An Understanding Wife and Mother – May 13th Bike Ride

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The cloud cover today lowered the felt temperature to the point that a long sleeve jersey could work. At times I felt a little chilly when I biked in the shade and into the NNW light breeze. Even though the breeze registered 9 mph my legs resisted extra effort probably because of my ride yesterday. Once I turned south at Community Drive the wind became a side or tailwind and I could increase my speed. So I got my average speed to 15.3 mph over the 25.43 mile route and even got up to 27.1 mph for my max speed. This had to be with a tailwind.

Around the 4.7 mile point a tandem stopped on the street headed in the opposite direction. The lady stoker was looking at the rear saddle but I waved to the captain. I don’t recall passing tandem on a local ride in quite some time.

I shortened the ride today so that I could back home to take my wife out to lunch for Mother’s Day so the riding time ended up at 1:39:42 with 10:29 stopped time. Most of this was waiting to get through the traffic light from Loop 494 onto Kingwood Drive. It took three light cycles. My wife is very understanding with my biking.

With the week ending my mileage numbers after today’s ride: 193.51 miles this week, 359.17 miles so far in May and 2294.84 miles year to date. So far I biked 11 days out of 13 in May. Riding time in May is 23:09:43.

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Link to RideWithGPS data and route map.

Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup May 12th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

2nd Annual Fort Worth Fat Tire Festival
by MoJo Neophyte        www.bikemojo.com
GOOD MORNING! I don’t know about you, but it looks like a great Sunday for a bicycle party! Sunny skies, cool weather and low humidity – the complete opposite of last year’s Fat Tire Festival weather (except for the sun!). Below is more info on the 2nd Annual Fat Tire Festival . . .

– Yes, Virginia, it did rain at Gateway Park and (as of Saturday morning) the trails are closed to riding. However, I was at the trail Thursday night and to be honest they needed some rain. With some sun, wind and time things should be much better later today and tomorrow. Keep checking the forum for updates on Gateway Park trail conditions throughout the day.
– Speaking of the Gateway Park trails I don’t think that I’ve seen them in better shape. Gateway has the perfect mix of elevation, flow and rhythm. Matt and Andy, as well as, the whole FWMBA gang really do have to be commended for…

Cyclists flock to FrankenBike swap meet
Pam LeBlanc, Fit City
Take a cycling fanatic to FrankenBike and watch his eyes spin like bike wheels.

Cranksets and derailleurs spread on tabletops. Bike seats and handlebars heaped on blankets. Racks of used cycling jerseys. And did we mention beer?

Open to anyone who wants to buy, sell or trade bicycles and bicycle-related gear or parts, Austin-born FrankenBike takes place monthly at rotating sites across the city. Part bike swap meet, part keg party and all bike-geek-o-rama, the latest edition unfolded on the lawn of University Cyclery on North Lamar Boulevard. “It’s a lot cheaper than buying new parts, and you can get really cool stuff,” says…

Corsicana Stage Race debuts Saturday
By Michael Kormos Corsicana Daily Sun
Corsicana — It wasn’t cars or chili or a parade filling downtown Corsicana streets Saturday — it was high performance racing bicycles speeding through the streets.

And it’s an event that could place the city on an important bicycle tour competition each year.

The Corsicana & Navarro County Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Dallas Racing Club and Corsicana Convention & Visitor Bureau hosted its inaugural…

Bike helmets, other safety/health ideas covered during Helo’s Health and Safety Day at Capp Park
By BRITTNEY BENNETT        FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Josiah Mendoza, 4, is fitted for a new bicycle helmet by Martha Howell at the Lubbock-Crosby-Garza County Medical Society Alliance and Texas Medical Association booth during the Hero’s Health and Safety Day at Clapp Park on Saturday. The group gave away 100 free helmets. …

Ride of Silence
May 16 event to promote safe biking, driving
By Stuart Frohm        for the Midland Daily News
A silent ride by bicyclists is planned for 7 p.m. May 16 in Midland. It will be in honor and memory of cyclists injured and killed in accidents with motor vehicles on public roadways.

