Texas Bicycling News Digest October 3rd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Women’s Ride Day RSVP

bicyclesportshop.com

Join Bicycle Sport Shop at our Parmer store for Women’s Ride Day. Bring your road bike, helmet and a smile. This is a great opportunity to ride in an easy-paced and friendly atmosphere followed by refreshments and a chance to socialize.
Our mechanic will set up the stand for pre-ride checks and minor adjustments before the ride. However, if it’s been a while since your last ride or if you have any questions about the state of your bike, we strongly suggest that you bring your bike to any one of our service counters for a free safety check prior to the day of the ride.
When
Saturday, October 11
Please arrive by 7:30 AM
Pre-Ride Meeting 7:45 AM
Wheels Down at 8:00 AM
Where…

The Woodlands Township Recreation Center offers bicycle classes

By The Woodlands Township


THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The Woodlands Township Recreation Center is offering a series of bicycle classes. Attendees will take away the skills and confidence to ride safely and legally on the pathways in The Woodlands. Traffic Skills 101 includes training in bicycle safety checks, fixing flats and crash avoidance techniques. The fee is $45 per person. Bicycling Skills 123 Youth is composed of 13 on-bike stations that teach children better bike handling skills, and the fee is $15 per youth. Bicycling Skills 123 is designed for adults to…

Tour de Cypresswood Bike Path

Thursday, Oct 9, 2014, 6:00 PM

Cypresswood Bike Path
1/2 Block East of Cypress Wood Crossing Blvd. Cypress, TX

5 cyclists Went

Tour de Cypresswood Bike PathIf you’re wondering what to do about that mountain bike hanging up in the garage, Come out and enjoy the trails of Cypresswood with us.People ask me sometime, “Tommy, It’s so hard to get out and ride my mountain bike”. As an Expert Rider, I tell them, ” First of all, do not hang your bike up on hooks. This will make i…

Check out this Meetup →

Thursday Night Ninja Ride

Thursday, Oct 9, 2014, 5:30 PM

Kohl’s
5680 North Desert Boulevard El Paso, TX

5 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 →

2014 Hill Country Bicycle Works Marathon Mountain Bike

tmbra.org

State Championship Series

Big Cedar Marathon
November 1st 2014
Mountain Creek Community Church
Dallas, TX
Online Registration
<http://www.bikereg.com/bcm>

Palo Duro Marathon
November 15th 2014
PaloDuro Canyon SP
Canyon, TX

Holidaze Marathon
December 6th 2014
Camp Eagle
Rocksprings, TX

Fat Chucks Revenge
December 20th 2014
Rocky Hill Ranch
Smithville, TX

Excruciation Exam
January 3rd 2015
Bluff Creek – Rocky Hill Ranch
Warda & Smithville, TX

Bigger Ring Challenge
January 17th, 2015
Double Lake Recreation Area
Coldspring, TX

SERIES FINALE
Miles of Dis-Comfort
January 31st, 2015
Flat Rock Ranch
Comfort, TX

Best way to get to ACL? By bicycle, of course!

By Pam LeBlanc        fitness.blog.austin360.com


Two giant, lighted areas have been set aside for bike parking – one on the southeast side of the festival, off of Barton Springs Road, and the other on the northwest side of the park, near Stratford Drive. Bring your own lock and remember that bikes will be removed the Monday after the festival each weekend.
Folks from Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop folks will be on hand offering advice and selling…

From the Back of the Pace Line – Tour de Pink

By Amanda Schul        www.wheelbrothers.com

Some people make fun of the “t-shirt” rides.  I quite enjoy them. Usually a good mix of people, nice rest areas, good food, fun, and most importantly, the post ride beer!  During the busy season there are usually several great rides every weekend, so then you have to narrow them down to which one can you participate in.  My usual deciding factor is what charity or cause it supports.  After finishing a ride and basking in the adrenaline high, you feel 1000 times better know you helped out a great cause.
Unfortunately I cannot convince my co-workers, friends, and family members to get second jobs to support my cycling habit, so I’ve had to make some choices as to which rides to do.  For September I chose the Tour de Pink ride, which benefits Breast Cancer.  More specifically, it helps provide mammograms to women who wouldn’t…
http://www.wheelbrothers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/photo-2.jpg

BikeHouston Needs You for the BikeHouston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble

BikeHouston


BikeHouston exists due to its members and volunteers. We really need you this month to help BikeHouston unite all the cyclists in the Greater Houston area. Coming up next is BikeHouston’s biggest event and sole fundraising ride: the famous BikeHouston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble. The ride draws a crowd of 1,800 cyclists each year on the weekend closest to Halloween.
We need corner marshals during this ride which starts at midnight. There is an eight-mile loop as…

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/518139031360897025

Event Reminders

Getting Ready for the Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I was packing up the bike for Saturday’s Pineywood Purgatory and after removing the rear wheel I kept getting chain lube all over me. For sometime I have not been happy with the lube because it gets on everything and it is difficult to wash off. There are spots on the Stradalli that seem to be permanently stained black. I took the bike back out and removed the chain ( it has 4568 miles on it). The plan was to install the new KMC-11 chain I have had for a month or more. Installing the master link was fairly easy with the KMC Missing Link installation tool I bought a couple of months back. Now I need a removal tool when it comes time to wax the chain again.

