Texas Bicycling News Digest February 27th

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Boston, Columbus, Detroit, Indy, Minneapolis, Houston, Denver & Seattle all unveil protected lanes

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


… Houston began painting its first protected bike lane on Feb. 8, a 10-block bidirectional track on Lamar Street downtown that’ll connect two existing off-road paths to one another. …

Oblate Trail Ride 2015

Bluebonnet Trail Signal and Crossing at Preston Road Project

www.texasbids.net

Bid Date & Time: 03/06/15 10:00 AM
Owner Solic Number: 2015-158-B; 6321    Status: bidding    Report: 6131444
Country :United States     State: TX    County: Collin
Location: Plano
Est. Low Value: $175,000    Est. High Value: $175,000
Scope: The improvements under this contract include the following including furnishing all plant, labor, material and equipment and
performing all work required: Concrete work including roadway, center median, curb and gutter, recreational trail, sidewalks and associated
ramps for a bike and pedestrian crossing. Provide and install a traffic signal and pavement markings. Approx 150 LF of 2″ scheduled 80 PVC
conduit; 338 LF of 4″ scheduled 80 PVC conduit (bore); 24″ traffic signal drilled shaft foundations; 200 LF 4″ solid yellow pavement marking.
Notes: Q & A deadline: Feb 27, 2015 12:00 PM.
Plans: From Owner. See attached files. Please note that attached files are for review purposes only.
Bond: 5% bid bond
Update Notes: Q&A attached.
Owner Type: Public
Buyer: Plano, City of …

Pace Bend Road Race Report

Grant Koontz        texasbikeracing.com


Photos : KM Creative
Grant Koontz, 21, is a Junior at Texas A&M University, studying Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences. This is his second year as a member of Super Squadra’s developmental program, the Super JETS.
The lead in was typical. We all had a rough day at Walburg. Cross winds. A crash. A hard fought 12th place finish by Michael Pincus. We retreated to Austin, and sought refuge before another Texas Monument, Pace Bend. I spend the night in my new mobile home, my recently purchased 1994 Chevy conversion van. Life on the road in this van, however brief, has been an exciting adventure for me. I parked my mobile home in front of my dear friend and teammate Ian Dille’s house. I went to bed at 7:30 p.m., and managed to get a solid 12 hours of sleep (four REM cycles). My aim to recover as much as possible was a raging success.
The next morning, I awoke to a breakfast of special Dille family cornmeal waffles, infused with bacon. Not long after, we prepped and loaded our bikes into my van and hit the road for Pace Bend. We were …

Where to ride your bike in the Borderland

www.kfoxtv.com

(Video)
The Borderland is full of trails, including biking ones.
McKelligon Canyon
Roughrider Canyon Freeride Park (Horizon City, Texas)
Archuleta’s Acres
Arroyo Park & Nature Preserve (AKA Monk’s Trail)
Crazy Cat Grande
Franklin Mountains State Park (Tom Mays Unit)- Beginner Loop
Franklin Mountains State Park (Tom Mays Unit)- Lower Sunset Trail
Franklin Mountains State Park (Tom Mays Unit)- Upper Sunset Trail
Heinrich Park/Hitt Canyon Trail
Pat O’Rourke Bike Trail
Redd Road Trails
Rio Grande River Trail
El Paso Bicycle Club also lists their rides when …

Webinar watch: Race, ethnicity, class and protected bike lanes

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


The Green Lane Project has spent the last eight months gathering ideas about the connections between protected bike lane planning and issues of equity, diversity and social justice.
In a free webinar on Wednesday, we’d like to share what we’ve learned.
As part of the release this Tuesday of a 36-page report written by us and the Alliance for Biking and Walking, we’ll be sharing a series of lessons that we think can be useful to people interested in questions like these:
How can protected bike lanes fit into efforts to make American cities less inequitable? In what ways are they failing?
How can city staff and advocates better infuse transportation justice into bikeway planning?
How should bike infrastructure investments combine with other issues to diminish inequities between communities?
Presenting at the webinar will be Chema Hernández Gil of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, who …

