200 Miles Again – August 4th Bicycle Ride

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Today’s ride put me over 200 miles for the second week in a row. I don’t think I have ever done this. Choosing today’s route I went back and forth on whether to go north and around Lake Houston to Huffman or south and then to Huffman. The south route won out but I change the streets some going further west on Upper lake Drive and then south on Timber Forest to Will Clayton Parkway and then turning east to get to Huffman. I have not rode this exact route before so I wasn’t sure how long this route would end up at. The route came to 33.21 miles and this put me over 200 miles for the week; 201.56 miles for the week.

I started the ride a little later than I planned (9:18AM) but still early enough to avoid some of the heat. Temperature range was 83 to 92 at the finish. Scattered clouds and an almost non-existent breeze meant a hot ride. Sweat flowed freely and I used two water bottles of water. Thankfully the Camelbak bottles hold the ice long enough. I did see five bicyclists and it appeared they were headed back to their starting points. I usually see other riders on this route on Saturdays.

My recent fix for the sticking right brake lever continues work perfectly. Actually the gear change for the rear derailleur seems to have improved as well. Sometimes the chain would not move up to the next bigger cog without an extra tap on the lever.

Since I rode 201 miles this week I will not ride tomorrow, Sunday, and next week I plan on riding my mountain bike each time I ride. This will reduce the miles but I think the change will help keep me from getting bored. Now finding routes to ride my mountain bike will require some creative thinking.

Some numbers from today’s ride:

  • 15.1 mph average speed
  • 20.3 mph max speed
  • 78.5 RPM average cadence
  • 2:12:08 riding time, 33:39 time stopped
  • 122.21 miles in August
  • 4057.17 miles YTD
  • Link to RideWithGPS.com data and map

Click on the image below for a larger view.

8-4-2012 Bike Ride Data and Map
8-4-2012 Cadence-Distance
8-4-2012 Elevation-Distance
8-4-2012 Home Weather Station End
8-4-2012 IAH Weather End
8-4-2012 Speed-Distance
8-4-2012 Splits-Time

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206527245 98% 825]

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for August 3rd

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Denton Bike Co-op
by kneelzsteex            www.bikeforums.net
Denton has Querencia; a bike co-op 501(c)3 nonprofit storefront that allows one to learn how to repair their own bike, under supervision, along with training, education, and safety. We help all ages learn to ride safely, and have used, donated bikes and parts to encourage those that need to get through that learning curve, to ride safely, and repair common problems. One of our philosophies is recycle used bikes in the community, and reduce the reusable bikes and parts from the land fill. I guess what I’m…

NICA appoints new director
BERKELEY, CA (BRAIN) Friday August 3 2012 5:17 PM MT—The National Interscholastic Cycling Association, the organization governing high school mountain biking, has named Doug Selee as its new executive director.

Founded in 2009, the NICA develops high school mountain biking programs for student-athletes across the United States and helps local leagues produce quality mountain bike events.

“We’re delighted to have Doug join the NICA family,” said NICA President, Rick Spittler. “His proven ability to lead national organizations… and his personal passion for cycling and NICA’s youth development mission is the…

Adventure Ride on the North East Texas Trail
by marc@mcmumby.com (Administrator)        BikeDFW
Have you heard of the Chaparral Trail or the North East Texas Trail?
Want to learn more about a 130 mile rail-to-trail running from northeast of Dallas to Texarkana?
Do you love bike riding adventures?

HOW ABOUT COMBINING BOTH?
What: A group ride to the quarterly meeting of the North East Texas Trail Coalition
When: 7 AM, August 10, 2012
Where: Farmersville, TX

BikeDFW and DORBA board member Mike Freiberger and DORBA member Lynn Ballard are leading an on-road/off-road group ride (or maybe we should call it a group adventure?) to the next meeting of the North East Texas Trail Coalition in…

New cyclocross program at Bicycle Sports Shop
By Pam LeBlanc            Fit City
Cyclocross bike racers prefer grass, embankments and steep hills to pavement or groomed trails. They race laps on a course that’s mined with obstacles, and dismount periodically to carry their bikes around them.

Sounds intimidating, right?

That’s why Bicycle Sports Shop is hosting a program to introduce kids to the sport.

Cyclocross Project 2015, which runs for 12 weeks, is designed to develop young cyclocross riders to compete in the 2015 Cyclocross Nationals, which will take place in…

Ride, blood drive to benefit triathlete and family
By Pam LeBlanc            Fit City
UPDATE: The blood drive is Saturday and the ride and run is SUNDAY. (Wrong information was provided)*
A bike ride and run are planned this weekend in honor of the victims of a car accident earlier this week north of Elgin.

Jeanette Fields, 44, a triathlete, and her three daughters, Alyson Fields, 9, Kayla Fields, 8, and Lauren Fields, 8, of Hutto, remain hospitalized with critical injuries after their van was struck head on by a car driven by Elizabeth Dowdy on July 30.

