Texas Bicycling Blog and News Digest March 4th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Issue 23 Sneak Peek—Cowboy ’Cross

by Daniel Curtin        www.cxmagazine.com

It’s 9 am. To the side of the course, sheep graze and a longhorn stares you down. Striding across the field that is doing double duty as a parking lot, you realize you’re overdressed in jeans and a t-shirt and that your cuffs are covered in thorns. You reposition your sunglasses to cut the sun’s glare and gaze across the course to see who is warming up. Dust floats off the ground and hovers in the still air and everyone looks as if they need a tall, cool drink, including the spectators. You wonder who will do feeds for you today. A mariachi band plays at the top of the run-up. You sign your waiver get your number. By now, you’ve been outside…

Hold Your Line!

Bike Noob

Recently, I was riding with a group I hadn’t ridden with before. We got along well, and seemed to have similar abilities. About halfway into the ride, we crossed a busy road and got onto a rough street in a rural town. The street made a 90-degree turn to the left to go into the town’s business district.
I was in the middle of the group, making the left turn, when suddenly, a rider to my left called out, “Watch it, there!”
I flicked my handlebars a little to the right to make room for him, concerned that I might bang into the rider on my right. The guy who…

ocbicycleoc – Lago Vista

ocbicycleoc

With Bryan Boydstun winning his race both days, Tyler Stewart winning Sunday, and Caleb here wining on Saturday,…
J.A. Hicks Photography: Lago Vista Day 1 &emdash;

Olympic athletes take to local trails for new pro mountain bike series

By Karen Brooks Harper        culturemap.com

Olympic and world-class athletes from around the world hit the trail this weekend in Central Texas to make mountain biking history. Cyclists had a shot at winning the richest cross-country pro mountain bike series in the world, and the first series of its kind in North America, the USA Cycling U.S. Cup Mountain Bike Race Series.
With an $81,000 purse and valuable UCI World Cup points at stake, top mountain bikers converged on the Flat Creek Ranch just outside of Dripping Springs for the first race of the four- race series. “Racing against the best racers in the world will also help the Olympic hopefuls elevate their skills, fitness and strategy ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in…

EP Cyclists shared Manuel Valadez’s photo.

EPCyclists


El Paso Times report on cycling in El Paso

Haga, Craddock will get first first taste of Belgium this week

By Andrew Hood        velonews.competitor.com

WorldTour rookies Lawson Craddock and Chad Haga will get their first tastes of cobbles this week when they line up for the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen (Three Days of West Flanders) in Belgium.
The race is part of the school of hard knocks the American Giant-Shimano riders have enrolled in during their debut season in the elite pro ranks. Each already has a month of racing under his belt. Craddock debuted at the Dubai Tour in early February and Haga has been racing in France. They will link up in Belgium for West Flanders March 7-9.

“It’s a whole new world out here. It’s not Tour of the Gila anymore,” Craddock told VeloNews at Dubai. “I’ve worked really hard for this. To pin a number on…

Performance Great Ride Series: North Houston

Meetup.com

You’re invited to join our Saturday morning, beginners group ride starting from and ending at our North Houston, Performance Bicycle store. The ride is for beginners and those getting back on the saddle. The average pace will be between 10 and 14 miles per hour and the ride will last approximately one hour. We’ll explore some of the local bike paths available to you and experience some residential riding as well. The ride leaves the store every Saturday morning, 8:00 am and is a “No Rider Left Behind” ride. Come out and join our ride leaders, for some fun outdoors.

Pro XCT: Plaxton and Nash become first leaders of US Cup Pro Series

www.usacycling.org

(March 4, 2014) — The USA Cycling US Cup Pro Series presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group and the USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) kicked off the mountain bike cross-country season on March 1 with the 2014 Subaru of Georgetown  Mellow Johnny’s Classic in Dripping Springs, Texas. Canadian Max Plaxton (Cannondale Factory Team) and Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) of the Czech Republic earned victories in their respective elite races to take the early standings lead in both the seven-race Pro XCT and the four-event USA Cycling US Cup Pro Series presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group.