Without the wheels on the bike it was difficult to remove the chain and install the new one. I got my ancient Blackburn workstand out to hold the bike by the seat tube. With the bike in the air I thought it would be easier and it was. Even with the old chain laying on the ground I still managed to put many black smears on the white areas of the Stradalli. With an old pair of underwear as a wash cloth and some strong perfumed laundry detergent I washed the black smears off. The new chain is now on the bike. I hope the old adage of not changing components before a big ride does not apply riding the Pineywoods Purgatory.

Now I tackled my Motobecane 700HT mountain bike replacing the very old Performance Bike pedals with Shimano PD-M540 ones. This went easier than the chain replacement. Next up I need to replace the cleats on my mountain bike shoes and change the tires. The tires on the bike are very knobby and I have some Performance tires that are not so knobby. This should help when I ride on asphalt and concrete which what I mostly do. As the weather cools I will ride my mountain bike more.

Fall Wind Blows

Texbiker.net Posted on by

No problem over heating today. During the night a cool front passed through dropping 1.23″ of rain at my house and the temperature as well. By the time I left at 11:11 the streets were dry. During today’s ride it was in the lower 80’s with a 15 mph wind from the NNW. This made riding north to New Caney challenging but not impossible. Once I reached New Caney and turned west onto FM1485 the wind was not as much of a problem. On Gene Campbell Road the wind was not much of a factor. When I was riding on FM1314 back to Porter the tailwind helped me get my speed up to 20+ mph.

The deep blue sky seemed to go forever. My polarized sunglasses probably enhanced the effect.

Riding 38.17 miles was slightly longer than usual for what I label the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route. I added a few streets before I left Kingwood. Since this is the second ride after our vacation I did not expect my average speed to that great with the headwind. I did not get my average speed up to 15 mph until 20 miles into the ride. By the 35 mile point it was up to 15.7 mph. Once I got into Kingwood for the last 3 miles or so it dropped down to 15.5 mph. I am pleased with my efforts and look forward to riding the Pineywoods Purgatory in Lufkin tomorrow morning. It could be a little chilly at the 8 AM start but the forecast calls for upper 70’s to low 80’s by noon. The problem is getting up at 5 AM to drive to Lufkin. I figure to leave home at 5:45 to arrive in Lufkin at 7:15.

At the 27 mile mark today I arrived at the Stripes store on FM1314. I am pleased the price of gas has dropped to $2.959 while I was away on our trip. Up north the rices were somewhat higher. With the cooler weather today I sat in the sun while I ate my snack and Gatorade. A breeze would have felt nice but I was on the south side of the store and the wind was from the north.

My year to date miles reached 5604 with today’s ride. That is about 900 from my goal of 6500 for the year. This looks reachable.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS for today.

Route in Google Earth
Ride Metrics
Home weather ride end
Ride comparison of this route
Week to date
Year to date

Texas Bicycling News Digest October 2nd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Next Event:

LONE STAR Randonneurs

October 11 0700
206k,317k,400k 601k RUSA Brevets
Cleburne

Tour de Cypresswood Bike Path

Thursday, Oct 9, 2014, 6:00 PM

Cypresswood Bike Path
1/2 Block East of Cypress Wood Crossing Blvd. Cypress, TX

5 cyclists Went

Tour de Cypresswood Bike PathIf you’re wondering what to do about that mountain bike hanging up in the garage, Come out and enjoy the trails of Cypresswood with us.People ask me sometime, “Tommy, It’s so hard to get out and ride my mountain bike”. As an Expert Rider, I tell them, ” First of all, do not hang your bike up on hooks. This will make i…

Check out this Meetup →

Critical Mass Houston

Friday, Oct 31, 2014, 7:00 PM

Market Square Park
301 Milam Street Houston, TX

6 cyclists Went

Houston CriticalMass @HoustonCMThe Houston Critical Mass is a bicycling event held on the last Friday of every month. We meet up at Market Square Park in downtown Houston around 7pm.criticalmasshouston.comalso:Critical Mass Houston is a casual bike ride starting from downtown Houston and going wherever. Cars rule the road every day, but one day…

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Bike ride at George Bush Park

Sunday, Oct 5, 2014, 9:00 AM

Fun Fair Positive Soccer – Westheimer Pkwy
20150 Westheimer Pkwy Houston, TX

5 Katy bicyclist fun riders Went

Check out this Meetup →

Drivers vs. cyclists

By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer        www.dentonrc.com


