Biking to Grass Farms With Some Wind

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I went on a longer ride today on the “Stroker Road – Huffman” route through the grass fields north of Crosby. Getting to the turn around corner at Stroker Road and Ramsey Road required extra effort due to riding into a strong wind. I wasn’t sure how strong it was but I got a hint when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron and took a screenshot of the weather. It showed 10 mph from the SE and when I got home the IAH weather sowed SE 14 mph with 22 mph gusts. No wonder I was tired when I reached the Chevron.

A clear sky overhead and 78 to 80 degrees provided a great setting to bike in. I wasn’t the only bicyclist out. The first one I saw was on Ramsey Road south of Old Atascocita Road. The next one was on Old Atascocita Road and the last was on Kings River Drive.

Once I made the turn on to Ramsey Road from Stroker Road the headwind turned into a nice tailwind. I was able to build up my average speed from that point. I got it as high as 15.4 mph where it stayed until the 37 mile point in Kingwood. The starts stops from there to home dragged it down to 15.2 mph over the 39.08 mile route. With today’s ride I am at 73 miles for the week and 436.92 miles for April. Year to date stands at 1447 miles.

The rest at the Chevron was really enjoyable. I sat in the sun eating and drinking to prepare for the last leg home. The wind would be in my favor most of the time. Even with the traffic noise it was relaxing to sit there. I had to force myself up and on the bike. Once on the bike I was able to keep a steady pace at 17 to 19 mph on FM1960 west.

I wore a long sleeve jersey because I thought the wind would have a chill in it and I was right. This is probably the wind from the Sunday front coming back ashore. Tomorrow it should warmup to the mid 80’s with a chance of rain. More biking weather.

Weather when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron

Weather when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron

[iframe https://connect.garmin.com/activity/embed/753253013 465px 500px] [iframe https://www.strava.com/activities/290041788/embed/81b135a91206c7e4b83476bf9f389de402b36aa2 590px 500px]

Texas Cycling News April 20th

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Ride 2 Recovery bicycle trek provides respite for veterans’ bodies, minds

By SAM PESHEK        www.theeagle.com        (Video)


A 490-mile bike ride may not seem cathartic to the average person, but it works for Ronald Prothero.
After 28 years in the Army, Prothero needed an outlet to repair what he described as damage to his mind and body. He found his respite in a long-distance cycling challenge called Ride 2 Recovery. Even the name fit.
Prothero was one of 200 veterans who completed the 85-mile leg of the trek from Houston to College Station for the seventh UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery Texas Challenge on Sunday to raise awareness and …

Accident hampers cyclist’s trek to ride across Texas for charity

By VANESSA GARCIA        amarillo.com


A bicyclist riding across Texas for charity has faced many twists and turns — and a devastating accident on the road — along the way.
Jonathan Cathey of Bozeman, Mont., started Armadillo Adventure, a nonprofit organization. He said he’s taking a 1,000-mile journey across Texas, from Dallam County to South Padre Island, as a tribute to his father who died in January 2008. His father introduced him to rock climbing and mountain biking.
“He was my best friend and my dad,” Cathey said. “It was …

Veterans Cycle 490 Miles Across Texas

###
By: Brooke Wellborn        www.kbtx.com

Mile after mile these wounded warriors continue to pedal, churning up the endless landscape of the Lone Star State.
Although the exercise is great, for many of them, the ride is about so much more.
Jonathan Dade is a United States Navy Veteran, who is cycling in this challenge. He says, “When I first came out of the military I was struggling with depression, struggling with all the kinds of thoughts people struggle with. You know, where do I fit in, what do I do?”
Jonathan Dade served six years in the Navy. He started cycling to …

Bike on the Seawall!!

Sunday, Apr 26, 2015, 8:45 AM

Target in Galveston
6128 Broadway St Galveston, TX

4 Cyclists Went

Bike on the Seawall RideWe will meet at the Target store parking lot which is off 61st street exit on I-45. Make a u-turn and this is the second exit after the causeway. We will bike to Moody Center for a quick break. We will not take 61st to Moody. From there we will bike to the seawall and bike on the seawall at 10 MPH all the way to McDonalds f…

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Bikeabout TX

By Gordon Hodge        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 3- Hamilton,TX to Lampasas, TX: More hills and T-storms
Saturday April 18, 2015, 27 miles (44 km) – Total so far: 82 miles (132 km)
Weather- 57-83, winds light, slight headwind. sunny Stats-3:19 saddle time, 8.0 mph average which is improved after lighter load. started day with decent brekkie next door at Mexican restaurant. Legs felt tired but once started pedaling they felt OK. There was road construction to Evant, about 15 miles. Most of the time was very good as the road crew had just rolled new black top, very smooth. At other times I had to cross to north bound side and go south, but had 15 foot shoulder. I ran into my first bike tourer. Mike doing a 3 day hotel ride from Austin to Dallas. He was traveling light doing 80 miles per day. He rode from Amsterdam east across Russia 8 years ago on the same bike he was on today, a Trek 520.Mind you, this area is not an region or route I would expect to run into other bikers. I was trying to get to Lampasas to meet up with family who had rented a weekend VRBO house. It is an annual trip for Legato Winery Crawfish Boil. My …

