Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 28th

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Group-Ride Tips for Cyclists
By Michael Clarke • Active.com

Group rides can be a great way to boost your cycling skills. But it can also be a challenging, if slightly dangerous, activity—especially in urban locations.

In this video, Robert Panzera of Cycling Camp San Diego offers his tips for ensuring all your group rides are safe, and how best to keep an effective and productive pace.

Senior Games: 1st meeting and Race Skills Clinic
by Val Tiemann             www.northwestcyclingclub.com
Our Senior Games Team is having it’s first team meeting and Race Skills Camp on Sunday, January 8, 9:00AM at Zube Park.

Team members will receive coaching and assessment from Team Coach, Lori Walker. Lori has also agreed to serve as Team Captain. Lori also coaches the NWCC Race Team and is the store manager of our sponsor, Northwest Cyclery. Lori is a USA Cycling Level 2 Coach. …

Specialized’s chief warns of Amazon
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
MORGAN HILL, CA (BRAIN)— Specialized president Mike Sinyard is warning the company’s retailers to beware of Amazon.com’s incursions into the bike market.

Sinyard sent a letter to dealers Tuesday evening to bring their attention to Amazon’s Price Check app, a smart-phone application that allows consumers to scan a bar code from a product in a store and then order it immediately from Amazon. It raises the specter of customers trying on shoes in a bike shop and then buying…

YEAR IN REVIEW HOUSTON: Light Rail Funding, A New Beltway, and Red Light Cameras
By gdelaughter            transportationnation.org
…In a heavily car-dependent city, Houston cycling activists are encouraging people to try pedal power to get around.  Figures from the League of American Bicyclists show a 62 percent increase in the number of bike commuters. The idea of cycling to work isn’t always an easy sell in a city known for its extreme summer heat, but Houston’s Bicyclist-Pedestrian Coordinator is touting the benefits of leaving the car in the garage. …

STCC Hangover Ride – New Years Day
by sooner1            Shawnee Trail Cycling Club
What better way to start off 2012 than a bike ride!  Shawnee Trail Cycling Club invites you to join us for a quick roll to get the juices flowing.  We’re offering two routes, one of around 40 miles and the other of 15 miles.  There will be several pace groups – we’ll match you up at the start.

This is not a rally, so all traffic rules apply!  Also, there will be minimal support on the routes.  We’ll provide you with a number to call for SAG support, but come prepared to be fully…

The Hump Day Quick Tip – A Quickie Clean Up
By Shawn            www.texasmountainbiketrails.com
After finishing a ride, especially with the light rain we keep getting, your bike is likely to be covered in a layer of dirt, mud and grime. Today’s quick tip gives you the easiest way to quickly clean off all that nasty stuff and get your bike back into showcase mode.

To get that uber-clean bike try using Grease Monkey Wipes. These are pre-moistened cleaning wipes loaded with citric acid to easily cut through the grease and grime you acquired on the trail. The best part of this product is it is dedicated to Texas Mountain Biking and a product of Austin TX.  They even…

Wheelbrothers / UClear entry: Wounded warrior Douglas picture from Texas Ride 2 recovery
The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas

My entry is memorable to me on several levels.

First I am a Wounded Warrior stationed at Fort Hood Texas. I am in the Warriors in Transition Unit here under going treatment and transition. This picture was taken by Aloha Joe, and is one of his many pictures taken during the Texas Ride 2 Recovery in May 2011.

This picture shows the end result of the determination of the many people who helped plan and execute the ride. I ride to help and support my other Wounded Warrior Brothers and sisters but I also ride for my own therapy. This picture…

Wheelbrothers/UCLEAR Christmas Contest: Mary McLachlan – Entry
The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas
I have attached 2 photos because both were & will always be most memorable

This is my youngest grandnephew at the finish of the 2011 Hotter n’ Hundred. His name is Zane T. MacFarland & he’d turned 8 years old the week before the ride this year. Of course, this isn’t his first ‘rodeo’ as he’s been riding with me for 2 – 3 years since he was 6, & has done the Tour d’Italia three times, the Richardson Wild Ride twice. Up until this year, he’d only ridden the short family distance routes but at the Tour d’ Italia in June he rode the…

The legs and the rear were not very cooperative – December 28th Bike Ride

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My last bike ride was on December 26th so I had several body parts that were almost unfamiliar with biking. The legs and the rear were not very cooperative when I first clipped into the pedals and rolled down the driveway. Between the weather and Christmas activities biking did not make the list. But today the weather improved with some partly cloudy skies, 64 degree temperature and a light 10 mph southeast breeze. In amongst the trees the breeze was not that noticeable. One thing that was noticeable was the falling leaves which have really come down in the last week or so. The fall colors were extra bright this year. The tree cutting has eased up this week but there are still many trees with the orange numbers on them marking their eventual cutting. I saw two other bikers out on their mountain bikes. These were what I call serious bikers because they had their helmets on.

