Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for March 12th

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Carrollton Cycling
EFFECTIVE 03/11/11
Andy Brown rides have restarted and will be led by Bob Chaplin and Al Thibodeau
starting at 9:00 Saturday mornings.
Valerie Meyer is coordinating Saturday Carrollton Gazebo (9:00) and Sunday
Rosemeade and Marsh (9:30).
IBC rides start March 14 at 6:00 led by Greg Borchert and Don Blackard.

8:00am – CCC Group Ride
from Corinth Cycling Club by Scott Franklin
When: Sun Apr 3, 2011 8am to 10:30am  CDT
Where: Ronny Crownover Middle School
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: Corinth Cycling Sunday Group Ride Information – 8:00AM All rides depart from Ronny Crownover Middle School in Corinth 1901 Creekside Drive, Corinth, TX 76210 HELMETS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL CCC GROUP RIDES

LEADING LOCAL ARTISTS TRANSFORM USED BIKES TO RAISE AWARNESS FOR MULTIPLE …
by The Cypress Times
HOUSTON, TX – In conjunction with MS Awareness Week, The National Multiple Sclerosis Society: Lone Star will unveil ART BIKE 2011. This month-long art installation of 15 colorful, uniquely-designed bicycles, will kick-off on March 15 at Discovery Green …

ANTHONY WILSON: Trip mixes training, fun
by San Angelo Standard Times
The Fredericksburg rides prepped us well for the Children’s Miracle Network Heart of Texas Bike Ride in Brady a few weeks later. That 65-mile ride had always killed me in the past. But it was a breeze compared to our 50-miler in F’burg. …

Today’s ride was different since… – March 12th Bike Ride

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Today’s ride was different since I was not riding by electric light but was wearing sunglasses. As a result I was able to see many sights that I could in the dark. I could see the red bud trees, Bradford pear trees and azaleas were blooming signaling that spring is just a few days away. In addition I determined that I am not in condition to ride heading into a stiff wind. While the wind was generally 10 mph the south the 23 mph gusts were another story. You can see on the speed chart that when I was riding south or southeast my speed dropped dramatically, sometimes in the single digits when a particularly strong gust came at me. Considering that it has been a couple of weeks since I rode this distance on the road bike I can see that the 13 – 15 mile MTB rides are not real conditioning events. With DST beginning in the wee hours tomorrow I can start putting more road miles on.

Temperature (IAH station): 77 degrees, wind 10 mph south, mostly cloudy skies. My weather station: 80 degrees, wind 4 mph east, mostly cloudy skies.

During today’s ride I saw two groups of other riders on FM2090 around the 21 mile mark. The first group of three were recreational riders and the second group of 6 plus one dropped rider were much more serious and faster.

I stopped two times to adjust my saddle. Last Saturday I adjusted the pitch of the saddle but I did not tighten the screws enough so when I started out today the saddle moved and I readjusted it. I did not get it right so I stopped two times to attempt to dial it in. My last attempt in Splendora was correct. The Motobecane Le Champion is a great ride and the carbon frame is smooth over the many bumps. I hope to ride 25 miles or so tomorrow.

I was thinking of going to the Raven’s Revenge ride in Huntsville but I calculated the fuel cost plus entry fee and changed my mind. With the run up in gasoline prices I suspect other people may be making the same decision.

March mileage update:

  • March miles 108.15
  • YTD miles 633.33
  • 984 miles on Motobecane Le Champion since I purchased it

3-12-2011 Bike Ride Data and Map

Additional charts, weather and map.

[nggallery id=183]

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for March 11th

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Rocky Mountain Bicycles recalls some cyclocross bikes because of fork failures
via VeloNews by VeloNews.com on 3/10/11
Procycle Group, Inc., the parent company of Rocky Mountain Bicycles, is recalling about 325 cyclocross bikes because the steerer tube on the bikes can fail.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the company has received four reports of injuries, including three reports of cuts and scrapes and one report of a broken wrist. …

Making the case: The National BIke Summit
from The Blog www.peopleforbikes.org
Every March in Washington, D.C., hundreds of bicycle advocates and industry leaders convene for the National Bike Summit. It’s a chance to share lessons and best practices in advocating for bicycling, but, more importantly, to make bicycling better through the only way possible: asking.

Bicycling in America has its issues, and we’ve learned that if we want to make it easier and safer to ride a bike, then we have to have a seat at the…

Bicycle-commute benefits go beyond saving on gas
by San Angelo Standard Times
By Bill Cullins SAN ANGELO, Texas — Gas prices hit $3.45 a gallon this week. It may be time to seriously consider parking the car and riding a bicycle to and from work. Bike commuting might be one way to get back at the oil and gas market speculators. …