Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for January 17th

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Biking In Dallas » No Town and Country for Old Men
by Hubbard
The 3rd Annual Great Southwest Bike Swap Meet is being held Feb 7th from 9:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m. at the Tarrant County Resource Connection (Building 2300) in Fort Worth, Texas. I attended one of their swaps and …

DFW Point-to-Point: Son of Bike School
by Steve A
In the case of a shoulder that is a full traffic lane wide (such as the I-35W Service Road north of Cabela’s), I sometimes elect to treat the shoulder as equivalent to a traffic lane, much as motorists do on roads in rural Texas. …

SafetyLit: An analysis of bicycle route choice preferences in Texas, USA.
from www.safetylit.org
The data used in the analysis is drawn from a web-based stated preference survey of Texas bicyclists. The results of the study emphasize the importance of a comprehensive evaluation of both route-related attributes and bicyclists’ …In the US, the rise in motorized vehicle travel has contributed to serious societal, environmental, economic, and public health problems. These problems have increased the interest in encouraging non-motorized modes of travel (walking and bicycling). The current study contributes toward this objective by identifying…

Borderland cyclists compete in El Paso Puzzler race today
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times

Cyclists started off on a 35-mile race just after 8 a.m. during… (Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times )
El Paso Puzzler
BOWEN RANCH, N.M. — Mario Lopez, 42, a schoolteacher, was pumping air into one of his mountain bike tires minutes before Sunday’s 2010 El Paso Puzzler race.

“This is my first time with this race,” the El Pasoan said. “I’ve prepared for this by riding two to three times a week. However, because of daylight savings time, sometimes I could only ride twice a week. Right now, I’m just getting my bike ready.” …

Crack the puzzler: Area’s toughest mountain bike race draws 125 endurance bicyclists – El Paso Times
By María Cortés González / El Paso Times
Posted: 01/16/2010 12:00:00 AM MST
EL PASO — If you’re not a mountain biker, you may not appreciate El Paso’s great biking trails.And you may not know that the coming El Paso Puzzler race is the toughest mountain bike race in Texas and the border area.

But that is exactly what is appealing to 2000 Olympian cyclist Travis Brown. The professional cyclist will join about 125 other cyclists Sunday in the third annual race, beginning in the Northeast at the Bowen Ranch.

The Puzzler, sponsored by Hunt Communities, features a 50-mile race and a 35-mile category. …

The younger set show their wheel skills.

Kids race at Flat Creek Ranch Texas
from www.youtube.com  3:59
Broken Oak Mountain Bike Race Texas. www.therealpedalmasher.

ChainReaction Ministries: January Work Day Report
by ChainReaction Ministries
A project of Memorial Drive Christian Church in Houston, Texas – ChainReaction Ministries rebuilds unwanted bicycles and finds them new homes. We currently provide bikes to Westside Homeless Partnership in Houston, Texas. … Jay cleaned up a MTB, Will repaired flats, and Milt helped prioritize the builds. Clark Martinson stopped by around 11:00 and brought his portable bike shop with him. Clark demoed the proper way to overhaul a coaster brake hub. …

Team at&t-Brain and Spine Cycling at 2010 State Cyclocross Championships
from www.youtube.com  01:56
2010 Texas State Cyclocross Championships

Bike ride on Austin’s hike and bike trail.
from www.youtube.com  06:25
Completely unedited and recorded with my Flip camera on 1-16-10. It was a beautiful January day today in Austin, only 60 degrees and sunny …

devotion frees: Warmshowers in McAllen TX
by Greg McCausland
www.warmshowers.org is a hospitality site for touring cyclists similar to couchsurfing.org. Staying in a campground by myself, except for the pigs & coyotes, was getting old, and staying in affordable motels surrounded by 55+ communities wasn’t lightin’ my fire either so i figured this hospitality thing might offer a welcome change of pace. So, i joined and found a place to stay…

Biking In Dallas » Promise of Peace Community Garden/Santa Fe …
by Hubbard
The wooden structure is the pier that will support the new bicycle bridge, and the crane is being used to pour the concrete. Here is a view from the other direction: I love the synchronicity of these two seemingly disparate projects coming together in the same place, and at the same time. …

Bicycling in Austin, Texas by austin
by tummadamon
Austin, Texas, has always boasted a highly active population and is often listed among the cities healthier and more active in the country. Cycling plays an important role in the field of fitness-focused city, with a wealth of resources available to cyclists of all ages and skill levels. Austin ‘s unique landscape and proximity to the rolling Texas Hill Country makes it unique, both in mountain biking and running the same mobility and the two sports enthusiasts flock to the city…

I dropped Eggs from My Diet Years Ago – Was I wrong?

