Texas Bicycling News and Blog Digest March 7th

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Dallas parks board approves Fair Park bike share

By TOM BENNING, Staff Writer        www.dallasnews.com

The city of Dallas is moving forward with plans for its first bike share program — an experiment, in essence, that’s slated to launch this summer at Fair Park.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Board on Thursday approved the idea, which will provide the nonprofit Friends of Fair Park with up to $125,000 in city funds to install and operate a bicycle rental program in the 277-acre park.
The program would be relatively small, with around 15-20 bikes in two locations in Fair Park. And the bike share effort would shut down during the State Fair of Texas, when…

2014 Dirty Dozen Details

By Kim Jennings        bicyclesoutbackracing.net

Taken from the March Issue of The Racing Post
I wanted to ride my bike for a ridiculously long time on my birthday weekend, so Michelle and I planned to race the Dirty Dozen Mountain Bike Race in Warda, Texas. Our team had already tackled the Excruciation Exam at Bluff Creek Ranch last month, an 80 mile jaunt combining the trails and roads at Warda and Smithville, and I wanted to try to beat my time from last year’s 12 hour event.
Getting ready is half the battle. Sometimes I spend so much time worrying, planning, and packing that my prep time far exceeds the actual racing time. This was the case, as I was not ready to leave when Michelle arrived at my house the night before the race. We combined all our race paraphernalia and headed south to Warda, TX. There was a curfew arrival time at the ranch and they locked the entrance, but luckily there was a nice family owned campground a…

Friday Bagel Ride 03.07.2014

EP Cyclists


Friday morning Bagel Ride with the Ep gang!

Got Your Bike: A Guide to SXSW Cycling Options

by Brandon Mulder        www.austinpost.org

In the Austin Post’s Great Rush Hour Race, cycling proved itself one of the quickest ways to get through downtown during rush hour. With SXSW creating daylong rush-hour conditions, especially in festival areas, the Austin Post officially endorses cycling as the most reliable and efficient way to weave through gridlocked traffic and drunken crowds.
Here are a few of the SXSW cycling options available to you:
B-Cycle: This City-sponsored bike share program, which now incorporates 40 stations around the city center, lends itself to festival madness. A 24-hour day pass will cost you $8, and an annual…

Bicycle sales strong in January; other categories down

by BRAIN Staff

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — While total merchandise sales at IBDs were off 1 percent in January compared to the same month a year ago, complete bike sales bucked the downward trend, according to the latest figures from Leisure Trends RetailTrak. Bikes gained 3 percent in units and 6 percent in dollars in January compared to the same month in 2013.
With the exception of road bikes, which were down 5 percent, most major bike categories shared in the month’s dollar gains. The transit/fitness bike category was up 14 percent in units and 16 percent in dollars; lifestyle/leisure bikes were up 16 percent in both units and dollars; and…

Help B-Cycle During SXSW and Get Stuff!

violetcrown.org

PLEASE SIGN UP to help Austin B-cycle during SXSW!
Locals know biking is the best way to get around South By. And that’s the one thing we’ve got, BIKES! Please lend a hand to Austin’s newest community program to help us successfully show off our system to the world! Check-in/out bikes, balance the system, greet customers, etc. All volunteers will receive a…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 62: Comstock to wild camp 25 km west of Langtry
Friday March 7, 2014, 68 km (42 miles) – Total so far: 3,686 km (2,290 miles)
8:00 a.m.
We both realized (in our sleep) just how much even yesterday’s effort to get here took out of us. And here is nowhere, compared to what’s coming. So rather than quickly pack and go, we took a little time to rest and think. Part of that involved finding the CGOAB blog of Bob Zlystra (Southern Adventure), who passed through here a liitle over a week ago. Bob was forced to hitch hike, basically from Del Rio to Alpine, and finally fought his way to Van Horne.
We realized that we can not do a model of hopping from town to distant town. So we will just go, and when we pass a town, we will restock. We hope to have enough water and food to support one or two days with no resupply.Even wild camp sites are are rare here, since there is little but fences, border patrol dirt road, and rough scrub beside US 90. Head wind, hills, and/or rain could…

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

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Adams Street Dog Sprint

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After not biking since last Sunday I rode today. Last night I started thinking of a route I don’t normally ride. The route was on streets and roads I ride on but the order was backwards. The route went from Kingwood to Oakhurst to Briar Tree, Old Sorters Rd to Sorters Road. When I got to FM1314 I went west to Cumberland and turned around riding to Valley Ranch Parkway at FM1314. I stopped at the Stripes store there before riding through Valley Ranch to the southbound US59 service road. On the service road I went to FM1314 and rode east to Loop 494. Loop 44 took me to Adams Street and back into Kingwood. On Adams Street I encountered a large dog who wanted to get me but I out ran him; he wasn’t really committed to the chase since he gave up quickly. His bark was deep and his size was threatening. This is the first time I have been chased on Adams St. Hopefully it is the last.

