My road bike felt left out so today I was back on the road. This might be one of the last days with the temperature close 100 degrees or Friday might be. The weather forecast still thinks Sunday the high temperature will be in the 80’s. Well today it was 95 when I got back home on the ride. The dry heat meant a free flow of perspiration. My recent addition of wrist bands continues to slow down the flow onto the brake levers/shifters. They barely get wet now. I wrung them out once during the ride around the 16 mile point. My gloves did not yield much water when I tried to wring them out which proves the wrist bands absorbed the bulk of the sweat. The scattered clouds and very light breeze did not provide much relief from the heat. Stopping at an underpass provided some relief while I waited on the traffic to clear out at Kingwood Drive and US59.
I added some little variations to the Roman Forest – Valley Ranch route. The starting mile was new and going through the Auburn Trails on this route was different. Because of the changes I wasn’t sure how long this route would be. It turned out to be 28.55 miles at 15.3 mph average speed, max speed of 20.4 mph. The only problem on this route was the “love bug” flying along side Loop 494. I think the tall grass beside the road harbors the pesky bugs. The number of bugs seems to be increasing but maybe the vehicles driving by will lower the bug population. I see many cars and trucks with hundreds of bug splats on their windshields. I think I was the only rider out along my route.
First Buffered Bicycle Lanes in Dallas Installed at Rosemont Elementary
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
It’s hard to believe the day has finally come when we no longer say Dallas still doesn’t have a dedicated bike lane. A plan to include bicycle infrastructure at the lower Rosemont Elementary School campus has started bearing fruit this past week when the City of Dallas laid down buffered bicycle lanes and a new crosswalk on Mary Cliff Rd from Rainer to Taft, and bicycle sharows from Taft to Kings Highway. …
Scholastic MTB Series TEAM Standings
by League Director         Texas High School Cycling League
Here are the team standings for the South division of the 2012 Scholastic MTB Race Series after last weekend’s races at Camp Eagle. Be sure to head out to the U of Texas races in Comfort on September 29th and 30th to earn more team points as that weekend is sure to shake up the standings with three race offerings for every category.
Also, remember to recruit friends and especially girls as the team points are a combination of points earned by all riders from that school in all categories.
Place    School    Total Points    Camp Eagle
1 Â Â Â Lorena ISD Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 36 Â Â Â 36
2    Formus: Monterrey Mexico    20    20
3 Â Â Â Houston Memorial H.S. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16 Â Â Â 16…
SCCCC Track Championships at Alkek, hosted by A&M
by AMCT
A reminder anyone interesting in coming out and watching or if you want to help out. AMCT is hosting the 2012 SCCCC track championships in preperation for Track Nationals just around the corner. Racing is going on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday AM racing starts at 9AM, Saturday PM racing starts at 7PM, Sunday racing…
First Team Meeting!!!!!
by AMCT
First Team meeting tomorrow, thursday, at 8 PM up the spiral staircase at the Rec in room 255. Come join us and eat free food provided by our local cycling club BVC and learn about the team and what all we do.
Recreational Sports Calendar & Sign-up Sheet – Sept. 5, 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., Tour for Children benefiting Transplants for Children, 10, 31, 45 and 60 miles, El Chaparral Mexican Restaurant, Helotes. …
Tyler State Park
Will Lewis         www.dorba.org
All I can say is Wow. That was one of the best workouts and challenging rides I have experienced. If you weren’t climbing 75% of the time the rest was filled with some downhill, rocks everywhere and then the enemy as we know it, SAND!!!!!!!!!! Somehow my friend and I made it through without eating it! It was a blast to do something new but definitely a…
Weekly Collegiate Racing Wrap – September 4, 2012
SCCCC: Camp Eagle Classic – by Jon Huey         www.usacycling.org
The SCCCC made its 2012 mountain bike season debut at the Camp Eagle Classic in Rocksprings, TX, claimed to be the largest mountain bike festival in the state. This event brings a wide variety of racers, even including a unicycle race.
The collegiate short track course was relatively smooth with a couple of sandy areas, and scattered changes in elevation; the middle end provided a bit of wooded and rocky single track. Texas State dominated the Men’s A category, with Brian Barrow finishing first and Alex “Cub†Garza following just behind. The Super D was quite an unusual event for this conference, but it was a welcome challenge. This was a mass start event, providing quite a time for the largest category of Men’s C, with seventeen…
After watching the 17th stage of the Vuelta a Espana I went for my ride but not on the the bike I originally planned. I put back my road shoes and got the mountain bike shoes. I thought today would be a good day to ride on the greenbelt trails in mostly shade. Leaving the house at 11:18 I quickly thought of a route riding the opposite direction of Monday’s ride but with only one dirt section; W. Lake Houston to Mills Branch Way. The dirt was packed hard so it felt like I was on the paved greenbelt. We have not had any rain for over a week so with the heat (could reach 100 today) the ground is very dry. This route ended up at 15.1 miles with a 12.1 mph average speed and 17.8 mph max speed. Moving time was 1:14:49 with 3:37 time stopped.
The greenbelt shows the problems from last year’s drought with trees cut and stacked by the trail in many places. With all of these trees cut down there are stretches without any shade but lots of sawdust on the ground. There were a few people on the trails but not enough to cause any problems.
With later start the temperature had time to get up there but only to 90 degrees. The scattered clouds in the sky and calm breeze indicated it would be very warm later in the day. The weather forecast hints at a “cold” front coming to town this weekend but I am doubtful. Last year on this date we were in Chattanooga sloshing around in the warm rain at Rock City. Chattanooga set a record for the most rain in one day.
September Newsletter Published
Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts
The September edition of the DATES-Line Newsletter is published and available for download from the newsletters page. This month’s edition includes the following:
Plano Ride, Cookout, and Pool Party
Gateway to Texas Get-A-Way Tandem Tour
New Member Ride and Cookout
DATES Business Meeting
Ride Leaders Needed!
RAWHIDE by Janette Thompson
Upcoming Rides and Events
San Antonio Wheelmen
Saturday, September 8:Â Bullis County Park Ride
Saturday, September 8:Â Ride to Remember
Saturday, September 8:Â Tour for Children
Sunday, September 9:Â Castroville Ride
Saturday, September 15:Â Boerne Ride
Sunday, September 16:Â Elmendorf Ride
Iconic Texas shop relocates to larger space
by Steve Frothingham
SAN ANTONIO, TX (BRAIN) – Hank Estrada, owner of the Charles A. James Bicycle Shop, has moved his 92-year-old shop to a larger space in San Antonio, Texas.
Founded in 1920, the Charles A. James Bicycle Shop was originally one of 10 bicycle shops selling in downtown San Antonio. Almost a century later, James’s shop is the sole bicycle business remaining in the downtown area. Hank’s father, Henry Estrada, bought the shop from original owner in 1968 and retained the name out of respect for…
Fifteen minutes of fun… And a lot more; Now is the time to get ready to bike to school
People for Bikes Blog
Riding my bike to school was one of the best things about fifth grade; I just didn’t realize it then. As a 10-year-old, I wasn’t thinking about how biking helped me stay thin and healthy, be more alert in class, or contribute to reduced road congestion and air pollution.
All of these benefits were there, but for me, biking to school was mainly about freedom, adventure and fun. It was a 15-minute ride, covering a little more than a mile — a mix of lightly traveled residential streets, steering past gregarious dogs and nutty squirrels, ending with a short stretch of dirt trail across a field to the bike rack by the…
September Meeting Minutes
by salsaTopp      Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association
TOMORROW’S SOCIAL RIDE TIME HAS CHANGED. We will be beginning at 6 p.m. as opposed to 6:30 to give us a little bit more daylight.
Trail Maintenance this coming Saturday. Meet at the Lake Bryan car park, work starts at 8 a.m. We’ll be working on trimming back Rollercoaster, Rat Maze and Munnerlyn.
Take note as you’re riding that James has rerouted some trail in Munnerlyn, enjoy it!
There will be a Summer Time Trial celebration and gathering coming soon… Details have…
The pedestrian and bicycle area is a $1.9 million project that happened as part of renovations to the Memorial Student Center.
As part of the changes vehicle access has been limited to a portion of the street except for…
Cycling community plans rally for injured Fort Worth bicyclist
By Alex Branch         www.star-telegram.com
FORT WORTH — Cyclists will rally Sunday to promote bike safety awareness and raise money for a Fort Worth rider injured in a hit-and-run crash last month.
“Share the Road Fort Worth” will feature a free ride that starts at Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub and follows some of the same route that Zac Ford took when he was run down Aug. 8 on Camp Bowie Boulevard, organizers say.
Concerts, raffles, a silent auction, arts and crafts, pizza and…
Former Marine bikes across U.S. to raise awareness, funds for wounded warriors
by Cpl. Jovane Henry      www.dvidshub.net
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Scot King is a man on a 14,000-mile mission.
On May 7, 2011, the former Marine and president of The Wounded Ride, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to financially assisting combat wounded veterans and their families, set off on a journey across the country to raise awareness and funds for his cause.
King is conducting the bicycle ride to 48 state capitals solo, without any escort or “shadow vehicle,†and will take approximately two years overall to complete the journey, culminating with his arrival in the Oregon state…
This afternoon, whilst in the process of updating my Eyes on Texas River Legacy Park webpage, I was Googling for info, when I came upon a really good video of the EKG section of the River Legacy Mountain Bike Trail.
This video starts off with a group of bikers confronting a Copperhead snake which had sunk its fangs into one of the biker’s tires and then went into defensive mode, blocking the…
The Pedaler Newsletter – September Edition
San Antonio Wheelmen
I hope that you had a great Labor Day weekend. Maybe you were able to even get some time on the bike. My family and I traveled to the Southeast and attended a family reunion. Yes, the family reunion was great, but it would have been even better had I been able to get in a ride!
What would you think about the club having one route of every ride identified as a “stay-together” route? Based on some feedback from a few members, I think it would…
Red Bull is hosting a unique and VERY FUN event on the 15th of September in The Colony. They are staging an adult Soapbox Derby – down Windhaven Hill!  The hill will be closed all day for this event and it is expected that some 12-15,000 people will attend. And, the races don’t start till 1pm, so plenty of time to get…
…That’s where we (Shawnee Trail CC) come in. We have worked with Red Bull to host a free Bike Valet service (tips only) positioned at the top of Windhaven.
What is a bike valet? This is a service provided by our club that gives you the opportunity to ride your bicycle to this event, leave it with our members in a secure area for safekeeping and then – after the fun is over – return…
2012 DORBA Fall Series Race At Sansom Park
by Shawn McAfee         Texas Mountain Bike Trails
It’s race time again here in Dallas. Race #1 at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve (OCNP) was a great introduction to the fall series and with race #2 at Erwin Park getting rained out we finally arrive at our next event. Sansom Park.
Virtual Pre-Ride of Sansom Park
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPa16UqZQA