Law Enforcement Officer Day

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Today’s route was a lengthened version of my typical Atascocita – Walden – Huffman ride. I tacked on the extra miles by riding east of Huffman on FM1960 to the Liberty County line. At the turn around point I then came back on Huffman-Eastgate past the Hargrave HS to FM2100 then south to FM1960. The ride totaled 37.57 miles and I averaged 16.1 mph. The new experience today was pedaling in the big chainring for the first time. I have a compact crankset (50 x 34 teeth) and for some reason I have not shifted to the 50 on any ride. As I started east on FM1960 at Atascocita Shores Drive I shifted to the 6th cassette gear and then to the 50 up front. I expected my legs to bog down but I was able to keep the power going and my speed increased to 20+ mph all the way across the causeway. When I turned onto Fairlake Drive the road starts to undulate  some and I dropped down to 19 mph until I got to FM2100. At that point the road is flat allowing me to increase the speed some. As I headed FM1960  I heard a train whistle and at the Huffman crossing I saw the Tuesday Amtrak go past on the way to New Orleans. A week ago I attempted to be at a crossing to take some pictures but the train was a no-show.

On FM1960 I rode to the Liberty County line still using the 50 and 6th rear cassette gear. I stayed in that gearing until I was back on FM2100 riding south to FM1960. I wanted to ride to the Liberty County line to check the road surface. I used to ride to Dayton on FM1960 but stopped several years ago because TxDOT put chip’n seal on the road. Looking at the short section past the county line it appears smooth asphalt replaced the chip’n seal. I may test this out going further east to where the railroad overpass is.

I will proclaim today law enforcement officer day. While I stopped at the Huffman Chevron for a break I saw two DPS state troopers and five Harris County deputy sheriff cars. Later I saw a Houston police cruiser and a Harris County Precinct 3 constable. When I turned onto Fairlake Drive earlier a state trooper had a pickup truck pulled over and as I left the Chevron station the same trooper had another pickup pulled over at the station. I should have felt very safe.

Riding home from Huffman I maintained a good speed with the wind only at 3.5 mph from the NW. I wore short and long sleeve jerseys today but probably only needed the short sleeve one. The temperature when I started at 11:51 was 78 and 84 when I finished at 3:00. Partly cloudy skies allowed the sun to help warm things up. The next several days are supposed to be in the mid 80’s.

I am making progress to reach the April 778 mile goal. I am at 609.56 miles leaving 177 to go. 78.08 miles this week so far and 1869 miles year to date.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Digest April 21st

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Bike & Build organizes cross-country bicycle trips

www.bikeandbuild.org

Southern Route

Overview:
Following hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact on the Gulf Coast in 2005, Bike & Build re-routed Southern U.S. in 2006 to join the ongoing rebuilding effort in the Gulf Coast. The second week of the trip will be spent building in areas that are still in need of hurricane reconstruction. From there the group continues their trek West onto the ranges of Northern Texas, the deserts of the South West and, eventually, the coast of Northern California. While the name “Southern” is often noted by many potential…
06/14     Carthage – TX     70
06/15     Athens – TX     92
06/16     Dallas – TX     75
06/17     BUILD DAY     0
06/18     BUILD DAY     0
06/19     Decatur – TX     92
06/20     Wichita Falls – TX     84…

EP Cyclists Ride Info

Weekday Rides (Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday,Saturday)
04/22 Tuesday
Meet: Metro Parking Lot
Time: 6:00 Rollout
Cats C+, B , A
Fort Bliss Bring your ID’s
ABSOLUTELY no fast riding in Cat B with regrouping stops.
This ride is meant for those riders that can do 25 miles or more at at reasonable pace. This ride will teach you to feel comfortable in a group ride, ride safer. Only Road bikes
04/23 Wednesday
Westside Ride lead By Rodolfo Zaragoza
Time 8:30am
Place: Starbucks I-10 & Redd Rd…

Charity Bike Ride “Bike for Mike”

