Work Before Play – April 19th Bicycle Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

My father always told me. “Work before play.” Today was one of those times. My wife, our niece and myself worked in the yard trying to finish up the planting and mulching. We almost made it when I called “time’s up.” Since this is not my favorite activity and my wife tends to overdo it I set a time period so that we don’t. Also I wanted enough time left to play, which to me means biking. With just a few plants left (less than 3 or 4 and all of the mulch placed) one more work session should do it.

Back to biking. The weather cooperated today but not quite as spectacular as yesterday. Scattered clouds with plenty of sun, 83 degrees, 42% humidity, and a light 8 mph south breeze awaited my biking pleasure. With the yard work I did not leave until 2:32 and returned at 4:58. This put me in the midst of the high school dismissal so I maneuvered around inattentive students wandering around the sidewalks at Kingwood High School in the first 3 to 4 miles of the ride. I almost thought of myself as invisible. After I got past there the school traffic dropped off until the grade schools got out. I wonder why the high school gets out so much earlier?

The route was my standard Huffman loop with a slight variation to get the mileage over 29 miles. It ended up being 30.35 miles. I wanted to try to make up for Tuesday but it will take more than a mile each day. The mental part of being 30 miles carries some weight, I guess. I ran a report at Garmin Connect for the year so far and my average ride is 26.4 miles. Surprisingly the year to date total for Garmin Connect is only about 2 miles more than SportTracks. These two never agree on the route mileage so I thought the difference would be much more. I did not run a report at RideWithGPS.com. With three more potential bicycling days this week I still could get 90+ more miles.

Two other bikers passed in my view which I did not expect being a weekday. Tomorrow we plan on going on the Kingwood Garden Club home garden tour so I might bike early or late. The weather tomorrow shows rain and Saturday the temperature will be cooler with the high at 70 degrees. The BP MS150 ride on Saturday will be a cool one.

Some of today’s ride stats:

  • 2:00:44 riding time
  • 15.1 mph average speed
  • 24.8 mph max speed
  • 80.2 RPM average cadence
  • 63.28 miles this week
  • 406.1 miles in April
  • 1625.45 miles YTD
  • Garmin Connect data link

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/601839 98% 700]

4-19-2012 Home Weather Station End

4-19-2012 Home Weather Station End

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for April 18th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Specialized recalls aero brake levers
MORGAN HILL, CA (BRAIN) —Specialized is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall about 600 Tektro brake levers used on some of the company’s aero/time trial bikes and sold in the aftermarket.

The Tektro TL-83 levers were specified on 2010 and 2011 S-Works Shiv frame modules and 2012 S-Works Shiv TT modules.

The levers are modified versions of Tektro’s TL-720 brake lever. They are black aluminum and have a quick-release slot at the top of the lever arm. Model number “TL-720” can be read on the side of the lever arm when the…

This weekend…Volunteer for the Leadville Qualifier: The Austin Rattler 100
by Il Pirate             Austin Ridge Riders
The Austin Rattler 100 – Leadville Qualifier at Rocky Hill Ranch, Smithville, Texas
Saturday – April 21
Volunteer Registration can be found here:    https://www.bikereg.com/Net/16027
Oh Yeah!! This is going to be a show. Capped at 1,000 riders this is going to be an insane event and your Austin Ridge Riders have been asked to help support for this awesome event.

Details on volunteer assignments, times, etc. are still being hammered out and we are generally going to provide helping hands and able bodies for whatever Paul and other Race Staff need. Be ready to work! More details will be provided as they are received but regardless, you want to be there for this! One thing we know is that we may be involved in serving and accepting…

SCCCC: MSU Race Weekend
by Kim Aeschlimann                      www.usacycling.org
High winds and severe storm systems raged across Oklahoma and Texas threatening to unleash on collegiate racers at MSU. A few brave souls ventured forth and were thus rewarded with high winds for both road race and time trial.

