Texas Bicycling News June 12th

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Local cyclist Craddock has uphill climb in Critérium

By Dale Robertson        www.houstonchronicle.com


PRA LOUP, France – Lawson Craddock has gotten his first true taste of what the Tour de France feels like this week, and truth to tell, he hasn’t found the flavor all that much to his liking.
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Alkek Velodrome

ATTENTION RIDERS – Masters and Junior Regional Championships are being postponed.
It pains me to say this as there has been so much work put into this weekend but weather conditions are going to deteriorate. We have several riders coming great distances and we can’t let it play out like we would for a FNR. The rain is expected to be prolonged and can be quite heavy over the weekend. We have a large number of events and delays would push us back to racing past Midnight Saturday. The outlook for Sunday is even worse. So we are postponing Master and Junior Regionals.
The new date is August 22 and 23. This is …

Council hears pitch for bike routes

By MATT DOTRAY    A-J MEDIA        lubbockonline.com


The City Council heard from Anne Epstein, chairperson of the Lubbock Board of Health, about the need for more bicycle lanes during an afternoon work session on Thursday.
Other representatives of the Board of Health and the West Texas Cycling Association were in attendance to showcase their support.
Epstein said the board recently passed a resolution in support of the restudy project based on two …

Houston Bike Plan Goals

BikeHouston.org


BikeHouston sets goal of building a network of safe, continuous bikeways within a half mile of all Houstonians. This network must work for people young and old, and reach all parts of the city. With a safe bicycle network we can address health and traffic concerns by tripling the share of people commuting by bicycle from 0.8 percent to 3 percent in five years. 33% of all trips in Houston are 3 miles or less, a distance which is easily and often faster taken on bicycle than car. If there were safe comfortable bikeways to travel on for these 3 miles, people would begin to use a bicycle rather than a car for these trips – taking cars off the road, reducing traffic, and getting people healthy and active.
The Houston Bike Plan should embrace these goals and detail how to get there.
BikeHouston’s recommended goals:
Expand and …

PJ’s first bicycle experience

by Matthew        bike4heck.com

Finding time to write
Well, today (June 10, 2015) I finished up my last continuing education class for my teacher certificate, so now I’ve got some time to devote to Bike4heck.com
Let’s start by backing up a little bit and see what changes have taken place in the past 6 months to a year. Well, a bunch of stuff happened, but this post is not about that. So let me sum it up like this: First Born (PJ) arrived in July 2014; Got a new Yuba Mundo 4.3 in February 2015; Purchased Yepp Maxi (Child Seat) last part of March, and PJ had his first ride on April 7th around the block, Then, his first family ride about a month ago and his first group ride this …

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/609558423642902529

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/609556937953292289

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/609378581945257984

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/609359709255172096

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

Unusual Dog Confrontation

Texbiker.net Posted on by

43.39 miles today around the northern perimeter of Lake Houston and its tributaries. I label this “New Caney – FM1485 E – Huffman”.  This is the third ride this week 40 miles or more. Tomorrow the weather could be raining and I wanted to get these under my belt before then. The week’s total miles is now 196.87. June miles total 441.79. This leaves 526 miles to reach my June goal of 968 miles. 2674 miles so far this year. Last year at this time I rode 2824, 150 miles more.

I tweaked the route to add about 4 miles to the last time I rode it on 5/4/2015. I wanted to be sure I rode more than 40 miles.

All went well riding north on the US59 service road and Loop 494. Going east on FM1485 went smoothly though the shoulder contained sharp gravel in places but the traffic was light and cooperative enabling me to get around this. Most of the gravel was where side streets connected to FM1485. I reached the no shoulder spot on FM1485 without any problems and riding the 2 mile section went well with light traffic and on one 18 wheeler going the same direction. Traffic going the opposite direction was a little heavier but friendly. I don’t remember any 18 wheelers coming towards me. It is always a relief to turn off of FM1485 after this section to the backs streets with little to no traffic.

