Daily News Roundup May 4th – Texas Bicycling

Texbiker.net Posted on by

City Of Irving To Offer Residents Bicycle Safety Classes
from www.americantowns.com
In conjunction with National Bike Month, the City of Irving is offering the following free classes to residents on May 22 at the Senter Recreation Center, …

Bike riders trekking to remember fallen officers | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Stacy Harvey quietly said thank you as she hugged the bicycle riders who took off from Lubbock on Monday in memory of her husband and seven others who died in the line of duty last year.

Tears fell from the widow’s eyes as the six law enforcement officers prepared to leave Lubbock and ride 800 miles in honor of Cpl. D. Robert Harvey and the other fallen Texas officers. …

Bike MS Day #1 Recap « Connie’s Bike MS: Sam’s Club 2010 Ride Blog
by connie98
Dooley shouted out our team name and a plug for my blog and made fun of tu and called out the greatest university in the world – Texas A&M – WHOOP!…oops, sorry I digress. When we were released, I finally felt at ease. …. The determination in oneself on this ride is just beyond measurement! We finished day #1 with lights out at 9:30. We helped some team members set up camp in our team tent, while four riders and our team sponsors The Bicycle Path, headed back to the lime …

Cyclists  in MS ride raise more than $1.5 million
by Fort Worth Star Telegram
The 160-mile ride began Saturday, with bicyclists going from Frisco to Texas Motor Speedway. The next morning, the 3125 bicyclists rode from the speedway to …

Harris County Court System Rules Me, May 4th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Today I was engulfed by the Harris County Court System as I navigated the jury duty process. My one take away is that wood court benches are for looks not comfort. For the next few days I will be serving on a jury. This is a big responsibility. A lot of time was spent educating prospective jurors of how the laws work and what jurors are expected to do. One adventure is riding the Metro Park and Ride bus to downtown. While I take the HOV lane most days (I carpool) the bus is different. Learning the ropes of where to get off and what button to push to tell the driver are mysteries the instructions do not share easily. But I made it.

The upside to this is that I got home early which allowed for a longer bike ride than normal during the week. The weather is Chamber of Commerce perfect: 90 degrees, no clouds, light wind, low humidity. A trip to Huffman was the plan and it came together nicely. It is always interesting to be riding along in Harris County and see pasture with cattle. This is the West though.

Today’s ride statistics:

  • miles = 32.72
  • riding time = 2:07:59
  • average pace = 3:55 min/mile
  • average speed = 15.3 mph
  • max speed = 20.3 mph
  • average cadence = 82.0 rpm
  • max cadence = 104
  • climb 226 ft., descend 196 ft., max elevation 120 ft.
  • May miles 106.43
  • YTD miles 1506.24

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Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for May 3rd

Texbiker.net Posted on by

TxDOT Seeks Public’s Input for State Transportation Plan 2035
by 33 KDAF-TV
The Texas Department of Transportation will host its first local public meeting to gather input for the future of state transportation.

The agency will preview its Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan 2035 in Farmers Branch on Thursday. The plan involves possible changes to roadways, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit, airports and freight and passenger rail. …

You’re going to do what?: Day # 52 El Paso Texas To Las Cruces New …
from www.crazyguyonabike.com
We got up at 5:30 this morning to hit the road at dawn so we could beat the high winds expected around noon. It also worked in our favor that we got out of town before most of the morning rush hour traffic came. A short time later we crossed the border into New Mexico and began riding through wine vineyards, onion and alfalfa fields, pecan tree farms all with the background of some new rugged mountain…

El Paso

Bike Month: The perfect reason to start cycling to work
from www.austin360.com
Pedal powered activities planned for May
Take your pick: Stuck in gridlock traffic in a car on MoPac Boulevard or zooming down the hike-and-bike trail, knocking out the daily workout on the way to the office?

Really, who wouldn’t rather pedal a bike to work?

We know, it’s not always possible. But whatever your excuse, there’s probably a way around it, at least some of the time.