The road race course was mostly flat with a slight incline on the back stretch. Heavy cross winds forced riders to work together to survive and made breakaways difficult in most fields. An epic breakaway occurred in the Men’s B when Pierce Young from A&M pulled away from the pack in the first half and held the break for…

El Paso Bicycle Club Ride
Sunday, April 29
Horizon Hustle-8:30 am
Meet at Horizon Vista Market, Horizon and Kanazo, for 40-mile ride at about 17 mph to Montana and Hueco Tanks turnoff. Option for about 15 more miles for those who want to ride to the park. Dan Post 915-526-8364

April 14, 2012 – FWMBA Trail Building and Marion Sansom and Gateway Parks!
by M2Rider, FWMBA President

The trail building going on at Gateway Park by the Fort Worth Mountain Bikers’ Association (FWMBA) has been getting the bulk of the attention from my camera this year. Last Saturday I visited both Gateway and Marion Sansom Parks (MSP) where trail building is happening. MSP is undergoing a 2 mile trail extension this year under the leadership of MSP trail steward, David Michael. …

MS 150 becomes personal for former UT football player
By Dale Robertson        www.chron.com

Dallas Griffin’s love affair with the bicycle began last summer with a sudden numbness in his feet.

“It felt,” he said, “like they’d been soaking in cold water.”

But Griffin, then 26, had been through four knee surgeries – including anterior cruciate ligament repairs on both joints – trying to stay on the field for the…

Cycling notebook: BP MS 150 route altered after fires
By Dale Robertson            www.chron.com
There will be one melancholy aspect to this weekend’s 28th annual BP MS 150. Because of last fall’s devastating wildfires, one of the favorite sections of the ride – the day-two stretch through Bastrop and Buescher State Parks – won’t be on the route Sunday.

Both parks were virtually destroyed, with 96 percent of the 6,565 acres burned and roads badly damaged. Ironically, the much-needed recent rains have caused even more problems in the area, so there will be two alternate itineraries offered: the Bechtel Challenge…

Local vet will ride with former President Bush
By Rick Steigmeyer            www.wenatcheeworld.com
WENATCHEE — A former Wenatchee Valley resident will test his bicycle skills with former President George W. Bush next week on a 100-kilometer mountain bike ride through the desert terrain of Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo, Texas.

Chris Goehner, 27, is one of 20 servicemen and women wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan…

V&B Sponsors Family Members in Texas’ MS 150 Bike Ride
www.vbattorneys.com
Three of our own are training hard for the BP MS 150 this year!

Jason A., Aron A., and Owen M. are on the Calpine team that will be hitting the highway this weekend to conquer Multiple Sclerosis.

We are excited to sponsor them as they ride 180 miles from Houston to Austin on some of Texas’ most beautiful roads. This grueling bike ride, organized by the National MS Society’s Lone Star Chapter, raises millions of dollars to help our national fight to find a cure for multiple sclerosis…

West Texans gear up for Bike MS: Cactus & Crude Ride
lubbockonline.com
West Texas residents will pedal toward a world free of multiple sclerosis during Bike MS: Cactus & Crude Ride 2012, presented by Apache Corp. on July 21 and 22.

Bike MS: Cactus & Crude Ride kicks off July 21 in Midland and travels through the Permian Basin area into Big Spring for an overnight celebration at the SouthWest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf. On Day 2 of the ride, cyclists will head to…

Tour de Vineyard at Florence, TX
by WB admin                The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas
Tour de Vineyard 2012The Tour de Vineyard at Florence benefiting the City of Florence invites you to join their ride happening on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 8711 W FM 487 Florence, TX  76527

We were lucky enough to be granted an interview with Shawna Platt of  Tour de Vineyard at Florence to ask some questions about their upcoming ride.

1. What was the motivation behind starting the Tour de Vineyard at Florence and who benefits from it?
I wanted to help raise money for the City of Florence and the new park that is being constructed under the Parks…

Three Days of Rest, Now Back Biking – April 18th Bike Ride

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Today’s ride marks the end of a three day rest, some of it on purpose and some weather related. Monday rain ruled the day so no biking then. Sunday I really need a rest day after battling the wind on Saturday and a church meeting helped with the decision. Tuesday I did chores, grocery shopped, church meeting and went to the Jesse Jones Park Photo Club with my wife, niece and her friend. The photo club meets each month and this might help me take some decent pictures in the future.

