Invigorated to Ride – July 30th Bicycle Ride

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After enjoying a rest day yesterday I felt invigorated during my bike ride today. I wanted to get at least 43 miles today and ended up at 47.08 miles. I did get an early start (for me at least) rolling out of the garage at 8:43 AM. Part of the reason for an early start was to get a jump on the heat which could hit the upper 90’s in the afternoon. It was 81 when I started and 94 when I finished. With a light 10 mph westerly breeze the air was feeling dry with 47% humidity. This didn’t slow down my perspiration too much but I could tell a difference when I rode with the wind. The sky was almost clear except for a few small cloud puffs spread around. I sometimes wonder what people think about a bicyclist riding on a weekday morning. Doesn’t this guy have a job? Well, no, I am retired.

The last time I biked most of this route was last month on June 2nd. I only biked 42.69 miles on that occasion turning onto Old Houston Road rather than going all the way to where FM1314 intersects SR242. I also took a different exit route from Kingwood then going out Mills Branch and Ford Road. Today I went out what I thought would be a longer way but it doesn’t appear to be that much longer comparing the distances. My average speed was 15.6 mph today (15.7 mph on June 2nd) with a max speed of 23.4 mph and average cadence of 79.1 RPM, almost reaching my preferred level of 80+RPM. The long stretches of road without stops helps keep the speed up as this table shows.

68.7% of the distance was at 17.1 mph to 21.4 mph. Many of the 5 mile splits averaged 17.1 mph or more. Riding time totaled 3:00:36 plus 35:13 time stopped. I stopped at the Valero station on FM1314 at Sorters Road for the first time in many weeks. This was about at the 35 mile point. I did not see any other bikers along the route until I was about 1 mile from home going through the residential streets. He did not see me though because I just rounded a curve on a side street as he went by the intersection.

As July nears the end my miles for the month total 589.28. I plan on a 30 mile ride tomorrow so I should go past 600 for the month. YTD totals 3902.7 miles. So I rode 18 days in July. View today’s ride at RideWithGPS.com.
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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for July 29th

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Transmountain/Valley
El Paso Bicycle Club Ride
Saturday August 11, 2012
Description:     Meet at Bagel Shop, 985 N. Resler and ride to top of Transmountain. Turn around at summit, make side trip to Tom Mays Park. Loop through valley to NM 28 and Vinton Road, return on rollers and Artcraft. 40 miles, moderate pace. Randy Limbird…

Terry Hershey conditions
by MD_TX            forums.mtbr.com
I searched but didn’t see a thread specific to this (if I just didn’t have the right keywords, moderators please feel free to attach to correct thread). With the given rain Houston’s gotten the month of July I was wondering if anyone’s been able to ride the off-road side of THP? We’ve been switching to road bikes and been riding the other side of the bayou the last 3 weeks, but from that vantage point the dirt trails don’t look too bad. Anyone have any updates? Thanks! …

Penultimate day of 2012 Masters Track National Championships a fast one
by Ron Callahan
USA Cycling – Colorado Springs, Colo. (July 28, 2012) – Saturday marked the final day of individual competitions at the 2012 USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships, and true to form, records were broken as 18 national titles were awarded.

…The morning session also saw two more record-setting performances. Gea Johnson (Scottsdale, Ariz./Team Green Choice/Team RPM/Airpark Bikes) set her second record in as many days, this time unofficially breaking a world and American mark in the 45+ 500-meter time trial by posting a 37.398. Setting an unofficial world record in the 40+ 200 meters was Andrew Weathers (Houston, Texas/Momentum Coaching Group p/b Atomic) with a time of 10.719. …

…What’s a day at the velodrome without Annette Williams (Kenmore, Wash./Slalom Consulting Racing) winning a race? We didn’t find out today after Williams surged to victory on the final lap in the women’s 50-54 five-kilometer scratch race. Mary Nunnelly (Houston, Texas/Bike Barn (Texas)) sprinted to second and…

Biking to obliterate breast cancer: The Texas Mamma Jamma Ride is ready for volunteers and riders
By Caitlin M. Ryan            austin.culturemap.com
While witnessing a loved one’s battle against cancer, have you ever powerless and wished that there were more you could do? There’s an inspiring alternative sitting idly by: Put that anxious energy to good use and get physical in the name of obliterating breast cancer with the Texas Mamma Jamma Ride this fall.

In its fourth year, the Mamma Jamma Ride has established itself as the most successful breast cancer ride in the country, as well as an inclusive event for all levels of riders.

In fact, there are five different routes from which to choose, ranging from an easy 13 mile jaunt that the…

Tour de Gap
by Roy and Christine        Pedal Pushers

Saturday’s line up had a lot of riders from San Angelo. Some were racing in the 77 mile route, some the 52 mile tour, and some the 27 mile. I was not able to see all before the start, but pictured above are Rick and Velma Ogan, George (in white) and Brian Backlund (# 351). …

https://twitter.com/EATaustenparker/status/229516213368274945

https://twitter.com/Waynobfc/status/229650207892193280

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for July 28th

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Volunteer at Reveille Peak Ranch and reap the benefits!!
by Il Pirate        www.austinridgeriders.com
We recently received this news from our friends at Reveille Peak Ranch. Read on and plan accordingly…..
Howdy!
Thank you for your interest in Reveille Peak Ranch Volunteer Trail Work Days.  We have been working hard to get our new 8 mile beginner/beginner-advanced race loop up and running!  It has been flagged out and the trail corridor has been cut.  Now the trail tread needs to be groomed and that’s where you and your volunteer skills come in!  We have announced three volunteer trail work days for the month of August.  They are as follows:  August 4-5, August 11-12, and August 25-26.  The…

