Texas Biking News April 1st 2022

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2022 Houston Art Bike Festival

www.artbikehouston.com

A CITY-WIDE CELEBRATION OF HUMAN-POWERED ART ON WHEEL

Houston Parks Board & Orange Show Center for Visionary Art are proud to present Houston’s first-ever Houston Art Bike Festival. This day-long arts and culture celebration will bring together community members and youth programs from across the city as we explore our personal creativity, promote health and wellness, and celebrate the artist in everyone!

MacGregor Park and the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art campus will come alive on Saturday, May 21, 2022, with music, food, art bikes, art cars, community groups, activities, and a special parade. Students from participating …

Agents of Discovery

houstonparksboard.org

Vogel Creek: March 11 – May 6

Get ready to visualize plans for a future Vogel Creek Greenway!

Plans for this future greenway proposes trails, recreation, and landscaping components that complement nearby detention basins. Learn more about Vogel Creek and how it is part of phase one of the Inwood Recreation Project.

Upon completion of your mission, email the special code word from the final screen to Linda Carper to receive a limited edition HPB swag bag!

Parking is available along the street at 7823 Streamside Drive Houston, TX 77091.

Sims Bayou Greenway: April 8 – June 10

Visit one of the newest Bayou Greenway segments along Sims Bayou Greenway! The new 10-foot wide hike-and-bike trail begins in Glenbrook Park and takes players past Houston Botanic Garden and the notable Sims Bayou Greenway Bridge.

Upon completion, email the special code word from the final mission screen to Linda Carper to receive a limited edition HPB swag bag!

Bike racks and parking are available at Glenbrook Park, or take METRO bus route 5 to the stop at Galveston Rd @ Howard Dr.

Ribbon cutting, opening celebration for off-road bike park in Erwin Park set for April 23

starlocalmedia.com

A ribbon cutting and special opening event is scheduled for April 23 for the new off-road bicycle skills area at Erwin Park.

The event will begin at 8 a.m. and run until noon. The off-road skills dirt track area will be open daily (weather permitting) after April 23. At the special event, there will be food, music and vendors according to the McKinney Parks and Recreation Department.

The new skills area is nearly two years in the making, the department stated on its Facebook page, and “is the latest jewel in the Erwin Park crown.” The department stated the skills area is the result of more …

Texas cyclist hit by car that sped off

by: Monica Madden | www.cbs17.com

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — An Austin man’s evening bike ride almost turned deadly, as shown in a video of a car hitting the cyclist in front of witnesses and then speeding off.

The video captured by a bystander shows cyclist Nick Gardiner riding in the street when a car appearing to change lanes hits him and drives off. He said it happened a little before 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Austin Police said the incident occurred near the 700 block of W. Riverside Drive. …

Cyclists push for safety following hit-and-run in South Austin

By Steven Sarabia | www.fox7austin.com

AUSTIN, Texas – It’s a video that shook the Austin cycling community. The video shows a cyclist get hit by a car on Riverside Drive in South Austin. The cyclist, in pain, crawls off to the side of the road while the car kept on driving.

"It’s horrifying to watch. It’s a nightmare situation for anybody that spends any amount of time on the road," said Cycling Coach Sean Ahmabi.

Ahmabi said this video highlights just how dangerous certain Austin areas are to bike in.

"There’s a lot of drivers that drive extremely fast, and it’s gotten worse in the …

Bike team cycling through El Paso to bring awareness about Alzheimer’s

by Erika Esquivel | cbs4local.com

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Team Biking to Remember is coming through El Paso as they ride bicycles from California to Florida, to bring awareness about the Alzheimer’s Association and fundraise via their “The Longest Day” campaign.

Captained by Jenny Lorenz, Team Biking to Remember has set a goal of $50,000 and has currently raised over $16,000.

Jenny has a personal connection, as her mother is currently battling Alzheimer’s and she has chosen to dedicate this ride on her mother’s behalf. …

A Lane Deferred: More Delays for East Dallas’ Complete Street Project

By Will Maddox | www.dmagazine.com

The good news is that improved lighting and signals are part of the plan.

