The leadership of the Alliance for Biking & Walking, Bikes Belong, and the League of American Bicyclists has agreed that uniting the three organizations would dramatically improve their effectiveness in increasing bicycle use in U.S. communities. Leaders of the three groups issued a joint statement summarizing the outcome of their recent meeting in San Diego, February 13-14:
“Our enthusiasm to take this momentous step for the movement is matched by a commitment to do this right,†said Noah Budnick, Board Chair of the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The boards of all three organizations must ratify the agreement. Once (and if) that occurs, the transition team will work with a variety of board, staff, …
Black Tie Tsunami Ride Sunday Feb 26th
by The Announcer Guy      Biking in Dallas
Dallas Cycle Style is announcing the Black Tie Tsunami bike ride commencing this Sunday at 1:30 beginning at Main Street Garden.
From their announcement:
Black Tie Ride to Who Knows Where!
Bicycle Tsunami has planned a bicycle flash mob Sunday Feb 26th. We’re not sure where we’ll all be converging (it’s very hush-hush till we get the email the day before) but we’ve been assured it’s within a 30 minute ride north…
Council pedals plan at 7-0 clip
Projects include dozens of miles of bicycle lanes
By Lowell Brown / Staff Writer         Denton Record-Chronicle
Denton took a step toward becoming more bike-friendly Tuesday as the City Council approved a bicycle and pedestrian plan.
The 7-0 vote culminated years of work by the public, city staff members and a hired consultant and followed a public hearing that saw healthy support for the plan.
“It’s been a long process, but it’s been a productive process,†said Jim Coulter, a city official who oversees streets. “We think we have a good plan to work…
Around noon I started to watch the temperature on my weather station. By the time I got ready to leave for my bike ride at 1:30 it climbed to 78 degrees. The sky was mostly cloudy but there sun poked through in places. Going along with the great temperature though was a 12 mph southwest wind with 21 mph gusts. My planned route would start off going with the wind but the return trip would be into it. If you look at the splits in the slideshow below you can see the 6 splits: 4 in the 15 to 17 mph average speed range with 2 in the 13 mph area. I am surprised the splits from 10 miles to 20 miles were up this high. At times I biked straight into those gusts with minimal windbreak. Overall I averaged 15.3 mph for the 29.43 mile route. Max speed was 23.5 mph (probably headed north) with an averaged cadence of 79.9 RPM. When I got home at 3:30 the weather station showed 80 degrees. This wasn’t forecast for today. The forecast for tomorrow has increased to 86 degrees. I think spring wants to move in but Friday the weather cools off again. February miles: 262.90 (average 249), YTD 530.15 miles.
A national cycling group and a new Austin cycling club want to change that.
This weekend, members of the National Brotherhood of Cyclists, a national organization of African American cycling clubs, will gather in Austin for their first annual Midwinter Southwest Cycling Summit, one of six regional events. …
Desert Riding over President’s Day Week
from Musings of The ArmySlowRdr
Old Ore Rd to Langford Hot Springs in the Big Bend National Park, the Lajitas Trails, and the Contrabando Trail System in the Big Bend State Park were done on successive days over this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
…Awaiting day 2 (Friday) ride of the Lajitas Trail System. It rained buckets and thundered and lightninged for a good while during the night but the 10 AM rides went on. And truth be told, the desert terrain dried quickly and nicely.
Monthly Spotlight Ride
www.greaterdallasbicyclists.com
The February Spotlight Ride is the Best of the Southwest, coming up on February 25th at 9am. You’ll ride on one of the most traveled and well known sections of the Blue Bonnet Trail along the hilly Sugar Ridge Road. This ride will follow the 42 and 63 mile routes of the Lancaster Country Ride rally. Both routes traverse a variety of terrain, from flats to rolling hills, with a few challenging climbs. This…
In communities across the country, open streets initiatives are redefining citizens’ relationships with public spaces and encouraging millions of Americans to get active. To foster the growth and development of these exciting initiatives, the Alliance for Biking & Walking and the Street Plans Collaborative have launched two new, innovative resources: The Open Streets Project website and…
Shimano recalls PRO Atherton stem
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN) Feb 21, 12:51 MT—Shimano is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Canadian officials to recall about 300 PRO Atherton stems that can break.
The bolts holding on the front face of the stem can be pulled out of the threads, the company said. Shimano has received one report of an incident where the stem broke and a rider fell. The company is supplying consumers who have the stems with longer bolts to fix the problem.
The stems were manufactured by Post Moderne Corporation in Taiwan. Shimano sold 213 stems in the U.S. and 83 in Canada between October 2009 and November 2010. …
The Bike Prom, based on similar events in Austin, was held to raise money for the Texas State Cycling Team.
Colin Bromley, president of the cycling team, said the event included a “cheesy†photo booth. They played tracks from Queen and other ‘80s hits to keep with the prom theme.
Gift cards from Gumby’s Pizza and Zookas Burritos and bike merchandise from The Hub were put in raffle drawings to…
Item 19 – Travis County, Texas
Races vary in distance and duration, and are categorized by gender, skill level, and age group. This event is one of the largest bicycle road race in Texas, …
Rally Calendar
by sooner1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shawnee Trail Cycling Club
If you haven’t followed the Texas Rally schedule in the past, just note that many of the details for these rides aren’t worked out and published by the organizer until the event gets closer, usually within 4 months or so. That said, the smaller events for later in the year may have the date solidified, but their website and registration information won’t be updated till later. We’ll update this calendar and our official club calendar as we get the info.
Many of the rally’s held in smaller towns can be the most enjoyable and almost all support some good cause (library, schools, streets, hospitals, etc), so get out and participate – the…
How To Deal With A Lack Of Motivation
by Shawn         Texas Mountain Bike Trails
Just like all aspects of life, mountain biking has its seasons and your riding has its own peaks and valleys.
A peak would be your high points, and a valley the low points.
Sometimes you feel like Lance Armstrong, blowing away the competition, no rider can touch you and your incredible skills.These times are obviously the peaks. The valleys are when just pushing the pedal forward even a little takes everything you have, all of the energy you can muster is sucked out of you with every pedal stroke. …
A plus 12 degrees and sun make a big difference biking. With about 30 days left until spring arrives today’s weather contrasted to the still bare tree limbs. At the end of the ride 74 degrees and mostly cloudy skies reminded me of spring. No bundling up to bike: a long sleeve jersey and a short sleeve over top kept me comfortable. The 7 mph south wind did not slow me down either. With this weather I rode 29.75 miles which get me to within 16 miles of my February average of 249 miles. Part of the ride I chased two other bikers in front of me. We rode about the same speed so I never did catch them but it caused me to pedal faster. 4 out of 6 splits I averaged over 16 mph with the overall averaged ending up at 15.6 mph. Max speed surprised me at 27.8 mph. The average cadence ended up at 82.9 RPM. February miles now total 233.47 while YTD stands at 500.72 miles.
Prior to leaving on the ride I adjusted my saddle angle. The nose was pointed up more than I thought it should be so I lowered the nose to make the saddle level like I read and observe on the professionals. The first few miles I noticed the difference but after that it seemed natural. I wondered if this changed would put more pressure on my hands and cause a problem but it did during this ride. A longer ride will shed more light.