When I mix up the streets on a route like this it is a guess how many miles I will ride. Today I biked 30.26 miles at a 15.1 mph average speed. March miles now total 98.19. I am not making much progress towards the 505 mile March goal. With 24 days left I have 407 miles to go. The weather this week has been cold again so I have not been out biking like I wanted to. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be in the mid 60’s and I plan on biking but not at the Raven’s Revenge in Huntsville. The overnight low is supposed to be 50 and I decided to stay at home to watch the Strade Bianche road race from Italy starting at 7:00AM. After the Strade Bianche finishes around 8:30 the weather should be warm enough for biking. It was 65 degrees when I started the ride at 12:36 and 67 when I finished at 3:19. The wind was rather strong from the SSE at 12 mph with 26 mph gusts. The chill in air made me glad I wore leg warmers, two long sleeve jerseys, windbreaker jacket and my shorts. Regular gloves were good enough to keep my hands warm. The high clouds let the sun through but not at full strength. Riding into the wind required extra effort to get me through the gusts.

One observation: a road kill skunk that has been dead long enough to be flat still stinks like a skunk.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Digest March 6th

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Bicycles and Beer roll out at The Pour House

Fort Worth Mountain Biker’s Association

Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 12, 2014!  There’s going to be a huge party at The Pour House in Fort Worth benefiting the club.  It couldn’t happen at a better time!  We need your support, so be sure to wear your favorite FWMBA T-shirt or jersey.  There will be craft beers, music and food to enjoy from 1:00-6:00pm. Mountain bikes and cruisers will be raffled off with all proceeds going to FWMBA.  There will be bike parking available, so let’s roll over for some good times at The Pour House.  Bring friends, and we’ll see you there!

FrankenBike #38 ~ Boone’s Cycles ~ The Ides of March ~ (5318 Crawford St)

houston.craigslist.org

FrankenBike (n) A free bike swap meet held once a month, at different locations in Houston and surrounding areas, that is open to anyone who wants to buy, sell or trade bicycles and bicycle related gear or parts.

Dallas poised to move forward with bike share program at Fair Park

By Tom Benning        cityhallblog.dallasnews.com

The city of Dallas is moving forward with plans for its first-ever bike share program – an experiment, in essence, that’s slated to launch this summer at Fair Park.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Board on Thursday approved the idea, which will provide the non-profit Friends of Fair Park with up to $125,000 in city funds to install and operate a bicycle rental program in the 277-acre park.
The program would be relatively small, with around 15-20 bikes spread across two locations in Fair Park. And the bike share effort would actually shut down during…

FULL LAP – 2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic Mountain Bike Race

www.turnincranks.com

The first lap of my race at the 2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic XC Mountain Bike Race.

Why I ditched the 29er for the 650b

www.texasmountainbiketrails.com


By Jimmy Rodriguez: Cycling enthusiast. Planting pastor of Love City Church (Cedar Hill). Husband of Kaysie Rodriguez. Servant to all.
Like most of us, I was introduced to the lifestyle of mountain biking on an old, used, steel frame 26er that had seen better days. It wasn’t great, but it was better suited for the trails than the BMX bike I grew up racing on. Despite my lack of skill and apparently ancient equipment it was a blast because as many of you can attest, at first we didn’t care about the newest technology or Strava times. We just enjoyed the ride.
But as my passion grew so did my addiction for the latest and greatest. I longed for the…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 61: Brackettville to Comstock: Peaceful, easy feeling.
Thursday March 6, 2014, 90 km (56 miles) – Total so far: 3,618 km (2,248 miles)
The romance of sleeping under the stars in the desert may stem from some sort of cowboy mythology. Or maybe it stems from the earliest days of prehistory. For us, it may stem from the line in the Eagles song “I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight, with a million stars all around”
Whatever the source of the mystique, the stars were all out in the desert last night and looking up at them was one of the highlights of the trip. We had left the fly off the tent, because of the clear sky. The temperature was 5 C which was easily handled by our sleeping bags. In fact it adds to the enjoyment when it is cool, but you are warm.
Because we had stopped early, and gone to bed early, we got up at 4:00 a.m. We enjoyed cooking breakfast and hanging around our concrete pad, and finally set off down the road at 5:30 a.m. The number of giant trucks roaring by had tapered off (but never stopped) overnight. With our various lights, flashers, and reflectors we felt almost safer than during the day. Although it had been comfortably cool in camp, it felt cold on…

