Texas Bicycling News

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Exploring Marfa, Texas: By Bicycle

JOM | www.gravelcyclist.com

“Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population as of the 2010 United States Census was 1,981. The city was founded in the early 1880s as a water stop; the population increased during World War II, but growth has stalled and reversed somewhat since the late 20th century. Today, Marfa is a tourist destination and a major center for minimalist art.” – https://wikipedia.org

In this video, JOM of the Gravel Cyclist crew conducts a random tour through the small town of Marfa, Texas. There is a lot to see in Marfa, particularly if art and related history is an interest. Of note, the world-famous Marfa Prada store is not in town, it sits some 37 miles NW of Marfa. …

—

Houston eBike maker expands; Building supply firm purchases warehouse

Katherine Feser | www.houstonchronicle.com

Euphree eBikes, an electric bicycle company, leased 8,250 square feet at Navigation Bend, 5715 Navigation Blvd., less than mile from U.S. 90 in the East End, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

"As Houston’s only bicycle brand, we design, assemble and ship premium commuter ebikes across the U.S. and into select dealers,” Daniel Basaldua, Euphree’s CEO, said in an announcement. “We are excited to get more people on bikes and out of cars."

Mike Pittman II and Michael Burgower of Cushman & Wakefield …

Explore the wilderness and wildlife of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

By Joe Nick Patoski | texashighways.com

… We don’t see a soul on our five-hour tour, except for a lone cyclist cruising along the back side of Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive. He is clearly in the zone, steadily pedaling, lost in the rhythm and unaware of our truck inching up behind him. Garcia patiently keeps his distance for a few minutes, then gently taps his horn. The cyclist startles. He pulls over and grins as we pass.

The cyclist is Irv Downing, a 68-year-old former endurance racer who moved from South Padre to be closer to the refuge, which he cycles about “every other day.” Downing calls Laguna Atascosa his Serengeti. “The scenery, the setting, the laguna, it’s just spectacular,” he says. “My son was visiting from Seattle last week, and on our ride photographed 20 nilgai antelope.”

After talking to Downing, I figure I could bicycle this route too—if it wasn’t too windy, too hot, or too cold. “This is a difficult trail because of the distance and wind factor,” Garcia acknowledges. “The way to do this is on an electric bike.”

My ears perk up.

I couldn’t locate any e-bike rentals near the refuge, so I …

Riding to success: Feed My Sheep receives donation of 15 bicycles to aid homeless

BY ERIC E. GARCIA | www.tdtnews.com

Fifteen new bicycles donated to Feed My Sheep will help empower Temple’s homeless to use as transportation for jobs and errands, officials said.

I plowed my corn with a double shovel

Brent Wells | strava.com

Just needed a nice easy ride, and I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable leaving from #MyShop. As soon as I pulled out onto Bandera Street, and hadn’t even gone a mile, none other than Spencer Jones rode up next to me. It’s always nice to see someone who is extremely fast and good at cycling who is also humble and kind. He stopped at what used to be an old, abandoned gas station, but is now The Bakery Lorraine probably to refuel for the ride back to SA. I continued on my ride, wearing short sleeves and normal bibs, when just a few days ago, it was freezing outside! As always, I thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me the ability to return to this sport that I love, and for yet another safe ride.?

Solo wet ride on the BMC ???????

Troy Serrano | strava.com

My first true mountain bike ride on an awesome bike from Ayon thank you both ladies for a fun time!

Dina Christal | strava.com

Rapha Festive 500 Day 6 – You Didn’t like the Cold? Here’s Some Torrential Rain!

Jeff Contreras | strava.com

Great group of hardy yet positive cyclists. Even when we had road juice in our faces.

Lunch Ride Lockhart, TX

Chase Collins | strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

A Torx T25 Caused Me To Get Soaked

Texbiker.net Posted on by

When I got up this morning I thought I had a good plan to get the new SRAM Rival Quarq power meter crankset installed on my Cervelo Caledonia bike. I started executing the plan but ran into a problem removing the 46×33 chain rings from the new crankset so I could replace them with the 48×35 from my current crankset. I used a Torx T25 bit but the correct size was a T30 and I stripped one bolt on the new crankset. I tried to get it loose but I think the factory tightened too much. This delayed my plan to be at Trek Bicycle Kingwood when they opened at 10 AM and get back home to reassemble the chain and install the new Ultegra pedals. The mechanic at Trek tried to get the stripped bolt out but it was too messed up. Fortunately the original spider arm was the same as the new one so he used that. The Trek even cleaned the dirt and wax from the old crankarm. Thank you!!

Back home with the new crankset installed I lubricated the chain with Silca Super Secret, put on the Ultegra pedals, added the crankset to the SRAM phone app and updated the firmware. Then I deleted the Favero Assiomo Uno power meter pedal from the Wahoo Bolt computer and added the Quarq power meter.

