Texas Bicycle News and Blog Digest August 20th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Seventeen national champions crowned on day one of Masters Track Nationals

www.usacycling.org

Redmond, Wash. (August 19, 2014) – Seventeen Stars-and-Stripes jerseys were awarded on Tuesday as the 2014 USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships got underway at the Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond, Wash. …
Women 45-49 Individual Pursuit
1.      Jane Evely (Carnation, Wash.)           Kenmore Velo       2:46.970
2.      Neva Day (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)      South Bay Wheelmen Foundation       2:48.269
3.      Kelly Grant (HOUSTON)                   Northwest Cycling Club       2:51.604 …

Exploring the Rio Grande Valley on a Bike

by Ray Garza        rgvcycling.com

Cycling this year has been different for me. Aside from the usual bike routes, I have started to venture out and explore the Valley on my bike. It started when I passed up a road that I’ve never been on that was going through resurfacing. Passing it several times on my outings I always wondered where it led to. I knew it was in the general vicinity of a 900 year old tree but I never knew exactly where it was. It wasn’t until one day, when I was doing my usual route, that I noticed that the road was finished and open to traffic. On the way back I decided to make that turn and go look for that old tree. It was then that I began exploring the Rio Grande Valley on my bike.
So far it has been fun riding places to check things out. Sometimes I go by myself and other times I create an event on Facebook and invite others to join me. Many cyclists go out riding for either speed or distance. They get their workout in and hang up the bike until…

Annual XC Racing Clinic

Saturday, Aug 30, 2014, 9:00 AM

Boulder Park
6600 Pastor Bailey Dr. Dallas, TX

37 Participants Went

2013 Cat 1 National Champion, Jessica Rawlins, and her husband Tim Rawlins (Cat[masked]) have volunteered to host this years annual XC racing clinic!It will cover all aspects of cross country mountain bike racing for beginners and will be open to any questions you may have!This clinic is open to everyone and there is no charge.Day of waivers are…

Check out this Meetup →

St Ed’s hill repeats

Tuesday, Aug 26, 2014, 6:30 PM

St Edwards Park
7301 Spicewood Springs Rd. Austin, TX

6 Mountain Bikers Went

Hill repeats hosted by 512-Racing. Must have helmet, water, and appropriate tools to address any minor issues. This will be a self paced no drop ride. We will ride up and meet at the top and ride down and meet at the bottom. My name is Justin, I will be in a 512-Racing kit with yellow shoes and helmet.

Check out this Meetup →

Erwin Park MCDC Grant Work Day

Saturday, Aug 23, 2014, 7:30 AM

Erwin Park
4300 County Road 1006 McKinney , TX

8 Participants Went

What: Erwin Park Workday EventWhen: Saturday, August 23 from 7:30AM to 11:30AMWhere: Erwin Park, meet in the upper parking lotWhat do I need to bring: Gloves and comfortable clothesWhat will we be doing: A full trail reroute in the North field as well as reclaiming the old trail. We will be using $2000 worth of new tools from the MCDC Grant.We…

Check out this Meetup →

Sister Grove picnic and night ride Aug 23

Saturday, Aug 23, 2014, 7:00 PM

Sister Grove Park
County Road 562 Princeton, TX

3 Participants Went

A repeat of our successful first SG BBQ and Night Ride event. Not sure what the food will be, but probably something easy like deli sandwiches. Also posted in Greenville Texas Bicycle Transportation.

Check out this Meetup →

City Park Slow Pace Intermediate-Level Ride

Tuesday, Aug 26, 2014, 6:00 PM

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

4 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…

Check out this Meetup →

6:00 Mesquite Moderate

Greater Dallas Bicyclists

When:     Tuesday, Sep 9, 2014, 6:00 PM
Where:     Poteet High School
3300 Poteet Drive
Mesquite, TX  75150
Category:     GDB Mesquite Moderate Ride
Registration:     Not Required
The ride leaves from the Poteet HS parking lot (park in NW corner) at the corner of Galloway & Americana.
Distance: 20+
Pace: 16-17 mph
Hills: Some
Breaks: 0
Drops: No
Leader: Paul Brown
Contact: Paul Brown
Tuesday ride with a 6PM rollout, no drop, typical rolling pace 16-17 mph, group-dependent.  We’ll do whatever mileage daylight lets us get in.  Lights not required, but…

