Texas Bicycling News Digest August 27th

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The most important tip for DIY bike maintenance

Texas Mountain Bike Trails

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IyqwCYieONY
If you have ever tried to fix your bike yourself or do your own wrenching on your mountain bike then this tip is for you.
Be resilient, don’t give up.
Working on your own bike isn’t easy. It takes plenty of practice and a lifetime of learning to master some of the techniques required for bicycle maintenance. Take it on…

Kristin Blaise Injured in Bicycle Accident on Old Jacksonville Highway in Tyler, Texas

By Michael Grossman        www.injuryblawg.com

Tyler, TX — An accident between an SUV and a bicyclist sent a woman to the hospital in Tyler, Texas, on Tuesday, August 26, 2014. The accident took place in the 7500 block of Old Jacksonville Highway, around 8:15 in the evening.
Police say that Devin Hunter was driving an SUV northbound along Old Jacksonville when he came upon a group 7-10 bikers. Attempting to drive around them, he wasn’t able to…

City Park Slow Pace Intermediate-Level Ride

Tuesday, Sep 2, 2014, 6:00 PM

City Park – Emma Long Motorcycle Trails
7548 Oak Shores Dr Austin, TX

8 Mountain Bikers Went

For those who haven’t ridden City Park, it is definitely not a beginner-friendly trail.  It was originally designed for off-road motorcycles, so it basically goes straight up the bluff, then straight down, then straight up again many times over the course of 6-7 miles.  Most of the obstacles take the form of ledges about a foot high (often in seque…

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Beginner/Intermediate Group (B/IG) Rides

Tuesday, Sep 2, 2014, 5:45 PM

River Run Plaza
1071 Country Club Rd El Paso, TX

4 Cyclists Went

The El Paso Bicycle Club’s Beginner/Intermediate Group (B/IG)  training program for beginning and intermediate riders runs Tuesday evenings through early September at River Run Plaza, 1071 Country Club (one block east of Upper Valley Rd.). Riding groups are paced for beginner, beginner/intermediate and intermediate riders. Helmets required. More in…

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Tom Neagli Named 2014 Kloster Honoree

www.wheelbrothers.com

Local Cycling Leader to be Honored at 11th Annual Conquer the Coast
(Corpus Christi, TX) – Organizers of Conquer the Coastannounced today that local Corpus Christi cycling leader Tom Neaglihas been named the 2014 Donny Kloster Memorial Award honoree.  The recognition, started in 2012,is given to honor the former Corpus Christi cycling icon.
Neagli was among six finalists, including local cycling enthusiasts Glenn Goldapp, Gerardo Gomez and Peter Staneland, Corpus Christi city councilman Mark Scott,and long-time Conquer the Coast steering…

Saturday August 30th [Cuernavaca] and August 31st [Coffee Shop / Babes] Rides!

steinerranchcycling.com

TOUR DE CURE – Saturday September 13, 2014 Remember to join our Tour de Cure team at http://main.diabetes.org/goto/TeamBeef
1400 MILES – Saturday September 13, 2014  Choose between the 14, 25, 45 or 75-mile options for the 1400 Miles Community Ride in Austin. No matter how far you ride, you’ll be greeted at the finish line with great craft beer, food and music! You can learn more at www.1400miles.com
WEEKENDS RIDES
360 & Cuernavaca Ride – Saturday August 30th at 7:30am at Cups & Cones
This Saturday the Steiner Ranch Cycling Club we will be doing a fun ride on the newly paved road out towards Lakeway.  We will head out Bee Caves and then onto 360 South for a bit.  We will cross over after a few miles and then head back and then back on Bee Caves but we will drop down Cuernavaca and do the loop and climb back out and then back onto…

Event Insurance

Team San Angelo

Liability insurance for an event can be a significant expense when organizing a cycling race, fun run
However, given today’s lawsuit-crazy society and the city, county or state insurance requirements for most events, liability insurance is something that must always be considered part of an race’s budget.
It’s a necessary expense and something that will help protect you, your organization and the owner of the race venue in the unfortunate case that an accident occurs during an event.
John Seaton, Risk Manager for the City of San Angelo, says that the city requires race organizers to submit a certificate of insurance with their event application showing a minimum liability insurance coverage of $1,000,000 general aggregate.
“We also ask that the City of San Angelo be included as an additional insured on…

