Braving the 79 Degree Chill – January 25th Bike Ride

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What a difference a few degrees make. When I stopped in Huffman at the Chevron station I looked at the Action Sign time and temperature board and saw 79 degrees. At home my weather station also showed 79 degrees at the finish. Last week we experienced some cold weather. It looks like January turned the corner. On Monday I doubted if I would ride in Coldspring tomorrow now the forecast says a high of 75 after some fog lifts. One spot that the warm air still needs to work on: Lake Houston. After I finished my Diet Pepsi at the Huffman Chevron I rode to the west. The closer I got to Lake Houston the cooler the air felt. Riding over Lake Houston on the FM1960 causeway I longed to be on the west side where warmer air awaited. I wore a long sleeve jersey and shorts to enjoy the warm sun and breeze.

Riding east over Lake Houston did not seem so chilly for some reason. Maybe I built up my body heat riding to that point while I stopped about 20 minutes in Huffman, enough to cool down some. The Huffman route totaled 29.82 miles bring my January total to 233.99 miles, only 33 away from the 267 mile goal. The south wind was at 10 mph but it did not keep me from averaging 15.6 mph and a 21.2 mph top speed. All but the first 5 mile interval averaged 15.0 mph or better. The legs coming back.

Links to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com.

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Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup January 24th

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So…You’re Coming to Austin
by John            AustinBike.com
I get this email a few times a month.  “I’m coming to Austin and would like to ride, where do I begin?”

It is worth putting it all down in one place so that everyone else that gets this request can just point them to one spot versus having to write it all up again and again.

If you are coming here, you’re going to need a few things, so here is all of the thing that you need to consider.

A bike: First things first, you need a bike.  Often you can get someone you are riding with to bring their backup bike along, but that is more of a long shot. I am always willing to let people borrow my backup, but it is an older hardtail and you’ll have more fun on a properly fit full suspension bike.  Plus this can be an opportunity to try something new. There are several places that you can rent from: …

Performance Bike South to Buda
9:00 AM on Saturday, February 09
Overview
Group ride for Beginner and Intermediate levels. Pace 14-16 AVG
3 distances available .. Looking for ride guides for the shorter routes.
18… To the High School and back
30… To Walgreens on Old San Antonio
40…. Add a loop after Walgreens
One store stop along the way.
Brought to you by Cyclingswami.com and Performance Bike shop.
Please note : Helmets are required, ROAD BIKES RECOMMENDED
Please have supplies to change flats, TUBES for your bike and a frame pump or CO2 cartridges, two full water bottles, and your bike in great working order.
WHEELS ROLL AT 9:00AM. PLEASE get there in time to get ready.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/111233501

Bike Austin & The 2013 Austin Funky Chicken Coop Tour
www.lobv.org

Bike Austin is proud to announce its official sponsorship of the 2013 Austin Funky Chicken Coop Tour! We’re helping them increase the number of people enjoying the tour on two wheels by leading a guided bike ride to some of the tour stops, developing a map for the public highlighting good bike routes between all tour stops, and setting up a table and minor repair stand at the tour’s information center.

The Austin Funky Chicken Coop Tour has always been focused on sustainability, and Bike Austin commends the event organizers for recognizing the value of making the event more bike-friendly. Make…

Greater Dallas Bicyclists
28th Annual Super Bowl Sunday Ride
February 3, 2013
Chill Out With Hundreds of Fellow Cyclists!
Cycling enthusiasts will ride from sites all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex to the West End in Dallas for the 28th annual GDB Super Bowl Sunday Ride. For the past 27 years, Greater Dallas Bicyclists has partnered with bike shops and bicycle clubs to host a bicycle ride that starts everywhere in Dallas-Fort Worth and converges on the West End in downtown Dallas. The ride is free, the people are fun, and the food is great, so don’t miss this DFW cycling tradition! Find a start location near you, show up at the designated meet-up time, and pedal through the streets of Dallas with plenty of friends.    If you wear spandex, wear your club, team, or cycling store jersey. If you’re into fixies, cruisers, critical mass, or cycle chic, we’d love to see you too! This is an event for ALL cyclists!

Starting Times and Locations:
All Mileages are round trip. All rides are free! Ride with the group of your choice and we’ll see you there! If you have questions, please call your…

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for January 23rd

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GHORBA’s Presidential Address
Given the new website and increased ability to communicate with our members, it seems appropriate to start the New Year off by writing my first state of the union address on behalf of GHORBA. I hope everyone’s year is off to a great start and each of you has resolved to spend more time on your local trails and improving your riding skills. For me, I am looking forward to another successful year of helping GHORBA continue to advance its missions and chart the future of Houston trails.