General Membership Meeting
Austin Ridge Riders
Wednesday, August 8, 2012 – 19:00
Join us for our General Membership Meeting to find out the state of the Austin Ridge Riders and plans for the future. The meeting will include reports on club finances, programs and projects followed by a guest speaker. More details will be added as they become available. Thank you REI! …

AUGUST CLUB MEETING
Fort Worth Mountain Bikers’ Association
The August club meeting of the Fort Worth Mountain Bikers’ Association will take place at Backwoods (2727 W7th Street, Fort Worth, Texas 817-332-2423) on August 7, 2012 at 7:00pm. Meet upstairs at 7:00pm.
Topics of discussion will be. . . .
– DORBA Fall Series race date planning at MSP – September 9, 2012
– FWMBA Coffee will be available for sale ($15)
– Cool Gateway Park news
– FWMBA Membership updates
– FWMBA Financials
– More to come!

Rosewood Neighborhood Bike Census
www.ghisallo.org
ID: 2012-0009
Start Date: 2012-06-27
End Date: 2012-09-31
Status: ACTIVE
The goal of this project is to produce an overview of general bicycle ownership, associated equipment, barriers and desired services, and usage statistics for the Rosewood Neighborhood in central East Austin, TX.

There are an estimated 4,400 individuals living within the Rosewood Neighborhood (1.033 sq miles). For a confidence interval of 95%, the project will need to directly survey households consisting of 354 people. To raise this to a 98% confidence interval a household sample consisting of 1561 people will be required. The overall goal is to complete a survey with a minimum 95% confidence interval and directly survey households provide survey responses of 360 to 1600 individuals. Although only a sample of the targeted population will be surveyed, it…

“Climbing” in Dallas
by DISCDS        www.bikeforums.net
Okay, so in other forums I see people talking about all the LONG climbs they have to do, such as 6 miles at 6% etc
I know that even bringing up “climbing” and “Dallas” in the same sentence should make me embarrassed for myself. Okay, I accept that. What I want to know is, how steep are some of the grades in Dallas. I am most familiar with the White Rock area. So, something like Loving as it comes up to Gaston, or Winstead from White Rock Rd to Tokalon, or going from below the spillway back up the hill past San Rafael–how steep are those climbs?
When I read the posts about climbing long, multi-mile grades I’m just curious and want to get some point of reference for how steep those mountain climbs are. …(see replies)

Slaughter Creek trail offers 5 miles of unintimidating terrain for mountain bikers
by Austin 360
This five-mile trail, built by volunteers from the Austin Ridge Riders, serves up the perfect amount of summertime challenge for intermediate riders. It’s doable for those of us who can’t quite tackle the gnarly terrain at City Park or parts of the…

Frisco Mountain Bike Trail Update Jul 28, 2012
by sooner1                shawneetrailcyclingclub.com
On the agenda for this coming Tuesday, July 31st is the approval of the plan for the Frisco Mountain Bike Trail.  You’ve heard about it, talked about, maybe even visited the proposed site – time is fast approaching for real action.  We encourage anyone in the City of Frisco that would like to show their support for this initiative to…

Almost Made an Early Start – July 28th Bicycle Ride

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I almost got started before 9 AM today but I missed by 4 minutes and started at 9:03 AM. Even then the temperature was on the way up at 81 already. By the time I finished at 11:45 it increased to 91 degrees. The sky was clear and the wind a light 5.8 mph with the humidity at 55% at the conclusion of the ride. One reason I got an earlier start today is not getting a newspaper. I also wanted to get a jump on the heat. Drinking liberally from my CamelBak and a 44 oz. Diet Pepsi I still weighed 2.4 pounds less after the ride. Perspiration flowed abundantly.

Choosing today’s route had me going back and forth from several but I ended up choosing New Caney and then northwest to Gene Campbell Road. I ride this route at least once a week and no surprises today. At the start while I was riding on Ford Road I could see another biker in the distance and I closed the distance some but when I turned on a side street and then returned to Ford Road he was gone. Depending on which exit route from Kingwood I take this route can either be 32 miles or 36 miles. Today was a 32.29 mile route. This puts the weekly miles at 217.41. I haven’t ridden over 200 miles since the week of August 1, 2011. July now totals 542.20 miles and YTD 3855.62 miles. I plan on Sunday being a rest day so that leaves 2 possible riding days this month. Unlike today I have a route planned for Monday. Riding time today: 2:07:20, stopped time: 34:48. So far in July the total biking time stands at 36:14:43 at an average speed of 15.0 mph.

Previously I mentioned that the right shift/brake lever did return completely when I squeezed it. Last night I got a new brake cable and installed it. After the installation the lever still hung up so I looked for the reason and found some rust and moisture damage. I oiled the pivot points and the lever now works like it was new. Noticing the rust I figure this comes from the sweat that runs down my arms and soaks my gloves. This then runs into the lever mechanism. At some point this could require the levers to be replaced. I will pay closer attention to this now that I know about it.

A switch on the ride data. The link to RideWithGPS.com data and map.

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