Plenty of Sun and Warmth

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I was able to leave earlier than my recent rides. With this earlier start (12:55) I chose a longer route riding 36.32 miles at a 15.5 mph average speed. The route took me east to the Liberty County line before I turned back towards home. Lots of sunshine and 73 degrees made for a pleasant ride. My wardrobe consisted of shorts, long sleeve and short sleeve jerseys and gloves. Most of the time I was comfortable unless I spent a long period in the shade. The overnight temperature must cool the ground which in turn cools the air in the shade. The road surface on FM1960 east of Huffman is a nice smooth asphalt with a generous shoulder except for the one bridge. The shoulder on the bridge is adequate but not as wide as the road leading up to it. The one problem is the grooves cut into the surface to mark the edge of the lanes. When I needed to turn left onto Eastgate-Huffman Road I rode over them rattling me and the bike. If the space between the grooves was twice as wide I could ride on that avoiding the roughness. This is a common problem on many rural asphalt roads. I will take this over the chip seal surface though.

Stopping at the Huffman Chevron I sat in the sun keeping warm so that when I started back riding the warm up period was short. The Action Sign time and temperature sign said it was 102 degrees but it was really 74. I could use some of the hot weather now. A cold front could arrive tomorrow afternoon putting the Tuesday overnight temperature into the low 40’s or maybe even the upper 30’s. The Wednesday daytime might only reach the upper 50’s. My lower limit is 60 degrees. Time to look at going to Australia?

This Saturday The Spirit Ride in Livingston looks inviting but the weather may hold me back. Forecast shows 72 degrees with a Friday night low of 57. Need to watch the weather before committing to the ride.

November mileage now totals 251.99 and year to date is 5798. I guess I should have rode 2 more miles.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com metrics and maps.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup November 10th

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Bike Masters’s Photos

Texas Cross State Challenge
Begins November 11, 03:30 am
Team Dex:
Joni Tooke:  Crew chief/domestique          Del Rio, TX.
Leah Folsom:  domestique                        Boston, MA
Kalleen Whitford:  driver                             Ft. Worth, TX
Kevin Jones:  driver                                  Canyon Lake, TX
Daniel Sanchez:  UMCA official                Houston, TX
Douglas Hoffman:  UMCA official             Woodstock, NY

10-26-13  from Dex.  Joni and I lunched with Kevin Jones and Claire in San Antonio while I had Di2 electronic bar end shifters installed on my clip on bars.  Kevin brought roof rack for my reserve bike.

10-26-13 from Joni. I’m glad Kevin had a bicycle rack to fit the van roof rack.  Yay, one more item checked off of the list of things to do.  I have already set up the bed frame and plastic drawer system in the van.  I need to use my weekends to get things done.  Wow this feels a little like RAAM preparations.

10-27-13. from Dex.  Rode 113 miles today.  Tendon feels good.

10-28-13 from Kevin:  Glad to hear Dex’s injury is healing well.

11-5-13 from Daniel:  Getting Close,  wind forecast shows a shift to East for Monday,  thats better than North!!

11-5-13 from Dex.  WooHoo.  The shirts are in.

11-7-13.  from Dex.  This ain’t going to be no tailwind ride!!!  Wind Gods aren’t cheering for us!

11-9-13 from daniel.  we r in pampa its north to south!!

Pantalones
by Ray Garza        RGV Cycling
Why am I writing about pantalones? For those that are not fluent in Spanish, pantalones means pants. Why pants? Well it is an important topic if you are trying to lose some weight. Earlier this week I went shopping for some new pants that I really needed. I’m a typical guy that wears the clothes till they fall apart. Mine also happened to be real baggy too, so I figured it was time.

Off to the store I go, but not the mall. I dislike going to the mall because of the sheer number of people there. Instead I drove over to one of the many outdoor malls that dot…

ERWIN PARK – LOVE THE TRAIL DAY
Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association
Sunday, November 17, 2013        9:00 AM
Erwin Park
4300 County Road 1006, McKinney , TX (map)

Come join us on Sunday, November 17th at Erwin Park for a LOVE THE TRAIL DAY.

