Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 6th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The Benefits of Biking (video)
by Health Guru                www.care2.com
Biking not only works the calves, quads and glutes, but it also tones the upper body. Watch this for a quick tip on working it into your routine! Related Link: 6 Excuses for Not Becoming a Bike Commuter (And How to Get Over Them)

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Mountain Biking and Back Pain: How to Prevent It and Cure It!
betterride.net
Note: Before doing anything to do with your back make sure something isn’t really wrong such as a bulging disc, slipped disc, fractured disc, etc. See a doctor and make sure your body can handle these therapeutic exercises before you start.

I have finally rid myself of the back pain that has bothered me most of my adult life, but has been really annoying in the last ten years (I honestly thought all mountain bikers had some back pain, it was the price we pay for having so much fun!). Before I share my cure with you, I want you to understand three important things. First, back pain is a symptom; the cause may not be your back. We are going to fix the causes, not just rid the pain. Second, the “cure” I have found is a process, a process that will require effort at least five days a week the rest of your life. Third, if you follow this process you will be rewarded by getting a lot more…

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Austin council member looks to open trails overnight
By Ben Wear                www.statesman.com
Looking to address a recent spike in pedestrian and cyclist deaths caused by auto collisions, Austin City Council Member Chris Riley will ask his colleagues Thursday to legalize use of three main city hike-and-bike trails 24 hours a day as a temporary experiment.

Riley’s proposal does not include any money for lighting or any additional police presence on or near the three trails. The proposal generated concerns Wednesday about its potential effectiveness, and about a proposal from a leading city official that…

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Looking for beginning/intermediate riders around Austin
by gatorgrizz27                    forums.mtbr.com
Hey guys,
I just moved here from Tallahassee, and haven’t really ridden in about 6 months. I would say I was an intermediate level rider there, but the trails there were mostly hardpack clay with a lot of roots and some embedded limestone, so the loose rocks and gravel out here takes a bit of getting used to.

I like riding fast, flowing trails with a lot of turns and short technical climbs and downhills where you won’t end up in the ER if you screw up. Unfortunately I haven’t found much of that around here.

So far I’ve ridden Barton Creek Greenbelt, and found the sections that I tried to be above my skill level. Basically I could ride for a little while, then had to get off and walk the steep big rocky sections. The stair like rocks more than about 2 feet high I’m not really comfortable climbing or descending.

I rode Walnut Creek and there were some fun sections of single track with good climbs through the woods, but they were all pretty short.

I found St. Edwards yesterday and rode the side on the parking area of the creek, it was fun but really easy.

Today I rode part of Thumper but the loose rocks kept giving me trouble. I had to walk up Jack’s section, and then almost cleaned…

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Kid Trips Event – Girl Scout Winter Jamboree at Colorado Bend State Park
Austin Ridge Riders
Saturday, January 12, 2013 – 12:30
Kid Trips will be conducting a ride for the Girl Scouts during their Winter Jamboree at Colorado Bend State Park on January 12, 2013. We’ll meet at the Ranger Station at 11:30 a.m. The ride starts at 12:30 p.m. We have been invited to this event for the past 5 years.  The trails are excellent and it has always been a very fun ride.

If you are interested in volunteering for this ride, please use the sign up tab on the ARR website or contact Rick Chevrie (arrkidtrips@gmail.com).  I would appreciate it if you let me know if you are interested by…

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El Paso Bicycle Club Rides & Events
Saturday, December 15
• 9:00 am : Border Crossing and more Meet at River Run Plaza (1017 Country Club) and head to War Eagles Museum and Border Crossing, returning via La Union, Vinton Road and the River Trail. 35 miles. Moderate-plus pace (17-20 mph). Randy Limbird, 915-328-4110.

Sunday, December 16
• 9:00 am : Christmas Delight’s Ride Start at Redd Rock Crazy Cat at Redd and Desert. This will be a 25-30 mile moderate ride that will finish with hot beverages (with Christmas cheer) and Christmas goodies. Take advantage of the opportunity and do some last minute shopping at the same time! Patty Van Tine, 915-667-0202 or miflynnsinn@peoplepc.com for more information. Distance has been adjusted in past years depending on the weather/temperature.