Day 4- Lampasas to Round Rock, TX: great ride downwind
Sunday April 19, 2015, 61 miles (98 km) – Total so far: 143 miles (229 km)
weather- sunny, high of 85 with cool north winds 15-20 Stats- 60.7 miles, 9.3 avg,6:33 seat time.
Did not get away from family until 12 noon. But as usual my sister and best friend bro-n-law cooked up a huge breakfast. I headed south on Hwy 183 out of Lampasas, a busy 4 lane route to Austin. I expected good shoulders, but there were very few. The road was quite dangerous for cyclists, but traffic behaved very well and moved over. I was constantly glued to rear mirror the whole way. Twice I had to bale out in the grass as there was no room for vehicles to move over. No real close calls as I was vigilant and prepared. I found and alternate road to take when first chance came. There were services until Briggs at mile 20. There I stooped and there was Lucy, driving a sag car for Jessiesride.com. Her boyfriend is riding a tandem with …

Reveille Peak Ranch social pace MTB Ride.

Saturday, Apr 25, 2015, 11:45 AM

Reveille Peak Ranch
2046 County Road 115 Burnet, TX

12 Mountain Bikers Went

I am leading a social paced ride with Hill Country Outdoors that will include everything out there including the less easier to follow loops.Group up at 11:45 am, Ride at NOON.Most of the trails are intermediate to advanced.  You should be proficient on your mountain biking skills and know how to deal with mechanicals a flats on your bike as well…

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Open Streets 2015

Bike Friendly Fort Worth

Matrix Challenge – Saturday • Apr 18 2015 Results

www.road-results.com

Categories
» Men Cat 2     » Men Cat 3
» Men Cat 4/5     » Men Juniors 10-14 Open
» Men Juniors 15-18 Cat 4/5     » Men Masters 35+ Cat 4/5
» Men Masters 40+ Cat 1/2/3/4     » Men Masters 50+ Cat 1/2/3/4
» Men Masters 60+ Cat 1/2/3/4     » Men Pro/Cat 1/2
» Women Cat 1/2/3/4     » Women Cat 3/4
» Women Juniors 10-14 Cat 1/2/3/4     » Women Juniors 15-18 Cat 1/2/3/4
» Women Masters 40+ Cat 3/4

Matrix Challenge – Sunday • Apr 19 2015 Results

www.road-results.com

Categories
» Men Cat 2     » Men Cat 3
» Men Cat 4/5     » Men Juniors 10-14 Open
» Men Juniors 15-18 Cat 4/5     » Men Masters 35+ Cat 4/5
» Men Masters 40+ Cat 1/2/3/4     » Men Masters 50+ Cat 1/2/3/4
» Men Masters 60+ Cat 1/2/3/4     » Men Pro/Cat 1/2
» Women Cat 1/2/3/4     » Women Cat 3/4
» Women Juniors 10-14 Cat 1/2/3/4     » Women Juniors 15-18 Cat 1/2/3/4
» Women Masters 40+ Cat 3/4

Ride 2 Recovery cycles through Central Texas

By KXAN News        Video

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Wounded war veterans are cycling across Central Texas. The Ride 2 Recovery helps vets with mental and physical injuries go through the therapy of cycling.
The 500-mile ride started in Houston and rolls into Georgetown on Monday with a police and fire escort before continuing to Killeen.

Southbound MoPac lanes to close April 20 and 23 for bike/ped bridge installation

by Amy Denney        impactnews.com


The final two lane closures on southbound MoPac are scheduled for April 20 and 23 to complete the installation of the bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
Starting at 8 p.m. April 20 the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority will close the center and right lanes of southbound MoPac between Parmer and Braker lanes as well as the southbound frontage road and turnaround lanes. Between 9-10 p.m. all southbound MoPac lanes will close so …

Issues with Houston’s Bike Facilities

BikeHouston


Below is a compiled list of issues with existing bicycle facilities in Houston. This list was compiled by BikeHouston staff based on experience and facebook comments. Please keep sharing and adding missing issues. This list is being given to the City and the consultants working on Houston’s Bike Plan. It is being collected as part of the existing conditions report. The issues should be addressed by the plan through resulting policy changes, an updated bicycle facility toolbox, and map of where to put new or improved infrastructuredirty_bike_lane.
Bike Lanes: …

Cattle Egrets & Barbie Cars!

