I Voted for this Mountain Bike Ride – November 8th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Being election day I voted for this Mountain Bike Ride. Another trip to the post office on today’s ride but I did not have to stand in line. When I pulled out of the driveway there some rain drops falling but they did not last long as I headed into the woods and the greenbelt trails. Whenever I came out of the woods I could feel a few drops and at point there were some big drops but they didn’t last long. I rode 15.68 miles at an average speed of 11.8 mph and a max speed of 19.9 mph. This is around my normal speed on my Motobecane 700HT MTB. The clouds were dark as the approaching cold front brings a change in the weather. The temperature was 76 degrees and the wind was similar to yesterday at 8 mph from the south-southeast with 17 mph gusts. As I finished the ride the rain drops picked up and thunder started. I may not be able to ride tomorrow with the cold front moving in.

One observation from riding my mountain bike is that a saddle that is comfortable on my road bike is not necessarily comfortable on my mountain bike. I might need to look for a Koobi PRS Century saddle on ebay.

November miles are up to 136.11 and year to date miles are 5119.61.

11-8-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/127386605 470 570]

Link to the route map and ride data at RidewithGPS.com.

11-8-2011 Home Weather End

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for November 7th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Bikes Belong, SRAM Partner on Campaign
www.bicycleretailer.com
BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)—Bikes Belong and the SRAM Cycling Fund are teaming up on a new campaign to fast-track the installation of safe bike facilities in U.S. cities.

Martha Roskowski, an expert in developing urban bicycling solutions, will head the project, which will be based at the Colorado headquarters of Bikes Belong.

The campaign will focus on the development of bike infrastructure facilities such as protected bike lanes that are separated from motorized traffic to enhance safety and encourage riders of all ages and abilities to use them. …

HBC Urban Challenge Ride Ride
Sunday 11/13/11
The Urban Challenge Rides are in-town group rides, faster and longer than the EZ Rides, each time taking you to different parts of the city each time. You should be able to maintain a pace of 15 mph and above for a distance of 40 to 45 miles, usually with one rest stop.

Remembering Andrew Taylor
www.bikehouston.org

Andrew Taylor, a Houston-area cyclist, died a bicycle accident in Clear Lake last week. You can find a reprint of an article promoting cycling that Andrew wrote for The Daily Cougar, the UH
student newspaper, on the Space City Cycling website HERE. The Daily Cougar’s memorial piece can be found…

Shimano has the Dura Ace Di electronic shifting and now there is some competition from Campagnolo. Get ready to lay down some serious bucks.

Campagnolo Unveils Electronic Drivetrain
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
TAORMINA, Sicily (BRAIN)—Campagnolo capped 20 years of research, development and engineering Monday with the unveiling of its long awaited 11-speed electronic drivetrain during a media launch in Taormina, a seaside village in the shadow of Sicily’s towering Mt. Etna.

Called Electronic Power Shift, or EPS, the system debuts commercially later this year in two versions, Super Record and Record, and consists of five components: EPS Ergopower controls that maintain Campy’s one lever action, but also include a switch mode to view battery charge level; an interface, a small box that communicates…

Cyclists: Take care on wet roads
By Pam LeBlanc        Fit City
It’s not too often that I pedal my bike down wet streets, but I got a good reminder this morning of why it’s important to be extra careful when I do.

It was still dark when I was cruising south along Shoal Creek Boulevard at about 6:30 a.m., admiring the brightly flashing red lights on the back of the bike in front of me.

As we approached Hancock Boulevard, the cyclist, who was wearing a fluorescent yellow safety vest, held his arm out to signal a right turn. But as he rounded the curve, his bike slid out from underneath him and he went…

Soldier Ride San Antonio 2011
The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas

The Soldier Ride San Antonio 2011 benefiting the Wounded Warrior Projectâ„¢ (WWP) invites you to join their upcoming ride happening on November 12, 2011 at Palo Alto Community College 1400 W. Villaret Blvd San Antonio, TX 78224

We were lucky enough to be granted an interview with Kate Davis, Events Manager of Soldier Ride San Antonio 2011 to ask some questions about their upcoming ride. …

Bicycle Advisory Council looking for a few good pedalers
by elliott                Austin On Two Wheels
The City of Austin’s Bicycle Advisory Council is looking for Austin cyclists to serve on the regular citizens committee that reports all things bicycle to the City. Their annual fall elections is next Thursday, November 17, and they will be filling 10 spots.

The City of Austin charges the BAC as follows:

  •  The purpose of the Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC) of Austin is to advise the City of Austin, and other jurisdictions which address transportation issues, on all matters relating to the use of the bicycle. The BAC is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations on planning…

Traffic Safety to discuss bike education, safe passing signs
by bikedenton
On tonight’s Traffic Safety commission agenda, they’re set to discuss a bike safety education program for Denton. The agenda backup includes bike safety promotional material from the Austin Bike Plan, BikeTexas, and a Maine advocacy group. The commission will also preview road signs for the Safe Passing ordinance.  Since the federal road manual (MUTCD) doesn’t have a Safe Passing sign, this will be a preview of a proposed…

 

Mountain Bike Riding Today – November 7th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Starting today I will be riding my Motobecane 700HT mountain bike through at least Sunday when the weather and my schedule permits. I thought it would be a change and offer some different exercise and sights. When I first started the ride today I felt some rain drops but when I rode onto the greenbelt trail they either went away or the trees blocked them. My first goal for today’s ride was to visit the US Post Office to mail an envelope. I was biking along but things slowed down real fast when I went into the Post Office. There was a line of 8 or 10 people and no people behind the counter. Every once in awhile a man would walk past behind the counter and then disappear. Eventually he reappeared and talked to the lady at the counter. She must have rented a PO box and he was instructing her on how it worked. Once she was helped I thought the line would advance a little faster but each person seemed to have a special situation that required several trips behind the wall.

