Texas Bicycling News – January 16, 2023

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Young Boy Breaks His Bicycle—So Two Kind Police Officers Do Everything They Can to Make Sure the Kid Has a Way to Get to School

By Sruthi Matta | www.goalcast.com

Two Texas police officers fix a kid’s broken bicycle chain and come back with a big surprise for him in a few hours.

Skateboards, roller skates, tricycles, and bicycles are some of our main means of transportation before we get our driver’s licenses. For most of us, they are probably the cost-effective, healthy transport options without having to get a driver’s license.

And imagine if our favorite bicycle breaks midway while we are cheerfully riding it to a friend’s house, to school, or to get groceries. Imagine if we were a kid. Devastating.

Unlike the broken helpless situation we just imagined, this Texas kid had local cops come to his rescue. …

Dallas to create citywide biking network

By Kevin Cummings | communityimpact.com

Dallas city staff is working to update its plan for what bike mobility will look like in the future with the goal of increasing accessibility to biking infrastructure and creating a citywide biking network.

After gathering resident feedback, city staff is putting together the new draft of its bike plan, which it hopes to unveil in March.

So far, Jessica Scott, bicycle manager with Dallas’ Transportation Department, said much of the input received includes demand for increased maintenance of existing bike facilities in addition to requests for more protected and separated facilities.

“One of the really big reasons that …

MLK Day MTB @ Mac San Antonio, Texas

Steve Wellington-USMES | strava.com

Too much fun! A great break from the road & traffic.

Bike adventure with the kid Nacogdoches, Texas

Trey C | strava.com

Easy Houston, Texas

James Ximenez | strava.com

MLK – Pinkey’s Birthday Ride San Antonio, Texas

Esther Barrientez -TEAM TACO | strava.com

Blue Agave Camp – Day 5 – hill repeats, KOM hunting Lakeway, Texas

Frank Cano | strava.com

City Council Leader, County Commissioner disagree over Houston bike lane construction

By Matthew Seedorff | www.fox26houston.com

HOUSTON – A Houston City Council member is pushing back against plans to construct a multi-million dollar bike lane in the Third Ward.

"There’s really been no study to indicate that bike lanes are even needed," said District D Council Member Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz.

The project is part of a 2018 agreement between Harris County, the City of Houston, and Texas Southern University to improve the Third Ward. The approved funds were for flood prevention efforts, wider sidewalks, landscaping, and bike lanes along Blodgett Street.

"This is not a welcome project," said Arva Howard a resident in the Third Ward. "Plus, there was …

Rocky Hill Ranch 2023 Updates

ridenfool | www.mtbr.com

Over the past year or so there have been miles and miles of fresh hand-picked singletrack added to Rocky Hill. New bridges and berms abound to keep riders flowing along. An abundant amount of signage has been installed to identify trails and to help riders find the shortest way back to the parking lot when you are done.

The latest version of the Rocky Hill Ranch trail map is available on Trailforks and MTB Project. Update the "Texas area" to see them on the phone app.

A copy of the map that includes …

Texas Biking from Twitter

The “W” Words Shadow Today’s Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

On my last couple bike rides that crossed FM 1314 at Valley Ranch Parkway I saw the road resurfacing appeared to cover the shoulders with new asphalt. I avoided biking on FM 1314 due to the rough shoulders from grinding up the old asphalt. Today I decided to ride a route I haven’t done since September 7, 2022 because of the rough shoulders. The asphalt section on FM 1314 runs west from US59 to about Porter High School where it changes to concrete. I thought it was time to check out the route. If the shoulders are decent this will open other routes I avoided.

I didn’t start very early rolling the wheels of my Cervelo Caledonia and pushing the Wahoo Bolt start button at 11:31 AM. The route would be Community Drive – Valley Ranch – Gene Campbell Blvd. The previous rides averaged around 37 miles and if I rode those miles today I would be within 5 miles of my January 300 road miles goal.

The weather was slightly warmer than the typical January with the temperature at 74 when I started and 75 at the 2:31 PM finish. An overcast sky hid the sun but the wind would get stronger as the ride progressed. I wore shorts, a long sleeve jersey with a short sleeve jersey over it. This was fine once I warmed up but later it wasn’t so good. I noticed a darker part of the sky to the south as I approached Old Sorters Road on the way back to Kingwood. But I didn’t think it was a problem since it was overcast anyway. Riding south on Briar Berry Lane I started to feel sprinkles. I hoped I would bike away from it but not to be. Riding through Oakhurst the streets were getting wet. I tried to take a shortcut to get to the Oakhurst Community Pool for shelter but it was blocked by a fence. So much for that idea. Back on the Oakhurst streets the sprinkles increased some, enough that I couldn’t read my Bolt computer screen. The streets were wet and my tires began spraying my shoes and legs when I rode through wetter spots. As I neared the pool I thought about stopping there to get out of the light rain but it stopped and I decided to ride on. The streets got wetter but no rain, just road spray. On Kingwood Place Drive the road turned dry and remained that way to the finish. When I got home I washed the Cervelo. I had planned on wearing new shoes and a new helmet but for some reason changed my mind. Good idea.

