I Am a Bottle Opener – May 29th Bike Ride

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The legs did better today but the 23 mph wind and 30 mph gusts did their best to hold me back. I went on a northerly route to New Caney and then back through Valley Ranch. Riding north was not so bad but turning into the wind slowed me down quite a bit. The route offered no surprises but I did notice when I turned the corner in Valley Ranch onto Valley Ranch Drive the wind was blowing so strong that the mist from the fountain about 150 feet away from me still could be felt. If it would have been hotter I might have slowed down some to enjoy the cooling mist. It was 82 degrees when I left home at 10:55 and 87 when I got back at 1:17. The clouds looked threatening at times and I think I got a few rain drops but nothing approaching a real rain.

My route was slightly longer than yesterday coming in at 31.71 miles at a 14.6 mph average speed. May mileage now totals 306.96 and year to date I rode 2400 miles.

I discovered a new job while I stopped at the Valley Ranch Texaco. After I went inside to refill my waterbottle I was waiting for a couple of cars to leave when a lady walked over to me and asked if I could loosen the lid on her Dr. Pepper. She said it was too tight for an “old lady”. So now I am a bottle opener.

While I was out riding my wife was buying more plants for our yard so now I will be a landscaper as well.

Probably no riding tomorrow after our trip to the Medical Center. I should get to ride on Friday though.

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Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup May 28th

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Hotter’n’Hell Hundred?
by JeremyLC            www.bikeforums.net
So, a friend just registered me for this year’s Hotter’n’Hell Hundred.
I’ve been twice already, I did the 100k once and 100mile once, both times I rode my Cross Check (with gears!).
I am now tempted to try the 100 miles again on my fixed gear bike. I have 48t chainring, a 15t cog on side of my hub and an 18t cog on the other (only one lockring, at the moment). The route map is here, it doesn’t look like too much climbing, really. I’m thinking I could either go it all 48/18 or get another lockring and ride 48/18 for…

Texas State starts impounding bicycles
San Marcos Mercury
The Texas State University Police Department (UPD) began its annual bicycle round-up as part of its Register, IDentify, Educate (RIDE) program on May 20.

Under the program, any bike not registered with the UPD is impounded. Any bicycles attached to any university railings or signage will be removed. If a lock is present, it will be cut without…

The Young Americans: Lawson Craddock
www.outsideonline.com

The reputation of American cycling has been dragged through the dirt in the last few years. Time has shown that Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, and many others built their reputations on cheating. But there’s a new generation of US riders emerging to take their places—hopefully in an honest manner. This is another in a series of interviews with these young Americans. …

Insurance company sues to regain losses paid to bike shop for 2012 fire
By Michelle Keahey, East Texas Bureau        The Southeast Texas Record
SHERMAN – An insurance company has filed a lawsuit claiming its insured lost its bicycle business in a fire as a result of an electrical problem in a compressor.

State Farm Lloyds, as subrogee of Bicycle Path, and Gary Haack filed suit against Xinlei Compressor Co. Ltd. on July 13 in Denton County District Court. The defendant removed the case to the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division on May 20.

The lawsuit involves products liability claims arising from the design, manufacture and marketing defects of a 20 gallon Xinlei compressor.  According to the lawsuit, a…

7:00am – Cup o Joe Ride
Corinth Cycling Club
Sat, June 8, 7:00am – 8:30am
Weekly on Saturday
Where:  Ronny Crownover Middle School
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. …

Texas A&M dean cycling across U.S. to benefit Habitat for Humanity
By Dini Susanto        www.theeagle.com

The rapidly clearing faculty lot signaled that it was time to go home. The Texas A&M University dean backed his shiny red vehicle out of its parking spot — the back, right corner of his office. He had exchanged his suit and tie for a jersey and helmet. A pair of red cycling shoes took the place of his signature lizard boots.

“I’ve got to stay hydrated,” said Jose Bermudez as he filled water bottles in preparation for the long stretch of road that…

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Amtrak Whizzes By – May 28th Bike Ride

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Today is the first ride since May 17th. So far May has been a month to forget and get over. First I spent 3 days in the hospital and then on May 19th I got the call from my sister no one wants to get. My Mother was taken to the ER early May 19th and shortly after that moved to hospice. My wife quickly got clothes together, made arrangements for our niece and then started the drive to Ohio. The drive went as planned for one day but I think we got some food poisoning and the drive Monday May 20th turned into a disaster with my wife throwing up numerous times as we drove on I-30 from Texarkana to Little Rock and I-40 to Nashville. After that slowed down then she experienced diarrhea for several days. This all made for interesting traveling finding restrooms in the most unusual places. We took one exit to a place called Dancyland (I think) to find a truck stop hidden behind a hill. This was the only buildings we saw and it came in the nick of time. The people were friendly and helpful.

The drive sadly turned into going to my Mother’s funeral. After we arrived in Zanesville I also developed some problems from the same food poisoning but near as severe as my wife’s. As we visited with family and friends the problem slowly left us and we were able to attend the funeral and begin the drive back home on Saturday. fortunately the trip back did not include food poisoning and the side effects.

So my goal for today’s ride was to just get my legs turning the pedals. Early this morning (6:40 AM) I rode my mountain bike to the dentist so I found out the legs still knew how to turn the pedals. This was a 6 mile round trip leaving me with some reserve to go on my longer ride to Huffman and back. Catching up on some chores delayed the ride start to 11:58. The temperature was a nice 87 to 89 for the ride but the wind was not so nice at 23 mph from the SE. The clouds hinted of some possible rain somewhere but the weather radar was offline so I wasn’t sure where or if I would run into any. The ride ended up at 31.33 miles at a 14.6 mph average speed. I did not see any rain or clouds threatening to drop some.

One thing I did see that was very unusual happened while I stopped at the Huffman Chevron. I heard a train whistle and expected to see a freight train coming out of the trees and from behind some buildings on my right across FM1960 but instead an Amtrak passenger train appeared. There were two engine type cars followed by 4 passenger cars. Looking through the windows I did not see many passengers though I could be mistaken due to the distance I was from the tracks. I don’t remember seeing a passenger train here before. This reminds me of the time when I was a Cub Scout and my Mother arranged for our Pack to ride the last B&O Railroad passenger train to leave Zanesville, Ohio. We rode to New Concord, OH about 12 miles to the east and got off to drive back to Zanesville. This was in 1950’s.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for May 27th

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Memorial Day with the Armadillos
www.planobicycle.org

Thank you David Morgan for leading the Armadillos and making a very special stop at the Veteran’s Memorial in Plano. And thank you Maggie for waving the flag of life, liberty, and happiness. Whoo-hoo!

Driveway Bike Race Series Results
Week 11 Results p/b Austin Dentist – Austin Cosmetic Dentist and Neuromuscular Dentistry are up! What a great night of racing on the ROTHE Training Speed Loop!

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