Not Like Fall – November 21st Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

On my first trip into my closet I brought out my mountain bike shoes, a long sleeve jersey and bike shorts. I thought the temperature would not get much higher than the 71 degrees or so at 10:30 but by the time I got free to go riding around 11:30 the temperature moved up to 78 degrees. So the second trip to the closet I switched to my road shoes and a short sleeve jersey. The forecast called for 79 to 80 degrees so I took the forecast at their word. I pulled out of the driveway at 11:55 with the intent to ride 30 miles or more. This would be my first road bike trip since November 9th. I was ready to hit the streets and roads.

There wasn’t a whole lot of thought in selecting my route so I chose one that I travel frequently: Atascocita – Walden – Huffman. I figured this would get me the 30 mile goal with a mile or two to spare. I ended up biking 32.28 miles at a nice 15.8 mph average speed, 25.9 mph top speed (SportTracks), 21.2 mph according to Garmin Connect, 21.1 mph RideWithGPS.com. Average cadence came in at 81.2 RPM. The riding time totaled around my typical time for this distance at 2:02:11 plus 32:39 stopped time.

Traffic wasn’t a big deal except for a couple of spots where I need to cross heavily traveled streets. The trip wire at Atasca Oaks and Atascocita Road did not sense my wheel so I motioned for the car behind me to move closer to trip the signal. After one missed cycle this solved the problem. Later on the next delay did not involve a traffic light but just a stop sign as I came out of Kingwood Greens onto north bound W. Lake Houston Parkway. Earlier when I rode north on W. Lake Houston traffic was very low but once I turned into Kingwood Greens they must have let the gate open. The next bottleneck was getting across Kingwood Drive. Again as I approached the crossing point there wasn’t any traffic but as I got to Kingwood Drive a flood of cars came out of the trees. I finally got across Kingwood Drive with about 2 miles to home. I finished at 2:30. Total time gone: 2 hours and 35 minutes.

Even though we are deep into November the weather does not feel like fall. Partly cloudy skies at the start the ride faded to mostly cloudy at the end. At Huffman I stopped at my usual Chevron station and sat on a milk crate in some sun to not cool off too much. The wind moved from north at 7 mph to east at mph by the time I got home. The home weather station registered 2 mph wind from the southeast when I finished. With all of the trees and houses the wind does not usually agree with the official weather station.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for November 20th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Fl rider need an advise
Red_Ant                forums.mtbr.com
Hi guys im from fl and planning of moving to houston next year,just wondering if there is a good place to ride near kingwood.Thanks… (several replies)

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Last week I posted a bikeforums.net thread about Chip Seal pavement by Cyclebum. Since then the comments expanded on the basis TXDot uses this solution. Below is a selected comment from the thread.

Chip seal
by michaelcycle                www.bikeforums.net
Chip seal, aka seal coat is not often used on city streets because it will not hold up to slow moving, tight turning traffic such as at intersections or driveways. Tire friction will shear the rock off the asphalt and you will be left with a pile of gravel and a shiny black spot. It is only appropriate on straight sections. However, I expect to see more of it on city streets with improved asphalt binders and tighter agency budgets.

Chip seal vs. hot mix overlay is not really a valid comparison. They serve a different purpose and the cost of construction is dramatically different. Seal coat is a preventive maintenance measure and overlay is more of a rehab.

The reason chip seal is considered a safety improvement is due primarily to wet weather skid resistance. Crushed rock is used rather than smooth gravel for this and other reasons.

Large aggregate is more durable, and it allows more asphalt to be applied to the roadway surface which improves the length of time before the next required maintenance.

There are mountains of research and evidence proving the economy and safety of using seal coat as a preventive maintenance. You just won’t win any argument against it. If you knew all the facts and were in control of a… (many comments before and after this one)

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Weekly Road Bike Ride-Medium/Fast Paced
Houston Cycling Club
Monday, November 26, 2012        6:30 PM
Terry Hershey Park
15200 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX (map)
Look for silver Nissan Titan . Robert Hopper [masked]

This is a weekly road bike ride.  The total distance will be between 20-23 miles.  The ride is a straight shot to Katy’s Fry Rd on a well paved path.  No need to worry about red lights or traffic because there aren’t any.  The pace will be 18 + mph.

Don’t like pulling?  No problem, just draft and enjoy the ride!
C’mon out and join us !

