Texas Bicycling News Digest October 24th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Miller Springs, Belton, TX.

by MMS        forums.mtbr.com

This is my local “go to” trail. It’s only a couple miles from the house, and time is usually always an issue for me. It’s located right at the Belton Dam. I usually park, and go in from the lower spillway area. (Labeled Miller Springs Park Entrance on the following map) There’s another parking area at the top, which gets you some extra trails, and a fun downhill…but that area tends to be frequented by men seeking the company of other men (which I’m not.).
The trail for the most part is flowy and smooth, through wooded areas. It’s far from a long trail. I liken it to more of a track, get your…

ARR December Club Ride @ Reveille Peak Ranch AND a demo and clinic from DBC

Saturday, Dec 13, 2014, 10:00 AM

Reveille Peak Ranch
2046 County Road 115 Burnet, TX

73 Mountain Bikers Went

The Austin Ridge Riders December Club Ride is on the granite at Reveille Peak Ranch!When: Saturday December 13, 10:00amWhere: Reveille Peak RanchLand Usage Fee: $10 per rider (cash)In order to speed up getting our wheels down, please print, fill out, and sign the ARR waiver. Bring it to the ride.  There will be blanks provided at the ride for …

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Dealer Tour: Skyrocketing property, lease values a hurdle in Austin

by Lynette Carpiet        www.bicycleretailer.com


AUSTIN, Texas (BRAIN) — Austin’s skyline is in constant flux. Even as more skyscrapers erect downtown, towering construction cranes are ubiquitous and signal the ongoing redevelopment and transformation happening in the Lone Star State’s capital. The growth has posed a challenge for new shops looking for a place to call their own as well as established businesses and owners who don’t own the building they occupy.
As major tech, advertising, gaming and marketing firms have established offices and headquarters here in recent years, Austin has experienced a constant influx of new residents and businesses. They’re all challenged by the demand on space, which has driven up the cost of rent and a…

White Space

by: Omar C. Garcia        Go Beyond

As with many of you who read my blog, white space is usually the scarcest thing on my calendar. Even though I intentionally schedule time to breathe, the busyness of life often sneaks in when I am distracted and steals precious white space from me. I have learned over the years that guarding my time is tantamount to guarding my life. That’s why when I have even the slightest opening, I like to get away — even if only for a few hours. Often that’s all it takes to refresh me.
Because I am always surrounded by people, I look for opportunities to enjoy solitude. I regard solitude as a spiritual discipline — getting away from distractions in order to take time to reflect, to contemplate, to figure…

Pedernales Falls State Park Trail Build & Ride

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014, 8:00 AM

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

4 Mountain Bikers Went

Pedernales Falls State Park TRAIL BUILDING DayHELP GET THE TRAIL READY FOR CRANKSGIVING!  Flat Creek Crossing & Pedernales Falls State Park trails will both be part of the 2014 Cranksgiving!Also thinking of making this or the build days November 8 & 22 into a full weekend build/ride/campouts,   Let me know if you are interested and which weekend …

Check out this Meetup →

Thursday Night Ninja Ride

Thursday, Oct 30, 2014, 5:30 PM

Kohl’s
5680 North Desert Boulevard El Paso, TX

1 Cyclists Went

This is a fast, leaderless ride beginning at the parking lot between Kohls and Starbucks/Crazy Cat, I-10 at Redd. Meet at 5:30 p.m., ride rollers to O’Hara Road and back. 22 miles. 18-22 mph average.

Check out this Meetup →

Mellow Swap: Nov. 8th 9am-3pm

Cycle Austin


It’s that time of year. The 2014 Mellow Swap meet will be held on Saturday November 8th from 9am to 3pm. Come out to the Mellow Johnny’s parking lot for great deals on all sorts of cycling gear. Visit mellowjohnnys.com for more details.