Cycling tour: 4th annual Oryx Challenge benefits USO El Paso

By Victor R. Martinez / El Paso Times


Marc Cattapan, the adaptive sports coordinator for the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Bliss, knows the psychological benefits of cycling.
“A lot of the guys who come back with PTSD have anxiety-related issues and the deep breathing from cycling is actually very beneficial,” he said. “It increases the amount of oxygen in their system and getting a good breathing rhythm during and after the ride helps relax the body and the mind.”
Which is why Cattapan is excited about having some of the soldiers in the program take part in the USO El Paso’s 4th Annual Oryx Challenge Bike Tour on Sept. 14 starting and ending at…

Tweets

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/502264063313711105

https://twitter.com/BSS_Road_Club/status/502250545466580993

https://twitter.com/bikenoob/status/502199487180587008

Event Reminder

Thunder and Lightning Near the Ride’s End

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After riding to Huffman yesterday I was off to the north for today’s ride on the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route. I got started before 10AM again leaving home at 9:55. I could see some darker clouds to the southeast so I was glad to ride north. We are under another heat advisory today with the heat index over 100 to 110. When I started the temperature was 91 at my home weather station and the heat index was 112 already. I am not a weather geek but I think the heat index is derived from the temperature and dew point.

In order to get 34+ miles I added a few extra streets to the beginning going through Sherwood Trails and Elm Grove villages. Riding through Woodridge Forest past the new middle school the workers were putting the final touches on the outside. Students are supposed to arrive on September 2nd. A number of houses are under construction in Woodridge Forest with concrete trucks pouring foundations and driveways.

Exiting Adams Street and on to the US59 north service road I had some help from a slight tailwind. On the service road to Porter and then Loop 494 to New Caney I also took advantage of the tailwind. I was able to make up some time to get my average speed above 15 mph. When I turned onto FM1485 the wind was still somewhat favorable so I was wondering if I would have a headwind during the ride. I didn’t have to worry. On FM1314 riding to Porter the wind was in my face but I still was able to keep my speed up to 17 or 18 mph. Over the 35.89 mile long route I averaged 15.4 mph.

On FM1314 east of Ferne Street I stopped and took a few pictures of the Grand Parkway right away clearing work.

Looking northeast from FM1314
Looking west from FM1314
Looking northeast from FM1314
Looking west from FM1314

I stopped at the Stripes station on FM1314 west of Porter to drink and eat. While I was resting I saw the sky was dark to the east. At one point I saw a bolt of lightning off in the distance and hear thunder. Checking my phone I saw the dark rain cloud was east and north of Porter and I could bike home without getting in it. I shortened my stay at Stripes a little to lessen the chance of riding in the rain. The sun was out as I rode through Briar Tree and Oakhurst. When I got to the Kingwood Drive u-turn under US59 I glanced at the sky to the east.  It was dark and I hoped it was further east from my home. As I went through Kingwood to home the streets were dry until I turned onto my street. I could see the damp pavement near the gutter but the rest of the street was dry. Pulling into my driveway I saw the low spot was wet up by the garage but other than sweat the rain did not happen. My home weather station showed .02″ of rain. The temperature was 88 degrees which was a little below what it was at the start.

Saturday forecast for the HHH in Wichita Falls: 102 degrees and clear sky. Wind is 10 mph from the south. This will make the last 25 miles tough.

Where I stand:

  • 111.33 miles for the week
  • 692.35 miles for the month (153 miles left to reach my 845 mile goal)
  • 4905 miles year to date

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

Ride Route
Ride metrics
Metrics charts
Home weather at the beginning
Porter weather
Home weather at the finish
Week to date
August to date
year to date

 

Texas Bicycling News Digest August 19th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

24 states, 53 cities: Protected bike lanes have become as American as pizza

by Michael Andersen, Green Lane Project staff writer        www.peopleforbikes.org


The American bike-lane design revolution keeps rolling.
Seven years ago, protected bike lanes were one of two things in the United States: a relic of the pre-Watergate 70s or one of those crazy things they do in Europe and China (or maybe in Quebec — close enough).
Today, there’s no question: protected bike lanes have become as American as the California roll, the…

