College football took a higher priority today. Watching the University of Cincinnati play SMU lasted until about 2:20 (UC won 28 to 25) so I did not get out the door until 2:55. With this later start I chose a sorter route so I would be back before dark. Daylight savings time disappeared last Sunday so I have to readjust my end times. I rode south but stayed west of Lake Houston. The ride went 23.78 miles but my average speed was only 14.5 mph. I am not sure why I could not get the speed up but I think the route did not have enough long stretches where I rode without stopping. This was a residential ride instead of a ride in the country.
I was back home by 4:39. The forecast was for a temperature in the low 70’s but my home weather station didn’t make it past 68. I thought at first I was over dressed but windchill from the light breeze made me glad I wore the windbreaker jacket, leg warmers, short and long sleeve jerseys, half finger gloves with my shorts. By the time I got home it dropped 1 degree. The overcast sky meant the sun was no help either. Before noon I thought we were going to get rain. Radar showed a big patch of rain to the north and west but it broke up to not be a threat.
This week I rode 5 days out of 6 so far. Tomorrow will be an off day. The mileage for the week was 153.78, not bad for a late fall time of the year. Next week may not be so favorable with a possible cold front coming through on Wednesday. These can hang around for several days. November miles are 186.37 and year to date I biked 5733 miles.
Announcing the ROCKY 50!
Austin Ridge Riders
The ATX100k 6-Pack Series’ gnarly little sister race has arrived!. It will be held on the 24th of November, 2013 at Rocky Hill Ranch. There will be a 50k endurance race and a Hill-climb time trial!
Sign up on Meetup or Facebook
The main contests will take place on the 24th, but there will be some night rides to take place on the 23rd if you come to camp out.
The TLDR bullet points:
Race price – Free (you will be responsible for the $10 RPR land use fee (their waiver, our waiver))
50k Race time – 8 am till you’re done
50k Race course – The gnarliest 50k we can find.
Hill-Climb Time-Trial – Starts 2pm.
Hill-Climb Time-Trial course – Big ring wind sprints up Fat Chuck’s Demise anyone? Anyone?
Team Challenge – 4 or more members of any local team. Prizes for fastest 50k team and TT team.
Race Goodies – All distance at the 50 counts towards your total distance to get in on the jersey. Top men and women will auto-qualify for a jersey in both the 50k and the Hill-climb. Top 3 places men and women get an award. …
Tweed Ride Coming to San Antonio December 16
www.vintageguidetotexas.com
Fans of vintage and tweed are expected to descend on San Antonio December 16th for the San Antonio Tweed Ride and Toy Drive. Promoters say it’s a fashionable, fun and charitable group bicycle ride. Many cyclists dress in traditional cycling attire, which is based on the tweed suite, but others without such styling sense join in anyway (and are welcomed).
800px-Tweed_Ride_Melbourne via Wikimedia CommonsWhile vintage bicycles are encouraged, anything with (one or) two wheels and pedals is fine. You’ll want to try to be in the spirit of things if you can with…
Tweets
Heading to the In-Laws' tomorrow. Will do some East Texas Pineywoods riding on Sunday.
No delay for today’s ride like yesterday. My patch on the front tire is holding the air pressure firm. I did get a later start than I wanted leaving at 1:59 and returning at 4:43.
My route selection almost mirrored Tuesday’s ride except I took a street back to the northbound US59 service by the Roman Catholic church in New Caney. This shortened the route a 1.1 miles. My reasoning was the overcast sky was making me feel chilly. The temperature when I left home was 67 and at the finish of the ride it was 64. I wore my usual cool weather outfit: windbreaker, leg warmers, short and long sleeve jerseys, half finger gloves and shorts. Even though I felt chilly at times I still was sweating. This was good until I stopped for more than a few minutes,
The only long stop was at the Stripes store on FM1314. While I was waiting to get my Diet Pepsi from the fountain machine I had a conversation with a man. He asked what kind of bike I was riding, where I usually ride and how the traffic was on several roads. He said he trained Houston Police Bike Patrol officers around the University of Houston area. It was an interesting talk. After we parted I wished I had given him one of my Texbiker business cards. He and his son ride bikes around Porter.
With the overcast sky the sun did not provide much warmth like yesterday. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to reach the lower 70’s.
I rode 32.72 miles at a 15.0 mph average speed. I was reading about a new theme park that is under construction north of Kingwood on SR 242 . I was thinking about riding there today to see what the construction looked like but the chilly weather changed my mind. Maybe there will be warmer day and I will go there then.
Would You Like to Be on the BFOC Board?
