Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for August 8th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Tour de’ Central North District
The Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church

District Superintendent Morris Matthis has long been biking for causes. This summer he’s pledged to ride to all 52 churches in his district to rally with leaders around the importance of “the connection” and the significance of apportionment participation.

He’s calling it the Nothing But Sweat Ride. In 2008, biking enthusiast Morris Mathis (currently serving as District Superintendent of the Central North District) rallied a group together to ride to Ft. Worth to raise money for the…

Kathleen Featured in The Racing Post August Issue
bicyclesoutbackracing.net


Our own Kathleen Hattaway is featured in this month’s article of “Love Your Ride.” Kathleen talks about her adventures of racing and winning the Driveway Series in Austin, TX.
This month’s magazine also features highlights for the Hotter’N Hell 100 which takes place at the end of August. Look for all our girls in the lime green starting…

Cyclists become targets along popular hike and bike trail
by Andrew Horansky / KHOU 11 News

HOUSTON – For the most part, people feel safe on The Heights Hike and Bike Trail. However, on Wednesday night, Charles Achord was not feeling so safe.
Just before 10 p.m., he and two other cyclists were peddling together fast. They first passed beneath the Hogan Street Bridge.
Then the cyclists next came upon a railroad trestle, which is when the…

Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club Rides
August 17, 2013 7:30 am
Exxon 471 – Highway 211 Ride
Exxon Station
15355 W FM 471, San Antonio, TX, 78253

August 18, 2013 8:30 am
Edge Falls Tri-County Ride
Guadalupe River RV Park
7200 Spring Branch Rd., Spring Branch, TX, 78070

August 24, 2013 8:00 am
Leon Creek Greenway Ride
Ingram Park Trailhead
15436, San Antonio

August 25, 2013 8:30 am
Blanco BBQ Ride
Blanco BBQ
13259 Blanco Rd, San Antonio, TX, 78216…

Itasca – Where the Wampus Cat Roams
Lone Star Cyclists
Pace: Touring with a Fast Pace Option (Touring is a varied pace with frequent stops averaging 12-15 mph)
Date: Saturday, August 24, 2013 – 7:30am
Location: Itasca School Parking Lot, 700 block E Wilkerson Street, Itasca, 76055

Park at the school parking lot behind the train depot museum and football stadium.

Take IH-35W south from Fort Worth
(From Dallas go south on Hwy 67 to Alvarado and go south on IH-35W)
Take exit 8 (FM-66 Itasca)
Turn right (west) on FM-66W (Main St) toward Itasca
Turn right on FM-67W (Wampus Cat Drive)
Take the first left onto E Wilkerson St
Take the first left into the school parking lot…

CTS Field Test – August Road HRM Test
www.turnincranks.com

I’s been 2 months since I did my last field test and as I’m planning on trying to ramp up my ride time again, I felt it was good to do another field test.  Hopefully this will give me a good baseline for the next couple of months of riding.

I haven’t been getting much saddle time over the past couple of months so I really expected my test to come out pretty close to the…

Harden Dental Team Ride
Corinth Cycling Club
When: Sat Aug 17, 2013 7am to 10am  CDT
Where: Ronny Crownover Middle School
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: This is the weekly training ride for the Corinth Cycling/Harden Dental race team. This is a 62 mile loop on an established route. Expect a fast pace and be prepared to fix your own mechanicals. There are no stops on this ride.

Tweets

https://twitter.com/shawnokeefe/status/365661440750780416

https://twitter.com/BobTGray/status/365512157707763712

https://twitter.com/Manweiser/status/365543509622652928

 

Sahara Desert Dust – August 8th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The heat continues at least for today with another heat advisory:

* event… heat indices will range between 105 and 112.
* Timing… this afternoon and early evening. Highest heat indices will likely occur between 3 and 6 PM.

I got an earlier start leaving home at 9:59 under a clear sky (if you don’t count the slight haze from the Sahara desert dust) with the temperature at 85 degrees (66% humidity). No big route selection magic for today. I just rode north on US59 to New Caney and west to Gene Campbell Road. From there I headed to FM1314 and back towards Porter. Stopping at the Stripes station for a break with Diet Pepsi and Kashi cookies I watched the giant Texas flag hang limp on the pole with an occasional burst of wind. I arrived back home at 12:58 and the temperature had went up to 96.8 (humidity 41%). As I write this report my home weather station shows 100 degrees.