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

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Texas Bicycling News Digest March 5th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Interest in a new Gravel Grinder race?

by drmoreau            forums.mtbr.com

Hi,
I’m working on a course profile for a 200 mile grinder in NE Texas, provisionally for October 2014. Planning a 100 mile route too, as well as shorter/easier rides for family/friends. I’m modeling the ride on the Dirty Kanza. Would have food/music at registration and at finish as well.
Do you think we could get 300 riders for each distance? …

Texas Hills, The Whole Enchilada 2014

By Bruce Nelson and Axel Kunzmann

Who? What? Where? When? And — Why?: The nuts and bolts
We have heard from several people of the joy of bicycling in the Texas Hills for years. But, the trips we have seen advertised were too short to merit a trip to Texas. So, when our friends Rosy and Jordan told us about this one, we jumped, first joining the Bicycle Adventure Club [click here] and then booking this trip [click here].
The ride directors are John McManus and Brenda Cole. Other participants are Bruce Nelson & Axel Kunzmann (us), Dianne Olsen, Gail Moyes, Frank Moyes, Hal Baas, Michael Blake, George Ellis, Chip Sterling, Kathy Sterling, Rosy Jacobsen, Jordan Jacobsen, Kathy Patrick-Baas, Donna Leban, Marion Shaw, Fred Shaw, Glenn Guenterberg, Toni Blanken, Thomas Blanken, Patrice Van Vleet and Rick Hill.
Unless otherwise noted, photos are from the cameras of Axel and Bruce. To see other journals we have done…

River Bend Work day March 8, 2014

GHORBA

Trail: River Bend
Saturday, March 8, 2014 – 7:30am
t is now or never to build trail.
Greg has marked a new trail and we need to finish it before the grass is too thick.
We will work that weekend between races so no excuses. Paydirt hours can be had.
Plan on meeting at the green gate at 7:30 am on the March 8th. We, ll work till noon.
Bring water, gloves, loppers, racks…

Granbury,Texas to Marysville, Washington the long way

By Martin Dabrowski*

Before I go.: Off to see the world
I’m of to see parts of the USA that I’ve never seen before, the deep south. I’ve been to 43 states so far in my life and this trip will add 6 of the missing ones. I’ll still have Alaska left but that’s another tip.
Why am I going by bicycle? It’s a good way to really see things. You’re not locked up in a fast moving car, whizzing by things at 70 miles an hour. You can stop anywhere, smell everything and really enjoy the scenery. And one of the big pluses is the people that you meet. You roll into a rest area or camp ground and you are non-threatening to people, just a curiosity. “Who is this weird guy on a bike?” I’ve had some very interesting conversations in my previous trips and I’ve also gotten some helpful hints as to what to see and where to go.
This journal will not be a great literary work, just a…

Interview- RAAM Cycling Challenge – Marble Falls, TX

www.wheelbrothers.com

Have you ever tried one of the RAAM Challenge events? If not, this would be a great place to start! It’s one of the coolest ride series around, and it’s on March 8th, 2014. We sat down for an amazing interview with the newest host of the event, Jon Reiling.
Why join your ride?
First of all, the thing that I am most proud of is that we have something for everyone. All levels of riders. We have a half mile ride, all way up to a 400 mile ride for those qualifying for RAMM. There is also an option to ride solo or as a team. As a team, you can ride it has a 2 man or 4 man team, and split it up between riders.  Additionally, we focus on the community. Texas has an amazing cycling community, which is one of the reasons we chose the Austin event. We want to support the community in all aspects. This year, we are highlighting the…

March Bike Event Roundup

By Brandon Mulder        www.austinpost.org

Ahhh, springtime … at long last. The glorious sunshine and moderate temperatures that revisit our city this month leave no excuse to not take full advantage of the great outdoors. There are occasions aplenty to take part in some social and cycling adventures.
Tuesday Morning Blazing Saddle Ride: Every Tuesday morning at 6:15 sharp, Mellow Johnny’s and Team 787Racing hold a fast-paced sunrise ride. Rides cover about 40 miles, and maintain an average speed of 20 mph through West Austin hills. This is not a “no-drop” ride—which means stragglers are left behind. The ride takes off from Mellow Johnny’s new address, 400 Nueces. More info here.
Scout-a-Route: Every Saturday at 9 a.m., Mellow Johnny’s and the Austin Cycling Association hold their casual, no-drop Scout-a-Route ride. These rides are designed to help riders navigate the city’s bike routes and other safe biking commuting options through the…

