A New Headband Sweat Test

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I tried a different exit from Kingwood on the way to New Caney. I really just mixed the streets up before getting to Mills Branch Drive. In New Caney I went under US59 at Caney Creek to add another mile. This added about two miles to the typical “New Caney – Gene Campbell Road” route. I biked 35.27 miles averaging 16.0 mph.

The weather was more cooperative today with no rain. Mostly cloudy skies kept the temperature around 88 degrees and the humidity was 96% at the start (10:30) and 91% at the end (1:19). The wind was less than 4 mph most of the time.

Yesterday I wore my new Headsweat headband hoping to test it with the heat. Instead the heat never was a factor. Today it was warmer and I wore the same headband. The sweat stayed away from my eyes and I did not have to dip my chin to drain the excess water away. Granted it wasn’t 90+ degrees so that might change. I noticed when I stopped at Stripes for a break that I could feel sweat dripping on my neck as the Headsweats headband dried. Also when I was riding on FM1314 southeast I could feel a coolness as the wind blew across the headband. This probably happened other times too but when I was riding into the wind while on FM1314 I had a slight tailwind. So far I am pleased with the headband and will keep trying them out. I bought two headbands and a skull wrap. I am waiting on two other possible aids like the $19.95 head scarf/wrap advertised on TV. I ordered mine on TV and only spent $7.62 total. All of these headbands are made of Coolmax material. Years ago I had some jerseys made out of Coolmax. They were cool in the heat but the fabric was prone to snagging and pilling. Maybe headbands are a better use.

Traffic was heavier than usual today and I did not see any other bikers. I stopped at Stripes on FM1314 for a break at 24 miles. The ride metrics:

7-16-2014 GC Ride Metrics

Mile markers:

  • 69.49 miles this week
  • 376.56 miles for the month (340 miles left to reach my goal)
  • 3751 miles year to date

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Texas Bicycle News Digest July 15th

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Illegal dumpers overwhelming volunteers at Lubbock Trails

By Ashlyn Tubbs        www.kcbd.com

KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) – Three local men have labored to create their own playground in East Lubbock.
They’ve constructed their very own bike trails and ramps, by spending countless hours digging with shovels and mixing dirt with playa lake water for over three years.
They call it Lubbock Trails, and they take pride in their work.
“You have to stomp on it, pack it for hours and hours,” said Bret Parker, “and then you finally get to ride it and enjoy it. It’s just like building a mud-castle or a sandcastle, just a little harder.”
Bret Parker, Bryce Gentry and Chris Kavanaugh all work 40-hour weeks and then…

Alkek Velodrome

Alkek Veldrome


Youth League Day 2 – Session 1. Pack riding, wall starts, standing starts, chariot racing, and slow races. Pace lines, flying starts, and scratch race tomorrow. We might even ride the track clockwise!

Man on bicycle evades police until meeting barbed wire fence

by Grayson Edds        www.connectamarillo.com


AMARILLO, TEXAS — An Amarillo man was arrested after evading officers on a bicycle and then on foot before getting tased, lying to the officers, getting arrested for outstanding warrants and charged on new drug charges.
On July 11 at 11:52 p.m., Amarillo police officers saw a man riding a bicycle away from a closed business in the 700 block of N. Eastern St.
The officers tried to stop the man in the 4500 block of Amarillo Blvd. East by activating the emergency lights on the patrol car and getting out of the car to talk to the man.
The bicyclist ignored the officers, driving past them and…

Waxahachie The Gingerbread City

Pedal Pushers

Previous write ups have mentioned that part of the fun of attending bike tours is to get to see the sights in the different cities and the surrounding areas.
Waxahachie is known as the Gingerbread City for its many Victorian style homes. The Gingerbread City moniker comes from the ornate decorations of the homes.

Austin Driveway Series Criterium – July 8, 2014

Turnin’ Cranks


My 3rd ever crit race. Adopted a ‘Shelter at all Costs’ strategy.
Strategy paid off and I finished the race! By the last lap, I was not in a good position to make a strong finish so I gave in and eased off to stay out of the sprint.
Now that I’ve actually finished a race and feel better in the group and drafting, I’ll begin working on more race tactics and work on being an actual participant in the race rather than just trying to survive.

STS Jack Brooks Results

GHORBA

STS Riverbend Results

GHORBA

Biking basics for folks who’ve always wanted to ride, but didn’t dare [VIDEO] | Grist

By Daniel Penner        Brazos Valley Cyclists

You say you want to get around the city without spending the $9,000 to maintain and operate a car each year, and maybe get some exercise while you’re at it? You don’t have that kind of cash. And you know, the planet. But those bike lanes can look pretty intimidating, with all the mustachioed hipsters on their superbad fixies, the…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

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Wet Streets Like TdF

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I have not been able to ride since last Thursday. We were in Naples, FL, for our nephew’s wedding. We stayed at the LaPlaya Resort on the beach though our particular building was across the street from the main building. Naples has a lot of bike lanes on the streets we were on. I saw many serious bicyclists and numerous casual ones. My brother-in-law (father of the groom) told me they visited a bike shop (Naples Cyclery?) a couple of miles from LaPlaya to rent some bikes. While there he touched a $10,000 bike. Later when he told me about this I said that might have been about half the cost of the bikes in the Tour de France. We flew to Tampa and drove to Naples. It turned out we could’ve flown to Ft. Meyers and not had to drive so far. I did not know Ft. Meyers had a big airport. We flew home yesterday evening.

With today being a rest day for the TDF I had more flexibility on when to leave for the ride. I left at 10:34. The sky was almost dark gray and I checked the radar to see if there was any rain in the area. No rain close by but there was a big patch to the north and west of New Caney. This led me to choose the route to Huffman. I started off with the usual route of 32 miles but as I was riding I switched to a longer one going south of FM1960 into Atascocita before riding to Walden. This route ended up at 34.22 miles long. I wanted to add a couple of miles to at least feel like I was making up for not riding all of those days we were in Florida.

Riding south I noticed the sky was dark gray that direction too. I stuck to my rule “if it isn’t raining go biking” even with the threatening sky. No rain for the first 11 miles but as I crossed FM1960 on Atasca Oaks Drive a light rain started. It didn’t last too long and by the time I got to W. Lake Houston Parkway on Aerobic Drive it had stopped. From there to Huffman no more rain.

As I started east onto the causeway over Lake Houston I could see a truck with an oversize load pulled over on the shoulder. I was planning to pass in the main lanes but he started to drive away before I got there. While I was riding over the causeway the wind was very strong and I had to fight hard to keep the Stradalli upright and going forward. The traffic would shield me from the wind for a few seconds but when there was no traffic the wind was brutal. While I was on the causeway three big trucks hauling parts of a drilling rig passed me going east. The wind was particularly a problem when they after passed. They were probably part of the first truck I saw on the shoulder. Later while I was at the Huffman Chevron I saw more trucks hauling parts of the drilling rig. There were probably 8 or 9 trucks in total.

When I arrived at the Huffman Chevron it was not raining though the sky was still threatening. While I rested and ate it started to sprinkle and then rain. I was thinking about riding in the rain but the temperature dropped to 74 and I didn’t want to get that wet and cold too. I waited at the Chevron about an hour, checking my phone for weather radar. I could see the rain moving to southeast and at 1:19 I took off. It was sprinkling lightly for the first 1/2 mile but stopped by the time I got to E. Lake Houston Parkway. From there to Atascocita Shores Drive FM1960 was wet but the wind had let up some. I expected to have wet streets all the way home but as I turned onto Atascocita Shores the street was damp but not so wet. It was like that all the way home.

I am getting a lot of practice washing my bike. Hopefully I don’t need to wash it again for several days.

The metrics for today’s ride.

7-15-2014 GC Ride Metrics

Garmin Connect is having some server issues so I will include the link only.

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Texas Bicycling News Digest July 14th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Park Police officer who died in bike accident identified

By J. Almendarez, San Antonio Express-News

SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office have identified a Park Police officer who was found dead Saturday afternoon on city’s Northeast Side as Douglas Rivers.
The 63-year-old died of head injuries when he reportedly lost control of his bicycle and struck a tree on the Jack White Trailhead in the 3800 block of Seguin Road between noon and…

Pedernales Falls State Park TRAIL BUILD, RIDE & SWIM!

Saturday, Jul 26, 2014, 9:00 AM

Pedernales Falls State Park
2585 Park Road 6026 Johnson City, TX

9 Mountain Bikers Went

Geo is heading this build day at Pedernales Falls State Park.   TRAIL BUILD, RIDE & SWIM!READ THE DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY.  MEETING TIMES AND PLACES CHANGE EACH BUILD DAY.EARN PAYDIRT!  Bring your forms.Build, RIDE NEW TRAIL & SWIM!MEET AT Park HQ/Entry Pay station.  Shown as star symbol on this map: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpu…

Check out this Meetup →

Houston bikesharing program enjoys robust growth

By Dug Begley        www.houstonchronicle.com


From meager beginnings, Houston’s bikesharing program has blossomed into a big draw for visitors and locals looking for a quick ride.
For the first six months of 2014, Houston B-Cycle logged 43,530 checkouts, according to agency data. The system had about 2,000 checkouts in all of 2012, the year it started with three stations and 18 bikes.
“We are excited about continuing the expansion and operations,” Houston B-Cycle director Will Rub said. “We still feel like we are on track for our…

Ex-President George W. Bush has left knee partially replaced, weeks after right knee surgery

www.timescolonist.com


DALLAS – Former President George W. Bush has had his left knee partially replaced — seven weeks after having the same procedure on his right knee.
Bush spokesman Freddy Ford says the procedure on Bush’s left knee took place Saturday at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Ford says the ex-president and his wife Laura were on their way back to Dallas on Monday morning.
Ford says this operation and the one May 24 were both outpatient procedures performed by the…

Bike Friendly Cedars Tour

BikeTexas

When:     26.07.2014 10:00 – 12:00
Location:     1510 McKee St, Dallas, TX
Bike Friendly Cedars is going to host a tour ride on July 26, 2014 starting in the Cedars. We will be having guest from Flower Mound joining us. This will start at around 10:15 am (depends on rail schedules as some will be coming to the Cedars Station on the DART Rail). We will be riding the streets and trails in Dallas. Bring your cameras if you want. At some time we will stop for lunch so bring some lunch money!
Helmets are recommended (under 18 must wear helmets). Ride at your own risk.

Cycling community asks for better quality bike lanes

By: Chrisdyann Uribe        www.kfoxtv.com

EL PASO, Texas – Cyclists around El Paso are asking for more thought to be put into bike lanes when building them or to revamp them.
Velo Paso, a bike and pedestrian coalition in El Paso, said there aren’t enough lanes in the city and when there are lanes created, they don’t meet their needs.
‘If the riders don’t feel safe and if they don’t feel comfortable there, they’re not going to use them,” said Scott White, Velo Paso policy director.
He said bike lanes are supposed to be at least 6 feet apart.
“Ideally you should have 6 feet for a bike lane but what’s happened here is they’ve included the…

VC Kit Redesign in the works

The Violet Crown Sports Association


Take a look at a couple of new kit designs in the works for 2015. At July’s Club Meeting, VC clothier extraordinaire Carey Jung provided an update on status of the 2015 VC kit design. In addition to showing 2 early designs, Carey talked about the switch to a…

Short Track racing at Jack Brooks

GHORBA


Short track racing is back on the calendar for 2014 and many thanks to Raf and volunteers who helped plan and run the races.
These are fun, but challenging races for all levels of rider.
From the race on July 12th at Jack Brooks here are a few pictures of racers out on the trail. The pictures were taken at the top of a short climb, check for expressions of focused effort and fun on the…

Traffic Skills 101 class on July 26th

Brazos Valley Cyclists

We just received a note that the Northwest Cycling Club, in conjunction with League of American Bicyclists, is offering a class designed to teach adult cyclists how to use a bicycle with confidence and competence for pleasure, utility, and sport under various highway, climate, terrain, and traffic conditions.
The class is organized into three levels: …

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