Texas Bicycling News Digest February 9th

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Pedaling the Prairie Photos

the sci guy        www.bikeforums.net

Some pic from yesterday’s Pedaling the Prairie, up in Hempstead. I did the 45 mile route, the wife did the 24. Weather was gorgeous. Had a great time.

Bike Ride on TerryHershey Park

Sunday, Feb 15, 2015, 9:00 AM

Terry Hershey Park on Memorial Dr.
15200 Memorial Dr. Houston, TX

1 Tour de Friends Went

Another ride on Terry Hershey park!!Sorry for the short notice cyclists. Please forgive me…Does 9:00 AM sounds good or can we push it to 10:00 AM?Lets gather at the Terry Hershey park on memorial Dr by 8:45AM and roll out by 9:00 AM. Let bike towards the end of Beltway and come back to the start point. We can then join with the NEO cyclists,…

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One Man Arrested After Hitting Three Bicyclists in Pharr

www.krgv.com

(Video)
PHARR – One woman remains hospitalized in critical condition after being hit by a truck while riding her bicycle.
Two other people were also injured.
The group were riding their bikes in the bike lane on Jackson Road just before 6:00am Sunday morning.
They say they were wearing reflective gear, and even had a truck following behind them to keep them safe.
A truck swerved around the truck and hit the group.
Cynthia Torres, her son Marc, and their friend Christina Lopez were struck.
Cynthia and Marc suffered …

Ace – On Board With Michael Sheehan at the Austin Driveway Series

Wienot Films


Watch Michael Sheehan show us how the pro and elite riders race as he attempts to win the 2014 Fall Harvest Mini Series competition at the PURE Austin Driveway Series (http://drivewayseries.com).
A special thanks to Michael for letting us film his race. At the time of …

First Ever Protected Bike Lane in Houston

Critical Mass


Shout out to Terry Odom for this video.

Pedernales Falls State Park Trail Build & Ride!

Wednesday, Feb 11, 2015, 9:00 AM

Pedernales Falls State Park
2585 Park Road 6026 Johnson City, TX

2 Mountain Bikers Went

Pedernales Falls State Park TRAIL BUILD & RIDE!BRING YOUR PAYDIRT FORMS! http://www.tmbra.org/paydirt/paydirt.htmThe completed sections of the new trail were a hit at the 2014 Cranksgiving!  BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!  5+ miles of trail are still under development!These sections, not yet open to the public, have lots more elevation changes, G-ou…

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Vehicle, bicycle accident results in death of 21 year-old man

youreasttexas.com

TYLER, February 9, 2015—On Sunday morning, at approximately 1:00 a.m., a bicyclist was struck and killed by a vehicle just south of Tyler.
According to Department of Public Safety Trooper Jean Dark, A 2010 Chevy Camaro was traveling south on FM 2493. The bicyclist, who was attempting to cross FM 2493 from the west side of the road, failed to yield …

Path offers ride alongside rails

By Bj Lewis, Staff Writer        www.dentonrc.com


Trey Price is one of many Denton cyclists and runners eagerly waiting for the Denton County Transportation Authority to finish its rail trail project, which recently entered Phase 2 in Lewisville.
When finished, the trail will allow users to ride or run between Denton and Lewisville alongside the A-train line, providing another travel and recreation alternative.
“I would love to ride to Lewisville or further on the trail. I have ridden around a lot in Denton, but my safety riding on …

Weekly Moderate Intermediate-Level Ride — Pace Bend Park (16 miles)

Sunday, Feb 15, 2015, 12:45 PM

Pace Bend Park
2011 Pace Bend Rd N Spicewood, TX

4 Mountain Bikers Went

This is a repeat of last week’s ride, since I was sick.  I’ll post up a new trail for next week.NOTE: I’ve been informed that, after a few weeks of leading these rides, I’m apparently not riding very “slow” anymore, so I changed the pace description to “moderate”.  I’m still not a racer, but we’re definitely not making as many stops as we were whe…

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Northeast Adventure

Sunday, Feb 15, 2015, 8:30 AM

Chuck Heinrich Park
11055 Loma Del Norte Dr. El Paso, TX

2 Cyclists Went

eet at Chuck Heinrich Park, 11051 Loma del Norte Dr. in Northeast El Paso. Ride new roads in far Northeast El Paso. 25 miles, 15-17 mph. Lunch afterward at Ardovino’s Pizza. Patty Van Tine,[masked]

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Texas man rides bike from Maine to Monterey

