Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for January 27th

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February ARR Club Ride
The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group
Saturday, February 9, 2013        10:00 AM
Pedernales Falls State Park
2585 Park Road 6026, Johnson City, TX (map)
Ask at the pay station and look for the banner

Never been to Pedernales Falls State Park? Now is your chance! ARR encourages you and your friends to come out and ride with us and learn all about the potential for trail expansion in the beautiful park. Discussions with Texas Parks and Wildlife Staff have already begun and we have big ideas for expanding and improving the trail system for MORE mountain biking. This place is huge and we are very excited!!

We will be starting at the Wolf Mountain Trail head.
Look for the ARR Banner and we’ll be sure to let the park staff know where we will set up for lunch so they can direct you once you get into…

Rocky Hill Ride Pics – 1-27-13
AustinBike.com
We hadn’t been to Rocky Hill Ranch in quite a while, so it was good to get back out there and put in a lap.  There was a ton of new trail both at the beginning and towards the end.  The overall trail conditions were good, but, as always, riding on sandy dirt is always a challenge.

While we said a 9:00 start, I am starting to learn that when you grab people from…

2013 Miles of Discomfort & Overall Results
by tonkster                Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association
Mike and I had the oppurtunity to travel to Comfort this weekend to compete in the final race of the  2012-13 TMBRA Marathon Series.  On the drive we saw the result of a volcano erupting.

Erupting Volcano in Tx!!!

After a few miles of warming up we join all the participants for the full marathon at the starting line.  The whistle blows and we’re off. It was drizzling at the start line and drizzled for about an hour into the race.  These condition would make the rocky terrain slippery.  Not exactly what we we wanted. On the positive side we both have experienced  this type of riding condition and knew we would have to be focused and…

Adkins Junction Ride
San Antonio Wheelmen
Date:     02/03/2013
Time:     09:00 AM-12:00 PM
Location:     Adkins Junction Strip Mall
San Antonio, TX
Details: Adkins Junction Ride  (SSE) [F to R].  Routes of 20, 24, 33, 45, and 50 miles.

This is a resurrection of a popular Wheelmen ride that we haven’t done for several years.  If you are looking for a change of scenery from rides on the north side of town, then try this one south of town.  The routes are mainly on local country roads.  The starting point is at the Adkins Junction strip mall on Hwy 87.

Directions: Take Hwy 87 south of San Antonio (one option is I-37 South, exit I-10/Hwy 87 towards Victoria and Houston, then exit Hwy 87 South. Once on Hwy 87 South (don’t miss the turn when 87 takes a left), drive through China Grove (don’t blink or…

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for January 26th

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City Park Trailwork?
AustinBike.com
Today’s 2 laps at city park were cut short by a terrible sight.  The trail was being torn up and rerouted.  All of my calls to the city have not been answered yet, but whoever is doing this is undertaking a moajor effor, it is surprising that nobody from the biking community was aware of this. …

Mavic Crossride Wheels
AustinBike.com
Never look a gift horse in the mouth. I won this wheelset at an event, so as far as I was concerned, this was a free toy to play with. Apparently you get what you pay for.

I broke a pair of spokes on my main wheelset (Magura hubs, Mavic 717 rims),so I tried this wheelset on while my main set was being rebuilt. It was fine for simple riding, but it had a bit more flex than I was used to having, I would chalk it up to being a much less expensive wheel.

The real problems came when I had a collision. One of the spokes pulled out from the rim. It pulled the nipple straight through the rim and ruined it. If this had been a normal spoke, it would have broken the…

Flat Creek Crossing Ranch Ride
The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group
Sunday, February 3, 2013    10:00 AM
Flat Creek Crossing Ranch
County Road 201 & Ulrich Road, Johnson City, TX (map)
http://www.mellowjohnnys.com/mellow-classic-flat-creek-crossing-pre-ride/

If you are not getting up early enough to hit Todd’s 100K event at Muleshoe Bend, but want to get out earlier than Mike’s afternoon ARR ride at Walnut, here’s another option this Sunday: Mellow Johnny’s is opening Flat Creek Crossing Ranch again (more details at the Mellow Johnny’s link). Trail entrance fee is $7, all proceeds go to Child Inc.

Join me for a 10:00am start time, social pace (I’m a slow intermediate), 2-3 lap ride (~8 mile trail). …

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Bike through the Forest and the Hills – Coldspring, TX

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Today I rode my first organized ride of 2013. The drive to Coldspring took about 50 minutes from my house. Once I arrived fog was clearly in the area. I parked my Jeep and walked over to the registration area. The not pre-registered line was only 2 or 3 people long after I completed the form at the table in front. The ladies manning the table were friendly and eager to help the riders. I got my bag, number and T-shirt. Heading back to the parking area I started to hand out Texbiker.net cards. Every person I offered one to accepted it and almost everyone said thank you.

The person in charge alerted us to the 15 minute delay to the start due to the fog and then again for the second 5 minute delay. After the Star Spangled Banner we rolled out at 8:35 AM. The temperature felt like the lower 60’s and I dressed accordingly with leg warmers, short sleeve jersey, long sleeve jersey and windbreaker jacket. For the first 31 miles this attire did the job but once we turned after the 31 mile point riding up and down the hills warmed me up enough put out some serious sweat. At rest stop 3 I almost took off my leg warmers but I changed my mind because I would have to carry them in a jersey pocket. By the time I finished about noon the fog burned off and the sun shined. when I got back to my Jeep and started to take off my jacket and jerseys I could tell I perspired a lot; maybe I could wring them out but I didn’t.