Tweets

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/504816314322391040

https://twitter.com/BerniceHartECP/status/503908996517232640

Event Reminder

Biking in the Heat of August

Texbiker.net Posted on by

New Caney and Gene Campbell Road were the focus for the ride today. I left after watching stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana at 11:22. they were racing in 34C temperatures and it was about that here. The sky had scattered clouds as I rode out with 92 degrees all the way. It was hot but dry enough to evaporate almost all of the sweat I generated. The wind moved around some but was usually from the NE at 14 mph with 17 mph gusts. The route was 36.33 miles long and I averaged 15.4 mph. I increased August miles to 897.92. Not too many more to set a new high for a month this year.

During my rest stop at Stripes at the 25 mile mark it was pleasant sitting in the shade under the pump canopy. The breeze dried me off pretty quickly while I ate and drank some Gatorade. No other bikers today. The Camelbak water bottle does a great job keeping the water cold. I had to cut back on the ice because it didn’t melt and I would drink all of the water and only have ice left.

Back home by 2:22 the temperature was still 92.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Route
Ride Metrics
Metrics
Home Weather at the start
Porter Weather during the ride
Home Weather at the finish
Ride comparison for this route
Week to date
August to date
Year to date

 

 

Texas Bicycle News Digest August 26th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Denton hoping to hire bike czar

By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe        www.dentonrc.com

Job among 39 new positions proposed for 2014-15 budget
The city of Denton wants to hire a “bike czar.”
The new job, officially called bike and pedestrian coordinator, is among the 39 new positions proposed for the city’s 2014-15 budget. The City Council must first approve the budget before any of those “help wanted” signs can be posted at City Hall.
The bike hire would be the first of its kind for Denton. The city’s mobility plans include routes for bicyclists and pedestrians, but no single person or department has focused on implementing that plan.
City leaders envision the coordinator championing bike and pedestrian needs, according to…

Conquer the Coast Cycling Event, Sept. 20

www.kiiitv.com

CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) – Conquer the Coast, a large-scale cycling event that offers 10, 25 and 65 mile rides, kicks off at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, starting from Whataburger Field.
During the ride, you get to see one of the nations top ranked professional ballparks, an award-winning art museum and the awe-inspiring Watergardens. As you ride to the top of the Harbor Bridge, you get a…

City to get dedicated bike lane downtown

By Mike Morris        www.chron.com


Houston may get its first dedicated, on-street bike lane as early as October, as city officials prepare to convert one lane of Lamar Street downtown to a two-way cycling route connecting the popular Buffalo Bayou trails west of downtown to Discovery Green and points east.
The nearly three-quarter-mile path, from the edge of Sam Houston Park to the edge of Discovery Green, will be painted green and separated from the remaining three lanes of traffic by a barrier of striped plastic humps sometimes called “armadillos” or “zebras,” said Laura Spanjian, the city’s sustainability director.
Signals will be added at…

Manadas Creek Hike and Bike Trail

Lrd Sportswire


This added Phase-ID of Manadas Creek Hike and Bike Trail only enhances what North Central Park was designed to be for: a park to be enjoyed by the entire community for those wishing to utilize it for health benefits and for those who want to be able to enjoy the outdoor space and natural beauty of Laredo’s…

Border Crossing Cruise

Monday, Sep 1, 2014, 7:00 AM

River Run Plaza
1071 Country Club Rd El Paso, TX

5 Cyclists Went

7 a.m. Monday, Sept. 1: Meet at River Run Plaza for ride to Border Crossing, Strauss Road and then try out the new Penny’s Diner on Airport Road. Return via Artcraft and La Union. 45 miles, 17-19 mph. Randy Limbird,[masked]

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Dirt Skirts Labor Day Ride

Monday, Sep 1, 2014, 8:00 AM

Trinity Park
2401 S University Dr Fort Worth, TX

8 Participants Went

**Ladies only unless accompanied by one of the Dirt Skirts**Instead of spending your day off sitting on the couch come get on your bike with us for a FUN ride on the Fort Worth Branch Trinity Trail!I have never rode this trail but Brandy tells me part of the trail can be on pavement, the levee, and crushed limestone.We are looking at doing a 30 …

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PBA’s Newest Centurions!