Last night when I went to close up the garage I walked by my bike and as I normally do I squeezed both tires. The front tire felt solid but the rear tire felt soft. Since I planned to bike today I am glad I discovered this last night. I took the tire off the bike and pulled the tube out after inspecting the tire circumference for things sticking out and not finding anything. I pumped the tube up and could feel some air blowing on my leg from a hole in the tube. Locating the hole I then felt on the inside of the tire near where the tube’s hole would be and a 1/4″ long piece of wire protruded into the tube area. I am not sure where I picked this up but the wire must’ve worn off on the outside of the tire leaving the piece inside. Maybe I should mount a magnet on my front tire near the ground like the street sweeper to try and catch this stuff. The Continental GatorSkin tires don’t protect against wire but no cuts show on the outer tread yet. With tube patched the bike was ready for the road. This morning early I checked the rear tire and the patch did the trick.

The weather started out a little chilly this morning when I got up at 56 degrees. I delayed the start to 12:04 to give the temperature time to get up to 74 and it settled at 82 when I finished at 2:25. The depth of the clear blue sky escaped description so this picture from my cellphone hopefully captures the contrasting colors.

Blue Sky at New Caney Chevron

Blue Sky at New Caney Chevron

The sky seems to go on forever. I like the contrast between the sky and the Chevron gas cover band. The calm wind meant heading south I could hit some good speed and 23.1 mph max speed helped get my average speed up to 15.7 mph. The 35% humidity meant perspiration did not last long so I felt cool except when I stopped in the sun for traffic lights. Maybe this weather will hold over for tomorrow. This weekend a cool front will greet the BP MS150 bikers on their trip to Austin.

I altered the route slightly going north on Loop 494 at Community Drive. 21 years ago I used to live east of Loop 494 in that area and the road did not include shoulders. Back then I rode as little as possible on Loop 494 but a few years ago shoulders were added and the road surface improved so I tried it out to widen the route on the map so the GPS in my Garmin Edge would not overlap with the return leg. You can see the triangle at the top of the route. The route ended up at 32.93 miles, almost the the 33 I hoped for.

Other ride numbers:

  • 82.7 RPM average cadence
  • 2:06:06 riding time
  • 375.75 miles in April (I average 505.06 miles for April in the past)
  • 1595.11 miles YTD
  • Garmin Connect data link

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/600298 98% 700]

4-18-2012 Home Weather Station End

4-18-2012 Home Weather Station End

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for April 17th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

This post includes many photos, check them out.

Made it out to Pedernales Falls this weekend…
In-Yo-Grill            forums.mtbr.com
Had a good group of around 8 peeps. Met up around 10:00am with some ominous skies. Real, real windy with gusts up to 40mph. Once we hit the trails the wind was a non-factor and it was very pleasant as most of the day was overcast.

BBQ’d some burgers and hit the river for a swim afterwards. Great day with friends and family.

At the grocery store for some last minute goodies…

More pictures in the next article. Be sure to check the forum for more. The thread includes a crash.

Tour de Braz April 15, 2012 Pics
by 10 Wheels        www.bikeforums.net
900 riders braved the 32 mph winds.

I snapped these while working at one intersection and sagging.

April 22 Sunday Ride TIME CHANGE to 1:30 PM
by Il Pirate         Austin Ridge Riders
Due to a trail run planned at Walnut Creek on Sunday April 22, 2012….the regular All-Level Ride will me changed to a 1:30 pm start time for this week only!  Please help spread the word!! Remember bikes yield to hikers, walkers, joggers, etc.

Corinth Cycling/Harden Dental Delivers In Rockwall
By Luke Slavens         Corinth Cycling

This weekend saw the boys headed to Rockwall for a Metroplex showdown with the areas top teams present. The team has been consistent, attending weeknight crits and the training speaks for itself! Team Members present included: Roland SanMiguel, Bob Baatz, Matt…

2012 Time Trials
www.northwestcyclingclub.com
Current standings
Time Trial #1 April 15, 2012
Sunday, April 15th starting at 7:30 AM will be the beginning of the 2012 NWCC Club TT series. The venue will again be Warren Ranch Road. Please note that we will be starting promptly at 7:30. No rider will be started after 8:00 due to traffic and safety concerns. If by chance more than…