Add the East Dallas complete street project to the list of pandemic casualties. At a March 22 community meeting hosted by the city of Dallas and City Councilman Jesse Moreno, neighbors and stakeholders learned that the project’s second phase won’t be complete until 2025.

The project is meant to calm traffic and improve pedestrian and cycling safety on a stretch of Main Strett, Columbia Avenue, and Abrams Road between Deep Ellum and Lakewood and was supposed to be finished by the end of 2021. But COVID-19 delays and changes to the design have pushed the …

Preston Royal Pedal event to benefit North Texas Food Bank

By Renee Umsted | prestonhollow.advocatemag.com

The Preston Royal Pedal is on again this year.

Spearheaded by Ken’s Man’s Shop owner Kory Helfman, the bike ride is an opportunity to enjoy one of our neighborhood trails and support a good cause.

There’s no monetary fee required to participate in the event. Instead, bring two or more food items to donate to the North Texas Food Bank. Just drop them off outside any of the retailers at Preston Royal Village.

Show up anytime 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. April 24 at Ken’s Man’s Shop. The ride begins there and goes to the Northaven Trail. Some riders may choose to go farther, all the way to White Rock Lake, even. …

A journey through the Wild Wild West

By Kenneth Welch | www.crazyguyonabike.com

First Overnighter in Texas: Valuable Lessons Learned

Tuesday February 22, 2022 Well first off, the Terratrike GT EVO did wonderfully well. Getting there and returning was no problem. The problem was setting up and breaking down camp. There’s a lot of up and down to be done. More than my 68-year-old legs were up to. Also, sleeping on the ground, even with the air mattress, was not something I want to do again. My son recommends a hammock. I’m going to borrow his next time and see if I can get some much needed sleep. When I left Katy, Texas, I had my etrike charged up to 100%, and when I got to Stephen F. Austin State Park, it showed 67%. That is a 25 mile ride. So I consider that really good. A 50+ mile ride is doable on a single charge. You just have to stay somewhere that …

Texas Hill Country Loop 2022

By Tom Camp | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 4: Blumenthal, TX to 10 Miles Outside of Blanco to Fredericsburg to Blanco State Park: It was a great day with just a few challenges

Thursday March 31, 2022, 26 miles (42 km) – Total so far: 115 miles (185 km) Today was an absolute perfect day for riding. Winds were very light and we had nice, cool temperatures. We said goodbye to Yogi and Boo Boo and headed toward Blanco State Park.

As the Adventure Cycling route that we are on (Texas Hill Country Loop) overlaps with part of the Southern Tier coast-to-coast route, we saw several riders going in the opposite direction. It seemed like everybody had a smile on their face today riding. We did go through the LBJ State Park and Historic Site also. Great bike riding along the Pedernales River.

We stopped in ALbert, TX at the bar/dance hall for lunch and we were in luck. There was a food truck serving great loaded hot dogs and cheeseburgers.

We had a long uphill out of Albert and were within about 10 downhill miles of our intended destination (Blanco State Park) when my bike developed some serious issues that we were not able to fix. Since we had such a great experience at Hill Country Bicycle Works on Tuesday, we gave Adam a call. He sent a good friend (Paul) out to pick us up and haul us back to Fredericksburg. Adam had to run to their other shop in …

Day 5: Blanco State Park to Sattler, TX: Two Parts to the Day

Friday April 1, 2022, 38 miles (61 km) – Total so far: 153 miles (246 km) Last night it got down to 43 degrees so we opted to wait until it warmed up a bit to start riding. So what should we do during that time? Two breakfasts, of course. We started out with the standard oatmeal and then rode up a short hill to the local donut shop. Kolaches and donuts. Oh yeah.

