It took three tries to get out on the road this morning. The first two attempts failed when rain started falling. After waiting for the streets to dry off some I finally hit the road at 12:00. We need the rain but the forecast called for the rain to maybe arrive in the late afternoon to evening so I thought I could bike well before that. With the rain the air felt cool as I rode on the trail to get started on exiting Kingwood for my north route. The trail did not get that wet with all of the tree cover absorbing the moisture. Once I exited the trail the air started to warm up in response to the 80 degrees from my home weather station with 69% humidity. By the time I got finished the temperature moved up to 90 degrees but the humidity fell to 52%. I thought the humidity would increase from the rain but I like the direction it went. A couple of times I encountered short spells of rain drops but they only lasted a minute or less. The clouds looked heavy in the distance but never came that close to my route.
This route came in at 30.36 miles at 15.5 mph average speed and 21.4 mph top speed. Cadence averaged 80.6 RPM. My first 5 mile lap slowed me down from my 15.0+ mph average speed goal. I fell behind by 1:50 but by the time I got to the 10 mile point I recovered all of the lost time. From then on I kept the speed up enough to reach my goal. With the end of May my mileage points: 123.63 this week so far, 854.71 for May, and 2790.38 YTD. Now June will be a new goal.
New respect for Big Cedar
by CajunJamie      forums.mtbr.com
I am an intermediate rider, usually riding Rowlett Creek up near Dallas. Monday I went with a friend to Big Cedar for the first time and we rode the white, Ranger Trail. I ride a full-rigid cro-moly bike, let me first say. Second, while I am in shape, I did not know the course so I attacked it full-throttle from the start; every climb I attacked with vengeance. What caught me by surprise is by the time I got to around section 9 or 10, there was this LONG climb and half-way I had to dismount and cool down. After 10 minutes I was back on track.
One thing I learned, you have to know a course and your limitations before you attempt to attack it. I had not eaten much for breakfast, it was 95-degrees and I was…
Group Ride: On the Trail of Lee Harvey Oswald, June 16th History Tour
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
On the Trail of Lee Harvey Oswald history tour bicycle ride on Saturday, June 16th, at 11:30AM starting at Dealey Plaza in Downtown Dallas, and passing the infamous residences of JFK’s alleged assassin. This was the group ride that launched BFOC in 2008, and is one of our favorites. Our ride will take us over the 1912 Houston Street Viaduct, crossing into North Oak Cliff, and stopping at…
Bikes Belong Foundation will launch its Green Lane Project, a new project to bring protected bikeways to six U.S. cities, at a kickoff in Chicago on May 31. The initiative (greenlaneproject.org) will work with Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to support the cities’ development of world-class bicycling facility networks over the next two years. Top transportation officials from each city, along with Federal Highway Administration leader Victor Mendez, will introduce…
Bicycle Sport Shop    @BSS_Austin      via Twitter
Pedaling to @KGSR’s Blues on the Green or to possibly the last patch of wildflowers for ’12 it’s a great night to ride!
Dallas is the worst city for cycling in U.S. The Parks Foundation is trying to raise $100,000 to help fix that.
By Robert Wilonsky         cityhallblog.dallasnews.com
One week ago today we pointed out that yet again, Dallas is The Absolute Worst City In All Of the United State of America for Bicycling — huzzah! To which Dallas City Hall responded with a firm we’re-getting-there-swear-y’all while also insisting that it just seems like it’s taking forever to implement the 2011 Dallas Bike Plan because, well, “some members of the bike community were advocating for more aggressive implementation and departure from the original plan for a much more…
Austin Bike Culture Calendar Events: 5/31- 6/6/12
by elliott         Austin on Two Wheels
Here’s a quick run down of recommended events for the coming week from our comprehensive calendar of all cycling events. As always, if there is an event you know about that’s not on our calendar contact us, and we’ll add your event on and possibly add it to the weekly round up.
Thursday, May 31
Driveway Crit Series
5 PM, The Driveway, 8400 Delwau Lane
Weekly Thursday night road racing through October that takes place on the closed car-free driving course at the Driveway. Races include Cat 3/4 women’s and juniors race at 5:00, Cat 3/4 Race and Women’s Open at 5:30, Kids Fun Lap at 6:20, Cat 4/5 Race at 6:25, and Pro/Cat 1/2/3 at 6:55. Races registration Weekly: Men $25, Women $10, College Students $10, Juniors $10. 5PM Junior race is free. Additional races $10 each. Season…
Traffic Safety Commission to hear Pennsylvania Dr bike lane proposal
by bikedenton
What: Traffic Safety Commission hears public input on Pennsylvania Drive bike lane proposal
When: Monday June 4, 2012. 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Where: City Hall Council Chambers at 215 E. McKinney St.
Links: city announcement, supporter Facebook page, original 2009 story
In October of 2009, Southridge resident Sarah Richey addressed city council and called for bike accommodations on Pennsylvania Dr, citing a need for children to safely ride to the two schools and parks just across Teasley. As you can see in this photo, the street section is quite wide (40′, supposedly). There are no…
I Bike Richardson – Bryan Lindsey
by dickdavid
It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce Bryan Lindsey. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:
Name:
Bryan Lindsey
How long have you been riding?
