Texas Bicycling News Digest July 19th

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New Feature at Texbiker.net

Now you can see the upcoming bicycling events on a map. In the menu at the top, mouse over the “Event Calendar” and you will see the link to “Upcoming Events Map”. Select this and a new page will appear with a map and pins for each event. Click on the map pin for the event details. The map can be moved with your mouse. Depending on your internet connection it may take 30 seconds for the events to be plotted on the map.

Cyclist clipped by truck: ‘I remember riding up the overpass and I don’t remember anything after that’

By Alex Osiadacz        www.wbtv.com


BULLARD, TX (KLTV) – A bicyclist was clipped by a vehicle while going over an overpass on Highway 69 in Bullard on Monday.
Bullard police say Mark Cathey, 57, of California, was riding on the northbound shoulder when a white Ford truck driven by 52-year-old Samuel Vercher, a Bullard resident, clipped Cathey. Vercher stopped and called 911. Cathey was taken to the hospital.
In the video from a camera mounted on the cyclist’s bike, the truck can be seen approaching from behind Cathey, before clipping him.
“I remember riding up the overpass and…

Rocky Hill Ranch Mountain Biking | Smithville, Texas

by Zane        blazeshack.com

Rocky Hill Ranch is one of the premiere mountain bike trails in Texas.  As you can see from the video posted below the first couple of miles are pretty much straight up hill. There is some fun sections in there, but it is a real leg burner. If you are close enough to make a day trip or weekend trip to this destination it is definitely worth the trip.

This Mechanic Is Making the Ultimate Commuter Bike for Everyone

By Mike Senese        makezine.com


If you’ve ever had to haul a 45-pound steel bike up and down the subway stairs, banged your knee on the handlebars because of a slipping chain, or smeared chain grease all over your slacks, you know (as I do) that bike commuting, as great as it is, can sometimes be a real pain. A reborn bike mechanic wants to fix those hassles with his unique two-wheeler that brings cutting-edge low-maintenance bike technology at an accessible-to-everyone price.
The project, called Priority Bikes, belongs to Dave Weiner, a New York-based software exec who realized he could no longer ignore his yearning for the…

Dirt Divas

by Bill Cullins        Team San Angelo


There’s a unique ladies group in San Angelo that meets on a regular basis for bike rides, trail runs, swim workouts, adventure races, paddling sessions in kayaks, after-workout yoga sessions and just about any other type of fitness activity you can think of.
You might spot some of the them riding the roads or trails in the State Park on Tuesday evenings, mountain biking at Middle Concho Park on Wednesday evenings, swimming around the buoys at the Lake Nasworthy swim beach, kayaking on local streams or competing in local bike, run, and multisport races.
Their ranks include housewives, business owners, veterans, nurses, fitness coaches, university
On any given day, the group will include all ability levels ranging from…

Water fountain Bike Ride

Sunday, Jul 27, 2014, 8:15 AM

Onion Creek Coffee House-area of Saturday Farmer’s Market
3106 White Oak Drive Houston, TX

6 Katy bicyclist fun riders Went

Meetup Message from:Joe Flores, Member ofKaty Bicycle fun ridersWater Fountain bike ride on Sunday July 27Onion Creek Coffee House-area of Saturday Farmer’s Market3106 White Oak Drive, Houston, TX (edit map)Look for us on the outside of Onion Creek CafeWater Fountain Bike RideLet”s check out the fountains of Houston!From the Height…

Check out this Meetup →

Tweets

https://twitter.com/VILLARREAL_14/status/490640920509837312

https://twitter.com/rodeubanks/status/490520199817596929

A Biking Route Waffle

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I waffled back and forth on today’s route. The reason is that US59 north bound is closed at FM1314 and I thought traffic would increase on Loop 494 as traffic tried to get around the closure at Community Drive and the Grand Parkway construction. I considered riding the grass farm route over by Huffman but after remembering the last US59 closure and the traffic I chose a north route. I wanted to get 40 miles or so but with a later start I knew I wouldn’t go too much farther.

Riding out of Kingwood through Woodridge Forest I then stayed on Loop 494 to New Caney. Loop 494 traffic started to get heavy when I reached FM1314 and stayed that way until FM1485 in New Caney. This wasn’t much of a problem since Loop 494 has a 4 foot shoulder most of the way. There was a dicey moment at the New Caney ISD bus barn stretch when a really wide load truck and trailer passed me. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic and the truck moved to the left around me. The cargo looked industrial but I am not sure what it was.

At FM1485 the traffic returned to normal as I rode to SR242. I turned left onto SR242 riding to the Old Houston Road traffic light. If I had time to ride longer I would stay on SR242 to FM1314 but I took the Old Houston Road south to FM1314. This road has little traffic. Reaching FM1314 it was a 7 mile ride to the Stripes station at FM1314 and Valley Ranch Parkway where I stopped about 25 minutes to dry off some, eat and rest. At that point I rode 29 miles with a little over 11 miles to home. While I was a Stripes another customer walked over asking if my bike was one of the expensive ones. I said yes and he then asked about riding on my narrow saddle. I told you can get use to it and he asked if it took several years to do that. I answered probably 4 or 5 months. I don’t think he believed me. He walked back to his big Chevy pickup with his two sons. They were friendly as they backed out.