Former Denton resident Chris Cowdrey finally got a new bike about two months ago. He finds riding around his new home in Denver safer than riding in Denton, particularly since the Colorado capital has dedicated bike lanes.
Last November, he was hit by a drunk driver while riding his bicycle on Sherman Drive in northeast Denton.
“It was kind of weird,” Cowdrey said. “Usually when you see headlights and they get close, the driver changes lanes.”
Cowdrey was riding near the edge of the outside eastbound lane a little after 2 a.m. The driver drifted from the inside lane toward Cowdrey, hitting him and…

TMA to Give Away 6,000 Bike Helmets

www.ourtribune.com

The Texas Medical Association (TMA) will give away 6,151 free bicycle helmets to Texas children in October, more helmets than TMA has ever given in a month, in celebration of the 20th birthday of its Hard Hats for Little Heads program.
TMA physicians, medical students, TMA Alliance members (volunteers who are TMA physicians and TMA members’ spouses), county medical societies (CMSs), and other volunteers will host free helmet giveaways in their communities. TMA also will underscore the importance of wearing a properly fitted helmet with parents and their children participating in events (see schedule below).
“This month represents 20 wonderful years of TMA giving and saving the lives of little Texans, one helmet at a time,” said Ernest Buck, MD, a Corpus Christi pediatrician and chair of TMA’s Council on Health Promotion, which oversees the Hard Hats for Little Heads program. “Fitting helmets at an…

Biking to the Festival

www.aclfestival.com

f you’re biking to the fest, check out a few tips from our friends at Mellow Johnny’s and Austin B-Cycle! Mellow Johnny’s will be set up on site outside the Barton Springs Entrance to help with any last minute cycle needs you might have and B-Cycle wants to make it easy for YOU to get to the fest using their bike share program. Bike parking is removed on Monday following each weekend, so be sure to remove your bike by then. Read below for more details from Mellow Johnny’s & B-Cycle! …

San Angelo Bicycle Association

Just a friendly heads up that our Friday night rides (8pm), and Sunday Shop Rides (5pm) have both been temporarily moved to the North Shore of the State Park for the month of October in preparation of the 6 Hour Dino Race! If you’re thinking of participating in the 6 Hour Race these rides are a great way to prepare for it!

#CXnats – Places To Stay

joeyTWOwheels        texascx.com

Welcome to the unofficial #cxnats guide
The very first day USA Cyclocross Nationals were announced, the emails started to fly in – “where should we stay?” After dibs on the spare rooms were declared, we started pointing people in the various directions. So we decided to lay it down for everyone and create a local’s view on #cxnats, starting with general course location and the best places to rent around it.
A little about Zilker Park
The slightly opaque section shows you the general location of the race and festivities.
The slightly opaque section shows you the general location of the race and festivities.
Nicknamed the “Crown Jewel” of Austin Parks, Zilker is our Central Park. It has amazing views of the skyline and is situated IN the city. No need to shuttle or…

Saturday 10/4 [Infamous Brewery] and Sunday 10/5 [Coffee Shop/Intro] Bikes Rides!

steinerranchcycling.com

INFAMOUS BREWERY RIDE – Saturday October 4th at 7:30am at Cups & Cones
We had quite the strange ride last Saturday.  It rained the night before and the roads were wet but the turnout was good none the less.  The entire group experienced a total of 9 flat tires.  Steve Cummings had three flats and a wreck but is fine.  Nevertheless, we all managed to have a few beers over at the Oasis Brewing Co. which we hope to make a monthly ride.
This Saturday we can meet at C&C at 7:30am and then ride over to Infamous Brewing Company and then roll out with the Lake Travis Cycling Club at 8:00am.  They have a 40 mile route so if you add on the ride to and from Steiner Ranch you will easily be able to add another 10 miles.  The will also have post ride beers and tacos.  Below are the two routes leaving from Infamous Brewing Company (20 and 40 miler).  When we meet at C&C at…

Safe Bike or Walk Route to Mitchell Elementary Opening Oct. 8

by Keith Hutchinson        news.georgetown.org


A sidewalk nearly a mile long that provides the only safe route for walkers and bicyclists to get to Mitchell Elementary School officially opens on October 8. A bicycle safety demonstration and ribbon cutting for the new sidewalk will be held at 2:15 p.m. on the north side of Mitchell Elementary School at 1601 Rockride Lane.
The opening event coincides with International Walk or Bike to School Day, an annual event on October 8 to encourage children to walk or bike to school.
The event at Mitchell Elementary starts with demonstrations on…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/517861941159944192

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/517841887273553920

https://twitter.com/m_vince/status/517825189078241281

https://twitter.com/BSS_Road_Club/status/517824633442410497

Event Reminders