Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 14th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Golf and biking: Equally good for you?
By Matthew Heimer                blogs.marketwatch.com
It’s Saturday afternoon at the brewpub, and your bike-loving neighbor – still wearing his unsightly, skintight riding gear – is riding a wave of euphoria as he exhaustively describes the 120-mile ride he just finished. You, meanwhile, are clad in your knits, nursing a sore back and a smarting ego from your weekly trip around the links.

He looks fitter than you. He’s got the glow you lack. But new research suggests that he’s not likely to live any longer than you.  According to a study of mortality data on a group of…

############################################################

I Bike Richardson – Kay Loving
Bike Friendly Richardson
It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce Kay Loving. She took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:
Name: Kay Loving

How long have you been riding?
Couple of years now.

How often do you ride?
As often as possible.

What’s your favorite route?
We like riding White Rock and the trails across Campbell to…

############################################################

Bicycle Sport Shop 2013 Cycling Clubs!
by djcurtin
Bicycle Sport Shop has a rich tradition of supporting riders and racers in all disciplines of cycling. While we’re probably most known for our mountain bike team, and more recently for the guys from Super Squadra, for 2013 everyone that wants to commit to come along for the ride is welcome!

We want everyone to be a part of the Bicycle Sport Shop family. As a result, we’re creating four new clubs—the Bicycle Sport Shop Road, Mountain, Triathlon, and Cyclocross Clubs—open to all riders of any ability, with the goal of growing the cycling community here…

############################################################

Tweets

############################################################

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 13th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bike program prods kids to improve at school
By Robert Stanton            Houston Chronicle
The North Pole may be thousands of miles away, but that hasn’t stopped scores of Santa’s elves from working their tunics off to put together bicycles for Houston-area students.

This year, the nonprofit Elves & More organization is on track to deliver 10,000 new bicycles and helmets to economically challenged students who signed pledges in August to improve their reading grades and maintain a satisfactory or above on their conduct grade.

The 4,000 volunteers – many of them doctors, engineers and lawyers who are donating their vacation time to the project – have been working since Dec. 8 to construct the…

############################################################

The First Annual Austin Mountain Biking Video Contest
by John                AustinBike.com
Do you bike?  Do you take videos?  Are you a shameless atention whore?  If you answered yes to at least two of these, you need to read on.  If you answered yes to all three, then you are either Woody, or someone about to become famous in Austin for the first annual Austin Mountain Biking Video contest.

Here’s how the videos will be viewed/judged:
go to youtube.
log in as bikemojoatx@gmail.com
password: bikemojo69.

Once there, upload your video, share it. We’ll watch all the videos at the event.  Be sure to load the videos on to YouTube before the event.

We’ll judge there, live, and there will be some prizes for the winner(s).

A couple of things to remember: …

############################################################

Grumpier Commute
by Steve A            DFW Point-to-Point
Some weeks are pleasant. Some are like, well, like this one. It started with the weather. The weather has been below freezing in the morning and 60 or even above on the ride home. Those comfy thermal, waterproof Salomon boots are simply sweaty on the ride home.

It got grumpier on Tuesday. Not that I EVER wear earphones, but if I HAD (apologies to OJ Simpson’s book), I’d have heard a local talk radio host WHINING and MOANING about bikes ON THE ROAD in Dallas. This guy, talking from a radio station that boasts “Intelligent” as part of its moniker, blathered on about “bike lanes” in Dallas (actually sharrows) and then dropped down to jokes about “squishing” cyclists…

############################################################

Tweets

############################################################

Slight Break in the Cold – December 13th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

A break in the cold temperature came today with 65 degrees when I started down the driveway at 1:40 PM under a clear sky and no wind to speak of. Cabin fever held at bay with this ride. I did have to dress warm though with a long sleeve jersey over a short sleeve jersey and then a windbreaker jacket. I added leg warmers but no full finger gloves although there were times when I thought I needed them. Not wanting to get too far from home I rode my mountain bike on the Kingwood trails. No one else ventured out with me though. It was delightful to finally get some saddle and pedal time this week.

The route I rode totaled 17.47 miles at a 12.4 mph average speed, 19.0 mph top speed and 77.4 RPM average cadence. More details are in the second slide down below the videos. since this the first ride of the week th weekly total is the same as the ride. December miles total 186.85 and 6464.0 miles YTD. I hope to get into the 200 mile level by the end of the month if the weather will cooperate.

