Texas Bicyling Blog and News Digest April 6th

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Bat City Cycling

Quick stop during yesterday’s bike practice

Tour de Cure – DFW

East Texas State Park Cycling Tour

by TonyWard        rbentonline.org

Hopefully some others will chime in here with additional details and pictures.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/473026584
Four riders (Kenny, Richard, Cookie and I) left Winnsboro around 10 am Sunday morning headed to visit 3 different State parks in East Texas.  We traveled 41 miles all towing our camping gear in trailers and followed/supported by Sweeper (thanks again for going with us Sweeper!) and headed to Daingerfield State Park where we spent our first night relaxing and swapping stories around the camp fire.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/473026598
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/473026622
Day 2 saw us heading out of Daingerfield SP and going to Caddo Lake SP.  Our route for the day was 45 miles and had heavy traffic – we vowed next time to find a better road for this stretch.  As we sat in camp that evening we watched a lighning storm off to our north and were fortunate it just sprinkled for a minute or two on us.  The 5 of us hopped into Sweepers car and went looking for a place to eat finally finding a backwoods bar that surprisingly served food though we were the only people there that weren’t 3 sheets to the wind.  Most of our group was disappointed to find out we were too early for the Testicle Festival that was planned for the end of April (calf fries were leading the menu along with some bands)…..I wouldn’t be surprised if someone would be making the trip out there again in the next couple of weeks  Grin
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/473026641
Day 3 took us to Atlanta SP via Atlanta TX – the hills sure seemed to pick up and start building but the road north up to Atlanta was great with some long smooth wide shoulders.  We had the wind at our back and made it in record time (for us).  We stopped for breakfast at a convenience store and…

Texas Trails and Active Trans. Confer.

By: Bill Elliott        www.okbike.org

On March 26-28  I attended the Texas Trails and Active Transportation conference in Fort Worth. I was there because OBC was invited to participate in a panel discussion on the last day of the conference, talking about cycling advocacy in Oklahoma and some of the successes/challenges we face as a conservative state.
This is a summary of the various conference sessions that I attended, as well as some thoughts about how we might use some of those ideas in Oklahoma.
Session 1 . Using social media for cycling advocacy. The presenter showed the use of Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, and other social media programs for communicating cycling issues. It was suggested to limit posts to 1 or 2 a day for Facebook and hourly for Twitter.
Ideas for Oklahoma: We are using a Facebook page for the U.S. Bike Route 66 status, but not for the overall OBC updates. We should create an OBC Facebook page and promote people to “Like” it from the OBC web page and emails.
Session 2 . Building Regional Partnerships. Two groups shared their progress for bike action. First was a group of communities between Dallas and Fort Worth that are leading an effort to build bike trails that connect Dallas to Fort Worth.  The second group was from Brownsville and they shared their progress for building out bike trails and lanes in their city. Both groups were successful in leveraging their local governments and key proponents including the…

Corinth Cycling

Corinth Cycling had another great racing weekend in Tyler at the Charter Reserve Stage Race.
Darrell Hull and Stan Kruse finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 50+ cat 1-4 race!!! Congrats to everyone who raced.

EP Cyclists Sunday Ride

Two great rides.. Great Solid Cat A “Controlled Ride” maintained a 20 mph pace with a cross wind going out and a 22 mph average coming back. The overall pace was 19.5 mph. Everyone pulled and every contribute equally, great team work. Thanks to…

Trek with a purpose

www.lmtonline.com

Norma Bastidas, a survivor of human trafficking and ultra-triathlete, arrived in Laredo on Friday, making her trek into the United States through the Gateway to the Americas Bridge via a bicycle.
Bastidas started her journey by swimming 90 miles in Cancun on March 1. Bastidas is doing the trek to raise awareness of human trafficking as well as attempting to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.
She became a victim of human trafficking when she…