Men
Plaxton launched his winning attack on the final main climb then held off fellow Canadian Geoff Kabush (CAN/Scott-3Rox Racing) by two seconds at the finish. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized Racing) followed them across the line in…

BikeHouston Annual General Meeting

www.bikehouston.org

When: March 26, 2014 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Add to Calendar Add to Google
Where: Beck’s Prime (Memorial Park location)
1001 East Memorial Loop Drive
Houston, TX
BikeHouston will hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, March 26, at 6:30 pm at the Beck’s Prime located at the Golf Clubhouse in Memorial Park. All current members are invited to come out and hear about some of BikeHouston’s latest accomplishments as well as some of the issues we are currently focusing on. Elections for expired board positions will also take place and…

Saturday Distance Builder Recreation Ride

Plano Bicycle Association

Ride Starts 3/8/14
GOAL of the DB Rec Ride — is to prepare seriously committed riders to complete either the MS 150 or the HHH or both by consistently building base mileage.
WHO should consider this ride — anyone who has successful experience with either the Tweener, DB Lt or above rides can do well on this ride.  Experience below Tweener alone is probably not enough to join this ride.
Ground rules for success —
1  This not an entry level ride, riders should be fully aware of and compliant with PBA ride policies and etiquette.  We will follow all PBA and Texas Transportation Code rules, meaning stopping at stop signs and lights, riding 2 abreast on normal roads and single file on 2 lane roads.
2  Ride leaders will control the pace to avg 15.5 to 16 mph (traveling speeds slightly higher),  do not expect sprint zones (only at…

Riding Across The Country & Building For Good

www.texasmountainbiketrails.com


Katie is one of the newest members of Bearded Women Racing and a recent University of North Texas graduate. She has a passion for riding bikes and helping people. This summer, Katie will have the opportunity to combine both her passions and take on an epic adventure when she journeys across the United States with the Bike & Build program.
Interview done by Jesse Bernal, also of Bearded Women Racing.
Tell us who you are, where you come from, and why you’re here.
Greetings! My name is Katie Shaw and I hail from Denton, TX. I’m a recent college grad of the University of North Texas with a degree in English Literature, and I’m here to chat a little bit about my upcoming summer, which…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 59: Leakey to Uvalde: Fat Tuesday – not just Mardi Gras but pig out at Bonnie’s Bakery
Tuesday March 4, 2014, 71 km (44 miles) – Total so far: 3,448 km (2,142 miles)
Our cabin at Frio Springs was so much like a house that our time there was almost like having gone home briefly and restarted the tour.One added feature that also was reminiscent of home was the deer in the back yard in the morning. At home, though, we would send Dodie or Sandra out to chase them off the garden. But here, they are just cute. …

That first bike ride

Bike Geek

A gasp.  A look of bewilderment.  A grin a mile wide.
Another child has learned how to ride a bicycle!  In this case my six-year old daughter, Sara.
It’s not like she hasn’t been working hard to achieve this goal.  This journey began with a balance bike, went through the dark ages of training wheels and really saw progress when those training wheels and her pedals came off the bike.  Sara’s grandfather Jack was the architect of this brilliant decision.  He removed the pedals and lowered the saddle.  Sara spent hours scooting along in grandpa’s driveway – picking up her feet and coasting/balancing before…

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/LA_Underhill/status/441029412365271040

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/440886816002953216

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Digest March 3rd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bike Texas Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Ride

by Bill Chance

When the plans for Santiago Calatrava’s Margaret Hunt Hill bridge were finalized a lot of folks were disappointed that it did not include pedestrian or bicycle lanes. We were promised that a crossing would be provided on the proximate Continental Bridge, which was being converted to a park. There is no other good way to cross the Trinity in that part of town without an internal-combustion engine. The final designs still don’t have the promised through-lanes – but it will open in June, we’ll see how it works out.
At any rate, there is a powerful urge to cross the bridge without a car. It is an impressive, imposing, work of art – and you don’t get a good look from a speeding vehicle. There was a…

Williams Racing Academy

Toughest weekend of racing in Texas made tougher by the conditions! Our young guns (and a crusty veteran) continued to impact the weekend.
Carlo and Alex made the break in the 2’s. Alex had to wait for the wheel truck behind the field, but still managed to reintegrate and get away again. Just didn’t make it back to the break. 5th and 14th on the day for the guys in the 2’s.
Dylan also had a wheel issue in the 3s. Stopped in the feed zone, we sorted it out, and he made it back to the field and then went on through…

Results: La Primavera Road Race Weekend and our inaugural Jensie Award!

