If Wichita Falls couldn’t produce the heat – August 31st Bicycle Ride

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The ride started late again today with me rolling out the driveway at 11:16 AM. By that time the temperature rested at 91 degrees. When I finished at 2:35 PM my home weather station reported 99 degrees with 41% humidity. If Wichita Falls couldn’t produce the heat I guess Houston can. While on earlier rides I commented that the heat felt fall like that was not the case today. I welcomed the occasional cloud moving in front of the sun especially when I rode south on FM2100 to Stroker Road. This section through a headwind at me of 12 mph with gusts up to 17 mph. No wonder it seemed like it took a long time to get to the Shell station just before I turned east onto Stroker Road.

I stopped at that Shell station to find cover from the broiling sun. I could really feel the difference in the shade with the wind blowing through. While I was there the manager asked me how pleased I was with my Motobecane Le Champion CF bicycle. I told him I am very pleased with it. He said he plans on buying a bicycle soon and was wondering what owners said about this one. I left a Texbiker.net business card with him. After using some paper towels to soak up the sweat in my wrist bands and wiping my face I got back on the road. Once I turned east onto Stroker Road the headwind became a nice tailwind or side wind.

Heading to Huffman at FM2100 and FM1960 I battled that headwind again when I rode west on Old Atascocita Road. My speed slowed down. As I went on this road two Harris County Precinct 4 trucks came at me from the west. For some reason every time I am on this road and trucks come the opposite direction there is a strong wind current as they pass by. My bike moved to the edge of the road from the blast of wind. Once I got to the Chevron station in Huffman I took an extended break to cool off (if that is possible sitting in the shade with the breeze blowing) drinking a Diet Coke (no Diet Pepsi at the fountain dispenser). I wrung the sweat out my wrist bands creating a nice puddle on the concrete. I repeated this with my gloves. While I sat there I could feel the sweat dripping down my neck from my bandana. At the time I did not know it was 99 degrees.

Now that I cooled down I got back on the bike and tackled the remaining 11 miles. As I approached home my wife called my cell phone to check on my arrival; I was about 1/4 mile from home. I did not answer in time so I waited until I got home. My wife is going through some tests to determine what some suspicious spots are on an MRI and PET scan and the doctor wanted us in his office at 4:15. These calls are unsettling. I got home, ate and we went to see the doctor. The PET scan showed two spots; one new one and one we knew about from the MRI but no specific answer about the cause. So we are headed to the oncologist for more tests after Labor Day. The waiting can be hard.

Since this is the last day of August I thought a longer ride would be in order. the route today totaled 37.55 miles at an average speed of 15.2 mph but I only managed 19.6 mph max speed. The wind and sun probably slowed me down. I did increase my average cadence from yesterday to 78.4 RPM. Riding time came in at 2:28:21 plus 50:48 time stopped. Miles for the week total 157.66. August miles are 782.30 at an average speed of 15.0 mph. Total riding time for August: 52:08:19. Last year (2011) I rode 618.15 miles in August. YTD miles are now 4717.26. Link to RideWithGPS.com metrics and map for today.

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29 Inches: Does Your Bicycle Wheel Size Matter?

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29 Inches: Does Your Bicycle Wheel Size Matter?

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.

I took some time to ask the resident experts at Cadence Cyclery this weekend and got the opinion of semi-pro racer and coach Grayson Kepplar who you can find over at the Mudbandit blog.

With any luck, Grayson may become a regular around here.

29 inches = Less rolling resistance

The big difference between a 29 inch tire and a 26 inch tire is how much easier you roll over things.

My wife, who is a new convert to mountain biking, describes riding a 29er as “They’re awesome and you can just roll over stuff.” Well said, and true! Take a look at the below image to see why.

29 inches: 29er angle of attack

The image above shows how the angle of attack for a 29er is much less steep, making it easier to get over the top of and carry your speed through. While that picture does slightly exaggerate the concept, the principle is very well shown.

Gary Fisher, a legend in mountain biking, was the first manufacturer to heavily publicize and push the 29er movement. He describes the benefits of a 29er in this video below.

 

Think about it, you have 3 additional inches of tire that can give you a huge advantage when rolling over obstacles in the trail. Your bicycle’s wheel size now lets you maintain more momentum and keep moving without losing as much speed.

Is a 29er always better?

As Grayson pointed out, there are times that a bike with a 26 inch wheel would be preferred.

Tight, twisty and winding trails can be better for a 26 inch wheel. 29 inch tires are easier to get up to higher speeds, but can be slower with acceleration. On a twisting trail you will be slowing down more frequently as you round corners and being able to quickly accelerate to get back up to speed is critical. Especially during a race when every precious second counts.

Is a 29er a good beginner bike?