The Ride of Silence will be the eighth annual event in Midland.

Such rides began 10 years ago in Dallas, Texas, and are planned for more than 250 other sites around the world.

Local and area participants are asked to arrive by 6:30 p.m. at the Midland Civic Arena, 405 Fast Ice Drive off Bay City Road. Cyclists may make the entire 12-mile round trip — to H.H. Dow High School and back to the…

Walk Versus Talk
by Steve A            Dallas Point-to-Point
This Scene Captures a Sense of What FW is About – Strictly IMO
I Might as Well Have Used the PANTHER PIC – Foisted on FW by D OR “A Tale of Two Cities”

To the outside world, “DFW” is all one place. However, it really isn’t. Like many metropolitan areas, DFW has many individual cities within in it. To my “Yankee” eyes, the DFW Metroplex has a more, distinct, bipolar nature than other places I’ve lived or visited extensively. While Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma are all distinct to those that “know,” they are clearly birds of the same species. Ditto for Los Angeles and the South Bay cities – or even Anaheim. In DFW, sometimes it reminds me of an echo of life on either side of the Berlin Wall. I was reminded of this yesterday when I happened to have to go into Downtown Fort Worth on the same day I checked…

CyclingATX        @CyclingATX        via Twitter
Today we posted our 1st cyclingatx.com Featured Partner Video of the Week from Bicycle Sport Shop. Check it…

What Hemerocallis? – May 12th Bicycle Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Today’s ride got a late start at 2:18 PM. The original plan called for us to go to the area cycling competition for the Special Olympics at Memorial Park in Houston. Our niece was scheduled to ride in several events. But overnight some rain storms rolled in and dumped an inch or more in some areas around Memorial Park. So the competition got modified and we did not go. With the change in plans my wife wanted to go to a day lily show and sale on Watonga Drive in Houston. So off we went to the Houston Hemerocallis and Houston Area Day Lily Society show and sale.

Around 10 AM the weather started to clear up for our trip to the show and sale. This held while we looked, shopped and drove back home. After a lunch stop at Whataburger I got ready for the ride. The temperature during the ride was 81 to 82 degrees. The light NNW wind at 10 mph had a coolness to it that negated the warmth from the partly cloudy sky enough to make it very pleasant. Starting out north I wanted to get a longer ride in since I did not ride yesterday. The route I chose was a good fit with a headwind for the first 20 miles becoming a tailwind for the majority of the ride after that point. This favorable scenario allowed me to kick up the speed to the point I averaged 16.2 mph. This was so good the 25 to 30 mile split averaged 19.6 mph. To go along with this my max speed hit 25.1 mph. I was feeling good once the wind came from behind. Before that I did not think these speeds would come to pass. The slideshow shows the breakdown of the time and distance for each speed zone. The riding time totaled 2:41:11 with 30:46 stopped.

Mileage numbers:

  • today 43.54 miles
  • this week 168.08 miles
  • May 333.74 miles
  • year to date 2269.41 miles

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Alternate data view at RideWithGPS.com

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for May 11th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bicyclist dies in crash with Galveston school bus
By Harvey Rice, Houston Chronicle
GALVESTON — A Galveston school bus loaded with Ball High School students struck and killed an adult bicyclist on Friday, police and school officials said.

The bus struck the bicyclist about 4:10 p.m. as it turned east onto Broadway Boulevard from 51st Street, Galveston police Lt. Michael Gray said. Gray said emergency medical personnel declared the bicyclist dead at the scene. He…

BSS_Austin        @BSS_Austin        via Twitter

Don’t mess with Texas!

TourduRouge        @TourduRouge    via Twitter

Snappy our handsome #TourDuRouge mascot goes up for auction. He brings in $275 for the #RedCrossRide.

TourduRouge        @TourduRouge    via Twitter

#TourDuRouge Thanks to our top fundraiser, Jose!