I’ve been riding a bike as an adult for the last seven years.
How often do you ride?
My commute is the Holy Trinity of environmental responsibility. I ride my bike to the train station every day, take the train downtown, and then walk to my building. After work, I do it all again in reverse. …
Winning Campaigns Training in Houston June 8-10, 2012
by Jack Sanford         BikeTexas.org
Dear Texas Cyclists:
Please consider taking a long weekend June 8-10 and coming to Houston for the Winning Campaigns Training put on by the Alliance for Biking and Walking!
We are working to find teams from local areas all over the state to attend and get some expert training on developing an advocacy plan for the region. The training works best when a group of about 3 people from the same area attend. They will work together with the expert advocates from the Alliance to develop a comprehensive and specific plan to win better biking in their community. …
Israeli to Bike Across the United States for Cancer Research
Tom Peled’s passion fueled by father’s death from cancer
By: News Staff
Lance Armstrong has nothing on Tom Peled.
Before long, Peled, a 24-year-old Israeli, will be a household name in the battle against cancer, after his August 1st Bike For The Fight ride across the United States that will raise money to support cancer research in Israel.
After arriving on the “left coastâ€, specifically in Los Angeles, Peled will peddle his way across America, all the way to New York, making stops in Memphis, Tennessee, Houston, Texas, Las Vegas, Nevada, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia along the way. …
Cyclists Supporting Global Health Stop in Washington
by Paul Hackbarth, Missourian Staff Writer | 1 comment
About 20 cyclists stopped overnight Wednesday, May 16, in Washington as part of a 3,700-mile ride to raise awareness about global health issues.
The cyclists were with Ride for World Health, a nonprofit group, and began April 11 in San Diego, Calif., and will end in Bethany Beach, Del., June 3. The cyclists are fourth-year medical students from Ohio, New York, Indiana, Texas and Massachusetts. …
BIKE DEMO THIS FRIDAY! 6/1
Old Tascosa Cycling Club
The Orbea demo truck will be in the lighthouse parking lot @ PDC this friday 6/1 from 12pm to dark. They will have all the 2012 road and mountain bikes to demo for free.
Upcoming STS Races!
Jack Brooks Park on June 2nd at 8 AM. Click Here to Register. Current GHORBA membership required to verify your GHORBA membership, click this link while logged in. Your expiration date will be displayed near the membership pricing.
If you need assistance with membership, Contact the Membership Director.
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Upcoming Group Ride
An official GHORBA group ride will be held at Lake Bryan on June 16th at 10 AM. For more information, View the Event on the Calendar. As always GHROBA will provide cold water, Gatorade, and light snacks for all riders free of charge. This ride is open to all riders and is not limited to GHORBA members. All riders must bring a bike and a helmet. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. We hope to see you there!
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Save the Anthills Update
In April, Channel 39 NewsFix did a segment on the efforts to Save The Anthills from destruction. View the video at this link.
Great news coming for trails in The Woodlands
Stay tuned for an upcoming update regarding a very impressive trail expansion in the North.
Upcoming Work Parties
GHORBA will be holding its monthly Memorial Park work party on June 5th from 6PM to 8PM. If you’re interested in helping maintain and improve the trails at Memorial Park, come join us. GHORBA will provide all tools and instruction, please bring water and bug spray for yourself. More information available at our calendar link.
One of my preferences on a route minimizes duplicating the same street on the outbound and inbound ride. Sometimes that can happen but today’s route includes a lot of streets going both ways. There is nothing wrong with this but I want to vary my routes to keep them fresh. With the number of rides I do coming up with a new route is not easy as I have mentioned before. The route for today falls into the repetition category with one little exception when I get close to Aerobic Drive in Atascocita South. Instead of turning left at one point I turned right and relied on my sense of direction to get me to Aerobic Drive. I just love that street name.
So my 30.69 mile ride today would fall in the ordinary category. No police cars gathered, no crowd of bicyclists, just a warm 92 degrees under scattered clouds with a 7 mph variable breeze. Humidity was high enough to draw plenty perspiration from my body. When I got home my weight showed a 3.6 pound loss, mostly fluid. When I stopped in Huffman to refill my waterbottle I sat on the curb in the shade and the water ran off my elbows so much that it wet the concrete to make a sizable spot. After a short rest drinking plenty of ice water I got back on the road. It did not seem quite so hot going across Lake Houston on FM1960 with the breeze helping out. Once I turned onto Pinehurst Trail the shade trees provided cover from the sun. The only other bicyclist I saw was on W. Lake Houston Parkway bridge over the river. He rode the opposite direction.
Ride highlights: 15.3 mph average speed, 22.6 mph top speed, 80.8 RPM average cadence, 2:00:02 riding time, 25:18 time stopped. Mileage updates: 93.28 this week, 824.35 in May, 2760.02 YTD. I think 824.35 is a record for one month and there is still one day left. For alternate view of the ride map and data RideWithGPS.com.
