Memorial Day – May 30th Bike Ride

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I debated on which route to ride today. To factors decided the route: Memorial Day and the strong southeast wind. I wanted to take some pictures of what people are doing for Memorial Day to recognize the military people ho have died serving our country. If I went north I would probably not see as much evidence as the route I ended up riding over towards Crosby. Most of the pictures below are from the signs a group put our along both sides of FM2100 from Crosby to Huffman. The 32 mph wind was bending most of the over so that is not easy to see them from the road so I stopped a couple of times to snap the picture. Also there were flags out at many places. Over the years the memory of why we have this day has faded. I remember when I was a youngster in the 1950’s there would be a parade where veterans would march down Main Street with several bands. Then we would go to the cemetery to visit the graves of family members. One of my uncles was killed in north Africa and his body was never found. We owe a great debt to those who served.

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The second reason for this route was the brutal wind. When I started it was 17 mph with gusts in the 24 mph range. When I finished the wind was 24 mph with 32 mph gusts. At one point when I was riding into the wind I geared down one gear and was slowed to about 11 mph. As I finally reached a turn where the wind was from my back and side the pedaling was much easier. The goal was 40 miles and I almost made it at 39.29 miles. I altered my route somewhat because of the wind. If I had not changed the miles would have been around 45. Average speed was 14.4 mph. Max speed was 21.3 mph. Average cadence was 76.1 rpm. The slowest part of the ride was about the 17 mile point to the 18.45 mile point.

Mostly cloudy skies and about 50% humidity combined with 88 degrees compensated for the hard wind.

May mileage:

  • May miles 675.04 (5 miles over my stretch goal)
  • Year to date miles 2177.71

5-30-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

5-30-2011 Home Weather Finish

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for May 29th

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Pre-Tour d’Italia Ride
from www.lonestarcyclists.org
Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 8:30am
Location: Italy, Texas
This is a chance to ride the course and also to do some preliminary tasks, like checking out rest stop sites, putting out signs, etc. Even if you’re not a rider, come on down to Italy for a fun day kickstarting the TDI. We’ll have a good time painting the routes (wear your ugliest pair of shoes!), sagging for the riders (GREATLY appreciated), and checking out a local restaurant. Routes of 12, 33, 42, 50, and 62 miles.

My First National Bike Summit
by Sherman Phillips    from www.biketexas.org
Not knowing exactly what to expect as a rooky at the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., I was mostly successful in keeping an open mind as our plane touched down on Monday at Reagan National Airport. Durwood Mayfield and I, both Lubbock Outreach Coordinators, grabbed our luggage from the baggage claim area and immediately realized what the consequences were going to be…

HBC Houston Sans Car Ride
Sun 06/05/11
This is an informal, leader led ride, at a leisurely pace ( Ride speed:  11 to 14 mph )  for those who want to know Houston  and many of its special places, by bike.  Learn basic bicycle commuting safety with a friendly group.  Rest stop will include one of the city’s independent coffee houses.  This ride is normally scheduled the first Sunday of each month and the route will vary at the whim of the leader, but will generally include a “figure 8 pattern” so that riders who do not wish to do the entire ride can easily return to the ride start.

I saw this white thing out of the side of my eye – May 29th Bike Ride

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The warm and dry weather continues with 91 degrees, partly cloudy skies and a strong 21 mph wind with gusts to 29 mph from the southeast. Humidity was a almost dry 47%. While I was out riding I did not realize the wind was so strong and I thought my legs were tired from yesterday’s ride. I rode 25.08 miles today to bring the weekly total to 165.92 and the May total is now 635.75. Year to date miles are now 2138.43. Average speed today was a lowly 14.2 mph but I did manage the max speed of 22.1 mph. Average cadence was 76.4 rpm.

Tomorrow I want to ride about 40 miles to hit my stretch goal of 670 miles for May. With the Memorial Day holiday I will try to get an early start.

While I was riding today beside one of the holes of the Oakhurst Golf Club I saw this white thing out of the side of my eye and then a golf ball bounced on the pavement and hit my shoe. It then bounced back into the grass. I don’t know if this caused a penalty shot for the golfer.

5-29-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

5-29-2011 Home Weather Finish

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for May 28th

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7:00am – Corinth Cycling Group Rides
by Scott Franklin
When: Sat Jun 4, 2011 7am to 10am  CDT
Where: Ronny Crownover Middle School
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Corinth Cycling Saturday morning group rides. Please visit http://www.corinthcycling.com/cccriderules.pdf for additional information.

JEFF VAUGHN: Texas ranks 32 in bicycle-friendly states
Washington state is number one and West Virginia is number 50. The Lone Star state ranks in the lower half at 32nd.

The League of American Bicyclists has released their list of bike-friendly states in conjunction with May’s Bike Month.  Click here for the complete list, including rankings by category.

The League based its list on a combination of factors that include: …

Meet Jacque Payne: SCCCC Director
from www.usacycling.org


How did you first get involved with cycling?
We lived in Germany and Okinawa for 13 years (military AF).  In Germany we would load panniers on our bikes, ride along the Rhine River over the weekend, then hop on a train and be back in Wiesbaden in a couple of hours.  We lived in the Taunustein Mtns so there were plenty of trails to ride our bikes.  In Okinawa, we would ride along the coast line camping out on the beaches.  When we were transferred to San Antonio, my kids got into mtn bike racing with the Texas Mtn Bike Racing Association (TMBRA) and Texas Road Bike Racing (TXBRA).  About that time, the USAC created the…