Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup June 19th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Interactive Bicycle Friendly America Database
by Krista Carlson        urbanvelo.org
league-logoThe League of American Bicyclists is giving cyclists a handy new resource with its interactive Bicycle Friendly America Database. A part of its full site revamp, the interactive database allows users to search by state on the clickable map to find bike-friendly communities, businesses and universities, or plug in a ZIP code to connect to bike shops, BFA businesses and local events. Clickable headings and filters also let you sort communities by size and…

Ride East From the Oasis
Lone Star Cyclists
Pace: Touring (a varied pace with frequent stops averaging 12-15 mph)
Date: Saturday, July 6, 2013 – 8:00am
Location: The Oasis / Lynn Creek Marina, Joe Pool Lake, 5700 Lake Ridge Parkway, Grand Prairie

Distances: 23 and 44 Miles
These routes will take us east of the Oasis across the Joe Pool Lake dam and into Dallas, Duncanville, and Cedar Hill (and several others on the longer route). We’ll return across Joe Pool Lake with appetites whetted for a burger at the Oasis.

Lunch: To be determined

Exact ride details subject to change based on weather, road conditions, etc. …

Easy Barton Creek Greenbelt Ride
The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group
Saturday, June 22, 2013        9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Barton Creek Greenbelt – 360 Access (beside brick office building)
3755-B Capital of Texas Hwy., Austin, TX (map)

Look for Lloyd on the orange Santa Cruz Tallboy in the parking lot.

The rib is better but I’m taking it easy on the technical features till I’m 100%, so this Saturday’s ride is a beginner paced tour of the Barton Creek Greenbelt. We will gather at the 360 entrance and decide on the route based on who shows up and…

Bar-B-Que Bikes (almost)
bicyclesoutbackracing.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7UgAprdpM&feature=player_embedded
“Oh Lord Jesus it’s a fire!”
I’ve always had this strange fear of my house catching on fire when I’m away from home. My house was built in 1955 and it has a lot of the original wiring and insulation. That is one reason why I try to take my cat, Joey, with me whenever I travel to places that are “kitty friendly.”

Joey and I were out of town, when I heard the news of the fire. My phone was on silent and when I picked it up, I noticed I had…

Tweets

https://twitter.com/LA_Underhill/status/347323664041136128

A Spill – June 19th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Ride to the south and east today I went through Atascocita, Walden and Huffman. The roads were no different than normal except for a possible diesel fuel spill on the north bound lane of FM2100 north of Old Atascocita Road. It look wet and  because of the traffic I could not ride around it. I expected my bike to be coated but when I got the Huffman Chevron there were only a few spots which wiped off easily. It so happened that a Harris County Deputy Sheriff was parked at the Chevron station so I told him about it. After he finished his coffee break he left to check it out. I did not know how this would turn out but while I was riding west across Lake Houston a fire truck from the Atascocita Volunteer Fire Department drove to the east with lights flashing. No way to tell if they were going to the spill but maybe they were.

Another hot and sunny day greeted me for the ride with partly cloudy sky, 94.5 degrees and a variable 7 mph breeze. I was comfortable riding as long as I kept moving. Whenever I stopped the perspiration flowed down my arms to leave the pavement spotted. As I rode I needed to dip my head to the right to let the perspiration run off so as to not get on my sunglasses.

Traffic was light over the 32.13 mile route and I did not see any other bicyclists. June mileage increased to 562.69, this week’s miles now total 97.18 and 3002 miles year to date. Reaching 3002 miles for the year is a good deal pointing to the possibility of getting to 6000 miles for the year.

Tomorrow will be a rest day after biking for 10 days in a row and 17 out of 19 days for June. Friday I plan on biking again.

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

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for June 18th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

RLAG (Ride Like a Girl)
By Claire        bicyclesoutbackracing.net
Ride Like a Girl is a local women’s mountain bike program where riders of all ability levels get together to ride, improve their skills, and also hang out and have fun.

Riders split into groups depending on skill level and are accompanied by a RLAG ride leader and a sweeper. Riders of all ability levels show up and it ranges all the way from riders on their first mountain bike that are learning to hop a curb, to riders that race mountain bikes…

Cyclists encouraged by city’s initiatives
By Lindsay Peyton        www.chron.com
Bicycles are becoming an increasingly popular mode of transportation in Downtown, Neartown and in the Heights, where more options have become available for getting around on two wheels.
Among measures expected to boost cycling are the new safe pass law, the B-Cycle bike rental program and plans for a trail system through the Bayou Greenways project.
Promoting bicycle commuting has become a priority, said Laura Spanjian, sustainability director with…

(Update) This Bicycle Race Is No Aggie Joke
by DORIAN DE WIND, Military Affairs Columnist        themoderatevoice.com
After cycling 1,550 miles — halfway into the grueling Race Across America — since he left the starting gate at Oceanside, Ca., on June 11, after heading off acute kidney failure, after topping mountain passes at nearly 10,000 feet, after fighting a case of ‘Shermer’s Neck,’ after encountering a tornado in the Great Plains, Texas A&M Dean José Luis Bermúdez posted on his Facebook page where he has been tracking the progress of his race:

Time station 27 [Maize, KS] and mile 1550 is the last for me, I’m afraid. It’s been 500 miles since I could hold the handlebars and brakes (I’ve been holding on to the arm rests for the aero bars) and I’m not making meaningful progress..

