Texas Bicycling News Roundup for June 21st

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U.S. Interstate Bike Routes Bolstered…As Highways Neglected?
from www.thecarconnection.com
You’ve probably heard of I-5, I-80, or I-95, the legendary U.S. 66 or the still-useful U.S. 2. But what about USBR 20?

It’s been 55 years since the Interstate highway system was initiated by President Eisenhower. And while that system might be crumbling and ill-maintained in some respects, there’s another one…

Lone Star Cyclists Ride
Tuesday and Thursday evening rides meet at the Oasis / Lynn Creek Marina, 5700 Lake Ridge Parkway, Grand Prairie. Start time is 6:15 PM and rides last 2 – 2 1⁄2 hours. Groups form according to the pace desired. The route is determined by those present. You must have lights on the front and rear of your bike so we can extend our ride time to dark or a little beyond.

Texas Cup Action

Cat 5’s racing through Sam Houston Park at the Houston Grand Crit – June 11, 2011. Photo courtesy of Kevin Tokarski. www.txbra.org

Celebrated Living Magazine Sweepstakes
by MarketWatch (press release)
Truly a pioneer in the cruiser bicycle industry, Villy Customs created the first ever photorealistic 3D website in 2009 enabling customers to design their own “dream” bike by choosing from a wide array of color combinations, features, and accessories. …

Tiles: Notes from Houston, part 2
from www.kcchronicle.com
Monday morning and the 5K time trial was to start, for me, at 10:10:30. Start times changed and I guess I missed their message. Regardless, it continues to amaze me – the human spirit.??

I just finished chat time trialing with a gentleman competing in the 75-79 group. He is the reigning USA Cycling National Road Champion in his age group. I am observing an amazing collection of bike equipment and cycling outfits. AND I was worried about my black skin suit, red shoe covers and time trial helmet. I look like a wall flower compared to some. …

Shawnee Trail Cycling Club Commuter of the Year 2011
by sooner1
Shawnee Trail Cycling Club would like to take a moment to recognize one of our outstanding members.  The selection was made during National Bike Month – being announced this month because of conflicts in schedules.

The inaugural Commuter of the Year award goes to Katie Anderson Parker.  Katie has been commuting to work on her bike for a couple of years and has quickly become a…

Team Sponsorship for Amateur Cycling
by Ken    from Texas Racing Life
One way competitive cycling is different from other amateur sports is that sponsorship can be a huge deal.  There aren’t many sports where as an amateur you can get free equipment, clothing,  event entry fees, and travel expenses paid for. But in amateur competitive cycling, there are teams that offer free bikes, free kits, race…

Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup for June 20th

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Houston Bicycle Club
Sat 07/02/11
Montgomery
Ride through the beauty of the pines in Sam Houston National Forest to Dobbin, Dacus, Richards, and Anderson. Expect hills and country roads.

We REALLY need your help next Sunday @ UAR!!!
Austin Ridge Riders
by Laura Scagno on Mon, 06/20/2011 – 11:03
We REALLY need your help next Sunday!!!  And you will have a great time!!! VOLUNTEER for the Urban Assault Ride! Sunday June 26, 2011 – Various Locations around Austin. Providing volunteers for the UAR is one of our biggest opportunities to raise funds to support club programs (Trail Work, RLAG, Kid Trips, Monthly Rides, etc.)…

Austin Ridge Riders
Sunday, September 11, 2011 – 09:00
Kid Trips will be conducting training for adult scout leaders at the BSA’s Powder Horn 2011 in Salado, TX at their private ranch. We could use a few more adult volunteers to assist us with the rides and bike skills training. Contact John Southrey at 512-589-5453 for more information.

El Paso Bicycle Club Rides
Saturday, July 2
Romp in the Valley-7:30 am
Start at Rio Plaza and ride for 25-30 miles through the beautiful flat roads of the Upper Valley at a B/IG pace. Terry Campbell, 915-497-0882.
Sunday, July 3
Chamizal exploration-7:30 am
Meet at Chamizal National Memorial parking lot. Ride Scenic to Alabama to Loop 375 to Global Reach to North Loop to Delta & back. Moderate pace, “BIG” (Beginner-Intermediate Group) riders encouraged to join. 35-40 miles. Jim Weaver, 915-775-9757.

