Texas Biking News January 28th 2021

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Houston reopens Spur 527 connection in Midtown that it never intended to rebuild

Dug Begley | www.houstonchronicle.com

The Brazos Bridge that Houston never intended to rebuild reopened this week, with downtown commuters cheering the return of what some consider a critical commuting link.

The span, the last part of Spur 527 which connects Midtown streets to Interstate 69, closed in July 2019 when portions of the roadway crumbled.

For months, city officials debated not rebuilding the bridge and instead making a bikeway along the property now occupied by the bridge, because traffic seemed unaffected by Spur 527 losing Brazos access while still …

Put this man behind bars and he becomes a savage beast!

Alex Maldonado | www.strava.com

Cyclist Struck On North Collins Street In Arlington Dies 6 Days Later

By CBSDFW.com Staff | dfw.cbslocal.com

ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A bicyclist was struck amid dark and foggy weather conditions in the 3500 block of North Collins Street and later died.

It happened on Jan. 21 at 9:28 p.m.

Investigators said the cyclist was attempting to cross Collins from the west to east. The victim was wearing dark, non-reflective clothing and did not have a light on their bicycle.

A vehicle was traveling southbound on Collins, and the bicyclist failed to yield the right of way to the vehicle. The vehicle struck the bicyclist, who was taken to a local hospital. The driver of the vehicle stayed on scene and cooperated with investigators.

The cyclist succumbed to their injuries six days later and passed away on January 27.

No charges are expected in this case.

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Hot Bike Ride Up The Watopia Volcano Climb With ZZRC

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Searching Zwift for an interesting bike ride the ZZRC Watopia Volcano Climb fit the bill. 60 minute bike ride starting at 12:20 PM left me enough time to get ready. Outside the temperature hovered in the low 50’s with lots of sun but below my 60 degree threshold. At the end of 60 minutes I rode 16.95 miles and climbed 705 feet. I am ahead of where I was last year on this date by 11 miles at 589 combined road and Zwift rides.

I stayed with the group around the yellow beacon until we crested the climb and began the descent. At times I rode in front of the fence or just behind it. Sometimes the “Return to Group” popped up with me behind it. I am not sure why that happens. Most of the climbing was 5% to 6% but a short section near the top ramped up to 10% and I stood up to pedal at 3 to 4 mph as the Wahoo Snap trainer added resistance. On the Volcano KOM results I showed up at 61st out of 151 riders. On ZwiftPower.com I was 8th out of 57 ZwiftPower users. The red line on the left margin marks me.

ZwiftPower results

Not many segments in Strava.

1-28-2021 Strava Zwift Bike Ride Summary-1

Texas Biking News January 27th 2021

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Tyler City Council approves construction of over 30 miles of bicycle lanes

By KLTV Digital Media Staff | www.kltv.com

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – The City Council approved a construction contract with Stripe-A-Zone on Wednesday to add about 36.6 miles of bicycle lanes and shared lanes throughout the city, connecting 11 routes to a centralized hub in the downtown area. The project provides lane markings and signs, giving bicyclists a designated space to ride on the roadways, increasing bicyclists’ and drivers’ safety.

The City applied for funding for the Tyler Bike Stripes through the 2017 Transportation Alternative Set-Aside (TASA) Program, a federal grant program administered locally through the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The program grants …

Programmed Bikeways (In Design or Under Construction)

houstonbikeplan.org

Mountain biking trail in north Denton expected to be completed by end of the year

Amber Gaudet | dentonrc.com

Barry Bishop rides his mountain bike in 2015 on the North Shore Trail around Grapevine Lake in Flower Mound. Mountain bikers in Denton have formed the Denton MTB Trails Association, which is partnering with Denton Parks & Recreation to create a mountain biking area in northern Denton.

Denton Parks & Recreation is creating a 5-mile mountain biking park in north Denton, estimated to be open by the end of 2021.

Parks staff and volunteers have flagged about 5 miles of trails at Hartlee Field Road. The park will consist of a single-track dirt course with access to …

Iron sharpens iron!!!

Remi – Blitz Racing | www.strava.com

Juvi was indeed groovy tonight.

Alex Maldonado | www.strava.com

Enjoyed the sound of 7+ police vehicles and a helicopter chasing some American muscle down 37, then SE Military/W.W.White minutes after getting home. Just another night in Southside San Antonio… 🤠

Texas Biking from Twitter

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Dusty Gravel Rash On Watopia’s Serpentine 8 Course

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I leaned toward a bike ride outdoors until I looked at the weather. An unusual combination of conditions kept me inside on Zwift: 65 degrees, sunny, N wind at 22 mph gusts to 31 mph. The wind tipped the scale because I planned on biking north. Indoors the wind was calm and the temperature around 70.

Looking at the upcoming Zwift events I landed on the ZHCC Gravel Rash on the Watopia Serpentine 8 Course. The ride was for 60 minutes. Previously on January 1st I rode this course just after it was opened. Today I biked 14.55 miles climbing 696 feet in 1:01:00. Those miles put me 6 miles ahead of this time last year at 572 miles versus 566. When I opened the Zwift companion app before the bike ride began I noticed there 30,420 people using Zwift. A crowd but not near the peak.

1-27-2021 Strava Year Progressions YTD Miles

I started with the group and hung with them for about 10 minutes until they pulled away. A smaller group came along side and I rode with them for awhile. Then I lost contact with them on a climb. During this I noticed the ride “sweep” getting closer from behind. When got close I made an effort to stay in front or close behind. I held that position for the rest of the bike ride until the finish. Two accomplishments during the bike ride: moved to level 19 and unlocked “Cool Shades”. 170 people signed up for the ride. Before the ride I went to my garage and selected my gravel bike but at the start the ride switched me to a mountain bike. With dust and rough surface the MTB worked but is slower. According to ZwiftPower.com I finished near the back of the group but not rankings for this ride. From the bike ride data Golden Cheetah calculated my average power at 117 watts and max at 229 watts. The suspension bridge is a tough climb from the bottom of the sway and the course went over it twice.

Since this course is only a month old the segments in Strava show one and I set a personal record on it.

  • 1-27-2021 Strava Zwift Bike Ride Summary
  • 1-27-2021 Strava Zwift Bike Ride Summary-2