Texas Bicycling News Digest September 3rd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Flat Creek Crossing Open 9-6-14

www.austinbike.com

Flat Creek Crossing will be open for riding this Saturday, September 6th for riding.  We don’t always get an option to ride here, so while it is open, it is best to take advantage.  The cost is $10/head and you will need to sign a waiver. …

Bike Houston’s Master Bicycle Plan

www.criticalmasshouston.com

Michael Payne, Executive Director of Bike Houston, pulls over in the middle of a break during Critical Mass, and shares the key points of his organization’s work.
Video courtesy of Cameron Belcher.

“Mountain” Biking – Texas Style

by Kendall Beymer        resetandrestore.blogspot.com

Took the bike for out one last trip on some dirt today.  If you are riding in Houston Texas you should really bring about 3 times the amount of water you think you will need.  I only doubled my usual take – and it nearly cost me my life (possibly a ‘slight’ exaggeration there).
A few quick pics of some random stuff: …

Standing on 2 wheels: Young amputee shares joy for bicycling

www.sulphurdailynews.com

Jacob shared a little of his passion for cycling with his friend Cierra Theriot, 16, a Grand Lake High student who has been blind since she was an infant. With Cierra taking the second seat, Jacob, who wears a prosthetic from the knee down on his left leg, took the lead on a tandem bicycle as the two took a quick tour around part of Sam Houston Jones State Park. …

Best Things in Life #7 – A Bike Ride

GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS        gossipfromthegirlfriendgatherings.com

I won’t say exactly how many years it has been since I threw my leg over, mounted, and rode a bike.   However, I will give you a hint – Beyoncé wasn’t born yet when I did.  So, when one of my girlfriends suggested joining her on her weekend bike rides I laughed – loudly.
This conversation occurred on an early cold morning this past March, 2014 while my friend was waiting for the start of the Tour de Houston.   A small group of us had decided to cheer her off, go have breakfast, and cheer her back when she crossed the finish line after her 40-mile ride.   Before she rode off, she…

RIDE SCHEDULE

Georgetown Cyclopaths

RIDE SCHEDULE – September 2014 Short Rides Long Rides
Day Date Time Meet at Miles Map Miles Map
Saturday 9/6/2014 8:00 AM Berry Springs Park 35 miles B24 46 miles B16
Sunday 9/7/2014 8:00 AM Berry Springs Park 33 miles B46 38 miles B40
Saturday 9/13/2014 8:00 AM Dale’s Essenhaus Restaurant in Walburg 32 miles WA7 46 miles WA8
Sunday 9/14/2014 8:00 AM Berry Springs Park 31 miles B9 37 miles B13
Saturday 9/20/2014 8:00 AM Union State Bank in Florence 29 miles F5 43 miles F3
Sunday 9/21/2014 8:00 AM Berry Springs Park 34 miles B64 41 miles B58
Saturday 9/27/2014 8:00 AM Catholic Church in Andice 35 miles A12 48 miles A14
Sunday 9/28/2014 8:00 AM Berry Springs Park 32 miles B39 43 miles B50

 

B/IG Graduation Party

Tuesday, Sep 9, 2014, 6:00 PM

Hello Pizza
1071 Country Club Rd El Paso, TX

9 Cyclists Went

All B/IG riders and helpers are invited to celebrate at 6 p.m. at Hello Pizza, 1071 Country Club Road. No ride, just fun. Margaret O’Kelley,[masked]

Check out this Meetup →

September Newsletter Published

Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts

The September edition of the DATES-Line Newsletter is published and available for download from the newsletters page. This month’s edition includes the following:
Upcoming Rides
Round and Round the Lake Ride
Robson Ranch Ramble
Gateway to Texas Tandem Tour
Halloween Ride
More Ride Leaders Needed!
News From DATES Members
Upcoming DATES Meetings
Ride Reports
DATES Rides & Activities

Round and Round the Lake – Wednesday, September 10

Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts

Ride Start: The Lot, 7530 E Grand Ave, Dallas
Meet Time: 6:00 PM
Ride Time:  6:15 PM
Ride Leaders:  Ernie & Regina Coose
Distance: Two loops around White Rock Lake
We’ll saddle up in The Lot parking lot, then ride two clockwise loops around the lake. We’ll include the NW Highway adder for an 11-mile loop. If work or traffic keeps you from starting with the group, don’t miss out. Start counter-clockwise and meet us along the way. This is a social ride so no team will be left behind.
After the ride, please join us at The Lot for drinks and…

How did Austin fare in Bicycling Magazine’s 2014 Best Cities to Bike list?