Biking 20.49 miles today on my mountain bike was longer than usual for that bike. The average speed of 12.2 mph was a little bit higher than my typical speed and the 21.8 mph ma speed was about the usual. Cadence (79.1 RPM) was also a little higher for a mountain bike ride. With today’s ride I have 222.25 miles for December and 5593.56 miles YTD. The weather is supposed to be warmer over the rest of the week so I could be biking some more. Maybe I can get above 5600 miles for the year.

Link to the Bike Ride at Garmin Connect.        Link to the Bike Ride at RideWithGPS.com.

12-28-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

12-28-2011 Home Weather Station End

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 27th

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Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club Rides
January 1, 2012 10:00 am
New Year’s Day Family Ride
January 7, 2012 9:00 am
Bullis Park Bear Moon Bakery Ride
Bullis County Park, Bullis County Park, San Antonio
January 8, 2012 8:30 am
Leon Creek Greenway ride from Drury Inn / Valero Trailhead
Leon Creek Greenway, Valero Trailhead, Sann Antonio
January 14, 2012 10:00 am
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Ride
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, 1 Wildlife Circle, Austwell
January 15, 2012 10:00 am
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Ride
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, 1 Wildlife Circle, Austwell
January 21, 2012 9:00 am
Sammy’s 471 Ride from Castroville
Sammy’s Restaurant, 202 US Hwy 90 EAST, Castroville
January 22, 2012 8:30 am
Toyota Applewhite Ride
Bill Millers BBQ, 7081 Rockport Road, Von Ormy
January 28, 2012 9:00 am
Rudy’s Ride
Rudy’s Barbecue, 10623 Westover Hills Blvd, San Antonio

Final Rider of the Year standings posted
Alkek Velodrome, Houston

bikeschool: Ryders Caliber Photochromic Review and Giveaway
by Darryl            lovingthebike.com

We’ve got Professor @egggman in today with a review of the Caliber Photochromic sunglasses from Ryders Eyewear.  Mike is a year round cyclist and experiences all seasons and conditions over there in Ontario, so he’s sure to provide a full review on their performance.

2012 Webberville Cyclocross. (Photo: J. A. Hicks)
www.violetcrown.org

Plano Bicycle Association – entry – Wheelbrothers / UClear favorite Texas cycling memory of 2011
www.wheelbrothers.com

Plano Bicycle Association put together a group ride for the Hotter ‘n Hell 100 and I just think that the picture that Tim Elliott took over his shoulder was superb.  This picture was taken at approximately 70 miles into our ride.  I believe the final numbers were 18 started with 18 finishers!  We had all Century Men and Women with a finishing…

I Bike Richardson – Jonathan Guzman
by dickdavid        Bike Friendly Richardson

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Jonathan Guzman. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy: …

Dude, where’s my bike lane?
by Christopher Curnutt            Biking in Dallas
Back in June of this year cyclists in Dallas celebrated as the Dallas City Council adopted the 2011 Bike Plan , and with ease it seemed.  Everyone who participated in the many planning sessions, provided feedback, contacted their council members, and provided other contributions were rewarded for their effort.  As as Bike…

Reece and his work rig a year later
by Christopher Curnutt        Biking in Dallas

While there are many bicycle commuters in Dallas, it’s not often that you meet someone who uses a bicycle as their primary work vehicle.  Reece makes his living salvaging and recycling stuff, which is to say he finds items that seemingly  have no value (at least to the former owner) and then sells them to those who see the value. Coincidentally I last wrote about Reece a year ago this month; and while I often see him pedaling around…

David Nowlan Preparing for Cross Country Bike Ride
By: Michael C. Bailey            www.capenews.net
David Nowlan is used to challenges, but in April he will face his greatest test yet as he bikes across the country to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Mr. Nowlan, a product line director for the Hyannis-based Dialogic, will in April embark on a 3,350-mile, five-week trek from Encinitas, California, to his home in North Falmouth, covering the entire route on his modified Cannondale R800 road bike.

…“It was bringing me through Colorado, and now it’s bringing me a little farther south through New Mexico, into the panhandle of Texas, then up through Oklahoma and Kansas,” he said, approving of the changes. “The flatter the better.” …

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 26th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Texbiker.net was observing the Christmas holiday.

Should Cyclists Use Strength Training Machines?
Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health E-Zine
December 18, 2011
A new study from Denmark shows that adding the use of special strength training machines to bicycle racers’ cycling training can help them ride faster in races (Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, December, 2011; 21(6):e298-307).

Previous studies have shown conflicting results on whether strength training helps cyclists to ride faster in races. This is one of the best studies because the researchers compared cyclists who added strength and endurance training to their programs for 16 weeks to those doing only the cycling training. Those who added strength training were stronger, as shown by their improvement in scientific measures of strength. Their maximal muscle capacity (MMC) and contractile rate of force development (CRFD), were up to 20 percent greater than the cycle-only group. Their 45-minute…

Older Fit People Handle Heat Better than Out-of-Shape Younger People
Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health E-Zine
December 25, 2011
Lack of fitness impedes a person’s ability to exercise in hot weather far more than aging does (Scand J Med Sci Sports, Sept 13, 2011). Seven older highly trained 51-63-year-old cyclists were matched with a similar number of 19-35-year-old highly trained young cyclists and also young moderately trained cyclists. All groups had the same rectal and skin temperatures, maximum heart rate, and cutaneous vascular conductance during intense exercise in the heat. …

I could have used this earlier this year when I had my dog collision.

