Texas Bicycling News Digest May 25th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

NO HILLS, NO WIND, BUT LOTS OF GREAT BS RIDE

Fort Worth Bicycling Association

Club Ride
Sunday, June 01, 2014 8:00 am
Great ride in Johnson County.  It will take you over both old and new roads, and usually in a different direction than you are familiar.
Join Jim in this ride that will change all you know about Johnson County.  It starts in Arlington at Sublett & Hwy 287 next to the Chicken Express facing the west side of the Hwy 287 service road.
There will be distances of approximately 30, 40, & 60 miles and as usual, Jim has put in a lot of turns so be careful and follow the cue sheet.

Dallas’ first large scale Ciclovía

Greater Dallas Bicyclists

Weather forecast for Memorial Day calls for cloudy skies, temps in 70s and less than 20% chance of rain till 7 PM. There will be two route options for the Ciclovia Ride. The first is down and back to Clyde Warren Park via Boedecker St. and the Katy Trial (20 miles). The second will add a return loop through downtown onto the Santa Fe, White Rock Lake, and White Rock Creek trails with a lunch stop at The Lot along the Santa
Fe Trail (26 miles). The route is posted here. …

Mesilla Exploratory Ride

Saturday, May 31, 2014, 8:00 AM

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

13 Cyclists Went

8 a.m. Saturday, May 31: Mesilla Exploratory Ride. Meet in La Mesa across from Eagle Grocery (NM 28 across from Chope’s) for a quite moderate (14-17 mph BIG compatible) ride to Mesilla over some back roads. After a break at The Bean, we’ll return via Hwy 28 to La Mesa. 30 miles. Bob Clark,[masked]. Riders in need of a more spirited ride can me…

Check out this Meetup →

Upcoming Rides and Events

San Antonio Wheelmen

Saturday,5/31:            Toutant Mirror Ride
Sunday, 6/1:               Woman Hollering Creek Ride
Saturday, 6/14:           Annual Summer Picnic and Ride*
Friday, 7/4:                 Independence Day Ride

Memorial Day Weekend’s Sunday Thinking About A Proper Historical Memory Marker For The Caddo Indians Of Arlington’s Village Creek

Durango Texas


I had intended to roll my bike’s wheels over Gateway Park’s mountain bike trails today.
However, my intention was un-intentionally altered when I discovered rain had come to earth at my location on the planet at some point in time during the…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

10:29PM

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/470711672726765568

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/470651870667489281

https://twitter.com/MitchellGSides/status/470565852035969024

Event Reminder

The Recliner Was Calling Me

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After church I got ready to go biking. At first the recliner was calling my name but I got away from it and headed out. Vacation resting plus the hospital stay lowered my energy level and recliner resistance. Riding north I adjusted the typical route through Oakhurst and did not ride to Cumberland. Instead I went north on Sorters Road to FM1314 and then turned east (or south as the direction sign says on the FM1314 pole). Stopping at Stripes I got a 32 oz Gatorade as part of my new regime to not drink Diet Pepsi. This is what one of the doctors at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel wanted me to do. He said he was a cola addict like me and they can cause dehydration. So far I have only had two swallows from the bottle my wife was drinking on the drive back from Florida. Plain water is blah but I am sticking with it so far.

Leaving Stripes I rode through Valley Ranch to the southbound US59 service road. The partly cloudy sky kept the temperature moderate (84 at the start 11:33 and 87 when I finished at 1:57). The wind was up and down as I rode on the service road. When I got home I saw why it seemed strong at times: 16.1 mph gusts from the SE slowing to 9.2 mph. I went south on Loop 494 and then Adams Street into Kingwood. On Adams I had a dog charge me near the end but he was fat and gave up quickly, thank goodness. By then my sprint was not too strong. Later I did a dumb thing crossing Northpark Drive. At the crossover the tree limbs stick out making it difficult to see the traffic coming from the right. I thought no traffic was coming so I clipped back into the pedals just in time to see a SUV coming towards me in the closest lane. I panicked and did not unclip but did slowly roll along the curb until the SUV went by. Next time I need to go out further into the crossover to see past the trees and brush.

With the slightly adjusted route I biked 26.39 miles and I increased the average speed from yesterday to 14.4 mph. May mileage is up to 168.06 and year to date is 2305 miles.