By Phillip Molnar, Monterey Herald        www.montereyherald.com


Monterey >> A 5-year-old border collie mix visiting Monterey this week likely has seen more of the country than most Americans.
Mike Minnick, 38, has been riding his bike across the country for nearly 19 months with his dog, Bixby, in a carrier over the rear wheel. They have traveled roughly 8,200 miles so far.
Bixby, a former shelter dog, now serves as …

Dallas Cycling Trail Riders and Weekend Pub Crawler

Allen, TX
1,678 Members

We are a fun 2 part group. Fitness buddies that want to be social too! So we combined what we like doing, riding our bikes around and doing pub crawls or other social events w…

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Day 7 – Iraan, TX: Back on the road Monday February 9, 2015

By Alan Guo, Beaumont to San Francisco (Feb 2015)        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Regrettably, I left the ranch today, resisting my temptations to just live there and enjoy the outdoors, the wildlife, the simplicity, and freedom. But I’m a man on a mission damn it, and I’m going to California! Today, I covered 109 miles to a town called Iraan. There were far fewer hills, and even a tail wind for part of the ride, which made me happy. Confirming what people have told me, West Texas is indeed quite empty. It’s also hot and dry. When I checked into a hotel and looked in a mirror, I saw a salt mine on my face. Because I really want to visit the west coast, not the desert, I’m actually seriously contemplating on taking amtrack to LA, skipping New Mexico and Arizona.
The benefits of taking a train are that it’s much faster, may save a …

Early reaction to downtown bike lane from cyclists is optimistic

By Dug Begley        blog.chron.com


Saturday’s kickoff of construction along Lamar for Houston’s first dedicated bike lane downtown was cause for celebration by cycling advocates, who hope the lane will live up to expectations.
“Overall the public response has been extremely positive with record levels of Facebook enthusiasm for the effort,” BikeHouston executive director Michael Payne said.
The lane, between Discovery Green east of the central business district and Sam Houston Park on the west side, links trails along Buffalo Bayou to the Columbia Tap Trail that runs south toward MacGregor Park and …

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Stroker Road Wind Slam Bike Ride

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Normally when I ride the Stroker Road – Huffman route the wind is coming at me from the start and then the return legs are easier. Today I enjoyed a tailwind until I turned onto Stroker Road from FM2100. For the first 2 miles on Stroker Road I was still able to ride at 17+ mph but when I turned north onto Ramsey Road that dropped down to 11 mph real quick. I struggled riding into the wind on Ramsey Road until I made a left onto Old Atascocita Road. The wind was still a problem but at least it wasn’t coming straight at me. I think tired legs made the pedaling harder as well. This is the third day in a row biking and I am out condition to say the least.

I passed 4 other riders today along the route. 3 of the 4 waved. It was a great day to ride except for the wind. The temperature was 82 when I got back home. The blue sky was beautiful. The wind was not. It was from the NNW at 15 mph with 24 mph gusts. This was what caused the pain and slow speed. I had built my average speed up to 15.5 mph at the 21.5 mile point and that is when I turned into the wind. It started to drop and at the Huffman Chevron rest break it was at 15.0 mph.

Today the stop at the Chevron was necessary to let my legs recover for the 11+ miles home. I ate a trail mix bar, whole grain fruit bar and drank a SunKist 10 drink. Sitting in the sun felt so nice I had to force myself to get back on the bike and get home. The last 11+ miles home on this 39.56 mile long ride was not too bad. I recovered some of my lost average speed getting back up to 15.1 mph. Once I reached Kingwood Drive it fell back to 14.7 mph.

Riding across Lake Houston today was not as chilly as yesterday thanks to the warmer temperature and strong wind. I was able tot get across quicker too.

Now that I am back home my wife says I have to get a hair cut. It has been at least two months since the last one. I keep telling her I am attached to my hair but she isn’t listening. Today I told her it has been around so long that I named each hair (I don’t have that many anyway). She is still not buying it.

It looks my body is starting to get some conditioning if the weather will cooperate I may be able to continue. Tomorrow I plan on taking up an invitation from James Webster to drive to his house west of the Grand parkway construction on FM1314 and begin riding from there. If the weather holds to the forecast it will be a good day to bike. I need to figure out a route but it will be going west for sure to stay away from the construction.

February miles now are 143.44. A good start to my goal of 360 miles. YTD is 284.95.

RideWithGPS map, metrics and charts.

