Slow Motion Riding – July 19th Bike Ride

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I started today’s ride in good shape but by the time I got to around the 12 mile point my legs just did not want to put out much power so I rode slowly from there to home. The start at 9:51 AM was not so late but the heat at 84 degrees soon rising to 92 did not help my efforts. As usual the sweat poured off my body with the gloves showing the most with water dripping all of the time. Squeezing them and rubbing against my shorts provided temporary relief only. My average speed dropped to 14.0 mph by the time I finished with a max speed 0f 20.4 mph and 73.1 RPM average cadence. The cadence shows how slow the legs wanted to turn. Another pointer to my slow motion is the 1:59:35 riding time. I usually ride 5 or 10 minutes longer and cover 5 more miles.

With this reduced effort I shortened the route to 27.83 miles from my typical 30 or more. Miles for the week increased to 125.51 at an overall 15.1 mph average speed. For July miles total 291.68 at 15.0 mph average speed. YTD miles reached 3605.10 at 14.9 mph average speed. The YTD speed includes my mountain bike rides which are slower.

Weather besides the temperature: scattered clouds with 8.1 mph west wind. Humidity does not help with the sweat. It was 76% falling to 57% when I finished riding. Tomorrow should be a repeat. Mosquitoes are getting to be a problem if you stop moving for very long. The plentiful rain is the cause.

The last week or so I have noticed my right brake lever not returning to the correct position. At first I thought maybe the brake caliper was the cause but last evening I pulled the brake cable out of the housing to find the real reason: rust on the cable. So I added some oil and removed most of the rust. This is only a temporary fix though; I will replace the cable. I think I have one in toolbox but I did not check yet. This is a common problem with moisture getting inside the cable housing from rain and washing.

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Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup July 18th

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Stolen Bike Alert: silver gray Trek “7.5 FXTrek
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
This is from a local in Kings Highway:

A silver gray Trek “7.5 FXTrek 09” bicycle Serial No WTU016C1150J was stolen off of my truck’s bike rack on Saturday, July 14, 2012 between the hours of 9:30 and 10:30 am. My pickup was sitting in the parking lot in front of the “Lizza” hair…

Help House Ride for the Future Youth Riders
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
From May 22nd – July 30th, the Ride for the Future team is traveling exclusively by bicycle from New Orleans to Dallas. Along the way, the participants will learn from and highlight local efforts to improve communities while transitioning them…

Recap of the Hot and Sweaty Tandemonium Bike Race
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff

Amongst the 4,000 attendees of the 3rd Annual Bastille on Bishop, a group of hungry racers showed up and competed in the first annual Hot & Sweaty Tandemonium bike race.  The race started and finished during the event in the Bishop Arts District, traversing over 6.5 miles around…

Camp Eagle Classic
Mountain Bike Festival
by CampEagle11        forums.mtbr.com
The Camp Eagle Classic Mountain Bike Festival presented by Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Richardson Bike Mart, and Hill Country Bicycle Works. Over 1200 people attended last year, and the event keeps getting better. This is the largest Mountain Bike Festival in the state and “Texas’ best adventure destination.”

In addition to hosting the mountain bike cross country events, the Camp Eagle Classic brings a full weekend of activities. The race is committed to appealing to families as well as a wide variety of outdoor adventure participants. On tap for the weekend: …

San Antonio Listed in National Recreation Trails
BikeTexas.org
The Leon Creek Greenway North and the Medina River Greenway, both in San Antonio, have been newly designated as National Recreation Trails (NRT) by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.

The San Antonio Parks and Recreation department reports that the Leon Creek Greenway is a 13-mile trail that connects to many neighboring parks. The Medina River Greenway is seven miles long over mostly easy terrain, but it does include some switchbacks for an extra challenge. Both of the newly-designated trails will…

Rotary Club’s Redspoke Ride Marks 25 Years of Gearing Up for Charity
redmond.patch.com
Approximately 130 cyclists departed this morning on the Rotary Club of Redmond’s five-day bike ride from Redmond to Spokane.
For the last 25 years, Rotary Club of Redmond has sponsored a 300-mile bike ride from Redmond to Spokane to help raise funds for charity.