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OTC CHRISTMAS PARTY
by mwilhelm
“Old Tascosa Cycling Club Christmas Party!!!!!!!!!
Sun Adventure Sports would like to host the Old Tascosa Christmas party this year. Tuesday 12/11 @ 7pm in one of the party rooms at Sunset Center, more info to come on address and directions. Sun Adventure will furnish the drinks and asks if you are attending to bring your favorite snack food to donate to the pot luck snack food tables. Hope to see you all there and have a Merry Christmas!”

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TCC – 8:00AM Pecan Beginners
Texoma Cycling Club
Saturday, Nov 24, 2012
(Pecan Grove Park – West parking lot) (map)
DescriptionTCC -8:00AM Pecan Beginners Ride Distance: ~20 miles Start Location: Pecan Grove Park; Sherman, TX; west parking lot Contact: Linda Welch – LWelch@austincollege.edu MAP: This is a no-drop ride that is suitable for beginners. The pace will not be rapid and there will be regrouping points along the ride to accomodate those riders that want to travel at a faster pace. The ride will be ten to twenty miles depending on the group of riders that are there for the event. It’s a fun ride in the rural areas west of Sherman. Hope to see you all there! All riders must be 18 years or older All riders should already have some experience riding on the road & in traffic All riders must be TCC (Texoma Cycling Club) members, or sign a waiver at every…

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Corinth Cycling

Turkey Rollers last Saturday in Denton.

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El Paso Bicycle Club Rides
Saturday, December 1
Bean and Back-8:00 am

Valley-Ho-9:30 am

Over the River and Through the Woods-10:00 am

Sunday, December 9
Eastside Romp-9:00 am

Saturday, December 15
Border Crossing and more-9:00 am

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This Week’s Rides
San Antonio Cycling Club
Saturday, November 24th,
TBD
8:00 AM
There is no ride scheduled for today.  If you would like to lead a ride, please contact Vern at 210-275-5637, or Ray, 210-394-0854.

Sunday, November 25th,
Lonesome Oak Ride
8:00 AM
Nice ride far east side of San Antonio. This is an easy paced 26 mile, or a moderate paced 33 mile ride, mostly medium rollers with very few large hills. We make a pit stop at the historic ice house (social club) in St. Hedwig. Map #E2  Directions: From east side Loop 410 take US 87 east toward Loop 1604. Turn north at stoplight on FM 3465 to…

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Turkey Roll Ride Report
By Harold Darling            The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas
The last charity ride of the year, 30th Turkey Roll, is today. Its 5:30 AM and time to decide what to wear, it’s supposed to be nice. So I’ll dress with the medium weight kit and load the extra’s in the duffel. Pack the food and drinks then it’s off to Denton at 6:20 AM for the 1 1/4 hour drive. It’s a beautiful morning, truck outside temperature gauge says 36 and the sky is mostly clear. Arrived at the Catholic Church, see main parking is nearly full and decided to be number 2 into the auxiliary lot across the street. A large pickup in a tight parking lot is no fun. I parked and walk to Rec building where a cheerful Kwanian is greeting and directing folks to the proper registration table. I’m preregistered and all goes well except they try to put this body in a small T-shirt. We sort…

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UTPD ‘bait bike’ program success declines, James Otte among few who still fall for it
By David Maly            The Daily Texan
James Otte, 56, is being held in the Travis County Jail after he was charged this weekend with theft of a University of Texas Police Department “bait bike,” a bike with a GPS tracker inside. UT police say a dwindling number of criminals are still falling for the bait bike sting.

UT police chief Robert Dahlstrom said since the bait bike program was initiated in February of 2011, it has been successful, but that success has recently declined.

“Over the last month, we have had more thefts and no bait bikes taken,” Dahlstrom said.

In October, UTPD received 39 bicycle theft reports, almost double the 20 bicycle thefts reported in September. UTPD has not received that many bicycle thefts reports in…

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Tweets

https://twitter.com/WSS_22/status/271046815275683841

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for November 19th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bike Rack Competition Continues through December 1st
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
Don’t forget there’s still plenty of time to get in your design plans for the bike rack design/build competition by December 1st!  Get your entries in asap.  See below for the full details and how to submit:

BIKE RACK DESIGN/BUILD COMPETITION
We have all used a tree, lamp post or stop sign as a makeshift bike rack at one point or another. Fred Pena of the Back Porch Studio is taking steps to avoid bike…

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They Wait and I Wait
by Steve A            DFW Point-to-Point
The last couple of weeks, I have been reminded more times than I can recount that a large proportion of all of our interactions involve one road user deferring to another in the interests of harmony in accordance with rules made to be easy to remember and follow.

