Texas Bicycling News and Blog Digest August 1st

Texbiker.net Posted on by

SA Retro Rigids

Bike Rat        www.bikeforums.net

What?! That’s right, dust off your retro rigids for a vintage trail ride. Whether just for fun or to regain lost skills, join other 26″ rigids for a bucking good time.
If you’re interested, reply to this post so we can schedule a ride.
For what it’s worth, I only…

“Why do so many cycle tourists feel the need to “ride for charity”?”

by MickeyFinns        www.reddit.com

I saw this post at the top this morning and wanted to respond as obviously the overwhelming negativity in the thread affects me quite personally. I was going to reply within the original thread but it has become quite a bit of a mess.
I’ll start by saying that I am in the middle of a tour and that I am raising funds for a charity. Before doing this tour I was on the side of the fence that thought “What has touring got to do with raising money for charity? What is the link?”. I had no intentions of fundraising during my trip and I was actively against the idea whilst I was planning it.
As my departure date rolled in some personal circumstances brought a charity to mind and a friend raised the question of fundraising. Whilst I was quietly not fond of the idea I recognised the reality that using attention grabbing trips to fundraise ultimately works. I committed myself to regular blog posts and online updates to keep…

APD Tries to Ditch Its Anti-Bike Rep

by Brandon Mulder        www.austinpost.org

In decades past, APD officers gained a reputation among cyclist groups for having an anti-bike bias when it came to issuing traffic citations. Cyclists have charged the department with not recognizing bikes’ equal right to the road and for not penalizing drivers adequately in car-bike incidents. But even if some tension remains, both bike advocates and APD are now reporting progress.
“Law enforcement all across North America has often been slow to recognize bicycle riders as legitimate road users,” said Leslie Luciano of Bike Texas, the statewide advocacy group representing cyclists’ interest in the state legislature. However, Luciano credits APD for having…

August Bike Event Roundup

by Brandon Mulder        www.austinpost.org

“We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna be free to ride. We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man! … And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time. And that’s what we are gonna do. We are gonna have a good time… We are gonna have a party.”
–Heavenly Blues in The Wild Angels, via Thursday Night Social Ride
Weekly Rides:
Bikin’ Betties: This Monday evening social ride is for women only. Rides range from 8 to 20 miles through a unique route every week, and the events usually…

Texas Gold Sprint ‘em

Words and photos : Nicole Ortega        texasbikeracing.com


There are few things I admire more in a person than an entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to walk the path less taken. To see an individual find his or her own niche and make it known is truly captivating, especially in the cycling world.
I first was acquainted with Cisco Nira at an Austin Bike Polo fundraiser called “LingerRace Vol. 3” in April of 2013. I was photographing the event and he was hosting the sprints. We then realized we’d be at the same event in Houston a week later! The energy that is emitted from the crowd as they cheer for…

Out-of-town organization helps with local Habitat for Humanity home

by Chelsea Goss        www.connectamarillo.com

MARILLO, TX — Bike & Build is a Philadelphia-based organization that has young adults between the ages of 18-25 biking across the country and making stops along the way to help with affordable housing projects nationwide.
One of the Bike & Build groups that began in Portland, Maine and is ending up in Santa Barbara, California made a stop in Amarillo to help with Amarillo’s Habitat for Humanity 100th home. The group has already put in 2,396 to arrive in the Panhandle and spent a day and a half working on the new home.
“On this particular house, it’s really unique for us, 33 is a huge number… normally when we build we’re on…

CYCLOCROSS UNIVERSITY 2014

Team San Angelo

Aug 6 – Sept 24
Want to improve your chances at winning one of these? If so, you need to earn your Mud and Cowbells certification by attending this free eight week series of workouts that combines cyclocross theory, demonstrations, and tires-on-the-dirt lab exercises. You will be a stronger and more skilled cyclist after completing these group workouts.
Presented by Team San Angelo in conjunction with the San Angelo Team Red White Blue community
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM Aug 6 – Sept 24, next to the middle restroom in Middle Concho Park in San Angelo.  After entering the park’s front gate, turn right and follow the paved road for about 1/2 mile.
Course prerequisites: …

