Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup February 26th

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Anthills Trail Work Party
GHORBA
Wilcrest trail entrance
200-260 N Wilcrest Dr, Houston, TX 77042 Houston, Tx
Trail: The Anthills (Terry Hershey Park)
Saturday, March 9, 2013 – 9:00am

The main focus of this work party will be to install the first “kiosk” at Wilcrest and a few of the new marker posts. Will also do some trail trimming if we have enough people.

Pace Ben RR by Kim Jennings of Jubilee Subaru
cyclingillustrated.com

Pace Bend is a highlight race of the Texas road racing season, and with a field of close to 40 women, it was game on from the gun. The first 2 laps were fast and furious; a few breaks with the major hitters were quickly brought back, but what was really missing at this point were the counter attacks. Amateur women’s cycling is notorious for “negative racing” where most racers just chase anything to bring it back, regardless of what team or who is represented in the break. It can be frustrating for everyone involved, with countless attacks that…

Exclusive: The Making of a Spoke – From raw wire to finished product at Wheelsmith’s factory
by Ryan Palmer            Bike Magazine

Spoke manufacturer, Wheelsmith, has been making high quality stainless steel spokes in the U.S. Since the mid-nineties. Disc-brake company, Hayes acquired Wheelsmith in 2007 and moved production from Montana to Hayes’ headquarters outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Wheelsmith now produces spokes for the Hayes-owned SunRingle wheel systems as well as the the OEM market and bike shops around the world. We stopped by the Mequon, Wisconsin plant and were lucky enough…

T3Multisports Elite Junior Cycling is Central Texas
by Sprint Finish            Cycling Illustrated

Round Rock, Texas (February 26, 2013) –T3Multisports Elite Junior Cycling is Central Texas’ premier development and training program for junior cyclists.  A program designed specifically for the development of young cyclists between the ages of 7-18 years old is headquarters in Round Rock, Texas.  T3Multisports Elite Junior Cycling is directed by Coach Boris Robinson, a USA Cycling Level 2 cycling coach.  The team was…

Pace Ben Road Race by Heath Blackgrove (Elbowz Racing)
by Sprint Finish            Cycling Illustrated

by Heath Blackgrove (Elbowz p/b Boneshaker)
With Pace Bend Road Race being run by our new presenting sponsor Boneshaker, near their base in Austin, there was a lot of pressure on the Elbowz Racing Elite Cycling Team p/b Boneshaker Project.  I made this very clear and came up with the plan to race very aggressive and get as many guys in the breaks as possible to try and secure the win and isolate the main opposition.

Right from the first lap the guys were in or making every move, really putting pressure on the other teams.  Historically Pace Bend comes down to a sprint with its undulating course making it hard for a break to stick, but with no real sprinter racing with us this weekend, we were going to do all we could to split the race or animate…

Mellow Johnny’s Classic offers equal payouts
By: Cycling News
$15,000 on the line for next weekend’s US Pro XCT opener

The first US Pro XCT of the season, the Mellow Johnny’s Classic mountain bike race, is offering a total prize purse of US$15,000, one of the biggest purses in the mountain race world. The top pro men and women will enjoy equal payouts on March 2 at Flat Creek Crossing Ranch in Henly, Texas.

Race organizers say that this purse and its distribution costs them more, but it’s well worth the expense to attract the best talent of all genders, as…

Mellow Johnny’s Classic at Flat Creek Ranch March 2-3
By Pam LeBlanc            Fit City

One of the richest races in the mountain bike world, the Subaru of Georgetown Mellow Johnny’s Classic, gears up at Flat Creek Crossing outside of Austin this weekend.

The race, the first stop on USA Cycling’s Pro XCT, offers a total prize purse of $15,000. Even more interesting? The top men and women finishers will earn equal prize money. That’s rare in the…

Kid Trips Event – Girl Scouts of America at Pace Bend Park
Austin Ridge Riders
Saturday, March 30, 2013 – 09:00 – 12:00
Kid Trips will be conducting a ride for Girls Scouts at Pace Bend Park on Saturday March 30, 2013.  This is a make up ride for the cancelled Colorado Bend event from January.  We’ll meet at the East Trailhead parking lot (see map) at 8:00 a.m. The ride starts at…

Smurf Boy Summer Endurance Series
North Texas Mountain Bike Patrol
Dates for 2013 Smurfboy Race Series:
6-15-13 RCP & 6-29-13 OCNP & 7-13-13 River Legacy & 7-27-13 Cedar Hill SP
all start at 6pm

Tweets

T-shirts and Gym Shorts – February 26th Bike Ride

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The weather warmed up enough to draw me out on a ride. By 1:46 when I left on my ride it was up 65 but the 13 mph NW wind was biting so I dressed like it was cooler. I donned leg warmers, shorts, two long sleeve jerseys, windbreaker jacket and half finger gloves. I almost went with full finger gloves but I figured it was warm enough. Early on riding through the shade the wind tried to convince me to go back home for the full finger gloves but I held out. Apparently I am cold weather wimp. While I was riding back home on Atascocita Shores Drive up ahead of me a man pulled out from a side street on his mountain bike wearing shorts and a short sleeve T-shirt. I was feeling the bite of the wind and glad I had all of my outfit on. This man stayed ahead of me until I turned off of W. Lake Houston Parkway. While I was watching the mountain bike rider another bicyclist rode past me attired in leg warmers and a short sleeve sweat shirt and arm warmers. He did have a back pack which might have helped keep him warm. Later on I turned onto Tree Lane across from Creekwood Middle School just in time to see a boys gym class come out of the school running again attired in T-shirts and gym shorts. Oh to be young again!