Dowdy, 25, and her two sons, Fischer Dowdy, 3, and Benjamin Dowdy, 2, of Salado, died in the wreck. Dowdy had been pregnant and was expected to give birth in January, according to her…

Bicycle Hand Pump or CO2 Tire Inflator?
by Shawn McAfee            Texas Mountain Bike Trails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ1fLxLUmQ4
When your tire is low on air while you are riding, what’s better to use? A bicycle hand pump or a CO2 tire infiltrator? …

Change My Guidelines? – August 3rd Bicycle Ride

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For a long time my riding guidelines leaned to biking into the wind at the start and finish with the wind. But observing my riding lately I think starting the ride with the wind has advantages. The biggest one is the opportunity to build up the average speed in the beginning and then holding on to it on the return leg. It seems when I build up a solid average speed in the first half of a ride that I maintain that average speed longer than trying to overcome a low average speed and get it up to my goal. Today was one of those days when I started with the wind and then finished going into it. At one point I was real close to 16 mph average speed and while the last 15 miles was generally into the wind I was able to keep my average speed at 15.8 mph for the ride. Granted the wind was not real strong at 9 mph from the southwest but when I got in the open it felt strong.

Along the route I stopped at Sprockets Bike Shop on Ford Road, Porter, TX to drop off some Texbiker.net business cards. While there I saw a bike with some of the super wide knobby tires. They look like they are 4 inches wide. Around here that would ride good in the sand.

The route I choose today is the same one I rode on July 28th, New Caney -Gene Campbell road. The distance was 32.34 miles, almost the identical mileage as last Saturday. My average speed was not the same with the previous ride at 15.2 mph versus 15.8 mph today. The wind direction was different: today from the southwest, last Saturday from the north. This would point to my theory above about starting strong and then working to keep what I had. A comparison of the two speed over distance shows:

July 28th Speed-Distance

August 3rd Speed-Distance

On today’s ride I spent 71.5% of the time in the 17.1 – 21.0 mph range while last Saturday 62.0% of the ride was in the 16.8 – 25.6 mph zone. Note the difference in mileage in Zone 3 for each day. Another comparison is the 5 mile splits for each day:

July 28th Splits-Time

August 3rd Splits-Time

The first 5 mile split was almost the same on each day but after that August 3rd shows better average speeds. Today the tailwind until about the 15 mile point allowed me to build up the reserve average speed to offset the headwind going home. On July 28th the reverse happened with a headwind until about 15 miles and then a tailwind going home. So based on the 2 day comparison I rest my case.

Other numbers:

  • 168.35 miles this week
  • 89.0 miles for August
  • 4023.97 miles YTD
  • 2:03:11 riding time today
  • 30:49 time stopped today
  • 80.6 RPM average cadence today
  • Link to RideWithGPS.com data and map

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206169154 98% 825]

Click on the image below to see SportTracks data.

[EasyGallery id=’august32012bikeride’]

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for August 2nd

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Seeking XL Epic 29 to demo in Houston area
by Andrew-FSR            forums.mtbr.com
As the title says I’m looking for an XL Epic 29er to demo in the Houston, TX area. I’m getting a new bike this fall and want to assess the handling of the Epic, but haven’t been able to find an XL demo or rental in town.

I’m not picky about the model, just has to be an XL. Could trade a ride on the BMC Speedfox29 or a sixer of your choice. Thanks …

7:00am – Cup o Joe
Corinth Cycling Club
by Scott Franklin
When: Sat Aug 11, 2012 7am to 8:30am  CDT
Where: Ronny Crownover Middle School
Event Description: The Cup o’ Joe is a beginner level ride of around 15 miles. The ride heads south to Hickory Creek and stops for drinks at Starbucks on the way home. The ride leader for this ride is Bob Troyer.

Help give the Shoal Creek Trail some love.
by Il Pirate         Austin Ridge Riders
Social Cycling Austin is coordinating a maintenance day on Shoal Creek.
What: Shoal Creek Trail work #7
When: Sunday August 19. 2012   8:30 a.m. to 12″30 p.m.
Where: 393 West Avenue. Austin Texas
Brooks and the crew are heading back to Shoal Creek Trail to do more trail maintenance. The group will work for about 4 hours and post work, go out to lunch. …

Texan’s bike ride raises hemophilia, HIV, Hepatitis C awareness
By JOLENE CLEAVER, Dispatch Staff Writer
VERNON — On Thursday, Houston, Texas resident rode a bicycle through southern Oneida county on a cross country trek to raise money and awareness for hemophilia, HIV and Hepatitis C.

Barry Haarde, 46, started riding from Astoria, Oregon on June 17 and will finish his ride in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on August 6. The trip is expected to cover more than…

https://twitter.com/m_vince/status/231095735695859712