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.
Traffic Skills 1010
PedalHouston.com
Traffic Skills 101 class, REI Galleria, February 25-26, 2012.
Do you want to learn to cycle confidently and safely in the Houston area? Then this class is a must! Learn to communicate effectively with motorists and enjoy the ride. We’ll discuss proper lane positioning, basic rules of the road, how to avoid obstacles, scanning, changing a tire, emergency turns, emergency stops, basic maintenance, and much, much more! Saturday will be all lecture (no bicycle needed) and Sunday will include parking lot drills and a group ride.
ARTCRANK
by minorbaker         Austin on Two Wheels
I don’t know when I first heard about ARTCRANK, but I expect it was some combination of friends in the Minnesota artist/bike communities and Twitter (those “people you should follow†suggestions may actually work). I have spent the last couple of years following the Flickr feed and ogling all of the cool posters from other cities. At one point a couple of years ago, I even emailed show creator Charles to see if there was anything I could do, to get a show in Austin. So a couple of months ago, when show producer Kate emailed me to talk about her upcoming scouting mission for Austin’s first Artcrank, I was beyond excited. Charles and Kate were gracious…
Safe Passing signs
by bikedenton
In 2010, council member Dalton Gregory proposed the Safe Passing ordinance. In 2011, the council unanimously approved the ordinance. Pictured above is a new sign on W. Hickory to educate the public that cars must give 3 feet when passing, and trucks must give 6 feet. Since it protects far more than just people riding bikes, it’s…
New Bike Plans for Denton (video)
Denton City Council expected to vote on bike and pedestrian mobility plan
By Sara Story         www.nbcdfw.com
The City of Denton is expected to make a big decision that could make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The council will consider a new bike and pedestrian plan on Tuesday.
Bicycling is a mode of transportation for the Briggle family, but Amber Briggle said traveling around Denton on two wheels can be difficult. “There’s a lot of work to be done,” Briggle said.
She is just one Denton resident pushing for bike-friendly streets.
“If my child lives 3 or 4 blocks from her elementary school, she should be able to bike there or walk…
Checking in at Frostbike!
by djcurtin            bicyclesportshop.wordpress.com
Cycling trade shows. Most cycling gear fanatics know about Interbike. But those really in the know want to know what’s up at Frostbike. Frostbike is an open house of sorts for Quality Bicycle Products, also known as QBP—or more accurately, Q—arguably the retail cycling industry’s most important, if not biggest distributor. Serving over 5,000 independent bicycle dealers, Q is a standout model not only in terms of dong business, but also in being good community stewards. Frostbike is a chance for staff members from dealers that work with Q to head to their headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota and get some tips on industry best practices—and see some new product!
Bicycle Sport Shop’s bike buyer, Scott Linville, and our parts and accessories buyer, Kelly Oden, packed up some cooler weather attire and headed out for Frostbike, which ended yesterday. Here’s a brief look at what they had to say, and what they saw. …