Lumberton, TX to DeRidder, LA – Day 3 of Leg 5

by Brian        www.brothersbikeride.com

Mark wants Tim and me to describe the day’s ride, which I totally understand because we’re all exhausted and really just want to go to sleep.  It was an 84 mile day that took a few minutes longer than yesterday’s 89 miles.  It felt colder than yesterday and the wind was unrelenting.  Plus there were the dogs!  It seemed they were just waiting for us to ride by so they could chase us. …

Lumberton, TX to DeRidder, LA — Said Goodbye to Texas

by Tim        www.brothersbikeride.com

Glad that ride is over. Just as demanding as yesterday even though a little shorter. The wind was consistently a headwind. We started out at 8am again and saw our breath for the first hour or so. We have every layer on that we brought and barely stay warm enough.
I thought I got my second flat but after we changed the tube, we figured out my valve stem was unscrewed and the air was leaking out every time I hit a bump. I will buy some extra tubes when we get to our first bike store which …

Yes, I am here, too. Howdy fans!

by Mark        www.brothersbikeride.com

“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”
So I won’t bore you with words. Tim and Brian can do that. Here is a photo pictorial of what today was like.

Austin’s Hike and Bike Trail

by Erik Stanley        rootsrated.com

Skirting around the edges of Lady Bird Lake, the Butler Hike and Bike Trail is urban Austin’s crown jewel for fitness enthusiasts, families, and training athletes. With plenty of shade from tall lakeside trees and an impressive bird population around the lake, the trail provides an accessible, scenic escape from the hustle of downtown, while still providing beautiful views of the Austin city skyline.
About the Route
The trail ranges from 8-20 feet in width and its surface is primarily crushed granite with a few short concrete sections – perfect for running, walking, or biking. Terrain is flat with …

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Texas Bicycling News February 26th

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EDITORIAL: Future growth for McAllen

www.themonitor.com


During Wednesday’s State of the City speech, McAllen Mayor Jim Darling made it clear to all 900 people in the room his unequivocal support for children and improving the health and wealth of McAllen when he sprinted into the grand hall of the McAllen Convention Center dressed in a gray sweatsuit, tennis shoes and red headband accompanied by dozens of school children.
His surprise entrance came after the mayor was featured in a video montage, set to the theme tune of the movie Rocky, which showed him running in that same sweatsuit throughout the city and stopping to describe various attractions, planned development, infrastructure improvements and growth in different sectors of McAllen.
This energetic followup was a creative comeback to last year’s State of the City speech when Darling rode in on a bicycle wearing tight, Spandex bike shorts, after …

This is a long read but ends up in Beaumont, Texas.

Pedal Turning, Learning, and Calorie Burning, Days 149-163, 571 miles

by Dylan Peterson        jdwheelsofchange.com


A key factor in why we’re taking this trip is that we aspire to learn more about ourselves. Another reason is to become well-rounded individuals. We’re finding that everywhere we go, we meet people who affect us in some way. It seems that we’re constantly learning new healthy practices and mindful ways to approach life and its peculiar situations. Sometimes we meet people extremely different from us but in pursuit of the same goals. For instance, where we last left off, in Mary Esther, FL, we were staying with our buddy, George, and his roommates Conor and Wimpee.
The three of them are in the Air Force, and Wimpee and Conor told us they were to be deployed within the year. All three of them exhibited outstanding discipline and work ethics. It was great to reminisce on some priceless memories with our buddy George from our times at Springfield College. More so, we were inspired by …

76-Year-Old Man Bikes 300 Miles To Raise Money For Planned Parenthood

by Laura Bassett        www.huffingtonpost.com


Planned Parenthood of South Texas is turning 76 this year, and so is Texas resident Gene Novogrodsky.
To mark the two occasions, Novogrodsky embarked on a 300-mile bike ride at 6 a.m. Thursday from his hometown of Brownsville to San Antonio. The ride, which he is calling the “Spirit of ’76,” has already raised more than $8,600 in donations for the Planned Parenthood clinics in Brownsville and Harlingen, two underserved areas in the Rio Grande Valley. He plans to arrive in San Antonio next Tuesday.
Novogrodsky, a longtime civil rights advocate and instructor at the University of Texas at Brownsville, said he is riding to raise awareness of …

Pedestrian bridge may finally rise over Mockingbird Lane

by Melissa Repko        thescoopblog.dallasnews.com


A long-awaited pedestrian bridge over Mockingbird Lane may finally rise in Northeast Dallas, more than a year after its groundbreaking ceremony.
The Mockingbird Pedestrian Bridge will connect the popular Katy Trail to Mockingbird Station, a shopping complex with restaurants, apartments, a movie theater and a DART station.The suspension bridge will allow pedestrians and cyclists to easily cross the congested street and hop on a train.
City officials say construction could be underway by the fall. The city is finalizing real estate agreements for easements on either side of the bridge, said Chiamin Korngiebel, a senior program manager for Dallas’ public works department. She said …

Midwestern State University Cycling Team


The current & future MSU ladies don’t let the cold weather stop them. They’re using our awesome Cycling Performance Lab to get their last pre-race workout in before our season starts.

Free Basic Bike Maintenance Clinic

Thursday, Mar 12, 2015, 6:00 PM

Performance Bicycle
7549 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX

1 Cycling Enthusiasts Went

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Barton Creek Greenbelt 360 Entrance Intermediate level – technical Ride )

Monday, Mar 2, 2015, 4:00 PM

Barton Creek Greenbelt – 360 Access
3755 S Capital of Texas Hwy. Austin, TX

3 Mountain Bikers Went

The trail is more technical than Walnut creek. there are more rocks, drops, and roots, so it will wear you down fast. would recommend knee and elbow pads to accompany your helmet.Bring your lights just in case.  I would estimate the ride to be 10-13 miles in 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.  Please ensure you have an extra tube for the ride.All riders must bring…

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Conroe to Lumberton, TX: Day 2 of Leg 5

by Brian        www.brothersbikeride.com

As expected, it was cold this morning when we left our hotel – it was only 28 degrees and we could see our breath vapor whenever it hit the cold morning air. We had a long day ahead of us, so we left our hotel at just about 8 a.m.  The day was pretty uneventful.  We decided to take the road less traveled, which would eliminate most of the traffic.  The price we paid for that was having to deal with all the dogs that wanted to chase us.  We got chased about 4 times that I can remember, and the last two times Mark tried to tactic of yelling “Stay!” to the dogs, to get them to stop.  It worked for him and when I tried it, it worked for me also!
We rode a total of 89 miles today.  It eventually warmed up to 52 degrees around 2 p.m. when we …

Last Night in the Lone Star State

by Tim        www.brothersbikeride.com

I wish I could remember how many nights we have spent in Texas. I have a tremendous appreciation for the state and its diversity. Today was like riding thru the Jersey Pine Barrens. Pine tree forests on both sides of the road. The terrain is now flat as a pancake and the roads are straight as an arrow for mile on end.
Not many photo ops today. We have been too cold to stop and even when we take a break, we keep moving around to maintain body heat. It finally warmed up around 3 this afternoon and we started peeling some of our layers.
Lots of dogs chased us today. We altered our route to stay off main roads but the drawback on the back roads is the dogs that chase us. Not too scary; we might be getting use to …

Saturday 2/28 [? weather permitting] & Sunday 3/1 [Coffee Shop Ride weather permitting]

by Thomas        steinerranchcycling.com

Well Saturday looks like crap.  Current weather shows near freezing with precipitation Friday night which looks like it will roll into Saturday.  If the weather does give us a break just show up at C&C at the regular 8:30 and we will figure something out.
Sunday shows a nice high temp near 70 but with 50% chance of rain at the moment.  If the morning is good show up at C&C at 8:30 for the Coffee Shop Ride OR if we didn’t get to do …

BikeHouston Map Now Available!

BikeHouston.org


Click to see a higher resolution map with laws and safety tips. If you would like a printed version, we sell tear and water resistant pocket maps for $5 (plus shipping & handling). Or, come to a BikeHouston event to purchase.

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Desperate to Ride My Bike So I Changed Bar Plugs

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I must be desperate to do something with my bike. The cold weather has kept me inside and off the roads. A while back I noticed the left plastic handlebar plug had lost the chrome finish as they are prone to do. These are the ones that come with many tape kits. I thought why not upgrade the handlebar plugs with ones that look better, color coordinate with my bike and will not come out as easy as the plastic ones do.

Original plastic handlebar plugs

Original plastic handlebar plugs

My first stop was Ebay.com to see what was out there. There were a bunch of listings but they generally repeated 7 or 8 designs with color options. Some were metal locking while others were rubber locking. By locking I mean how they are secured inside the handlebars. I ended up choosing gobike88 XON XSS-22 HandleBar End Caps/Plugs. The black and red color matched my bike and I liked the rubber locking mechanism.

Placing the order I expected a several week delivery time but they showed up much earlier. Before installing them I wrapped the handlebar tape with blue painting tape to hold the handlebar tape in place after I removed the plastic plugs. One concern I had was whether the XON plugs would fit inside the handlebar but they slid right in and using an Allen wrench the plugs locked in place.

Before inserting
Before inserting
In the handlebar

Now I am ready to ride if the winter weather will just leave me alone!!!

Texas Cycling News February 25th

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Take A Kid Mountain Biking

bicyclesportshop.com

Pass your love of the trail on to kids during out Take a Kid Mountain Biking series! We have three different dates scheduled for 2015, each on a Saturday (March 14, June 20, and September 19).
This is a great opportunity for parents, guardians, teachers and/or mentors to take a kid mountain biking and share a love of riding and the outdoors.
When: March 14, June 20, and September 19. Wheels down at 9:30 AM each day, but plan to arrive early to sign a waiver.
Where: Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, 12138 Lamar Blvd., Austin. Meet at the Pavilion with a basketball court (near the baseball field).
What to bring: …

The Windy One

mitchellsides.wordpress.com

Since I started watching racing a few years ago, I’ve always had this idea that hard crosswinds make for good bike races.  As it turns out, I do love when they come into play. The tactics necessitated by crosswinds are fun to behold.  I’ve been in several races where echelons, formations that limit the damage from crosswinds in a group, have happened.  Still, I think Saturday’s Walburg Classic was the first time I’ve ever been part of the group that decides to make the race hellish for everyone else.  Of course, I loved it.
Walburg started with a team meeting, then a tailwind, then a turn into some hefty wind.  Walburg is raced around three 27 mile circuits, and at our meeting, team captain Heath Blackgrove dictated that on lap 1, everyone on the team should get up front and …

Proposed Thoroughfare Plan Amendment for Bicycle Infrastructure to Beckley Ave and Zang Blvd

bikefriendlyoc.org

CITY OF DALLAS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
PROPOSED THOROUGHFARE PLAN AMENDMENT
(1)  BECKLEY AVENUE BETWEEN IH-30 and ZANG BOULEVARD
(2)  ZANG BOULEVARD BETWEEN COLORADO BOULEVARD and BECKLEY AVENUE
(3)  ZANG BOULEVARD between BECKLEY AVUENUE and DAVIS STREET
Your input is requested at a community meeting to discuss proposed Thoroughfare Plan amendments for Beckley Avenue and Zang Boulevard on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at: …

DORBA Beginner Clinic CANCELLED

Sunday, Mar 15, 2015, 1:00 PM

River Legacy Park
703 N.W. Green Oaks Blvd Arlington, TX

46 Participants Went

CANCELLED DUE TO MUDDY TRAILSThe trail steward has informed me that they will not be dry by Sunday.There will be NO Beginner Clinic this month. We decided a long time ago that we will postpone a clinic once, but the second time it can not happen, then we cancel the clinic for that month. The next clinic will be at Rowlett Creek Preserve, April 11…

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Houston Bike Museum Grand Opening

Cycling Space City

The Houston Bike Museum is finally opening with a grand opening celebration tomorrow February 26th. They will have a silent auction, door prizes, etc.  This is a temporary location at 1313 Binz St in the Museum District so fundraising is still going on for a permanent location.  Houston Matters radio show did a …