The day really felt like it was split into two parts: Before Comal County and after Comal County started. We’re riding mostly farm-to-market roads that are under jurisdiction of the local counties. It’s very common to see a sign indicating that you are leaving one county and entering another; at that same point, you may see the road conditions change. According to the post office lady at Fisher, the roads were built a long time ago for the purpose of getting crops to towns. It’s understandable I guess that they did not think that the roads would be used for bicycling fun.

When we left Blanco State Park, (Before Comal County), we were riding along idyllic backroads with very little traffic. Road conditions were great. Once we hit Comal County where we would head towards Canyon Lake, the road shoulder shrunk considerably and disappeared at some points. The road surface was also much rougher. At one point, we were approaching a road construction site and they actually added some rumble strips across the road to …

Woman Tours Southern Tier

By Shelly Nevard | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 22: Rest day in Fort Davis

Thursday March 31, 2022 Today is a rest day in Fort Davis. We are on our own for meals today and most of the restaurants don’t open until 11 so Marge and I walked to town to see what we could find. On the way we ran into Diane and Cathy who were looking for the same. They stopped at a coffee shop and we kept going to a grocery store that looked like it might have a bigger selection. I also got a sandwich and a salad for lunch and dinner. Yesterday my Garmin said I burned 3700 calories so I’m trying to replace them. Marge went back and I walked on and visited the …

Day 23: Fort Davis, TX to Alpine, TX

Friday April 1, 2022, 25 miles (40 km) – Total so far: 1,302 miles (2,096 km) Today is a short ride of 25 miles to Alpine, TX. It would normally be to Marathon, TX to even out the distance of today and tomorrow but apparently it was due to hotel reservation issues. Due to the short ride and cold start we had breakfast by chef Emily in the Pavilion of Steel cut oats and fixings, frittata and fruit. I think everyone started out together and Alison was today’s SAG driver. By the time we started out it was sunny but still a little chilly. It warmed up suddenly and when I removed my leg warmers I accidentally left my gloves behind. It was not a great loss because they were my backup pair. But they had become my relatively better pair since my better pair blew apart the seams between several fingers. Oh well this will …

Coast to Coast via the Southern Tier – Spring 2022

By Fletch Dobbs | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 22 – El Paso to Fort Hancock

Thursday March 31, 2022, 49 miles (79 km) – Total so far: 870 miles (1,400 km) An uneventful day of riding. We rode through the rest of El Paso this morning and then through more miles of agriculture on our way to Fort Hancock. We’re staying at the community church here. The weather today was really nice and the roads were as well. For the most part smooth pavement and plenty of shoulder. Nice.

Dinner tonight was mine and Doug’s responsibility. We prepared …

Day 23 – Fort Hancock to Van Horn

Friday April 1, 2022, 68 miles (109 km) – Total so far: 938 miles (1,510 km) Left the church this morning at about 7:30. Cool and calm air. Three of us chose to use I10 for the entire route today because one of us, Doug, experienced very rough and bumpy road conditions on his last trip through here a few years ago. It turned out to be a great choice. The shoulder on I10 is wide and for the most part quite tidy. And the surface is as smooth as silk. Add the tail wind that started up at about 10 and it was a joy. We were pitching our tents in Van Horn at about 1:30. Perfect.

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Month, Same Strong Wind. Kingwood – FM 1485 – Kingwood Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

As I got ready for today’s bike ride I decided to take the “Kingwood – FM 1485 – Kingwood” route. Then I went over the streets of the route and the order since it had been 16 days since the last ride on the route. This would be the third bike ride on this route in 2022. I rolled the Lynskey R300 bike out onto the driveway exited onto the street at 10:59 AM. Today’s ride was the shortest of the three at 31.7 miles but about the same pace as the March 16th ride. My average speed today hit 14.5 mph and stayed there until returning into Kingwood.