The route totaled 40.26 miles which accomplished my goal and I got home by 2:45 after starting at 11:33. Average speed was 15.9 mph.

After all the rain we had this week and before, today’s weather was unusual for July. It was 80 degrees (97% humidity) when I started and 82 (96% humidity) when I finished. The sky was mostly cloudy and the sun did not have much of a chance to warm things up too much. With the perspiration and moving through the light breeze it felt like a fall day. A couple of times I thought a long sleeve jersey would be nice. A note on the humidity: this is from my home weather station. The IAH weather station humidity at the end was 70%.

Mile markers:

  • 159.19 miles this week
  • 466.26 miles for July (250 miles left to reach July’s goal)
  • 3841 miles for the year

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.

Tomorrow’s forecast: 93 degrees, 40% chance of rain. I should bike after church. Another opportunity to get wet. Monday and Tuesday could be warmer and dry.

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Texas Bicycling News Digest July 18th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bike ride around Rowlett’s lake reveals depth of drought

By Ben Schwab        transportationblog.dallasnews.com


Abandoned pier off of Miller Road. (Ben Schwab)
My family moved to Rowlett in 1994 from Mesquite. I got my first car, a 1989 Plymouth Voyager minivan, in 1997. And I sold my last car, a Honda Civic, before I left for Peace Corps service in 2009.
When visiting my parents while living abroad, I took to riding my mom’s Townie to and from Rowlett’s main commercial intersection at Rowlett Road and Lakeshore Parkway (State Highway 66).
I would bicycle the nearly two miles to the gym for a swim or to the store for groceries, but my favorite place was the Rowlett Public Library on Main Street to check out books and DVDs while staying with my parents.
It was generally a comfortable ride. I could find back roads and residential streets rarely having to ride on the “arterial” SH 66.
This summer, I sought to explore the less…

Introduction to Performance Cycling Class and TRX Suspension Training

Dallas Cycling Trail Riders and Weekend Pub Crawlers

Sunday, July 27, 2014
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Cycling Center Dallas
9028 Garland rd, Dallas, TX
These are 2 sessions in a row at the Cycling Center White Rock Lake. The first hour is a beginners performance cycling class. You will need to bring your own bike(let me know if that is an issue we have loaner bikes). We will show you how to set up, experience the software we use for the workouts, and help…

Popular Padre Island park will undergo major renovations

By Rebecca Salinas, San Antonio Express-News


SAN ANTONIO – Vacationers who prefer to be at one with nature soon will have a new spot to look forward to in Upper Padre Island.
Padre Balli Park, developed in 1949 and home of Bob Hall Pier, will be getting a makeover over the next few years. Officials say the renovations, along with the addition of Schlitterbahn Corpus Christi
The park, 15820 S. Padre Island Dr., will transform into an “extremely family oriented park,” said Steve Cross, Nueces County Coastal Parks director.
More than $1 million will be spent on the upgrades this first phase of their master plan to include new restroom facilities, controlled access, landscaping and irrigation, and granite hike and bike trails, which will…

Rowlett Creek Preserve Mountain Biking | Rowlett, Texas

by Zane        blazeshack.com


This is a cool video of a man and his dog.  Rowlett Creek Preserve is one of the premiere mountain bike trails in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

Cyclist hit in Texas 7/14

Beachgrad05        www.bikeforums.net

This video is hard to watch. Note cyclist was not killed based on info under video on YouTube
I know not so cal but this video is appalling. The cyclist had both rear and front camera’s recording. The truck that hit him did not stop and there seemed to be a bunch of vehicles who drove past w/o stopping to render aid either before a car pulled off and those people got out to help. I ride solo often and…

Bike lane discussions create tension in The Woodlands

By John D. Harden        www.houstonchronicle.com    (Subscription Required)

THE WOODLANDS – As this growing community considers adding bike lanes to primary roadways, tensions are emerging between bicyclists and motorists, just as they have in Houston and elsewhere.