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
The events we throw year-round, grants and donations we receive, and infrastructure we advocate for are all determined by our core Board of dedicated volunteers. We’re looking to add a few passionate cyclists from the neighborhood to round-out our reach and capacity to make OC the most bike-friendly neighborhood in Dallas.
If you’re interested, shoot an email to Amanda. Include your contact info as well as why you’re interested in being on the board and what unique skills or experience you bring to the table. We’re hoping to increase the diversity of…
Camping and Mountain Biking
Dallas Cycling Trail Riders and Weekend Pub Crawlers
Friday, November 29, 2013Â Â Â Â Â Â 10:00 AM
Tyler State Park
789 Park Road 16 , Tyler, TX (map)
Well things did not work out before but I am going to try this again. Steve and I are going camping the day after Thanksgiving at Tyler State Park and we would love for anyone interested to join us. We are only camping Friday night. We will be arriving by about 10 on Friday Nov 29th and leaving around 10 on Saturday. We are going to get a tent sight this time but if anyone joins us who does not have a tent we will change to a shelter or bring our extra tent. If anyone wants to…
Broken spokes: Despite broad community support TxDOT withholds federal funds for bike share
City and MPO support smaller first-phase program as an alternative
by Alberto Tomas Halpern      newspapertree.com
Cities across the U.S., including in Texas, have embraced bike share programs as a way to reduce traffic, improve air quality and foster a healthier quality of life. But El Paso’s nascent bike share program, which the city, the University of Texas at El Paso, the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization or MPO, and the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority or RMA have supported, will be reduced to a much smaller program.
The issue: the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT has withheld much of the funding.
On April 5, following discussions between the city and UTEP, the MPO voted to fund and create a citywide bike share program—the first of its kind in El Paso—with almost 200 bikes at about…
City Park (Emma Long) preride of the 100k route
The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group
Sunday, November 10, 2013Â Â Â Â Â Â 2:00 PM
City Park – Emma Long Motorcycle Trails
7548 Oak Shores Dr, Austin, TX (map)
Park and meet at one of the picnic tables. Look for the red Santa Cruz Nomad
Wheels down at 2:00pm for a guided ride along the route for the 100k (which happens on 12/8/13).
You don’t have to be riding the 100k to come out and ride with us. Just show up and ride!
The first lap will be no-drop group ride to make sure everyone …
If you arrive on the 23rd, go set up your tent and then hang at the Pavilion. If you arrive on the 24th, park and meet at the Pavilion. MAKE SURE YOU SIGN IN AND PAY THE LAND FEES WITH THE RANCH STAFF!!
This is an organized race/ride at Reveille Peak Ranch with the option of camping the night before. Bring your kids! Bring your bikes!
It is a bonus ride on the ATX100K Endurance Race Series (six-pack series). The distance will be a timed 50k on the ranch’s most…
Look through the rides, pick your rides or criteriums, on our…
Kaizen and Cycling
by Shawn McAfee         www.texasmountainbiketrails.com
Pedro Del Busto shares about the gradual process of upgrading and improvement.
Last week I was reminded about one more reason why I love cycling. My 5 year old son had just received a birthday present from a friend and he came to me asking for help. He wanted me to cut the cape off of an airplane from one of the Pixar films – “El Chupacabrasâ€, if I remember correctly.
His request made absolutely no sense to me, but I was intrigued with his motive. So, I asked him why he wanted me to do that to his brand new plane. His answer was beautiful and simple , and made me so proud. He said “His cape is getting in the way and slowing him down, see?†as he showed me with his hands what I imagine was a display of extreme effort by the plane cutting through the wind.
Now, back to cycling and why this incident reminded me of another reason I am still as passionate about it and engaged as I was when I first started drooling over bikes and dreaming all-day rides almost 30 years ago. See, cycling is very complex in that it’s not only about you or a bike, or a trail or road. It’s about the relationship between all of that and everyone else around you doing it. I will not get into…
Action Alert: Submit Feedback to TxDOT for Texas Transportation Plan
BikeTexas.org
Bikes ready to rideBikeTexas has just learned that TxDOT is holding a series of workshops, open houses, and public meetings to update the long range (through 2040) Texas Transportation Plan (TTP). BikeTexas and TxDOT encourage your participation.
The TTP 2040 will serve as TxDOT’s blueprint to guide the state’s multimodal transportation needs for the next 25+ years, addressing all all transportation modes including roadways, aviation, public transportation, bicycle and…
New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar
New Event: Resolution Cross Cup – Garland, TX: When: Sat Dec 28, 2013 11am to 4:30pm CSTWhere: W. Cecil Winte… http://t.co/NeAgpxscEB