2011 Team Mileage Challenge
www.northwestcyclingclub.com
Team Mileage Challenge Standings – FINALLY!!! I think I’ve got all of the emails sorted through and the weekly mileage tabulated correctly for the first eight weeks of the challenge. Please check your mileage and if you find any discrepancies, let me know and I will correct it. Now that we’re at the end of Week 9, if you haven’t already done so, send in last week’s mileage and I promise to get back to my weekly blow-by-blow reporting. Cheers, David…

Denton Katy Trail reopened
by bikedenton

Yesterday, along with the reopening of passenger train service, Denton also got the rail trail back after two years of closure. Parks and Rec says the bike and pedestrian bridge over Loop 288 will be constructed by Spring 2012. …

Red, White and Bike – Ride To See The Fireworks At Breckinridge Park
by dickdavid    Bike Friendly Richardson
We are proud to host another group ride for Richardson bicyclists. The Red, White and Bike ride will be a slow paced, evening ride out to Breckinridge Park to enjoy the July 4th celebration. We’ll meet up at Galatyn Park and…

Living Large Driving Less
by marc@mcmumby.com        BikeDFW
What makes a community livable? How about getting rid of cars?
By Tom Vanderbilt | Illustrations by John Blanchard
At the risk of sounding like your grandfather, I am about to tell you how I walked to school when I was a kid. It may not have been three miles, through heavy snowdrifts (though, since I lived in Chicago, there were those), but on most days, I walked. It was just what most kids did. …

Trail riders help forge solution
Park still lacks funds to repair washed-out path beloved by equestrians
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer
One year after furious runoff from a summer rain cut a 20-foot gorge into the Greenbelt Corridor trail, park officials are still seeking a solution.

Officials closed the east side of the equestrian trail from FM455 to FM428 after the washout, the scale of which caught even the park superintendent by surprise.

“The guys told me it had really eroded, but I was in shock when…

TxDOT, City of Amarillo and Amarillo Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold a series of public meetings to discuss and gather citizen input about the use of Loop 335 from SW 77th Avenue south and east to Western Street .
Please join us at one of the meetings:
Thursday, June 23 from 5 to 7 pm at Trinity Fellowship Church, North Ministry Hall
Thursday, June 30 from 5 to 7 pm at First United Bank, 4501 First United Bank Parkway
Thursday, July 7 from 6-8 pm in Amarillo Civic Center, Heritage Room (Entrance 7)
(“TxDOT is receptive to bicycle and pedestrian suggestions for this project on the southwest part of the loop”, Ken Graham)

Midnight Mini Massacre – Ponder, TX

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Midnight Mini Massacre
Presented by The Spinistry
Ponder, TX
Saturday, August 13, 2011

USA Cycling Event USA Cycling Permit # 2011-2472
Online Registration Closes Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:59 PM ET

The Midnight Mini Massacre (USAC Permit 2011-2472) is a metric century gravel grinder starting at 8 pm near Ponder, TX. The route will primarily be made up of dirt/gravel roads as well as some short and desolate paved segments. The midpoint will swing through Decatur, TX for a bit of civilization and refueling capabilities. Headlights and tail lights are required but this should be an excellent way to beat the August heat in Texas and take in a new type of adventure.

Preregister by 8/1 and entry fee is only $20!
Preregister 8/1-8/12 and entry fee is $30
Day of registration $40

This evening’s ride was literally cut short by a sharp object – June 20th Bike Ride

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This evening’s ride was literally cut short by a sharp object while I was riding over Lake Houston on the FM1960 McKay Causeway. Whatever I hit did the damage quickly. Due to the traffic and wind noise it is almost impossible to patch a tube on the causeway. I inspected the tire but did not find the damage until I looked at the sidewall. The slit was about 3/8″ long and the cords were cut so patching the tube would not have fixed the problem for very long. So I only managed to ride 11.8 miles and walked about 1.5 miles back to the Chevron service station to wait on my wife to come get me. While I was walking back another biker came over to see if he could help. I told him what the situation was and we talked about the debris that was accumulating on the causeway bridge due to no rain. While I was walking I saw a bunch of stuff that could kill a bike tire and wondered how I made it as far as I did.

When I got home I decided to replace the Continental tires with new Hutchinson Fusion 2 Ultra 700×23 ones. I had been waiting to put these on when I got to 3,000 miles so I made the change 21 miles earlier than planned. These new tires have a gray sidewall so they match the Motobecane Le Champion paint scheme better than the black wall Continentals. According to the Hutchinson package the tires have both performance and resistance to puncture. The test will be on the Lake Houston McKay Causeway.

Tomorrow marks the turning point for the length of daylight as the first day of Summer arrives. Hopefully some rain arrives with this. Wildfires are starting to crop up in East Texas. There has been a 15,000 acre one in the Davy Crockett National Forest northwest of Corrigan and near Carmona. My wife’s family has many people buried at the Carmona Cemetery so I hope the fire does not spread.

With today’s shortened ride I may not ride again until Thursday. Tuesday is a rest day although today could qualify as one. Wednesday it is supposed to rain and I have a meeting. So June miles are now at 463.40 and year to date miles are 2641.11. I averaged 14.9 mph but only managed a high speed of 19.9 due to going into the wind. I usually raise my average speed when I have the tailwind.

6-20-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

6-20-2011 IAH Weather Start