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Texas Bicycling News Roundup February 8th

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A Dinner with Steve Bode of Yuba Bicycles

by Matthew        bike4heck.com


Recently, I was able to meet up once again with Steve Bode, director of outreach for Yuba Bicycles, the manufacturer of my beloved cargo bicycle the Yuba Mundo (Version 1). We enjoyed Tex-Mex and live music while sitting outside on a warm late January day at La Hacienda. Steve was in town on the Yuba Powered Up Tour 2015 and sent me an email to say he wanted to meet back up. I always jump at the chance to talk with someone who is a fellow cargo cyclist. Not only is he that, he has a good lay of the land so to say on the whole movement and industry behind it.
Tina and PJ met Steve for the first time. Steve was captivated by PJ. We chatted about our views on all kinds of cycling topics such as Critical Mass Rides, Bike Share programs, cycling in Minneapolis and the changes to New York as far as cycling infrastructure since Tina and I were last in …

I’m Back in the Saddle Again

Pit’s Fritztown News

Well, not like Gene Autry in the song of that title, but back in the saddle of my bicycle. Today, with temperatures of around 75 Fahrenheit, and the sun shining brightly from a clear blue sky, I decided to hop on the Fargo 2 again and, for the first time since May last year, go on a ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It really looks as if I’m getting into my stride again, even if it’ll take quite some time still to get back into my former shape. I did 11.45 miles at 11 mph average, with an average heart rate of 127 bpm and a maximum of 151, but the latter was for a …

Gran Fondo 150K

Saturday, Feb 14, 2015, 8:00 AM

Crazy Cat Cyclery
5650 N Desert El Paso, TX

2 Cyclists Went

Meet at Crazy Cat, I-10 at Redd. 93 mile route TBA. 18-20 mph. Primo Julio,[masked]

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Riders, runners turn out for annual Freeze Your Fanny

By Glenn Evans        www.news-journal.com


B’Ann Boiles has an answer for drivers in Northeast Gregg County who wondered who all those runners and bicyclists were Saturday.
“Freeze Your Fanny is put on by volunteers, and it’s moms and dads — it’s athletes, parents and it’s volunteers that have stepped up over the years and helped us,” Boiles said, describing the fundraiser which drew some 350 participants to help their local Special Olympics athletes.
Half long-distance run, half bike ride, Freeze Your Fanny raises pledged funds to fuel the …

West Texas Tour

By Tom Mobley        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Introduction: Who, What, Why, Where and When – not necessarily in that order
I wear short sleave shirts to work. I was recently told that some find this incredibly objectionable. Of course, it was my wife, Karen, who told me of the sentiment and it was mostly expressed by my grown kids. They had this discussion, apparently, while sitting in a hot tub enjoying adult beverages after skiing.
The shirts in question are nice dress shirts. I have about a dozen of them, all the same, but in a mix of light blue, burnt orange, olive green, red, off white and even a couple of patterns. They have a button down collar and handy breast pocket that holds my smartphone and a pen. So they’re really functional and quite comfortable, without annoying cuffs around my wrists. And the best part is I get to be surprised in the winter mornings by what I’m actually wearing that day as I usually just pick one at random out of the closet in the dark. This way, Karen isn’t disturbed and then as the sun comes up – usually about 15 minutes into my drive to work – I get to see what color I am for the day! So overall, it’s a really good solution – functional, a bit spontaneous, and completely reliable – to the problem of workplace attire. I guess some just don’t see it quite that way.
What, pray tell, does this have to do with a bike tour across west Texas, you might be reasonably asking? Good question. And the answer is that my approach to work attire is really not all that different from how I approach many aspects of bike touring. I like to be as comfortable as reasonably feasible, have a plan for how things will generally turn out, use the most functional equipment for the job, and yet leave some gaps for …

Engineers for a Sustainable World prepare for competition

By Sarah Wilson, Staff Writer        www.dailytoreador.com

Sustainability engineering is becoming more prevalent in today’s society. From wind energy to green buildings, people are becoming more interested in eco-friendly resources.
Engineers for a Sustainable World at Texas Tech work on campus to promote clean energy and solve sustainability issues around Lubbock and the state of Texas.
“We’re called Engineers for a Sustainable World, and our local chapter is called ESW-TTU. We’re a part of a national organization of about 40 or so chapters, nationwide, and one in Canada,” Matt Kovalski, a junior chemical engineering major from Keller and president of ESW said. “We have a few professional chapters locally here in Texas. We work on all sorts of engineering projects that work with sustainability and energy efficiency.”

