Pedaling Through Texas: Bicycling Action on March 19th and 20th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

East Texas Showdown (slowdown course) Point Blank, Texas

Mike Buenaventura | strava.com

East Texas Showdown 2023

227 miles of 280

Rain, mud, headwind, sunshine, and more of all types of riders took part of the 3rd edition of this event. Neutral roll out begins and I find who I thought my competition was going to be @evan lucanish of Austin TX. when the rollout ended, he was clearly gone and that took a lot of pressure off.

The course is my home turf so I know the roads. There was several deep water crossings I just blasted through. Nobody from my 6 passed me and just pressed forward.

My first full stop was mile 77 at a gas station in Ratcliff. I ate a pizza and other stuff and stopped only 7 minutes (solid work). There I saw Evan. Looks like he was in bad shape too early in the race. I encouraged him and patted him on the back. I proceed to …

Fairly family to acquire Hills Sport Shop

www.amarillo.com

In 1964, Gene Hill opened a lawn mower and bicycle shop on 6th Street, which evolved into Amarillo’s largest and most-trusted bicycle shop, and one of the most recognized bicycle shops in Texas.

For nearly 60 years Hills Sport Shop has been outfitting the Panhandle with bicycles, outdoor recreation equipment and incredible customer service.

The Hill family announces that they are passing the torch to the Fairly family, who will carry on the Hills Sport Shop legacy.

Hills Sport Shop will close temporarily on Friday, March 24 and reopen on Saturday, May 20, with a new staff, well known in the Amarillo bicycle community, and with a heavily stocked bicycle shop with the highest-quality bicycles, accessories, equipment and e-bikes.

“The Fairly family were …

Anyone done Cyclefest in Fort Davis Texas? from cycling

Sunday Ride with Mike San Antonio, Texas

Mark Noblitt MTCCSA | strava.com

Good to catch up with Michael Eichman MTCCSA ?? for some miles today!

Afternoon Ride Marshall, Texas

David Hollowell | strava.com

Cyclocross practice Conroe, Texas

Venny Alub | strava.com

Deep in da woods of the SAM off 202 Sam Houston National Forest, Texas

Shannon Wyatt | strava.com

Flower Child Gravel Washington County, Texas

T REDLINE Nguyen | strava.com

Ladies ride with the ladies man n8 Houston, Texas

Michelle ? Mishka | strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

The Serpentine’s Unintended Outcome

Texbiker.net Posted on by

More chilly weather, by my definition, so after church today it was another Zwift ride. Before getting on my Blue Norcross AL bike attached to the Wahoo Kickr Core trainer i watched replays of the Cholet – Pays de la Loire and Trofeo Alfredo Binda races. The first was men and the second were women. While watching I tried to decide which Zwift route to ride. I couldn’t make up my mind and the upcoming events didn’t help.

Scrolling through the Watopia routes I landed on the Serpentine 8. Checking SportTracks I found the last time I rode it was January 21, 2022. That was too far back for to remember anything about the but it was part of the tour de Zwift. The route is 16.4 miles long and climbs 778 feet. When I wrote the YouTube live stream description I said I may make some turns taking me off the route. I did that so the only part of this ride that relates to Serpentine 8 is the starting spot.

Around 1 mile into the ride I made a turn to leave the Serpentine 8 course turning left on Jungle Reverse. From there I think I rode roads several times and couldn’t escape the loop until later in the ride. The turns I made:

  • 2.5 miles Mayan Loop Reverse straight
  • 3.6 miles Mayan Loop Reverse to the right
  • 4.7 miles Reverse Jungle straight
  • 6.3 miles right on some road
  • 7.4 miles Mayan Loop left turn
  • 7.8 miles Jungle Loop straight
  • 9.6 miles Mayan Loop straight
  • 11.1 miles Epic KOM right turn
  • 12.9 miles left to the Italian Villas
  • 14.1 miles another left to Italian Villas
  • 15.3 miles 360 Bridge straight
  • 15.6 miles left to Italian Villas/Sprint
  • 15.7 miles right turn to Sprint
  • and the ride ended at 16.51 miles

Below are maps of the January 21, 2022 route and today’s route. My thought was to ride the same distance but not climb as much. I rode the same distance and climbed 876 feet, about 100 feet more than the actual Serpentine 8 route. The left map is the actual Serpentine 8 route and the right is what I rode today. I should’ve stayed on the Serpentine 8.