voodooracing.net

This was another weekend of strong finishes for Voodoo Racing. On the Saturday clockwise course Garreth Hays hit the podium with 3rd in the 40+, Kent Myers got 12th in the Cat 3, Nick Masiewicki came in 21st in the 4/5, and Jim Chomko and John Powell got 13th and 14th in the 35+ 4/5. On Sunday, Nate Sheetz got the podium with 2nd place in the Cat 3, Carson Lange also made the podium with 2nd in the Cat 2, TC Porterfield came in 13th in the Cat 2, and Nick Masiewicki came in 13th in the 4/5.
Great race results aside, the real star of the weekend was a Voodoo Racing rider who will be receiving the inaugural Voodoo Racing Jensie Award. This annual award will be given to one of our racers who shows true tenacity, grit, and all around good humor in…

Police ticket 10 at Critical Mass, out of hundreds of riders

By Dug Begley        blog.chron.com

Houston police followed through last week on their pledge to work with organizers of the area’s end of month Critical Mass ride, but also to hold riders accountable for their actions. The outcome: 10 citations.
Hundreds of riders converged at Market Square Park for the Friday night ride, warned to be on their best behavior. Still, 10 citations is a small number considering the image many people have of the group. Drivers have complained after previous mass rides about overly aggressive cyclists pounding on hoods and failing to stop for red lights.
Riders said this outing was more subdued than usual, and they noted they have relatively few…

Bicyclist struck by car and killed while trying to cross I-20 in Arlington

By Julie Fancher        thescoopblog.dallasnews.com

A bicyclist was killed Monday afternoon after he was struck by a car while trying to cross I-20 in Arlington, police said.
Police said they received the call around 3 p.m. that the man, who has not yet been identified, had been struck while trying to cross the westbound lanes of I-20, just west of Bowman Springs Road.
Tiara Richard, an Arlington police spokeswoman, said…

HBC Ride Schedule

Houston Bicycle Club

Saturday 03/15/14 Sealy West 8:00am Ronald & Lilette Britsch r.britsch@icloud.com 832-288-2xxx
Sunday 03/16/14 Your Ride 8:00am NEEDED
Saturday 03/22/14 Chappell Hill North 8:00am Ronald & Lilette Britsch r.britsch@icloud.com 832-288-2xxx
Sunday 03/23/14 Your Ride 8:00am NEEDED
Sunday 03/23/14 Urban Challenge Ride 9:00 a.m. Daniel J. Lyons danjoe@aol.com
Saturday 03/29/14 Zube Park 8:00am Ronald & Lilette Britsch r.britsch@icloud.com 832-288-2xxx
Sunday 03/30/14 Your Ride 8:00am

March Newsletter Published

Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts

The March edition of the DATES-Line Newsletter is published and available for download from the newsletters page. This month’s edition includes the following:
Round and Round Ride
McKinney and Blue Ridge Ride
Pilot Point Ride
Lancaster Ride
Southwest Tandem Rally
DATES Annual Meeting Minutes
“Impromptu” Tandem Ride…

2014 PURE Driveway Season Passes

Presented by HOLLAND RACING

8400 Delwau Lane, Austin, TX
Thursday, March 13, 2014 to Thursday, October 16, 2014
Express Pass Men or Women         see event details     $1,000
Season Pass Men         see event details     $675
Season Pass Women         see event details     $475
There are no additional fees when purchasing your season pass. All processing fees are included in the purchase of your pass. Before purchasing please ensure that the…

Tern’s Josh Hon to speak on SXSW transit panel

by BRAIN Staff

AUSTIN, TX (BRAIN) — Tern Bicycles founder Josh Hon has been selected as an expert for a panel discussion on urban transportation at next month’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference.
Organized by The Wall Street Journal, the Standardized City-Optimized Utility Transport (SCOUT) panel will explore the so-called “last mile” in urban transportation — and how cities can efficiently connect homes, offices and other individual endpoints to the larger grid.
The idea of SCOUT is that people will start to use a safe, compact, efficient…

2014 Navigating MAP-21 Workshop Dates Announced

By Mary Lauran Hall

More and more Americans want to live in communities where walking and bicycling are safe, easy, and accessible.
Cities and states are rising to the challenge by trying to invest more in walking and biking. But still, millions of dollars in potential federal funding for active transportation goes untapped ever year.
This is in part due to our nation’s history with an automobile-dominated transportation system: when the car is king, major funding streams are set up to flow to…
…August 1: Brownsville, TX – Register here
August 4: Austin, TX – Register here

2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic Race Report

www.turnincranks.com

Mellow Johnny’s Classic is the Austin area’s biggest mountain biking event. Being the first race in the US Pro XCT Cup, all of the national big dogs come out to cut their teeth on our local trails.
It’s a great event and it is a lot of fun to experience all of the festivities with all of the national teams and sponsors in attendance.
This race falls at the end of week 7 of my training plan and hence I am starting to peak in my training plan leading up to my primary A race in two weeks at Pace Bend.
I can definitely feel the peak coming on and I’m feeling fast and fit on the bike. It is a fun feeling to have and I hope I can hold onto this for 2-4 weeks before it begins…

Tired/Sloppy riding and slick rocks don’t mix

www.turnincranks.com


At Mellow Johnny’s Classic race today, banged up my side a bit, dropped a couple of places before getting it back together.