4-1-2022 YTD Bike Rides Kingwood-FM1485-Kingwood Route
4-1-2022 YTD Bike Rides Kingwood-FM1485-Kingwood Route

The weather still exhibits some influence from the rain front on Wednesday. It was 49 degrees when I got up at 7 AM but warmed up to 69 by the start. By the time I finished at 1:30 PM it was 75. The increased significantly during the ride from E at 12 mph to 15 mph from the SE with 24 mph gusts. I thought the wind would calm down some with the new month. Weather conditions: start 69 (humidity 45%, dew point 47), a few clouds, wind E 12 mph; finish 75 (humidity 37%, dew point 47), a few clouds, wind SE 15 mph gusts 24 mph. I dressed warm enough with a long sleeve regular jersey, shorts, and a jacket. I need to find a jacket with 3 rear pockets to hold the GoPro camera. The jacket today only had one big rear pocket making it hard to find the GoPro. I have a Riva jacket with three rear pockets like a jersey but it is a little tight making it difficult to pull the GoPro out.

No AXS.SRAM.com activity report since the Lynskey uses Shimano Ultegra mechanical shifting.

4-1-2022 Strava Kingwood-FM1485-Kingwood Summary Data
4-1-2022 Strava Kingwood-FM1485-Kingwood Summary Data

Texas Bicycling News March 31st 2022

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Coast to Coast via the Southern Tier – Spring 2022

By Fletch Dobbs | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 21 – Las Cruces, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas: On the road again!

Wednesday March 30, 2022, 60 miles (97 km) – Total so far: 821 miles (1,321 km) Well, 5 days later I’m back to riding with my friends on the ACA Southern Tier Tour.

Because of extreme winds on Tuesday, I chose to remain at my hotel one more night and join the ride this morning from Las Cruces to El Paso, TX, state numbers 4 for this tour. Winds on the ride today were also extreme but nothing like yesterday. And, the winds were west/northwest so they were our friend and helped to make the miles pass very quickly. Mileage for the group was about 6 more than me because I …

Texas Hill Country Loop 2022

By Tom Camp | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 1: Llano to Enchanted Rock State Park: Windy Windy Windy HEADWIND

Monday March 28, 2022, 41 miles (66 km) – Total so far: 41 miles (66 km) The Three Amigos started the Texas Hill Country Loop today at 9AM from Llano, TX. Phil’s son lives there and has a great place, complete with goats, chickens, and donkeys.

The first day of a tour is always tough: trying to make sure everything is working well (both the bike and the body), that the bags are not falling off the bike, making sure we have enough water and snacks, etc. Weather is always a wild card. Today the good news was that it was not raining or cold; however, the not-so-good news was that we were riding into a strong headwind the entire day. We all struggled a bit. Unfortunately, Phil began feeling progressively worse and began cramping at mile 28 of our planned 40. He opted to cash it in and hopefully will be back with …

Day 2: Enchanted Rock State Park to Fredericksburg, TX: WINDY WINDY WINDY HEADWIND

Tuesday March 29, 2022, 22 miles (35 km) – Total so far: 63 miles (101 km) As promised, we started the day by hiking up to the top of Enchanted Rock. Absolutely incredible! It was definitely worth it. There was another wind advisory today: 25 mph winds from the south gusting to 35 mph. We did not get blown off the top even though it seemed possible at times.

As we prepared to start the ride (heading to the south right into the aforementioned wind), I elected to remove the Da Brim Bike Helmet Visor as I did not want to be lifted off the bike (impersonation of Sally Field in the 1967 Flying Nun sitcom?). That turned out to be a good move as the wind seemed stronger today than it did yesterday. The weather report for tomorrow also shows a wind advisory with stronger sustained 35 mph winds. The good news is that the wind will be out of the northwest tomorrow, so we should have some tail wind for a change, or at worst, a few side winds. Tomorrow should be the last day for these crazy winds (fingers crossed).

I neglected to mention yesterday that …

Day 3: Fredericksburg, TX to Blumenthal, TX (including Luckenbach!): Windy Day: But in our favor!