What about for the brand new rider, someone looking for their first or second bike. Is a 29er a good bike to start on?

Yes. It is absolutely a good bike to start on and I highly recommend it as the best kind of bike to start on. Bikes with 29 inch tires have several key benefits that are ideal for a new rider.

Smoother Ride

Because of the large tires these bikes are able to carry their momentum far better than their 26 inch counterparts. For a new rider who may not have the core stability to balance themselves well this helps to even out the way the trail feels underneath them. The large tires also have a higher air volume, meaning there is more room for compression inside of the tire itself. This helps to absorb shock from the trail while riding and when combined with a carbon fiber frame, it can equal the amount of shock absorption you get from a 26 inch bike with a small rear suspension.

Increased Contact Area and Traction

The larger tires of the 29er gives your bike more surface area that is in direct contact with the ground. According to Jim Papadopoulos, the contact patches on a 29 inch tire are 5% longer although narrower. This leads to you having better linear traction on the trails, something that is especially beneficial when riding on loose gravel or sand. There are a lot of the same benefits that switching to a tubeless tire setup does.

More Stability

There are 2 reasons that a 29er is more stable than a 26 inch bike of the same quality and make.

A 29er will be a little bit heavier than it’s smaller counterpart. The frame is larger, the wheels and tires are larger, even the cables have to be slightly longer. This increased weight in the materials means that your bike feels slightly heavier and more solid than the 26 inch bike.

A 29er isn’t affected as much by rocks, roots and obstacles which makes you, the rider, feel more comfortable in the saddle. See the reason above on why the ride is smoother.

The never ending debate

This topic gets debated more than anything else I have ever seen, and there is no definite answer. Every rider will have their preference whether they prefer a 26 or 29 inch tire. Just like every rider will have a preference of either a hardtail or a full suspension bike. My suggestion is that if you are looking at buying a new bike, check out the 29ers thoroughly and be sure to ride on some bumpy terrain or at least over some curbs to get a feel for the different size.

I hope this has helped give you some more information on why you might want to consider a bike with 29 inch tires. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

The post 29 Inches: Does Your Bicycle Wheel Size Matter? appeared first on Texas Mountain Bike Trails.

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for August 30th

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Riding in evening or night
by rgilliam2004            www.bikeforums.net
Ok, I figure I know the answers but wanted to ask any how. As we slowly lose daylight sooner and finally in Nov move off daylight savings, the question in my mind has been how can I keep riding during the week? I recently got some lights for my bike as a gift and have been thinking hard about continuing my daily loop to, around White Rock, and back to house but this will require riding after dark. This is something I have always stay away from but with the gains I have made over the summer, I really don’t want to have to start over next summer.

So do any of you ride at night during the winter and if so what steps do you…

Lubbock Area Climbs
West Texas Cycling Association
Backdoor
The climb out of the southeast side of Ranson Canyon on Hillside Dr
Distance:     0.5 miles
Average Grade:     4.3%
Lowest Elevation:     2,967 ft
Highest Elevation:     3,079 ft
Elevation Difference:     112 ft
City:     Ransom Canyon
State:     TX…

2012 Gateway to Texas Get-a-Way Tandem Tour
Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts
When: Oct 12, 2012 – Oct 14, 2012
Where: Clarksville, TX – Clarksville
Category: DATES ride
Description
It is once again time to start registration for the 2012 Gateway to Texas Get-a-Way Tandem Tour. This will be our sixth anniversary for the tour, which is amazing!  We are all looking forward to this year’s tour. It’s always a great time to visit with old friends and make new ones!

What’s Included:
The overall format this year will remain exactly the same as it has been for the last several years. The registration fee will cover supper on Saturday evening, entertainment on both Friday and Saturday evenings, an open bar (beer and wine) on both Friday and Saturday evenings, and breakfast both Saturday and Sunday for those not staying at the Courthouse Inn…

New Report: Economic Benefits of Outdoor Recreation
Alliance for Biking & Walking: People Powered Blog
The Outdoor Industry Association just released a new report entitled “The Outdoor Recreation Economy,” which demonstrates the economic impact of biking, camping and other outdoor activities. In all, the report concludes that the outdoor recreation industry employs 6.1 million Americans and that, in total, Americans spend over $645 billion annually on outdoor recreation equipment and trip-related sales.

The breakdown by category of activity shows that bicycling injects over $81 billion into the American economy each year, with equipment sales of over $10.5 billion alone. According to this report, bicycling employs over 770,000 people directly, with further calculated induced benefits that…

Product Recall: Shimano PRO VIBE Bicycle Handlebars
By editor            www.bicycle.net
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Name of product: PRO VIBE Carbon bicycle handlebars
Units: About 67

Importer: Shimano American Corporation, of Irvine, Calif.
Manufacturer: Great Go Cycles Inc., of Taiwan
Hazard: The recalled handlebars can break during riding, posing a fall hazard. …

Reconciliation
by Steve A            DFW Point-to-Point
Last week and this, I’ve acquired a traffic issue to reconcile and I’ve had an unexpected opportunity to observe motorist behavior in the wild.

