The sky was overcast and the temperature did not quite… – December 13th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The sky was overcast and the temperature did not quite make it to the forecast of 68 degrees stopping at 64. A breeze from the southeast of 10 mph increased to 16.1 mph by the time I finished. My route included some new sections as well as some of the regular ones. One part was over a road and some dirt trail that I have looked at for a long time and wondered if it would connect me to a place where I could continue riding. I found out that indeed this was the case. I was not sure how long this route was going to be since I was freelancing as I went but it ended up at 15.74 miles. My average speed dropped .4 mph from yesterday to 12.2 mph. I think was a result of the dirt portion and the wind when I was heading toward the southeast. My average cadence was lower as well ending up at 76.0 RPM. The max speed jumped up to 25.4 mph because I had a couple of downhills. So with two days biking in a row and warmer weather on the way it looks like there will be more biking this week.

I almost made it to 100 miles for the month standing at 97.48 now and year to date is now 5468.79 miles.

In previous reports I have mentioned the trees that have been cut down due to the drought and pine beetles. Today’s route took me through one area that has some big trees on the ground. Below are some pictures.

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12-13-2011 Bikie Ride Data and Route Map

Link to my Garmin Connect ride data and map.

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12-13-2011 Home Weather End

Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup December 12th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

SRAM Cable and Housing Cutter
urbanvelo.org

When my trusty old home-mechanic-quality cable cutter finally gave up the ghost this year, I turned to my local bike shop for a recommendation. I had expected them to suggest one with blue handles, but instead they enthusiastically suggested the SRAM cable and housing cutter. In fact, both the shop owner and mechanic claim it’s the only…

Jingle Bell Ride & Holiday Folly
Austin Ridge Riders
Saturday, December 17, 2011 – 18:30 – 22:00
Northwest Balcones Park, 10201 Talleyran, 78750
Don your red & green socks, strap on some silver bells and wrap some garland or holly on your two-wheeled steed and join us for a fun, family-friendly neighborhood ride to see some spectacular home decorations and partake in some holiday spirit. We might even decide to celebrate as a capella bike choir carollers! Santa’s favorit elf, CIndy W. is scouting out the best route for…

CHAPARRAL BEST All-ROUND RACER
West Texas Cycling Association
The Chaparrals have two traveling awards for Best All-Round Racer (BAR) of the year, styled after a long-time British tradition. We have a Off-Road BAR and a Road BAR. Points are accumulated by racing in either USAC-sanctioned or outlaw races (the outlaw races must have been designated as a “race”. For example, the Steamin’ Wheels in Abilene is a bona-fide outlaw race, but the Tour de Muleshoe is simply a tour where people like to hammer. Use the below listed points schedule to figure your points. The BAR point structure covers both road and…

Houston Randonneurs 2012 Brevet Schedule

Interlochen Christmas Ride – Lone Star Cyclists
Pace: Viewing (so dress extra warm!)
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011 – 6:15pm
Location: River Legacy Park, 703 NW Green Oaks Blvd
Join the Thursday night riders for a tour of Interlochen’s Christmas lights the day BEFORE it officially opens, (I’m thinking fewer cars??). These are some of the best Christmas lights anywhere and even more fun to view by bicycle! Meet near the pavilion and be ready to ride at 6:15 PM. Front and back lights are required for your bike but feel free to express your inner Santa with decorations on yourself or your bike.

San Antonio Wheelmen Rides
Saturday, December 17:  Elmendorf Ride

Sunday, December 18:  Comfort-Lady Bird Loop Ride

Saturday,  December 24:  Christmas Eve Leaderless Ride

Sunday, December 25:  Christmas Day Leaderless Ride

Saturday, December 31:  New Year’s Eve Ride

Sunday, January 1:  New Year’s Leaderless Ride

It was 64 degrees in Houston today but the cold weather will be back. Be prepared.

Turn Old Bike Shorts into a Winter Wind Blocking Layer
posted by Tyler (Editor)        www.bikerumor.com

Chances are you have a pair of old cycling shorts that have been pushed out of your regular rotation, forgotten in the back of the drawer. Now you can give them a new life.

