Texas Bicycling Headlines October 24th, 2022

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Southern Tier Cross Country Tour

By Adam Wolf | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 30: Kerrville, TX to Johnson City, TX

Monday October 24, 2022, 74 miles (119 km) – Total so far: 1,587 miles (2,554 km) Somehow we avoided the nasty storm that was predicted for last night and this morning. It was sprinkling just a little as we woke up. We had our breakfast in the rec room at the KOA and made our lunch then got everything ready for the day’s ride.

The first few miles were pretty uneventful then we got onto a really quiet ranch road that seemed almost like a bike trail. There were occasional cars to remind us that we were on a road but it was very pleasant nonetheless. At one point, we thought we were headed into someones ranch but indeed it was still the same road. At times the cattle were not fenced but they did not bother us.

After about 35 miles we hit a town called Fredricksburg. Its a very touristy town with lots of German flair. There are several wineries and some biergartens but we did not partake as it was too early in the day. We stopped at a …

ACA Southern Tier

By Terry Rimmer | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 29 Kerrville: All that heaven will allow

Saturday October 22, 2022, 47 miles (76 km) – Total so far: 1,625 miles (2,615 km) Today there were a few potential issues to get over. The first was the hill out of the valley, called heart attack hill. The second was the storm that’s coming Monday and may arrive early. Third and final was the Texas chip seal road surface which can be tiring on the hands and other parts that touch the bike.

It was a stormy looking morning but very warm as I headed out down the road to heart attack hill which wasn’t very far. It looked meaner than it actually was and I made it to the top with only a slightly elevated heart beat. The storm held off all day and it was sunny for the last 20 miles. Finally the chip seal eased off going down the Guadalupe valley, possibly due to the wealthy residents complaining. So the weight on my mind was lifted and I had a storming day’s cycling.

Heart attack hill is an engineered ramp out of the valley and is as straight as a Roman road. It wasn’t that bad and soon I reached the top to enjoy rolling Texas hill country. A healthy tailwind made the miles melt away. This part of Texas looks to be …

Uptown and Memorial Park

Dan – Thoughts from Huntington Place | dannagel1.blogspot.com

One of the challenges of bicycling as well as B Cycling, is getting to the start point, if you live some distance away. I have gotten pretty good at taking Park & Ride buses down Southwest Freeway to downtown and the Medical Center, and then getting on my own bike, or using a B Cycle, but how the heck can you get to the Post Oaks and 4 Oaks Station in Up Town?

I am very leary of parking in Houston. Commercial Park garages charge too much, and most store parking lots have signs that threaten to tow me away if I am not a customer. One of my favorite group of videos on YouTube are the tow truck videos (GTOGER) where idiots who ignore the numerous signs, come back to find they must pay $150 if they want their car back.

What to do then? Well, in Uptown, there is the Silver Line. This is a bus that acts like a Metro Rail train, with it’s own dedicated roadway, and stations, but without the massive cost of overhead power and tracks. I parked at the …

Upcoming Rides

Chasing Watts | chasingwatts.com

CA Tuesday 24 v2.0 Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

MCC Tuesday – PM Edition. Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 5:30 PM

Trek Memorial Tues Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 7:00 PM

Justice League Tuesday Night Ride Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 7:00 PM

MCC Tuesday – Shell to McKeever Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 6:30 AM

JL Tuesday Power Hour Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 6:00 AM

Morning SBux Crew (Tues) Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

Urban South Tuesday Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

Trek West U 1.1 NEW ROUTE Tuesday, October 25, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

The Boot Wednesday, October 26, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

The Boot REBOOT Wednesday, October 26, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

Cyclocross Under the Lights Wednesday, October 26, 2022 @ 6:45 PM

Tokyo Joe’s Shot Ride Wednesday, October 26, 2022 @ 6:00 PM

Trek Sugar Land – Wed. Night Ride Wednesday, October 26, 2022 @ 6:00 PM

Taco Wednesday Wednesday, October 26, 2022 @ 6:00 PM

UBG 26 mile Wednesday Night Wednesday, October 26, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

Urban Thursday West Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

MCC Thursday – PM Edition Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 5:30 PM

JL Thursday Power Hour Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 6:00 AM

MCC Thursday – Shell to McKeever Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 6:30 AM

Trek West U Bridges 2.3 Group C Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

Bridgeland Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

Walking Stick Thursdays Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 6:30 PM