Sunday, December 23
• 9:00 am : Westside Stocking Stuffers That’s what we’re calling the hills along the west side this time. Meet at Cimarron Park (Northern Pass one block east of Resler). 25 miles, moderate pace. To get there, take Resler north past Helen of Troy and turn right on Northern Pass. Rick Rivas, 915-867-7199.

Saturday, December 29
• 11:00 am : What’d you get for Christma Show off your holiday cycling presents on a mid-day ride to La Mesa and back, beginning at River Run Plaza, 1071 Country Club Rd. Randy Limbird, 915-328-4110.

Sunday, December 30
• 9:00 am : Lower Valley Ramble Meet at Cotton-Eyed Joe’s, Clint exit off I-10, and explore the Mission Valley. 35 miles. Jim Weaver, 915-775-9757.

Monday, December 31
• 9:00 am : Leaderless ride Begin at Rio Plaza. Distance, pace & route depend on riders.

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Two Christmas Lights Group Rides, Friday (7th) and Sunday (9th)
by The Announcer            Biking in Dallas
Bike Friendly Greenville (as in Greenville Ave) is hosting a ride this Friday night.  They’re meeting at 7pm at Sundown at Granada – 3520 Greenville Ave.  Drop by the Facebook announcement here and sign up.

Switching Gears Cyclery is hosting a Sunday ride.  Here are those details:

Just hear those bike bells jingling,
Ring ting tingling too
Come on, it’s lovely weather
For a bike ride together with you! …

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Meeting Minutes – December
by salsaTopp            Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association
Trail Maintenance This Saturday – 8 a.m.

Blair Witch needs work
Work on the “new” trail….
Build podiums for the new maps
Paint signs
West Loop Status

We have a new contact person with BTU, Allen. The West Loop is still closed until further notice. Here is what we know:
The issue is that the release of the west loop to the public is based on the approval of the Texas Dam Commission of the State of Texas. They base their decision on multiple factors  and in the last review they stated that the growth of the vegetative cover over the areas that were being worked on was not acceptable yet. So until they are satisfied with that and other details the area will…

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DPS: Edinburg hit-and-run puts cyclist in critical condition
www.themonitor.com
The Texas Department of Public Safety said it is searching for a car that hit a 63-year-old man as he rode a bicycle Tuesday evening in Edinburg, leaving him in critical condition.

DPS had no description immediately available of the car involved in the hit-and-run that took place about 7 p.m. on Rogers Road near Hoehn Road. DPS noted that the car is believed to have damage to its…

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Tweets

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/276714777114468353

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/276689965692358657

https://twitter.com/JuliaBikes/status/276689465941041154

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/276688575163138048

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Going Far on Knobbies – December 6th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I waited for the sun to come out and the temperature to get up to the promised 70 degrees. Neither happened so at 1:20 I left home on my Motobecane 700HT mountain bike. I did something I never did before: ride my mountain bike on one of my road bike routes. It wasn’t one of the longer routes I ride but 23.97 miles could be the longest ride on my mountain bike. I went to Huffman with the plan to stop at the Huffman Cellular store but they went out of business. I saw the store on my road bike rides but never went close enough to see if they were actually open. Sometime back I did notice that the banner signs they put out by the road were gone but I did not connect that with them closing. So my trip was a bust in that respect. Riding knobby tires on the pavement for extended mileage saps a lot of energy. If I was going to make this a habit I should buy some slicks or less knobby tires.

Since I wasn’t sure how this ride would go I shorten the route a few miles by not going on Fairlake and Old Atascocita roads. I thought my average speed would be higher than the 12.8 mph (SportTracks) I ended up at. Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com showed slightly higher averages (13.1 mph and 13.0 mph, respectively) but lower top speeds (17.6 mph and 17.5 mph, respectively) than SportTracks’ 23.5 mph. Mileage totals after the ride: 40.75 this week, 98.65 for December, 6375.8 YTD.

