Bikes Belong Grant to GHORBA

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Greater Houston Off-Road Bicycling Association—Double Lake Trails Expansion (Texas)

A $10,000 grant will go to the Greater Houston Off-Road Bicycling Association (GHORBA) to help expand the trail network at Double Lake Recreation Area. Although Bikes Belong supported this project last year, Hurricane Ike destroyed nearly 2,000 volunteer-hours worth of GHORBA-built singletrack shortly after our grant award was given. This was a huge setback for the group and required that volunteers spend last year rebuilding rather than expanding their trail system. This grant will help provide matching funds for a Recreational Trails Program Grant, enabling GHORBA to proceed with their expansion efforts this year.

Safe Passing Bill Filed in Texas Senate (SB488) & House (HB827)

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mtb law girl reports the Safe Passing Bill has come to life in the Texas legislature.

BikeTexas (Texas Bicycle Coalition) just published the following on their website regarding the bill that I alluded to in my previous post entitled “Give me 3 feet!.” Scroll all the way down to the bottom to review a copy of the bill then call your Senator and Representatives to voice your support. Also, any feedback or concerns you have about the bill, please feel free to forward them to BikeTexas. They’re happy to hear from you!

Getting Ready For Spring Riding

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Ian Dille writes at www.austin360.com,

Of all my childhood memories, I cherish our family cycling trips the most. My dad was the president of the Greater Dallas Bicyclists, a group of recreational cyclists similar to the Austin Cycling Association (www.austincycling.org), and our weekends were often spent traveling to various Texas hamlets to pedal in support of a cause. My mom would chase after me on her classic Italian 10-speed, while I sped ahead on my kid-sized mountain bike, forging pre-adolescent independence. My older brother, already an accomplished racer, would take off with the lead pack, as my dad wisely paced himself. After the ride, we’d reconvene over orange slices, Gatorade, and cookies — lots and lots of cookies.

Read Ian’s full article at austin360.com

Shimano 8 Speed Internal Hub and a Road Bike

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Elliott at www.austinbikeblog.org writes,

For those of us who like both the general design of road bikes and internally geared hubs, our options have been few and far between in recent years. While Shimano’s 8 speed internal hubs are the same width as most road hubs allowing easy installation on road frames, the shifter systems developed for these hubs have been decidedly anti-road bike with trigger or twist shift systems designed to go on mountain bars. There have been work arounds for internal hubs on road bikes, but they have been inelegant to say the least.

Read more from Elliott about Shimano internal hubs.