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

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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.

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com/activity/203954246 98% 800]

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for July 27th

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BikeTexas Board Member Butch Willingham Passes Away Suddenly
by Jack Sanford            BikeTexas.org

It is with sadness that we report that our friend, colleague and BikeTexas Board Member George “Butch” Willingham, 68, passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 3, 2012, while in Islamabad, Pakistan, on a mission trip with the Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas.

BikeTexas staff attended a memorial service and celebration of Butch’s life on June 18, 2012 in Center, TX, where Butch was laid to rest. It was moving to hear of the testimonials of many friends of his…

Summer TT#7 – July 26, 2012
by tonkster        Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association
Name     Time
Collin Clark     0:46:04
Boone Fylnn     0:35:05
John Flynn     0:37:44
JP Rheault     0:40:49
Greg Swoboda     0:45:47
James Munnerlyn     0:46:18
Jonathan Lidbury     0:53:39
David Gilman     0:53:49
Patrick Farnsworth     0:47:54

Things to do this weekend, by road, by air and on horseback
By Janet Van Vleet            www.reporternews.com
For anyone who won’t let temperatures hovering at or above the triple-digit mark deter them from taking part in outdoor activities this week, have we got some events for you.

Nearly 30 years ago the Abilene Bicycling Club held the first Tour de Gap bicycle race. The annual ride always falls on the fourth Saturday of July, usually a week or so after the completion of that granddaddy of all bicycle races, the…

Army vets trade tours of duty for a Tour de Texas
By Bill Cullins            www.gosanangelo.com
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Two Army veterans from the San Angelo area are training for a big cycling ride.

Knickerbocker resident Roy Aguero and San Angelo’s Robert Balli will ride across the state from Anthony in Far West Texas to the Louisiana border at the Burr Ferry Bridge on the Sabine River.

Their planned journey has a lot in common with a bicycle ride that members of the Army’s 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps did back in 1897 (gosanangelo.com/news/2012/jan/06/early-regiment-got-in-gear-with-trek/).

The 920-mile bike ride they plan to start on Oct. 1 will take them through…

Hill Country Bicycling Touring Club Rides
August 5, 2012 7:00 am
Blue Star –Mission Ride to I-37
Blue Star Brewing, 1414 S. Alamo St., San Antonio
August 11, 2012 7:30 am
Stinson Field Mission Parkway Ride
Stinson Municipal Airport, 8535 Mission Road, San Antonio
August 12, 2012 8:00 am
Lone Oak Ride
Lone Oak Cafe, 12237 hwy 87 east, Adkins
August 18, 2012 8:00 am
Rudy’s Ride
Rudy’s Barbecue, 10623 Westover Hills Blvd, San Antonio
August 19, 2012 8:00 am
Toyota Applewhite Ride
Bill Miller BBQ, 7081 Rockport Rd, San Antonio

2012 SCCCC Track Championships
amct.tamu.edu        Texas A&M Cycling

My first collegiate race with the maroon and white was filled with sunshine, rain, pools of blood, and golf balls, AKA a great race weekend
3 years later, its that time again. The Aggie cycling team will be hosting the 2012 SCCCC Track Championships at the Alkek Velodrome in Houston, Texas. I encourage everyone who reads this to come watch the fun. There…

Ask The Readers: Why Do You Love Mountain Biking?
by Shawn McAfee            Texas Mountain Bike Trails
Here’s 16 reasons I love mountain biking.
1. If a zombie apocalypse happens and freeways are backed up, mountain biking gives me a way to survive.
2. Mountain biking helps me lose weight, while having a great time.
3. I get to meet awesome people and ride with…

Today I received an email from Don Bynum. Since it is not posted on his blog I am including the complete email text with his permission.

As the month winds down and the World Famous Tour de Longneques (July 28, 2012 edition) approaches there is still fun to be had even in the typical July Texas heat.  Yesterday a group of Hillybikers met at the parking lot near the HEB in Kingsland and did the 22.3 mile ride ou RR2900 to River Oaks Drive then north to Slab road, then west out Slab to TX71.  As we were catching our breath at the TX71 turnaround a couple of young guys on prostate crushers road up (also coming out Slab Rd. ).  They were on their way from St Augustine, FL to San Diego and had so far averaged about 100 miles per day.  They live in Phoenix and had flown to Florida and had made it to Llano County in about a little over a week!  Turns out that they had been taking a break, cooling off in the Llano River at The Slab when we had gone zipping across it on our way out.  They had loaded up and set out to see if they could catch us and get some info on Llano and places to stay and eat (that was their goal for yesterday).  Doug, Richard and I had been resting for some time when first Gil (on his Catrike Expedition), then John and Jay on John’s tandem rolled in with the two travelers about 50 yards behind and closing on them.  They seemed a little surprised to learn that the group of cyclists they had tried to chase down had only one member below 65 in it.

On the way back toward Kingsland, Gil came alongside and suggested that we run the low waterbridge across the slab while he ran his GoPro camera to capture a video.    Of course when a Catriker says “lets run…”  they are suggesting winding the pedals up and seeing just how fast the machines can be made to go.  So as we came near The Slab, I set up to Gil’s left and we were starting to build speed before the final descent when a car overtook us and I had to move forward and over to give it safe passage.  Once the car had passed we began to light up the boilers and accelerate.  Gil is stil getting back in shape after a 6 month hiatus for some serious spinal surgery (which finally moved him to a Catrike), so I pulled ahead, but with the larger rear wheel and resulting higher top gear, of his new Expedition he stayed pretty close!

The video can be seen at http://youtu.be/cL2W_tACAfE complete with startled folks who were wandering along on the bridge on foot as we zipped past at about 33 mph according to my gps data.  As the speed limit may be somewhat lower, I am hoping that Sheriff Blackburn, if he sees this evidence, will only give me a warning ticket for speeding so that he and I can each fram the evidence for display in our respective environments.  Besides Judge Jones was right behind me going very nearly the same speed.

The 22.3 mile ride has brought my montly total to 287 miles and the year total to 1,794 miles burning approximately 17,688 calories for the month and 121K for the year-to-date.

Tomorrow (July 28) is the next Tour de Longneques, departing from the Castell General Store in Castell, Texas (18 miles west of Llano on FM 152) at 8am sharp to ride to the square in Llano then back to Castell for a post-ride healing soak in the rapids of the Llano River, some brisket and some Lone Star Longnecks.  Anyone is welcome to join us for this easy 36 mile ride and even easier post ride “knees-up”.  We will have a couple of SAG trucks driving the route as the temps will be toasty.