The only excitement on the ride was the two car collision at Strong Pine Drive and FM1960 on the east side of Lake Houston. By the time I rode through the area going east the police and wreckers arrived. After turning around in Huffman and riding back the police and wreckers were starting to clear the truck and car. No one appeared to be hurt but the small car got the worst end of the crash losing the front bumper assembly. One of the wreckers did not help any by driving over the bumper laying on the road.

Warmer weather is in the forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a cold front arriving Sunday night. Monday’s high might be 52 degrees. So I will se what riding I can get in the next three days.

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Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup for December 5th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Confronting the Scofflaw Cyclist
By Rick Bernardi, J.D.            www.bicyclelaw.com
You’ve probably seen “the comment.” It goes something like this. A news article reports that a cyclist was injured, or maybe even killed. The cyclist was following the law. The driver was not. Maybe the driver was just being careless. Maybe the driver was deliberately targeting the cyclist for harassment, or worse.

It doesn’t matter, because “the comment” always follows the same logic: “When cyclists stop breaking the law…” Regardless of what actually happened, regardless of the fact that this particular cyclist was following the law and this particular driver was not, some aggrieved motorist feels…

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Texas Cup — Bikesport Cyclocross Challenge
txbra.org

Catherine Hall Moore shows a collegiate rider how it’s done on the run-up hill at Bikesport Cyclocross Challenge. Photo courtesy of Corvin Alstot.

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Trail Work Parties
GHORBA.org
Memorial Park Work Party
Trail: Memorial Park
Saturday, December 15, 2012 – 1:00pm
We’ll be working on Saturday December 15th at 1:00 PM on cleaning up the blue trail as well as improving the drainages and armoring the low spots. We will be assembling at the DOG WASH STATION. As you’ve probably noticed, the blue trail tends to stay wet and muddy MUCH longer than the other trails and this work will fix that problem. We’ll probably…

Carl Barton Work Party
Trail:  Carl Barton
Sunday, December 30, 2012 – 8:30am
December work party at Carl Barton to clean trails.

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New horse in the stable…
by In-Yo-Grill                forums.mtbr.com

Better pics coming soon.

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Tuesday: Intermediate/Advanced Mountain Bike Ride at the Ant Hills
Houston Cycling Club
Tuesday, December 11, 2012        6:15 PM
15200 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX
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

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Lindsey Four Endourance Race:
Tyler Bicycle Club
The TBC is hosting a four hour endurance mountain bike race, The Lindsey Four, at Lindsey Park on Saturday, January 5th at 10:00 am. You can compete individually or as a team. We will have music and food throughout the race. Tim McCellon is the race director for the Lindsey Four and you may contact him through email at Tim.mccellon@gmail.com, if you have any questions.
Registration has begun! Click the link below to download a registration form or go by Elite Bicycles or Simpson’s Adventure Sports and pick up a registration form. Also, the City of Tyler will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony, prior to the race, at 9:30 am to formally open the trail.

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A bicyclist after my own heart. Just Monday I was daydreaming about the change from fall to winter and the start of the daylight getting longer each day.

Approaching the Solstice
by Steve A                DFW Point-to-Point

This week marks an annual milestone for cycling commuters in the DFW Metroplex. You see, this week marks the earliest sunsets of the year. While the moment that dawn officially appears will continue to appear later until well past the solstice, as of Friday, sunset will OFFICIALLY start appearing…

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Capture your biking adventures with the Bikepod
by Connor Livingston                www.techi.com

Cruising around on our bikes, exploring the great outdoors has become a great pastime for some of us, while others choose to use it as an environmentally friendly mode of transportation. If you own a smartphone or DSLR camera you can now capture your biking adventures, no…

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Texas Bike Clubs
pinterest.com

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Ring in the holiday with fun runs, Jingle Bell bike ride
By Alissa Mejia                Corpus Christi Caller
It’s time to get out your Santa hats and antlers, dust off your bells, find your elf socks and charge your batteries. With Christmas run and ride season starting, you cannot only show your holiday sprit, but perhaps even burn off a few sugar cookies in the process.

