Texas Bicycling Blogs and News Digest February 21st

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2014 Walburg Finish

Bat City Cycling

The final right turn — in Walburg, TX

The Brotherhood Ride

www.brotherhoodride.com

The Brotherhood Ride decided that we needed to establish two separate rides in 2014.
Our first ride will honor 19 Fallen Heroes from Texas; Dallas (1), West (12), Bryan (2) & Houston (4). Dates will be May 22, 2014 to May 30, 2014.

Houston Receives Bike Friendliness Award While Still Dealing With Recent Hit-And-Run Deaths

by: Florian Martin        kuhf.org


The City of Houston has received an award for bike friendliness from a national bicycle organization. The recognition comes shortly after a series of fatal hit-and-run accidents involving bicycles in the last few months.
In Texas, Houston joins Austin, San Antonio and The Woodlands as communities the League of American Bicyclists recognizes as bike-friendly.
The city’s sustainability director Laura Spanjian accepted the award during a bike-friendliness workshop at the Westin Memorial City in west Houston.
She says there are several reasons why Houston deserves it.
“We passed policies. We finally passed the safe passing law. Mayor Parker passed a…

Mellow Johnny’s Classic – Need Volunteers

violetcrown.org

MJ’s needs help with several aspects of this USAC US Cup Pro Series MTB event that will be held March 1-2 at Flat Creek Crossing Ranch. Needs include everything from course building, to trophy distribution to racer ambassadors to merchandise sales and money handling. Dates when they need volunteers include February 27-28 all day, March 1 at both the race and the Shop Party, March 2 at the…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 48: Shepherd to wild camp 10 km before Richards
Friday February 21, 2014, 88 km (55 miles) – Total so far: 2,800 km (1,740 miles)
Vrry weak 2g plus we need to go to sleep for super early wakeup. Real post tomorrow…

BikeTexas KidsKup at Mellow Johnny’s Classic (Henly)

BikeTexas.org

Saturday, March 1
Flat Creek Crossing Ranch, Henly, TX
Please note earlier times for this race only–
Registration: 9:30 AM
Safety clinic and racing: 11:30 AM
Directions from Austin are on the race flyer.
Leashed pets only are allowed on the ranch (owners must clean up after their pets) and there is a $10 parking fee.
Course: All BTKK courses are designed for safety and fun, with beginner kids in mind, and…
http://www.biketexas.org/images/stories/bikenews/education/2014_education/mj_classic.JPG

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A Dog With Goggles

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I did not ride yesterday (Thursday). A couple of times when I wanted to go biking light rain started coming down making the day a rain out. It was warm enough in the upper 70’s.

Today I did get to ride heading to New Caney and Forest Colony. The weather was cooler than yesterday and the rain left. The partly cloudy sky did not push the temperature beyond 70 degrees. I started biking at 1:41 and finished at 4:12. The route totaled 29.3 miles and I averaged 15.2 mph. I continued to exit Kingwood using the connecting street out of Woodridge Forest. To add some variety I biked through Forest Colony skipping Valley Ranch. When I stopped the Stripes station on FM1314 sitting in the sun was warming. This is a screenshot from my phone:

2-21-2014 Porter Weather

Thanks to the sun I managed to leave the leg warmers at home but I did need a long sleeve jersey and windbreaker jacket. The jacket was the unventilated Pearl Izumi one and when I finished the ends of my jersey sleeves were soaking wet with perspiration. I was warm during the ride.

I saw two out of the ordinary things during my ride. Riding south through Oakhurst crossing the road as I approached a young teenager struggled to ride a unicycle. There was slight incline from the street to the sidewalk and he pedaled hard and wobbly to get there. Later on when I was in Kingwood on Chestnut Ridge I heard a scooter/motorcycle coming from behind. When I looked at it as he passed on the seat behind the driver was a plastic milk crate. On top of the crate was a fluffy beige colored dog with his front paws on the driver’s shoulders. The dogs face was point to the front but I could see he was wearing goggles. When I turned off of Chestnut Ridge the scooter made a u-turn and I got a better view. The dog appeared to have a strap connected to the crate but he leaned with the scooter and off they went.

With today’s ride February totals 311.5 miles; 59 miles left to the 370 mile goal. This week I have biked 124.88 miles. Year to date 640 miles. With 7 days left reaching the goal looks possible.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

The maps are interactive

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[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/2259472/embed 95% 700px]

Texas Bicycling Blogs and News Digest February 20th

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Your Path to Austin Open House + Bike Rodeo!

By City of Austin Bicycle Program

Saturday, February 22, 2014    10:00am until 12:00pm in CST
Come on out to this family-friendly event where you can give us your input on the Bike & Urban Trails Plan!
To turn up the fun, we’ll be pairing the open house with a children’s bicycle rodeo and safety check. The Ghisallo Foundation, the City’s Child Safety Program, and the…

GHORBA Group Ride at the Anthills!