While we waited for the start the announcer told us over 760 riders registered, a great turn out for a January ride with some unpredictable weather earlier in the week. I know I spoke with one lady rider twice on the phone about registering and then cancelling on the Texbiker.net “hot line”.

On the road the farm to market roads were a little rough but not too bad. SR150 is another matter; TXdot applied their favorite road surface (chip seal) once we were west f Shepherd. It was rough enough to cause the top of my right toes hurt from vibrating against my shoe. Thankfully this only lasted about 7 miles from rest stop 2 until the turnaround point for the 46 mile route and then the 7 mile return to what would become rest stop 3. After rest stop 3 back to the finish the road surface was generally smooth. There was a section in a low area where water damage had messed up the old surface and the overlay asphalt was spread out by a tractor tire but this was only for a few hundred yards.

I only stopped at two rest stops and had no problem with water or food shortages. The crews were friendly and wished everyone a safe ride.

This is the second time I rode this ride, the last was January 29, 2011. It was colder then than today.

The video below is the first with my new RCA Small Wonder HD camera. It took a few clips to get the hang of turning it on and aiming. I think I captured the essence of the ride.

One of the challenging parts of this ride is the elevation on the return back to the start in the last 5 miles. The chart below in the slide show makes that evident. I made it up all of the hills without walking but some other riders walked. At the finish I spoke with one of the drivers of the MW Cleaners sag wagon and he said they had picked up 4 riders so far but he was going on another run to get some more.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com.

[wppa type=”slideonlyf” album=”82″ size=”auto”][/wppa]

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for January 25th

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Specialized announces voluntary recall of 12,000 forks
by Neal Rogers            Velonews.com
Specialized is recalling roughly 12,200 forks across four models, including its Tarmac SL4. Photo: Nick Legan | VeloNews.com
BOULDER, Colorado (VN) — Specialized Bicycles has announced a voluntary recall of the front forks on all models of its 2012 Tarmac SL4, 2013 Tarmac SL4, 2013 Crux, and 2013 Secteur Disc bikes and framesets.

The recall was initiated by Specialized after learning of an issue with the forks’ carbon fiber steerer tubes on these models that, in a small number of instances, can crack or break.

The recall is projected to affect approximately 12,200 bikes in the U.S.

The Morgan Hill, California, company has seen two instances of these forks breaking, one resulting in minor injury, Specialized PR manager Sean Estes told VeloNews. …

Thursday Ride at Walnut Creek – Beginner/intermediate ride level
The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group
Thursday, January 31, 2013        4:30 PM
Walnut Creek Park
12138 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX (map)
This will be a beginner ride and will be doing around 8 -10 miles.
If someone is willing to lead a faster group then we can have an intermediate group also.

Please be there and be ready to roll by 4:30 pm. We meet in the parking lot near the pool in the middle of the island.
Any question please call/text  me at [masked]
Beginner level ride with no drop.
Things to bring:
1.  Good working bike
2.  Helmet
3.  Camel back or something to carry water.

Join the Houston Parks Board for a bike tour this Saturday at 2pm
BikeHouston.org
Join the Houston Parks Board for a relaxed and fun 10-12 mile bike tour of the Houston Bayous. You’ll be able to see the progress on connecting the bayou trails and understand the larger vision of the Houston Bayou Greenways Project to connect all the bayous by 2020. Bring your neighbors, friends, and family for fun afternoon ride!

Please email Brinkley Hutchings for more information. Meet at Memorial Park, West parking lot by the soccer/rugby fields, Houston, TX

Upcoming Rides and Events
Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club
February 2, 2013 9:30 am
Gruene River Road Ride
1287 Gruene Road, New Braunfiels, TX, 78130

February 3, 2013 9:00 am
Good Time River and Town Tour
Lions Field Senior Center
2809 Broadway, San Antonio, TX, 78209

February 9, 2013 9:00 am
PoPo’s Ride
PoPo’s Restaurant
829 FM 289, Boerne, TX, 78006

February 17, 2013 9:00 am
Lourdes Memorial Ride
Missions North Burial Park
San Antonio, TX

February 21, 2013 6:30 pm
HCBTC February Meeting
Grady’s BBQ
327 East Nakoma Drive, San Antonio, TX, 78216

Sachse Mountain Bike Program Shows It Takes More Than Guts To Be State’s Best
By MARCUS MURPHREE, Senior Editor        www.neighborsgo.com
For Christine Tucker, the first “hill” she took on her bike had her hooked.

Sure, it was more of a slope in the neighborhood where she grew up, but in her mind, she was braving gravity and racing through the mountains atop her first bicycle.

Nearly 40 years later, hills and bikes are her life, and as an added bonus, she gets to share her hobby with six students at Sachse High School as part of the school’s developing mountain bike program.

The program’s beginning was as uncommon as the sport, which only has Dallas-area high school teams at Sachse and Jesuit.

Tucker was approached by David Pearson, a mountain biking hobbyist who was intrigued by the webmastering teacher’s cycling trophies in her classroom. A few conversations later, and the Sachse mountain biking team was born in 2010.

Almost three years have passed since the program’s inception, and now six teens from Garland, Sachse and Rowlett suit up twice a…

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