Found: Road Rash Guard – Clip On Body Armor for Roadies
posted by Tyler (Editor)         www.bikerumor.com

Road Rash Guard is the invention of Dr. Rob Wise and is essentially a set of plastic clamshells that clip to your shorts, jersey or arm/knee warmers to provide a buffer between you and the pavement.

With a weight of just 7g each and a flat inner surface, it’s designed to feel seamless on your skin. RRG claims…

The following post is fitting for the winter. I thought I might need this trick until I looked at the forecast for the weekend with temperatures in the 70’s.

Repurpose Zip Ties into Bicycle Snow “Chains”
lifehacker.com

When you’re trying to get around on a bicycle in the winter studded tires are a great investment, but if you only occasionally have snow or ride a bike in snowy weather you can make a set of tire “chains” using a few dozen cable ties.

Bike shop website Dutch Bike Co. shares this tip for quick and cheap traction in snow. The zip ties themselves dig into the snow nicely but are not thick enough to make the bike bounce. The author alternates cutting off the…

MS-150 Team Now Open to All; Team Captain Appointed
by Val Tiemann             www.northwestcyclingclub.com
There are still places open on our MS-150 team. We are opening the team to non-club members. Provided they join NWCC as club members, anyone is welcome our MS-150 team. Please help spread the word. Our goal is for our team to raise $20,000 to fight MS, and we need 50 cyclists to do this.

Our team now has a Team Captain, Jeff Dixon. Jeff’s been a club member for seventeen years, has served on the Board for three years, and has ridden the MS-150 fifteen times! You can reach Jeff by email at ms150@northwestcyclingclub.org. …

Must…..Build…..More….Trail!
by bmba

The new Sotol Forest extension is almost finished.  It is passable, but not completely rideable.  We are having one last big trail building day to try to get this thing complete.  When we say “complete”, we mean rideable for a beginner rider.  This is a totally possible goal as the dirt is really soft right now and rocks are quite easy to remove.  If we can get 5 or 6 people to go with us…

COLUMBIA TAP HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL REOPENS
www.thecypresstimes.com
HOUSTON, TX – The Columbia Tap Trail, located in southeast Houston near downtown, has reopened. A portion of the four-mile hike and bike path was closed earlier this year to accommodate construction of the Southeast Line of METRO’s expanded light-rail system.

METRO’s Southeast light-rail line is currently under construction and expected to open in 2014. The Southeast Line (or Purple Line) will run along Capitol and Rusk in downtown Houston and continue southeast via Scott, Wheeler, MLK and Griggs ending at Palm Center. The approximately six-mile rail line will connect downtown with local…

30 years later, Texas man gets bike frames back
www.statesman.com
LUFKIN, Texas — One Texas man got four dream bikes for Christmas — and they’re 30 years old and have no wheels.

For Mike Maberry, unexpectedly tracking down four of the lightweight BMX Blazer bicycle frames he crafted with his own hands in the early 1980s and bringing them home have made this a special Christmas.

“It will remain forever among our fondest memories,” Maberry told the Lufkin Daily News (http://bit.ly/tF5fK1.)

Maberry began building the bicycle frames, which became known as some of the lightest-weight BMX Blazer frames in the racing arena, in 1981. But within two years he and his partner stopped producing the frames made of aircraft tubing. And the limited production…

Canutillo teacher fires up students to succeed
By Alex Hinojosa \ El Paso Times

Math teacher Hector Acosta can’t resist a challenge.

So when his Canutillo High School students expressed doubt about passing the upcoming STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test, he offered them an incentive: For every student that promises to pass the test, he would bike 1 kilometer, or 0.6 miles, west of Canutillo. With more than 1,000-signed pledges later, that journey is sending him to the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. — more than 800 miles west from the town.

He set out at 7 a.m. today from Canutillo Middle School and will return by Jan. 5.

“I was just looking for a way to motivate the kids,” Acosta said. “It’s…

So You Woke Up Fat Today.
By Shawn        www.texasmountainbiketrails.com
Well, Thanksgiving is long gone, Christmas is in the bag and you are the proud owner of several extra pounds thanks to all of the holiday cheer. Today lets talk about how to lose weight through mountain biking.

If you’re like me, you might be looking into a larger-sized pair of  jeans right about now. Maybe some of  those fancy pants with an elastic waistband? Yikes! Weight loss can be a huge motivator to get on the bike every day and just keep riding. Just look at all these weight loss success stories from people riding their bikes, thanks to the MTBR forums. …