Before I started the ride I shot a short video of my Motobecane 700HT mountain bike.

This video shows some clips as I rode on the trails in Kingwood. To be different I will let the video recount some of the ride.

[wppa type=”slide” album=”66″ size=”auto”][/wppa]

 

 

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 12th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

‘Green lanes’ double in U.S. in 2012
by Steve Frothingham                Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) — The number of protected bike lanes, also called “green lanes,” in the U.S. has doubled in 2012 and is on track to double again next year, according to Bikes Belong.

Green lanes have a physical separation, such as a curb, parked cars or plastic posts, between moving cars and bikes.

“Increasingly, U.S. cities want to make riding a bike a practical and comfortable way to get around for short trips,” said Martha Roskowski, director of the Green Lane Project. “The growing popularity of urban living, the decline in driving by young people and a desire for more attractive public places are inspiring cash-strapped…

############################################################

Tuesday: Intermediate/Advanced Mountain Bike Ride at the Ant Hills
Houston Cycling Club
Tuesday, December 18, 2012        6:15 PM
15200 Memorial Dr
Houston, Tex (map)
Look for group and ask if it’s us! call me, Jeff @ [masked] if you have any questions or are going to be late.

This will be a medium to fast pace ride through the Ant Hills of Hershey Park! Bring WATER, spare tube/tire, snacks, etc…Helmets required. Call if you are going to be late so we can wait for you. Wheels rolling by 6:30! See you there

############################################################

Chainring in 2013 Ride
http://www.corinthcycling.com/ccblueoval.jpg
On Sunday December 16th Corinth Cycling and the Harden Dental Team will be doing a 100 mile ride departing Crownover Middle School at 10:00am. This ride will follow the route linked below and will have sag support thanks to Darrell Hull who will provide his pick-up and driver. You can bring your wheels, bottles, food etc. We will provide a cooler for some drink and food storage.

The ride will be a “base mileage ride”. Speed you ask? It will be conversational pace, no hard efforts. Everyone is welcome for the whole ride or portion there of…

############################################################

The Pedal Pusher – December 2012
Northwest Cycling Club, Houston
Northwest Cycling

############################################################

Forty Degree Spread
by Steve A                DFW Point-to-Point
Big Temperature Swings Mean You Lug More Around – No, I Didn’t Take Off the Cotton Socks!
Absent things like lightning, “postal mix,” and other precipitation events, the toughest weather facing a bicycle commuter is, IMO, really large temperature spreads. A thirty degree spread usually means a big rise through the day. We had two days this week with bigger temperature swings than that. Thirty degree swings often occur in North Texas. 49 in the morning and 80 on the way home.

Still more challenging are those unusual days with a forty degree spread. These bigger swings are less common, but occasionally occur in the winter when a warm front sweeps through shortly after dawn. We’re talking 30 degrees on the way to work and 70 on the…

############################################################

Trainer Rides
by Ken                Texas Racing Life
Houston usually has beautiful weather for winter training. The weather is very mild through the winter months, and there are not many super rainy days. Because of this I have never bought clothing for extreme conditions below 40 degrees. This is my weather cutoff, and buying clothing for colder conditions is just not worth it. For times when it is colder,  I have the trainer.

The last two days have been around 30 in the morning, so it was too cold for me to commute to work. Plus, I have lost one of my winter gloves (I suspect my dog). By the time I get home from work, it’s dark and cold again. This is always the most depressing time of year, when I spend the…

############################################################

Race Preview – Outback Cyclocross Race Weekend – Dec. 15-16, 2012  
texascx.com
Can you believe this crap? We’re almost done.

The first of the remaining three weekends (or No. 10 for those battling in TX Cup) is finally upon us. So c’mon out – here’s our chance to make some news in sleepy Waco.

Bicycles Outback team stars, Ian and Cat Moore are working with the ultra fast Bryan Fawley to promote a stellar new event. Here’s all you need to know:

New course in TXCX. Is there any other venue on the calendar that you can compare it to?
Yes, After I meet with Ian and Cat as they showed me the area…my mind was running wild. This course will have a few features that will remind you of  Tough Cross and…

############################################################

Tweets

############################################################