Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for September 12th

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Fall is upon us, let the buck sightings begin!
by Nick_R            forums.mtbr.com
Absolutely love this time of the year…came upon a group of some awesome looking bucks this evening along Salado Creek, just south of 1604. There were three of them each having equally impressive racks, 10 and 12 pointers, trophy bucks for sure. Tried getting my phone out to snap a pic but sadly was too slow, they ran off never to be seen again. Looking forward to many more similar encounters as fall progresses. …

December Club Ride @ Rocky Hill Ranch
Saturday, December 8, 2012 – 09:00
Austin Ridge Riders
Saturday December 8 is tentatively set for Rocky Hill Ranch’s Annual Benefit Weekend and we hope to support them in this effort.

More details as to the events of the day will be posted as they become available.

You do not have to be an ARR member to participate but we’d love to have you join. ARR Members in good standing will be reimbursed the day fee and if you are unsure about your membership status, please email arrwebsite@gmail.com and we will check and let you know.

As always, we will be breaking into groups based on skill level and then we’ll hit the trail with the “No Drop” policy in effect so no one gets left behind. All participants must sign a waiver and properly wear a helmet when on a bicycle.

ARR will be hosting a post-ride lunch and everyone is encouraged to bring something to share (fruit, chips, sweets, etc.) …

October Club Ride @ Muleshoe
Saturday, October 13, 2012 – 09:00
Austin Ridge Riders
It is time to hit the beautiful, shady trails at Muleshoe. Riders love the fast rolling sections in the middle that make the rocky drops and climbs on either end well worth it.  More details as to where we we set up for the post-ride lunch.

As always, we will be breaking into groups based on skill level and then we’ll hit the trail with the “No Drop” policy in effect so no one gets left behind. All participants must sign a waiver and properly wear a helemt when on a bicycle.

You do not have to be a ARR member to participate in this ride but we’d love to have you join up. All riders must sign a waiver and properly where a helmet when on the bike. Bring plenty of water! …

9th Annual Fall Campout & Trail Ride
www.fwmba.org
This is an opportunity for everyone to come together for a weekend of camping, mountain biking, sitting around the campfire, catching up with old friends and making new ones. And unlike all other overnight DORBA or FWMBA events during the year, this one requires no reservations, no commitment, and NO VOLUNTEERS

When: October 26, 27, and 28th. I will be there about 3pm on Friday

location: Solavaca Ranch Mountain Bike Trail and Campgrounds: http://solavaca.com just a few miles northwest of Glen Rose Texas (see maps below) No Dogs are allowed at this working ranch, because the ranch dogs love humans, but hate any other dogs.

riding: two excellent trails to choose from: Dinosaur Valley State Park, and at Solavaca Ranch, one of my all time favorite trails.

Camping: Solavaca Ranch (see maps below) There 2 Porta-let toilets. The land owner, Mack, will provide a water hose by his barn, if you need water, but the only showers will be what you provide yourself. I use the 5 gallon Sun Showers sold at Sports Authority and Walmart. They work GREAT, just hang them up from a tree before your ride and they…

Club Meeting – Lone Star Cyclists
09/17/2012 – 7:30pm
It’s almost that time again! This coming Monday is our September club meeting. The nominating committee will be making their recommendations for the 2012-2013 officers. Saundra Grigsby will be presenting some nutrition tips, and as always there will be good snacks in case you have to come straight from work! You will not go hungry!
The board will meet at 6:30. All are welcome to attend.

Time for a Change
by Ray Garza        Ciclistas Urbanos
Summer is “officially” over and it’s time for a change, cycling rides that is. Members of Ciclistas Urbanos are thinking of moving our night rides back to Saturday mornings, but still keeping a monthly night ride too. It all depends on the weather and when it starts to get cooler during the day.

We know that some members were not able to join us during the night rides and welcome an early morning ride. For those members, hang on for dear life as it will happen soon! …

Urban Bikeway Design Guide
urbanvelo.org
Transportation activists take note. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) hase released the second edition of the Urban Bikeway Design Guide, a comprehensive manual for designing city streets to make them safer and more sustainable. The updated edition has an interactive online guide and a new chapter focusing on bicycle boulevards, which are not just dedicated bike lanes, but entire streets set aside from major roads.

