Texas Bicycling Action – May 12, 2023

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Conroe seeks $6 million TxDOT grant for hike and bike path on Sgt. Ed Holcomb Boulevard

Catherine Dominguez | www.houstonchronicle.com

A state grant could help fund a $6 million hike and bike path along Sgt. Ed Holcomb Boulevard in Conroe.

City Council agreed to move forward with a grant application to the Texas Department of Transportation that would fund the project without the support of two council members.

Council members Howard Wood and Marsha Porter were the nay votes in the 3-2 vote during the council’s regular meeting Thursday.

“There are some other projects in the city and my mind is going more on the …

‘Excitement On a Well Beaten Path’ Southern Tier East to West

By S. Crocker | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Bastrop TX – Austin TX

Friday May 12, 2023 The number of times I have to stop, look around, and ask myself what I’m doing while packing up in the morning is now down to: 2 times.

A couple cyclists I met told me getting into Austin was rough. It must be directional, because getting downtown going Westerly was a breeze! I’m guessing getting out of town may be rough…

Stopped in at Mellow Johnny’s bike shop in DT Austin and picked up a chain and another pair of bike shorts. I’m interested to see how much the chain has stretched over 1500 miles, lubed exactly two times.

The Bike Curious Ride – Sunday May 14 – 6PM – Mueller Hangar
by u/bikecuriousatx in socialcyclingaustin

Tour du Rouge Day 6 Gonzales, Louisiana

Brandy Zimmer | strava.com

Gonzales to New Orleans Final destination Another day of total headwind Awesome experience being part of this tour and the Arc Foundation Time was way to short lol Wish I could get paid everyday to ride like this

Tour du Rouge day 6 It’s a wrap! 530 miles in 6 days Gonzales, Louisiana

Action Jackson | strava.com

Alligator ride Fort Bend County, Texas

Roland Panjaitan | strava.com

Houston Special Houston, Texas

Sarah F | strava.com

Hot, Humid and Windy.

Morning Ride with Brenda, Cindy and Lisa Cibolo, Texas

Chuck Lutz | strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

Vacillated On Route Selection. Halfway To May’s Goal

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I wanted another 40+ mile ride today and vacillated between two routes, Kingwood – Hare Cook Road – Kingwood (about 45 miles) and New Caney – Roman Forest – Valley Ranch (about 43 miles). I chose the latter but made a few changes to the streets to increase the mileage a little. I thought the changes would get the distance closer to 45 miles and ended up biking 44.77 miles. I’m still trying to recoup the lost miles from not riding Wednesday. With today’s ride the week is at 149.24 and the month at 379.92. I passed the halfway point to my 750 mile goal and increased my cushion on the pace to 15.7 days versus the 12th day of the month, a 3.7 day buffer.

It was a big mountain stage for the Giro d’Italia and I paused the race at 41km to the finish after eating breakfast. After getting dressed for the ride I wheeled the Cervelo Caledonia out and pressed start at 9:20 AM. The weather is starting to act like May with the temperature at 81 degrees at the beginning. The 12 mph south wind helped me get to Tavola but was menacing as I rode east into Roman Forest. The trees and winding streets kept the wind effect down until I biked back to US59 to ride south. I expected more headwind than I perceived riding parallel to US59 probably from the passing traffic on the freeway and frontage road. Valley Ranch Parkway had the most wind exposure with not much to break the wind. I stopped at the TX 99 overpass to eat a couple of granola bars and rest a little. The breeze in the shade felt good. I finished the bike ride at 1:09 PM.

Weather for today’s bike ride: Start 81 degrees, humidity 77%, dew point 73, overcast, wind S 12 mph; Finish 87 degrees, humidity 69%, dew point 76, mostly cloudy, wind S 12 mph. It looks like the long sleeve jerseys aren’t going to be needed for awhile.

A summary of recent rides on this route. Today’s was the 2nd longest and the average is around 42 to 43 miles. All but one ride has been on my Cervelo bike.