365 Days of Birds        www.365daysofbirds.com

We are 15 days and over 650 miles into our bike tour through Texas, the Ozarks, and finally along the Missouri River. Today was a good day for riding and the back roads provided both birding and “purple cow” viewing opportunities! For Molly and me, a purple cow is a unique, somewhat unusual roadside attraction.
Early in the day we stumbled upon where Barbie Cars go to die, a Barbie Car Graveyard! See the photo. Later in the afternoon Molly spotted some Cattle Egrets. It was fun to observe these …

Do the right thing: Ban parking in Austin’s bike lanes

Austin On A bike

Everywhere you look, there’s car apologists.
“I drove delivery for a while, the drivers need somewhere to park,” they retort.
“Just take the lane and go around,” they sneer.
“If you were a homeowner along a bike lane, where would you have your guests park?” they question, before redirecting. “Take it up with the city!”
And these apologists, just as often as not, take the form of bonafied in-the-flesh cyclists.
I “take the lane and go around” all the time. I have no problem with that. But I will ride regardless of bike lane, shoulder, or otherwise, and I’m not here to toot my own horn about how badass a cyclist I am. The question is never how you, the expert urban cyclist, will fare when the bike lane is blocked, but about how your elderly parents and their grandchildren would fare were they …

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Another Cool Front But The Bike Rolls On

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Another cool front passed through southeast Texas last night. This morning when I got up it was 57 degrees. It took a couple of hours to get up to the mid 60’s. To go along with the front a strong NNE wind was hanging around with a chill to it. I waited until 12:54 to ride hoping the wind might slow down and the temperature warm up. It was 71 at my home weather station which meant I could leave the leg warmers at home. To combat the wind chill I wore two long sleeve jerseys and shorts. It didn’t take too far from home for second thoughts about the two jerseys. I almost circled back home to swap a jersey for a jacket but did not. Riding into the wind and the shade were the places I could feel the wind chill. The wind was from the NE at 13 mph with 21 mph gusts when I left home.

For variety I rode the “Huffman – Atascocita – Walden” route (reverse of the Atascocita – Walden – Huffman route). This is the second time I rode this direction this year. I was hoping this would minimize the time I spend biking into the wind but I don’t think it made much difference. This ride was 33.99 miles long; I thought I rode the extra .01 of mile to reach 34.

Because of the reverse direction I ended up at the Huffman Chevron at 16.8 miles rather than the usual 21 miles. It felt good to get out of the wind and sit in the sun while I snacked and drank some Powerade. I started to get attached to the concrete and had to exert some effort to get back on the road. I had built up the average speed to 15.1 mph at the stop and held it there until I turned north on Fairlake Drive into the wind with several short inclines that slowed me down. Back on FM1960 going west I was able to keep a good pace and maintained the average speed at 15.0 mph or slightly above. Riding through Walden slowed me down for some reason but I kept it at 15.0 mph. Crossing over FM1960 to the north my average speed started slowly decline with the wind and stops signs. By the time I got home I was at 14.6 mph at 3:50. I almost missed the Kingwood HS traffic except for what looked like the football team running on the greenbelt trail along Kingwood Drive. They saw me and made room as I passed them with an occasional “On your left” from me.

The wind did let up some by the time I finished the ride; NNE 9 mph.

It is supposed to warm up some for tomorrow’s ride; 80 degrees and partly cloudy.

Weather when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron

Weather when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron

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Texas Bicycling News April 19th

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Mad Duck Cyclery


Mad Duck Flying Junior Christian Garcia for U19 win at Matrix! #MadDuckRacingFamily #MadDuckFlyingJuniors #winning

Ride 2 Recovery


Residents of #tomball line the streets to cheer on the cyclists! @ride2recovery #R2R #TXChallenge #cycling #injuredveterans

Ride Terry Hershey to George Bush

Sunday, May 3, 2015, 7:30 AM

Terry Hershey Beltway 8 Feeder St., Under Bridge Parking Lot
Beltway 8 and Faust Lane Houston, TX

1 SH!FT starters Went

**Check for updates8am rollout at the beltway parking for Terry Hershey Park. The parks can be somewhat challenging due to the wind and total about 36ish miles.We would like to get enough participation so that we can make this a NO DROP ride for the new riders or people with hybrid bikes so PLEASE RSVP if you are interested, tell us your comforta…

