Waxahachie resident Tom Stockdale, 67, became hooked when his friend and his wife bought used trikes on eBay. They introduced him to the three-wheeled vehicles that helped him stay active while suffering from back pain and arthritis.
“If you’re on a regular two-wheel bike, the gravity is pushing you down and pushing your knees. You can’t get comfortable on your seat, and your back hurts from leaning over,” Stockdale said. “So, on these things, I can go for miles.” …
Sierra Blanca Texas to El Paso Texas 100 miles. 1480 ft of gain: What a difference a day makes!
Monday March 7, 2022, 100 miles (161 km) – Total so far: 824 miles (1,326 km)
I knew it was going to be a long day getting to El Paso so I woke up early. I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and had a wonderful breakfast. It was a bit cold outside but it wasn’t windy! If anything there was a slight breeze coming from the east. After my big breakfast I hit the road about 730. I was riding on frontage roads next to interstate 10. The wind was still to my back so I was moving along pretty quick and then I hit a slight downhill and I really started moving. At one point I crossed under I 10 and rode along a frontage road on the opposite side of the freeway. My map warned me that the road would end and I would need to walk my bike across the interstate. I missed the break in the cables separating the freeway so I had to ride back about a mile until I found it and then …
— Trek Bicycle Mission (Bike Masters) (@thebikemasters) March 8, 2022
It's International Women's Day, so we're celebrating the women who make a difference in cycling. Quote tweet and tag someone who inspires you to ride to tell them how much you value their support. pic.twitter.com/NF6G53KVQo
More chilly weather with some scattered rain kept me indoors riding Zwift. I chose The HERD Tuesday Social Ride starting at 11:55 AM. Today the route was the Watopia Figure 8 Reverse for 60 minutes. During the ride I saw 750 nearby Zwifters listed with me slotted in the mid 300’s. This is the first group event I rode in awhile. I rode this route two previous times with the last one on November 26th, 2021. Today’s ride registered 4 top results in Strava. Looking at the three times riding the route today’s results were the best. Not the longest of the three but the longer ride took 13 minutes more to complete.
The route went up two long climbs with the total climbing at 830 feet over the 18.51 miles. I managed to stay with some groups though most of the ride was beyond the fence. The pace was supposed to average around 1.6 w/kg. Checking the results I came in at 77th out of 540 listed results in the companion app. There were a number of Zwifters in the 77th spot. I had not seen this data in the app before. I made it up the two big climbs seated in the saddle but I shifted to a lower gear.
No problems with OBS Studio software but my internet connection dropped several times causing YouTube to buffer but not disconnect. My ISP has a problem staying connected but usually reconnects in a few seconds.
TTAT 2022 will have more than 25 sessions by excellent presenters from across the state, nation and the world. Below are some of the amazing sessions that our confirmed presenters will be sharing. Attendees will be notified once the official agenda has been posted.
… Evolution of Docked Bike Sharing
Speaker: Jennifer Grissom
We have seen the micro-mobility industry evolve and change rapidly over the past 8 years. Learn how docked bike sharing systems fit in with the micro-mobility industry and public urban transportation; what micro-mobility is and how it relates to and supports urban transportation; the differences in micro-mobility options and benefits of a docked system; and how support of the micro-mobility industry can enhance public and active transportation. …
… Don’t Forget the Bike Parking!
Speaker: Sophia Benner
Not many people will ride a bike if they do not feel safe and they worry about bicycle theft at their destination. Austin may have more bicycle parking racks than most cities of any size in the US. How did they do it? What did they do? What can other cities and towns learn from Austin’s bicycle parking program? …
… Greenways For All: How The East Coast Greenway Became the Most Visited Park in America and What Texas Can Do
Speaker: Dennis Markatos-Soriano
Historic Need for Safety Meets Historic Opportunity for Investment
Dennis will share the 30-year story of the East Coast Greenway Alliance and how an idea transformed into reality through tenacious engagement across 450 communities, 15 states, and federally. His goal will be to share best practices that can be applied in Texas to link current greenways into networks that foster public health, environmental sustainability, and equitable economic development in coordination with the Greenways For All national effort in this infrastructure era. …
… Protected Bike Lanes and Intersections in Austin
Speaker: Nathan Wilkes, PE
Many cities in Texas and around the country are just beginning to build protected bike lanes. Some have not even begun to dream of their own protected intersections. This session is about specific treatments of specific roads in Texas. Leveraging drone technology and the perspective of an engineer, Mr. Wilkes shows us the future in the present. This session is another must if you want to see what can happen when city leaders, citizens, and municipal staff share a belief that well designed micro-mobility infrastructure can successfully accommodate eight to eighty year olds. …
Bicycling to one of our favorite spots, we finally spotted (well, she did anyway) an alligator. He or she looks to be a year or two old. I will have to return to get more footage! Such a good day.
By St. John Barned-Smith and Dug Begley | www.houstonchronicle.com
Walking, cycling in Houston region can be risky
Fourth in an occasional series
Doug Baysinger remembers everything up to the crash.
One moment he and his wife were about five miles into a long weekend bike ride from their home in Sugar Land west into the Texas prairie. The next moment, he was sliding along the pavement.
"It felt like five minutes, but I’m sure it was just a few seconds," he said.
It was two years ago in July. Baysinger had been vaulted from his bike by a red Toyota Camry, driven by a drowsy woman who drifted into the group of about 10 riders. Bikes and riders flew through the air as she plowed through the rest of the bicyclists and finally stopped.
His pain was excruciating — doctors later discovered he had two fractured vertebrae — but then he saw Joyce, lying face down in the street, blood pooling by her head.