Cycling Skills Clinics

Plano Bicycle Association

Register today for one of the PBA’s cycling clinics.
Choose between Group Riding Skills and Traffic Safety 101, or do both!
All clinics taught by League of American Bicyclist instructors.
Dates:
Group Riding Skills: March 23 and April 27
Traffic Safety 101: April 6
Click on the clinic picture for…

Weather to Ride.

by djcurtin        bicyclesportshop.wordpress.com

You should want to ride in bad weather. Or at least not mind it.
In Austin we’re pretty blessed with great weather. Mostly clear skies. Long stretches of moderate temperatures. Still, many of us ride the most when the weather is at its worst, not to mention potentially most dangerous—Summer.
Setting Summer aside though, like we saw this past weekend, in the Fall and Winter weather can go from Spring like to Polar Vortex in a matter of hours, if not minutes, around here. We’ve seen plenty of…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 58: Hunt to Leakey
Monday March 3, 2014, 69 km (43 miles) – Total so far: 3,377 km (2,098 miles)
We woke up at 5:30, a little later than we sometimes have. It’s not much use being up, though, because the deep freeze has outdone the forecast, and it is under 20 F. (-7 C) Our situation is looking a bit dicey, because we are essentially out of food. The store we passed in Hunt, some kms back, had almost nothing. So we can’t stay here, and no use going back. But can we go forward? It would be bad news to be out on a lonely, frozen road with no food and very sparse settlement ahead. And oh, there is no cell phone service.
We have laid out all our clothes and told ourselves “Well, people go out skiing for a day with not much more than this, so what are we afraid of?” A little voice replies “Up hill climbs, headwinds, flats, not reaching the lodge by dark, – that’s what”.
I wrote the above two paragraphs this morning, and wanted to post it and a little more before setting out. That way, people would know what we were thinking before finding us frozen in the hills. However the web site was down, so we just headed out. The fact that you are reading this now must…

Upcoming Events

Greater Houston Off-Road Biking Association

  Memorial Park Work Party
March 8, 2014 – 9:00am
Group Ride at the Anthills
March 8, 2014 – 9:00am
Pace Bend Race Festival
March 15, 2014 – 8:00am
Pace Bend Race Festival
March 16, 2014 – 8:00am
STORM Hill Country Challenge
March 29, 2014 – 12:00pm

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/GranFondoGuide/status/440607491575926784

https://twitter.com/txbikeracing/status/440579964413284352

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/440516056562417665

Texas Bicycling News Digest March 2nd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Jalapeno 100 Benefits Boys and Girls Club

Erica Womeldorf

  The Jalapeno 100 is a bike ride and run through Cameron County, Texas. This was the 24th annual ride benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Harlingen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfSH7eY8ev4&feature=player_detailpage

Corinth Cycling

Darrell Hull (in the picture) and Stan Kruse (not in the picture) have been racing the Masters 50+ category for us since the begining of the year. Both have landed top 10 in almost every race and finished 5th and 2nd respectively a couple of weeks ago at the Iris Stagner Mineral Wells Stage Race. Impressive results for these two guys. I was waiting to post until…

Corinth Cycling

Bryan and Randy riding with the b group on Saturday.

Biking Buddy

Bike Noob

I posted a message on the club’s Yahoo group last night that, given our terrific forecast for the day, it was time for the B riders to start showing up for club rides.
It didn’t work. Besides me, only two others came out (Meanwhile, the A group had 25 riders!). But that didn’t dampen my spirits any, because one of them was Maggie, who has become my favorite riding buddy.
About two years ago, our club president told me a new rider had come out for a ride I had missed. He said she made a noble effort to keep up…

What is Bike Friendly about Plano?

by bikefriendlyplano

Here is your chance to share your views and learn more.  The League of American Bicyclists is visiting 100 communities this year, bringing their bicycle-friendly expertise directly to the local level — and Plano is on the priority list!
Come meet Steve Clark, the League’s new Bicycle Friendly Community Specialist. He’ll be in town to experience first-hand the bicycle infrastructure in Plano, bringing together…