FrankenBike – Austin

austin.frankenbike.net

FrankenBike # 104 ~ March 29, 2014 ~ 10am-4pm ~
Bike Farm ~ 6516 Shirley Ave ~ 78752
FrankenBike # 105 ~ April 26, 2014 ~ 10am-4pm ~
University Cyclery ~ 2901 N Lamar Blvd ~ 78705
FrankenBike # 106 ~ May 31, 2014 ~ 10am-4pm ~
BikeTexas ~ 1902 East 6th ~ 78702
FrankenBike # 107 ~ June 28, 2014 ~ 10am-4pm ~
Ozone Bikes ~ 3202 Guadalupe St ~ 78705 ~
Celebrating 9 Years of FrankenBike! …

Jurgen Gruber wins the Cat 3 40-49 at the 2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic MTB Race!

www.voodooracing.net

Voodoo rider Jurgen Gruber dominated the Cat 3 40-49 MTB race at the Mellow Johnny’s Classic with a lead of almost 2 minutes!

Driver arrested in FM 1960 hit-and-run

by Heather Alexander, Houston Chronicle

A 55-year-old man has been charged with failure to stop and render aid after a Tuesday hit-and-run that critically injured a cyclist.
Hoang Xuan Nguyen is accused of hitting the cyclist around 9:30 p.m. on FM 1960 near the Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The cyclist was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital with critical injuries.
Witnesses who called 911 after the driver failed to…

City to test whether pedestrians, cyclists will use car-free streets

By Dug Begley, Mike Morris        www.chron.com

Houston officials will soon close portions of some heavily traveled roads to cars, testing whether residents will take to the streets for some exercise and entertainment.
The pilot program, announced Wednesday, starts April 6 when a combined 2.5 miles of White Oak Boulevard and Quitman Street will be closed to automotive traffic between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“It is a way to acquaint ourselves with what is around those streets in a way we don’t normally experience it going by car,” Mayor Annise Parker said.
The Heights and near north side closings will be followed in May with a…

The Horror of Lago Vista

texasbikeracing.com


compliments of Steven Wheeler / Super Squadra pb Austinbikes
On the way home from La Primavera at Lago Vista on Saturday, I called my wife, Nina.
“Hey honey, I’m on the way home,” I told her.
“Already? What happened?” She asked, knowing that bike races that end too soon—usually end badly.
“Well, I got dropped.”
“Okay, well, why race if you’re going to get dropped?” Nina teased.
“I didn’t plan on getting dropped after 40 miles,” I explained, but because Nina had been out of town for work the week prior, and I’d been solely in charge of taking care of our two young kids—getting them to school, and going to swim practice, and preparing their meals, and doing their laundry, and reading…

The Racing Post March 2014 Edition

The Racing Post

Mayor Annise Parker Launches SundayStreetsHTX

www.houstongovnewsroom.org

Pilot program will open streets to bicyclists and pedestrians for recreation and physical activity
SundayStreetsHTx will open White Oak, Westheimer and Washington/Market Square to bicyclists and pedestrians on the first Sundays in April, May and June 2014, respectively.  The streets will be open from 11 am – 3 pm.
Open Streets are multi-faceted programs that promote the use of public streets for recreation and physical activity.  Open Streets originated in Bogota, Colombia, over 30 years ago, and have been rapidly spreading to other regions of the world with the largest expansion in the United States.  It is estimated there are over 200 large-scale Open Streets initiatives worldwide, with 90 in the U.S., including San Antonio, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Portland, San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles.
“SundayStreetsHTX is an opportunity for families and neighbors to…