Look Pro Go Slow Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 7:00 PM

Morning SBux Crew (Thurs) Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

JL Friday Spice Power Hour Friday, October 28, 2022 @ 6:00 AM

Trek Sugar Land – Sat Group 46 mi. Saturday, October 29, 2022 @ 7:30 AM

Bike Medicine Saturday Training Ride Saturday, October 29, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

Bike Medicine Saturday Training Ride Saturday, October 29, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

JL 48 Miles thru Rosharon Saturday, October 29, 2022 @ 6:00 AM

Bike Medicine Saturday 40 Mile Training Ride Saturday, October 29, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

Race Ready Repair – Beginner/Intermediate Road Ride Saturday, October 29, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

Sunday Morning Ride with Kingwood Bicycles Sunday, October 30, 2022 @ 7:30 AM

Sun and Ski Sunday with bridges Sunday, October 30, 2022 @ 7:50 AM

JL Recovery & Coffee Ride Sunday, October 30, 2022 @ 6:30 AM

Bike Medicine Sunday Training Ride Sunday, October 30, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

Active Passion Sunday Roll Sunday, October 30, 2022 @ 8:00 AM

JL Monday Power Hour Monday, October 31, 2022 @ 6:00 AM

Southern Tier West to East 2022

By Jim Elicker | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 22: El Paso to Fort Hancock: Wind-Driven Ride, Back in the Wide Open Spaces

Tuesday October 25, 2022, 51 miles (82 km) – Total so far: 1,019 miles (1,640 km) Todays ride was unique in several ways. We passed the 1000 mile mark for the trip thus far. We had a strong tailwind pushing us the whole day. (Thanks to the wind, we averaged 14+ mph over the whole day, often cruising at 16-20) We got cold and wet for the first time. Riding on the busy road out of El Paso, grey clouds overhead, we thought we might be able to outrun the storm. 50F, but felt colder with the wind. At about 20 miles we felt drops and stopped to put on rain gear. By 25 we are getting wet. This was an uncomfortable feeling! I usually don’t mind a little rain, but I started to …

Texas Biking from Twitter

Zwift – Riding Watopia Triple Flat Loops

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I had high hopes of riding outdoors today. But as the morning progressed the clouds dropped light rain. A couple of times it stopped and I thought the streets would dry some but then it rained some more. The Cervelo Caledonia was ready and waiting until I decided it was going to be a Zwift ride. I looked at the upcoming events and didn’t find one that was a good time or distance or w/kg. Time to create a Zwift meetup. I picked the Watopia Triple Flat Loops for the route and set the time at 11:35 AM. I checked the weather outside and it was raining lightly so I got ready to go Zwifting. I’ve reached my 800 mile goal for Zwift this year at 802 miles and the bad weather has arrived yet.

I didn’t check to see when of it I rode this course before but I thought I had. It turns out this was the 4th ride on Triple Flat Loops. It took me 1:14:31 to ride 21.79 miles, one of the better times of the previous 3. As the name says it was pretty flat with only 515 feet of climbing. As I rode many other Zwifters passed in both directions.

Maybe I can ride outside tomorrow.

10-24-2022 All Rides Zwift Watopia Triple Flats
10-24-2022 All Rides Zwift Watopia Triple Flat Loops
10-24-2022 Strava Zwift Ride Data Summary Watopia Triple Flat Loops
10-24-2022 Strava Zwift Ride Data Summary Watopia Triple Flat Loops

Texas Bicycling News October 23rd, 2022

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Southern Tier Cross Country Tour

By Adam Wolf | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 27: Del Rio, TX to Camp Wood, TX

Friday October 21, 2022, 76 miles (122 km) – Total so far: 1,425 miles (2,293 km) Had a nice meal last night cooked by Adam and his cooking partner, Ann. Got the bike back with a new rear tire and new brake pads. Adam had to get up early this morning to set out breakfast and lunch since we all wanted to be on the road early for our 75+ mile day.

We have technically left west Texas and are now in hill country. The landscape has changed a bit (more trees and less scrub brush) and there is a bit more climb today than there has been the last few days.

The first 30 miles were pretty flat. Along with our "normal" butt breaks, we stopped in …

Day 28: Camp Wood, TX to Vanderpool, TX

Saturday October 22, 2022, 41 miles (66 km) – Total so far: 1,466 miles (2,359 km) Had another nice dinner cooked by Kelly and her cooking partner Carl. Figured we didn’t need to be up so early since it was only a 41 mile day. So breakfast was scheduled for 8:00 am.

