Texas Bicycling News February 17th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bikerumor Pic Of The Day: Lady Bird Lake

by Kristi Benedict


Photo submitted by Tom Hudson, “Lady Bird Lake, east side of downtown Austin, TX.”

2014 Mineral Wells Cat 3/4 Circuit Race (Saturday)

by kraxmel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EM9ZZR5-acY

BikeTexas – Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

Bike activities for all ages … on the MHH Bridge
On Saturday, March 1, 2014, join us for kid- and adult-friendly bicycling activities in the middle of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. All Out Trinity’s bike programs will be presented by BikeTexas, Texas’ premier advocacy group for bicycling safety and transportation.
FOR YOUNGER CYCLISTS
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
BikeTexas KidsKup
Enjoy a free, safe and fun event designed to produce smiles on the faces of all young participants as they finish the race course. Every child receives a medal. The age range is 10 all the way down to tykes on trikes and training wheels. Children must be accompanied by a parent (who can run behind and “help” the youngest folks). Bike helmets are required. Any standard kids bike in…

Webrooming, a trend that may help brick-and-mortar stores

by Fred Clements        www.bicycleretailer.com

Editor’s note: This blog post was written by Fred Clements, executive director of the National Bicycle Dealers Association. Clements’ previous blog posts can be read on bikedealerblog.wordpress.com.
When a person walks into a local bike shop and uses his or her smartphone to compare prices with on-line retailers (AKA showrooming), some store owners take offense.
After all, the owners have made a sizeable investment in the store, people and inventory. When consumers use that investment against them to compare and buy elsewhere, it doesn’t seem to be within the limits of fair play.
But showrooming may not be the biggest driver of Internet shopping trends versus brick-and-mortar. A new study from RR Donnelly suggests that the most significant trend may be its opposite: …

WEEKEND RECAP

Steiner Ranch Cycling

Saturday we had 17 riders show up for downtown scenic ride and it was a great morning for riding.  There were a couple of mechanicals and a communications breakdown that resulted in the group getting busted up several times.  Next Saturday morning we can talk about a group protocol.
Sunday we had 12 riders and we had a really nice cruise around Steiner Ranch.
NEW KIT FITTING PARTY

Here is yet another opportunity to mark your calendar for February 26th at The University of Texas Golf Club in Steiner Ranch in the Santa Rita room.  We will be doing fittings from…

Two Leading Austin Bicycling Groups to Combine Forces

www.austincycling.org

Austin Cycling Association and Bike Austin leadership forming unified organization, propelling the city’s ambitious bicycling vision forward
AUSTIN – Two of the city’s non-profit bicycling organizations, Austin Cycling Association (ACA) and Bike Austin, are combining leadership to form a unified organization dedicated to promoting cycling for transportation and recreation in Austin. The groups have decided that a focused, effective cycling advocacy organization is key to helping Austin achieve its ambitions to become one of the country’s top bike cities and improve quality of life for people living in Central Texas.
The newly combined organization will be known as Bike Austin, a 501(c)(4), and will have an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization.
A task force of members from each organization’s board of directors and staff met for several months to work out the details of creating a new organization and to develop a…

TEAM MCALLEN CYCLING

Who’s in for the 100????

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Tweets

https://twitter.com/IamWillPowers/status/435567604502364160

A Dust Cloud Ahead

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Today was 5 rides in a row. This is rarity so far this year. Today’s 32.15 mile ride to the south and east brought my February mileage up to 218.78. Last week I was doubtful about reaching the 370 mile goal but I think it is possible now with 151 miles to go. Year to date increased to 548 miles. I averaged 15.4 mph today.

I rode to Huffman going through Atascocita and Walden. As I crossed Lake Houston on the FM1960 causeway I caught up with the sweeper crew. They were picking up big trash and the gravel from the recent cold weather. As I approached I could see a dust cloud in front of the sweeper from the very dry gravel. The sweeper filled the shoulder lane and I moved over to the next left lane to go around. With over a mile left to the east side of the causeway I rode through the gravel like last week. I was hoping by the time I returned on the west bound side later in the ride they would be working there or finished. No such luck. Thankfully there was a 2 wide path just left of the white stripe marking the shoulder where I could ride most of the way across. As I got to the west side the pile of gravel still was in my way so I rode through that.

When I walked out of the house to start the ride at 12:44 the north sky looked threatening gray. The radar did not show any rain and the forecast said a 40% chance. This meant my rule “if it isn’t raining ride” kicked in and off I went. Every once in awhile the sun would break through the cloud cover and it felt good. The temperature when I started was 77 and dropped to 75 when I finished at 3:29. I skipped the windbreaker and wore a short sleeve jersey over a red long sleeve one. Occasionally I felt coolness especially riding over Lake Houston where the 7 mph breeze brought the cool water temperature across the roadway.

The leg muscles are doing much better today. Last night when I got up from the recliner my sore legs let me know this wasn’t something they wanted to. Sleep helped reduce the soreness too.

