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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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

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