from The Austin American Statesman
By Isadora Vail
Andrew Cordova remembers driving from Cedar Park to Georgetown on March 14 and seeing a pair of feet still clipped into a bicycle while the bicycle’s tire spun in the air on the side of Parmer Lane near RM 1431.
Cordova immediately drove into the grass median so he could turn around to help the person who lay motionless on the shoulder of the road, he said.
from the Of Blogs and Bulls (Bull Schuck)
I’m sometimes concerned about stuff I buy for cheap, especially on the internets. You never know if the folks you buy it from are reputable or not. I felt pretty confident about my purchase of a Nite Hawk bike headlight last year though from my LBS (local bike shop.) It was on a huge discount (about what it would be on line) and I could see why. It was the last one, in fact, there were only two lights from that maker left in the shop. So I guessed the shop had decided to stop carrying the brand. Then I noticed that the light’s battery had 0103 stamped on the side, which I took to mean the date it was churned out at the factory. That’s OK, it’s old, but it still worked fine. It’s not as bright as I’d like, and it doesn’t have a helmet mount though. So I thought I would place a call to the manufacturer and see if I could buy a brighter light (or just a brighter bulb) and a helmet mount. In their FAQ, they listed a 1-888 number. Today I finally found a spare minute and called them, but the other side of the line didn’t pick up saying “Nite Hawk Lighting, how may I help you?”
BikeTexas got an early Christmas present at the Austin office on Friday, December 19. Peyton Thorn, new president of the Permian Basin Bicycling Association (PBBA) stopped by to drop off a check for a generous club donation of $1200 for the 2009 Legislative Effort.
from Bike Frames Review
by Pat Carpenter
Any place where the terrain is rough and the sky is blue in Dallas, Houston or elsewhere in Texas is a place you’ll probably find mountain bikers. The sport of mountain biking usually refers to riding bicycles, which possess particular design characteristics, off-road, although sometimes the term simply refers to riding a mountain bike.
It’s a tough, demanding sport that requires endurance, good bike handling skills and a lot of self-reliance. It’s an individual sport that can be performed almost anywhere. There are certain aspects of mountain biking that are similar to trail running, more so than regular bicycling. And, because riders are often far from civilization, there is a strong ethic of self-reliance. Seasoned riders have learned to repair their broken bikes or flat tires to avoid being stranded in the middle of nowhere. This reliance on survival skills accounts for the group dynamics of the sport. Club rides and other forms of group rides are common, especially on longer treks.