USA Cycling announces 28 domestic elite teams to compete in 2014

www.usacycling.org

New for 2014: The top six men’s domestic elite teams will be eligible to race at the 2014 Professional Criterium National Championships.
Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 5, 2014) — Twenty-eight men’s and women’s domestic elite teams will join 10 total UCI continental squads in competition for supremacy on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar (NRC) and the National Criterium Calendar (NCC) in 2014.
As was the case in 2013, women’s DETs are eligible to participate in the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn., May 24-26, as well as the 2014 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championships on Sept. 6 in High Point, N.C.
New for 2014, the top six men’s DETs on the…
…Athlete Octane Cycling
Marco Aledia (Worthington, Ohio)
Rahsaan Bahati (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Colton Barret (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Anthony Canevari (Downey, Calif.)
Clayton Chase (Mequon, Wis.)
Andrew Dahlheim (Austin, Texas)…
Elbowz Racing
Gabriel Baca (MEX)
Simon Essl (Dallas, Texas)
Adam Koble (Denton, Texas)
Michael Lalla (Coon Rapids, Minn.)
Stefan Rothe (Austin, Texas)
Ben Spies (Dallas, Texas)
Colin Strickland (Austin, Texas)…
more Texans on other teams

List of Club Rides

The Tyler Bicycle Club

Sunday
Owens Elementary Ride
“A” group – 2:00 pm start, 40+ miles, 16 to 18 mph average.
“B” group – 2:30 pm start, 18 to 23 miles, 13.5 to 15.5 average, no drop.
UT Tyler
2:00 pm start time
Old Beauty and the Beast Route – 30 to 60+ miles, 15 to 17 mph average.
Monday
Fresh Ride
6:00 pm start time.
Ride from Fresh Grocery Store, park on south side of building.  25 to 30 miles, 14 to 16 mph average.
Tuesday
Elite Bicycle Ride
6:00 pm start time.
Ride from parking lot at Elite Bicycles.  18 to 30+ miles, 13 to 16 mph average.
Simpson’s Tuesday Nighter
6:00 pm start time.
“A” group:  Pain Train racing training ride.  30+ miles, 17+ mph.
“B’ group:  Non-Pain Train ride, 25 to 30 miles, 14 to 16 mph. …

2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic Mountain Bike Race

www.turnincranks.com


My Cat2 40-44 mountain bike race video from 2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic. Weather started out nice. Watch the temp in the upper right as it starts at 68 and plummets to below 40 over the course of the race!
Some water on the lens from sprinkles of rain. Said rain also resulted in slick rocks and roots which resulted in a crash about 1/3 through my 2nd lap.
Finished up 12 of 30 starters. Had been hoping for a…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 60: Uvalde to Wild Camp 15 km west of Bracketville
Wednesday March 5, 2014, 80 km (50 miles) – Total so far: 3,528 km (2,192 miles)
It took four or five km to pass back through the centre of Uvalde, reach our police station, and head out into the wilds of the Pecos region. Actually, the Hill Country nominally hangs on until just before Brackettville, but as we saw yesterday, the Hill Country is already done for. …

Bryan’s Story: #myrideto Confidence

by djcurtin        Bicycle Sport Shop’s Offical Cycling Blog

With the launch of our new Get Started bike and accessory packages, we wanted to tell the story of how some riders got started on their cycling journey. After talking with a number of folks we found three really great people with really great stories about their rides to becoming cyclists. If you know someone on the fence about giving cycling a try, share one of these stories with them. Below you’ll see Bryan’s and his “ride to confidence.” We want to hear your story too. Take to social media and use the hashtag #myrideto and tag us telling us your story. We’ll share our favorite pictures and posts with our followers to help get more people on bikes.
Bryan’s Ride to Confidence
My best friend/roommate got a bike for Christmas. Watching him put it together reminded me of how much I loved riding my bike when I was younger and how I couldn’t wait to get home from school so I could ride around the neighborhood with my friends. It had been so long since I had been on a bike and I had gained so much weight since then that I didn’t really think that getting a bike was an option for…

2014 La Primavera 35+ Finish

Vince Marotte

The Vampire Army Draws Blood at Lago Vista
Bat City started 5 riders; Russ, Ben, Dave, Andy and Vince on Sunday at Lago, which runs counter clockwise up the steep ramps. We had plenty of power and options and as a team we have carte blánche in the peloton when we toe the line with the biggest squad representing plenty of top 10s so far this season.
The plan at the start was to set tempo on the hill starting around lap 2 and then see what we could do on the hill on lap 4 or 5. Andy and I were thinking about having a go on one of those laps, staying near the front and out of the wind. This plan quickly changed as around lap 2 the looming cold front came in all at once, dropping the temp from 68 to 45 in a few minutes. This meant we…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIDkO1_KW_Q&feature=player_detailpage

Tweets

https://twitter.com/ButlerTrail/status/441251851015426049