Wheels Rolling at 8:05, Hit 200+ Miles For Week, Other Cyclists

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I wanted to start the bike ride before 8 AM but I settled for 8:05 AM. I need to start getting ready at 7:30 if I’m going to get rolling before 8. With the early start (for e anyway) I hoped to see other cyclists and I did. I chose my “Atascocita – Huffman – Walden” route and rode the Cervelo Caledonia bike. Before the ride I needed 16 miles to hit 200+ for the week and I biked 33.49 miles making it a 218.02 mile week. June improved to 140.87 miles with a 800 mile goal. Year to date 2022 totals 3,901 miles compared to 3,983 in 2021 and 4,120 in 2020. Some days I gain on YTD 2021 but I was a busy cyclist in 2020 and don’t seem to narrow the difference much. So far I’ve rode today’s route 8 times. Today’s ride was average for the route. I saw an announcement on one of the message boards riding west over the lake that traffic lanes will change on June 8th beginning at 7 PM. Not sure how that will affect my riding over Lake Houston.

6-4-2022 YTD Bike Rides Overview Atascocita-Huffman-Walden
6-4-2022 YTD Bike Rides Overview Atascocita-Huffman-Walden

I saw numerous cyclists starting at FM 1960 and Atascocita Shores Drive heading to the east. That is a highlight of Saturday bike rides. My GoPro skills need improving to capture them on video. The GoPro freezes sometimes when cyclists are passing or I think it is recording but really is not. Consistency is not a GoPro 10 feature.

Weather conditions were favorable with light wind and moderate temperature, no threat of rain, and sunshine. Weather data: start 73 (humidity 92%, dew point 70), mostly cloudy, wind N 7 mph; finish 84 (humidity 69%, dew point 73), mostly cloudy, wind E 4 mph.

With the light wind my legs powered the ride in the 35×13 gearing for 1:31:51 (22.6 miles) out of a total moving time of 2:25:31 according to the AXS.SRAM.com ride report. I used the 35×15 gears for 31:38 (6.8 miles). A modest 27 RD shifts.

6-4-2022 Strava Atascocita-Huffman-Walden Data Summary
6-4-2022 Strava Atascocita-Huffman-Walden Data Summary

Texas Bicycling News June 3rd 2022

Texbiker.net Posted on by

University of Texas students embark on 4K mile bike ride from Austin to Alaska

By Tierra Neubaum | www.fox7austin.com

AUSTIN, Texas – 50 University of Texas student cyclists will embark on a 4,000-mile bike ride from Austin to Alaska.

Texas 4000 for Cancer is an 18-month leadership program for UT students who must apply and be selected. Its mission is to raise hope, awareness, and knowledge in the fight against the disease.

Students cap their program with the 70-day, 4,000-mile bike ride to Anchorage. …

Plan to update urban trails, sidewalks and bike lanes prioritizes equity

by Samuel Stark | www.austinmonitor.com

At the City Council Mobility Committee meeting last month, representatives from the ATX Walk Bike Roll program spoke about their commitment to achieving equitable outcomes when updating Austin’s urban trails, bike lanes and sidewalks.

ATX Walk Bike Roll, a joint planning effort led by the Public Works and Transportation departments, began in 2021 with the hopes of giving Austinites more options than cars or buses when traveling around the city. Project staff members are currently in the design evaluation stage and hope to execute plans in roughly a year’s time.

Half of respondents to a survey conducted by the program said they “strongly” felt that all races don’t have equal access to safe and comfortable paths. Thus the program has ensured that equity is at the heart of its revamp.

“We’re using the Equity Office’s definition where race no longer predicts the quality-of-life outcomes in our community,” Kate Wettick, Austin’s Urban Trails program manager, said in her presentation to the …

IMPAIRED DRIVER SENTENCED IN DEATH OF CONROE MAN IN 2018

montgomerycountypolicereporter.com

Just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 21, 2018, Brian Vines and two females were walking along with two bicycles on East Davis when a Kristina Hardin, 27, driving an SUV ran off onto the shoulder and slammed into them. According to one of the victims they were walking to a local church/food pantry when the Vines was struck, as he was being struck he pushed his girlfriend out of the way. She was transported with a broken arm. Ashley, the other female walking with them was uninjured. She did say she saw the female driver exited the vehicle and throw an unknown pill bottle into the ditch. The Montgomery County District Attorney Vehicular Crimes Unit is also on the scene assisting Conroe Police. After further investigation, the …

White Oak Bayou Trail from bikehouston

Video: Laredo Councilmember hopes to expand Shiloh bike trail

By Brenda Camacho | www.kgns.tv

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) – A proposal to expand the Shiloh Hike and Bike Trail will be discussed during Monday’s City Council meeting.

