Texas Bicycling News March 22nd 2022

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The Scenic Route: A Celebration of Austin Texas’ Vibrant Cycling and Creative Communities

By: Will Bryant & Gideon Tsang | theradavist.com

There is a particular sensation of Austin on a bicycle. Meandering down hills with the backdrop of limestone cliffs and steel bridges bathed by violet sunsets. Traffic accompanied by the symphony of splashing springs, live music, and bike bells. Gently humid evenings with wafts of cedar trees, whiskey, tacos, and brisket. Scenic Route celebrates Austin’s unique overlaps of culture and nature, artistry and athleticism – dichotomies exquisitely experienced on our bikes. Scenic Route is a collaborative Art show between Will Bryant, Gideon Tsang, Rapha that celebrates Austin Texas’ vibrant cycling and creative communities. …

Affidavit: Man assaults, threatens to kill 85-year-old woman

César Rodriguez | www.lmtonline.com

A man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting and threatening to kill an 85-year-old woman.

At about 3:35 p.m. March 16, bike patrol officers responded to the 700 block of Juarez Avenue for an assault and criminal trespass report.

An 85-year-old woman stated that while getting food at the corner of Juarez Avenue and Matamoros, a man identified as Ruben Reyna, 65, began to accost her verbally.

When she began to walk home, Reyna allegedly pursued her, pushed her, …

Man accused of assaulting special needs person

César Rodriguez | www.lmtonline.com

A man landed behind bars for allegedly assaulting a special needs person.

A bike patrol officer responded to a fight at about 11:15 a.m. March 17 in the 1300 block of Matamoros Street. A 55-year-old man with blood all over his chin approached the officer and old him to arrest the male across the street, who was identified as Christian Dominguez, 28.

Laredo Fire Department crews responded to treat the 55-year-old for a laceration to the chin, a bloody nose and a bruised eye. Two security guards from the post office stated they saw Dominguez punching and …

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Roads Dried Quickly After 2″ Rain. Atascocita – Walden – FM 1960 to Huffman Bike Ride

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A strong storm passed through Houston between 6 and 8 AM this morning. I wasn’t sure the roads would dry off soon enough to go biking. As I waited I watched stage 2 of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya in Spain on GCN+. At one point a group of 5 riders were going downhill and rounded a corner too fast. 4 of them hit the concrete barrier but a Trek SegoFredo rider went over the barrier and down the incline. He got his bike and carried it back up handing it to a person. When he got back on the road his jersey was torn and bloody from his fall. You cold hear telling the team car he was all right but need a new bike. Amazingly at the finish he was in the group sprint. My bike ride was not that exciting.

The roads dried off quickly considering my home weather station recorded almost 2″ of rain. When I started at 12:06 PM the streets were damp but as I rode only a few puddles remained. The Cervelo Caledonia got to experience some mud when I rode through the construction zone on FM 1960 east of Atascocita Shores Drive. Because Fairlake Lane road surface still needs resurfacing I stayed on FM 1960 until Anderson Street in Huffman. I had to create a new route name for this ride, “Atascocita – Walden – FM 1960 to Huffman” since I haven’t biked this one before. I rode all of the streets just not in this sequence.

I dressed for 63 degrees at first but before I left I took off the leg warmers and changed to a light jacket because it warmed up to 67 before I left. At the 2:36 PM finish it was 71. Wind was a brute today. When I started it was N at 7 mph but at the finish it was from the west at 17 mph with 24 mph gusts. Riding to Huffman I had a tailwind most of the time but biking back to Kingwood it turned into a headwind. My legs suffered as I rode across Lake Houston. I talk about it in the video.

With the wind I used the gears with 37 RD changes. The AXS.SRAM.com ride report has more details. These two images show gear changes and average power per gear combination. I didn’t change the FD during the ride.

3-22-2022 SRAM Bike Ride Gear Usage
3-22-2022 SRAM Bike Ride Gear Usage
3-22-2022 SRAM Bike Ride Power In Gear
3-22-2022 SRAM Bike Ride Power In Gear

Early in the ride I claimed the local legend title in Strava: Local Legend on Rocky Woods Half Loop. I almost didn’t take that loop. Glad I did.

3-22-2022 Strava Atascocita - Walden - FM 1960 to Huffman Data Summary
3-22-2022 Strava Atascocita – Walden – FM 1960 to Huffman Data Summary

Texas Biking News March 21st 2022

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Roadside assistance for bicycle problems? Yes, this actually exists

Keith Dunlap | www.ksat.com

While the service won’t fix bikes or flat tires, it will transport you to a safe spot

In the legendary comedy show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” there was a famous skit about a man who would transform himself into a bicycle repairman and save the day for whoever had trouble with their bicycles on the side of the road.

Well, did you know there actually is help available you are if stranded on the side of the road with bicycle issues?

There might not be a man in a mechanic’s suit, beret and toolkit walking down the street to adoring chants of “bicycle repairman,” but much like having roadside assistance with vehicles, should they break down, roadside assistance is available if you get stranded with a bike, …

Video: Fatal bicycling accident has trail-users asking for safety considerations

Author: Sue Calberg | www.kens5.com

You don’t see a car until you are practically in the intersection," one community member said about a hazardous stretch of San Antonio trail.

SAN ANTONIO — The sun was low on the horizon Thursday evening when a bicyclist enjoying the Salado Creek trail at Loop 410 made a fatal mistake.

San Antonio Police say 53-year-old Craig Gulledge was heading northbound on the nature trail when he rode into the path of a westbound driver on the freeway access road, near the entrance to the Los Patios campus.

Witnesses, having arrived on scene moments after the crash, said it was immediately apparent that Gulledge didn’t survive.

When word of his …

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Handful of Gravel, Stage 4 Tour of Watopia. Avoided Rain

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Light rain this morning meant a perfect time to ride stage 4 of the Tour of Watopia. Thankfully rain in Zwift is not wet. I waited until watching the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya on GCN+ to pick a starting time. Group B rode 3 laps plus the lead-in on the recently released Handful of Gravel route. I started at 12:02 PM riding my Blue Norcross AL bike connected to the Wahoo Kickr Snap smart trainer. The bike was auto selected for the ride using a gravel bike but seems to retain the color from my road bike I last used. Before the ride started I think I made a mistake ramping up my watts over 200 because when the ride started the pedaling effort was much harder than my last Zwift ride. That may have been a spin up and spin down to calibrate the smart trainer. Livestream video buffered a lot cutting off the finish. The edited video above has the finish.

The route went up a not so steep but long climb 3 times over the 14.07 miles. The actual climbing for me was 797 feet compared to the 799 feet listed in the companion app event description. Close enough. The descents didn’t ease up much on my pedaling effort but I did hit speeds over 30 mph. Since this was a new route I never rode it before. I checked ZwiftInsider.com to get an idea of what I was in for. I found the Route Basics: Length: 6.1 km (3.8 miles), Elevation: 73.5 m (241‘), Lead-In: 4.1 km (2.5 miles).

ZwiftPower.com results looked better than I expected. During the ride nearby riders showed about 760 with me at 640 to 650. Looking at the Group B results I slotted in at 368 out of 420. The last lap my legs got tired from the extra effort and I thought I might end up in the last few finishers but I kept pedaling. Group A counted 717, group C 350, and group D 22. For a change I wasn’t on the last page of the results, I was on page 3.

ZwiftPower.com results Group B Tour of Watopia stage 4 ride 3/21/2022

With a new route the possibilities for new personal results comes up. On Strava I achieved 6.

3-21-2022 Strava Zwift Tour of Watopia Handful of Gravel Summary
3-21-2022 Strava Zwift Tour of Watopia Handful of Gravel Summary
3-21-2022 Strava Zwift Tour of Watopia Handful of Gravel Map
3-21-2022 Strava Zwift Tour of Watopia Handful of Gravel Map