I’ve found that many winter rights tights put wind blocking material over the knees and thighs only to stop short of the most critical parts, leaving your crotch subject to arctic air blowing across your bits and pieces at 15-20mph. If the tights have a chamois built in, the problem is compounded because it’s not practical to wear…

Groceries by Bike
by minorbaker        Austin on Two Wheels

Two years ago, the downtown Whole Foods decided to explore doing deliveries by bike.  I have been wanting to start a monthly segment highlighting jobs in the Austin area where people are making a living on a bike.  Whole Foods is a perfect starting point. I arranged a time to meet up with Matt Whetstone, the coordinator for bike deliveries.  While we waited for an…

The Dallas Bike Plan is stalled and here’s why
by Christopher Curnutt        Biking in Dallas

Well *I* don’t have the money, I thought YOU had the money!

While on one hand we have a modern Dallas Bike Plan, on the other we lack a plan of execution.  Or more specifically, we lack the funds to execute that plan.  Seems nobody mentioned that detail to the city council when they were having the plan drawn up.  So mix in a little right hand not talking to the left hand for flavor. …

Plano Safer For Bicyclists
The city of Plano is investing in new signs to direct cyclists and alert drivers.
By Catherine Ross        www.nbcdfw.com

According to Plano Police Department numbers, in 2009 and 2010, more than 50 cyclists were injured while riding on city streets.

While Garland’s Greg Stone hasn’t experienced a serious accident personally, he sees how it could happen.

“Sometimes it’s hard to find a good, safe way to get to work,” he said.

Stone rides more than 16 miles per day, commuting by bike to his job in Plano. Soon, however, his…

P&Z clears path for bicycle, pedestrian plan
Public hearing and vote by council on proposal is expected in February
By Lowell Brown / Staff Writer        Denton Record-Chronicle
The city’s proposed bicycle and pedestrian plan cleared another hurdle Wednesday.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the plan, which now heads to the City Council for final action. A public hearing and vote is expected in February.

The plan takes stock of existing conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians, suggests roadway design standards and offers short- and…

The BikeConsole iPhone Mount – Installation and Review
by Justin            The Plano Cyclist

Since I am an early adopter, and needed the ability to move appointments and send harassing text messages verbally, I actually stood in a line to upgrade to the iPhone 4S. As I stood in my line, I was Googling away on my perfectly functioning iPhone 3G, looking for a bike mount for the new phone. I am afraid to admit that I’m a headphone guy; I love having music on my rides. I do feel a little guilty sometimes because everyone says “You’ll die if you can’t hear the car that’s going to run you over”. I can’t bunny hop, so I don’t see myself doing…

It was supposed to be 64 degrees outside – December 12th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

It was supposed to be 64 degrees outside when I started today’ ride but in the shade of the trees along the trails it felt cooler. Squirrels were darting everywhere as I was riding and I thought for sure I was going to have one dive into my spokes but they all managed to stop just in time or veer around me. The clouds were covering most of the sky but the sun made it through every once in a while. There was a 12 mph southeast breeze which helped the temperature get where it was but it was hard to notice it among the trees. Speaking of trees, I was on some trails I have biked for sometime and the number of trees cut down as a result of the drought and the pine beetle is really sad. Some of the trees are almost 2 feet in diameter at the base of the trunk. The weather should warm up to the 70’s by Thursday so I should be able to get some miles in, maybe even on my road bike.

I am slowly inching up in miles with today adding 18.41 miles. December is 81.74 miles and year to date I have 5453.04 miles. My average speed was 12.6 mph and the max speed was 19.9 mph which was good without any downhills. My average cadence was 78.6 RPM.

12-12-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

Link to my RideWithGPS.com ride data and map.