Currently the Springfield Avenue extension development is cutting through the trail system, so District Six Councilmember Dr. Marte Martinez is working on expanding the eastern portion of the land.

He says many cyclists have come to him asking that the city maintain the Shiloh trails since many other trails are no longer available.

Dr. Martinez says this will be a community-based project that he hopes will eventually expand upon further.

“Eventually we want to have a park that goes all the way from …

Friends, family mourn father of four killed in East End hit-and-run

Jay R. Jordan, Ariana Garcia | www.chron.com

Houston police are still searching for the driver, who fled on foot after hitting 47-year-old cyclist Sajid Barajas.

Friends described Sajid Barajas, second from the right, as a hard-working family man. Here, he poses with his wife and four children in an undated photo. GoFundMe / Sajid Barajas Islas

The family of slain Houston cyclist Sajid Barajas is still looking for answers after the 47-year-old father of four was killed on a rare bike ride home early on Memorial Day.

Barajas clocked out of his shift at Grocers Supply in south Houston and biked nearly six miles into Magnolia Park, where he was killed. He normally carpooled with a coworker, but that coworker wasn’t scheduled to work because of the holiday, his aunt Cristina Islas said. That meant Barajas had to take his bike to and from the warehouse, putting him in a vulnerable position as a cyclist on Houston’s notoriously dangerous roadways.

Barajas was pedaling along South Cesar Chavez Boulevard near Polk Street around …

Texas Biking from Twitter

June Coolness, Dogs Update, Railroad Overpass Work

Texbiker.net Posted on by

I wanted today’s ride to be on a route I haven’t rode in awhile. I checked SportTracks and saw the last time I rode my “Atascocita – Balmoral – Walden” route was April 19th. That was where I rode today. A “cool” front arrived during the night dropping the temperature to 69 degrees when I got up around 6:15 AM along with lower humidity and dew point. Before starting the bike ride I made a few phone calls following up on problems or questions. That delayed the start to 10:16 AM. I rode my Cervelo Caledonia while waiting for Lynskey to come up with a solution to installing the wrong crankset on the Helix. That was one of the phone calls I made. Maybe they will decide by the end of today.

When I checked the route history the average distance was 34 miles and today I biked 34.34 miles pushing the week’s total to xxx miles, close enough to 220 miles that I can get there with tomorrow’s ride. This is new route in that I created it in 2022. Five of the 6 rides have been on my Cervelo Caledonia. The route is all west of Lake Houston though I get close to the lake at FM 1960 and Atascocita Shores Drive. Some of the streets in the area are under construction so maybe I couldn’t biked parts of this route in 2020 or 2021. The railroad overpass construction on Timber Forest south of Greens Road appears to progressed but I didn’t get close enough to see the details. A small crane was moving around and several pickup trucks may mean workers there. If I had to guess I think the beams have been placed and the small crane was laying the decking slabs in place. Maybe August will be a good opening time after all.

6-3-2022 YTD Bike Rides Overview Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden
6-3-2022 YTD Bike Rides Overview Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden

Weather at the start and 1:00 PM finish: start 78 (humidity 75%, dew point 70), partly cloudy, wind N 9 mph; finish 84 (humidity 63%, dew point 70), partly cloudy, wind NE 9 mph. I felt the difference in the humidity from the bike rides earlier this week. Single digit wind was nice but that will probably get stronger by Sunday. I was going to use my CamelBak but with the cooler temperature and lower humidity I stuck with the Polar water bottle. The Camelbak will probably be used tomorrow.

During the bike ride an officer from the City of Houston Animal Control left a message that they checked for the dogs at Rock Creek and Northpark but did not see them She said they will check again in the coming week. I’ve been avoiding that area so I didn’t know if they were there.

From the AXS.SRAM.com ride report: total moving time was 2:36:42; a whopping 53 RD shifts; I used the 35×13 gearing 1:18:16 (19.2 miles) and the 35×15 gearing 57:06 (11.3 miles).

Strava recorded a PR on Balmoral Greens eastbound (4:31). That’s good for me but Matthew Roberts’ 2:49 is the best time. I’m not the only cyclist riding there.

6-3-2022 Strava Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden Data Summary
6-3-2022 Strava Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden Data Summary

Texas Bicycling News June 2nd 2022

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Carry the Load Relay team visits Fort Hood

By Blair Dupre, Fort Hood Public Affairs | www.army.mil

FORT HOOD, Texas – The West Coast Carry the Load Relay team made a pit stop here at the Great Place, May 26, on their 4,400-mile ride from Seattle, Washington to Dallas.