…45 people died last year due to auto-on-bicycle accidents across Texas, and the numbers have not really changed since the reflective strips on the pylons have been implemented, Johnson said. …

Day 6 – Rest Day: For real, a rest day Sunday February 8, 2015

By Alan Guo, Beaumont to San Francisco (Feb 2015)        www.crazyguyonabike.com

I’m updating this journal early today, because today, I’m not riding. Instead, I’m going to use the extra day to gather myself and prepare for West Texas, and help Lynn with her chores around the ranch, specifically moving a big pile of hay for the cows. I’ve also cleaned the drive train on my bicycle. It’s now shiny and smooth. The tires also needed work. I had one flat yesterday, but I think I was lucky. I glued shut at least 8 slits on my tires, 4 of them were major splits 1-2 cm wide, but had not gone through the tire. I will wait a day for the glue to fully cure, before I …

Mt. Locke Race, Fort Davis

Pedal Pushers

Mt. Locke Race McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, Texas
The McDonald Observatory is at an altitude of 6,790 feet but is not normally in the clouds. However, this day was extremely foggy.
… Staging area for the 7.5 mile race. At this altitude, the fog wasn’t too bad. However, the racers’ destination can be seen only by squinting one’s eyes and looking just to the right of the center. The very white domes of the Ottto Struve and Harlan J. Smith telescopes can barely be seen. …

A Balmy Texas Winter Bike Ride Around My Neighborhood With Elderly Golfers

Durango Texas


This second Sunday of the second month of the 15th year of the new century had me rolling my wheels in my neighborhood for the first time in what seems a long time, with today’s wheel rolling being enabled by the return of warm air to this formerly frigid part of the planet.
I would have thought I would have seen oodles of golfers when my neighborhood golf course came into view, what with that aforementioned balmy temperature, but as …

Ready2Roll MS150 Training; Week 3

The Surly Biker


We were back on the bikes this weekend for the third training ride before the MS150. We headed up to Hempstead, TX, to join the Pedaling The Prairie ride – one of the two partner rides between the Ready 2 Roll series and official t-shirt rides. I almost signed up for Pedaling the Prairie last year, but didn’t get around to it, so I was glad we were able to join it this year.
It was an early start since it’s almost an hour drive from west Houston up to Hempstead, and we wanted to get in ahead of the traffic since it’s a single lane road where the parking was. We made it with plenty of time. The weather was forecast to be very nice, and it …

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Bicycling in 21 MPH wind

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When I first assembled the clothes for today’s ride I included a jacket but after walking outside to get the chaise lounge for my wife I could tell the 75 degrees was warm enough to skip the jacket. I substituted a short sleeve jersey over the long sleeve one I already had on. No leg warmers were necessary today.

It was cloudy and windy as I started to ride the Atascocita – Walden – Huffman route. I could tell it was going to be difficult whenever I rode into the wind. Before I left I checked the weather and saw 23 mph gusts. Going south made this a headwind and it wasn’t until I rode through the edge of Walden that I turned enough to get some tailwind. I needed this to get quickly across Lake Houston on FM1960 because the wind was quite chilly coming off the water. I got a strong dose of this when I returned back across the lake on the way home. As soon as I was over the lake the wind temperature felt 20 degrees cooler than before. Today I was able to keep my speed close to 16 mph allowing me to get off the causeway in about 8 minutes for the 2 mile stretch. I felt much warmer on the west shore even with the wind coming at me. When I got home I checked the weather. The wind was from the SW at 14 mph with 21 mph gusts, not that much different from when I started. The temperature was 76 on my home weather station.

My timing was good today as I just missed the freight train crossing Old Atascocita Road but by the time I got to FM2100 and FM1960 the train was beginning to move across FM2100 and I still waited. I did see two other bikers on Old Atascocita Road after the railroad crossing. We waved as we passed.

I didn’t stay too long at the Huffman Chevron to avoid cooling down too much. The ride home from there was going into the wind until I reached Atascocita Shores Drive on the other side of the lake.

The ride totaled 33.06 miles bringing the week’s total miles to 73.73 and February miles up to 103.88.

After yesterday’s 40+ miles I thought I would be sore today but the muscles were okay and I rode at a good pace considering the wind. My maximum average speed was 14.9 mph. It took 25 or 26 miles to get up to that average and I held it until about 30.8 miles into the ride when I was riding through Kingwood stopping and starting as I crossed streets and intersections.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday look like good riding days according to the forecast. Thursday and Friday may be below my temperature tolerance with Saturday bouncing into the 60’s. I will keep an eye on it for the Saturday Humble Lions Club ride.

RideWithGPS map, metrics and charts.

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