A Dandy Rest Stop

Bike Noob


Our Sunday club ride was going to head to Kyle, but when I arrived at the start, I found out there would be a small change.
“I have to pick up something from my office,” said Maggie, who works at the hospital in Kyle. “You don’t mind a little detour, do you?”
“Not at all,” I said, figuring that any variation from our usual routes would be a nice change.
Four of us B riders headed out toward Kyle (“The Second Largest City in Hays County,” according to its website) on a route that took us through Buda and out on a nice no-traffic rural road for a few miles. Then we…

MTB Time Trial 5

San Angelo Bicycle Association

Date(s) – 08/21/2014
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: SA State Park Playground
The mountain bike time trials are held at the San Angelo State Park. The park entrance fee is $3/person unless you have a State Park Pass. The course is approximately six miles of single track, with short sections of jeep roads and park roads.
Directions from San Angelo: Take Avenue N/Arden Road west. Turn right on FM 2288. Enter at the South Shore entrance. Continue straight into the park. Parking is near the…

Tweets

Event Reminders

Red Silicone Case

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Yesterday I received the new silicone case for the Garmin Edge 510. I ordered a black one to replace the red one I got with the 510. I knew the red one had faded some form the sun but I didn’t realize how much until I took it off and looked at the inside. The bright red inside was a big contrast to the pale pink exterior. This shows what exposure to all that sun can do. I wonder how my skin and bike cloths fare? The black case looks nice and crisp. I chose black thinking it wouldn’t fade as much. time will tell.

Today I rode an extended “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route. I added some extra streets at the beginning in Elm Grove and Sherwood Trails villages in Kingwood. Later after the usual stop at the Huffman Chevron I rode north on FM2100 to Smith Road rather than the typical FM1960 route. So today I biked 34.79 miles which is about 2 miles more than the typical route to Huffman. My average speed of 15.0 mph was below what it should’ve been thanks to the strong wind from the SW. I didn’t know this until I got home and saw the 10 mph wind was also gusting to 23 mph. This explains the struggle riding west over Lake Houston. Normally this section is where I make up some time to improve the average speed. I was working hard to stay at 14 mph with an occasional burst to 15 mph. Once I made the turn onto Atascocita Shores the wind wasn’t so much coming at me and I sped up some. I could hear some thunder while I riding over Lake Houston towards home and the clouds behind me looked darker. When I left FM1960 I didn’t hear the thunder again until I got home. While I am writing this the sky has clouded up more and the thunder is back but no rain yet.

Earlier as I was biking south on Fairlake Drive I heard a train whistle. At the time I figured it would be past the crossing on Old Atascocita Road but when I reached the turn to Old Atascocita Road I could see the train was moving slowly over the road. I rode up behind a pickup truck and stopped. The sun and heat were cooking and as I waited the perspiration was making a wet spot below my right elbow on the asphalt. I was almost out of water in my water bottle because I didn’t stop at the Chevron at Atascocita Shores Drive on the west side of Lake Houston. I held off drinking all of my water to wait until I got to FM2100. The train seemed to take 10 minutes to slowly move through. A couple of times the railcars made the loud noise when a train slows and speeds up. I was thinking if it stopped on the crossing I might have to go back to FM1960 and then to Huffman.

The rest stop at the Huffman Chevron took about 30 minutes. During the stop I cooled down sitting under the canopy eating and drinking. The wind helped cool me. The paper towels and Greensheet were extra wet when I stood up to throw them away as I got ready to ride again. While I was sitting I saw many Jeeps of different colors and models. I am not sure why I was attuned to them today other than we own two of them. One white Wrangler Unlimited went past with some lumber sticking out the back window. I think the various modifications people do to their Jeep catches my eye too.

Another day closer to the Hotter’N Hell Hundred Saturday. The forecast still shows 102 degrees but now it will be partly cloudy.

Mileage:

  • 75.44 miles for the week
  • 656.47 miles for August (189 miles to reach my August goal)
  • 4869 miles year to date

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

Today’s route
Ride metrics
Metrics graphs
Home Weather at the the start
Huffman weather
Home Weather at the end
Week to date metrics
August to date metrics
Year to date