It was getting later than I planned on starting today’s bike but I pressed on. Before getting dressed I checked the weather radar because the forecast called for scattered rain. I saw a couple of patches but figured they would move away by the time I got near them. I rolled out the driveway at 12:11 PM planning on riding my Kingwood – FM 1485 – Kingwood route to the north. As I rode beside Northpark Drive light rain started so I made a stop back home to give it time to pass. That didn’t take long and I was back on the bike. Continuing on the route I rode through small patches of light rain. Again, I thought they would go away. I altered the route slightly taking Adams Street to US59. Another cyclist passed me gong the opposite direction and we waved. As I neared the intersection rain began. I turned right hoping I would ride out of it but it rained harder. I made a u-turn heading to Woodridge Forest as I got soaked. No place for shelter so I decided to ride back home. As I rode through Woodridge Forest the rain stopped but the streets were very wet. My clean bike was no longer clean. On Woodridge Parkway the streets were dry but I wasn’t. I rode home and washed the Cervelo. I finished the ride at 1:13 PM. I rode 12.37 miles allowing me to count this as an “official” bike ride (10 miles is the definition).

I’ll try again tomorrow.

12-29-2022 Strava Ride Overview Kingwood Streets
12-29-2022 Strava Ride Overview Kingwood Streets
12-29-2022 Strava Ride Route Map Kingwood Streets
12-29-2022 Strava Ride Route Map Kingwood Streets

Texas Bicycling Action December 28th, 2022

Texbiker.net Posted on by

6 Classic Bike Rides in Texas

Simon Trask | texasoutside.com

If you are searching for fun bicycle rides in Texas, you have come to the right place. Listed below you will have information you need for 6 of the best Texas bike rides. A short description will give you some idea of the bike ride you are interested in and a link for more information.

Mission Reach Trail System

San Antonio

The Hike & Bike Trail is approximately 15 miles long and runs along the San Antonio River connecting all five missions in San Antonio: The Alamo, Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. Each mission is about 2.5 miles from the next. This is a safe and fun way to visit the missions.

Southern Dallas cyclists hope for better infrastructure as Dallas bike plan develops

By Sriya Reddy | www.dallasnews.com

Poor roadways and lack of streetlights hinder cyclists in the southern sector.

Two cyclist ride bikes on the sidewalk along Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in Dallas. (Rebecca Slezak / Staff Photographer)

Now that the city has $2.5 million to update its 2011 bike plan, cyclists in southern Dallas, long hindered by poor infrastructure and a lack of bike lanes, see this as the perfect opportunity to improve their communities.

After the city’s series of public input meetings that ended mid-November, the Department of Transportation will create a new bike plan and ask for the public’s input again in early spring 2023.

The new bike plan will add trails, infrastructure, and other facilities. The Dallas Department of Transportation received $500,000 for development of the plan and $2 million from general funds for implementation.

Resident James “Stanley” Harris says …

Ride into the new year at Longview’s Safety City

By Yoleyne Romero | www.news-journal.com

The Longview Parks and Recreation Department is rolling out a new holiday event just in time for the New Year, with a free holiday bike ride for children scheduled to take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 31 at Safety City.

Safety City is a miniature version of the city of Longview and is used to teach children safety tips they can utilize in real life. First opened in 1991, it simulates real traffic environments and includes an overpass, a railroad crossing, working traffic lights and major traffic signs.

Recreation Supervisor Marina Garcia said the idea for the …

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Sidewall Bubble, Quarq Power, Back On Road After The Cold

Texbiker.net Posted on by

It was great getting back on the road for today’s bike ride. Before the ride while airing up tires I found a bubble sticking out of the rear tire on my Lynskey Helix bike from a cut in the sidewall. The tires have about 1800 miles and I didn’t want to replace it so I put a boot cut from an old tire inside covering the cut. That worked well for the ride. This is the first ride with the new SRAM Rival Quarq power meter crankset I had installed yesterday. I paired to my Wahoo Bolt computer and it worked great. I need to check if it also reports cadence. I also wore a new pair of Peral Izumi Elite Gel gloves I received for Christmas.

The weather warmed up to 73 as I started the ride at 11:47 AM. Riding my Lynksey Helix I chose the Atascocita – Walden – Huffman route. The wind was 13 mph from the south as I rolled away and added 28 mph gusts before I finished the ride at 2:25 PM. My legs got a workout getting to FM 2100 because of the strong wind where I started the return to Kingwood. I thought it would be chilly riding across Lake Houston because of the wind coming over the cold water but it wasn’t to bad riding east. I think it was chillier riding west because the sun wasn’t out as much. Thanks to my Zwift riding my legs kept active for the return to the road.

Weather during the ride: start 73 (humidity 64%, dew point 60), mostly clear, wind S 13 mph; finish 75 (humidity 65%, dew point 62), mostly cloudy, wind S 13 mph gusts 28 mph.

I noticed after my last road ride on December 13th that my Lazer red helmet is turning yellow on the rear like my previous one. No idea what is causing this. I put my hand in that area to turn the adjusting knob. Maybe that causes the yellowing? The next helmet will be white.

Data from my AXS.SRAM.com ride report.

12-28-2022 AXS SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage - Time
12-28-2022 AXS SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage – Time
12-28-2022 AXS SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage - Distance
12-28-2022 AXS SRAM Component Summary Gear Usage – Distance
12-28-2022 AXS SRAM Component Summary Power In Gear
12-28-2022 AXS SRAM Component Summary Power In Gear
12-28-2022 Strava Matched Rides Atascocita - Walden - Huffman
12-28-2022 Strava Matched Rides Atascocita – Walden – Huffman
12-28-2022 Strava Ride Overview Atascocita - Walden - Huffman
12-28-2022 Strava Ride Overview Atascocita – Walden – Huffman
12-28-2022 Strava 5 mile Laps Atascocita - Walden - Huffman
12-28-2022 Strava 5 mile Laps Atascocita – Walden – Huffman