Texas Cycling News December 10th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Soon USGS Topo maps will have mountain bike trails

dirtragmag.com


As part of the continued US Topo maps revision and improvement cycle, the USGS will be including mountain bike trails to upcoming quadrangles on a state-aligned basis. The 2014 edition of US Topo maps covering Arizona will be the first maps to feature the trail data, followed by Nebraska, Missouri, Nevada, California, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Vermont, Wyoming, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Florida, Alaska (partial), and the Pacific Territories in 2015.
The mountain bike trail data is provided through a partnership with the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) and the MTB Project. During the past two years, the IMBA has been building a detailed national database of mountain bike trails with the aid and support of the MTB Project participants. This activity allows local IMBA chapters, IMBA members, and the public to …

Trial in bicyclist’s hit-and-run death resumes

By Dug Begley        www.chron.com


Testimony resumed Wednesday in the trial of a Houston woman accused in the hit-and-run death of a young bicyclist a year ago.
Margaret Mayer, 35, is accused of failing to stop after her car struck Chelsea Norman, 24, as she cycled along Waugh Drive en route home from her job around 10:20 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2013. Authorities contend Mayer was likely intoxicated after a social gathering. They believe she became disoriented on her …

Austin Bike Thefts

encodingpixels.com

This visualization takes a look at bike theft data for Austin in 2014. KXAN News recently did a story on how the Austin Police Department is using a bait bike to help reduce the number of bike thefts this year.
I wanted to see when and where that bait bike might do the most good, so I put together this interactive visualization. I was looking for a good way to show clusters of thefts, so I decided to try hexbins. I think they do a good job of showing the concentration of thefts around the city. You can use the slider below to adjust the bin size to …

Come Ride With Us Meetup Group – 12-14-14 – Houston

by 68venable        www.bikeforums.net

Hey everyone! We are riding with a different group this week. It’s a really inviting and helpful bunch. It starts over by the heights and is only about 29 miles long. More details if you follow the link.
“Welcome to one of our monthly favorites – The Urban Bridges Ride! We love it and know you will too! This is a short and sweet route but don’t underestimate it – you’ll get your heart pumping with 11 bridges/underpasses (we counted ’em). The roads and scenery are good and the company is too. Afterwards, we’ll do brunch at Dry Creek Cafe, not far away. Join us!” …

Hangover Hundred K New Years Day 2015

Hangover Hundred K

Thursday, January 1, 2015 at 9:30am in CST
7-Eleven (1010 Ross Ave, Dallas)
This year we are going to team up with our besties Transit Bikes and Spinistry for a great New Years Day ride with a shorter gravel option and a road option as well. Ride that champagne off and start your year off on a good note with some good folks! This is also the day for all the R.A.T. participants looking to see who wins the Salsa Fargo we are giving away so come on out Ratters!
We will meet at the 7-Eleven gas station on …

Don’t forget the bicycle helmet this Christmas

www.yourglenrosetx.com

Bicycles are always a popular gift at Christmas time, and many parents are shopping now for that perfect new bicycle for their child – maybe even their first bicycle. This is an excellent opportunity to teach children about the importance of wearing a helmet to protect their head.
According to National Safe Kids, helmets can reduce the risk of severe brain injury by up to 88 percent, but only 45 percent of children wear bike helmets. Safe Kids also reports that bicycles are associated with more injuries in children than any other product except automobiles. Other studies from the organization found that nearly half of the hospitalizations related to bicycles are from traumatic injury to the brain. Helmets should be …

Terra-X Pro Men Race Video

by Alan Charley        woodlandscycling.org

More fun at last month’s Terra-X Cyclocross Race promoted by The Woodlands Cycling Club.
Click the link below and see some of the Professional Men struggling up a wet and steep incline – Check it out!!!