1/21/2022 Watopia Serpentine 8 route map
3-19-2023 Strava Zwift Ride Map Watopia Serpentine 8
3-19-2023 Strava Zwift Ride Summary Watopia Serpentine 8
3-19-2023 Strava Zwift Ride Summary Watopia Serpentine 8

This week I rode each day but only outside on Wednesday and Thursday. The other days were Zwifting. A total of 162.81 miles on three different bikes: Zwift rides on the Blue Norcross AL, Wednesday on the Lynskey Helix, and Thursday aboard the Cervelo Caledonia. I’m at 425.3 road miles towards my 650 mile goal for March. This coming week will be important if I am to reach my goal. The weather forecast looks favorable Wednesday going forward. I might go to a ride in Simonton on Saturday.

3-19-2023 SportTracks Week Ended Bike Rides Summary
3-19-2023 SportTracks Week Ended Bike Rides Summary

Cycling Through Texas: Bicycling News for March 18, 2023

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Family of 14-year-old Killed Joins TxDOT Urging Motorists to Obey Laws

By Yantis Green | sanangelolive.com

AUSTIN – At just 14 years old, Alexei Bauereis was struck and killed while walking his bike across a crosswalk in Austin, cutting short his young life and promising ballet career.

“He was on the verge of that stage where you find out how you stack up against professionals,” Alexei’s dad Eric Bauereis said.

Alexei is just one of many tragic deaths on Texas roads every year. Each one takes someone special from their family, friends and community. This spring, as warm weather brings out pedestrians and cyclists, TxDOT and the Bauereis family are reminding drivers why it’s important to follow traffic safety laws, including stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks.

“We have a shared responsibility to every member of our community – to every family and …

I’m riding in a 280 mile bikepacking event. Here’s what I’m bringing

Alvin Holbrook | www.cyclingtips.com

East Texas Showdown promises plenty of beauty and likely even more rain, and I’m going to try to ride it without sleeping.

The East Texas Showdown is a bit of a hallowed name here in Texas, particularly in gravel and bikepacking circles. I’ve always watched it from afar, telling myself it would be out of reach for one reason or another.

“Oh, I gotta go grocery shopping that weekend,” I would tell myself. But thanks to a stroke of luck I’m going to ride in the East Texas Showdown.

Gravel bikes — and adjacently, bikepacking — can feel like a bit of black art at times. It never feels like there’s one right setup for a ride, and that can be doubly so for bikepacking.

Just about every region requires different things, and rider preference skews bike and …

Chamber of Commerce announces benefit for Youth Leadership Laredo

Jason Mack | www.lmtonline.com

The Laredo Chamber of Commerce announced this week the first Cycle + Steps for Scholarships 5K Run, Walk, Bike event which will benefit the Youth Leadership Laredo program.

The funds raised from the event will go toward Youth Leadership Laredo scholarships and other benefits to support the program.

The Cycle + Steps for Scholarships 5K Run, Walk, Bike event will be held Saturday, April 29 at Father McNaboe Park at 201 Zebu Ct. It will have a start time of 8 a.m. for those walking or running and a start of 9 a.m. for participants who will be biking.

A swag bag will be provided for the first 300 participants who register. It will …

2023 Gator Ride, Gear Up to End Hunger!

Javier Zapata | www.youtube.com

16 Best Things to Do in Palacios, TX

Arturo R. Cuevas | www.travellens.co

The quaint small-town vibe of the coastal city of Palacios makes it a great stop while visiting Matagorda County in Texas.

This city of just 5.21 square miles is tucked in the Coastal Prairie region of Texas.

Its port, home to some 400 vessels, is the third-largest shrimping base on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

With this distinction, Palacios came to be known as the "Shrimp Capital of Texas." …

… Join the Pedal Palacios Annual Bike Ride

The Pedal Palacios Annual Bike Ride is an annual cycling extravaganza of the Palacios Chamber of Commerce.

Novice and expert bikers can join this event which features three routes of 12, 36, and 60 miles.

Its participants go on a scenic ride across Matagorda County and its astonishing views of water, birds, and landscape.

The quiet country roads along this ride are ideal for team and individual training.

Pedal Palacios Annual Bike Ride was launched in 2008 and is traditionally held toward the end of October, with its start and finish at the corner of 4th Street and South Bay Boulevard.

The ride provides six rest stops, with refreshments and homemade treats for the participants.

A post-ride shrimp boil in Palacios’ City Park also awaits the finishers of this event. …

Still time to comment on proposed U.S. 380 alignment

By Brad Kellar | www.heraldbanner.com

Motorists and other interested people still have time to voice their thoughts on a proposed realignment of U.S. 380 between Hunt County and the Dallas area.