The town of Camp Wood was actually 4.8 miles into our route today and they have a restaurant that is open for breakfast so most of the riders had a very light breakfast in camp and planned to stop in Camp Wood for a more proper breakfast. The Casa Falcon did not disappoint. With bellies full, we set out for the short mileage ride to Vanderpool, TX and our campground. Only 36 miles farther but over 3200 feet of climb!

We hit that first climb about 5 miles further and it didn’t seem that bad at first. Unfortunately the climb just kept going and the last mile and a half were at about 7% grade! We made it up that one and seemed to be on …

Day 29: Vanderpool, TX to Kerrville, TX

Sunday October 23, 2022, 47 miles (76 km) – Total so far: 1,513 miles (2,435 km) At last night’s map meeting, we found out that today is the halfway point of the trip. Woo Hoo! Lots of excitement for that but a bit of dread for the super steep hill on the first part of the ride. We were told that it’s 13% grade!

The first 4+ miles were not bad, we saw some Emus at the entrance to the Lost Maples State Natural Area. Not quite sure why they were there but they were picture worthy. Just after that was the nasty hill. 385 feet of climb in about 1/2 mile so it is around 13% or 14% grade. We made it up the hill but had to rest about half way up. Good thing it was fairly early in the day.

After that it was pretty much up and down for the next 15 miles. Somewhat slow going with not a lot to see. We made our way to the …

Bike rodeo supports safety, education

BY DOMINIC GONZALEZ | www.tdtnews.com

Brothers Kaysen Perry, left, and Blake Perry win brand new bikes Saturday during the annual Bike Rodeo and Child Safety event at Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple. Dominic Gonzales/Telegram

Bikes were back at Temple’s children’s hospital.

10 Good Biking Routes in Houston

www.healthfitnessrevolution.com

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Houston.

After all, we’re based here! But we also love our city because it’s got a ton of things going for it—one of which is Samir Becic. It’s been almost 4 years since HFR founder Samir Becic was named “Fitness Czar” for the City of Houston! What better way to celebrate the anniversary than with a series of healthy living recommendations for Houstonians?

Mayor Sylvester Turner proclaimed Samir with the official title on November 1st, 2018 following 16 years of Samir’s dedicated service (starting with Mayor Lee Brown in 2002) to make the city a healthier and fitter place to live. In honor of our founder and his tireless work to make the city a healthier place to live for the past 20 years (as a volunteer and 4 years as “Fitness Czar”), we’ve decided to share some of our favorite healthy Houston recommendations- …

ACA Southern Tier

By Terry Rimmer | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 28 Vanderpool: Over the rise Friday October 21, 2022, 41 miles (66 km) – Total so far: 1,578 miles (2,540 km) Awoke to grey skies with a feel of dampness in the air, however, needn’t have worried, soon after the grey clouds had all gone and the sun was rising in a clear blue sky.

All but one of us decided to have a second breakfast in Camp Wood since today would be a relatively short ride of 41 miles to Vanderpool. The restaurant looked quite good and there were lots of people already seated and eating so our group had great expectations. Indeed Kelly and Adam had gone without breakfast on the understanding they would be well fed to fuel up for the day. The service was not as expected and after 40 minutes we still had not received our food, it came another 10 minutes afterwards. Kelly and Adam were becoming somewhat frantic at the need for food for the journey ahead. I was not impressed especially eating off polystyrene plates. As the day turned out, it would have been wiser to press on and got the miles behind our wheels. I say this for a reason which I will come onto the next.

A few dangerous dog encounters in …

Onweller, Finsterwald Take First at Big Sugar Gravel; Smith, Swenson Win Inaugural Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda

www.endurancesportswire.com

Bentonville, Ark., (Saturday, October 22, 2022) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda took place on the hinterland roads of Northwest Arkansas and Southern Missouri today, with a field of more than 1,500 riders ranging in age from 14 to 78, representing 44 states and eight countries. The event offers two signature distances: the marquee Big Sugar, a 104-mile course of challenging roads through the Ozarks with approximately 7,000 feet of elevation gain and 52-mile Lil Sugar, which serves up a similarly challenging and equally picturesque ride through remote highs and hollows.

Big Sugar was the final event in the six-race Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda. Haley Smith and Keegan Swenson won the overall series in its inaugural year, each taking home $25,000, with the other top nine men and women finishers awarded portions of the $250,000 prize purse from Life Time.

“We are thrilled by the success of this weekend’s events, which were the culmination of a huge undertaking by our team, brand partners, athletes and the city of Bentonville,” said Kimo Seymour, President of Events and Media at Life Time. “Big Sugar Gravel was the perfect end cap to a successful season and finale of the inaugural Life Time Grand Prix.”