At one point a woman appeared to work behind the counter but her customers also had special situations like passports and envelopes that needed a multitude of paperwork to get mailed. This did not help the line I was in which did finally move along. Once I was finished at the Post Office I was back on the trails for the bike ride.

The skies were mostly cloudy and the wind was much like it was on Saturday: 18 mph from the southeast with 26 mph gusts. I noticed that riding a mountain bike into the wind requires a lot of effort. With the more upright position my body acts like a sail. This works to my advantage once I turned around and had the tailwind. My average speed was 12.0 mph but when I had the tailwind I was going 15 to 18 mph most of the time. Where I live is flat but there are some small rises on the trails so I did manage a max speed of 19.3 mph at one point. Today I rode 15.74 miles and November miles are now 120.43, year to date miles are 5103.93.

With a warmer temperature today I was actually over dressed some with my long sleeve jersey. It was 75 at the start and 80 degrees at the end. Tomorrow the next cold front is supposed to move through so the warmth will leave as well but this should take place until around midnight Tuesday. during the day the temperature should reach 83. There is a 50% chance of rain during the day so my bike ride may not take place.

Unlike when I ride my road bike today I stopped and took a couple of pictures with my phone as I was riding over Lake Houston on W. Lake Houston Parkway. You can see some of the trees in distress from the drought.

W Lake Houston Parkway Looking East

W Lake Houston Parkway shoreline

 

11-7-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

Link to Garmin Connect data and map.   Link to the route map and ride data at RidewithGPS.com.

11-7-2011 Home Weather End

Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup for November 6th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The following blog is about some bikers who are from Texas. I think they are going to bike around Texas for missions but for now they are in New Mexico. (Note the blue sky!)

Second day we road through Carlsbad New Mexico with crazy head…
Tour de Tejas

Second day we road through Carlsbad New Mexico with crazy head winds and high mountains. Road up a mountain to Carlsbad Caverns we got off of our bikes and went 750feet under ground to check out the Caverns then put our cycling stuff on and cycled back down the mountain. Kyle had the devo today. We ended up skyping Humble First Assembly during there morning service which was awesome!! We are in the RV eating supper right now and then bed. Tomorrow we start day 3 of our ride.

Trail Hazard Alert
by dickdavid        Bike Friendly Richardson

If you happen to be cruising along the DART trail, close to East Side, watch for the big boulder in the way. This was apparently a…

Dallas Cycle Chic
2011 Tweed Ride!
by UrbanPedal

Start putting together your most dapper tweed outfit – the third annual Dallas Tweed Ride is set for Sunday November 13th.  The Tweed Ride (or Tweed Run) events bring together well-dressed cyclists in cities all over the world.

The best cities to live car-free in America
NYC and San Francisco? Sure, but LA makes the list despite its auto-centric reputation
Portland, Ore., has the second highest rate of commuters who ride bikes to work in the country.
By Charles B. Stockdale         www.msnbc.msn.com
…The majority of cities that are easy to maneuver on foot or by public access also have relatively large bicycle communities. For example, more people bike to work in a city like Portland, Ore., than in a city like San Antonio, Texas, which is not very pedestrian or bicyclist friendly. These cities tend to have an exceptional number of programs and bylaws for bicyclists. Seven of the cities on the 24/7 Wall St.’s list are also featured on Bicycling magazine’s list of the top 50 bike-friendly cities. …

Jack Brooks Park – Texas MTB
jarrodmaverickmoore     youtube.com

2nd Annual HALF CALF Benefit Bike Ride
by The Wheel Brothers – Cycling in Texas
Half Calf Benefit Bike RideThe 2nd Annual HALF CALF Benefit Bike Ride brought to you by the Vista Ridge FFA Alumni invites you to join their upcoming ride happening on November 12, 2011 at 200 South Vista Ridge Blvd. Cedar Park, Texas

We were lucky enough to be granted an interview with John Steczkowski, lead Organizer of HALF CALF Benefit Bike Ride to ask some questions about their upcoming ride.

Why Join this year’s ride?
It’s a great ride through the hill country, through beautiful ranch land. It’s a fully supported ride that benefits a great cause. …

El Paso Bicycle Club Rides & Events
Christmas Delights Ride    December 4th
Start at Redd Rock Crazy Cat at Redd and Desert. This will be a 25-30 mile moderate ride that will finish with hot beverages and Christmas goodies. Take advantage of the opportunity and do some last minute shopping at the same time! Patty Van Tine, 915-667-0202 or miflynnsinn@peoplepc.com for more information.

New Race Team Director Announced
by Val Tiemann         www.northwestcyclingclub.com
I’m happy to announce our race team’s new director, Sheldon Parmer.  Sheldon has been a member of NWCC since 2005 and has raced for us this past year.  If you know Sheldon, you probably know him for his friendliness and sense of humor.  If you ever ridden with him, you know what a strong cyclist he has…

The PCC Annual Picnic at Froberg’s Farm & Greak’s Smokehouse
was a great success with about 70 PCC members, friends and families attending.
Pearland Cycling Club