By Pam LeBlanc        www.austin360.com


Austin just missed making the top 10 in Bicycling Magazine’s list of the 50 most cycling-friendly cities in the United States.
The magazine releases its rankings – based on percentage of bike commuters, amount and quality of cycling infrastructure, transportation budgets, civic and political commitment, historical performance, future projections and more – every two years.
New York City topped this year’s list, released today. Austin came in a respectable 11th.New York City from seventh place in 2012. Magazine editors noted the city’s installation of more than 350 miles of new bike lanes, a spike in…

Tweets

Event Reminders

Route Selection Plays A Part

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Selecting a route plays a big part on the average speed. I rode to the north on my “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route with a slight modification on the streets I used to exit Kingwood. Getting out of Kingwood does not offer a lot of choices so I rode through Elm Grove Village and Sherwood Trails Village before heading for Mills Branch Drive and then Ford Road. Because the number of starts and stops is low on this exit route I was able to build my average speed without the need to offset slow riding with more stops. On Mills Branch Drive and Ford Road there are no stops until Loop 494. Here is where the wind direction also factors in. A 15 mph from the SE provided help getting to Loop 494. Once I was on Loop 494 I was able to increase my average speed into the 15 mph range again with some help from the wind direction.

At New Caney I changed direction some riding on FM1485 and I continued to improve my average to 16 mph. Once I was on Gene Campbell Road the average was 16.3 which was the maximum for the ride. Turning left onto FM1314 I was riding into the wind. Sometimes the wind picked up and my speed dropped to 13 mph. By the time I got to the Stripes store at Valley Ranch my average fell to 15.8 mph. I was fighting to keep my speed up but the wind won.

After a 25 minute break at Stripes I was back on the bike riding south into the wind through Briar Tree and Oakhurst. I was able to improve my average speed to 15.9 mph for a portion of this but the wind kept beating at me whenever I turned into it. At the end of the 35.12 mile ride I averaged 15.4 mph.

19 of my 153 rides this year have been on this route.

My legs feel like they put out a lot of effort today. Adding the average speed to the front screen of my Edge 510 deserves the “credit”.

Today’s weather during the ride: 92 degrees, 76 degree dew point, 58% humidity, scattered clouds, 15 MPH SE wind at IAH.

Miles for the week are now 102.89 (for the month as well). Year to date I am up to 5384 miles.

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of my crash into the car that pulled in front front of me at Atascocita High School on Will Clayton Parkway. I believe I am recovered from that incident. For a few minutes I thought I should ride that route again but changed my mind.

Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS maps and metrics. Click on an image to enlarge it.

Ride Route on Google Earth
Ride Metrics
Home Weather Ride Finish
Ride Comparison on the same route
Week to date
Year to Date

Texas Bicycle News Digest September 2nd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Houston to Galveston Ride

Critical Mass Houston


ROLL OUT 6:30AM SHARP!
This is a bike ride from Downtown Houston to Galveston and back. Market Square to “The Spot” on Galveston Island. We will be doing lunch at “The Spot” on Seawall.
Please be sure your equipment can make this ride and that you are in shape to make this ride.
Some will ride back, some will camp, others will have someone meet them in Galveston to car back…your choice. Some people start on NASA 1 and do a half loop returning to their cars on NASA 1.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE RIDE:
1) Choose a group that fits your ability. Remember it’s 100 miles plus round trip so choose wisely.
A: 19-21mph
B: 17-19mph
C: 14-17mph
2) We have seen road bikes, mountain bikes, and fixed gear bikes do this ride but usually…

Another roadblock for bike-sharing at Fair Park after Landmark Commission denies Parry Avenue station

By Robert Wilonsky        cityhallblog.dallasnews.com

That Fair Park bike-share just hit another speed bump: At its meeting this afternoon the Landmark Commission voted against the proposed Parry Avenue station outside the former Women’s Museum. The vote to deny, without prejudice, took most folks by surprise — even the city’s historic preservation staff.
“I certainly thought it was going to pass,” says Craig Holcomb, the longtime executive director of the Friends of Fair Park, which was given a $125,000 grant from the city earlier this year to kick-start bike-sharing at the park. After several delays, Holcomb says, he’s getting a little “frustrated.” After all, the program was due to…