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12-12-2011 Home Weather End

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for December 11th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

HBC New Years Pot Luck Lunch And Ride
Houston Bicycle Club
9:00 AM January 1, 2012
Lunch: 11:30AM. Join us for the annual New Years Day pot luck feast. Start with a leisurely in-town ride through West University, Bellaire, The Galleria, Memorial Park, and Montrose. Then bring out your best dish for the traditional pot luck lunch! Prizes will be given for the most tasty homemade dish and dessert! Turkey, ham, and drinks provided by the HBC. Many attendance prizes will also be awarded. Start the new year right with riding buddies and great food! …

Waco Bicycle Club Rides
Sunday Beginner Mountain Bike
Sunday 02:00 PM
Mountain/beginner More

Waco Dam
Tuesday 05:30 PM
Road/all levels More

KOW
Wednesday 05:30 PM
Road/drop, training More

Thursday Hewitt Park Road Ride
Thursday 05:30 PM
Road/all levels More

Indian Springs Park Community Ride
Saturday 09:00 AM
Road/all levels More

Fort Worth Bicycling Association Ride
Kowbell Kountry Kruse
Date     Sunday, December 18, 2011 9:00 am
Type of Ride     Club Event
Location     Mansfield TX
Sponsor     Jackie and Beth Robinson
Email Contact     bikingtexas@att.net
Phone Contact     817-205-7494
Join Jackie and Beth for ride out of Mansfield. Routes or 35 and 62 miles are available. The ride starts at Mansfield Legacy High School at 1263 North Main in Mansfield.

North Texas Cycling
NTC is proud to announce that for the 2012 season we have launched Cowboys Racing.

This group will be led by Derek Whisenhunt, President and Race Team Director. We would like to Thank Bicycles Inc for their sponsorship. This is going to be a great year of racing.
Introducing the Cowboys Racing Team:
Aaron Grisham
Ryan Lorimer
Scotty Taylor
Derek Whisenhunt
Jamie Zitnik
Greg Wood
Florentino Martinez
Enoc Shida

This is not a Texas race but Colorado is a bordering state and a number of fans go from Texas.

Inside Cycling TV Broadcasting USA Pro Cycling Challenge Host City Announcement Tuesday
posted by Tyler (Editor) – www.bikerumor.com
PRESS RELEASE: Beginning a new partnership with the prestigious USA Pro Cycling Challenge stage race, InsideCycling.TV (ICTV) announces that it will provide the live internet broadcast for next week’s exclusive celebration for the event’s 2012 official host cities. Live streaming video of this special event, with athlete interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, will be produced and broadcast by ICTV on Tuesday, December 13 from 4p.m. to 6p.m. (MST).

USA Pro Cycling Challenge, recently elevated to a 2.HC stage race by the Union Cycliste Internationale, unveiled the names of the 12 Colorado host cities for the 2012 event this past week. At Tuesday’s private reception in Denver, Colo., an all-star cast of professional cyclists and Colorado Senator Al White, who serves…

Just because you are a recreational biker does not mean you cannot eat right.

What’s Wrong with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines?
Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health E-Zine
December 11, 2011 Issue
Walter Willett, the chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard, is the most published nutritionist in the world. He thinks that the U.S. Dietary Guidelines are flawed because they cater to large food-selling companies (N Engl J Med October 27, 2011;365:1563-1565). North Americans suffer premature death from poor eating habits that increase their risk for obesity, heart attacks, strokes, gout, and certain cancers. Dr. Willett says “The dietary guidelines should base recommendations primarily on foods, not…

The 100 degree weather is long gone but this will come in handy when the heat returns in a few months (I hope).

Neck Cooling Helps You Go Faster in Hot Weather
Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s Fitness and Health E-Zine
December 4, 2011 Issue
Placing a cooling band on the neck before the start of a 90-minute time trial helps you run faster in hot weather (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, December 2011; 43(12):2388-2395). Replacing the cooling neck band every 30 minutes offered no additional benefit.

More than 80 percent of the energy used to power your muscles is lost as heat, so during intense exercise in the heat, body temperature rises. This slows you down as the limiting factor to how fast you can run is the time it takes to bring oxygen into muscles through the bloodstream. A rise in body temperature increases the amount of oxygen your muscles need and slows you…