…Jingle Bell 5-mile bike ride: 6 p.m. Dec. 11 at The Episcopal Church of Reconciliation, 4518 Saratoga Blvd. Cost: Entry fee is a donation to Bikes For Kids.

Tour one of Corpus Christi’s best decorated neighborhoods, and be part of the show yourself. A helmet, front and rear bike lights are required. Bike decorations and costumes are encouraged. An outdoor gathering with food and drinks will follow the ride. …

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Cross-country trip full of beautiful surprises
Jackson man completes lifelong goal of biking across U.S.
By Miller N. Resor, Jackson Hole, Wyo.        www.jhnewsandguide.com
Greg Smith’s Adventure Cycling group pedals along the highway outside Alpine, Texas, en route from San Diego to its destination in Florida. For Smith, the trip fulfilled a lifelong dream of biking across the country.

On Nov. 17, Greg Smith completed a lifelong goal by dipping the front tire of his road bike in the Atlantic Ocean two months after his back tire emerged from the Pacific.

Smith said he had always wanted to make a cross-country bike trip and finally this summer decided he would not put it off another year.

“I had talked about doing it with friends over the years, but it never happened,” he said. “This summer I…

…He had expected Texas to be a barren wasteland, “nothing but desert.” Instead he found the route —  that started in El Paso and passed through Del Rio, Austin and Navasota — to be the most beautiful section of the entire trip.

While staying at a hostel in El Paso, the group ate at a grungy…

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Help BikeTexas Get Ready for the 2013 Legislative Session
www.biketexas.org
My heart is heavy today. In the past two months, we’ve seen one cyclist death after another in Texas. Cyclists like Iris Stagner, who was a BikeTexas board member, a commuter, a racer, and a personal friend. Iris lobbied for Share the Road signs in Palo Pinto County and made a trip to the Texas legislature during the 2009 session to ask her representatives to support the Safe Passing Bill. Iris was a safe rider who obeyed traffic laws, but her life was tragically cut short in September when an inattentive driver struck her from behind. To date, the driver has faced no charges.

We all have stories like this one of a friend or loved one who did everything right but was still killed while cycling. Many Texas roads were not built with bicycles in mind, and worse, drivers are not being held accountable for killing cyclists. Like you and other cyclists across Texas, I am tired of the pain of losing friends. This fall, I’ve…

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OTC Christmas Party!
by mwilhelm                    www.oldtascosacycling.com
Rage-n-nugget writes “OTC Christmas party@the garden room@sunset center suite 79 @7pm, 12/11, the club will provide a smoked brisket, and we ask that you bring your favorite side dish or desert, drinks and beverages will be provided by Sun Adventure! White elephant gift exchange, limit 5$. ”

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Johnson Branch State Park
by Shawn McAfee                Texas Mountain Bike Trails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L19L8CLbL3s
Johnson Branch mountain bike trail

Located on the north corner of Lake Ray Roberts Johnson Branch State Park is one of the more remote trails located in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. This trail is just across the lake from Isle Du Bois State Park, another challenging trail with many similar features.

The trail is very tight through the trees and fairly densely wooded singlerack, and large portions of it just like IDB are extremely rocky. While no individual section is “expert”, there are numerous climbs filled with very loose, rocky and rooty terrain. These sections are mostly found in the “red” section, they can be extremely challenging and will tire many riders out. Fortunately if you find yourself dragging too much at any point on…

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Tweets

https://twitter.com/BBQ44/status/276526910660554754

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/276433289705828352

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 4th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Off Season Update: December Racing Post
By Kim
Click here for Dec issue of The Racing Post

The team has been busy since the State Road Race at Fort Hood last September. Off season is a time to take care of things that you’ve been neglecting all race season. The 3K rule comes to mind during the winter months: Keep moving, Keep it fun, and Keep doing it!