From the press release:
“The second edition of the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide will play a significant role in how the city of Phoenix designs and installs its growing network of bike lanes, routes, and boulevards,” said Wylie Bearup, Director of the…

It’s coming! Texas Gatorfest!
Pageant winners and more ….
By Dayna Haynes, Editor/ The Progress
Texas Gatorfest held a “Kick-Off” weekend this past Friday and Saturday at Fort Anahuac Park. There was a BBQ Cook off contest, a washer and horseshoe tournament, a 14-mile bicycle tour to Oak Island and back, and a street dance on Saturday night featuring entertainment by David Glenn.

The Gatorfest Pageant competition was also going on this past Saturday, with all the lovely young ladies vying for the tiara. This year’s Senior Texas Gatorfest Queen is Jordan LeBlanc. Kristie Thompson, First Runner Up, Kaitlyn Bennett, Second Runner Up, Carlee Stork, Third Runner Up attend the senior court and Fourth Runner Up is Brittany Mayes. In The Progress’ Gatorfest…

Recreational Sports Calendar & Sign-up Sheet – Sept. 12, 2012
San Antonio Express-News
Bicycling: Today, 8 a.m., Wheelers Senior Ride, 30 miles, Floore’s Country Store, Helotes. 210-643-0314.
Bicycling: Saturday, 8 a.m., Boerne Ride, 25 to 70 miles, city hall, Boerne. 210-325-2500, 210-524-9393. …

Okolona man bikes 3,200 miles across country
Written by Keiara Carr | The Courier-Journal
At 66, Jack Wheatley of Okolona has reached a goal that people half his age would be hesitant to attempt.

“I wanted to see if I still had it,” he said. “It might have taken me a little longer, but I did it.”

He biked 3,200 miles across the country, starting in San Diego on Feb. 7 and ending in Jacksonville, Fla., on April 11.

The former CEO of the old Southwest Hospital in Valley Station made the trek in 64 days, crossing California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and…

Microsoft in Irving hosting opening, closing ceremonies for Lone Star Ride 2012 on Sept. 29-30
By Deborah Fleck / News Assistant        irvingblog.dallasnews.com
The Lone Star Ride Development Team is challenging North Texas businesses and supporters of the Ride to help raise $20,000 by Sept. 20. The 150-mile cycling event, set for Sept. 29-30, raises funds for three North Texas HIV/AIDS service organizations – AIDS Services of Dallas (ASD), AIDS Outreach Center of Tarrant County (AOC) and Resource Center Dallas (RCD).

Many new sponsors have joined the Ride this year, including Microsoft as host of LSRFA at their facility in Las Colinas, which will be the location for the event’s opening and closing ceremonies.

The goal of Lone Star Ride 2012 is to give back $150,000 to these life-saving organizations that…

https://twitter.com/BikeMS_DFW/status/245890262319120387

Lightning Too Close for Comfort – September 12th Bike Ride

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I did not ride yesterday so I wanted to get back on the bike today. Reading the weather forecast a morning ride looked pretty safe with only a 30% chance of rain. The forecast for the temperature showed a high of 90 degrees with a light breeze. As I rode west from Huffman on FM1960 over Lake Houston I saw the dark sky ahead. I realized I might be riding towards the 30% rain and picked up my speed some to try and beat it back home. Before I got off the causeway I heard some thunder but it seemed in the distance.

Riding through Atascocita on Atascocita Shores Drive I thought my chances were good to beat the rain but the thunder boomed a couple of times before I reach W. Lake Houston Parkway and my doubts began to rise. Still no rain but the dark clouds got closer and I raced to my target refuge in Kingwood’s Town Center in a open passage beside Fedex Office. I almost made it before the rain started but the drops started falling as I rode through Kingwood Greens west of W. Lake Houston Parkway. I hurried and ducked into my destination just as the thunder clapped some more and lightning flashed not too far away. As wet as I was from biking the reason to find shelter was not to keep dry as much as get away from the lightning. Not long after arriving in the passage a sharp crack of lightning about block away crashed. A few minutes later a Houston Fire truck came by headed towards the lightning spot. I am not sure they found anything because once they turned off of the street by me the siren stopped.

Earlier in the ride before the rain arrived I was making good progress along my route through Atascocita, Walden at Lake Houston and on to Huffman. While the temperature felt warmer than the last ride the higher humidity really was the problem (76% when I got home). The light breeze offered no relief. When I stopped in Huffman at the Chevron station to refill my bottle I wrung out my wrist bands; a big puddle resulted. My gloves were not wet enough to get any moisture out of them. At the time I could not see the dark clouds to the west but I kept my stop short because I wanted to get back home before noon otherwise I would not made my destination without getting very wet.

As I waited for the rain to stop and the lightning to move on I turned my Garmin Edge timer off. Later when I started back up I turned the Garmin back on but I forgot to start the timer. This turned out to be a good thing because the streets were still very wet and a light rain still falling as I rode back home. So the 29.53 miles recorded on the route is not completely accurate. I was about 2.5 miles from home when I stopped the Garmin timer but I rode slowly to try to keep the road spray to a minimum and avoid slick spots from the water puddles. With rush to beat the rain my average speed was 15.9 mph, 22.3 mph max speed and 81.0 RPM average cadence. Moving time (not counting the last 2.5 miles) was 1:56:43 with 41:25 time stopped, mostly waiting for the rain/lightning to move out. Mileage for the week stands at 66.46, 213.19 miles for September and 4930.45 miles YTD.

Link to RideWithGPS.com map and metrics.

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for September 11th

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Reveille Peak Ranch Vids.
by PinkGorillaCycles        forums.mtbr.com
Couple of videos I put together of my ride over labor day. This is a really fun place to ride.

Reveille Peak Ranch Mountian Bike GoPro 9/3/2012 – YouTube

Reveille Peak Ranch Ride part 2 – YouTube

Tires for DFW trails
by Larsin                forums.mtbr.com
My brother just got his Motobecane X5 and I am waiting for a Fantom Pro restock. What tires are recommended for trails here? My bike will have SB8s which I hear wash out on dry or loose stuff which doesn’t sound very awesome if you live here lol. I’d like to have a good setup to handle most conditions. Im not interested in being the fastest as I am a NOOB and just want to have fun and trust my tires too. I do plan on running tubeless. …

Cyclesomatic 2012, a celebration of ALL things bicycle!
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff

The Texas Star ferris wheel at the State Fair won’t be the only big wheel spinning this October!  Big Tex and the rest of Dallas better  dust off their saddles, shine up that chrome, strap on a helmet, and wheel on over to a month long celebration of the best fun you’ll have all…

Texas Cup Calendar Cyclocross

Ride Like A Girl * Walnut Creek Ride & End-of-Season PARTY
Monday, September 24, 2012 – 18:00
Austin Ridge Riders
The Austin Ridge Riders are hosting a five-month program of weekly Monday evening women’s mountain bike rides, plus weekend rides at local mountain bike trails/parks. This is an opportunity to meet other women to ride with, learn new trails and learn new skills. Before each ride, participants divide into groups based on each rider’s ability and speed and all rides will have beginner clinic/rides, intermediate and advanced group rides. Rides will…

Fort Worth Bicycling Association
This Week’s Activities

Port strike could disrupt bike shipments
by Steve Frothingham
WASHINGTON, DC (BRAIN) — Bike suppliers are making preparations for a possible longshoreman’s strike that could shut down ports from Maine to Texas on October 1.

Some suppliers are already diverting shipments to West Coast ports. But if the union does call a strike, even shipments to the West Coast will be hit with a $1,000 per container surcharge. Containers hold about 300 bikes each.

Pat Cunnane, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Advanced Sports International, said he’s following the…

Texas retailers make the list but not very many. Download the PDF file and look on page 2.

BRAIN names its Top 100, Gold Star retailers
by Steve Frothingham
LAGUNA HILLS, CA (BRAIN) — Bicycle Retailer & Industry News has selected the Top 100 and Gold Star retailers for 2012 and has invited this elite group to a special reception in their honor to be held the first evening of Interbike.

The Top 100 and Gold Star retailers were selected through a nomination process that included many of the industry’s top suppliers and distributors. They were asked to submit their selections taking into consideration sales volume, professionalism, operational excellence, business practices, community involvement, advocacy…

National Bike Challenge – FINAL LOCAL RESULTS
by dickdavid        Bike Friendly Richardson
For those of you who didn’t know, there was a National Bike Challenge hosted by Endomondo, The League of American Bicyclists and  Bikes Belong. From May 1 through August 31 they’re tried to get as many riders as they could to ride 10 million miles – which was achieved nationally.

They’re also did regional challenges, putting small teams of 10 riders in friendly competition with each other for points and miles. BikeDFW hosted our local challenge. …

Bee Cave cyclists making riding safer
New signs go up on Bee Cave Parkway
by Ignacio Garcia            www.kxan.com
BEE CAVE, Texas (KXAN) – Last month, a Lake Travis cycling club decided to band together and approach the city of Bee Cave to see if  there’s anything they can do to make their roads safer. They installed biking signs, and bicyclists say this is a great start.

The action was put into motion, when on April 28, an accident near Westbank killed 55-year-old Verter Ginestra, a popular Austin cyclist killed. Many of his…

Recap of the 2012 DORBA Fall Series Race at Sansom Park

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2012 DORBA Fall Series Race At Sansom Park

Well, that was brutal.

My body hurts, my tire is flat, and all I have to show for it are these freaking sweet pictures.

Take a few minutes to relive the race day events from the 2012 DORBA Fall Series race at Sansom Park. I am going to do something new today and  try to re-tell my race day story.

If you would like to use, download, or edit these photos please provide attribution to www.TexasMountainBikeTrails.com by linking to the homepage or by sharing this post on your favorite social platform. 

So how was my race you ask?

It was a beating. Sansom Park, as if you didn’t already know is like the character Nelson from The Simpsons, it punches you in your stomach and then laughs at you as you’re hunched over trying not to hurl. Between the climbing, the rocks and loose dirt, the day after… I feel like I was run over by a truck.

I woke up at 4:30 Sunday morning feeling great as I rolled out of bed. It had been a busy week for me so I hadn’t done any riding, but not on purpose. Surprisingly, at that time my body actually felt pretty good.

Since I had planned to do a lot of video and photography while I wasn’t racing I was taking a ton of gear. In total for this one race I had my Camelbak which I prefer to wear in a race, my camerabag and tripod, as well as my stuffed gear bag containing my helmet, shoes, mid-race nutrition, a change of clothes and a towel.

For those that don’t know a towel is a must have at a race. After you finish your race you wrap your lower body in the towel drop your sweaty cycling shorts and toss on your clean clothes. Then you can use the towel to dry off all the sweat and scrub off the dirt thats been caked on to you.

If you know me you know I am a coffee addict, so after jumping in my fully laden car I immediately rolled into the nearest Racetrack convenience store for a cup of Joe. Ahhh, much better. Blasting a little Katie Perry, LMFAO and other extremely uncharacteristic music I had made the hour drive to Fort Worth in no time.

When I did get there it was still pitch black outside, I made sure to arrive a little early so I could get plenty of sunrise pictures, of which none turned out. I grabbed my camera and headed for the registration table where the first few Cat 3 entrants were signing up. As I scurried around snapping pictures I ran into one of my fellow Cadence Cyclery Teammates Curtis.

Sansom Park 2012 Fall Series Recap

Curtis: “Hey man, are you ready to race today?”
Shawn: “Not a bit, I haven’t been on my bike in since Monday when i got two flats out here.”
Curtis: “I’m sure it won’t be so bad” –Or something very similar… it was 6am for goodness sake!

So after snapping a few pre-dawn pictures of Curtis signing up I ran off to get a few pictures of the bike shops and their tents while interviewing a few folks on what tips they have for racers.

My favorite interview of the day was a 7 year old who has already been racing mountain bikes since age 4. I can’t remember his name, but I’m going to give him the nickname of captain awesome.

Shawn: “So can you tell me how long you have been riding mountain bikes?”
Captain Awesome: “For 3 years, I started when I was 4.”
Shawn: “Hey so you’re pretty experienced then, what is your best tip for someone who hasn’t raced before.”
Captain Awesome: “Just go ride and have fun.” as he shied away to his dad.

Truly great advice. I got the whole thing on video too! But then I realized the microphone was off. Oops.

So here is my brief disclaimer… I am not a photographer, nor do I play one on TV. 

Yes my pictures aren’t always in focus, yes I forget to turn on the microphone, no I really don’t have a clue what any of the buttons do on my camera. BUT I will gladly run around with a camera and tripod and pretend like I’m a prodigy seasoned expert. So if you have any negative comments about my photography ability I will gladly ignore them and pretend you said “Your pictures are radical brah!”. Because obviously if you dislike my pictures you must be a stoner hippie from california. 

I ran around a little bit longer snapping more photos and video by this point it was just about to kick off the start of the Cat 3 race as racers gathered around for the pre-race meeting.  The race director gave an enthusiastic good morning to the racers, he had obviously had more coffee than me. 

Sansom Park 2012 Fall Series Recap

The Cat 3 group is the starting point for mountain biking, they would be doing 2 laps of the course for a total of 9 miles. As they lined up I was snapping pictures and video while running around like a fool with my camera and tripod.

Seriously, when you carry as much gear around as I did I guess people just think your supposed to be doing that. I wonder if I that will work at a Rangers Game?

 

As I watched wave after wave of racers take off I got completely lost in the pictures I was taking. I found myself sprinting about a mile into the trail and getting just inside the singletrack hoping to get a cool action shot. Time ceased to exist. By the time I got back to the starting line another of our Cadence Cyclery  riders walked up to me, but I can’t remember who.

Mystery Teammate: “Hey Shawn, aren’t you supposed to be racing today?”
Shawn: “Yeah, I’m just taking a few pictures before I have to get ready.”
Mystery Teammate: “You may want to hurry, you start in 30 minutes!”

It’s true, I had gotten completely sidetracked and lost track of the time. What’s worse is right then I realized that the breakfast I packed for myself to eat promptly at 7:00am was still sitting with my gear. I feel it is very important on race day to keep with your typical diet and eating schedule to avoid… “inopportune situations” on the bike. You know, having to go numero 2. At this point my stomach was already feeling a little bit sketch, in fact my body had gone from feeling great that morning to pretty sketchy at this point.

Proof of my not-feeling-so-hotness from that morning.

I would never forgive myself for skipping this race, after all Sansom Park is my second favorite trail. So I sprinted over to my gear, ate my food as quick as possible and threw on my heart rate monitor, Cadence Cyclery bib and jersey, and grabbed my shoes. At this point I had 15 to maybe 20 minutes to jump on my bike and try to get a warmup in.

I grabbed my bike off the rack and jetted toward the open road where I rode until as close to our start time of 9am as I could. For those that want to know, I got back to the line at 8:58am. Just in time for my body to freak out having just realized that I ate and now needed to go to the bathroom. I found a friend on the line asked him to hold my bike and sprinted off to the nearest port-a-john.

Finally I sprinted back to my bike getting, feeling seriously anxious that the race had started without me and I would now be minutes behind right at the start. I lucked out and my age group was just lining up. As I hopped over my bike and inched up to the starting line the announcer called 15 seconds till start. Gee, that wasn’t perfect timing.

The whistle blew and the 19-29 Cat 2 males were off. Now here is one thing you should know about me. I’m not the best racer, I corner like a dump truck and have the balance of a drunk sailor. But I will be top 3 off the line every single race. Why the race directors don’t realize that and cut the race down shorter I may never know. Hint hint Ryan Kota.

I lept off the line like I was shot out of a cannon, looking over my shoulder I could tell I got a good jump on the rest of the group. By the time we got off the starting line and onto the grass I was in second place, and one more racer passed in front of me at the beginning of the grass loop. When we ducked into the tree line and onto the first rocky descent into the singletrack I was in third place.

This is going to be a great race I thought.

And this is where I will pick up tomorrow with the rest of my Sansom Park race story… Be sure to subscribe below to get instantly notified of the next story.

The post Recap of the 2012 DORBA Fall Series Race at Sansom Park appeared first on Texas Mountain Bike Trails.