The coming week’s weather looks promising for biking until Thursday when rain is forecast.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

The Garmin and RideWithGPS maps are interactive.

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Texas Bicycling News and Blogs Updates February 16th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Iris Stagner Mineral Wells Stage Race

Corinth Cycling


Bob Baatz, 2nd in this photo leads the GC heading into today’s final Road Race here at Iris Stagner Mineral Wells Stage Race. Bob won yesterday’s circuit race and…

Woman back in jail on ‘technical issues’

By JESSICA COOLEY/The Lufkin News

The hit-and-run driver who killed a Lufkin man riding a bicycle Christmas night on Chestnut Street was back in the Angelina County Jail on Wednesday to deal with a previous theft charge from a shoplifting incident last year.
Jennifer Mireles, 20, was given deferred adjudication in March 2013 and placed on one year probation along with 40 hours of community service in connection to the shoplifting incident, according to county records. Because of the new charge of accident involving…

Interesting New Bike Shop in Austin

by John        www.austinbike.com

I was out running errands this week and happened across a new shop up on the North side, on Burnet road.  It’s located in an industrial park, so it is definitely not going to get a lot of business from drive-bys or walk-ins.  The store is called Shift Gear Exchange and if focuses in some pretty interesting areas that help fill a gap for Austin.
Located at 9705 Burnet, suite 107, tucked into a row of businesses in an industrial park, Shift sells in two major categories, cycling gear that was manufacturer’s demos and consignment bikes.
The former includes a lot of clothing and…

Iris Stagner Memorial SR |Circuit Race | February 15, 2014

Texasbikeracing.com

Iris Stagner Memorial Stage Race • Circuit Race
M4/5     1     Reed, Brady     Baylor University
M4/5     2     Swanson, Kyle     Dallas Racing
M4/5     3     DeSerrano, Gary     BAD KITTY MEOW PHAT KAT RACING
M4/5     4     Scala Jr, Hugo     Matrix Cycling Club
M4/5     5     Zucco Schizzi, Vitor     BAD KITTY MEOW PHAT KAT RACING
M4/5     6     Rodgers, Jobe     Team Velocity Bike Shop
M4/5     7     Monfort, Andrew     Chaparral Cycling Club
M4/5     8     Ross, David     Shred Monster
M4/5     9     Dias, George     US Military Cycling Team…

Landscaping Improvements Are Coming To A Section Of Owens Trail

Bike Friendly Richardson


Here is some great news from this week’s Week In Review newsletter from the City of Richardson:
Council Awards Bid for Oncor Signature Trails Landscape Project
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Landscaping improvements are coming to a section of Owens Trail south of Collins Boulevard as part of Oncor’s Texas Trails Program. Oncor, North Texas’ regulated electric transmission and distribution service provider, is providing $250,000 for the…

Williams Racing Academy

Ryan Fenwick takes the win!

HBC Chappell Hill West Ride

Houston Bicycle Club

Sunday 02/23/14    9:00AM
Distances: 35, 43, 48 miles
This is a new ride, leaving CH going West on back country roads to Brenham.  It then crosses over into more familiar areas known from our traditional CH rides.  Options include a stop at the store in Independence. …

Tweets

https://twitter.com/TabenMalik/status/435175364852068352

https://twitter.com/laketravislife/status/435113823305887744

https://twitter.com/thejurgy/status/435128665291382784

https://twitter.com/LennyGlick/status/434760985828925440

Work the Soreness Out

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After 52 miles yesterday my legs were sore and my sit bones complained whenever they put to use. The lag of miles and conditioning caused some of the pain and I took some pain relief before heading off to church thinking the pain would lessen by the time I went biking. I think the pain moderated some encouraging me to take a ride.

Leaving home at 11:31 under a cloudy sky and 74 degrees I dressed lighter than yesterday. A blue short sleeve jersey over top of a white should of been enough but the wind seemed to cut through the fabric at will. With the cloud cover the sun did not provide much extra warmth. I was looking forward to getting back home out of the wind and arrived there at 1:01. The temperature had not changed and getting inside showed how much body heat I was putting out.

The ride was a moderate effort one to work the soreness out of the muscles and build up my saddle muscles. Too much sitting indoors waiting for acceptable weather brought this on. I had to keep the ride short due to a commitment and ended up biking 20.26 miles at a 14.6 mph average speed. I rode north to Porter and turned back south at FM1314. I haven’t been through Auburn Trails housing development and turned into there. The number of homes built since my last visit was readily evident. I had not biked into Auburn Trails from the US59 service road in awhile so I had to look closely for the streets to get me to Oakhurst but no problem came up.

February miles are now up to 186.63, with 184 left to reach the 370 mile goal. I managed to ride 141.66 miles this week which made a big dent in the goal. Year to date I biked 516 miles.

Weather for Monday should be a repeat of today so riding is in the picture.

Click on the images for a bigger view.

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