GeorgetownGrand        @GeorgetownGrand    via Twitter

Lovin’ the schwag! The first 750 criterium or Grand Tour participants get this awesome drawstring bag & pint glass

TMA to Give Away More Than 2,000 Bicycle Helmets to Texas Children
Contact: Pam Udall
phone: (512) 370-1382
cell: (512) 413-6807
Pam Udall
Contact: Brent Annear
phone: (512) 370-1381
cell: (512) 656-7320
Brent Annear
WHAT: To protect children from head injuries and encourage fitness, the Texas Medical Association’s (TMA’s) Hard Hats for Little Heads program will give away more than 2,000 bicycle helmets in May, which is Bike Month.
WHEN: May 3-23, 2012
WHERE: Communities statewide, including yours (see schedule below)
WHO: TMA physicians, medical students, TMA Alliance members (TMA physician volunteers and TMA members’ spouses), and county medical societies (CMSs)

Texas physicians want to ensure Texas children are doing all they can to stay safe. Wearing a bicycle helmet, and wearing it correctly, is a simple way to prevent injury. Head injury is the most common cause of death and serious disability from bike crashes. …

Meeting Minutes – May 7
by salsaTopp        Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association
J-P shared with the adventures of the Colorado Bend camping weekend. If you missed the meeting, you can catch up via Mike’s written account.
Trail Maintenance

will be this Saturday at 8am. The WEST side is currently caked in poison ivy. If you are coming out to help be sure to wear long pants/sleeves. The powerline stretch has very high grass and a large crack running along it that is large enough for 2? tires to get caught in. If you are choosing to ride the west side, please ride with…

Bike fashion, bike theater and more!
By Pam LeBlanc            Fit City
It turns out some people can ride a bike while wearing stilettos. Also, some actors can pedal a bicycle across a stage while performing their lines.

You can witness both of these amazing feats for yourself, as Austin celebrates Bike Month. All kinds of cool and wacky bicycle-themed events are popping up around Austin.

Here are a few you shouldn’t miss: …

Travel Picks: Top 10
by Reuters


Austin, Texas Austin is famous for its music scene and breakfast tacos, though not so well-known for its bike scene. Since one of cycling’s greatest celebrities, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, calls Austin home, it’s understandable …

ARMY ENGINEER RAISES $10,000, CYCLES 350 MILES IN HONOR OF WOUNDED VETERANS
www.militaryaerospace.com
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., May 8 — The U.S. Army issued the following news release:
A U.S. Army veteran turned engineer raised more than $10,000 cycling across Texas for wounded veterans.

David A. McClung rode 350 miles alongside wounded warriors and their supporters in the Ride 2 Recovery, or R2R, Don’t Mess with Texas Challenge, April 16-22.

McClung works for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics center, or CERDEC, as an engineer in the Command, Power & Integration Directorate. He serves as the U.S. Army Electronic Proving Ground director for the…

Joint Reserve Base bike ride to bring out cyclists with ‘the right stuff’
fortworthtexas.gov
Fort Worth is used to hearing F-16s, F-18s and other military aircraft, but this Saturday at the Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, it will be Mayor Betsy Price’s bike roaring down the runway.

Join military reservists and other experienced cyclists from around Cowtown for a fast-paced ride around the base. The ride, part of the mayor’s rolling town hall series, will give participants a chance to ask the mayor questions while touring one of Fort Worth’s most…

Tour of Places Named after Sam Houston
by mattivonkessing
Our adventure went something like this: on Saturday we raced around in (adjacent to?) the expansive Sam Houston National Forest.  After spending the remainder of the day relaxing in said forest, we broke camp in the morning and loaded the bikes onto the car to drive to the city of the same namesake to race around another park named after the chap.  Somewhere in between A and B, we passed up an opportunity to drive on his highway.  After the race on Sunday, we even had supper with…

Dehydration While Mountain Biking
by Shawn            Texas Mountain Bike Trails
Last weekend was the Bicycle Plus Blowout cross-country race here in Dallas Texas. It was a great race and I had a ton of fun racing, but I watched as racer after racer began to suffer from dehydration and heat related issues. I even watched as one man had to be carried the last 2 miles of the course by another rider, he was so worn down from the high heat that he couldn’t stand up. This was the first really hot day this year in Dallas with…