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Bikeabout TX

By Gordon Hodge        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Overview
Wednesday April 15, 2015
I have always wanted to do a bike tour. Now is the time since I not working at the moment. I have not been training, so I will start a indefinite tour staying close to home as I sort out the gear I need for hopefully a cross country in the near future. I will also use it for fitness training and figuring out this blog business. Please feel free to sign my guestbook(the is a tab at top of page). You do not need to sign up to CGOAB to sign guestbook. This blog is mainly for family to follow, but I am sure many other people will read my newbie journal. I hope to add some new things not seen before and maybe others that are thinking of touring will learn from my trip. I will be honest about the difficulties en route. Equipment and gear: Bike is a stock 60cm Surley LHT built for touring with max load rating of 350 lbs. I know nothing of the gears, etc. I did change out the handlebars for a more upright riding style since my old back doesn’t like drop handles. I also changed the seat to a …

Day 1-Laguna Park, Tx-Meridian State Park,TX: overweight, hills, T-storms
Thursday April 16, 2015, 22 miles (35 km) – Total so far: 22 miles (35 km)
This is my first attempt at touring. I left the house around 2:30 in afternoon for the short ride to nearby Meridian SP. Rain was forecast, but I headed out to beat it. Once on the road I realized I left my helmet on fencepost. I called Dad and drove it out to me. Later on a car did a U-turn and pulled over in front of me on shoulder, my first “road angel” only 10 miles on ride! It happened to be my Mom on her way home from grocery store. She gave me a couple of staples she had picked up. She also took an action shot of me riding. The ride was way harder than I imagined and I was way overweight with gear as most first timers can agree. I did not beat the …

Day 2-Meridian SP to Hamilton,TX: More hills and T-storms
Friday April 17, 2015, 33 miles (53 km) – Total so far: 55 miles (88 km)
Had a good night’s sleep. Took a short 20 minute hike to see the lake and facilities. It took about an 1.5 hour to break camp and load bike. I should be able to reduce the time to 1 hour easily. I had to push bike up a steep hill just to get out of park. I stopped and checked out with Ranger station and chatted for half hour. It was 9:45 before departing. I need to get earlier starts. I left park and headed west on state hwy 22. Immediately their was a huge 5-6% graded hill. My body did not want climb so early. I pushed the bike half the hill. Pushing at 2.5 mph didn’t hurt as much as pedaling at 3mph. It was a nice spring day, overcast, slight crosswind, temps expected to be high of 82. There terrain was rolling up and more so than I remember. I have driven these roads hundreds of times and I never remember these steep hills! My destination is to get Lampasas, TX on Saturday to meet up with family in large weekend rental home and the annual …

Photos of the Aledo ride are posted

www.bicycle-stuff.com

Thousands took part in BP MS 150 bike ride

KTRK        abc13.com        (Video)

LA GRANGE, TX (KTRK) — This weekend’s wet weather may have changed the route but not the goal of the BP MS 150. Thousands of riders hit the road for the trip from La Grange to Austin, motivated to help find a cure for the disease. Among them is our own Eyewitness News reporter Christine Dobbyn, she participated in the ride.
It’s the annual ride to raise money for the fight against multiple sclerosis. Organizers cancelled it yesterday, because of bad weather. So today, there is only one route.
Organizers announced the …

BP MS 150 bike ride, 04.19.15 Photos

www.statesman.com

Guano Grinder

West Texas Cycling Association

Date: April 25, 2015
Location: Quitaque, TX
Contact: Details: 11 AM Race Start, 40 miles out and back.  Open Class Men/Women.  Prizes and T-Shirt.  On site registration 9:30-10:30am.  $30 entry fee

The Unprepared Cyclist

Bike Noob

What a day! Sunny, a nice breeze, and 84 degrees (29C). There was nothing to keep me off my bike, even that the expense of foregoing yard work, and putting off a chore I promised to do for my wife.
I wasn’t going to go too long — maybe 20-23 miles — something that would keep me out about an hour and half. I could tell I haven’t been riding as much as I should, but over the years, I’ve built a good base, so getting back into a rhythm wasn’t difficult.
A fellow from my cycling club caught up to me and passed me like I was standing still. But then I caught a group of unfamiliar riders, and went by them. I felt strong pushing up some small hills, and had fun reaching 35 mph going down a …

Cancellation does not deter BP MS 150 cyclists

By Madlin Mekelburg        www.chron.com

AUSTIN – Thousands of bikers rolled across the finish line of the BP MS 150 Sunday afternoon, despite severe weather forcing the cancellation on the first day of the ride.
Saturday’s portion of the traditionally 180-mile ride was washed out by thunderstorms and flooding. Ride participants pushed off Sunday morning instead, starting in La Grange at the Fayette County Court house.
The late start did not deter participants. Some appreciated the shortened length of the race. Kira Strickland, a 17-year-old riding in the BP MS 150 for the first time Sunday, joked she was relieved she …

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