11 Miles Into the Wind

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I wanted to leave before 9 AM this morning to get a jump on the heat but I couldn’t get out the door and down the driveway until 9:30. By then it was already 83 degrees. The weather was great for biking with scattered clouds and a light breeze.

This needed to be a longer ride so I went north along US59 to SR242. The ride went well until turning west on SR242. For the 11 miles on SR242 I was riding into the wind. My speed bogged down to 14.5 to 15.5 mph. There are some rolling hills around Fire Tower Road and I slowed down going up the hills. I took a quick stop at the Shell station at FM1485 and SR242 to get some ice to carry me to the Stripes station on FM1314.

Once I reached FM1314 the wind moved to my right rear quarter and I picked up speed to the Stripes station. After passing Gene Campbell Road going to Porter I shifted into the big front ring and sped up to almost 25 mph for a few miles. The Garmin Edge 510 recorded an interval change and when I looked down the interval I just completed took 15:33. This is about 2 minutes faster than normal. Unless I am going downhill 25 mph is a rarity.

The stop at Stripes was about 35 minutes long as I enjoyed the shade, snack and cold drink. This was at the 37.75 mile point. The total ride distance was 48.57 miles and I averaged 16.2 mph.

The Houston Chronicle had an article this morning about the Grand Parkway construction. The land clearing is going on along the corridor between I-45 and US59. Many changes are expected once the construction is complete with housing and commercial. Houston is booming. I hope we don’t overcook it. Many of the subdivisions I bike through have a number of homes under construction as well. The logging and clearing north of FM1314 is making progress. The land is now more clear than wooded. I was passed by one logging truck full of logs on FM1314 and a couple passed me on SR242 that were empty.

Mileage standings:

  • 48.57 miles this week
  • 769.32 miles for July (53 miles over my goal)
  • 4144 miles year to date

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Digest July 27th

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3 things I prefer about cycling in Austin, Texas

By Andreas        www.londoncyclist.co.uk


For a gallon of petrol (3.785411784 litres – give or take) in Austin, Texas you pay £1.96. In the UK, we would pay £4.96. With such bargain fuel prices, why ride a bike or walk?
For me the answer was two-fold: Necessity and a love of cycling.
I was in Austin, Texas for a couple of months at the start of this year for work, and I needed to get around. I didn’t particularly want to rent a car for two months and I certainly couldn’t buy one.
Therefore, the bike was the best option.
Also, I don’t know if you can tell this, but I love cycling. I thought it would be the perfect way to get to know Austin.
But less about me, and more about Austin.
1. You can ride on the pavement
Outside of the busy downtown area, you are free to ride on the pavement. This instantly creates a huge network of cycle paths that are physically separated from traffic. With…

Official GHORBA Group Ride At Warda

GHORBA.org

Join GHORBA’s recently appointed official ride coordinator, Gabriela Tamez, at Warda for a funtastic no-drop ride.  Non-alchoholic resfreshments and snacks will be provided.
We’re meeting at the trailhead at 9am on 8/9/2014

Mid-summer Adjustments

Bike Noob

Summer is not shaking out the way I’d planned. I’m worked roughly half days, in the mornings, and was looking forward to doing some regular riding when I got home in the afternoon.
But afternoons in Central Texas are ridiculously hot right now, and the thought of getting out on the bike when it’s 98 degrees (37C) is unappealing.
So I was glad to get Friday morning off and hit the road for the club’s weekly ride to the zoo.
What I didn’t realize is that the turnout for the ride is made up of A riders. I guess the B’s are all working or don’t want to try to keep up with the fast guys.
After about three miles, it became apparent that I would not be keeping up with them, either. I was way off the back. Luckily, I had company. My friend Rick, who had just returned from a week in…

Focusing on bicycle safety

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Preventing Two-Wheeled Tragedies: The Mistakes We All Make
In the warmer summer months, more people are out bicycling—for exercise, recreation, or to run errands, commute to work, or conserve energy. From 2000 to 2012, the number of Americans traveling to work by bicycle increased from…