Live too far away? Try a combination bike/bus commute, or drive part way…

Sat/Sun OAS Ride
from www.planobicycle.org
Plano Bicycle Association – Cycling in the Dallas Fort Worth Texas Area
Meet at Northwest corner of Coit and Spring Creek, Plano. 45-75 miles (Saturday rides longer than Sunday), 20+ mph average, short options available, paceline skills required. We stop as a group for mechanical problems and flat tires. Newcomers and guests are welcome.
Year round schedule of starting times
September @ 7:30 am
October – March @ 8:00 am
April – May @ 7:30 am
June – August @ 7:00 am

Location : Coit and Spring Creek, Plano, Texas
Contact : Alan Hasty

Williams Factory Texas Team: MATRIX CHALLENGE
by Team Members
Matrix Challenge 2010 was held on a beautiful weekend in a park like atmosphere. Lots of primes and a fast technical course. Williams Cycling Texas: Saturday Todd Farrell : 12th. Marc Montemayor : 19th. Craig Fulk : 21st …

Matrix Challenge

The 2010 Cross Country Cycling Adventure: Day 10 Las Cruces, NM to …
by Tony DeLellis
The route that I am following is broken into 7 sections.  Now that I entered Texas through El Paso I have completed sections 1 and 2.  These 2 sections covers 934.5 miles.  I am about 60 miles into Texas so the total mileage after 10 days is right around 1,000 miles.  The bad news is that I have picked up a head cold today.  We were planning on riding to Kent tomorrow and camping.  The distance is well over 100 miles. I may have to bail…

2010 Cross Country

Volunteers needed for kid’s Bike Rodeos
BikeDFW will be putting on two separate bike safety classes (aka Bike Rodeos) for kids on Saturday May 15th as part of the City of Irving’s Bicycle Fest and the City of Allen’s Family Bike Day. We need two or three volunteers to help for two hours at each event. These are always a lot fun and the kids have a great time. If can spend two hours helping kids learn to ride safely, please contact Marc or Warren (see below).
Irving Bicycle Fest

Saturday, May 15, 2010
10 AM-12 PM
Centennial Park
444 West Second St., Irving, TX
Contact Marc Mumby (president@bikedfw.org)
Allen Family Bike Day

Saturday, May 15
10am-12pm
Joe Farmer Recreation Center
Allen, TX
Contact Warren Casteel (warren@casteelsign.com)

Traffic Skills 101 cycling course in Plano on May 16th
The 1-day version of the Traffic Skills 101 course will be taught in Plano on May 16, 2010. This is a great way to learn how to ride safely and comfortably on city streets… or just about anywhere!
* Date: May 16, 2010
* Time: 9 AM to 2 PM
* Location: 1409 K Avenue, Plano TX 75074
* Registration Fee: $50.00
* Description:
o The classroom portion of this course is taken online, whenever it is convenient for you, but must be completed by Friday May 14, 2010. Instructions for completing the online portion will be sent as soon as we receive your registration.
o The on-bike skills portion of the course (parking lot drills and road cycling) will be conducted on Sunday, May 16, 2010 by League Certified Instructors. We will ride to a lunch spot.
* Required equipment: helmet, bicycle, water bottle and water, spare tube, tire levers, lunch money.

Register at the BikeDFW web site
For more information contact:
Renee Jordan
Phone: 972-941-7168
Email: Reneej@plano.gov

Daily News Roundup May 2nd – Texas Bicycling

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Shop Rides, Texas-Style
from Bicycle.net | Attitude is Everything by System6
When it comes to cycling, it seems like everyone’s fast in Texas.  So much so, I’m having a hard time seeing the upside of paying money to pin on a number and race.  The issue is not about being unable to compete — but about all the healthy competition already on offer at my local shop ride.

Start with certain self-evident assumptions:  i) that Texas is a state known to produce its share of great athletes, in general, and maybe more than it’s share of great cyclists, ii) that Austin is the state capitol for cycling, for obvious reasons, but that Dallas is a bigger city and (trust me here) is home to a lot of serious cycling talent…

Bicycle  tour benefits from new rules, police presence
by The Daily Toreador
About eight months after the littering, Tasering of a Texas Tech student and the ultimate break up of the biannual bicycle ride Tour de Tech Terrace, the organizers hosted the spring tour largely without incident because of a stronger police presence and more rider awareness.

Sgt. Kelley Pirkle, with the Lubbock Police Department, said the main concern of officers at the event was the safety of people participating, including bicyclists getting in the way of traffic. …