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According to an article from Dr. Gabe Mirkin, eggs do not cause heart attacks. He cites “the Physician’s Health Study followed doctors for 20 years and showed no association between eating eggs and heart attacks or strokes.  However, the doctors who ate lots of eggs did die earlier than those who avoided eggs, possibly because they also ate more bacon, sausage and butter.”

The question is the statement at the end that possibly the stuff we eat with eggs causes the problem with dietary cholesterol. While I have enjoyed fried, scrambled and poached eggs in the past I do not make them part of my regular diet now. Once in awhile my wife likes to have an egg burrito and I do partake though. I generally eat lots of vegetables, fruit and no red meat. Fish tacos are a new found item. My cholesterol is usually below 140.

Read Dr. Mirkin’s full article here.

For example, the Physician's Health Study
followed doctors for 20 years and showed no association between
eating eggs and heart attacks or strokes.  However, the doctors
who ate lots of eggs did die earlier than those who avoided eggs,
possibly because they also ate more bacon, sausage and butter.

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for January 15th

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C02 bicycle tire inflators are recalled
The Leaf-Chronicle • January 8, 2010
The following product recalls come from various federal and state agencies and were supplied to The Leaf-Chronicle by recalls.org:

Todson Inc. is recalling CO2 bicycle tire inflators sold exclusively at Walmart stores nationwide from August to November 2009.

The pressurized cartridge containing carbon dioxide can forcefully separate from the pump head, posing a risk of injury. …

Bike Pathology
by Ian Dille
Dallas, with its knot of highways, sprawling suburbs, and fast urban streets, is not an easy place to bicycle. In 2008, Bicycling magazine declared it the worst city for cyclists in the country. Ironically, there’s no shortage of people who love to bike. In the mid-’90s, my dad served as the club president of the Greater Dallas Bicyclists. Nearly every weekend, my family joined thousand of cyclists at charity rides, held on quaint country roads surrounding the city. I wasn’t too into the scenery then. I mostly went for the free cookies. …

Cyclocross: Downed trees, dirt tracks and grueling hills keep cyclists warm …
by CultureMap
Over and over, cyclists cascaded down the drop, their skinny bodies shaking violently as they slowed for a 90-degree turn around a small tree that whacked almost every one of them in the face on the way past.

A searing blue sky belied temperatures in the 30s last weekend as the riders huffed onward through a tight coil of hairpin turns and muddy track, climbing and dropping again around a course at times too steep to pedal, and in places too log-strewn to ride.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve done on a bike,” said Dwight Waters after competing in his first cyclocross event at the Terra X race in the Woodlands’ Terramont Park. …

Houston H-GAC’s Mitteco to Talk on Future of Bicycling in Region at BikeHouston Annual Meeting January 26
H-GAC’s Mitteco to Talk on Future of Bicycling in Region at BikeHouston Annual Meeting January 26
Gina Mitteco, pedestrian-bicyclist coordinator of the Houston-Galveston Area Council, will talk on the future of bicycling in the region Tuesday, January 26, 2010, at the Annual Meeting of BikeHouston, Houston’s organization that advocates making the city safe and accessible for cyclists.
The meeting will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by…

YMCA to Host Spin-a-Thon
by Woodlands Online, LLC
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The South Montgomery County YMCA is hosting a 3 hour indoor Spin-a-Thon benefit ride on Saturday, Jan. 30, from 8 – 11 a.m. at the Shadowbend YMCA.

The event is a great training ride for the MS150! You can ride for 3 hours or choose a 1 hour segment! Led by the YMCA Cycling Instructors, the ride will provide a variety of music, training and levels of difficulty along with door prizes, refreshments and camaraderie.

Space is limited. You can bring your own bike with trainer. YMCA Membership is not required but you must pre-register. The registration fee is $20.  …

Easter Hill Country Tour – Kerrville, TX

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Easter Hill Country Tour
From Friday, April 02 2010 -  08:00
To Sunday, April 04 2010 – 17:00

Kerrville, Texas
Since 1974 the tour has been sponsored in rotation by the Houston Bicycle Club, the Lubbock Bicycle Club, the Fort Worth Cycling Association and the San Antonio Wheelmen. The event has become noted as one of the premier cycling events in Texas.

The Houston Bicycle Club welcomes you to the 37th Annual Easter Hill Country Tour. Since 1974, the tour has been sponsored in rotation by the Houston Bicycle Club, the Lubbock Bicycle Club, the Fort Worth Biycling Association and the San Antonio Wheelmen. Beginning in 2011, the Austin Cycling Association will replace the Lubbock Bicycle Club in the rotation. The event has become noted as one of the premier cycling events in Texas and we hope it continues in that tradition for years to come.

Each year, anywhere from 800 to 1,200 bicycle riders from all around the state meet to experience the beautiful scenery of the Texas Hill Country. The rides are fully supported and routes vary from 20 to 100 miles in length to suit every riding taste. We hope that you will plan to attend this annual tour to meet and greet old friends and to make new ones.

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