Saturday, May 3, 2014, 7:30 AM

Union Chappel Vineyards/Bar 0 Ranch
8426 Wallis Street Fulshear, TX

2 Katy bicyclist fun riders Went

There is a fee for this ride. $35 before April 30th. Miles are 68,35 or 19.I hope you can make it!www.bikeformikefulshear.com

Check out this Meetup →

Rupert’s US coast to coast bike ride

Rupert Wallace

Update Eden TX to Roswell New Mexico
A bit of time since the last post, due to a combination of lack of wi-fi (camping) and sloth.
Back on the road, 100 miles west of Austin.
Centre of Texas and, by chance, round about my half way point, at 1350 miles…

Three Guys in West Texas – “Tom’s Ride”

By Richard Cavin        www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 7 – Comstock, TX to Del Rio, TX to Bracketville, TX: “Thank You Lord” – Re-unite with Roy in Del Rio
Sunday March 9, 2014, 65 miles (105 km) – Total so far: 486 miles (782 km)
Today’s theme: “Thank you Lord”.
Was looking forward to this day for a couple of reasons. I would meet up with my friend Dex Tooke just west of Del Rio and we would also reunite with Roy in Del Rio. Roy was able to get his rear wheel fixed in Del Rio so was waiting for us at a motel in Del Rio.
The route today was similar to yesterday but many more short up and down climbs. We would also ride over the bridge at Lake Amistad west of town, where we met up with my friend Dex on his bike. We rode with Dex back to his house and took some pictures. If you are into cycling and have never heard of Dex, check out his website. I was happy to ride a short distance with a RAAM finisher.
http://dextooke.wix.com/ultradex
I first met Dex on his Texas Panhandle to Brownsville, TX ride last fall. More info on his website. That ride was “only” 873 miles!!
We took some pictures in his home, met his wife and spent a few minutes visiting before moving on. If you want more details on RAAM then I suggest you buy his book and read it…it has all the details. Way to go Dex, you’re also my hero! Looking forward to seeing you again.
We rode into Del Rio proper because we needed to pick up Roy along the way. We stopped at a large Walmart so Tom could stock up on a few things. Roy was ready to…

Matrix Challenge | Garland, Texas | April 20, 2014

texasbikeracing.com

Day two results. Congrats to all the winners and racers for a great weekend of racing!
Women’s Open
1 119 Duban Ash Guru Cycles p/b Haute Wheels Ra
2 113 Runnels Samantha ATC Racing
3 110 Park Jenny River City Market Racing
4 116 Thomas Andrea PARK PLACE DEALERSHIPS
5 165 Yan Flora The University of Texas at Dall
6 109 Montoya Michelle Bicycles Outback Racing/LifeVan
7 114 Spratt Melinda FCS|Cycling: p/b Zngine + Mr.
8 102 Bennett Jan FCS|Cycling: p/b Zngine + Mr.
9 101 Bach Courtney ThinkFinance Racing
10 117 weaver Ashley Hotter’N Hell Hundred
11 103 Ciolli Kim River City Market Racing
12 120 Christenson Tracy Cycling Center Dallas
13 104 Goodwin Suzanne McKinney Velo Club
14 100 Atkinson Allison Guru Cycles p/b Haute Wheels Ra
15 115 Steele Madeleine Hotter’N Hell Hundred
16 158 Monosoff Melissa FCS|Cycling: p/b Zngine + Mr.
Women’s 3/4…

Throw away components

An Old Guy On Two Wheels

Saturday an acquaintance called me up to ask if he could bring his bike over for some troubleshooting.  Somehow he got the idea that I know something about bicycle maintenance and repair.  His rear shifting was acting up.  I told him I would do what I could.
When he arrived, I popped the bike in the stand and started playing with the shifter.  Didn’t really need to do that as I spotted a great deal of slack in the cable.  So I shifted (pun intended) my attention to the rear derailleur.  Anchor nut had worked loose.  I took the slack out of the cable and began to tighten the nut.  Oops….it had been…