However, I would like to challenge you to do more than just riding your local trails—I would like to see every one of our members give something back to the trails and MTB community. Why? Because I believe that all trail users have a responsibility (not burden) to give back to an essential component of the mountain biking experience—the trails. This is especially true in the Houston area, where we constantly battle erosion and unique trail soil conditions, normal wear and tear, and…

Muleshoe 100k preride – Muleshoe Bend 1/26/13 at 10am
The Austin Mountain Bikers Meetup Group
Saturday, January 26, 2013        10:00 AM
Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area
2820 County Rd. 414, Spicewood, TX (map)
head through the park, take the right at the split and meet in the grove of trees down by the lake. Look for a red Mazda3
This is a ride call for a guided lap(s) of the Muleshoe 100km route.
You do not have to have signed up for the 100k in order to come out and ride.
There will be a no-drop guided lap after which riders can take off and ride their own pace for more laps if they want.
Bring your helmet, a bike that works, and some hydration.

One lap is about 8 miles and there are some rocky sections that can bite you if you are not prepared for them.  It is an intermediate level trail (somewhat harder than Walnut Creek).

We roll out at 10am, so get there early enough to be ready! …

TMBRA/DORBA Cameron Park Race
bicyclesoutbackracing.net

Tweed News!
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
Attention Tweed ladies and gents!  Due to a scheduling snafu we are moving the Tweed ride to February 9th!  We’re planning a smashing day of top notch music, games, food and drink that you and your favorite beau will not want to miss.

Meet up: Klyde Warren Park
Date: Saturday, February 9th
Meet up time: 1:00 PM
Start time: 1:30 PM
Destination: Dallas Heritage Village
RSVP here
We’re terribly sorry for the change in date, however as a near substitute on February 17th, we’re organizing a bicycle tour of Dallas’ finest craft breweries that have cropped up only in the last year or so.  This will be a…

Let the city know how you feel about a new proposed parking ordinance that could benefit Houston cyclists!
by Chris Lockwood            BikeHouston
One item on the city’s new proposal is to allow certain businesses to count parking for four bicycles equal to a single car parking space.

Action-AlertHey BikeHouston fans, we need your help! The City is proposing changes to the parking ordinance and has recommended adding a bike parking requirement for new businesses. There…

Three Amigos
Plano Bicycle Association

Three members of the PBA old guard met on a sunny January day to test their cycling prowess.  With a combined age of 196, Alan, Chris, and Michael did right well!

Hornet mountain bike team preps for state championship
By Matt Bridges Item Correspondent
HUNTSVILLE — While the MLK holiday meant a little R&R for some students, the Huntsville High School Mountain Biking Team strapped their gear on mid-morning for practice at Huntsville State Park.

The team practices weekly for the state mountain biking championship that will be held in Huntsville on May 5.

The new team — founded by Brad Didier in 2011 and composed of a men’s and women’s division — has given students a…

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https://twitter.com/RandyATX/status/294239141439344640

https://twitter.com/Gusto_Salazar/status/293847823378702336

https://twitter.com/JuliaBikes/status/294106651269664768

Variety Over Boredom – January 23rd Bike Ride

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Route variety avoids boredom so today I changed my northerly route going out of Kingwood by what I call the back way, then north on Loop 494 to New Caney before turning south on the US59 service road. I took my usual route through Valley Ranch, Briar Tree and Oakhurst before going under US59 and back into Kingwood. This route came in at 27.21 miles putting me at 204.16 for January. Now I am only 63 miles away from the 267 goal. No strange encounters during the ride, just the normal road surfaces and traffic. Today marked 6 days in a row of riding. I haven’t done that since September 18 -25, 2012. Today’s route is conducive for my average speed with only 4 traffic lights in the first 10 miles. I did not have to stop for any of them since they were green. The 5th one was green as well. At that point I turned south into the breeze so the extra speed up to that time came in handy.

The start was a little earlier than my recent rides leaving at 1:05 PM and finishing at 2:56 PM. During the ride the temperature was a comfortable 73 to 75 degrees, the clouds varied from scattered to mostly cloudy. I could tell when the cloud cover increased by the coolness in the variable 6 mph breeze. I think I dressed about right with a long sleeve jersey and windbreaker jacket but no leg warmers added to my shorts. The extra few degrees felt good.

The Saturday weather has warmed up for Coldspring but fog is now in the forecast. It looks like I will have to delay my decision on this ride until Friday evening or early Saturday morning. Friday night forecast: Mostly cloudy in the evening, then overcast. Fog overnight. Low of 52F. Winds less than 5 mph. Saturday: Overcast. Fog early. High of 68F. Winds from the South at 5 to 10 mph.

Link to Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com.

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