We will start the day “loving” the trail at 9:00 am with trail work. Be sure to wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, and gloves. Bring shovels and any other digging tools.
At NOON our Friends at Cadence Cyclery of Mckinney will…

2nd Annual Georgetown Cyclocross Festival- Results
By rolandoroman        georgetowncyclocrossfestival.com
And its a wrap. So many people need to thank and I know I’ll forget if I’d write them all down, however I want to thank the City of Georgetown, our sponsors, racers, volunteers and and everyone who cheered during this years Georgetown Cyclocross Festival. Hope you all enjoyed the race and I’m already thinking about next year. Below you will find the results for this weekend festival, we will…

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Unexpected Release to Ride

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I wasn’t planning on riding today but an unexpected release from another commitment allowed me to go. I was delayed some because my wife and I went out to eat first but this gave the sun time to warm things up a bit. The home weather station showed 74 degrees as I walked out to the garage to get started at 2:45. I thought the extra 6 degrees above yesterday warranted a slightly different wardrobe so Left the leg warmers and wind breaker jacket at home. For the first 12 miles or so this seemed like a good idea but when I turned south at New Caney the southbound US59 service road included some shade the northbound one didn’t.

As long as I kept a good pace my body heat counteracted the wind chill most of the time. Whenever I stopped it didn’t take long for the coolness to penetrate my long sleeve jersey. After I left the Strips station on FM1314 most the route was in the shade. Coupled with the shade the sun was going down further behind the trees. By the time I reached Kingwood I was looking forward to pulling into the garage out of the light but cool breeze. It was 69 by the time I got home at 4:57.

Today’s route include some roads I haven’t used in awhile. First I took the northbound US59 service road all the way to New Caney. I rode through the construction zone at Community Drive but I figured Sunday’s traffic would be light and it was. Only a few cars passed me during the short stretch without a shoulder before Community Drive. On the southbound side no cars passed me in that construction zone. The next change I rode through Forest Colony instead of Valley Ranch. I exited onto Valley Ranch Parkway which took me to the Stripes station on FM1314.

After a short Diet Pepsi break at Stripes where I enjoyed the sun I got back on the bike for the final 11 miles. This section was the chilliest with lots of shade and turns into the cool breeze. I ended up biking 29.31 miles and averaged 15.3 mph. With today’s ride the week’s miles totaled 183.09 and November miles now total 215.67. Year to date stands at 5762 miles.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast points to another good riding day: 75 degrees and partly cloudy.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com metrics and maps.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup November 9th

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Asylum-Seeker Completes “Pedaling for Justice” Ride
by Julián Aguilar        www.texastribune.org

After pedaling more than 700 miles over 12 days through dozens of Texas cities and towns that witnessed his infectious laughter, Mexico’s latest symbol of hope in a war-ravaged country finally broke down.

Carlos Gutierrez — a businessman and Chihuahua native whose legs were cut off by Mexican gang members for failing to pay a $10,000 monthly extortion demand — arrived in Austin on Saturday after leaving El Paso on Oct. 29 with three other cyclists on his “Pedaling for Justice” tour.

“This is something extraordinary, this is something beautiful,” Gutierrez, who uses…

8:00am – Cup o Joe — Corinth Cycling Club
When: Sat Nov 30, 2013 8am to 9:30am  CST

Where: Ronny Crownover Middle School
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: The Cup o’ Joe is a beginner level ride of around 15 miles. The ride heads south to Hickory Creek and stops for drinks at Starbucks on the way home. The ride leader for this ride is Bob Troyer. http://www.corinthcycling.com/bob.html bob.troyer@verizon.net The route can be found by clicking on the link below: http://classic.mapmyride.com/view_route?r=818129813031270566

Walnut Creek Workday Nov. 6 2013
Austin Ridge Riders

Walnut work day! It got dark on us but our helmet lights came in handy and didn’t stop the 12 volunteers from working, so much was done and soon riders will be able to cross the main creek safe. …

River City Recumbent Roll
rivercitybentriders.com

A group of cycling clubs got together for a two day bike ride. And it was a blast!
Location;Leon Creek Greenway Trails and San Antonio River and Mission Trails
Cyclists came from all over Texas. Organized by easy street.

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