Drop Bar, Texas: A cycling podcast By Paul Negrete | anchor.fm
Southwest Cycling Club, aka Winged Fury has been on the Texas cycling scene for nearly 30 years. JJ "El Presidente" and Bill Thomas met with me over pizzas and beer to share the history of their club and some insight on two upcoming events – The Dirty Mile Gravel Crit (March 27) and The Bear Creek Crit Series (May 4 – May 25). We talk about how we were schooled in cycling etiquette, Le Mans starts in cycling, and why the SWCC kit is so desirable.
Music: Back to the Woods by Jason Shaw
Links: Southwest Cycling Club, Dirty Mile Registration, Dirt Mile Video, Dirty Mile Presentation, Bear Creek Crit Registration, Pizza Bella, Drop Bar Texas Kit Store on Jakroo.
By Dallas Morning News Editorial | www.dallasnews.com
Reading about a proposal to install a 40-foot-tall bike tower in Frisco, we’re reminded of long-forgotten plans for whitewater rafting on the Trinity. Fun idea; should probably stay on the drawing board.
The idea is to build a giant spiral ramp at Northwest Community Park that would allow cyclists to descend at speed and shoot out onto various mountain bike trails. The Frisco Parks and Recreation Department is proposing a $24.5 million upgrade to the 164-acre park east of Teel Parkway, near the PGA Frisco headquarters. City officials can’t say how much of that will be for the tower.
HOUSTON, Texas — When Mariana Raschke moved from New Orleans to Houston around nine years ago, she said the city had a reputation for bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
"Everything you hear about Houston is how it’s a sprawling city where there is no bicycle and pedestrian planning, and it’s terrible for bikers," she said.
But Raschke said she thinks the city has come a long way since then. As a transportation planner with planning and engineering firm The Goodman Corporation, she has witnessed and been involved in several bike projects since Houston adopted the Houston Bike Plan in 2017, which looks to connect neighborhoods with existing trails and other destination points. …
Van Horn Texas to Sierra Blanca Texas. 35 miles 978 ft of gain: Serious winds today!
Sunday March 6, 2022, 35 miles (56 km) – Total so far: 724 miles (1,165 km)
I heard some RVers talking at dinner last night about the windstorm that was coming. They were worried enough to spend an extra day in the campground and not drive. That of course made me a little nervous on a bicycle. I didn’t want to sit in a campground in a tent with high winds, so I decided to pack up and head out. The weather warning was starting at noon so I thought I would leave early. I was rolling close to 730. My plan was to get to Sierra Blanca about 35 miles away and hold up in a hotel until the wind stops. On my way out of town I stopped at a Pilot truck stop for a cup of coffee and a quick snack. I then had to get on I 10. The speed limit is 80 miles an hour and the trucks are going by probably at 85. I made it about 10 miles until the wind started picking up. I was able to …
We would like to take a moment to recognize our wonderful trail stewards and volunteers that keep our trail in top shape for everyone's enjoyment. Thanks to everyone that came out to our annual party, we had a blast and hope to see y'all next year!#dorbaannualparty2022pic.twitter.com/4SHgd4WDth
MTB options for 6/12/24 hours. Gravel options of 100ish mile/12 hour/24 hours. Staging/camping from the fabulous 4R Ranch Vineyards and Winery. Ultra endurance racers, this is like a dream come true! Link in Bio. https://t.co/fFFuMgb7Hm
I saw that when we got home from the capital city racing gravel event in Guadalupe county. Same thing happened to me but not as dramatic. Guy pulling me caught his front wheel on some chunky rocks and went sideways. It was a wind tunnel out there. Almost 300 riders. pic.twitter.com/TrorgI9YaB
Yesterday’s upper 70’s weather faded away to lower 50’s this morning. This moved my bike ride indoors to Zwift. I looked over the events in the Zwift companion app but didn’t find any to my liking. So I created a Zwift meetup using the Watopia Legends and Lava route. I’ve not rode this route before so I could earn the badge today. I scheduled the meetup for 12 PM but the update to OBS Studio took a minute or two longer pushing the actual start to 12:01 PM. The reason to update OBS Studio was it crashed just as I was ready to go live on YouTube. I hoped the update fixed the recent problems I’ve had and it appears to done that.
Before riding in Zwift I watched two races on GCN+, Paris – Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. Paris – Nice was a long road stage ending in a sprint and Tirreno-Adriatico was an ITT. The racers went harder than I did. During the Zwift ride I listened to the end of a podcast and Christian Contemporary Radio on Pandora.
I set the distance to 15.2 miles as suggested by the meetup app and what I read on ZwiftInsider.com. Because I didn’t receive my new prescription glasses (they arrived while I was Zwifting) I couldn’t see the actual distance on the Zwift progress box was 15.9 miles. Not sure why that distance was there. When I reached 15.2 miles and got the route complete message I stopped not too long after that with 15.4 miles.
The companion app doesn’t show the climbing so I looked at Zwiftinsider.com and learned there was 1,053 feet of climbing with most of that on two hills, one early and one at the end. My actual climbing was higher with 1,152 feet. If I rode the full 15.9 miles the climbing would’ve probably be even more. The Wahoo Kickr Snap smart trainer applied lots resistance. According to Strava the last climb was a category 4. I managed to make it to the top without getting out of the saddle.
The cool weather continues tomorrow according to the forecast so another Zwift ride. This week will be mostly Zwift rides with cool and then cold weather.
3-7-2022 Strava Zwift Ride Watopia Legends and Lava Summary
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