Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for July 23rd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bike Rental vs. Car Rental
Arnold Kling            econlog.econlib.org
Why is that you can rent a car for less than $20 a day, but renting a bike costs $10 an hour?

I don’t think it’s the case that the bicycle rental business is spectacularly profitable, with major barriers to entry. So here are some possibilities.

1. Labor costs are a much higher percentage of cost in a bike rental business. Suppose that it takes 15 minutes of labor time to deal with either a car customer or bike customer. Call that a $4 labor cost per customer. If the car customer keeps the car for 3 days and the bike customer keeps the car for 2 hours, then even at the numbers that Russ poses you get $60 from the car customer and $20 from the bike customer. Per dollar of revenue, labor costs are three…

2012 Hotter’N Hell Hundred Update
Route Changes: We have a completely new route for the 100 mile Ride that will finish through Sheppard Air Force Base and some minor changes to the 100k & 50 mile routes. Route maps are posted on the website: www.hh100.org .

Hell’s Gate:  After reviewing the new 100-mile route for the August 25, 2012 Hotter’N Hell, members of the HHH steering committee have decided Hell’s Gate is not a workable option on the new route. As a result, riders choosing to ride 100 miles will not have a Hell’s Gate (62 miles from the start) to reach this year by 1:30 p.m. or be diverted to a bailout route. Because there is no safety valve, it is key this year that cyclists train for the distance they want to ride and then ride the route for which they trained. …

To the roadie doing time trials or whatever Lost Creek Blvd, Austin Tx this morning..
by Don in Austin            www.bikeforums.net
You do NOT own the road.
You are not superior to us ordinary folks just because of the group of possibly elite riders you are in.
Don’t put out your hand and signal us to stop because you want to make a u-turn in front of us and then look all pissed off because we didn’t.
We are both over 60 years old and doing pretty good, but maybe we would like not to throw away our hard-earned momentum at the bottom of the hill, but use it to take us a little ways up the next one. Courtesy would be to stop and wait until its clear before making a…

Katy Flat Lands Ride July 22, 2012
by 10 Wheels        www.bikeforums.net

2550 riders, Overcast Sky. Got in 63 miles.
http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Katy%20FLS%20Bike%20Ride%202012/?albumview=slideshow

Fort Worth’s The T getting $1M in federal funds to kick-start bike share program
By: MICHAEL LINDENBERGER        www.wheelbrothers.com
The Obama Administration has awarded The T in Fort Worth about $1 million to build a bike-share program. I couldn’t be more jealous.

Here’s how the U.S. Department of Transportation described the grant, announced this morning by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on his blog: “To further improve mobility and connectivity between popular destinations, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority will implement the Fort Worth Livability Bike Sharing Program. Bike stations will be placed in areas that have dense neighborhoods with high activity and access to a…

CapMetro MetroBike shelter to open Aug. 6
By Pam LeBlanc            Fit City
Need a place to stash your bike while you ride the train?

The first MetroBike shelter will open Aug. 6 at the Kramer Station, near the corner of Kramer and Braker Lanes. Online registration for the shelter will be available starting Tuesday here.

Think of it as a secure little hotel for your two-wheeled rig. The fully enclosed shelter holds up to 24 bikes. Access is by card key only, and there’s 24-hour camera surveillance. The structure is outfitted with a work bench for…

Dedication to the sport
by Mark Magnan            www.beltonjournal.com

Members of the WOW bicycle club get ready to take off on their 30-mile ride recently. The group is made up of women who are enthusiastic about riding bicycles.Ladies, what do you do on a Sunday morning if your husband is off fishing or golfing? Well you go for a bike ride of course.

Specifically a “WOW” bicycle ride. The “WOW” standing for Women On Wheels. Each Sunday morning a group assembles at the corner of FM 439 and Sparta Road just…

CHS teacher makes 1,500-mile ride from Texas to Iowa
By Katie Dahlstrom Herald Staff Writer        clintonherald.com
CLINTON — Kellen Schneeberger of Clinton rides his bicycle downhill, in the rain, on an unfamiliar Texas road.

As he and his fellow riders push on, a recreational vehicle trailer blasts by, nearly throwing the three into a bridge.

Slightly shaken, they keep going — at that point they were only in the first 50 miles of what would be a nearly 1,500-mile trip from Texas to Iowa, and now across the state…

North Texas Bike Lanes Going ‘Green’ For Safety
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – The City of Fort Worth is hoping a little paint will make bicyclists safer in their city. The city is painting bike lanes green. The green-color will highlight areas where vehicle lanes and bike lanes cross.

City leaders say the green-colored lanes are meant to alert drivers to yield to those on bikes.

The bike lane at 12th Street and Commerce will be the first in North Texas to have the…

Skirting the Rain Clouds – July 23rd Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

As I woke up this morning I could hear some rain hitting on our bathroom skylight. When I went to bed the chance of rain was 50% so I figured my biking plan for today would be on hold. But after 30 minutes or so the rain stopped so I thought the streets would be dry by the time I wanted to start the ride. I watched the radar screen online as rain formed and then disappeared. Around 10:45 it appeared the rain moved out of the area so I dressed and left at 11:13 AM. At first the sky looked favorable but when I got close to FM1960 the sky looked dark gray to the south. My route wasn’t going exactly where the dark sky was so I continued riding. Where I was headed the sky looked better. As I biked down Fairlake Drive  lightening struck in the distance just over the the tree line. Still no rain where I was so I kept on my route.