    Thanks to everyone who’s been following. I had a blast and hope some of that came across.

He also thanks doctors and nurses who took care of him and thanks his…

Pampa children rewarded for wearing bike helmets
www.newschannel10.com
Pampa, Texas – Ten thousand children between the ages of five and 15 were injured in bicycle accidents in 2011 according to data from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
KFDA – NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports
Bicycle helmets reduce the risk for head injuries by 85 percent. The Pampa Police Department has started an awareness program to encourage kids to be…

New Cycling Gear and other Updates
by Ray Garza        RGV Cycling
I just want to do a short write-up on whats new with me and some of the new gear that I have updated and/or added. I don’t want to do a separate blog for each item, that would just take too long to do. I don’t fancy myself sitting here days on end writing when I can be out cycling instead.

First of all, I continue to lose weight 🙂 That is my primary goal. I had hit a plateau a while back and started up the food journal to kick-start the process. Well, I’m glad to say that it worked and lost another 5-6 pounds. I’m in the 230′s now for the first time in about two years. It feels great, I’m faster…

NWCC group ride-River Bend
GHORBA.org
Event category: Rides
Sunday, June 23, 2013 – 8:00am
Our friends at NWCC are doing a group ride at River Bend. Be ready to start at 8 a.m. Good group to ride with. …

GHORBA Group Ride at the Anthills!
July 6, 2013 – 9:00am
Independence Day is just around the corner so what better way to celebrate than to ride the Anthills! Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Singletrack! Come join our new Group Ride Organizer Mr. Wladimir Moquete and me on Saturday July 6th at 9:00am for a couple a fun laps then hang out and talk bike with the gang. Whether you’re a beginner rider or an old hat 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…

Friday Night Beginner Ride – Bull Creek Trails
The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group
Friday, June 21, 2013        5:30 PM
Bull Creek
Old Spicewood Springs Rd, Austin, TX (map)

We’ll park near the restrooms and paved parking area – locate the group of cyclists
Hey folks,

We will start out on a short little track that is very smooth and easy. (a slight step up from Lady Bird Lake paths) If the group is up to the challenge, we can take on some additional trails with minor climbs and some rougher sections.

I am recovering from a broken leg, so pace is going to be slow.

We will be riding some of the paths near the Bull Creek area. I know these trails very well and the terrain can vary from very basic paths to…

Tweets

https://twitter.com/danielcurtin/status/347160429740572673

Fat Tire Bike Passing – June 18th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Mostly cloudy skies held the temperature down some at the start of my ride and I relished the coolness of 85.6 degrees. By the time I got home at 12:47 it moved up to 93.7. My perspiration still flowed bountifully leaving damp pavement whenever I stopped. The 4.6 mph breeze seemed to slow me down despite the lightness of it. Almost every direction had a headwind but I did find riding east had the lowest resistance.

The route today did not overlap on the out and back except for the last 100 feet to my driveway. I like to think this is a better route than one with more overlap. It makes for cleaner route maps. As I rode on the greenbelt trail along Kingwood Drive on my out to Loop 494 a young teenage girl rode towards me on one those “fat tire” bikes which is quite a sight to see and a noisy one too as the super-wide knobby tires rumble on the concrete trail. I have looked at these bikes in a bike shop but seeing one moving is quite different. I like to think that my mountain bike tires are wide but a fat tire bike tire makes them look like narrow road bike tires.

To get the non-overlap route I rode north to Community Drive then through Valley Ranch, Kingwood Place and down to Sorters Road. Riding into Forest Cove reminds me of the 1994 flood and all of the homes that were bulldozed in the low places along Hamblen Road parallel to the San Jacinto River. The flood put 20 feet or more of water in this area. Now brush grows where once town homes, an RV park and other structures used to be. I ended up biking 30.53 miles which put me over my June goal of 524 miles. June miles stand at 530.56 so there are many days left to add to this total. Year to date miles reached 2970. Riding time was just a few seconds over 2 hours. No rest stops today except to refill my water bottle at the Valley Ranch Texaco.

Tomorrow looks like another good riding day; hot and dry. After lunch today I plan on finishing my shade tree mechanic work on the Jeep Wrangler; replace the rear shocks.

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