travel reports.

With May in the rearview mirror, I started making my way back home to Texas, with a weekend-long interlude at the best bike racing party in the country – Tulsa Tough and its famous “Cry Baby Hill.”
Between New Jersey and Tulsa, Sara Yancovitz and I spent two nights in North Lima, Ohio at the childhood home of my teammate David Wenger, where we rode beautiful country roads. We made our way to St. Louis, and spent a night with cycling friends from Lindenwood University. And then we finally …

Bicycles plus wine equals a cure for blood cancer

The Observer Kingwood        www.yourhoustonnews.com

Thirty-two Houston-area residents are currently training for the Texas Wine Country Cycle Tour, a two-day cycle event that will take place Oct. 10-11 out of Fredericksburg, Texas.
These 32 individuals will be logging miles and time in the saddle throughout the Texas Summer heat as members of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program.
These riders will be training to ride 35, 65 or 100 miles on day one of the ride and 35 or 65 miles on day two of the ride, and they will be doing so while …

2015 Collin Classic Photos

shutterfly.com

Cyclist Keeps Circling Challenges on Road to Stellar Results

www.utdallas.edu


As long as she can remember, Flora Yan has loved the freedom and fun of riding a bike.
“I rode a Wal-Mart mountain bike as a kid. That’s how I got around,” she said.
Now as a UT Dallas student, she has become a standout cyclist, finishing this past season in May with strong results at the 2015 USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals in Asheville, North Carolina.
Yan placed third in the criterium and individual time trial events, sixth in individual overall, and 13th in …

Ride with the Richmond/Rosenberg Group

Sunday, Jun 21, 2015, 6:30 AM

Kroger
24401 Brazos Town Xing, Brazos Town Center, Rosenberg, TX 77471 Rosenberg, TX

3 SH!FT starters Went

This is the usual out and back route to Fairchilds. This should be about 30 miles round trip. Our average spend will probably be between 15-17mph by the end of the trip but we will likely try to keep at 18ish cruising speed with some explosive sprint zones.15 miles in we will stop at a store for snacks and refills.**We have to roll out by 6:45am…

Check out this Meetup →

2015 Texas 4000 Team Rolls Into Lander as Part of 4,000 Mile Cycling Trek

fremontcountyradio.com

AUSTIN, TEXAS (June 17, 2015) — On the longest annual charity bicycle ride in the world, the Texas 4000 team will be rolling through Lander on Wednesday, June 24,  just 26 days after departing from Austin, Texas on their way to Anchorage, Alaska. While in Lander, the 2015 Texas 4000 Team will celebrate and share hope, knowledge and charity with friends and family before continuing on their 70-day journey.

The 72 undergraduate and graduate students from The University of Texas at Austin will brave the rain, sleet, wind, snow, heat and pedal more than 4,000 miles in the fight against cancer. After 18-months of leadership development training, volunteering, fundraising, and cycling, riders are put …

Incoming student?

amct.tamu.edu

Howdy all incoming Aggies! Whether you are a freshman, transfer, or grad student, you are all welcome to join the premiere cycling team in collegiate cycling! Please remember to come see us at MSC Open House, like us on Facebook, and watch for more announcements regarding upcoming events and …

Hike & Bike

brownsville.org


Brownsville offers a number of trails throughout and nearby the city for both avid cyclists and those seeking other active forms of transportation. It was recently recognized by the Texas Legislature as the Bicycling Capital of the Rio Grande Valley citing Brownsville’s adoption of a bicycle and trail master plan: Connecting Brownsville. The city’s 64 miles of bicycle trails and on-street bike lanes, Cyclobia events, as well as the City’s recent designation as an All-America city have led to Brownsville becoming a well-known center for healthy, environmentally-friendly activities.
Routes within the city and out, to and through our nearby state parks and …

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/pitvins/status/611688689698091008

https://twitter.com/AustinpalStacy/status/611637237181235200

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

TS Bill Thick and Heavy Humidity

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The last two days Tropical Storm Bill rained on my biking parade. Today it looked like it was going to continue but around 11:30 it brightened up some and biking was on. I rolled off at 12:27 heading on the “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route. 88% humidity felt like swimming and the temperature was 80 degrees. There wasn’t enough of a breeze to help either.

I wanted to test the rear wheel axle slipping in the dropouts against the star washer I added to the derailleur side of the skewer. At the Huffman Chevron rest stop I loosened the rear quick release and the wheel shifted every so slightly which I think means the star washer helped. I tightened the skewer a quarter of a turn and I will checked it again during the next ride.

The rest stop in Huffman was a time to dry off some of the perspiration. With the high humidity it was flowing like a river. While I was standing beside the bike before going into the store I bent my head down and the water started dripping from my soaked headband. My arms were covered with drops and a paper towel didn’t help much. After coming out of the store I sat on a Greensheet paper to protect my shorts and absorb some of the moisture. Standing up after eating and drinking the paper was soaked. My arms stopped perspiring while I rested thanks to the paper towels I rested them on. Trying to dry my gloves some I laid them on a couple of paper towels during the stop. It helped some. I checked my phone for the weather and saw a big rain spot west of US59 and hoped it stayed there until I got home.

Leaving the Chevron I rode to the west. As I approached the traffic light at E. Lake Houston I could see the oncoming traffic had their headlights on. This might mean it was raining on the other side of the lake but it wasn’t when I got there. I hurried across the lake and into Atascocita Shores where the clouds to the north looked dark enough to mean rain. This was about 25 miles into the ride with another 8 or so to go. I tried to keep a fast pace to beat any rain. I was largely successful until 2 miles to go when I felt a few drops. From there to home it rained lightly but I was already wet with from sweat so I couldn’t really tell the difference.

I added a couple of streets to the usual “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route and it ended up being 34.2 miles. Average speed topped out at 15.4 mph and ended up at 15.2 mph after weaving through the residential streets the last two miles.

Weather when I stopped in Huffman

Weather when I stopped in Huffman

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