Tweets

https://twitter.com/Joeramsbacher/status/525442402816131072

Event Reminders

Texas Bicycling News Update October 23rd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Dealer Tour: Austin retailers seek niches in increasingly saturated market

by Val Vanderpool        www.bicycleretailer.com


AUSTIN, Texas (BRAIN) — Take away the perpetually sunny skies, year-round mild temps and the ever-present Southern hospitality, and it might be easy to mistake Austin for Portland, Oregon.
Striking similarities between the two cities include: a booming population of under a million, hip food trucks and new restaurants emerging on nearly every corner, a vibrant cycling culture that spans all disciplines, a large green space accessible from town, numerous bridges that connect the downtown with other parts of the city, a growing cycling infrastructure, a vibe that makes you want to stay awhile — and above all, the two cities are siblings in weirdness, with Portland having adopted and adapted the “Keep Austin Weird” slogan for its own use.
And the parallels don’t end there. Like Portland, Austin’s bicycle retail market is saturated, with anywhere from 50 to 60 bike shops and…

Trail Work Party At Cypresswood (Collins Park)

GHORBA.org

Event category: General
Trail: Cypresswood (Collins Park)
Saturday, October 25, 2014 – 8:30am
Cleaning up Cypresswood trails , from Collins park to the Cypresswood bridge, meeting Collins park 8:30 am Saturday Oct 25th

Cyclesomatic | Boo-Bike-Que, October 29th, 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Bike Friendly Oak Cliff


OCBC’s annual Halloween mountain bike ride is a fun, social outing for anyone interested in gettin’ some dirt and having fun!  This is a…

Keepin’ it weird in Austin

by Stephen Frothingham        www.bicycleretailer.com

The bike market in Austin has many similarities to Portland”s.
Slideshow Image:

Sounding Off: East Dallas readers discuss funding for bike-lane maintenance

www.dallasnews.com


RAISE YOUR VOICE: Share your own opinion online at dallasnews.com/sendletters. Sign up for Sounding Off or submit a guest column (and include your full name and contact information) by visiting dallasnews.com/voices.
Dallas’ city streets department devotes $500,000 a year to on-street biking improvements. But the money is usually spent on creating new lanes, not operations and maintenance. Is there a need for more money to be devoted to bike lanes? Are there improvements needed for lanes you see or use?
Mary Weir, White Rock: I am all for doing anything that helps bikers ride around Dallas safely. One of the improvements that needs attention is Winsted Drive, a…

Wednesday Walnut Creek Social – NEW TIME 7:00pm

Wednesday, Oct 29, 2014, 7:00 PM

Location details are available to members only.

5 Mountain Bikers Went

We will be meeting at 6:45 pm to air up, tune and hit the Walnut Creek trail wheels down at 7:00 pm for a 10 to 12 mile circuit, this will be an Advanced Beginner ride for folks who want to ride Walnut at a group pace and we will do a varying loop of the trails.HELMETS AND LIGHTS ARE REQUIRED, NO HELMET NO LIGHTS NO RIDE!Here is a suggestion of a…

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Webberville Cross Race – Saturday, October 18, 2014

Violet Crown

This year’s Webberville Cyclocross Race was the ninth Violet Crown ‘cross race at Webberville and the largest, at 342 entries, bigger than last season’s State Championships held at Webberville last January. Thanks to the twenty five-plus club members who volunteered to set up and work the event. We also got great help from our major sponsor Mellow Johnny’s in the form of prizes and race infrastructure. Other contributors to the over $3,000 prizelist were Brad Houston Law, Dawson-Lipul Builders, Rol Wheel Works, Hops and Grain Brewing and Linda Craig Massage.
The course was a shorter variation of the usual course, taking out an asphalt section and adding a log run-up, to provide a little something for all types of ‘cross rider, hopefully. Unfortunately there…

Race Preview – Cross Houston – 10.25-26.14

by joeyTWOwheels        texascx.com

Back to the Velodrome!
Very excited to have this course on the #TXCX schedule. It’s straight out of Paris Roubaix, or in cross circles, Alpenrose in Portland.
If you’re looking for some past previews of the course, you know where to go. But for 2014, here’s what Race Director Frank Karbarz has to say about Cross Houston.
Tell me about the venue – what’s the best feature?
The velodrome has a lot of terrain change and is a hidden gem and you would not expect it to deliver a cross course. But Portland and Seattle run cross races every year at their velodromes. There’s even…

Saturday November 22nd Exxon to 211 Ride

Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club

Saturday, November 21st: Ride starts at 8:00  We will meet at the Exxon Station on FM 471 and travel down 471 to FM 211 (hilly) and then continue on to Rio Medina via FM 471 (flat) and then back to the Exxon station for a total of 34 miles.  Those wishing a longer 45 mile ride can ride all the way to Castroville.  Those wanting a shorter 18 mile ride can return to the Exxon Station instead of going onto…

Please Be Kind to Cyclists, Davis Phinney Foundation fund-raisers set for November