Dirt, Gears & Mesquite: David Hernandez

By TRAVIS M. WHITEHEAD Valley Morning Star


Mountain biking and trail running are gaining popularity in the Rio Grande Valley, and a local production company wants to encourage it.
David Hernandez, marketing and technology director for 3 Leaf Productions, said the new non-profit organization that he, Robert Saldivar and John Adams, all of Brownsville, founded last year already has held four mountain biking and trail running events. The fifth will be…

Tweets

https://twitter.com/JuliaBikes/status/458201106292568064

Event Reminders

Strange Piece of Metal

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I went back to Splendora today turning east of US59 versus west on Saturday. I went back and forth on whether to go to Splendora first and return through Roman Forest or go through Roman Forest first and come back on the south bound US59 service road. I finally decided to ride to Splendora because biking on the service road would put me into the wind for 18 miles without a break. Riding to Splendora and then Roman Forest put me amongst trees protecting me from the 7 mph south breeze. Coming out Roman Forest I would ride west instead of only south.

The biking north enabled me to set a solid pace all the way to Splendora aided by the tailwind. There was a problem as I crossed over Peach Creek on the service road. All of a sudden I heard a clicking sound coming from one of my wheels. I stopped hoping to fix the problem before it caused a flat. First I looked at the front tire and nothing there. Switching to the rear wheel I spun it around and spotted the culprit, a 1 1/2″ long metal nail about 1/32″ diameter. The unusual thing was how this was stuck in the tire. Rather than into the tube it went diagonally across the tread not puncturing the tire to cause a flat. I pulled the thing out and the tire stayed aired up. I took off to finish the ride.

Reaching FM2090 I turned east biking to Tram Road. My understanding about Tram Road is that this was where the tracks for the trams that ran from Houston to Cleveland, TX back in the 1920’s and 1930’s. This took into Roman Forest. I was impressed when I got to Roman Forest Blvd. It had a new asphalt surface all the way to US59 (well it stopped short a few hundred yards but who is counting). Previously the street was showing traffic wear. From Tram Road to the Peach Creek bridge they changed the two lanes to one lane with a nice lane for something. I thought a bike lane would be nice but there were no markings.

I wasn’t sure how long this route would be. It turned out to be 40.5 miles at a 16.5 mph average speed. My legs felt powerful today and I was able to keep the cadence around 90 rpm most of the time. My right knee road rash is healing up. It is a little stiff but does not inhibit pedaling. Getting up from sitting on the concrete is a different story. I stopped at McDonalds in Porter to eat my snacks and drink a Diet Coke. I sat on the concrete facing FM1314. The normal movement is to turn to the right and put my knee down to get up. This places the road rash on the concrete and can be painful but I put some napkins down as cushion. Once the knee was on the apkin I got up in a hurry to minimize the contact.

Overcast sky moved in as I started biking at 11:48 and stayed for the whole ride. With my sunglasses it looked darker than it really was. The temperature steady at 77 to 78 during the ride. I was glad I chose a short and long sleeve jersey combination. The wind was cool and the jerseys kept me comfortable.

After today’s ride: 571.99 miles for April (206 miles to reach my goal), 40.5 miles for the week, 1832 miles year to date.

87 degrees and partly cloudy for tomorrow. Biking should take place.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Digest April 20th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Program provides bikes to Irving residents willing to fix them up

By MEREDITH SHAMBURGER        www.dallasnews.com


Two Irving organizations have teamed up in an effort to get more people out on bicycles.
A newly formed partnership between Bike Irving and the Bear Creek Community Church is helping kids and adults get their own bikes — as long as they fix them up first.
The Earn-a-Bike program is accepting donated, used bikes that will be given away to participating kids and adults through several “Wrench Days.” Bike Irving places bikes with people, helping them learn how to…