My southerly route totaled 23.63 miles as I rode through Atascocita and Walden. I decided to stay on the west side of Lake Houston to avoid the chilly wind blowing off the lake. I am hoping this mileage will help me get to the 369 goal for February. As of this ride I have 334.13 miles leaving 35 miles to go. Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com.

Tomorrow’s weather says the high will be 66 and partly cloudy. The wind will be from the SW in the morning switching to the NW in the afternoon. The Baytown weather for Saturday continues to be cold (by my standards).

Baytown Weather 2-26-2013

 

I am beginning to waver on riding the Gator Ride. I will be at the starting area to at least to get my T-shirt. I will try to not wimp out because of the cold.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for February 25th

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Undercover bike officers target unsafe drivers
www.woai.com        Reported by: Lauren Lea

SAN ANTONIO – Undercover officers are targeting unsafe drivers in a sting operation, to enforce the city’s “Safe Passing” ordinance.

The law requires vehicles to pass with three feet of space or move into another lane when approaching a cyclist, pedestrian, runner or even highway or…

Magic Wands and Scraped Bikes: The Jenn Dice Interview
People for Bikes Blog

Jenn Dice is the newest addition to the passionate group of people behind PeopleForBikes.org. As Vice President of Government Relations, Jenn is responsible for directing lobbying efforts in D.C., organizing grassroots political efforts, and running the new Leslie Bohm Strategy Center. She brings with her a palpable enthusiasm for bikes and more than 10 years experience in cycling advocacy with the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). We were able to catch up with her a few days before her big trip to bike down Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro:

What do you remember most about your first bike?
I grew up in South Dakota, and like every girl who’d read Black Beauty, I really wanted a horse. So when I got a bike, I put ropes on the handlebar and would steer it…

HBC Houston Sans Car Ride
Houston Bicycle Club
Sunday March 3 8:00 AM
Distance: 20 miles
This is an informal, leader led ride, at a leisurely pace ( Ride speed:  11 to 14 mph )  for those who want to know Houston  and many of its special places, by bike.  Learn basic bicycle commuting safety with a friendly group.  Rest stop will include one of the city’s independent coffee houses.  This ride is normally scheduled the first Sunday of each month and the route will vary at the whim of the leader, but will generally include a “figure 8 pattern” so that riders who do not wish to do the entire ride can easily return to the ride start. …

City Park Workday Sat 2.23.13
Austin Ridge Riders

A big warm Thank You to ’35’ volunteers from 3 user groups (AMSA, ARR, CTTA) who attended the City Park workday. It was a beautiful day with positive results and inspiring teamwork. We had an ambitious agenda to complete with the amount of time we had. The volunteer sweat equity resulted in completing the agenda throughout most of the park and the installation of over…

Bike Sharing Grows in Texas
by Susan Wilcox
The first Fort Worth B-cycle bike has arrived. Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Bike Sharing.It’s been a busy few months for bike sharing in Texas, with two cities expanding and two more gearing up for a launch.

Houston B-cycle announced a new partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) in January and celebrated the installation of three new stations this past week at the Downtown YMCA, the Ensemble/HCC METRORail station, and at the Lake Plaza entrance to the Houston Zoo. Eighteen more stations are planned to open, and Will Rub of Houston B-cycle says they hope to have at least 14 of the…

A&M Races up THIS Weekend…
by League Director in News            Texas High School Cycling League
This upcoming weekend, March 2nd & 3rd will be our scholastic races at Texas A&M.  Come on out and join in all the fun.  It looks like we’ll have a good number of new racers as well as a number of top competitors too!   Be sure to check out the UPDATED (as of 2-25-13) race flyer below.

The weekend will see middle and high school racing for boys and girls of all…

Tweets

https://twitter.com/AustinCyclist/status/306179460019937281

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/306159260683870210

https://twitter.com/AustinCyclist/status/306115342126678016

31 mph Wind Gusts – February 25th Bike Ride

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Today’s weather did not turn out the way I expected. The rain threat vanished quickly just before 11 AM thanks to a brisk wind and the sky turned a nice blue with the temperature moving up to 76 by the time I left on my ride at 1:36 PM. The weather service issued a wind advisory of up 40 mph winds late yesterday and I wondered how hard this would make my ride. The weather at G. Bush Intercontinental Airport showed the wind from WNW at 15 mph and 28 mph gusts. There were a couple of times where the wind made pedaling very hard mostly heading into it. The worst was going up the Community Drive overpass into the wind. I rode so slow and when I stood up to apply more power my right knee protested and I sit down, went to a lower gear and crawled over the top. I had to pedal on the downhill side of the overpass  to overcome the wind.

With the warmer temperature and sun I wore a lot less today with shorts; shorts, short sleeve jersey and long sleeve jersey. I am glad I rode north and the route put in the position most of the time to enjoy the wind rather than riding into it like I would have on my south route. I rode 28.47 miles at 15.2 mph average speed. The first 5 miles generally was into the wind and on residential streets. All of the remaining 5 mile sections were at 15 mph or more except for the last 3.46 miles, again back on residential streets with a lot of stops and starts. With today’s miles February now totals 310.5, 59 miles from my goal for the month. Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com.

Tomorrow’s weather may make riding interesting with a high of 64 and a NW wind of 10 to 20 mph. This could be a decent practice for Saturday’s Gator Ride. The Baytown forecast for Saturday as of today:

Baytown Weather 2-25-2013

The high is getting lower.

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