Riding through The Commons of Lake Houston I had an unusual dog confrontation. On Commons Oak Lane (a short street) I approached a driveway on my right where a young man was bring the trash out to the street. Behind him and to his right two dogs ran across the yard to the street. One dog was maybe a large golden retriever and the other was a small black dog. The large dog came barking to the street while the black dog arrived too but never did bark. Normally I sprint away from dogs but this one had the angle on me and since the young man was there I stopped. The large dog kept circling me barking and the young man tried to catch him without success. The young man kept telling me the large didn’t bite but I wasn’t sure, many owners think that but when a stranger is around dogs can act aggressive. While the young man circled me I kept moving slowly ahead thinking the dog was a property guard. The black dog actually was trying to chase the large one back to the yard but did not have any more success than the young man. I heard a woman’s voice yell from the house to the young man to stop chasing the dog and I moved further towards the intersection 50 or 70 feet ahead. With the heat the large dog was panting heavily and seemed to be tiring so I clipped in and made a sprint to Commons Lake Edge Drive where I would turn left. The large dog came with me until I reached Commons Lake Edge barking about 3 feet away from me. When I turned on Commons Lake Edge he turned back and stopped barking.

To counter this confrontation, riding south on Commons Scenic View Drive I saw what looked like another small dog walking slowly across the street. As I got closer the dog was really a fawn. Looking to the left side of the street the fawn’s mother was waiting in the grass. When the fawn reached the doe they slowly walked into the brush and trees. A better encounter than the dogs. This was around the 25 mile point in the ride. I figured it was another 5 miles to Huffman where I planned to take a rest break. That turned out to be the case. I took a 35 minute break to cool off, eat some snacks and drink some Powerade. During the ride so far it had been sunny with partly cloudy skies and a light breeze.

After the rest stop it normally is 11 miles to home but I decided to go on a few different streets and added a mile to the 11.

I left home at 10:26 and got back at 2:00. Riding time was 2:50:51. Except for the first and last 5 mile lap I averaged 15 mph or higher, netting an overall 15.1 mph average speed.

Weather during the Huffman rest break

Weather during the Huffman rest break

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Texas Bicycling News Digest June 11th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Texas 4000 trek raises cancer awareness

By Vanessa Garcia        amarillo.com


Twenty-four college bicyclists journeying to Alaska shared their stories with Amarillo cancer patients Wednesday afternoon at Harrington Cancer Center.
The Texas 4000 Team is less than a week into its 70-day bike ride, covering more than 4,000 miles from Austin to Anchorage, Ala.
“I’m humbled when I see young people giving back, trying to make a difference in the world, especially in the fight against …

Smurf Boy Summer Endurance Race

North Texas Mountain Bike Patrol        www.ntmbp.org

The race series is cancelled due to heavy rain; however, we will hold one 12 / 6 hour race July 11th and a rain date of July 25th.  The race will be held at Johnson Branch State Park if open.  Check the “Smurf Boy Summer Endurance Series” Facebook page for current updates.

Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan

www.texasbids.net

Bid Date & Time: 06/26/15 5:00 PM        Prebid: 06/05/15 9:00 AM
Solicitation Title: Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan
Status: bidding
Report: 6355747
Country : United States     State: TX    County: Montgomery
Location: The Woodlands
Scope: Qualified transportation/planning/engineering consultant(s) to assist the Township in preparing a pedestrian and bicycle master plan.
Notes: Pre-submission conference on June 5, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. CDT., in Town Hall, Conference Room 150/152 at 2801 Technology Forest Blvd., The Woodlands, TX. 77381.Prospective consultants needing additional information/clarification to this request for proposal (RFP) are
requested to e-mail questions to John Powers at jpowers@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov. The deadline for submitting questions is June 19, 2015 at 12:00 pm CDT. No questions will be accepted after the deadline. …

USAA sponsoring national cycling program for Wounded Warriors

www.1604.tv

USAA is bolstering its long-time support of the Wounded Warrior Project by stepping in as the new national sponsor of the WWP Soldier Ride program. Since …

San Angelo Craigslist 2 Regular Jailed for Selling Stolen Bikes

By Chelsea Reinhard        sanangelolive.com


A local parolee attempting to sell stolen bicycles on Facebook has been apprehended by police.
On June 10, San Angelo Police Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division received information on the whereabouts of wanted suspect Alvie Paul Sisk, Jr., 38, of San Angelo. Sisk recently became a person of interest to the department after receiving several anonymous tips about Sisk’s advertisement to sell a large inventory of suspected stolen bicycles via local Facebook groups.
Sisk was also the subject of a warrant for parole violation and a felony go off bond warrant for theft of …