Thousands enjoy closed roads during Houston’s pilot program

By Jayme Fraser        www.chron.com

Juan, Andres and Maricela Alvarado pedaled faster and swerved from the yellow line of Quitman Street toward a puddle at the corner of Chestnut, screaming and laughing as the water splashed and soaked their jeans.
The siblings – ages 9 and 11 – turned around and raced back onto Quitman without stopping to look for cars. On Sunday, they didn’t have to.
The City of Houston closed a 2.5-mile stretch of Quitman and White Oak to motor vehicles for four hours on Sunday, encouraging Houstonians to play in the street and explore their neighborhoods, pushing strollers or…

Bike by the Beach Ride

www.bayoucityoutdoors.com

Galveston, TX        April 19, 2014
We will meet at the Target store parking lot which is off 61st street exit on I-45.  Make a Uturn This is the second exit after the causeway.  We will bike to Moody Center for a quick break.  We will not take 61st to Moody.  From there we will bike to the seawall and bike by the beach at 10 MPH all the way to McDonalds for another quick break.
From McDonalds we will bike to the Bolivar Ferry where we will take the ferry to Bolivar and tour an old historic fort, see some fishing spots, and then back to the ferry to go back to Galveston.  Hopefully we will get to see some dolphins and plenty of pelicans.
Then we will bike to lunch at The Original Mexican Cafe around 1 pm.  Lunch will be close to…

Day 30: Buh-bye, Texas hills!

Rona’s Ride

Left Fredericksburg on a chilly 40s morning headed to Austin–yes, Texas. It can be a dilemma dressing in the morning if it’s cold; is it one jacket, two jackets, long sleeves, short sleeves, headband, which gloves, etc. etc. I love my bike bag, not just for snacks, but carrying excess clothes!!

Found the famous Texas Bluebonnets, a Longhorn Steer, and a nice (yes, nice!!) hotel (La Quinta) all on one 77 mile ride. It was our last ride in the Texas Hill Country and there are no tears here, my friends. Climbed over 4500 feet today and after today, our…

Mountain Bike Noob

Bike Noob

Now, don’t freak out. I still consider myself mainly a road biker. But sometimes, it’s good to change things up.
Saturday morning, I decided it was a good change-up day. The night before, I had pulled the skinny tires off the mountain bike, and replaced them with the knobbies. Good thing I did, too — the old skinny tires, which I had taken from a cast off bike a neighbor had left at the curb several years ago — showed a major problem. As I ran my thumb along the sidewall, the rubber cracked and flaked away.

How those tires got through my maiden mountain bike ride two weeks ago, banging over rocky trails, without blowing out, is beyond me.
With the new old tires in place, I though I’d head over to the Slaughter Creek Trail.  It’s perhaps two miles from my house. The trail was built several years ago on old ranch land that is now managed by the water…

It is time for the Mt. Selman Four Mile Time Trial!

Tyler Bicycle Club

Mt. Selman four mile Time Trial starts this week! Thursday, April 10th will be the first of five Time Trials. We are working on ideas for raffle items and we have a surprise for this years’ TT. Be at the Mt. Selman Baptist Church to start signing up around 6:00 pm and the first rider goes off at 6:30 pm.
Remember, you must participate (ride or volunteer) in 4 of the 5 TT’s to qualify for the raffle drawing.
Time Trail Dates:  April 10th, 24th, May 8th, 22nd and the Final TT will be June 5th.

Tour de Freedom, Plainview

West Texas Recumbent

Club had a organized ride called the Post to Gail ride but I had already signed up for the Tour de Freedom ride in Plainview.
The weather was not friendly with chance of rain and of course the wind blowing 18mph with gust to 26+.
As soon as I got to my turn there was a train on the tracks… I ended up just looping around it.
It was a small turn out of 7 riders and…

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Texas Bicycling News and Blog Digest April 5th

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A Quick Chat with Heath Blackgrove

by Jeff Cutler        texasbikeracing.com


At age 12, Heath Blackgrove started racing bikes, and he’s never looked back. As part of his upbringing in New Zealand, his father brought Heath to races with him—and a love for cycling was nurtured, along with an understanding and respect for a healthy lifestyle.
These days, 21 years into his cycling career, Blackgrove says the best part of racing bikes is both people and places.
“There’s a great cycling community here, which I really love about this city (Austin).”
“I met my wife through cycling and it’s what brought us to Texas and Austin,” he said. “There’s a great cycling community here, which I really love about this city.”
But it took a while for Blackgrove to land in Texas. While traveling the world and cycling, he had the opportunity to spend 3.5 seasons racing in Europe, and along the way, was also able to win 12 national titles in New Zealand. These include road, time trial, and track, but his most memorable results were…