The traffic issue is pretty straightforward – at least in theory. You see, the induction sensor that triggers a traffic light leaving work has stopped working. This occurred at PRECISELY the same time as a street resurface project has been underway. How do I know this? Well, the pedestrian button does not appear to do anything. My usual “sweet spot” has stopped working. The final straw is that my four-wheeled companions do not trigger the signal. Well, unless one stops coming from the opposite driveway in which case the signal changes normally. NORMALLY, I’d call to complain to the traffic department of the city in question, but THIS is a sensor on private…

Lone Star Ride Fighting AIDS Announces the 20/20 Challenge
by The Announcer Guy        Biking in Dallas

On September 1, Lone Star Ride Fighting AIDS (LSRFA) Launches the 20/20 Challenge to Raise $20,000 in 20 Days for the Cycling Event and North Texas HIV/AIDS Service Organizations

DALLAS: August 30, 2012 – The Lone Star Ride Development Team is challenging North Texas businesses and supporters of the Ride to help raise $20,000 by September 20, 2012. The 150-mile cycling event raises funds for three North Texas HIV/AIDS service organizations – AIDS Services of Dallas (ASD), AIDS Outreach Center of Tarrant County (AOC) and…

Texas man on trial in bicyclists’ deaths
www.upi.com
SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 30 (UPI) — A Texas man who fatally struck two bicyclists with his pickup truck on a busy highway in 2009 was a distracted motorist, not a criminal one, his attorney said.

Gilbert John Sullaway Jr., 43, faces a possible 10 years in prison if convicted of criminally negligent homicide with a deadly weapon in the deaths of Gregory Bruehler, 42, and his wife Alexandra, 36.

The couple were riding a tandem bicycle on an 11-foot-wide improved shoulder of a highway in San Antonio popular with local bicyclists, when they…

https://twitter.com/BikeMS_DFW/status/241189678739501056

They Left the Causeway – August 30th Bicycle Ride

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The remnants of tropical storm Isaac still affected the wind when I left for today’s ride at 11:04 AM. I delayed the start until I finished watching the Vuelta a Espana stage 12. I reverted to EuroSport when Dish Network put Universal Sports back on an extra subscription. I am not sure why Dish removed the subscription so that I could watch the first 10 stages. When I left on my ride 13 to 18 mph winds awaited. Thankfully the wind came out of the WNW and I rode to the south so I enjoyed a tailwind for awhile. Whenever I turned into the wind the legs complained. My right calf muscle still hurts if I sit for too long but it offers no pain signals when I ride.

By the time I finished the wind settled down to 9 mph from the WNW. Temperature moved up from the time I left to 93 degrees but the humidity decreased to 39%. The clouds increased to scattered by the end. At first the sky was a nice clear blue.

I chose the Atascocita – Walden on Lake Houston – Huffman route to see if the construction on the FM1960 Lake Houston Causeway finished like the project sign advertised when they first began. I am glad to report the construction job completed and I can now ride the proper shoulders in both directions. This route was 32.03 miles long. My average speed was 15.2 mph but until I turned west from FM2100 to FM1960 into the stiff wind I built it up to 15.6 mph. Max speed was 21.5 mph and average cadence was 76.5 RPM, which is lower than I expected. I did feel like all of my energy left when I started north on W. Lake Houston Parkway. Fortunately I had a package of Clif Shot Bloks from the Hotter’n Hell Hundred in my CamelBak so I stopped at Kings Harbor to eat them. While I stood eating a Houston Fire Department EMS ambulance pulled up with lights flashing and siren. The crew got a stretcher out and went into the restaurant in front of me; not sure what the situation was.

A little later as I rode on Rustic Woods Drive another biker caught up and passed me going the same direction. My legs were not strong enough to keep up since this was going into the wind. I used a lot of energy going west on FM1960 over Lake Houston. At one point I stood up pedaling to get my speed up to 12 mph. Out in the middle of the causeway nothing blocks the wind. Looking at the Speed-Distance chart below the amount of time I rode in zone 3 totaled 58.8% which is about 20 % below my typical ride.

With one day left in August my miles total 744.75. I rode 120.11 miles this week and 4679.71 miles YTD. SportTracks shows my Motobecane Le Champion CF road bike odometer at 9997 miles. Today’s riding time: 2:06:34, stopped time of 15:34 (eating shot bloks). 23 riding days in August so far. Link to RideWithGPS.com map and metrics.

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