Women’s Big Sugar Results

Paige Onweller, 33, of Grand Rapids, Mich. with a time of 5:33:05
Emily Newsom, 39, of Fort Worth, Texas with a time of 5:39:44 ...

Non-Binary Big Sugar Results

Bonnie Branson, 46, of Edmond, OK with a time of 7:46:49
Lily Friend, 35, of Austin, Texas with a time of 7:59:09
Kat Steele, 52, of Austin, Texas with a time of 8:57:23

…

Non-Binary Lil Sugar Results

Abi Robins, 33, of Austin, Texas with a time of 5:15:35

…

Texas Medical Center by Bicycle and a final Evening ride

Dan – Thoughts from Huntington Place | dannagel1.blogspot.com

I actually went by Bill Coats Bridge the other day, but its a cool bridge.

I drove to Hermann Park and grabbed a bike. I visited B Cycle Stations South of Brays Bayou last Saturday, so today I just had to mop it up. I have been joking that riding a bike in Houston is like playing Frogger. The real game can be played in the Medical Center, at any Metro Station! Try to cross lanes of traffic, only to find there is a train in your way, and there is no median of safety between the train and the car lanes! But, none of the 257 ambulances in that area were for me!

A few blocks South East of the Metro, in the part of TMC where patients don’t venture, is something called the Commons. A food court with water wall on the outside! …

Roxana’s B-side B-day ride

Federica Arkadin | strava.com

Kerrville cat whatever 1st

John Anderson | strava.com

Sunday Morning Group Gravel Ride

David Patterson | strava.com

Kerrville Mountain Bike Festival- Cat 2 W 19-39

Michelle Casper | strava.com

2022 BATB ????? Day2

Norman ???? Chao | strava.com

Bike Around the Bay/Day 2

Dries B | strava.com

So much better than yesterday! Mostly tailwind today.

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Headwind Time Changed My Route. 200 Mile Week, Barely

Texbiker.net Posted on by

With the three days of Zwifting earlier in the week I was 21 miles short of a 200 mile week as I began today’s bike ride at 1:35 PM. I decided to ride the route as last Sunday but extend it several miles to ride the needed miles to keep my 200 mile week streak alive. Riding my Lynskey Helix bike on my Forest Cove – Oakhurst – Kingwood route I rode through several Kingwood villages, Forest Cove, on the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway, and to Oakhurst. In Oakhurst is where I added the extra distance exiting there to ride through Peppervine back to the south bound frontage road along US59. I made the u-turn at Northpark Drive, rode north to E. Knox Street which took me to Loop 494, cross the railroad tracks, right on Kelly, left on Adams Street. Entering Woodridge Forest I wasn’t far from finishing the ride at 3:30 PM with 24.07 miles and a week with 203.51 miles. I also crossed over my 651 road mile goal for October with 22 miles to spare.

During all of this biking the wind was determined to extract all of my energy with 32 mph gusts and a steady 20 mph wind when it wasn’t gusting. The wind was from the south but the side wind was hard as well. The temperature was 84 prompting me to use my CamelBak for hydration. Weather conditions: start 84 (humidity 54%, dew point 65), mostly cloudy, wind S 20 mph gusts 32 mph; finish 84 (humidity 56%, dew point 67), mostly cloudy, wind S 18 mph gusts 33 mph. The hardest riding was after I exited Peppervine onto the frontage road into the headwind. That was one reason I changed the route from Auburn Trails to shorten the amount of headwind time to Northpark Drive.

I explored the concrete removal on Marina Drive in Forest Cove near the former townhomes. While there were big slabs of concrete ripped up there was a way to ride through to Hamblen Road shortening the time I need to ride on Hamblen Road. A few patches of dirt and gravel but nothing to bad.

The ride on Adams Street gained me the Strava Local Legend on Woodridge Forest Straightaway along with 2nd fastest time on Don’t Get Run Over on Hamblen West (44s), 2nd fastest time on How’d it go!? (6:13) on other segments.

10-23-2022 Week Bike Rides Summary End of Week
10-23-2022 Week Bike Rides Summary End of Week
10-23-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Forest Cove-Oakhurst-Kingwood
10-23-2022 Strava Ride Data Summary Forest Cove-Oakhurst-Kingwood
10-23-2022 YTD Bike Rides Forest Cove-Oakhurst-Kingwood
10-23-2022 YTD Bike Rides Forest Cove-Oakhurst-Kingwood