Bat City Cycling

Taco stop

Ride of Silence

Dallas Cycling Trail Riders and Weekend Pub Crawlers

Wednesday, May 21, 2014    7:00 PM
White Rock Lake Park
Dallas, Texas, Dallas, TX (map)
Ride of Silence happens all over the world as a way to honor cyclists who have been injured or killed on the road. It originally began right here in Dallas, Tx in 2003. I have found this to be a moving experience in the past. Everyone meets and cycles in absolute silence around the lake. At the end the cyclists line up in a formation facing each other and there is a brief closing ceremony. You can find out more about it on www.rideofsilence.org. Let’s meet on the west side of White Rock Lake, between Branchfield and…

Tour de Cure Training Ride

Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club

Saturday April 12,: Ride begins at 9:00 a.m.  We will meet at Rudy’s parking lot on hwy. 151 and West Over Hills Blvd.  This scenic and somewhat hilly 30 mile optional training ride.  It is also a good workout. Come and check out this new route that avoids the traffic on Talley Road and some of the hills of the previous ride.  For Information contact Heidi Lynn at…

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Five Ride Days in a Row

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I was limited on time today and selected the route to Huffman to get back home to meet people who were interested in our Jeep Grand Cherokee. Keeping the ride under 30 miles to Huffman and back totaled 27.71 miles at a 15.7 mph average speed. I wimped out going to the Katy Ram Challenge this morning. The temperature this morning when I got up was 58 and I thought I was going to watch a race from Europe. The race ended up not being online. I then decided the overcast sky was not going to produce any rain. After posting an ad on Craigslist to sell our Jeep Grand Cherokee I got ready to bike. Just before I left I got a text message from an interested party. Leaving home at 1:19 I figured I had enough time to ride to Huffman before they said they would be here. I got back at 3:35 and a text message at 3:45 saying they were on their way. Just enough time to get a shower.

The temperature hovered around 68 degrees during the ride and the wind was a sedate 9 mph for a change. I thought March was the month for wild winds, not April. I am making progress toward the April goal of 778 miles with 154.11 miles so far. This week I biked 193.42 miles (1 day from March included) and 1414 miles year to date.

I saw two other bicyclists during the ride. One was on the path along Kingwood Drive and I don’t remember the other location.

The Stradalli RP-14 Carbon bike continues to perform excellently. Once it gets a little warmer maybe I can put in some longer rides to put it through its paces. I got another compliment on how it looks while I was at the Huffman Chevron.

My string of riding days will end tomorrow. Rain is in the forecast (80% chance) and I have a meeting at church. Monday looks promising: 74 degrees and partly cloudy.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS maps and metrics.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Digest April 4th

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Rocky Tuesday. Intermediate pace, hard terrain

The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 5:15 PM to Friday, April 18, 2014, 7:45 PM
Needs a location
I have to work this week, but I am posting this up for anyone who wants to lead the ride.  Post a comment that you will lead and at what trail and I will give you admin rights on this specific meetup Thanks!
This is not a ride for beginners.  The terrain is rocky, dangerous, difficult.  This is a drop ride meaning that if you are unable to keep pace, you may be left behind.  If you are left behind, there…

HEMET: Women’s cycling team hosted in family’s home

BY KYLE LUNDBERG        www.pe.com


When a group of Texas cyclists got together to form the Haute Wheels Racing women’s cycling team last November, they agreed that, while skill level was important, they wouldn’t get very far if they didn’t work well together.
“We’ve all raced each other as competitors, so we knew each other’s personalities,” said team captain Mandy Heintz.
That teamwork served them well in the Texas circuit, where they won all seven races in which they competed. And not long after becoming a team, they knew they wanted to go big.
This week marks the team’s first appearance in the Redlands Bicycle Classic, where they hope to make an impact during the five-day series of racing events, culminating with two days of…

Rocky Tuesday. Barton Creek Greenbelt. Intermediate Pace. Very-Hard Terrain.