Carry the Load was founded in 2011 with the purpose of honoring service members and first responders who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice. This year five relay teams traveled a combined 20,000 miles across 48 states, ultimately meeting up in Dallas on Memorial Day for the Dallas Memorial March.

“In the military community, you’ve heard the saying before that, ‘most people …

Trail Flow: The Newest Trails Coming to Illinois, Texas, Florida, and Aspen

By Singletracks Staff | www.singletracks.com

Trail Flow Thursday is a roundup of all the mountain bike trail related news of the week including new trail builds, advocacy, and planning. Do you have trail news? Email matt@singletracks.com for possible inclusion. …

… New jump line at Erwin Park

Erwin Park in Texas just added a mountain bike skills area with multiple progressive jump lines. The Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association (DORBA) organized over 2,000 volunteer hours to help move and shape 7,000 tons of dirt. …

Houston rolls out a surprising ranking on list of bike-friendly cities in the U.S.

By Teresa Gubbins | houston.culturemap.com

Houston is a bona-fide car town, but how does it rank for biking? A new survey on bikeability gives Houston a fairly decent — and somewhat surprising — ranking for that cycling life. In a list of the top 50 cities in the U.S., Houston ranks No. 29 and boasts a bikeability score of 49.

Drilling down, that means the Bayou City has 0.3 percent of workers who commute by bicycle, a little below the average city’s 0.5 percent, with 0.4 bike shops per 100,000 people and 0.3 percent bike trails per 100,000 people. …

Texas Parks and Wildlife awards $4.8 million in recreational trail grants to Texas communities

smcorridornews.com

AUSTIN — During Thursday’s meeting, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved more than $4.8 million in grants funding 17 motorized and non-motorized recreational trail-related projects across the state.

One million dollars of the amount allocated today came directly from state Sporting Good Sales Tax funds dedicated to the Recreational Trails Program through a rider passed by the 82nd Legislature. The rider increased the total amount of funded projects this year.

The National Recreational Trails Fund (NRTF) supports recreational trail construction, renovation, and acquisition. The grants are funded from a portion of the federal gas tax generated by gasoline purchases for off-highway vehicles.

Thirty percent of the total NRTF grants must be earmarked for motorized recreational trails, while another 30 percent must be spent on non-motorized trail projects. The remaining 40 percent is discretionary.

Several projects funded in …

Houston Parks Board June Newsletter

us20.campaign-archive.com

With MKT Bridge now open to the public, an essential component of the Bayou Greenway system along White Oak Bayou Greenway is restored. Working closely with the City of Houston, owner of the bridge, and Harris County Flood Control District, Houston Parks Board worked diligently to restore the bridge since intial repairs began in summer 2021. …

… Join us for a groundbreaking on the longest segment of Bayou Greenways, Brays Bayou Greenway! The new 7.67-mile greenway will connect Braeburn Glen Park to Arch Bishop Fiorenza Park, connecting more people to more parks, trails and more!

Refreshments and light bites will be served.

June: Buffalo Bayou is Buzzin’ Newsletter

Ann Olson, Buffalo Bayou Partnership

… Coming Soon: East Downtown Trail BBP is looking forward to the completion of the East Downtown Trail segment later this month! Developed in cooperation with the Houston Parks Board, Downtown Redevelopment Authority, City of Houston, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, and Harris County Flood Control District, this new addition represents a key connection between downtown and points east. Generous funding for this project was contributed by Barbara and the late Gerald Hines, Wendy and Jeff Hines, Sis and Hasty Johnson, and the Kinder Foundation through Bayou Greenways.

Weaving under and through buildings adjacent to the waterfront just east of Main Street and Allen’s Landing, the new East Downtown Trail furthers BBP’s goal to create connectivity all the way from Buffalo Bayou Park to the Port of Houston Turning Basin, serving even more Houstonians.

Stay tuned for news on when the trail will be accessible to the public. …

Video: Harmony English teacher and pro BMX rider featured in documentary with students

www.click2houston.com

HOUSTON – Omari Cato is a 5th grade English-Language Arts teacher at Harmony School of Endeavor-Houston. He’s also a professional BMX rider.

At Harmony, he used his background in bikes and his love of teaching to start a campus BMX Club where he teaches students how to ride, fix and maintain bicycles.

Cato and his BMX club are the subject of a new documentary.

Cato appeared on KPRC 2+ to share his story and provide information about the new documentary.

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar