Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for September 2nd

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El Paso Bicycle Club Ride
Saturday, September 15
Valley and Vado-7:30 am
Description:     Meet at Rio Plaza, Artcraft and Upper Valley. Ride to La Mesa via the Valley then on to Vado and return on the rollers. 40 miles, moderate (15-17 mph) pace. Bob Clark

What’s a Warning to Do?
by Steve A            DFW Point-to-Point

Sometimes government, at least at the local level, is phenomenally responsive. One might wonder about this sometimes. I’ll give you an example. NCTCOG sends me email alerts when pollution levels get high. Things are, in theory, pretty bad when there is an Orange Pollution Warning. We’re told to limit outdoor activity. …

Airmen’s presence uplifting for fatigued cyclists
The Norman Transcript
WICHITA FALLS, Texas — The nearly 12,000 cyclists making their way to the finish line in this past week’s Hotter ‘N Hell 100 mile ride enjoyed temperatures in the mid 90s. But the relatively mild day didn’t matter when we turned south for the final 16 miles and were met with a 13 to 24 mile per hour wind, gusting to 32 miles per hour.

Many took to pushing their bicycles up the interstate access inclines. Others took advantage of trucks and farm trailers for a ride to the finish line. One motorcyclist with a trailer was ferrying…

Dirt Trails Times 2 – September 2nd Bike Ride

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I started my September riding off with my Motobecane 700HT MTB on the Kingwood Trails. Starting at 11:41 the temperature stood at 92 degrees under scattered clouds and a 10 mph SW breeze with 16 mph gusts. It felt hot but the tree shade on the trails held most of the sun back. The problem was the trees blocked most of the breeze as well. I wanted to get on some dirt. I decided on two sections: Northpark Drive to Kingwood Drive along the drainage bayou. The berm was dried out from no rain for several days with plenty of ruts. I came around a corner to find two large dead trees across the trail so I dismounted and walked the bike through the limbs. Once I got back on the bike I continued to Kingwood Drive. A single jogger passed in going the opposite direction.

After leaving that dirt trail I rode the greenbelt trails for 8.7 miles to the next dirt trail starting at Mills Branch Way to W. Lake Houston Parkway. I rode this trail before but not in this direction. In the past this sported lots of grass but the lack of rain and other traffic removed most of the grass where I rode. I aired my tires up before leaving home and the ruts and limbs reminded me that i was on a hardtail mountain bike. The trail ride ended up at 16.32 miles, about half of a typical road bike trip. Average speed likewise dropped to 11.9 mph but I did manage a decent 22.5 mph max speed. Riding time totaled 1:22:20.

Last year I did not get many miles or rides in September because we were on vacation almost the entire month. We are not vacationing this year in September so I should get many more miles than I managed last year (184.53 miles).

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for September 1st

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Greater Dallas Bicyclists August Spotlight Ride
This month’s spotlight ride was The Hotter ‘n Hell Rally in Wichita Falls, TX. This ride is well known to cyclists across America.The 2012 event was the 31st H3.
Patricia Jones’ H3 Experience

This was my third time to ride in HHH. I do the ride for two reasons: The start of the rally. The ride through Sheppard Air Force Base.

I signed up for the 100K route and lined up with my friends who were doing the 100 mile route. My plan was to roll with them until the route split. I lined up very close to Pyro Pete at 6:20am to be ready for the mass start. My favorite thing about HHH is the official start!

The rally started with the national anthem. Toward the end of the anthem, the Sheppard Air Force Base provided a flyover. The flyover was followed by a cannon blast at approximately 7:05am to officially start the ride.

This is always such a moving start with 12,000+/- riders. SO VERY COOL! It is so worth starting with…

Look Who’s Loving the Bike: September 2012
by Darryl            lovingthebike.com
Each month (or almost each month) we post people’s comments in this “Look Who’s Loving the Bike” feature.  This time around we’re featuring the stories of people who are Loving the Commute.  Please take a look at what these lovers have to say, and we’d love to hear from you as well.

…Gary Ashcraft – Houston, Tx
“I returned to cycling in college. When I moved to Houston in ’80′ I first had an office downtown, which at that time was a ghost town after 7:00 M-F and weekends.  I lived outside the loop on Memorial Dr. so it was a straight…

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for August 31st

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Question for McAllister Park Riders
by MoTec            forums.mtbr.com
I’ve been riding my vintage Stumpjumper there for awhile and I’m trying to decide on a new bike. I like to ride fast but I don’t get crazy like I did when I was younger. Mostly I’ll be riding in McAllister as it’s a short ride from home. I do okay on my old bike most places there but some of the really rocky stuff beats me up and it is a bit rough a lot of places.

I’m getting mixed opinions on the old 26 (or 29er) FS vs 29er HT argument, as I’m sure you can understand. What I’m hoping to hear from you folks is your opinion on the merits of a new 29er HT like the Airborne Goblin or a Specialized Stumpjumper 29er Comp vs…

Next Navigating MAP-21 Webinar September 5: Register Today
Alliance for Biking & Walking: People Powered Blog
We’re starting to hear some good news from advocates across the country who are leading their statewide MAP-21 implementation efforts, and the Advocacy Advance team is committed to working with state and local advocacy organizations ensure that states and regions use every opportunity in the new law to increase the safety and convenience of biking and walking. If you’re looking for an opportunity to get involved, get in touch with your state contact.

This week our partners at the Safe Routes to School National Partnership hosted the webinar ““Navigating MAP-21: The Safe Routes to School Edition,” and next Wednesday, September 5…

iPhone Powered Bike Trainer Lets You Ride Virtual Roads
by Andrea Smith            mashable.com
There are already a number of apps that sync wirelessly with fitness gadgets that track your speed and heart rate while you’re out running or biking. But what happens when you can’t get outside to train?

Wahoo Fitness has unveiled the KICKR Power Trainer, the first iPhone-connected bike trainer, designed to gives you a realistic road ride.

It connects to your iPhone using Bluetooth 4.0 and ANT+ technology, so while you’re pedaling, you can increase or decrease resistance, to simulate various bike course. That’s done by adjusting the resistance in the trainer’s flywheel with either Wahoo’s or third party apps. The resistance adjustments replicate rolling hill…

Summer TT #11 8.23.12 & Summmer TT#12 8.30.12
by tonkster                Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association
Official results from the past two TT’s.  BIG thanks to Collin Clark for a GREAT route this summer.
Time Trial #11 –   8.23.12
Name     Time
Jason Foster     0:50:25
James Munnerlyn     0:43:36
JP Rheault     0:37:30
Jonathan Lidbury…

Labor Day Ride 2012
by sooner1            Shawnee Trail Cycling Club
Another holiday and another chance to do a route you don’t get many chances to experience.  We have two routes mapped out for Monday, one of about 54 mi and a second of 32 mi.  We’re not sure how many pace groups we’ll have; that will be very dependent on who attends, but our minimum average pace will be around 16mph and a likely 18-20mph on the longer route.  Meeting at…

29 Inches: Does Your Bicycle Wheel Size Matter?
by Shawn McAfee            Texas Mountain Bike Trails
Everyone raves about 29 inch tires and how great they are. But why is that and is your bicycle wheel size really that important?

Here in Texas, it’s pretty conclusive based on bike sales. 29 inches of tire is highly preferred over the old school 26 inch tires. …

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