This morning, 130 cyclists registered for the grueling event at the Marriott Hotel at Redmond Town Center—a huge increase from last year’s 66 riders.

This year’s proceeds from the Redspoke ride will go to Hopelink and Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. Organizers aim for the event to raise around $80,000, but the total actual amount of money brought in has not yet been calculated.

Cyclist Peggy Fjetland from the Tacoma Wheelman’s Bicycling Club registered for the event because she “like(s) that it supports Little Bit,” she said. “If you can’t ride a bike, ride a horse.”

Jerry Woolverton flew hundreds of miles to participate in the ride. “We have about 20 riders from Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas,” he said. …

STCC 3 Cities Novice Ride
by sooner1            Shawnee Trail Cycling Club
We hope you’ll join us this Saturday, July 21st at 8am for our first official ride for those that are new or infrequent cyclists and want a pace and distance that’s designed for you to enjoy and grow.  We haven’t yet determined if this ride will be seasonal or if it will be year round.  Your attendance will be the determining factor.

The routes will be between 15-20 miles with an average pace of 10-12 mph.  The routes will be designed with minimal hills and traffic, making for a ride all can enjoy.  The distance and pace are very appropriate for families as well as individuals.  If you want to pull your children in a trailer, they’re welcome as…

A Twinge of Pain But Then It Worked Out – July 18th Bike Ride

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I began today’s ride without high expectations. Yesterday when I finished eating lunch I stood up and winced as my sciatic nerve let me know all was not well. I did some stretches the rest of the day hoping this would get it back to normal. When I went to bed last night I felt better but the nerve still sent out pain notices. Getting up this morning I expected the pain to remain and there was some but not as much when I went to bed. I planned on getting started before 9 this morning but I got engrossed in the Tour de France going through the Pyrenees Mountains. So I waited for the finish of the stage and left at 10:30 AM.

Getting on the bike I thought today would be a very easy day to try to work out the nerve kinks. As soon as I sat on the saddle I thought this is not so bad after all. I still kept a slow pace for the first 2 or 3 miles. As I pedaled along the pain lessened to where I could barely notice it. So I upped my speed some.

I tried a different starting route today for the southerly route to Atascocita, Walden and then Huffman. After many rides a little variety helps. When I got to the east side of Lake Houston I went north on E Lake Houston Parkway. This street name is a misnomer by my definition of a parkway. It does have a strip of grass down the middle for about 300 yards but then it becomes two lanes of concrete. Google maps thinks this street continues on past Smith Road but only if you are on a mountain bike and want to ride in very tall grass and weeds. I am not sure where you would end up.

Weather behaved today with 92 degrees at the end, scattered clouds, light 5 mph variable breeze and 57% humidity. The flags were hanging limply when I rode past the City of Houston office on Rustic Woods.

My route was 31.43 miles at a 15.3 mph average speed, 21.8 mph max speed and 78.5 RPM average cadence. I kept to my usual 2 hour plus a few minutes riding time completing at 2:03:21 and 28:14 time stopped. After 9 biking days in July my miles total 263.85, 97.68 miles this week and 3577.27 miles YTD. The link to RideWithGPS.com data and map.

7-18-2012 Bike Ride Data and Map

7-18-2012 Bike Ride Data and Map

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Weekend Event Updates

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Article category: 
General

The Flintridge STS race re-scheduled for 7/22 has been canceled due to the significant rainfall over the week and rescheduled to July 28th. The TTF Skills clinic is still on and the weather forecast looks good to keep it that way.  Space is limited for the skills clinic, currently the Beginner class at Noon has one slot remaining and the Intermediate class at noon has one slot.  All other classes are currently full. Get in while you can!

  • For more information and to register for the upcoming Skills Clinic on 7/21, click here.
  • For more information and to register for the upcoming Flintridge STS on 7/28, click here.
  • Current GHORBA Membership is required for Skills Clinic events, click here to renew.
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