Austin B-Cycle Usage Doubles Original Projections

By Gene Davis        www.austinpost.org

In the first six months that bike share system Austin B-Cycle has been up and rolling, usage has nearly doubled original projections, according to executive director Elliott McFadden.
Austin B-Cycle, which lets users rent bikes at one of its locations and return them to another, reported more than 78,000 bike checkouts since the service started up in December. McFadden said that Austin B-Cycle has probably replaced approximately 20,000 car trips and helped users burn about…

Arizona man bikes through Waco on cross-country trip for vet suicide prevention awareness

By REGINA DENNIS        www.wacotrib.com


An Arizona man biking cross-country on a mission to raise attention for military veteran suicide-prevention programs found a receptive audience on a pit-stop in Waco this week.
Tom L’Italien, 64, is in the middle of his second bike trip across the U.S. spreading information about high suicide rates among combat veterans. His journey through Central Texas included a meeting with American Legion Post 121 in Elm Mott and the Veterans One Stop in Downtown Waco Friday.
“I didn’t realize Texas was so big until I…

Cyclists using on-bike cameras in wake of accidents

By Holly Gonzalez        www.ktre.com


TYLER, TX (KLTV) – A video showing a cyclist getting clipped by a truck while going over an overpass on Highway 69 in Bullard on Monday has cyclists from all over East Texas talking. They say they plan to use cameras to bring awareness to the dangers of not sharing the road.
Joe Self, an avid cyclist and bike shop owner, says although cycling is dangerous, it’s a sport many East Texans enjoy.
“It’s a very, very fast growing sport. It’s not going away,” he said.
Self says due to accidents with motorists, more and more cyclists are mounting cameras on their bicycles.
“For a cyclist, it kind of makes sense. I ride quite a bit and I get buzzed almost every single time I ride a bike and I don’t even ride in the very center…

Picnic and Social Ride Monday July 21, 2014

by Jean Marie Linhart        Brazos Valley Cyclists

Many of you know I’m moving out of our community on July 28.
Monday July 21 (coming up soon!), after the social ride, my friend Karen has generously arranged a picnic to send me off to Washington. Everyone is invited, new riders, old friends, friends who don’t ride, if you want to be there, just come. Karen asks “It would help if I could get an RSVP (to vierow@verizon.net) on the number of people in your party. If you don’t RSVP, please show up anyways as I will bring more than what seems appropriate.” If you are planning on bringing a…

BikeDFW partners with Kimberly-Clark Dallas for Get up and Ride Day

Jenny Rilling        www.bikedfw.org

Dallas area Kimberly-Clark employees will get a chance to take a ride on the Campion Trail July 25th, led by BikeDFW board member and DORBA commuter coordinator, Mike Freiberger. Mike, who is also a League Certified Instructor, will give a bike safety presentation on July 21st for Kimberly-Clark employees who are interested in cycling or want to learn how they can support their colleagues and make their workplace more bicycle-friendly.
Of course, since Kimberly-Clark is a major sponsor of the National Bike Challenge, Dallas area K-C employees are encouraged to join the challenge at www.nationalbikechallenge.org to record this ride and…

Violet Crown Trail

Bicycle Austin

The City of Austin Urban Trails Program, who is currently analyzing the feasibility of a portion of the Violet Crown Trail though Sunset Valley/Eastern Oak Hill Area, would like your feedback on the proposed alignment of the trail. Together with the Hill Country Conservancy and the Oak Hills Trails Association, the Urban Trails Program staff hope to receive input from cyclists, pedestrians, trail users, property and…

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/JerryDusterhoff/status/490261015859564544

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/490244970922516481

https://twitter.com/JerryDusterhoff/status/490110038229676032

Event Reminders

Humidity to Spare!

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I completed the ride to Huffman today. Rather than go north I wanted to see if I could get to Huffman without riding in the rain. Technically that didn’t happen today since I rode in light sprinkles on the east bound shoulder over Lake Houston on FM1960. With the rain being light I figured I could ride out of it.

People around here usually attach the humidity to when they talk about the temperature or heat. I try not to do that but today on my home weather station it was 81 degrees and 97% humidity when I started biking at 11:42. By the time I got home at 2:29 the temperature rose to 84 and the humidity dropped to 96%. No wonder I was producing all of the perspiration. The forecasted rain either is yet to come or passed through early in the morning. I delayed the start to allow the rain time to leave and watch stage 13 of the Tour de France.

To combat the perspiration I have started using some Headsweat products. Today I used the skull wrap (“doo rag”?). Early in the ride I was doubting the effectiveness of the wrap keeping sweat off my glasses but I did not get any on my glasses and I could feel a coolness on my head whenever I was moving. The air moving across the wrap’s fabric produces a cooling effect. If there was a test today’s high humidity and relative low temperature should qualify.

There was nothing unusual about today’s ride other than the brief sprinkles. I did not see any other serious bicyclists.

The route to Huffman went through Atascocita and Walden. The total miles were 33.82 at a 15.7 mph average speed. The wind was very low to calm.

Mile markers:

  • 118.93 miles this week
  • 426 miles for July (290 miles to reach my goal for July)
  • 3801 miles year to date

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS

Tomorrow’s weather forecast: 90 degrees, 50% chance of rain. I was looking at the Tour de Paris but I am not sure I can drive there Saturday morning. I will need to check the distance and weather. No sense driving there to get rained on. I can do that at home. (288 miles from Kingwood to Paris. Too far to drive Saturday morning)

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