Weather conditions: start 74, humidity 72%, dew point 64, overcast, wind S 9 mph; finish 75, humidity 66%, dew point 63, overcast, wind S 10 mph gusts 20 mph.

Getting Community Drive the tailwind helped but after the u-turn back south the headwind made my legs pay until I reached FM 1314. Riding to Gene Campbell Blvd. on FM 1314 the wind was mostly from my left rear quarter as a tailwind. I pedaled strong and raised my overall average speed to 14.0 mph. At Gene Campbell blvd. the turn back to the SE into the headwind meant hard pedaling to Old sorters Road. Passing trucks on FM 1314 sucked the headwind away briefly giving my legs some relief. I hoped the trees to my right would block some of the wind but they weren’t much help. The concrete shoulder on FM 1314 from Gene Campbell Blvd. to east of Timberland had lots of rocks making it almost as rough as the ground off asphalt. I think the construction traffic dropped the rocks. There are a couple of concrete plants and some trucks spilled wet concrete that had dried many months ago adding to the rough shoulders.

The AXS.SRAM.com ride report detailed my gears and power.

1-16-2023 SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage by Time
1-16-2023 SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage by Time
1-16-2023 SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage by Distance
1-16-2023 SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage by Distance
1-16-2023 SRAM Component Summary Avg Power in Gear
1-16-2023 SRAM Component Summary Avg Power in Gear

In addition to Strava I also use the SportTracks program to track my rides and gear. Today I clicked on a link I had not tried before and learned that I can compare rides using two criteria. Below are 10 previous rides to compare with today’s ride based on name and nearby.

1-16-2023 SportTracks Compare Rides Community Drive-Valley Ranch-Gene Campbell Blvd Route
1-16-2023 SportTracks Compare Rides Community Drive-Valley Ranch-Gene Campbell Blvd Route
1-16-2023 Strava Ride Overview Community Drive-Valley Ranch-Gene Campbell Blvd
1-16-2023 Strava Ride Overview Community Drive-Valley Ranch-Gene Campbell Blvd
1-16-2023 Strava Ride Map Community Drive-Valley Ranch-Gene Campbell Blvd
1-16-2023 Strava Ride Map Community Drive-Valley Ranch-Gene Campbell Blvd

Texas Bicycling News – January 15, 2023

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Getting there was the hardest part Marshall, Texas

David Hollowell | strava.com

Windy!

Saint2Saint Day 2 La Grange, Texas

Aaron Chamberlain | strava.com

La Grange to Stephen F. Austin State Park

El Paso Puzzler. 4th Women Overall! Damn 60mph wind gusts! El Paso, Texas

Maga S | strava.com

The wind pushed me down two cliffs lucky I didn’t ?

Cantu Camp Leakey, Texas

Alison Carey | strava.com

Cantu Training Camp Day 2: Leakey-Campwood-Tree loop

Venny Alub | strava.com

Blue Agave Camp – Day 4 – Motzarts and Bonnell Travis County, Texas

Frank Cano | strava.com

Sammy-poo day 2 Sam Houston National Forest, Texas

Shannon Wyatt (Clean) Salsacycles | strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

27 MPH Wind Gusts, Hard Pedaling Kingwood Streets

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I decided to ride on Kingwood Streets today. My Lynskey Helix wheels rolled away at 1:46 PM. It was going to be a windy bike ride even if I just rode in Kingwood. At the start the wind was from the south at 14 mph and when I finished at 3:47 PM it was stronger with 14 mph and 27 mph gusts. No wonder it was so hard riding into the wind. I’m glad I wore a long sleeve jersey and a wind jacket. The temperature was 71 and the wind made it feel a little chilly.

Not too long after I started as I rode through Bear Branch Village 2 cyclists came out of a side street and passed me. You can see them in the video. I saw some other bicyclists and 1 more cyclist.

Weather: start 72, humidity 63%, dew point 59, mostly cloudy, wind S14 mph; finish 71, humidity 68%, dew point 60, mostly cloudy, wind S 14 mph gusts 27 mph.

After 3 days riding inside it felt good to be back on the road. I thought today’s ride would be around 20 miles but I added a couple of streets that I don’t normally include and ended up riding 25.74 miles. This brought my week total to 172.48 miles and the month’s road miles to 258.1 leaving 42 miles to reach my 300 mile goal for January. Combining road and virtual miles the month totals 393. January 2023 year to date continues to lead years 2011 through 2022.

1-15-2023 SportTracks Week Bike Rides Summary
1-15-2023 SportTracks Week Bike Rides Summary

On most bike rides I don’t think too much about Strava local legends but today I rode on Adams Street to build up my number of rides in the last 90 days to recapture that local legend. Weather permitting this coming week when I ride north I’ll include Adams Street. I set a Strava PR on Pin Oak Creek Sprint – Northbound (1:30) off of Mills Branch Drive.

1-15-2023 Strava Bike Ride Overview Kingwood Streets
1-15-2023 Strava Bike Ride Overview Kingwood Streets
1-15-2023 Strava Bike Ride Map Kingwood Streets
1-15-2023 Strava Bike Ride Map Kingwood Streets
1-15-2023 Strava Weekly Relative Effort
1-15-2023 Strava Weekly Relative Effort