TxDOT seeks public input on long-range transportation plan

By Sarah Rafique        lubbockonline.com

Public invited to meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday
The Texas Department of Transportation is stopping in Lubbock Thursday as part of a series of 25 statewide public meetings to welcome citizens’ feedback on a long-range plan for the state’s future transportation needs.
The meeting will be from 5:30 to 7: 30 p.m. Thursday at the Lubbock TxDOT District Office Training Center, at 135 Slaton Road.
During the meeting, residents can ask questions and provide written comments on the direction of the plan, which is scheduled to be completed and ready for public hearing and adoption by the Texas Transportation Commission this fall.
The Texas Transportation Plan 2040 will define TxDOT’s long-range goals for all transportation modes — roadways, transit, rail, ports, aviation, pedestrian, bicycle…

Team USA earns three silver medals as BMX Worlds conclude with Supercross finals

www.usacycling.org


Rotterdam, Netherlands (July 27, 2014) – Team USA Cycling collected three more silver medals as the 2014 UCI BMX World Championships concluded on Sunday with the Supercross finals.
Shealen Reno (Plano, Texas/Hyper Bicycles) and Sean Gaian (Santee, Calif./GT Bicycles) placed second in the junior races while Alise Post (St. Cloud, Minn./Redline) raced to silver in the elite women’s contest.
After five days of competing in Rotterdam, Team USA tallied…

dfwbike social ride group picture. Thanks to all who came out!

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2 laps around the lake and cold drinks

Thursday, Jul 31, 2014, 6:30 PM

Dallas Bike Works
4875 W Lawther Dr Dallas, TX

23 Members Went

Pending clear weather – a couple of longer laps around White Rock Lake (distance = about 22 miles) at a 15 mph pace followed by dinner and/or drinks at The Lakehouse.Advanced/Cardio ride (15 mph pace) 1 lap in 40 minutes.This is a drop ride – if you choose to ride slower, you can ride on your own and we’ll be happy to see you at the restaurant f…

Check out this Meetup →

New CC Cycle Club Kits are here!

Corpus Christi Cycle Club

Third Thursday Time Trial Series Race 6

West Texas Cycling Association

Date: August 14, 2014
Location: Lubbock, TX
Contact: Brian Alger
Details: DATE CHANGE: AUGUST 14, 2014. Chapparal Cycling Club, as a part of the West Texas Cycling Association, will be hosting the 2014 Third Thursday Time Trial series. We will be looking for a few volunteers to help at each event as the series can not happen without you. No experience necessary. Meet at the intersection of CR7300 & CR3600 (Horseshoe Bend) at 6:00pm. Race starts at 6:30pm. The course is an 11 mile counterclockwise circuit heading east on CR7300, then north on CR3860, then west on CR6950 and finally south on CR3700 back to the start.

One year ago on Texbiker.net July 27th 2013

  • Eight national titles awarded at Juniors Track Nationals on Friday
  • Biketown owner MacDonald expecting another successful Tour de Gap
  • Tour de Cure – DFW
  • Sterling grad to bike across west: Personal impact drives Shaver to ride for research
  • Frisco girl dies after falling off bicycle on off-road trail at park

 

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

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https://twitter.com/IamWillPowers/status/493256362114433024

Event Reminders

Texas Bicycling News Digest July 26th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bike rally rides again

By David Talley        www.wcmessenger.com


BIKING FOR A CAUSE – Kelly Myers (left), assistant general manager of Wise Electric Cooperative, and Fabio LaBrada, founder of Raquel’s Wings for Life, gear up for next weekend’s Eighter From Decatur Bike Rally. Messenger Photo by Joe Duty
Cyclists from across North Texas will sweep through the roads of Wise County’s Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands Saturday, Aug. 2, as part of the Eighter From Decatur Bike Rally.
Biking for a Cause
The second annual event, sponsored by Wise Electric Cooperative and First Financial Bank, offers a course that winds through up to 55 miles of rolling hills between Decatur, Alvord, Forestburg and Greenwood.
Entry fees for the rally will benefit Raquel’s Wings for Life, a locally-based charity that flies cancer patients to a medical center of…