The Racing Post – August Issue

August Newsletter Published

Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts

The August 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
Tour Across Idaho
More Ride Leaders Needed!
News From DATES Members
Save The Date – DATES Annual Meeting
Ride Reports
Round and Round the Lake Ride
4th of July Ride, Cook-Out and Swim
The Bottle, A Short Story
DATES Rides & Activities

One year ago on Texbiker.net August 1st 2013

  • 2013 Specialized Roubaix Elite Apex Compact after one week
  • In memory of Dale T, a fellow Dailymiler
  • Fort Worth Bike Sharing wins grant to expand network, add bikes
  • Walnut Creek Workday
  • Downtown launches program to help businesses install more bike racks
  • Cyclists to ride for UMC cancer funding
  • Mountain biking trails open at Buescher
  • 2013 Masters Track Nationals day two recap

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/BikeMSValero/status/495228460454141953

Event Reminders

Aftermath of a Rain Storm

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Late last night a severe rain and thunderstorm moved through our area. Today when I rode north I saw the aftermath of the heavy rain. I saw tree debris on the streets and some places had dirt washed out into the middle of the street. A personal weather station a couple of miles from me recorded 8.14″ of rain. The first flooding I ran into was on Knox Street just west of Loop 494. This is the street I use to go to US59 but I had to take a detour to the next street to the south. As I was riding north on the service road I could see more streets with water over parts of them. The drainage ditches were full as well.

The sky was cloudy making me think more rain was possible but none fell during the ride. It felt like a fall day with the temperature at 79 when I started the ride at 10:47. With the perspiration I was actually chilly at times when the breeze kicked up. When I stopped at the Stripes station on FM1314 though the sweat was flowing heavily. The light breeze was from the WNW at 6 mph. By the time I got home at 1:47 the temperature had moved to 84 with 68% humidity.

Biking what I call the “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route was 36.54 miles long. As I left the house I forgot to go on the streets I use to add distance to the exit out of Kingwood on Adams Street but I corrected some of this by changing the streets in Sherwood Trails Village before getting to Woodridge Forest. I had to ride around some fallen tree limbs along the route. When I passed by the Grand Parkway clearing work site on FM1314 there was no activity. I could see standing water in the cleared area.

I stopped at the Stripes store on FM1314 as I rode to the southeast toward Porter. I got a handful of paper towels at the pumps and rode to the front of the store. When I am Stripes around lunch time I usually exchange hellos with a man who comes on a Harley-Davidson. Today he was sitting on the soft drinks stacked outside in the shade. He asked if I got caught in the rain yesterday afternoon and I replied that I didn’t but rode on wet streets. Then we talked about last night’s storm. He lives in Plantation Estates not too far from Stripes. He said during the storm he couldn’t see his garage which is 60 feet from his house because of the rain. Later at 2:30 this morning he drove to Stripes to see what had happened. Streets were flooded, sheriff deputies were out directing traffic around flooded areas and tow trucks were pulling cars out high water. Electricity was off except at Stripes and Whataburger. The weather has moved offshore but sometimes these sneak back and give us another dose.

With the cooler weather and light breeze at my back I was able to use the big chain ring when I was headed to Porter on FM1314. Interval 5 shows 19.4 mph as the average speed. I need to do this more often. Overall I averaged 16.0 mph.

My mileage goal for August will be the same as what I rode in August 2013: 845 miles.

Weather for Saturday looks favorable for biking: 88 degrees, partly cloudy and a low chance of rain.

Standings after today’s ride:

  • 153.23 miles for the week
  • 36.54 miles for August
  • 4249 miles for the year

[wppa type=”slide” album=”380″ size=”auto”]Any comment[/wppa]

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS

 

Texas Bicycle News Digest July 31st

Texbiker.net Posted on by

2014 Scholastic Mountain Bike Series: The 5th Annual

Texas High School Cycling League

Fun competition for middle school and high school students of all abilities – from first timers to elite experts – representing their schools in competitive and fun races.
In 2014 we are continuing our partnership with TMBRA (Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association).   Every TMBRA fall race in the state of Texas will be part of our official scholastic race series.  Once again student racers will be able to compete in both the TMBRA series and our Texas High School Cycling League competition at the same…