Ride Like A Girl – Barton Creek Greenbelt 360 Entrance

Monday, Sep 8, 2014, 6:00 PM

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

15 Mountain Bikers Went

Based on the theory that women learn new skills differently from men, these rides are designated as “for women only”.The concept is simple:  the “girls” meet at local bike trails for group rides and mountain biking skills instruction.  Riders break into small groups based on ability and then hit the trail.  After the ride, the ladies regroup for a…

Check out this Meetup →

Road Time Trial 6

San Angelo Bicycle Association

Date(s) – 09/11/2014
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: Susan Peak Rd
Categories:     Road Time Trial
This is the last Susan Peak Road Time Trail for 2014.
***This event was originally scheduled for Sept 4 but has been postponed to Sept 11.
The start place will be about 150 yards north of HWY 87 on FM1223. Please park on the east side of the road to prevent any traffic problems.
The Susan Peak Time Trial is a 12 mile loop. …

Current Ride Info

Carrollton Cycling Club

New start time Saturday Andrew Brown Park East Ride Effective September 6th at 8:00 am .
Monday and Wednesday evening rides at Irving Bible Chruch new start time at 6:00pm

USA Cycling announces winners of 2014 elections

USA Cycling

Colorado Springs, Colo. (September 2, 2014) — USA Cycling is pleased to announce and congratulate the winners of its 2014 elections. Fourteen seats were filled on USA Cycling’s seven sport committees when voting wrapped up on August 15. It was the fourth election cycle under USA Cycling’s revised governance structure.  …
…Mountain Bike Committee
Kristen Dieffenbach (Morgantown, W. Va.) – Coach
Cyndi Smith (Houston, Texas) – Commissaire
Road Committee
Chad Sperry (The Dalles, Ore.) – Race Director
Bonnie Walker (Austin, Texas) – Commissaire…

Neighborhood Trails

Bike Noob

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs in the 1950s (Yes, I’m old). Back then, streets were laid out in a grid pattern, and blocks of houses went on and on. Of course, streets were for cars to get to and from the houses. Bikes were what kids rode to each other’s house, and to the baseball diamond, but rarely more than a couple of miles at a time. Even though we were well out of the big city, we were in an environment that was more urban than not.
Now, I’m in the suburbs again, even though my neighborhood is within the Austin city limits. But boy, is it a different feeling than the 1950s Chicago suburbs.
Less than a mile from my house is a large metropolitan park. It’s known for its large number of soccer fields, but it has playgrounds for…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/506934331160670209

https://twitter.com/BSS_Road_Club/status/506910976394805249

https://twitter.com/BikePaulie/status/506838853806604289

Event Reminder

Too Much Information?

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I don’t know if it was a good idea to add average speed to the front screen on my Garmin Edge 510. I watch this during the ride and it pushes me to go faster. Today my legs were complaining loudly as I pushed to get my average speed up to 15.0 mph and then increase it from there. I ended up averaging 15.4 mph over the 34.57 mile route. As I was biking the last 3 or 4 miles through residential streets with a number of stop signs I saw the average dip down and then move back up to 15.3. At one point in the ride I averaged 15.5 mph. The wind provide lots of resistance but I tried to overcome it.

Leaving later than usual (11:47) and riding the longer Atascocita – Walden -Huffman route I thought I would have a chance to see the Amtrak train at the Old Atascocita Toad crossing. I got there about 1:07 and waited until 1:18 but the train was a no show. It might have got there before I did.

Weather conditions were hot (92 degrees at the finish) and humid. A storm is in the far southwest Gulf of Mexico and the weather might have been influenced by this some. In the Huffman area some road shoulders were wet. Around 4 miles into the ride I was in a light rain on Tree Lane in Kingwood but it only lasted about 2 minutes or so. The wind was from the SE at 11.5 mph and the clouds allowed the sun through enough to keep it hot.

At the Huffman Chevron I tried to soak up the sweat using paper towels. I got dry enough that the wind blowing through the pump canopy was a little chilly at first. My wrist bands were soaked but did the job of keeping my hands and gloves relatively dry.

There was one other biker out and our paths met over Lake Houston on FM1960 but on opposite sides of the road. With the wind Lake Houston had some waves and a couple of boaters.

It could reach 93 degrees tomorrow with a chance of rain. I plan on riding though.

Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS

Ride on Google Earth
Ride Metrics
Home weather ride start
Huffman weather
Home weather ride finish
Ride comparison on this route
Week to date
Year to date