Perplexed By Caution In Fort Worth’s Gateway Park Before Town Talking

Durango Texas


With the temperature nearing 100 it was HOT enough today for me to return to Gateway Park to roll my wheels on the mountain bike trails for the first time since we got rained on and muddied here in usually quite dry North Texas.
On Thursday when I drove past Riscky’s BBQ in the Fort Worth Stockyards I saw that misters had been added to the outdoor eating zone.
I don’t think I’ve been to Riscky’s BBQ in the Stockyards since way back in January of 2009, with my mom and…

Bike Austin’s Hottest Day of the Year Ride Aug 9

Bicycle Austin

Riding a bicycle in the Texas heat gets a bad rap!  Pessimists predict spontaneous combustion for the outdoor recreationist upon contact with the afternoon sun, or warn of an unattractive transformation into a sweaty puddle of bad hair and permanent shirt stains after the mildest of exertions.
In contrast to the disbelievers, we at Bike Austin believe that being outside in the heat is no big deal, and we want to show the world that anyone can ride a bike on the Hottest Day of the Year. With proper clothing, hydration, and an open mind, we believe going by bike to the park, to the pool, a cafe, or for ice cream (esp. for ice cream) is completely do-able, fun, and preferable for cyclists at all levels.  No training needed.
Please mark your calendars for the Hottest Day of the Year Ride and Benefit Party and save your spot here: …

 

One year ago on Texbiker.net

  • a cyclist lost his life during a ride at the Anthills yesterday evening
  • Superdrome Points Series, canceled
  • Thursday Ride at Walnut Creek – Beginner/intermediate ride level

 

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/kmitzig/status/493055803113619456

https://twitter.com/BSS_Road_Club/status/493088214409019393

https://twitter.com/thejurgy/status/493083531548307458

https://twitter.com/Philintegra/status/493059351146295297

North Extremes of Lake Houston and San Jacinto River

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Needing 40 miles to reach my mileage goal for July I decided to ride the “New Caney – FM1485 E – Huffman” route around the northern extremes of Lake Houston and the San Jacinto River. I ended up biking 45.22 miles. This put me 4.75 miles over my goal. I started somewhat earlier than usual leaving home at 9:18. The weather was compatible with biking when I started: 82 degrees, scattered clouds and a light SW breeze. The last time I rode this general route was June 21st. That ride was a little shorter by a half mile. This route is one of the few with no duplication; I like that.

Returning home at 12:58 the temperature had increased to 95, humidity was 57%, scattered clouds and a 10 mph SW wind. I tolerated the weather pretty well but the last 11 miles home was into the wind until I turned north into Atascocita and my pedaling bogged down whenever I was out in the open. I stopped at the Huffman Chevron (can’t resist this place if I go to Huffman) for about 30 minutes to eat a couple of trail mix bars and rehydrate. Sitting under the pump canopy the SW breeze felt nice as I cooled down and dried off. Today I did not avoid getting sweat on my glasses. I was in the Commons of Lake Houston when that happened. This is really not that big of a deal except my sight is blurred until it runs off and drys. The Headsweats headband did good other than that. I almost wore one of the tube scarfs and the headband but it felt too bulky to fit under my helmet’s headband. When I was at the Chevron there was a motorcycle couple resting and it looked like they were wearing the $19.95 As-Seen-On-TV scarfs. I almost asked them if they were those scarfs but they were talking to another man.

On this route there is a 2 mile section on FM2100 where there is no shoulder. This concerns me but today only 5 vehicles passed me in that section going my direction. The first one turned on his flashers while slowing down to pass me. I thought that was nice. One of the 5 was a motorcycle so that shouldn’t really count.

Mileage standings:

  • 227.16 miles for the week
  • 720.75 miles for July (4.75 miles over my goal)
  • 4096 miles for the year to date

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Sunday’s weather should be a repeat of today. I have biked 12 days in a row so I may take a break especially since I have reached July’s goal.