Saturday 12/13 [Modified Dam Loop] & Sunday 12/14 [Coffee Shop] Rides!

steinerranchcycling.com

SATURDAY: Meet at C&C at 8:30am for the Modified Damn Loop (57 miles) Please see route at – http://connect.garmin.com/course/embed/8487971
SUNDAY: Meet at C&C at 8:30am for the best Coffee Shop Ride in the United States. Lead by everyone’s favorite cyclist Thomas Lea.

Auditorium Shores Trailhead reopens to the public

fitness.blog.austin360.com


From the City of Austin:
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department would like to announce that as of Wednesday, December 10, 2014, the Auditorium Shores Trailhead is open to the public. This includes an expansion of the parking lot, new restroom facility and associated utility upgrades, trail realignment and widening, shoreline restoration, improved bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, exercise and stretching area enhancements, landscaping, lighting, site furnishings and signage.
Funds for the project were made …

How bike friendly Abilene becomes depends on money

by Scott Kirk        www.reporternews.com


ABILENE, Texas – If it was up to the 20 people who showed up at the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s meeting on bicycling Wednesday at the T&P Depot, Abilene would probably be well on the way to becoming one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country.
However, all it takes is money, as Jon James, city director of planning and development services, pointed out.
“We’re wanting to find out what the city wants,” said James, who made two presentations during the two-hour come-and-go meeting.
Or, perhaps more accurately, what people are willing to …

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/BSS_Road_Club/status/542757026187587584

Event Reminders

Loud Sound Delays the Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I couldn’t stay inside today. Earlier in the day I wasn’t sure I would ride or not. Riding looked good on the greenbelt trails. Getting the MTB out of the garage I set out to see how many leaves had fallen since yesterday’s ride. The route was not the same as yesterday but did have a few common sections. I rode 18.14 miles which was a little further than I expected.

Trying to leave home by 1:30 I hurried to eat a snack and then get dressed. I was close to hitting the departure time when I heard a crash from the utility room. A tension rode we use to hold empty hangers fell causing the loud noise. This rod has been there for several years and I am not sure what caused it to come loose and fall today. Searching around for the wood block to position it took several minutes and cleaning up some of the hangers a few more. With the rod back in place I walked out the door at 1:50.

At the start it was 68 degrees and partly cloudy. Riding in the shade along the trails felt like the temperature was about 10 degrees lower. Fortunately I chose a correct wardrobe of leg warmers, shorts, short and long sleeve jerseys and jacket. Half finger gloves completed the group. I was comfortable while I rode but when I stopped for more than a minute or so the moisture inside the jacket cooled and I had to ride a few minutes to regain the warmth.

With today’s ride I am within 50 miles of my goal of 6500 miles for the year. If I ride my road bike and and typical route I am 2 rides away from reaching it. I am not sure the weather will cooperate to allow a road bike ride though. Sunday may get to 70 degrees with a 25% chance of rain, maybe then I will ride on the roads.

One thing different from my road bike is the weight of my Motobecane 700HT MTB. Pedaling effort to get up to speed and stay there is much higher.

Ride Route from Google Earth
Today’s Ride Metrics
Home weather at the end of the ride
Rides on Kingwood Trails YTD
Week to Date Rides
December Rides Summary
Year to date rides summary

Texas Bicycling News Digest December 9th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bicyclists ride in remembrance of cyclist killed

By Christine Dobbyn        abc13.com

(video)
HOUSTON (KTRK) — On the eve of the trial of a woman accused in the hit-and-run death of a young cyclist, the Houston cycling community gathered to show support for the victim and her family.
A vibrant 24-year-old with electric blue eyes is just the beginning of how Chelsea Norman’s family describes her. “She was the true example of living every day to the fullest,” says her sister, Kallie Norman.
Her dream of opening a wine and dessert shop in Houston, was never realized. Her father Randy says, “She and I were always bragging about who was the better baker in the family. I would never admit she …

Bicyclist dies after being hit by vehicle Monday evening

lubbockonline.com

A man on a bike was hit by a vehicle in the 4100 block of Avenue Q at about 6:15 p.m. Monday evening.
According to the police report, Robert Hines, 44, was going eastbound on his bike when he failed to yield to traffic and was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado driving south. The collision caused …