Study Looks At Houston Bike And Pedestrian Fatalities

By: Gail Delaughter        www.houstonpublicmedia.org


A new study shows that despite recent efforts, Houston still has a lot of work to to do to make the city safer for cyclists and walkers.
The study from the Alliance for Biking and Walking ranks Houston in the top half of cities when it comes to how much it spends on biking and walking projects, but the number of people killed in cycling and pedestrian accidents remains high.
The Alliance’s Jeffrey Miller says Houston has about 20 pedestrian fatalities for every 10,000 walking commuters. That’s over double the national average for big cities.
“So typically we’re seeing these high numbers in cities that have very wide and high-speed roads, so it makes it very difficult for a pedestrian, especially a pedestrian who might be moving slower because they’re elderly, they’re young.”
Following a rash of bike fatalities in recent months, Houston is taking the first steps toward developing a bike master plan. Mayor Annise Parker has…

Strava Speed vs. Bike Computer Speed

Bike Noob

I’m now able to irritate a lot of my friends because I use Strava. The record-keeping is useful, and the segments — while they do prompt one to speed up when one might not want to — provide a nice progress report on one’s ability over certain parts of rides. But there’s one thing I’ve noticed: My speeds according to Strava are different from the speeds registered by my bike computer.
screen
Now, I know I have el cheapo computer. However, I’ve been pretty satisfied with it. I measured the circumference of the front wheel by hand, and found that I need to enter 19 more millimeters than the 2096 commonly used for 23mm tires. My tires are 25mm, so…

5AM Wake-Up Ride

Memorial Ride for Eddie Arguelles

Join Monette and the group as we dedicate Thursday’s morning ride to Eddie. For your safety and the safety of the group, make sure that you have front and back lights.
Wheels down at 5am so get here a little earlier.

Saturday’s Bike Pub Crawl to the Draught House

The Violet Crown Sports Association

There was a good turnout for the “pub-crawl” bike ride to pay respects for our lost friend, riding brother, and long-time Violet Crown member BILL REAMS. Beer and bikes, it’s what he liked.
The leisurely ride left from Nelo’s Bike Shop around 2:30 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and made its way south to the Draught House where more of Bill’s friends awaited. Folks sat outside and enjoyed tasty craft brews from the Draught House’s wide selection (a great venue for the event) and visited. A journal was passed around for people to record their stories about Bill. They also had a chance to visit with Bill’s wife Linda and son Ryan. At one point, longtime (B&TETA) ride co-leader and friend, Ted Dunbar led the group in a toast to Bill. From the…

2 Charged in Connection with Cyclist’s Death (Video)

www.krgv.com

EDINBURG – Two 23-year-old men were charged in connection with the death of an Edinburg cyclist.
Emilio Gomez is facing charges of intoxication manslaughter, accident involving death and tampering with physical evidence. Nelson Cantu was charged with failure to report a felonly.
According to court documents, the two men admitted they were in the vehicle that fatally hit cyclist Eduardo Arguelles early Thursday morning.
CHANNEL 5 NEWS got a copy of court records that state the two men were headed home after a night of drinking. Investigators said Gomez’s truck hit Arguelles so hard that his body hit the windshield and flew back into the bed of the truck. Court documents state a driver behind Gomez witnessed the accident. That driver notified Arguelles’ companion, who was riding further ahead, what happened. The witness tried…

April 26th and 27th Rides!

Steiner Ranch Cycling

Last Saturday’s Scenic ride was really fun and again we had a great turnout.  We had 18 riders at one point. We all stayed together on our way to downtown and on the way back the group broke up into a faster and slower group.  This two group system really worked out well and we will continue to have a faster and slower group.  The faster group can go as fast as they can and the second group will be for those that just want a good workout but want to ride at a talking pace.  Both groups had a great time.
This was the first ride in a long time where no one got a flat also no one was left behind since we started with the two group system.  That being said on the way back group B noticed Allan was gone and it later came to our attention that he really needed a Cup Cake and stopped at the MyCupCake truck on the 620 for a carbo load.  So that did not count as being dropped.  That…

It’s time to sign up for the 2014 National Bike Challenge

by Jenny Rilling        BikeDFW.org

Hello BikeDFW members and friends! We are pleased to be the local advocacy host for the North Texas area for the third year of the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Challenge.
BikeDFW has been your North Texas area host since the Challenge’s inception and we are counting on you to help make this our best summer yet.
This year, we have prepared some contests and prize drawings that we hope will add to the…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/458023229206958081