Double Back Biking – March 5th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Normally I like to plan my route to minimize the route overlap but today I did what I call a double back route: the same route out and back, mostly. There was some sections that I did not overlap but they fell at the beginning and end. Gorgeous weather encouraged me to extend my route to 32.49 miles, longer than I bike normally during the week. Gorgeous weather today means: 81 degrees, deep blue sky with not one cloud. The wind could have been lighter than 10.4 mph SSE and 19.6 mph gusts but the other attributes compensated. Tomorrow’s weather should repeat. Nothing special about the route today except the beautiful plants and flowers.

I need to check out my road bike. It seems to have acquired a strange clicking sound when I am pedaling. Not sure what is causing the sound.

With this weather the ride moved quickly: 15.6 mph average speed, 21.8 mph max speed, 81.8 RPM cadence. Other statistics: 117.57 March miles, 753.67 miles YTD.

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3-5-2012 Home Weather Station End

3-5-2012 Home Weather Station End

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for March 4th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Houston Bicycle Club

Austin Ridge Riders
ARR Board of Directors Meeting
03/07/2012 – 6:30pm

March 2012 Club Ride & Camping
03/10/2012 – 10:00am

Sunday All-Level Ride at Walnut Creek
03/11/2012 – 9:30am

Austin Mountain Bike Patrol – Barton Creek Greenbelt – 360 Access
03/17/2012 – 9:30am

Austin Mountain Bike Patrol Meeting
03/28/2012 – 6:30am

El Paso Bicycle Club Ride
Saturday, March 24
NorthEast ride-8:30 am
Meet at Chuck Heinrick Park, 11051 Loma Del Norte Dr. for an exploration of the roads in the North East. Plan to climb Anthony Gap and possibly head out toward White Sands Missile Range. Distance is 25-30 miles, intermediate pace (17-18mph). Leader Patty Van Tine, 915-667-0202.

Fort Worth Bicycling Association

Help Wanted
by Steve A            Dallas Point-to-Point
Since the middle of 2009, I made 723 posts on this blog, not including this one. I made a number more on “Cycle*Dallas” before that. The majority of these posts had significant cycling educational information. Heck, a couple were actually from material I collected for LCI Seminar teaching. It was not, however, done in accordance with a plan to accumulate a comprehensive story. Mostly, it tended to apply this writer’s experiences in a way that others in the same situation could see an apply useful elements to themselves. As I’ve noted many times, I am NOT a cycling advocate. Mostly, it was cycling education from the perspective of a commute transportation…

Plaxton and Pendrel win Pro XCT opener in Texas
By David McElwaine        singletrack.competitor.com
The Elite Mens’ start at Flat Creek Ranch

I am one of these older people Dr. Mirkin is writing about but not a sedentary one.

Lack of Exercise, Not Aging, Causes Weakness and Loss of Muscle in Older People
Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health E-Zine        March 4, 2012
Aging does not cause you to lose muscles. Loss of muscle is caused by lack of exercise. You can preserve both muscle size and strength by continuing to exercise as long as you live. Here are MRIs of the legs of 40- and 70-year-old triathletes, and a 70-year-old non-exerciser: …

Tour of Houston needs help getting in gear
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
The Tour de Houston, a March 18 event officially sponsored by the Mayor’s Office, needs volunteers. This annual bicycle tour will last from 7 to 11 a.m., allowing riders the opportunity to complete a 20, 40, or 60 mile excursion through many of Houston’s most historic neighborhoods. Key volunteer assignments will involve helping with setup on the grounds of City Hall and staffing rest stops along the route.
For more information, contact Volunteer Houston from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays at (713) 965-0031, or visit www.volunteerhouston.org.

Mellow Johnny’s Classic race kicks off
Racers from around U.S. come to Austin for event
By John Bumgardner
AUSTIN (KXAN) – A bike race in Austin Sunday was also a kick-off for a National Series that hosts top athletes form around the world.

The Mellow Johnny’s Classic, dubbed as one of the largest Professional Bike Races in the United States, kicked off in downtown Austin.