Greater Houston Off-Road Biking Association (GHORBA)

Let’s have our first group ride of 2014 at the Anthills. The ride will be on Saturday March 8th, 2014 at 9:00am for a couple a fun laps. Whether you’re a beginner rider or an experienced rider we’ll have a group just for you. Don’t know your way around the trails? No problem. Our ride leaders know every inch of trail and will show you everything the Anthills has to offer. Don’t miss this opportunity to ride one of the best trails in town and hang out with your fellow riders. The ride starts promptly at 9:00 am so get there early so we can divide into beginner, intermediate, and advanced groups. See you there! …

Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest held a success

www.alpineavalanche.com

TERLINGUA – More than 460 bicycle riders participated in the President’s Day Chihuahan Desert Bike Fest here for the weekend.

After very cold winter weather last week, as the wind and snow still covered much of the rest of the country, Terlingua provided excellent weather for mountain biking.

Desert Sports, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Lajitas Resort and Big Bend National Park combined to host a three-day festival geared to mountain bikers of every size, ability and adventure-readiness.

There were guided rides on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, some tried out the two-day self-guided EPIC option and some just wandered on the open trails of…

Good things….bad things

Borderland Mountain Bike Association

For those of you who have been wondering what the mountain bike club is up to, let me fill you in.
First the GOOD:
The BMBA is in the process of becoming an IMBA Chapter.  What does that mean?  First, it means that club officers don’t need to continue to fumble with memberships, renewals, and donations.  All membership management will be performed by IMBA.  Anyone  in our area who joins IMBA via the IMBA website will automatically become a BMBA member.  We will all pay a bit more to become members, but we are now members of both.  The club receives the same…

…The BAD:
Dr. Rick Bonart was ousted from his seat on the Public Service Board.  Not only that, one of the new appointees does not want you to know anything that goes on with the PSB by censoring PSB board members’ speech in regards to their opinions on board decisions.  The loss of Dr. Bonart…

Mountain bike: Cavalier answer challenge in season opener

By Bonnie Jeter        Lake Travis View contributing writer    www.statesman.com

Lake Travis’ mountain bikers look more determined than ever to repeat last year’s success, as they seek another Texas state championship.
While a mere 74 points separated the two top teams at the Texas High School Mountain Bike League’s opening race in Burnet last weekend, the Cavaliers prevailed. Austin High riders took second place, with 14 additional high school teams from as far away as Amarillo trailing behind.
As the third year of competitive high school mountain biking in Texas begins, Cavaliers are pedaling up a notch to keep pace with a competitive bar that is…

Biking in Ackerly, Texas

by kisscactus


In 2011, I biked through this region.

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 47: Kountze to Shepherd: Laney the Lucky Lab
Thursday February 20, 2014, 90 km (56 miles) – Total so far: 2,712 km (1,685 miles)
Doug McArthur is one of our favourite singers. Though living near Ottawa, he has spent a lot of time in the USA and has some great songs about history and conditions here. This is from the song Lone Star. …

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Updates February 19th

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Police searching for Jeep involved in bicycle crash

By Calily Bien        kxan.com

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Cedar Park police are still asking for the public’s help in identifying the driver who struck a bicyclist on Saturday morning and left him on the side of the road.
The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on East Whitestone Boulevard at Vista Ridge Boulevard, but no one noticed the cyclist on the side of the road until nearly three hours later.
When officers arrived at 7:40 a.m., the bicyclist, Andrew Jensen, 28, was found lying in a ditch. His bicycle was recovered by a citizen who found the bicycle near the scene.
Initial investigation indicates a 2012 or 2013 grey Jeep Liberty was…

Alamo Alley Cat

urbanvelo.org

It turns out that the Alamo in fact has a basement, and alleycats too. Next one up is March 2nd at Crockett Park in San Antonio TX, with more info available at bikebexar.tumblr.com

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 45: DeRidder, Louisiana to Kirbyville, Texas: Shame on You: Adventure Cycling Association!
Dennis Schluter pointed out in the Guestbook (message 356) that in Texas the homesteads are far back form the road and dog chases would become a non issue. That’s a good point and will be a great relief. So dennis suggested there would not be a need to go buy a whip. Good point. But we were rather looking forward to this bit of “retail therapy”.
Duly at their opening hour of 7:30 we were at Circle C Farm and Ranch Supply in the heart of DeRidder. The lady there pulled out a selection of four foot or longer (presumably) bull whips. These would have been interesting to try out, but of course we needed a light weight “cycling whip”. We selected a streamlined whippy fibreglass and leather model that made a satisfying swish swish when…

Video from Cypresswood

www.neilsondevo.com


We took a little video on our team ride this weekend, here’s some of Russ, Justin and Richard riding at Cypresswood. …

A Quick Fitness Ride: Back in the saddle again

by Matthew        bike4heck.com

Stress to the Max!
Work has been stressful this year I have a rough class of students as far as behaviors are concerned. Also, there are changes taking place at home as Tina and I get ready for our new little addition coming Early Aug. 2014.
Back in the Saddle Again

So Feb. 18th, 2014 I thought I had a meeting until 6 pm so I was surprised to see that I was out by 3:30 pm. I decided to come home and throw the bike on the Jeep and head out to the Leon Creek Green Way Trail system. I’ve written this a number of times and I’m familiar with it so I choose a smart route: I started at the Mainland Trail head and headed toward the I-10/Loop 1604 Trail Head which was up hill from my starting point. This was planed so by design as I’ve not been on the bicycle in at least 4 months! I decided I’d ride until I got mostly tired then head…

Lazaaaay lay bon tom roulaaaay!