Wednesday March 30, 2022, 26 miles (42 km) – Total so far: 89 miles (143 km) I forgot a couple of things to include on yesterday’s update. When we were camping at Enchanted Rock, we talked to a guy in the morning who was saying that he had some animal activity at his campsite in the middle of the night. I asked him if he knew what kind of animal it was; his response was that "it was something that knew how to work a zipper and also liked Flaming Hot Cheetos". That should narrow it down. Also, we did stay in a motel in Fredericksburg last night. That was planned and we could not have been luckier as it rained pretty hard in the middle of the night.

This morning we had to hang around Fredericksburg until 10AM to stop by another bike shop. When I got my tire replaced yesterday, it did not occur to me then that my emergency spare tubes would not work with the new tires. Hence the slight delay. While we were doing the final packing at the motel, we met the nicest couple from Iowa: Carol and Art. They are on their way back to Iowa after spending the winter in South Texas. We solved all sorts of the world’s problems in the 30 minute conversation. Art has his eye on getting a motorcycle; go for it my friend. Their picture is below. Wonderful people.

We are absolutely not going to …

Woman Tours Southern Tier

By Shelly Nevard | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 21: Van Horn, TX to Fort Davis, TX

Wednesday March 30, 2022, 91 miles (146 km) – Total so far: 1,277 miles (2,056 km) We all agreed that the Holiday Inn Express was a very comfortable hotel with good beds and pillows, plenty of outlets and a good breakfast. Marge and I set out as soon as we were allowed into the sunrise with a strong (25-30 mph) tailwind. We went 20 miles on the shoulder of Interstate 10 and in a short while we were passed by Linda, Alison, Nancy, Diane and Diane in a peloton. We got off at exit 159 for a SAG stop and got back on I 10 until exit 176 after 37.6 miles. The interstate was surprisingly easy to ride with relatively smooth pavement and just a little debris. We turned off onto TX-118 which was windy from the side. Now we were on chip seal pavement and the road started to climb. We had a second SAG stop at 46.9 miles. The scenery was rocky, with mountainous outcroppings with occasional groups of cattle. I thought I had …

Best/safest streets to enter and exit Bray’s Bayou between roughly Buffalo Speedway and TMC? from bikehouston

TRAVELS WITH TOBY WEEK FOUR: Waltzing (slowly) across Texas

By BJ Drye | www.thesnaponline.com

… Monday, March 28, Day 18 Valentine to Alpine, Texas

Upon emerging from my tent a little after dawn, I found Keith outside with his camera looking to the east.

“I think we’ve got us a UFO,” he told me.

Sure enough, looking to the east down US 90 was an object in the sky, not moving, which looked to have the shape of an enormous trout.

Having never heard of “West Texas Flying Fish” and knowing that most UFO sightings in the southwest seem to be around Roswell, New Mexico, we debated what, if not of alien origin, the object could be. Unable to come to a consensus, we figured since we were headed in that direction, we would keep an eye on it and hopefully find out.

Once again, the towns we would pass were significantly spaced out. The first (Marfa) was about two-thirds of the way toward our end …

… Wednesday, March 30, Day 20 Alpine to Sanderson, Texas

Well, the wind did stay behind us. Unfortunately, when we awoke this morning it was a 30 mph sustained “breeze” with occasional gusts to 55, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a “high wind warning,” advising all “high profile vehicles” to stay off the road.

As far as we were concerned, our bicycles were “high profile” enough that we didn’t need to fight that wind, so we decided to hold off until later in the morning to see if the wind would die down.

By 11 a.m., the wind had indeed eased up enough to lead the NWS to …

Austin cyclist OK after being hit by car that sped off

by: Monica Madden | www.fox44news.com

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin man’s evening bike ride almost turned deadly, after video shows a car hitting the cyclist on Riverside Drive and then speeding off.

A video captured by a bystander shows cyclist Nick Gardiner riding in front of the Long Center, when a car appearing to change lanes hits Gardiner and drives off. He said it happened a little before 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Austin Police said the incident occurred near the 700 block of W. Riverside Drive.

You can see Gardiner roll over from the impact almost three times before he makes his way to the sidewalk and collapses on a grassy area.

In the video, bystanders run by to attend to the cyclist and make sure he is OK. The …

Video: Bike trail from Odessa to Midland getting closer to reality

By Joshua Skinner | www.cbs7.com

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) – Plans are underway for a lengthy new bike trail in the Permian Basin.

“The road-related bike paths are sporadic and short,” said avid biker Justin Haslip, who owns Peyton’s Bikes.

It’s a common complaint from residents. Midland-Odessa isn’t known for its bike-friendly roads, especially for commuters.

Haslip knows this intimately.

He was one of three cyclists struck by a drunk driver in April 2018.

Haslip survived. The other two cyclists, Mike Mestes and Camron Stotts, did not.

“Several cracked ribs, fractured vertebrae, punctured lung, broken collarbone, and massive nerve and muscle damage mostly above the waist,” Haslip recalled.

That’s why he’s excited to see the …

UTA receives Bike Friendly University recognition

By Jonathan Perriello | www.theshorthorn.com

The League of American Bicyclists, an advocacy group dedicated to educating about and promoting biking, recognized UTA with a Bike Friendly University award March 9.

UTA received the bronze level, one placement above an honorable mention, and was one of 33 universities awarded.

The Office of Sustainability, which manages the university’s bike share program, decided to apply for the league’s award to remain in step with other UT System schools, chief sustainability officer Meghna Tare said.

In spring 2021, Tare and sustainability coordinator Bhargavi Jeyarajah, who together make up the sustainability office, had a preliminary meeting about the application and …

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Temperature Cools, Wind Slows For Atascocita – Balmoral – Walden Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

No bike race to watch before today’s bike ride but I waited for the temperature to hit 67 so I could leave the leg warmers at home. It all came together rolling away at 11:46 AM on my Cervelo Caledonia bike. I chose the “Atascocita – Balmoral – Walden” route to close out March bike rides. This was the 4th time biking this route (in the video I said 3 times), all on Thursdays. I did skip last Thursday though.

3-31-2022 YTD Bike Rides Atasacocita-Balmoral-Walden Summary
3-31-2022 YTD Bike Rides Atasacocita-Balmoral-Walden Summary

Today’s ride compared favorably with the other rides in distance but my average speed was a little slower. Average power was the highest of all the rides. Three rides were on my Cervelo and one on the Lynskey R300. Strava says the ride was 33.99 miles and SportTracks 34. Either number pushed my week total to 132.88 miles and March to 922.30 miles, the highest month since last October. I surpassed my 650 road mile goal for March by 112 miles with 762 miles. The balance of 162.3 miles was riding in Zwift. I was on a bike every day in March: 22 road bike rides, 9 Zwift rides. 16 rides on the Cervelo, 6 on the Lynskey R300, and 9 Zwift rides on the Blue Norcross AL bike.

3-31-2022 March Bike Rides summary
3-31-2022 March Bike Rides summary

After yesterday’s quick moving front and rain today was cooler but not as windy. I got spoiled with the 80’s and added some layers for today’s bike ride: polyester short sleeve T-shirt under a long sleeve jersey topped off with a wind jacket. I was comfortable after about 15 minutes of warming up. Weather conditions: start 67 (humidity 41%, dew point 42), clear, wind NE 5 mph; finish 73 (humidity 29%, dew point 39), fair, wind W 6 mph. I finished the ride at 2:32 PM with plenty of sunshine.

I captured a Strava personal record on the PR on Northbound Sprint (1:40), which is on Timber Forest north of Madera Run Parkway covering .45 of a mile. Many other people ride this segment according to Strava. Sam Sjolander (ADCC) is the local legend with 48 rides in the last 90 days.

3-31-2022 Strava Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden Summary Data
3-31-2022 Strava Atascocita-Balmoral-Walden Summary Data