Anhills Moving Forward

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Article category: 
Advocacy
Under deck structure of the new Long Bridge

It has been roughly two years since GHORBA folks started work on the Anthills mountain bike trails. The Anthills natural surface trails are located on the south side of Buffalo Bayou between the Eldridge and Wilcrest cross streets.

The first order of business was to get the major bridges repaired or replaced. Through a generous grant from REI to pay for tools and materials and lots of elbow grease by GHORBA trail work volunteers, eight bridges have been replaced or redecked. Of special note is the “Long Bridge” as it now provides a high water crossing when the Corps of Engineers is releasing water from the reservoirs. Now that the bridges are in place you can ride end to end on the high trails even when water is being released to empty the reservoirs. Please note though that big rain events may cause the river to run even higher right after a major rain.

The next order of business is to put in information kiosks and trail signage in place. After that, the fun stuff really begins as we can focus on creating new trails and technical features. This of course includes reroutes around several badly eroded sections of the old trail.
Many thanks to all of the people that have helped so far! We not only build new stuff but trim the trails and remove fallen trees. Please consider helping out on a trail crew!

Anthills Trail Steward: Eric Dickson

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Less Shade and More Sun – October 8th Bicycle Ride

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Since April I relished riding in the shade but today I wished for more sun and less shade. According to the weather site the temperature was 66.4 degrees when I started my ride at 2:17 PM but my home weather station showed 72 degrees. Thankfully I wore a long sleeve jersey under my short sleeved one. When I rode in the shade the chill moved in. As I rode and warmed up the chill became less of an issue but if I stopped for a few minutes at traffic lights I cooled off and needed to warm up all over. At least the scattered clouds did not hold back too much sun and the light 4.6 mph breeze did not accentuate the chill too much.

I waited until the afternoon hoping for more warmth. With the later start I chose a shorter route going to Huffman and back. The route covered 29.54 miles at a 15.6 mph average speed, max speed of 25.4 mph and average cadence of 80.3 RPM. These numbers are according to SportTracks. Garmin Connect and RideWithGPS.com showed slightly different numbers like 15.7 mph average speed. Riding time totaled 1:53:21 with 14:25 time stopped.

The front wheel made the buzzing sound a couple of times. I tightened the front bearing some hoping this might solve the noise problem but as a backup I ordered some replacement bearings. I found a pair on ebay for $3.89 with free shipping.

October miles now stand at 228.43 and YTD totals 5525.28 miles.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for October 7th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

HBC Columbus – Weimar Loops Ride
Houston Bicycle Club
Saturday 10/20/12
8:00am     Ronald & Lilette Britsch
Distance: 24(B), 36(C), 43(C), 50(C), 58(C) miles
Flat to rolling hills, open fields. Good roads and pretty scenery, very little traffic. Its worth the extra few minutes drive. Weimar cafe closes at 1:00 (old-fashioned shakes). Take plenty of water.

Tour de Tolerance
El Paso Bicycle Club Ride
Sunday, October 28        7:30AM
Description:     Annual event raising money for the El Paso Holocaust Museum. Ride will start at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing, 100K and 50K bike rides, and 5K walk/run. Follow the details on Facebook. You can register at www.tourdetolerance.com Or call 915-331-0048 ext 24 for more information.

Goliad Camp and Ride Weekend
Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club
November 10, 2012
106 Park Road 6, Goliad, TX
Come join us for this traditional weekend of riding, socializing around a campfire, and sharing meals together.  Rides are scheduled for Saturday at 9:30 (25 miles, 33miles and 51 miles) from the  library on the main square in Goliad. The ride will be followed by  informal activities, including more cycling on Sunday, kayaking, hiking, and fishing.  Those wishing to camp or to stay in a park cabin at Goliad State Park should reserve facilities by calling (512) 389-8900 or by going online at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/reserve.   When you make your reservations, indicate that you want to be in the Karankawa Area  (Shelters 1-5 or RV sites 1 -20 [electric, water & sewer]).  Tent…

Texas Custom Bicycle Show, Oct 27-28
by The Announcer Guy        Biking in Dallas

The Lone Star State’s finest Handmade Framebuilders in Dallas for 5th annual Texas Custom Bicycle Show, Oct 27-28
Contacts: Glenn Thompson (214) 226-5844 or Susan Reeves at (214) 796-4941
WHEN: Saturday, October 27, 10:00 AM-4:30 PM; Sunday, October 28, 10:00 AM-4:30 PM
WHERE: 2720 Elm St. Dallas, TX (Club Da Da)  FREE ADMISSION AND…

VeloTexas conference set for Oct. 18-19
By Pam LeBlanc            Fit City

Street designers, urban planners and anyone with an interest in bikes is invited to a conference next week that will focus on the best way to design cities so bicyclists and motorists can coexist.

The conference will open with a roundtable discussion of the benefits of better bicycling infrastructure from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct 18 in Room 0.102 of Garrison Hall at the University of Texas.

Friday’s sessions will take place in Salon F of the Hilton Hotel, 500 E. 4th St. Experts from San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, Houston and Chicago will share details of…

Cycling Around The Globe: (Michael)
by Rudy Pospisil        blogs.theprovince.com

Just outside of Fort Stockton Texas today. I got an email yesterday from Michael in Phoenix.

This blog is dedicated to Michael. Michael’s parents saw the news clips on Channel 5 in Phoenix of me riding into the city to meet the Mayor for my cancer cycle.  Michael is 9 years old and he is in hospital getting treatment for a brain tumor. Unfortunately they cant operate and he is undergoing chemotherapy to get rid of it. The medicine is making him quite sick he says.

He is really enjoying reading my blogs and especially likes the ones with pictures of spiders and snakes and fun stuff like that. His dad reads him the blogs because he…

Full cycle: East Texas woman inducted into Texas BMX Hall of Fame
by STEVE KNIGHT  The Lufkin Daily News
LUFKIN, Texas — Patti Gammill was 10 years old when her family went to Wheel World in Lufkin in 1976 to buy her brother a bike for BMX racing.

“My brother wanted a bike and we went to Mike Maberry’s shop, Wheel World, that was there in Angelina Mall, and we ended up with a $99 Mongoose,” Gammill said. “They were having BMX cheerleaders and Mike asked me to try out.”

During Gammill’s first trip to the Lufkin BMX racetrack, it was her intention to try out to be a member of the Lufkin BMX Cheerleaders. She ended up…

Texas Sand Spurs, Hills and Star Lit Skies Make Bike Ride Memorable
Mile 1424:  Spirit of America Ride for Hydrocephalus – Day 29 Recap
celsiusbrightconnections.com
Mary and I are accustomed to cycling in Florida. Until now, the highest hill we had ever ridden on a bike ride was a highway on-ramp. We have been riding hills for the last three days and we have a sneaky suspicion that we have not even hit west Texas hill country yet. We have also noticed that sand spurs are as plentiful in Texas as sandy beaches are back home.

On Wednesday, we put in a good ride from Columbus to Shiner, Texas. We mentioned in our previous post that finding lodging has been difficult and we would have been in trouble without the incredible generosity…

Hundreds of cyclists pedal in Pineywoods Purgatory
By RHONDA OAKS/The Lufkin News (Subscription)
More than 600 cyclists took part in the 21st Annual Garland L. Parise Pineywoods Purgatory Saturday as they took to the roadways that sprawled a winding path through the pineywoods of East Texas.

Glen Arnold, chairman of the Pineywoods Purgatory, said he believed the turnout was one of the best in the ride’s 21-year history.

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for October 6th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

San Marcos Prospect Park & Purgatory Creek.. It really grows on you. Pictures!
by XRaptor            forums.mtbr.com
All the trail pictures I’ve found shows you that this place is rather tamed. Yes there are some smooth sections. I would like to highlight the more technical knee injury rocks! Enjoy!

The EB
www.enchiladabuffet.com
Fill your plate with Austin trail goodness!

The Enchilada Buffet is the annual measuring stick for Austin mountain biking. The EB is a self supported ride covering five local trails and ~85 miles of awesome Austin biking badassness.

When: November 3rd, 2012 (Rain date 11/17/12)
Start Time: 6:30AM Rollout
Where: Walnut Creek Parking Lot

WE decided to go with November 3rd because who doesn’t love a killer halloween ride.
WE are doing the same route as last year because why mess with a good thing.
WE advise you get to the Walnut parking lot early because it will fill up, plus we will have…

Cycling Around The Globe: East Texas
by Rudy Pospisil            blogs.theprovince.com

Headed east out of Van Horn Texas and I decided (against my better judgement) that if I hugged I-10 instead of quieter roads south I would save 140 miles in 5 days. That’s a long way on a bike. Its proving to be a bad choice.

Leaving camp today the weather had deteriorated rapidly. The temperatures had dropped from 90F to 54F and a strong headwind of 30 mph almost dead against me from the northeast. Making headway was brutal if you stopped pedaling the wind…

Wish 100 Rally in McKinney, TX
by WB admin                                     The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas
The Wish 100 Rally benefiting the Make a Wish foundation invites you to join their ride on October 6, 2012 starting at 111 N. Tennessee St. McKinney, TX 75069
We were lucky enough to be granted an interview with Bryan Perkins of Wish 100 to ask some questions about their upcoming ride.

Wish 100
Why join this year’s Wish 100 Bike Rally?
There are two reasons to join this year’s bike rally. First of all it’s a great cause that provides the opportunity for ill kids to do something special and take their minds off of their struggles. Secondly, the city of McKinney rolls out the red carpet for this ride and provides a great course in the country with rolling tree line roads and lots of livestock. So it’s great for people who want to experience the countryside!

How long has the event been around?
This will be the 4th year for the event but the first year that we (McKinney Velo Club) along with the Matrix Cycling…

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