By Pam LeBlanc        fitness.blog.austin360.com


Two fund-raisers for really good causes are coming up in November …
* Don a costume (or don’t) and head to the Please Be Kind To Cyclists 2014 Masquerade Social Soiree, set for 7-10 p.m. Nov. 8 at the 410 Speedshop, 410 Pressler Street. The event celebrates Austin’s biking community, and honors those who have been injured or killed while cycling. It also raises funds used for educational programs, to help injured cyclists and their families, and to support public campaigns such as the Safe Passing initiative. The event, sponsored by Pure Austin Fitness, will include live music, food, drinks, dancing, a raffle and a silent auction. (A couple of years ago I bid on – and won! – a cool baby blue beach cruiser at the event.) Masks provided at the door. Tickets are $60 for members, $75 for non-members and $500 for a table for eight. For more information go to http://www.bekindtocyclists.org/2014-fundraiser.html.
* “Gear Up for Victory: A Freewheeling Gala Benefiting People With…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

Event Reminders

Texas Bicycling News Digest October 22rd

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BRAIN Dealer Tour plies Austin’s prime paths

by Toby Hill        www.bicycleretailer.com


AUSTIN, Texas (BRAIN) — Rolling on pink-accented tires provided by sponsor Hutchinson and attired in Sockguy socks bearing slogans like “Save the Ta Tas” and “Cancer Sucks” in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, BRAIN’s Austin Dealer Tour kicked off Tuesday sampling some of the Texas capital’s growing network of premier cycling infrastructure en route to four shops, including multisport specialist Jack & Adam’s Bicycles and multi-store powerhouse Bicycle Sport Shop.
Robin Stallings, executive director of advocacy group Bike Texas, led a crew of about 20 riders on a mix of paved, dirt and gravel paths and…

Spinlister Speeds to Austin to Increase Bike Availability for Residents and Tourists, Unlocking Support and a New Revenue Stream for Austin’s Cycling Community

www.prweb.com

Spinlister, the global bike share service, is putting roots in Austin, Texas, and investing in growing local peer-to-peer bike rentals. More than 150 bikes are already listed in Austin, and the company aims to have more than 1,500 bikes actively listed by March of 2015, just in time for the influx of SXSW show attendees from all over the world. Spinlister will be participating in local events and actively encouraging Austin residents and businesses to list their bikes and stand-up paddleboards (SUP) for rent as a great way to make extra money and meet other cyclists.
As Austin’s population and popularity as a travel destination continues to grow, the demand for transportation and accommodations has increased as well. There are 1.9 million residents in Austin’s metropolitan area and with more…

Biking across U.S. at 70

by Crystal Nguyen, Staff Writer        www.coastreportonline.com


Still fit and instilled with a strong sense of wanderlust at the age of 70, Mick Donoff is the epitome of someone who knows how to live life to the fullest while positively impacting everyone he encounters along the way.
“I’ve lived long enough to see many people including friends and family diagnosed with cancer,” Donoff said. “I realized that I’ve been very blessed to live the number of years I have.”
So for his 70th birthday he rode his bike 3,059 miles from Laguna Beach to St. Augustine, Fla. under the team name Ride America 4 Cancer and for the research organization Stand Up 2 Cancer. He…

Officials hope downtown bike lane opens by end of year

By Dug Begley        www.houstonchronicle.com


Conversion of a traffic lane on Lamar into Houston’s main bike route through downtown has been delayed as officials finalize plans and wait for in-demand humps known as “armadillos” to arrive.
(To continue reading this story, you will need to be a digital subscriber to HoustonChronicle.com)

Biking to City Hall with the City Council

www.dallasvoice.com


Five members of the Dallas City Council led a bike ride from Main Street Garden to Dallas City Hall this morning to highlight the city’s commitment to continuing construction of bike paths and bike lanes throughout the city.
Plans call for more than 1,000 miles of lanes and paths for bikes, with about 35 miles of that is currently under construction. Money has already been approved to extend the Trinity Strand Trail into Oak Lawn from Infomart to the Medical District.
More than 50 people rode with…

Getting to #ATXBikeFest

BikeTexas.org

Roll up to the Austin BikeFest hassle-free on October 25! Don’t want to drive? No problem!
Bike: We can’t have a BikeFest without bikes! We’ll have bike parking available after the ride if you need a place to park while you enjoy the food trucks and festivities. Don’t forget your lock! Bike valet will also be provided. Remember– the Southern Walnut Creek Trail will be open and available for riding all the way to Govalle Park.
B-cycle: There will be a pop-up B-cycle station at…