Sheri has been dedicated to her Black Out classes at Pure Austin Fitness. She enjoys the abuse and knows that utilizing non-bike specific muscles will help keep her balanced. You can find her out on the road doing long rides to prepare for the early season stage racing. Most importantly, Sheri is avidly working at increasing her karma on Reddit.

Claire has been playing in a men’s basketball league. She likes the challenge and enjoys the pick-up game atmosphere. She and Michelle recently went head to head in a half court game in Waco. Michelle played D1 basketball in college, and even though she hasn’t picked up a…

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Bionicon C-Guide
www.AustinBike.com

Nobody likes chain drops, but at the same time nobody really wants to go through adding a chain guide to their bike, even if they have the right tabs on the frame.  They can be finicky to install and setup, they add weight and the cost is pretty significant relative to just stopping to pop the chain back onto the crank rings.  The Bionicon C-Guide attempts to rectify this with a relatively inexpensive device that can easily be installed, addressing the issue of chain drops. …

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6 Rules of Night Riding
by Shawn            Texas Mountain bike Trails
We are just about to Christmas and winter is under way. If you’re like me you’ve probably had enough of the short days and no chance to ride during the week after work. During the summer you had 4 more hours of daylight to soak up some single-track and get dirty. Now, you just feel fortunate to get a ride in during the weekend.

Well, luckily there is another option. For anyone with a heart of iron and more balls than brains there is always night riding.

I’m going to show you everything that you need to know to mountain bike at night and conquer the trail.

Biking at night is exciting, different and occasionally frightening. Using artificial lighting to pick your way through a tight and winding trail can get pretty hairy. Logs and trees that you may have seen 30 time…

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Meeting Sparks Positive Developments for Bike Safety
By Iris Dimmick                www.therivardreport.com
Public service announcements, draft state legislation and even sting operations were discussed at a meeting Monday centered on enforcement and awareness of the Vulnerable Roadway User Ordinance [PDF] and road to traffic equality. Also known as the “Safe Passing” ordinance, it requires motorists to stay three to six feet away from bicyclists.

The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), San Antonio Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the non-profit advocacy group BikeTexas, Tri-sition Area bike shop, city officials and other stakeholders attended the small “brainstorming meeting” that was brought about, in large part, because of the…

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Race Preview – Cyclocross Scuffle – Sat, Dec. 8, 2012 
texascx.com
Let’s race in Capital City!

Er, let’s race near the airport in Capital City!

Weekend number nine in the prestigious TXBRA calendar brings us back to time-tested, locals-approved Moya Park. This event has been held for ten years in the pecan groves just south of Austin Bergstrom. It’s a solid venue for families with much to see and do.

Team Seton Brain and Spine rep, James Sides, gives us the skinny on one of our favorite courses.

How will your race compare to previous years?
It will be the same great format with slight changes to the course to keep it interesting.

Are we going on the bridge? Man, that would…

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Photos from the December 1 Armoring Project at Walnut Creek…WOW!
Austin Ridge Riders

Thank you R.R. Ochoa for taking the photos and letting us use them. Great work eveyone. Thanks to Rich Szecsy for organizing the project and for all the fine folks who volunteered!

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Beginners Ride
Fort Worth Bicycling Association
This month’s beginners ride will be on Dec 22nd. Start time moving to 10 am so we can let it warm up. If it is going to be in the 40’s or lower all day, or wet ride will be canceled.

Our most recent Paceline (the club’s online newsletter) was last updated 12-4-12.

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Achilles Heel
by Steve A            DFW Point-to-Point

Many times I’ve extolled the virtues of the mighty P7 headlight I use on my morning commutes. It is brighter than any light I’ve seen that is twice the price. What’s more, it has outlasted any Cateye light I’ve had. Still, it does have its own weakness; its Achilles Heel.

The P7’s battery is its weakness. Well, not the battery, exactly, but the Velcro that is supposed to keep the battery attached to the frame and hence the light. I have now lost this battery three times and have also doubled back to find it three times. There is something to be said for buckles or snaps. A light whose…

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Tweets

https://twitter.com/JuliaBikes/status/276081940958953473

https://twitter.com/JuliaBikes/status/276026113040465920

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