Turning onto FM2100 south I thought I might get caught by some rain but the clouds stayed away to my right front quarter. The wind picked up some and I sensed a drop in the temperature but still no rain. When I turned left onto Stroker Road I now moved away from the dark clouds and the route circled back to FM2100. I watched the sky and the dark clouds were in the distance as I approached FM2100 on Old Atascocita Road. Once I turned on FM2100 north I prepared on a rain encounter but still no rain. I stopped in Huffman at the Chevron station. It turned out to be good timing. I drank my Diet Pepsi and rested for about 20 to 25 minutes. Getting back to the ride it didn’t take long going west on FM1960 to run into wet pavement but the rain had moved on. Wet pavement marked the route until I got to W. Lake Houston Parkway and then popped up off and on until I got home. I skirted the rain for the entire 39.08 mile route. Looking at the weather radar when I got home it looked like some rain was following behind me but it never made it to my house.

The last time I rode this route it was a little over 37 miles. With the rain threat I wanted to keep a good average speed but sometimes the wind had other ideas. I ended up at 15.3 mph average speed with 21.6 mph max speed and 78.2 RPM average cadence. Riding time totaled 2:33:14 plus 27:46 stopped. July miles now total 363.87 and YTD is 3677.28. So far 12 riding days in July. Link to RideWithGPS.com data and map.

With the cloud cover the temperature range was 86 to 88 degrees. Wind was 10.1 mph from the southeast when I got back home. I suspect it was higher when I got closer to the rain.

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com/activity/202420249 98% 825]

Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup July 22nd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Team McAllen Cycling

Great Sunday ride this morning! Thank you all for coming out and riding alongside us! Also, big thanks to Chris for doing SAG and setting up a delectable rest stop.

2012 Midnight Massacre Start

Published on Jul 22, 2012 by Spinistry

Boerne Ride
San Antonio Wheelmen
Date:     08/04/2012
Time:     08:00 AM-11:00 AM
Location:     Boerne, TX
Details:     Boerne “Is this the last hill?” Ride (NNW) [H].
Routes vary from 25-70 miles and go through Comfort, Sisterdale, and Waring-Welfare and for the really stout-of-heart, Old Hwy 9 to Luckenbach. The Boerne ride is one of the longest running rides offered monthly by the Wheelmen for good reason – the scenery! The hills are challenging and definitely not for the faint-of-heart. The fun begins at the Boerne City Hall, 402 E. Blanco, in downtown…

RSVP for a CATS Train the Trainer Session
by Donna Hoffman        BikeTexas.org
No. This isn’t Hollywood Squares.

This is a screen shot from Round Two of the all-new BikeTexas College Active Transportation Safety’s (CATS) online Train the Trainer summer sessions. You’re not too late to train online to present CATS at your college this summer or fall. Next sessions are August 2 or 6. RSVP to…

Veteran bike ride
By Kelly Neill        www.newschannel10.com

Amarillo, TX – A marine veteran traveling across the country made a stop in Amarillo today. Scott King is on a 48-state bicycle trek and started his mission in Maryland on April 28th.

He is raising awareness and funds for our combat wounded veterans,their families, and veteran…

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for July 21st

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Today’s news contains several video clips. Without the tweets it would be light news day.

Illuminate Yourself and Your Way with DIY LED Bike Handlebars
By Matt Richardson,            blog.makezine.com

Inspired by Mitchell Silva’s Globars, our friend Becky at Adafruit created a DIY version of his illuminated bicycle handlebars. To make your own, you’ll need about two meters of LED strips, a waterproof DC power cable set, 8 x AA battery holder with batteries, clear handlebar tape and some other…

Cyclists Ride To Benefit M.S. Research 07/21/12
CBS 7 News Video
Robert Guaderrama
MIDLAND, TX – Hundreds of west texas cyclists geared up to ride all for a good cause. The 2012 Bike MS: Cactus and Crude Ride kicked off today hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Apache Corporation.

The annual two-day event raises funds to support MS research as well as programs and services that directly impact individuals living with the disease. The cyclists rode from Midland to Big Spring today, tomorrow they will ride to the finish line in Post.

Texans choose cooled trailers for RAGBRAI adventure
By Jacob Peklo, Multimedia Journalist        www.ktiv.com
KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (KTIV) – Some choose to travel with a little more luxury.  Michael and Cindy Young of Dallas, Texas, are participating in their first RAGBRAI. Their overnight shelters are air-conditioned trailers towed by…

Texas Mountain Biking
by Comstockatthegym

This video was filmed in a Hunting Area in Del Rio, Texas next to Lake Amistad. The video is so short for the reason that the chain broke.

Katy Flatland Century in Katx, TX
by WB admin            The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas
The 25th Annual Katy Flatland Century, a  general fund-raiser for the Northwest Cycling Club invites you to join their ride on July 22nd, 2012 starting at Rhodes Stadium, Katy Fort Bend Road, Katy, TX

We were lucky enough to be granted an interview with Lynda Polk to ask some questions about their upcoming ride

Why join this year’s Katy Flatland Century?

It’s the premier ride in Southeast Texas, during what is usually an “off” season for riding. As it’s name states, there’s very little elevation change, making it a great ride for beginners too. With 7 routes to choose from, there’s something for everyone.

How long has the event been around? …