Volunteer Call: The Bicycle Sport Shop Take A Kid Mountain Biking

Saturday, Mar 14, 2015, 8:30 AM

Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park
12138 North Lamar Boulevard Austin, TX

8 Mountain Bikers Went

The Bicycle Sport Shop needs volunteers for their Take A Kid Mountain Biking outing on March 14th. Sign up here!Where: Walnut Creek TrailWhen: March 14: 8:30am to 12:30pmWhat: we need ride leaders an sweepers to guide the kids around Walnut Creek Trail.Come on out and help the kids find that mountain biking bug we all have and watch their face…

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This is Not ‘Cross

by Leslie Ethridge        texasbikeracing.com


Walburg and Pace Bend Race Report from a Road Rookie
I’m a first-time road racer. Cyclocross is my main passion, and everything I do on a bicycle in regards to racing is usually to train for ‘cross. Word on the street is that road races are a good way to spend your off-season, so I recently joined the women’s Cycle Progression racing team. This past weekend, I joined my teammates at two of Texas’s most well-known road races: Walburg and Pace Bend. I must say, road racing is a completely different world.
From a first-time racer’s perspective, I had no idea what to expect. I wasn’t planning on racing both, so I asked my friends, “Which race?” Of course, I received many differing opinions. Some said that …

Navasota to Conroe

by Tim        www.brothersbikeride.com

A cold but good start to L5. It was raining lightly in Houston when Beth and Brian picked me up at my hotel. Back home it was subfreezing for the umpteenth day in a row. In Houston, temps were around 40, down right balmy I’ld say.
All three of us put our bikes together without any issues. ‘Its a miracle’ or the last leg was recent enough that we could remember the little tricks needed to assemble the bikes. We left the hotel Beth and Brian stayed in last night in Navasota around noon under partly sunny skies. That’s what fooled us. The sun went away and it got colder and colder as we rode the 42 miles which was …

Houston Bicycle Museum

www.houstonbicyclemuseum.org

https://www.houstonbicyclemuseum.org/images/uploaded/Grand_Opening_Event_Med.png
Friends of the Houston Bicycle Museum,
The time has come to celebrate our efforts and finally open the museum to the public.  To do this, we are hosting a Grand Opening on free museum day: Thursday, February 26th.
Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors about this free event.  There will be food and prizes, as well as the opportunity to become a member and support the museum.  Every hour between 6pm and 9pm will have drawings, with the Grand Prize being a …

Hazy Shade of Winter

Sag Lady        www.brothersbikeride.com

The northeast has been holy-#$%* cold this winter. Yesterday morning it was seven degrees as I stood waiting for my overly solicitous Uber driver. It’s gotten to the point where anything over 25 feels warm. “Oh, it’s nice out, it’s just below freezing,” is a sentence I’ve said in seriousness many times this month.

So I was looking forward to 45-degree Texas weather. But you know what, it feels really cold here, too! It’s a different, wetter cold. “It gets into your bones,” the clerk at the grocery store told me earlier today, and he is right.
At the airport, I had a conversation about my clogs with a lady in the restroom (Her: “I haven’t seen clogs in a while” / Me: “I think they’re coming back” / chatter about virtues of clogs), bought lunch for …

Navatosa, TX to Conroe, TX

by Brian        www.brothersbikeride.com

Yesterday (2/24/2015) I flew from Philadelphia to Houston on a remarkably pleasant US Airways flight.  It took off at about 11:45 a.m. with the bright sunshine doing its best to warm things up outside.  I had a window seat in the Exit row and paid attention as we flew along the Delaware River, until somewhere between Chester and Wilmington, after which the plane headed in a more westerly direction overland.  The Delaware River was not completely frozen, although sections of it looked walkable.  It had lots of ice chunks in it, as expected, since it has been so cold for so long.  I wonder what the Schuylkill River looks like ….  Anyway, I met up with Beth at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and we drove to Navasota, checked into our hotel, and then went out to …

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