5-12-2023 SportTrcks Recent Ride History New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch
5-12-2023 SportTrcks Recent Ride History New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch

Below is the RWGPS map for today and the ride last month to compare the route differences. The big change today was adding the loop through Brooklyn Trails at the 8 mile point. I thought that would add more distance than it did.

Five starred Strava segments on the ride today. I contested 2 but no results.

5-12-2023 SStrava Ride Summary New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch
5-12-2023 SStrava Ride Summary New Caney-Roman Forest-Valley Ranch

Texas Bicycling News Digest – May 11, 2023

Texbiker.net Posted on by

‘He was a selfless kid’ | Teen set to graduate and join Marines killed by driver who left scene, SAPD says

Author: Henry Ramos | www.kens5.com

SAN ANTONIO — A teenager was found dead in a ditch after San Antonio Police suspect the 18-year-old was hit by a car. SAPD said the teen was on his bike at the time he was hit and killed. Police also said the driver did not stop. The Bexar County Medical Examiner identified the teen as Jacob Matthew Lopez.

Fabian Rocha said he saw Lopez as a son. He said the teen was set to graduate next month from South San Antonio High School and then serve in the Marines.

“He was a selfless kid,” he said. “We were looking forward to the man he was becoming, especially with joining the Marines.” …

Nonprofit donates 100 bikes built by hand to Austin students

Author: Sam Searles, Eric Pointer | www.kvue.com

The bike building event for the school’s students was held on Wednesday. Sixty volunteers showed up to help get the job done.

AUSTIN, Texas — Students at an Austin elementary school will get to go home with a brand new bike on Thursday!

Thanks to Can’d Aid, 100 first- and second-grade students at Josephine Houston Elementary School received free bikes through the nonprofit’s "Treads and Trails" program at 9:40 a.m. on Thursday, May 11. The goal of the program is to put bikes into the hands of school-aged children around the country and to foster "healthy and active lifestyles and a love of the outdoors," according to the organization’s website.

The program has also …

Bike safety expo offering children’s adventure course to take place Saturday on South Side

Ben Spicer | www.ksat.com

Expo to take place from 8 a.m. to noon at Stinson Municipal Airport Trailhead

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Municipal Court is holding a Bike Safety Expo this weekend to help better promote bike safety as part of its Drive SAfely SA initiative.

The event will take place Saturday, May 13 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Stinson Municipal Airport Trailhead, located in the 8500 block of Mission Road on the city’s South Side. …

City of Harlingen launches arroyo trail design; residents to guide engineers

By Fernando Del Valle | myrgv.com

HARLINGEN — Residents living along a stretch of the Arroyo Colorado will help guide engineers as they plot the proposed path of the planned 1.1-mile third phase of the city’s Hike and Bike Trail.

Last month, city commissioners held off on launching the third phase’s engineering study amid some Parkwood and Treasure Hills residents’ concerns parts of the proposed 6-foot-wide asphalt span would encroach on their backyards.

After officials met with residents, property owners along Parkwood, Sam Houston and Riverside requested input in …

Wish for Wheels, PDC Energy distribute free bikes

by: Zachary Bordner | www.yourbasin.com

PECOS, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- PDC Energy joined forces with Wish for Wheels to make a positive impact on the community by providing brand-new bikes to all 2nd graders in Pecos Barstow Toyah ISD, totaling over two hundred bikes.

“We are thrilled to partner with PDC Energy to provide these bikes to our 2nd graders,” said Superintendent Brent Jaco. “This generous donation will not only encourage physical activity but also promote a love for the outdoors and help our students build confidence and independence. We are grateful to Wish for Wheels and PDC Energy for their commitment to our community.”

The bicycles were …

Mountain bike trails planned for East Dallas

By Renee Umsted | lakewood.advocatemag.com

About four miles of mountain bike trails are planned for a new, 50-acre park located a mile south of White Rock Lake.