Bike Friendly Oak Cliff


Get a costume ready, bike decorated, beads bought for throwing, and ride with BFOC in the 6th annual Mardi Gras Oak Cliff Parade!
Our line up is #1. Meet-up is at 3:00 at Rosemont/ 7th St, and we’ll roll out ahead of the DPD lead car when Davis closes—around 3:50. All kids riding with…

DORBA Beginner Clinic

Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association

Saturday, March 8, 2014    1:00 PM
Rowlett Creek Preserve
2525 Castle Rd
Parking Lot at Castle Drive and Centerville Road
Garland, TX (map)
DORBA will have a new beginner clinic on Saturday March 8th at Rowlett Creek Preserve at 1:00 PM.
Blain Norfleet will be your instructor, you can send him a private message at “bikecop” on the Dorba.org website, if you have any questions. Blain is THE mountain bike instructor for the Dallas Police Department and patrols downtown on his bike.
What: There is a “classroom” for about an hour, a mini-skills workshop for 30-45 minutes minutes, and then a ride of an hour or…

Lets put an end to unnecessary deaths

www.velopaso.org

Last August, Trey Hancock was riding his bicycle when he was hit and killed by a pickup truck.   Immediately following the crash the driver reportedly said that he saw Hancock and thought he had enough room to pass safely, but then blamed Hancock for supposedly swerving into his path.  When faced with the choice of possibly slowing down and moving over to share the road, the driver chose instead to continue as though no one was there.   The result was another unnecessary death.
The driver was eventually charged with careless driving, and faces a possible fine of $25 to $100, and perhaps even 5 to 30 days in jail. The problem with such a light charge is that it sends a clear message that…

Is This the Most Difficult XC Race Course Ever Used in DFW?

www.texasmountainbiketrails.com


I still remember my very first mountain bike race from several years ago. It was a scorching hot August race at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve put on by DORBA and I thought it was the most challenging thing I had ever ridden in my life. 3 weeks prior to the race I took a direct faceplant at the bottom of the big Whiskey Creek crossing and to this day I can still feel my teeth tingle when I think about that crash.
Fast forward about 5 or 6  years to today. I’ve had a lot more mountain biking experience since that first race, and while OCNP is great I also know it isn’t even close to…

Grampies Go South

By Steve Miller and Dodie Miller

Day 46: Kirbyville to Kountze: ACA picks up the fumble and runs for a touchdown!
Wednesday February 19, 2014, 60 km (37 miles) – Total so far: 2,622 km (1,629 miles)

The Grampies are well known for cycling into a region, an ecosystem, or a situation withoout being aware of here they really are until it slowly dawns on them. Similarly, we cycle into places that are entirely new and novel to us, but which have a long history are are very well known to a lot of people, including readers of the blog.
Often people write their recollections about places we are passing through in the Guestbook. We thought we would “reprint” one that just arrived, here:
Hello Grampies,
This is another grampie and warmshower host in the TN Appalachian Mts. I cycled the ST (Galveston, TX – Jekyll Island, GA a couple years back. Certainly am reliving the memories of that ride through your tour.
But mostly I wanted to say ‘Thanks for the “Memories’ of LA. You see I was born in the Atchafalaya swamps and grew up in…

Escape maneuver

An Old Guy On Two Wheels

Doesn’t really count for an errand trip by bicycle.  More of a shopping effort that ended in failure — the store was out of the item I was looking for.  At least I didn’t squander yet more dead dinosaur juice to do it.
But there was a small benefit.  I “discovered” a route to the new organic food warehouse that shaves a few miles off my ride.  It also allows me to separate myself from the meanies in steel and glass cages zipping about.
The only problem is it involves “cheating” by utilizing the flexible nature of my bicycle.  I…

Kent gets 1st place in the 3/4 GC at the Iris Stagner Memorial Stage Race!

www.voodooracing.net

The following are Kent’s own words about his GC win at the 2014 Iris Stagner Memorial Stage Race…
As we loaded up the car heading out Friday late morning heading to Mineral Wells, Garreth and I talked mainly about how ideal the weather conditions appeared to be compared to the last two years. As we expected they were a little colder than I would have liked in the morning but almost perfect. We got to Mineral Wells within time to pre-ride both the TT course and a lap around the circuit course. Both courses seemed to be nice and fast with the wind playing a part in both finishes. I warmed up for the circuit…

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