Good news, bad news: Chilly nights on tap, but strong MS-150 headwinds
SciGuy Eric Berger Houston Chronicle
Houston has had an incredibly warm spring — March ended six degrees above normal, and April has started more than six degrees warmer than normal. Many nights have been in the 70s — warm and humid. The city, in fact, hasn’t recorded a night in the 50s since March 27, and we haven’t been in the 40s since March 9. It’s enough to make you wonder if we’re done with cool, let alone cold nights, for the season. The answer appears to…

Support BikeTexas When You Shop at H-E-B in April!
by Leslie Luciano            BikeTexas .org
estxtearpad2012BikeTexas is pleased to announce that H-E-B has selected EarthShare of Texas to be the beneficiary of its in-store coupon promotion for April, in recognition of Earth Day. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill to support environmental work in the Central Texas, Houston, Gulf Coast, Rio…

Dallas Cycle Style Cyclist Census and Cycle Style Night
by The Announcer Guy            Biking in Dallas
Dallas Cycle Style has two important events for the month of April.  On the 21st from 10am-2pm photographers are taking to the streets to photograph YOU on your bike to be included in the 2012 Cyclist Census.  Get more scoop on the photo sessions from their website here or on the Facebook event.  Note the current locations and photographers:
Bishop Arts District – Chris Arrant
Fair Park, Dallas Earth Day Festival – David Wilson…

Biking through Big Bend Ranch State Park
By Pam LeBlanc        Fit City
The best part about my latest adventure in the Big Bend?

Between nights spent snoozing in a tent under star-packed skies, cactus blooming with flowers so purple they looked like colored tissue paper and rock-strewn trails that twist through the prickliest scenery in Texas, it’s hard to choose.

We started our three-day, two-wheeled scramble through Big Bend Ranch State Park at the Barton Warnock Visitor Center, where I met a two-day-old orphan javelina. How could things possibly…

Cyclists to city leaders: We need more city leaders on bikes; we need more
by CultureMap Austin
By Charlie L. Harper III

Props to the LBV, Mellow Johnny’s and the Austin Cycling Association for putting this together each year, as well as Bike Texas and Please Be Kind to Cyclists for supporting the cause. Small or large, it’s important to remind our electeds that avid …

Teenager’s death brings more awareness towards bike safety
By Anthony Austin            www.cbs19.tv
EAST TEXAS (KYTX) — The death of a Tyler high school student is raising questions about bike safety.

Yesterday, a man driving a truck hit and killed 15-year-old Allen Hall on Loop 323 — while Hall rode his bike to school.

You can see there is just enough space for bicycles and cars to share this road. But if you go a few steps further…you can see this lane ends.

Allen Hall was riding his bike along the shoulder of the loop when…

Bike event aids in veteran recovery
by Lindsay Medina        star.txstate.edu

The seven-day, 350-mile challenge was sponsored by UnitedHealthcare. It raised funds for cycling rehabilitation programs for veterans and brought out more than 200 veterans from every walk of life. Among these veterans was Ulysses Adams, a Marine Corps veteran.

Adams, who has been part of the program for nine months, said he decided to take part in Ride 2 Recovery after hearing about it from a fellow veteran.

“When I first heard about it, I thought it was a great idea,” Adams said. “I wanted to help out veterans who were in a worse mental and physical condition than I was. When I got involved in it I was pleasantly surprised about how much…

Texas: Safe Passing Initiative
by sooner1            Shawnee Trail Cycling Club
Even though efforts to enact legislation to protect the vulnerable road user have stalled at the state level, many communities in the state of Texas have made the decision to move forward with laws of their own.  These communities see the value in protection of their citizens through the promotion and enforcement of safe practices of users of the roads that are vulnerable to the dangers of encounters with large vehicles.  Cities within the state…

Ride for Heroes in Aledo, TX
by WB admin            The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas
The 10th Annual Moritz Ride for Heroes benefiting various organizations invites you to join their ride happening on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Aledo High School campus — Aledo, TX

We were lucky enough to be granted an interview with Gordon Robertson of  Ride for Heroes to ask some questions about their upcoming ride. …