The trails will be built in Creekside Park, which will surround a section of the north phase of the Trinity Forest Spine Trail (map here). They will be the first natural-surface trails built in Dallas in more than a decade, said Sean Laughlin, the director of development for the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association, a nonprofit that manages and maintains more than 200 miles of trails in North Texas, including those at the Oak Cliff Nature Preserve.

DORBA and The Loop Dallas, a 50-mile trail system being built by the Circuit Trail Conservancy, are leading the project. …

‘Excitement On a Well Beaten Path’ Southern Tier East to West

By S. Crocker | www.crazyguyonabike.com

La Grange TX – Bastrop TX

Thursday May 11, 2023 The Cottonwood Inn is a quaint place, with what appears to be the original 70s motifs and decor.

Took a wrong turn and crossed the Colorado River again, then again on the way back… lol! Oddly enough, the water is not mud-brown in the movies?

Ever wonder why the fish meat from water like that isn’t brown?

Took highway 71 and it got gnarly in Bastrop, so onto side streets we go!

The Bluebonnet RV park is old school cool. Great place to land!

Bridgeland – Craft Beer Cellar Harris County, Texas

Marjoe Q. Borromeo | strava.com

Evening Ride San Antonio, Texas

Steve Gutierrez | strava.com

Thursday Bexar County, Texas

Eduardo Salas | strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

Chasing Miles For My May Goal After Wednesday’s Rain Out

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After the rain shortened bike ride on Tuesday and not riding at all yesterday because of rain I needed to make up for the lost miles. Since its Thursday I looked for a route to the south and east and chose the Atascocita – Walden – Indian Shores Road one. I biked it twice before going 39 miles and 40 miles but today I changed the early streets in Kingwood to add a mile or two and ended up biking 42.4 miles. The week now totals 104.45 miles and May is up to 335.14 miles. I lost some of the cushion on my 750 mile goal for the month and now I’m at 13.85 days versus being the 11th day of the month. I need to bike 24.2 miles every day to reach my goal. I will look for another 40+ mile route for tomorrow’s ride.

5-11-2023 SportTracks Ride History Atascocita-Walden-Indian Shores Road
5-11-2023 SportTracks Ride History Atascocita-Walden-Indian Shores Road

I paused watching stage 6 of the Giro D’Italia with 49km to the finish and got ready to ride. The weather was a big improvement from the all day rain on yesterday. Riding my Cervelo Caledonia I punched the Bolt’s start button at 9:30 AM. I solved the soft tire problem on the bike after Tuesday’s ride when I switched to the Lynskey Helix by tightening the Presta valve core on the front tire. No air lost since I did that. The streets were dry but the greenbelt trails were wet so I minimized riding on them early in the ride. To add some distance I rode through Woodridge Forest in the first 4 to 5 miles. Near the end of the ride I took some different streets riding through Bear Branch Village in Kingwood.

Going south on FM 2100 to Indian Shores Road was the toughest part of the ride due to the headwind. Up to that point I didn’t work too hard against the wind. FM 2100 was open and the wind blew from the SE. That turned into a nice tailwind after I made the u-turn at Indian Shores Road to ride to Huffman. Biking over Lake Houston the wind can be difficult but the passing vehicles sucked the wind with them plus I was pedaling hard on the Strava segment which upped my overall average speed to 13.8 mph and held that until I got back on the north side of the river. I finished the ride at 12:47 PM. Weather conditions: Start 78 degrees, humidity 86%, dew point 73.5, overcast, wind SE 12 mph; Finish 84 degrees, humidity 71%, dew point 74, mostly cloudy, wind S 13 mph. Link to the AXS.SRAM.com ride report. Only 22 rear derailleur shifts today. 28.9 miles using the 35×13 gears.

I contested several Strava segments but only succeeded with the PR on KPHS Sprint (47s).

5-11-2023 Strava Ride Summary Atascocita-Walden-Indian Shores Road
5-11-2023 Strava Ride Summary Atascocita-Walden-Indian Shores Road