Case 1 – I’m riding down an arterial and, off to my right I see a car stopped at a stop sign. Strictly speaking, the motorist at the controls could have made a quick right without me having had to make any action to evade. She waited. And I appreciate it. It made an extra impression on me. It got me paying extra attention.

Case 2 – I’m in a two-way left turn lane, waiting to make my left. I see a motorist coming on who looks like he wants to also go into the lane. He hangs back a bit and, seeing it, I make my own left. I left a little less gap than…

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Walnut Creek Workday: “Let the Armoring Begin!”
Austin Ridge Riders
Saturday, December 1, 2012 – 08:00 – 14:00
After bringing in 10,000 lbs of stone, we are finally ready to begin armoring the creek crossing.  And Saturday, December 1st is the day.  We will start at 8:00AM and go until 2:00PM.  We will meet at the creek crossing where there will be a waiver for you to sign.

You will need to bring:  gloves, pants, shovel, pick, and any digging tools you might have.  This is going to be a lot of hard…

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Revolution Studio marks Sugar Land’s first indoor cycling studio
By Cory Stottlemyer                yoursugarlandnews.com

On Oct. 26, Sugar Land became home to its first indoor cycling studio when Revolution Studio opened its doors at 2125 Lone Star Dr. in Town Square.

The boutique, indoor cycling studio combines the fast growing popularity of the indoor cycling movement with a full-body workout component to offer participants a complete mind and body exercise.

“Our mission in a nutshell is to create a community focused around our fitness philosophy, which combines the benefits of cardio and strength training while connecting the mind, body and spirit. We really take a ‘wholisitic with a w’ approach,” said Kim Syma, the co-owner of Revolution Studio. “We really believe in…

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Salado Creek Greenway Ride
Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club
McAllistar Park
13102 Jones Maltsberger Rd, San Antonio, TX, 78247
Sunday, December 30th:  Join us for a 34+ mile ride along the Salado Creek Greenway from McAllister Park to the Martin Luther King park.  Ride begins at 9:00.  Meet at the Turkey Roost Pavilion in McAllister Park.  Except for about a quarter mile, this ride is completely along shaded paved, mostly flat path.  Since this is an out-back ride, you can turn around at any point if you do not want to ride the entire 34 miles.  For more information contact ride leaders Jon and “Fred” Brett at…

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Upcoming Rides and Events
San Antonio Wheelmen
Thursday, November 22:  Turkey Day Leaderless Ride
Friday, November 23:  Black Friday Ride in Cibolo
Saturday, November 24:  Elmendorf Ride
Sunday, November 25:  Comfort-Ladybird Ride
Saturday, December 1:  Holiday Party

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Tweets

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Second Day on the MTB – November 19th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I made it two days in a row riding. I rode my mountain bike on the trails again. I even did a short stretch on some dirt. Since we haven’t received much rain the dirt was very dry and hard. They mowed the grass on the dirt area so I could see the ruts better. My mountain bike is a hardtail and since I spend most of the ride on paved trails I keep the tire pressure around 60 psi. This works great for pavement but riding over ruts and roots can get very bumpy.

The weather clouded up some but the temperature ranged from 72 to 75 during my ride. The light 3.5 mph SSW breeze was not much hindrance or help amongst the trees.There were several people and children on the trails since school is out for Thanksgiving break. Near Riverwood Middle School a bunch of teenagers coming together for a beach volleyball game complete with sand.

Today’s route was different from yesterday’s but the mileage was almost identical. Today’s route was 15.3 miles long versus 15.41 yesterday. I increased the average speed slightly to 12.6 mph and the ax speed went up to 19.9 mph. Riding time totaled 1:13:07 plus 4:43 stopped time. Generally the trails go under major streets but the route crossed a few and I waited for traffic. I spotted another sunbathing turtle today but in a different location.

So far I biked 7 days in November. November miles total 193.93 and YTD totals 6134.16 miles. Alternate views of the route and data: Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com.

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