We Wave initiative promotes safety for bicyclists, motorists

By Pam LeBlanc            fitness.blog.austin360.com


Maybe a friendly wave can help.
Police Chief Art Acevedo will unveil a new initiative today that aims to improve safety of cyclists and motorists on Austin streets.
The idea? A friendly wave makes bicyclists and motorists more aware of each other, and fosters cooperation and camaraderie between the two groups.
That’s a big challenge. I get regular emails from motorists frustrated by cyclists’ behavior, and vice versa.
The truth is, there are good bicyclists and not-so-good bicyclists, just as there are good motorists and not-so-good motorists.  We all need to look out for one another as we…

Webberville Cyclocross Race, Saturday, October 18, 2014

Violet Crown


Here are photos from Saturday’s Webberville Cyclocross Race. You can find the results on the txbra.org site here. Photos provided by Rusty Brooks. You can see more of his cycling photos here, or learn more about Rusty on his Facebook page here. Use of the photos in this photo galIery are restricted to this site.

Trail Maintenance

San Angelo Bicycle Association

11/08/2014
8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: SA State Park South
Join the volunteer crew to do trail maintenance on the second Saturday of every month. Meet at the South Shore Entrance at the San Angelo State Park.

Pedernales Falls State Park Trail Build & Ride

Sunday, Nov 9, 2014, 9:00 AM

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

5 Mountain Bikers Went

Pedernales Falls State Park TRAIL BUILDING DayHELP GET THE TRAIL READY FOR CRANKSGIVING!  Flat Creek Crossing & Pedernales Falls State Park trails will both be part of the 2014 Cranksgiving!Also thinking of making this or the build day on November 22 into a full weekend build/ride/campout.  Let me know if you are interested and which weekend work…

Check out this Meetup →

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/MontroseHTX/status/524952573959077888

Almost Momentary Muscle Failure

Texbiker.net Posted on by

It was a struggle to ride on FM1960 east from Huffman. The wind was trying to push me back to Huffman and my legs were about to let it happen. Building up to that point every direction I rode seemed to be into the wind. On FM1960 the trees were in the distance just before my turning point at Huffman – Eastgate Road. As I was trying to get there my legs approached momentary muscle failure. My speed starting to drop below 15 mph then 14 and a couple of times when I glanced at the Edge 510 I saw 13 mph. Crossing the west bound lane of FM1960 onto Huffman – Eastgate I stopped to give my legs a rest and to take a drink.

On Huffman – Eastgate the wind was finally not in my face. The legs regained some power and I was able to ride around 20 mph. The planned stop at the Huffman Chevron was not far and I looked forward to sitting and resting before riding the 11 miles home.

I don’t ride this often (5 times out of 176 rides this year) but it is on good roads. Huffman – Eastgate used to have some big cracks in the asphalt from the heat and the pavement wanting slide into the ditch. Last year, maybe, it was re-surfaced and the cracks are few. Someday I want to ride FM1960 all the way east to Dayton but there is a section of chip’n seal from the Liberty County line to the railroad overpass. It’s about 2 miles long but I don’t relish it. On the other side of the overpass FM1960 is smooth asphalt.

Today I biked 35.15 miles averaging 15.6 mph. It took almost 16 miles to get my average speed to 15 mph thanks to the wind. I didn’t really get it above there until riding on Huffman – Eastgate. Once I was there I built it up to 15.5 mph when I stopped at the Chevron. After a 20 minute break I headed home and added to my average speed. The peak was at 31.8 miles at 15.8 mph. By then I was stopping and starting in Kingwood.

Another day of fabulous biking weather: scattered clouds, 80 degrees. The wind was from the east at 10 mph with 16 mph gusts. The gusts are what got to me on FM1960 where the cover is not thick enough to slow it down.

Some numbers:

  • 576.89 miles for the month
  • 103.73 miles this week
  • 6108 miles for the year
  • 16 biking days out of 22 this month (retirement helps)

I may not bike tomorrow but the weather is supposed to continue like today.

RideWithGPS and Garmin Connect metrics, charts and maps.

Ride Route – Google Earth
Today’s Ride Metrics
Huffman Weather
Home Weather Ride End
Ride Route Comparison
Week to Date
October to Date
Year to Date