Witness says defendant in bike death trial reported she may have hit a person

By Dug Begley        www.chron.com


Margaret Mayer called a co-worker the day after a Houston bicyclist was struck and killed, saying she had been in two accidents after an evening of drinking and “hit something and it might have been a person,” the co-worker testified Tuesday.
“I didn’t want to believe it,” Kellie Clark said Tuesday during the second day of Mayer’s trial in state district court. “I just honestly thought she might be.. I didn’t want to believe it.”
Mayer, 35, is accused of failing to stop after her car struck Chelsea Norman, 24, as she cycled along Waugh Drive en route home from her job around 10:20 p.m. on …

Race Preview – Highlander Cross Cup – 12.13-14.14

by joeyTWOwheels        texascx.com


Holy crap – just 25 more days until states, and 29 until #CXNats here in Austin. Man, this is going to be an epic run!
Note that we start at 10a both days – different than most races on the TX Cup schedule.
We lead off with the month of Texas Cross with a course that is consistently known as one of the hardest, most challenging courses on the schedule. The terrain of the Highlander Cross Cup is essentially the side of a hill that you traverse many times, much to the delight of the generous crowds of hecklers. We were there in 2012 and 2013, (and last year was a complete mud slog), but this year Race Director, Ian Moore, has promised some changes.
Ian – what should we expect?
The course this year has been tossed into a washing machine and mixed up.  It allows us …

Sunday Dec 14th 2014 Leon Springs Ride

Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club

Meet at Leon Springs Park and Ride lot at 9:00 a.m. ride  will take a nice scenic route that leads  us  along Old Fredericksburg Road.   Take IH-10 West to Leon Springs/Boerne Stage Road exit (Exit 551).  Take a left onto the service road and continue to a 4-way stop.  Make a left at the stop and go one block to the parking lot on the left.  For more …

MoPac Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Project Update

BicycleAustin

Much needed alternative transportation infrastructure scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015.  Kudos to KEYE to pointing out auto traffic will benefit from the extra lane as part of this project.
http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top … 2214.shtml
http://www.austintexas.gov/mopac-bicycl … ian-bridge
I have to wonder if this will connect up with Violet Crown trail project.  Currently the two do …

Tweets

https://twitter.com/BSS_Road_Club/status/542422752066404352

Event Reminders

A Ride to The Post Office and Then on the Trails

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Combining business and pleasure is not always possible but I was able to do that on today’s ride. I had a package I needed to take to the post office for my side business. I planned on riding my MTB since the weather warmed up slightly (69 degrees at the start). The route I chose would take me to the post office and then I could branch out from there for hopefully 18 miles or more. I ended up riding 18.36 miles on Kingwood trails and greenbelts. With the fall and soon to be winter weather leaves were everywhere. In some places the trails was covered and I had to watch closely to not go off the paved path. The sun was blinking in my eyes from pass trees on my left which made seeing difficult though I had sunglasses on.

The route was not very different from other rides but this particular combination was one I have not done much before. The 1 1/2 miles to the post office was not the most direct route in order to help me get to the 18+ mile goal. If I had not added the indirect trails I would have been below the goal. Timing was good whenever I passed schools there was no waiting parents or excessive traffic at the spots where the trails passed them.

I am still 68 miles short of my goal of 6500 miles for the year but there should be some opportunities to ride before the end of the year. I hate to get down to the last day and feel pressure to ride when the weather is not that good. Wednesday and Friday look promising weather wise this week. Saturday is filled with holiday things and Sunday looks like a rain day. I hope my road bike does not feel neglected with the last couple rides on my MTB. Out of 188 days riding this year 178 have been on my road bike.

Today’s Route
Today’s Ride Metrics
Home weather at the end of the ride
YTD Rides on Kingwood Trails
Rides In December
All rides YTD