Austin plans two more protected intersections just outside downtown

Michael Andersen, Green Lane Project staff writer        www.peopleforbikes.org


Austin, already one of the nation’s leaders in the use of protected intersections, announced this week that it’s considering two more.
Inspired by Dutch intersection design, protected intersections use corner refuge islands, forward stop bars for bikes, set-back crosswalks and multimodal traffic signal phasing to dramatically improve safety and visibility, ensuring that people in cars and people on bikes don’t have to constantly look over their …

6/13-6/14 Rides!

by Thomas        steinerranchcycling.com

Last weekend featured some peppy climbing. How about this weekend we take on the gentle rolling Parmer on an adventure to Liberty Hill? As usual, we will depart from Cups & Cones at 7:30am.
Sunday is another Coffee Shop Ride! Last weekend we had …

Abilene council approves Capital Improvements Program projects for 2015

by Brian Bethel        www.reporternews.com

ABILENE, Texas – The Abilene City Council approved just shy of $1.9 million in projects for the 2015 portion of the city’s Capital Improvements Program, and also approved the wider 2015-19 CIP year plan at their regular meeting Thursday.
… Mobility projects total $194,000, including $87,000 for implementation of the city’s bicycle plan and $300,000 for a sidewalk construction program. Those projects account for 20 percent of the 2015 CIP. …

Burma Road

Pedal Pushers        roy-pedalpushers.blogspot.com


Saturday June 6, 2015
Burma Road is a popular stretch of road for cyclists as it has some challenging hills. Some of us are getting ready for an upcoming ride at Waxahachie, and hill practice seemed like the thing to do.
Christine always has a good smile before a ride. After a ride starts, better ask permission to take a picture. …

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets About Texas Bicycling

https://twitter.com/IamWillPowers/status/609103738008166400

Texas Bicycling Upcoming Event Reminders

Summer Heat Biking to Stroker Road

Texbiker.net Posted on by

It was hot and sunny as I rode the Stroker Road – Huffman route southeast of home. Early in the ride some darker clouds were to the south as I came down W. Lake Houston Parkway but they didn’t hang around long. I did see some puddles in low places in Huffman at the Whistle Stop Salon parking lot. It must’ve rained but there was enoguh time to dry out everything but these puddles.

I left home at 11:25 and returned at 2:45. The home weather station reported 91.9 degrees, calm wind, 102 heat index with 57% humidity. I sweat heavily riding. Dipping my head to the right allowed a bunch of it to drip on my leg and the pavement. Whenever I stopped my arms were covered in sweat. I stopped at a Shell station on FM2100 south of Huffman to refill my water bottle. While I was there I used three paper towels to wipe some sweat off but ti didn’t stay gone for long.

The route was longer than usual totaling 40.33 miles, about 2 miles longer than usual. I added some as I left the house and later in Walden I continued on Cross Country Drive, the new street I figured out to connect with Nehoc Street to exit Walden. When I reached FM2100 I went straight on Old Atascocita Road versus going right on FM2100 to Stroker Road. This doesn’t change the distance only the scenery view. Wind was not much of an issue issue today. Today is the second ride this week over 40 miles long.

The rest stop was at the Huffman Chevron. I took about 30 minutes to rest, cool down, eat some snacks and Powerade. There was a Harris County Precinct 3 deputy constable at the Chevron. When I went inside to get the Powerade she asked if I was inside to get cool and I answered no, it was too cool and not good to stay inside. Later when she left she told me to ride safely. I said I would and thanked her.

Average speed slowly increased to 15.1 mph then 15.2 mph topping out at 15.4 mph. By the end of the ride it drifted down to 15.1 mph as I rode the last 2 miles home in Kingwood.

Mileage standings: 153.49 miles this week, 398.41 miles for June, 2631 miles for the year. The goal for June is 968 miles, 570 miles away. Average ride distance this month is 39.84 miles.

Huffman weather during the rest stop

Huffman weather during the rest stop

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