The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 5:15 PM to Friday, April 18, 2014, 7:45 PM
Barton Creek Greenbelt – Travis Country entrance
4513 Travis Country Circle, Austin, TX (map)
Look for the guy on the red Santa Cruz Nomad.
This is not a ride for beginners or even budding intermediates.  The terrain is rocky, dangerous, difficult.  This is a drop ride meaning that if you are unable to keep pace, you may be left behind.  If you are left behind, there really is only one well…

Road Time Trial 1

San Angelo Bicycle Association

Susan Peak Rd – San Angelo
Date(s) – 04/10/2014
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: Susan Peak Rd
Categories:     Road Time Trial
The start place will be about 150 yards north of HWY 87 on FM1223. Please park on the east side of the road to prevent any traffic problems.
The Susan Peak Time Trial is a 12 mile loop.
To participate in the time trials you are required to be a current member of SABA. Join now!
Riders estimate their time and are placed in order from slowest to fastest. Riders are started 1 min apart.

EP Cyclists Ride Info

EP Cyclists

***Saturday Ride (Cat A, Cat B, Cat C+)
Cat A & B – Meet at park and drive metro Parking Lot (Edgemere)
Time 8:30am
– Cat A Albert and Pedro
– Cat B Lead by Rick M
– Only Cat C+ Meet at entrance to Hueco Tanks (Montana)
Time: 9am Lead by Angel D. Hernandez Lozoya
***Sunday Ride (Cat A – Cat B)
Meet at Green Spot (Edgemere and Saul Klienfield)
Time 8:30am
– Cat A lead by Pedro and Albert 40 miles
– Cat B Lead by Rick and Angel (Scenic Drive) 28 miles
– Meet at Green Spot (Edgemere and Saul Klienfield)

Stories for the Ages

Shawnee Trail Cycling Club

You can depend on the Texas weather to give you stories to tell your children.  First and foremost, everyone made it home safely from our ride although a few were a bit worse for wear.  Some very fun times last night, but some that were also very frightening, especially towards the end.  I realize this reads more like a blog than most of our posts, but I wanted to give our members a chance to share the experience.
What a dramatic night! We had about 40 show up at the start of the Thursday Night Rider, hoping for one of those great post-storm evening rides.  Even though the skies to the north and east were black and foreboding, to the west was hope. We even saw a little sunshine. Expecting…

Richardson Gets Safe Routes To School

Bike Friendly Richardson

A few years back, Ricahardson was awarded federal funding through a Safe Routes to School grant from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for two schools in Richardson: Richland Elementary and Yale Elementary. …

For Sale –  2011 Motobecane Le Champion CF Ltd. 56cm – $695

Rick Ankrum      Texbiker.net

For sale. 2011 model Motobecane Le Champion CF Ltd. bike. Carbon fiber frame. I installed new Ultegra 6700 brake calipers late January. Continental Gatorskin 700×25 tires. I will include a pair of new Gatorskin tires. The Ultegra 6700 pedals are included. The rear cassette is 11-28. The crankset is 172.5 with 50×34 compact rings. Great riding bike. I upgraded to a new Stradalli. I rode this bike 18668 miles. …

PALO DURO MOUNTAIN BIKING TRIP

Texas Tech University

While hard to believe at times, the high plains of west Texas are home to more than cotton farms and cattle pastures. Palo Duro Canyon is home to some of the best mountain biking in the state. Wondering if mountain biking is for you? Make a one day commitment full of thrilling rides through canyon country to find out! Along with gaining experience with the activity you’ll learn about the local area and meet fellow enthusiasts with whom you can plan your next trip.
Registration Info
Trip Date:
April 26th
Early Registration Deadline:
April 16
Early Trip Cost:
$35
Late Registration Deadline:
April 23
Late Trip Cost:
$45…

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