Plano Bicycle Association


Congratulations to our newest Centurions! And they got that way at the 2014 HHH. Too cool! I mean hot!

The Last Tuesday Of August Mud Rutting In Gateway Park Before Treasure Hunting At Town Talk

Durango Texas


Til today it had been over two weeks since I last rolled my bike’s wheels in Fort Worth’s Gateway Park, Monday, August 11, to be precise, fifteen days ago.
Til today it had been even longer since I’d gone treasure hunting at Town Talk, with the last Town Talk treasure hunting taking place on Saturday, August 2.
Today’s bike ride went well. I had some concern that the heat would be too HOT.  But, the majority of the Gateway Park mountain bike trail is under a good cover of shade, with only one extended, out in the open, with no shade, section, that being…

Challenge Yourself in September!

Longview Bicycle Club

Cash prizes for top 3 finishers in each category
It’s September, school is back and the weather is starting cool off (into lower 90’s anyway). Longview Bicycle Club wants to challenge its members to ride hard this month, either on the road or the trails. It’s easy to join the challenge, …

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

Event Reminder

A Slip and A Loose Quick Release

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I surpassed my August goal riding to Huffman today. As I turned onto Fairlake Drive from FM1960 my Garmin 510 showed 17.17 miles, enough to hit 845 miles. I now have a few more days to add to that total. The total miles for today was 32.64 at a 15.4 mph average speed. August miles now total 861.59. With 2 rides so far this week I have 65.45 miles. Year to date I biked 5074 miles.

The heat did not feel so intense today even though the ride began at 11:20 and finished at 2:04. It was 92 and 93 when I finished. The wind may have played a part in this coming from the NE at 15 mph with 18 mph gusts. When I rode into the wind I bogged down which accounts for the lower average speed. Partly cloudy skies shielded me from the sun some. Sun screen is still necessary. When I stopped at the Huffman Chevron it felt cooler sitting in the shade, almost fall like.

An unusual thing happened when I turned from Old Atascocita Road onto FM2100. I ran over the round metal blade from a screwdriver (the handle portion was gone) and my rear wheel slipped as I moved forward. I didn’t think too much about it until I got to FM2100 where I had to wait for a slow freight train to pass. Because of the traffic backup I turned right onto FM1960, went a couple of hundred yards and then made a u-turn to go west. The traffic light was red and when it changed I started pedaling but the rear wheel started rubbing the frame and I couldn’t go very fast. I slowly rode to the Chevron station and pulled up to one of the pumps. Reaching down to the rear tire it was loose in the dropouts. I checked the quick release and it was very loose. I tightened the quick release and everything was okay. My theory is the rear wheel slipping on the round metal some how caused the quick release to loosen. No problems riding home from there.

With the slow freight train passing through Huffman I figured the Tuesday Amtrak train to New Orleans would take a different route but at 1:11 I heard the distinctive whistle of the Amtrak engines and 6 or 7 cars passed while I was taking a break at the Chevron station.

Going west the wind was much more helpful. I kept a 20+ speed over Lake Houston which helped make some of the time I lost battling the wind earlier. I slowed some riding on Atascocita Shores Drive. That street is pretty rough and uneven for being concrete. It has been patched numerous times and the seams make for an uncomfortable ride if I forget to raise up from the saddle when I go over them.

After today’s ride the Stradalli RP-14 has been ridden 4039 miles. While I was biking I decided it was time to clean the chain and apply the WD40 Dry Chain Lube I bought at the HH100 expo. The Chain-L No. 5 is a good lubricant but it is very messy. It must have carbon black in or something. If I touch or get near the chain I get a black smudge and the frame has a number of black marks from the Chain-L too. I got home and pulled out the Simple Green cleaner knowing it would take some strong degreaser to get rid of the Chain-L. I want to test the WD40 chain lube before I replace the chain in the next few days. My usual lube is hot paraffin wax. Maybe the WD40 dry lube will be as good or better.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Today’s route
Ride Metrics
Ride Metrics Graphs
Home Weather Start
Huffman Weather
Home Weather Finish
Comparison of other rides on this route
Week to date
August to date
Year to Date

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.