Yesterday I forget to include an almost flat tire. On the way home when I ride south I usually go behind the HEB store in the Kings Crossing shopping center. As I was riding I ran over a piece of metal about an inch long and 1/32″ in diameter. It stuck in my rear tire and hit the brake each time the tire passed it. This only happened a few times before I stopped to check the noise. Nothing in the front tire but it was in the rear. I hesitated pulling it out wondering if the tire would go flat and I would have to fix it but the other option was no good so I plucked it out and the tire stayed firm. I checked it again before today’s ride and no problem.

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Link to RideWithGPS map and metrics.

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Texas Bicycling News Digest May 24th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

American Red Cross Tour du Rouge

Bosque Tour de Norway

Pedal Pushers

We have found another winner of a ride. This was Clifton’s 3rd annual tour but we just discovered it this year. First things first, where is Clifton? Turns out it is near Waco. Next: Bosque? Means a cluster or group of trees, Spanish for woodlands. Tour de Norway? Clifton was settled by Norwegian immigrants in the mid-19th century. In 1997, the Texas Legislature officially designated Clifton as the Norwegian Capital of Texas. Hence, Tour de Norway featuring some of the churches of the period and old houses along the routes.
Of course we explored the area but first we will…

BMX Racing Returns to Austin – Travis County BMX Opening in June

www.cycleaustin.com

Finally, Austin will have a sanctioned BMX track once again. KVUE News reported tonight on the construction progress of the new Travis County BMX track at the Travis County Northeast Metro Park in Pflugerville. According to this March Austin American Statesman article, they’re shooting for an opening this June to coincide with the X Games coming to Austin.

The track will include a 16.5 foot starting hill reminiscent of the huge green starting hill at Capitol City BMX, Austin’s former ABA-sanctioned track. That track, originally owned by Rick Graves for over 20 years, closed in April 2006 to…

Bike rider critically injured

By: Michelle Williams – Texarkana Gazette


A man riding a bicycle was critically injured after a crash with a car Friday.
Michael Brimer, 55, of Texarkana, Texas, was riding a bike southbound about 7:30 p.m. on South Lake Drive n…

Austin ranks among top U.S. cities that cater to bicyclists

Kritika Kulshrestha, Staff Writer- Austin Business Journal


Austin ranks No. 11 on the list of best cities for cyclists, according to a NerdWallet.com report released this week.
The study, released to coincide with National Bike Month, surveyed the 52 largest U.S. cities. The key factors used for evaluating these cities include biking population, funding, infrastructure and safety.
The final score for each city was calculated based on the 2012 percentage of the total population who ride bicycles to work, yearly cyclist fatalities, yearly federal transportation funds allocated to…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/470342843005816832

Event Reminder

Back Riding After 21 Days Off

Texbiker.net Posted on by

As I got on my bike in the driveway and bent down to the handlebars I wasn’t sure I would be biking too far today. My head was a little foggy as I checked the Garmin 510 sensors to be sure the cadence sensor was showing up. Rolling out to the street my head cleared and I felt better riding to Northpark Drive and turning left onto the bike trail. The last time I rode was May 3rd, 21 days ago. Since then my wife and I have been on vacation in Florida, on a cruise ship to the Bahamas and spent 3 days in Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. The later event was not planned, of course, but the others were. We had a great time driving around Florida. I am recovered from the hospital visit and today was a test ride to verify that.

I didn’t think I would ride more than 24 or 25 miles today but as the ride progressed I was comfortable and ended up riding 30.32 miles. My average speed was not that great, 14.3 mph, but I did not push it too hard since this was a get started type of ride. When I rode across Lake Houston on FM1960 I had a thought that within a mile of the causeway were four modes of transportation: boats, cars, bikes and trains. Then later when I left Huffman going to home I thought about the pasture on my right and the cows grazing within or close to the Houston city limits. The fourth largest city has cows inside the city limits! How different.

Weather helped me get back riding with 82 when I started at 11:20 and 88 when I got back home at 2:03. The humidity was 43% which helped. This morning it was 68 degrees which seems cool for this time of the year. Florida was chilly a few times as well with mornings in the 50’s.

It looked like I wouldn’t see any other bicyclists until I saw one on Atascocita Shores Drive decked out in a BMC team kit. He was going the opposite direction. I delayed the ride to watch stage 14 of the Giro d’Italia live.

May mileage is not going to be too much but I am up to 141.67 miles with 4 rides. The hospital visit delayed our return by 2 days cutting the potential ride days to 11. Tuesday and Wednesday look iffy with rain in the forecast. Year to date: 2279 miles. Link to RideWithGPS map and metrics.

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