Social Ride @ Pace Bend Park

The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group

  Saturday, March 8, 2014    9:30 AM
Pace Bend Park
2011 Pace Bend Rd N
Spicewood, TX
The ARR ride is cancelled due to insurance issues, but some of us wanna  ride anyway so come on out! We’ll meet in the trailhead parking lot at 9:30,wheels down at 10:00. There should be plenty of…

Bat City Cycling

with Ben Ploetz, David Callahan, Andy Twellman and Vince Marotte.

March 8th and 9th Rides!

Steiner Ranch Cycling

WEEKEND RECAP (March 1st and March 2nd)
Saturday we had two separate rides.  At least 7 riders went out and did the Bagel Ride and 16 of us met at C&C for what we thought was going to be the Triple B’s.  However, due to fog we all decided to change the route and did the Avery Ranch loop.  There was a reported at least 6 flats.
Sunday 10 riders showed up for the Sunday Social Ride.  The temperature started at 70 degrees but after a few minutes into the ride the temperature must have dropped 20 degrees.  Then for those that finished the ride it rained towards the end of the ride.
KIT UPDATE
The fitting party was a success and we have 43 people sign up for a kit.  There was a vote and the 30 individuals have been selected and we will…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 57: Fredericksburg to Hunt: Where the Deer and the Antelopes Play
Sunday March 2, 2014, 68 km (42 miles) – Total so far: 3,308 km (2,055 miles)
At dawn it was pleasantly mild, so there was no reluctance involved in getting out of the sleeping bag.We took the tent down and packed it away nice and dry, and sat down to cook some oatmeal and answer some Guestbook messages. That’s when a few fine sprinkles of rain began. It sent us into the bath house to carry on, but when we were ready to leave on the bikes we still did not have on any rain gear. …

3rd Annual Fat Tuesday Ride

by The Announcer Guy        www.bikingindallas.com

Meet up at Lee Harvey’s on Tuesday, March 4 at 7:30pm and be ready to roll! Stay up-to-date with any changes via the Facebook event.
Get ready to let the Good Times roll all over Dallas because Mardi Gras is here again!
This is the 3rd Annual Dallas Fat Tuesday ride and…

Bean N Chz Alleycat

Bike Bexar


Another successful event in the Alamo City, Bean N Chz Alleycat 02.23.2014. First one of the year, definitely not the last.

Tweets

https://twitter.com/DrewiferdLee/status/440190671182233601

https://twitter.com/bikenoob/status/440162395499933698

Route in Reverse

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I rode the Atascocita – Walden -Huffman route in reverse to add some variety. This requires a little more thought than when I ride the usual direction. Along the ride I saw one bicyclists on the FM1960 causeway over Lake Houston. Later while I was getting ready to turn right onto FM2100 in Huffman another bicyclists crossed FM1960 and was in front of me about 200 yards until he got to Old Atascocita Road and turned left. I turned right and our paths separated. On Kings River Drive a tandem and a single bike were going the opposite direction while I was going to W. Lake Houston Parkway to return home. The reverse route was 31.06 miles long. My average speed suffered from the wind ending up at 14.9 mph.

It looked like I wouldn’t get to ride at all. I was getting ready and checked the radar since the sky was overcast. Radar showed rain should be coming down at my house so I went to check. A light rain was falling but it did not last long. I finished reading the newspaper to kill some time and let the streets dry. At 12:27I pushed the start button on the Garmin 510. I thought the streets would be damp but it didn’t take long to get on dry streets and it stayed that way for the rest of the ride. Every once in awhile the sun popped through the heavy clouds. The wind was strong when I started at 15 mph from the SSE and 25 mph gusts. By the time I finished the ride at 2:39 the wind dropped down to 7 mph according to the weather underground website. It sure didn’t feel like it when I was out in it. Fortunately the temperature was nice with 71 at the start and 75 at the end. I wondered if I would get home and stay dry.

The ride was the inauguration of the new Texbiker.net jersey. I received it last Wednesday but this was the first ride without needing a jacket (yesterday I wore a jacket).

Weather conditions are supposed to change later today getting wet and colder. If the forecast can be believed the next biking day might be Thursday.

Click an image to enlarge it. The Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS maps are interactive.

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/454247552 470px 570px]

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/2297773/embed 95% 700px]