Wednesday Night Ride

Wednesday, Aug 6, 2014, 5:45 PM

River Run Plaza
1071 Country Club Rd El Paso, TX

2 Cyclists Went

These are leaderless rides of 17-25 miles leaving from River Run Plaza 1071 Country Club Road.Ride options vary — most involve going up Upper Valley to Borderland to Strahan to Bosque Rd to Vinton Road. Various options include taking N. Vinton to Westside Dr. to Washington to Gadsden High, then returning on Hwy 28 (note: recent chip-seal paving …

Check out this Meetup →

South Texas town turns drug path into bike trail

www.valleymorningstar.com

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas (AP) — Officials in a Texas border city have repurposed a suspected drug and human trafficking path as a bike trail.
Rio Grande City Mayor Ruben Villarreal told KRGV-TV (http://bit.ly/1s5YQR1 ) on Wednesday he hopes the municipal bike path will help curb illegal activity.
The trail runs along the Rio Grande river less than…

The Post-Ride Nap

Bike Noob

It started a few years ago. I’d come home from a ride, especially one of our Sunday morning club events, shower, eat…and soon, I’d be on the bed, dead to the world.
My post-ride nap was a refreshing interlude.
Now, this from a guy who has never really napped in his life. I tend to sleep very little — maybe 5-6 hours overnight, and I can function just fine. If I ever did feel tired during the day and I made an effort to take a…

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

Event Reminders

One year ago on Texbiker.net July 31st 2013

  • Longview law firm fights brain injuries through bicycle helmets
  • Texas A&M Transportation Institute kicks off “Share the Road, Texas” campaign
  • 10 New Fort Worth Bike-Share Stations Roll Ahead
  • Fourteen riders selected to represent USA at Juniors Track Worlds
  • Car users would prefer separated bike lanes too, study finds
  • BikeDFW Works To Teach Adults How To Ride Bicycles
  • Someone stole my grandpa’s old Schwinn 10-speed bicycle [$200 bounty]
  • Night Rider Family Bike Ride

Florescent Rims With A Pearl Coat

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After a trip to the Medical Center my wife and I stopped at Carls Jr. at Kingwood for lunch. The inside was like a freezer. When we finished we walked outside and just stood there for several minutes to thaw out. That is unusual for my wife who likes it cool. This set the scene for my late afternoon bike ride. Normally I leave in the morning when the weather is just getting started. Today the temperature was 94 when I left on the ride at 3:27. The sky had some clouds and the forecast said some afternoon showers were possible but I didn’t see anything to make me not bike.

With the late start a shorter ride was all I had time for. I rode a shorter version of my “Atascocita – Walden – Huffman” route totaling 30.57 miles. The average speed was 15.4 mph. When I was riding south on W. Lake Houston Parkway I found out the road reconstruction had moved over to the southbound lanes. Traffic was backed up to Kings River Drive. I managed to move across the left lane and into some side streets to get around the road work. This means for the next week or so I will need to change my route when I go to Huffman.

I stopped at the Huffman Chevron for a short rest, snack and drink before riding the last 11 miles home. While I was there a brand new Mustang pulled in. I should’ve taken a picture of it. The color was a deep pearl but what really stood out was the florescent orange rims and accents. They jumped off the pearl paint. The topper was the lady driving. She was wearing a dress that matched the florescent orange. She and the Mustang were one.

During the ride home from Huffman I felt a few rain drops when I was riding on Atascocita Shore Drive and Kings River Driver. Not many drops. When I reached Town Center in Kingwood the streets were slightly damp and north of Kingwood Drive it had rained heavily while I was gone. After reaching home at 6:00 I hosed down the Stradalli from the road spray. As I write this I can hear thunder in the background. The forecast says rain is possible Friday morning.

July biking came in above my 716 mile goal with a total of 837.44 miles for the month. I was too pessimistic on what I could do, I guess. Some other statistics for July:

  • biked 24 days out of 31 (I might have increased the riding days if we had not went to Florida for 4 days)
  • my average ride was 34.89 miles long
  • I rode a total of 53 hours and 5 minutes
  • my average speed was 15.8 mph
  • my longest ride was 48.57 miles
  • my shortest ride was 15.62 miles
  • my highest average speed was 16.4 mph

[wppa type=”slide” album=”379″ size=”auto”]Any comment[/wppa]

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS