Texas Bicycling News Digest June 9th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Corinth Cycling

Congrats to these riders for completing the 100 mile ride from Denton to Lake Murray, OK on Saturday – the Pack, Nat & Roll. Hats off to Scooter McCall for organizing the ride.

Oak Forest honors cyclist’s memory with ghost bike

By Kim Hogstrom        www.theleadernews.com


Oak Forest residents are certainly diverse, but on some matters, the community seems to beat with one heart.
Such is the case with the Ghost Bike that mysteriously appeared on the northeast corner of Oak Forest Dr. at W. 43rd recently. The all-white, riderless bicycle is affixed to a pole and serves as a memorial – and reminder.
At 2:50 p.m. on April 14, 2005, 10-year-old Anthony Dwight was riding his bike home from a day at Oak Forest Elementary School. According to the police report, a woman in a Suburban pulled out of the parking lot on the northwest corner traveling south on Oak Forest. Anthony, who was wearing a helmet, was cycling north on the same side. The woman ran the boy over. He was pronounced dead soon after. No charges were filed.
“It was the worst day of my life,“ stated Angela Pennington, Oak Forest resident, mother, and friend of the Dwight family. “It was the…

Pancake Breakfast Ride returns

Sunday, Jun 15, 2014, 7:00 AM

La Mesa
NM 28 (Park across from Eagle Grocery) La Mesa, NM

5 Cyclists Went

We have not done this one in a while – join us for a Beginning/Intermediate Group Weekend ride to the Las Cruces Airport for the fabulous breakfast that includes a green chile cheese omelet- 1 or 2 pancakes, bacon or sausage, peaches, OJ and coffee- all for the great price of $6.00 (cash only) sponsored by the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Assoc. Chap…

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Houston police officers prep for 8-day bike ride to Tacoma

by Andrew Horansky / KHOU 11 News

HOUSTON – Over the years Houston police have raised millions of dollars for kids suffering from blood disorders. They have done that by pedaling annually to places like Alaska and Maine.
This year they are going to Tacoma, Wash. in the annual Houston Police Bicycle Relay.
They will ride for patients like 7-year-old Ethan Hooks, who has no choice but to…

Third Thursday Time Trial Series Race 4

West Texas Cycling Association

Date: June 19, 2014
Location: Lubbock, TX
Contact: Brian Alger
Details: 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. Time Trial will start at the intersection of HWY 84 & FM 1585 at 6:30pm

24 Hour Packing List

www.texasmountainbiketrails.com


While writing my recap of 24 Hours in the Canyon I realized that I had a HUGE segment about what I packed. I decided to split this off into its own separate post to break it up a bit. Below is my 24 hour packing list recap and some tips I picked up along the way.
Packing for a 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race
I went with the philosophy that it would be better to be over prepared than under prepared. Especially since the weather can change so dramatically in the canyon going from 100+ degrees in the day to raining or 60 degrees over night. The following is a…

Group Riding Clinic – 6-29-14

Plano Bicycle Association

Want to be more confident riding in groups? Want to ride more safely in groups? Want to help others ride better in groups? Want to be more confident riding in groups? Want to ride more safely in groups? Want to help others ride better in groups? Then take this Group Riding Skills course and you will learn to dodge obstacles, ride in close proximity to other riders, make emergency stops and communicate with other riders. There is no online work to do as part of this class. The course does have a short classroom portion but the majority of your time will be spent learning and practicing riding skills.  We will do…

Hot Rocks cycling event returns Aug. 9

By ANDREW BURNES, Herald-Banner Correspondent

ROCKWALL — Hot Rocks, an annual cycling event hosted by the Rockwall Rotary Club, will make it’s return Aug. 9 as summer begins to wind down, attracting a projected 1,000 riders of all different skill levels and ages.
Three courses will be offered at the event – including a 13-mile course, 43-mile course and 57-mile course – providing challenges for everyone from children and families to Jumping Jack Flash’s and others that wish to ride like wild horses.
The day’s races will kick off at 7:30 a.m. at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium, 1201 T.L.Townsend, with staggered starts for the different routes. The family loop will begin after all races have left.
Volunteers will provide rest stops every 8-10 miles serving drinks, ice and fruit to weary riders as they continue on their journey to get what…

Tweets

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/476195588342444034

Event Reminders

Rain and No Where to Go

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Since Montgomery County was still working on Adams St. I exited Kingwood through Elm Grove Village, North Kingwood Forest, Mills Branch Drive and Ford Road. This was to ride the New Caney – Gene Campbell Road route. When I started to get ready to leave I could hear the wind pickup. Checking the Weather Underground website the wind was from the south at 15 mph with 21 mph gusts. This would be great getting to New Caney but the return trip into this headwind presented a challenge. Going out the driveway at 10:00 I looked at the clouds and some were darker than I like. The radar showed rain but it was way to the northwest of Huntsville giving me time to ride I thought.

The ride was going good with the wind dropping off some. Riding southeast on FM1314 to the Stripes station I had some headwind but not enough to be a problem. Crossing over FM1314 into the Stripes station I saw the pavement was wet with some puddles. It probably rained 10 or 15 minutes before I got there. I took a break to eat 2 trailmix bars and drink some Gatorade. I watched the sky and checked the weather on my phone. Rain was to the southeast but not very close. I left Stripes riding to Briar Tree and Auburn Trails and onto the south US59 service road. Riding on the service road the wind tried to slow me down and I could only pedal 13 to 14 mph. I didn’t mind this too much. After stopping Northpark Drive I continued south. About halfway to Kingwood Drive the rain started and I got very wet. Just before I reached Kingwood Drive and the dry under US59 the rain stopped. I pulled under US59 and waited 10 minutes or so to see if the rain was done. The streets were wet but no more rain the rest the way home.

Despite the rain I biked 33.88 miles averaging 14.6 mph. I thought the heat would be my main adversary today but it turned out to be rain. When I started at 10:00 the temperature was 82 and the same when I got home at 1:08. The wind died down to 6 mph at the end. I could hear thunder in the distance after I got home.

Mileage:

  • 33.88 miles this week
  • 316.62 miles this June (568 miles left to reach the 885 mile goal)
  • 2716 miles year to date
  • Link to RideWithGPS

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Texas Bicycling News Digest June 8th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Trail Recovery Work Party, Cypress Creek

GHORBA

Event category: General
Saturday, June 14, 2014 – 8:00am
Trail Recovery work party
Saturday, June 14 at 8:00am
10539 Normont Dr, 77070
We’re going to split up into groups and work different sections of trail that need repair after the flood.
Gloves, safety glasses, long sleeves, bug spray, clippers, and a…

3-in-1 ride

Saturday, Jun 14, 2014, 7:00 AM

Rio Plaza / La Union / La Mesa
Upper Valley Rd at Artcraft / NM 28 El Paso (and northward), TX

14 Cyclists Went

Goal is for everyone to meet at The Bean in Mesilla at about 8:45 a.m. Fast group (20+ mph) leaves from Rio Plaza at 7 a.m. for 62-mile round trip ride to Mesilla and back (co-leader: Randy Limbird,[masked]). Moderate- pace (15-17 mph) group leaves from La Union (park next to the old Gallery 28 on NM 28 just south of Vinton Rd) also at 7 a.m. …

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The Squeak

Bike Noob

One of the first things a new cyclist learns is how to lube the chain. The advice often given is to lube it every month or so…or every 200 miles…or every third ride…heck, there are as many suggestions about lubing the chain as there are bikes, it seems.
I’ve adopted my own routine over the years. I lube it every two weeks. During that two-week period, I will have ridden anywhere from 100-250 miles.
That has served me well, but a few weeks ago, I was on a ride one…

Bike theft in progress?

Turnin’ Cranks


About 7AM
Corner of Rainey St and Davis St.
I come around the corner and out of the corner of my eye, a guy has a 2×4 twisting up a bike cable.
It registers what I saw just a moment later and I spin around to investigate.
Black and blue…

Bike ride at George Bush Park

Sunday, Jun 15, 2014, 8:30 AM

Fun Fair Positive Soccer – Westheimer Pkwy
20150 Westheimer Pkwy Houston, TX

4 Katy bicyclist fun riders Went

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Austin Driveway Series Criterium – June 6, 2014

Turnin’ Cranks


Men’s Cat 4/5
My 2nd ever crit race. Manage to do better, but with the same result as my first race (dropped and pulled).
I feel like I rode much better this week, but found myself out in the open and blowing up at a very bad time. Lost momentum and was dropped.
I think looking better overall and…

Cycling across Austin in 45 seconds

Turnin’ Cranks


Just a short time lapse of my ride across Austin. A 1 hour ride shortened to 45 seconds

Austin Pure Driveway Series Cat 4/5 Finish – June 5, 2014

Turnin’ Cranks


Just the finish after I was pulled with 2 to go

Bridgewood Farms Charity Bike Ride

Friday, Jul 4, 2014, 7:30 AM

Bridgewood Farms
11558 Rose Road Conroe, TX

2 Katy bicyclist fun riders Went

Burn your Buns Bike RideSearch ParticipantsTurn on Alert© OpenStreetMap contributorsTiles Courtesy of MapQuestDATEStart: Friday, July 4, 2014ADDRESSConroe, TX 11680 Rose RoadConroe, TX 77303REGISTRATION CLOSING DATEMonday, June 30, 2014ORGANIZER’S WEBSITEhttp://www.bridgewoodfarms.org

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New Bike Lanes Along Collins Boulevard – East Richardson

by Richard Wezensky        www.bikedfw.org


Thanks to Bruce, over at the Bike Friendly Richardson Facebook page, for spotting the new Bike Lanes on the eastern section of Collins Boulevard – in Richardson, Texas. Although not complete, lacking ‘bike’ markings on the pavement and ‘bike lane’ signage, they are ready for riding. Eventually, these bike lanes will continue east, into the Yale Park neighborhood, where more bike lanes are scheduled for Yale Boulevard. Unfortunately, the bike lanes will not continue west, right now, and connect to the other bike…

Wednesday Morning Ride

Wednesday, Jun 11, 2014, 8:30 AM

Richardson Bike Mart
1451 W. Campbell Rd Richardson, TX

5 Members Went

35-40 miles, 14-16 mph, no drop ride

Check out this Meetup →

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/475780315873427456

https://twitter.com/SeePax/status/475774744206114816

Quick Release Was Loose

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I think of today’s ride as a recovery from the Spindletop Spin on yesterday. I was thinking of a route to Huffman and decided to ride the one that is there and back. I used to ride this route in the evenings when I still worked and the distance fit into the daylight window during the summer. The distance today was 25.91 miles at a 14.5 mph average speed. I was not pressing the speed but I did need to get back home before 2:00 which I did (1:42). I saw three other cyclists; one on Woodbridge Drive, one over Lake Houston on FM1960 and one on Atascocita Shores Drive.

As I crossed over FM1960 going towards Walden I hit a bump and the rear tire felt like it was flat. I stopped to check but the tire was at full pressure. Riding on the same thing happened again and I pulled over. I checked the front wheel quick release and tightened it some. This didn’t fix the problem and I stopped again. This time I checked the rear wheel and it was loose in the dropouts. Apparently when I took the bike out of the Jeep GC when I got back from Beaumont I did not set the axle completely in the dropouts and tighten the quick release enough. Adjusting the quick release fixed the problem and I went on to Huffman. I don’t remember having this problem before.

When I got to the Huffman Chevron I refilled my water bottle, took a screen shot of the weather on my phone and got ready to head back home. I looked at the clouds and they seemed to be getting darker to the south over Crosby. Maybe I would be racing the rain on the way home. Nothing happened to cause concern until I approached E. Lake Houston Parkway on FM1960 and a few small drops hit me. These didn’t last but not too much longer when I was on the causeway rain drops came down occasionally. Once I was off the causeway and turned onto Atascocita Shores Drive the rain stopped. As I rode into Kingwood I noticed the sky was darker to the east and as I got closer to home I felt some more rain. When I turned onto Park Garden the rain started coming stronger but I rode through it onto dry streets. I made it home without any more rain but after I was inside the rain started up again. I missed getting soaked and gritty.

It looked like the ride would be hot. I left home at 1:45 with 90 degrees but thanks to the rain clouds it dropped down to 88 when I finished at 1:42. Up to arriving in Huffman the sky was mostly cloudy but after that the sun did shine through much. Humidity stayed around 50%.

Mileage statistics:

  • 253.62 miles this week
  • 282.74 miles in June (602 miles to reach 885 mile goal)
  • 2682 miles year to date

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