The ride ended up at 36.13 miles and the average speed was 16.0 mph. Look at the slides below for the week, month and year to date standings.

Tomorrow could be almost as hot but the heat advisory may not be in effect.

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[iframe http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/355544259 470px 570px]

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1591648/embed 95% 700px]

Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup August 7th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Automakers refuse to give up on millennials who don’t buy
Megan Durisin, Bloomberg News
Young people are buying cars at a slower rate than their parents, restrained by mounting student loan debt, a rising cost of driving and an increasing reliance on biking and public transportation. Car companies continue to chase them, banking on the hope that today’s car-shirkers will be tomorrow’s car-buyers.
They are trying to attract the 18-to-34-year-old millennial generation through a blend of social media campaigns, video game placements and peer-to-peer advertising. It’s the 21st century equivalent of putting a Hot Wheels car into a box of…

APD Urging Riders To Register Bikes KEYE TV
This year alone there have been more than 200 bike thefts, not including University of Texas. More than … By Christie PostAPD Urging Riders To Register Bikes.

A ride in the sun
First-time bike trails to open in Buescher State Park
By Terry Hagerty, Austin Community Newspapers Staff

With sunlight filtering through tall pines and oaks, Cullen Sartor moved swiftly down a winding bike trail at Buescher State Park Monday morning
“When I started here about three years ago, one of the first things people asked me was when were we going to put in a bike trail,” said Sartor, who is the site manager for…

I’m Still Proudly Repping Texas
By Darryl            lovingthebike.com

My Family and I lived a total of 3 years in the beautiful city of Austin, Texas.  That equates to only about 7% of my life….but it was enough for me to consider it home.  Even though we’re Canadians, my entire Family actually considers it home.
I miss the city, the bike culture, and the people….and we plan to get back there for a visit as often as we can. But for now, I am able to proudly represent Texas cycling with this great new T-shirt that was recently sent to me. …

Three YMCA members begin 2,500 mile bike trip
www.austindailyherald.com
Three locals are going to bike the distance over the next couple over the next month or so.

YMCA members Terry Fox and Dave and Julie Thomsen will be biking all of the way from the Mississippi Headwaters to the Gulf Coast. The group will bike a total…

WANTED: Richardson Cyclist For Interview
bikefriendlyrichardson.org

ATTENTION RICHARDSON CYCLISTS!!
Ann Marie Shambaugh works for the City of Richardson’s Communications Department, and she is putting together a video package about the Central Trail. They need somebody in the local bicycling community who is eager to use the trail once it is complete. She’d like to do an on-camera interview with a Richardson resident or two who use the Central Trail and plan to…

Ride Out of Midlothian
Lone Star Cyclists
Pace: Touring with a Fast Pace Option (Touring is a varied pace with frequent stops averaging 12-15 mph)
Date: Saturday, August 10, 2013 – 7:30am
Location:
Midlothian SE Corner N 8th St and W Ave E. Park on the north side, away from the Farmer’s Market.

NOTE THE TIME CHANGE TO 7:30 AM.

Distances: 30 and 50 miles

We’ll head east to Waxahachie and return to Midlothian for a…

Tweets

High and Dry – August 7th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The weather this week adds another meaning to the “high and dry” we usually refer to. The temperature has been high and the humidity has been dry. It was 90 degrees (55% humidity) when I rolled out at 10:55. I wanted to get back home before the heat advisory window started at 3 PM and I made it at 1:50 but the temperature already was at 99.3 degrees (36% humidity). The heat advisory said the heat index could reach 105 to 112. There was a steady breeze while I was riding and the perspiration dried up quickly. My bandana was not dripping when I got home.

I wanted to get some extra miles in to make up for not riding on Monday so I choose a route extension to the typical ride to Huffman by going east on FM1960 to the Liberty County line and then back on Huffman-Eastgate to FM2100 and then south to FM1960. I stopped at the usual Huffman Chevron station for a snack and SunKisk 10 soda. Road crews where working the FM2100 and FM1960 intersection putting new lane strips down. With the heat I don’t think it took long for the pain to dry. I biked 36.34 miles at a 16.0 mph average speed so I accomplished my extra miles goal. With two biking days the week’s total is 68.88, August totals 176.06 and year to date I am at 4427.

More heat tomorrow so I need to start earlier than today. I should consider this training for the Hotter’N Hell Hundred later this month.

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[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1582078/embed 95% 700px]