After a in-person public hearing planned for the night of March 2 was cancelled due to severe weather, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) extended the comment period for those who wanted to participate in the process. A virtual public hearing posted at https://www.keepitmovingdallas.com/US380Farmersville was initially scheduled to close at 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 17. However, the virtual proceeding will now be available through April 7.

The TxDOT Dallas District office has proposed changing the route of U.S. 380 from CR 560 to CR 699/Hunt County Line south of Farmersville.

The proposed project would realign U.S. 380 on a new location a distance of approximately 7.6 miles. The existing U.S. 380 roadway would remain. The proposed new location realignment facility would be constructed as a six-lane divided roadway (three lanes in each direction separated by a median).

The proposed project would also include continuous, two to three lane one-way frontage roads with bicycle and pedestrian shared-use paths on both sides of the roadway. The proposed project would be constructed within a proposed ROW of approximately 270 to 542 feet wide. …

Austin’s Shared Streets program aims to make streets without sidewalks safer

Author: Melia Masumoto | www.kvue.com

The Shared Streets pilot projects on Arroyo Seco, Ullrich Avenue and Joe Sayers Avenue are making streets without sidewalks safer and more accessible for residents.

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin is missing over 2,000 miles of sidewalks. With not enough time or resources to build those sidewalks, the City has come up with a new plan.

"Rather than taking over 100 years to build sidewalks on every frontage of every street, we can envision completing a citywide pedestrian network in a 20- to 30-year timeframe," John Eastman, project manager for the Public Works Department, sidewalk and special projects division, said in the planning commission meeting on Feb. 28.

The City is testing the Shared Streets pilot program as a part of the ATX Walk Bike Roll, the program that Austin Public Works and Transportation is using to update the City’s sidewalks, urban trails and bicycle paths. Shared Streets uses a pedestrian-centered design to accommodate all types of travel, ages and disabilities. …

Awesome ride with the bros Austin, Texas

Carlos A. Moreno | strava.com

Apple Watch sucks for cycling activities

East Texas Showdown Point Blank, Texas

Katya @Cool Cat Cycles | strava.com

Fresh country air Washington County, Texas

Amanda Hollenbaugh | strava.com

No rain! Gravel was sweeeet!

Tri-city gravel Austin County, Texas

Mick McCrary | strava.com

The no rain ride Washington County, Texas

Eric Larson | strava.com

Morning training session with Helen G for the MS150 Harris County, Texas

Sharon Irving-Whitfield MTHCC | strava.com

Fun group Gregg County, Texas

Jason Herrington | strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

Taking the Reins: My Adventure After Sprinter’s Playground

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Second day in a row riding in a Zwift virtual world. yesterday I rode in Scotland and today I moved around the world to the Makuri Islands. Weather was the reason for Zwifting; cloudy, 50 degrees with a slight chance of rain. Last Saturday I biked the Gator Ride in Baytown with much warmer weather. My plan for today’s Zwift ride: 1 lap of the Makuri Islands Sprinter’s Playground route for 7.7 miles and then continue from that route making turns as they come. Mostly I took the opposite turn from the orange one shown. One thing I noticed, all turn options show on the screen unlike my last ride in Watopia where only the selected turn showed requiring me to tap the arrows in the companion app to see the turn options. I like the Makuri Islands version. I planned on riding at least 20 miles.

The route map from ZwiftInsider.com shows the lap for Sprinter’s Playground. 7.7 miles and 221 feet of climbing. I rode 20.37 miles and climbed 807 feet. Below this map is the route I rode.

Route Map for Makuri Islands Sprinter's Playground route
3-18-2023 Strava Zwift Ride Map Makuri Islands Sprinter's Playground
3-18-2023 Strava Zwift Ride Map Makuri Islands Sprinter’s Playground

My ride left the town and went west through islands. The roads I chose after finishing Sprinter’s Playground:

  • right turn onto Rice Paddies 7.8 miles
  • left turn on Urukazi 8.6 miles
  • right turn onto Mech Island 11.3 miles
  • straight on Festival Harbor 12.3 miles
  • right on Festival Harbor North 12.5 miles
  • right on Mangrove Maze 15.6 miles
  • right on Neokyo 16.6 miles
  • left on Hidden Reefs 16.8 miles
  • straight on Yumezi 17.6 miles. I should’ve turned left on Mech Island and avoided some climbing
  • Stopped the ride at the Yumezi and Neokyo fork 20.37 miles

Two top results in Strava: PR on Railway Sprint (50s) and PR on Connector Canyon Climb (12:06).

3-18-2023 Strava Zwift Ride Summary Makuri Islands Sprinter's Playground
3-18-2023 Strava Zwift Ride Summary Makuri Islands Sprinter’s Playground