Organizers say many participants in Sunday’s race also kicked off their season, making a final push to get…

Pedal Through The Pines
by Roy and Christine        Pedal Pushers
Pedal Thru The Pines, Smithville, Texas. March 3, 2012.
Yes, the t-shirt says Bastrop, Texas, but the 2011 fires weakened the eco-system, and then a 4″ rain early this year washed out some of the roads in Bastrop State Park. The organizers had to quickly change the start/finish line to Smithville 13 miles down the road from Bastrop.

The San Angelo group; Wilbur Thomas, Brian Backlund, and Christine Jones. Shuttering behind the shutter was your author. As might be perceived, it was 41!! degrees at the start. Wind was from the North at 17.

Today I was a “Real Athlete” – March 4th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I didn’t go to the Gator Ride in Baytown yesterday because the weather look iffy and the $40 same-day registration fee was too high. I know rides want to encourage early registration but early in the year when the weather can change on dime I hesitate preregistering and then getting rained or chilled out of the ride. As it turned out the weather cleared off and the high winds never made it. So much for the iffy weather. Next Saturday the Raven Revenge Ride in Huntsville may be one to try. I haven’t biked in the Huntsville area for many years.

Today I set out to compensate for not riding yesterday. My typical Sunday ride is around 25 miles so I changed my route a little and rode 29.62 miles. The Chamber of Commerce weather (75 degrees, clear blue sky, 8.1 mph SW wind) set the scene for an enjoyable ride. Nothing out of the ordinary on this ride other than the chill on the wind. It felt cooler than the 75 degrees would lead you to believe. Fortunately I wore a long sleeve, jersey, wind breaker, and leg warmers. Comfortable I was.

Average speed today: 15.4 mph. Max speed: 21.9 mph. Average cadence: 81.3 RPM. Garmin Connect data link.

On a ride last week I noticed one of my socks suffered a toe blowout so I replaced the pair with some short socks I had on hand. These fall below the edge of the shoe and looks like you don’t have socks on. For some reason I equate these socks with real athletes so for today I was a “real athlete.” I may have went a little faster with this motivation.

Biking Statistics:

  • 147.38 miles this week
  • 85.09 miles in March so far
  • 721.18 YTD miles

Monday and Tuesday look like great biking days with fabulous weather. Wednesday does too but I have an all day meeting.

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3-4-2012 Home Weather Station End

3-4-2012 Home Weather Station End

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for March 3rd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I wimped out today and did not try the Gator Ride in Baytown. It was 56 degrees this morning when I would leave and the threat of a 20 to 30 mph north wind kept me home and inside doing chores. By afternoon the sky was a nice blue and the temperature climbed to 72. I will ride tomorrow to make up for skipping today.

8:00am – Harden Dental Team Ride
Corinth Cycling Club
by scottfranklin@gmail.com
When: Sat Mar 17, 2012 8am to 11am  CDT
Where: Ronny Crownover Middle School
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: This is the weekly training ride for the Corinth Cycling/Harden Dental race team. This is a 62 mile loop on an established route. Expect a fast pace and be prepared to fix your own mechanicals. There are no stops on this ride.

Pace Bend Race Report
Mitchell Sides            UTexascycling.org
After Walburg, I was even more excited for the second road race of the season, Pace Bend. I had done a triathlon in the same park last semester, but I was in worse shape then, so I remembered mountains instead of the little climbs.

I was pleasantly surprised when I drove through the park to the parking area. After my first ever road race last year (Texas State RR Championships), I was pretty demoralized coming in over 5 minutes off the back of the winning group. This is relevant because in that race, again in much worse shape, I got dropped on a climb 8 miles in and then chased hard with zero success until the end, knowing I had no chance as soon as I was dropped. After that, I made it a point to climb a lot…

Lago Vista Day 1
teambrainandspinecycling.com
Great job to all the racers and supporters out at Lago Vista today!  Racers endured a very challenging course and supporters provided handups fantastically as I didn’t notice a single dropped bottle.
Here are some of todays results:
CJ Hebert – Cat 2/3:  12th Place
Nadia Barrera – Women 1/2/3/4:  13th Place
Will Visser – Masters 50+:  2nd Place
Grant Woolf – Masters 35+ 4/5:  3rd Place