Texas Biking News September 12th 2020

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Davis Mountains: Texas’ Hidden Gem

wheelbrothers.com

“Mountains” is not a word associated with Texas. But, the Davis Mountains boast some of the most spectacular scenery in Texas. With plenty of climbs, low traffic roads, and generally temperate weather, it is a “must-do” road trip for any Texas cyclist.

The most famous route is called the Fort Davis scenic loop (peak elevation of 6,375’). At 75 miles and over 4,000 feet of climbing, it is very challenging. The beautiful scenery and light traffic make it the apex of any trip to …

Registration for Cotton Patch bike ride almost full

By Travis Hairgrove | www.heraldbanner.com

As of Thursday afternoon, only 11 spots remained for riders wishing to sign up to participate in Greenville’s 24th Annual Cotton Patch Challenge bike ride scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19.

The deadline to register for the bike ride, which has a limit of 400 participants for social distancing purposes, is this Saturday.

“We set the deadline for Sept. 12 so that we’d have a week for final planning of the ride, depending on how many rider’s we had,” Cotton Patch Challenge ride chair John Clark told the Herald-Banner.

The ride, which caters to …

Texas Brotherhood honors first responder at Richmond Fire Department

By Juhi Varma | www.houstonchronicle.com

The Texas Brotherhood Ride rolled into Richmond Fire Station Friday morning. They had come to honor late firefighter Ray Burciaga, who lost his battle with cancer last February.

The Brotherhood Ride in an annual bike ride to honor fallen first responders. Dressed in matching blue and orange shirts, the cyclists began their journey across Texas on Sept. 6. There were 17 honorees this year, and despite impediments created by COVID-19, the brotherhood was determined to make each “honor stop.” …

Turn It Up to 11… Months of Daily Bicycling

A DUDE ABIKES | adudeabikes.com

Oops, I did it again. I rode my bike every day over the last month. That makes it 11, and as everyone who has ever seen This Is Spinal Tap knows, 11 is just louder than 10. One month from now, assuming I am able to complete this self-created challenge, I’ll have a full year of biking every day. My average has been around 17 miles or so. Some days was just a bit, but sometimes it was quite a bit more. No matter how you slice it, homey, it’s an accomplishment to be sure. What it means, if anything, is debatable these days. But the fact is I did it so it means something to me. So I blog about it. I know, some people are …

Texas Biking from Twitter

Better Than Last Saturday, 200 Mile Week, Not Alone On The Road

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Today’s bike ride went better than last Saturday’s when I suffered what amounted to two flats. Starting out at 8:47 AM today on my Canyon Endurace bike I rode the “Atascocita – Huffman – Walden” hoping to see other cyclists. Early in the ride I missed several cyclists who appeared before I could push record on the GoPro.

A bike ride seems extra special when I see other cyclists out enjoying time outside. Many wave or say hi when we pass. The array of bicycles, kits, and riding positions are exciting to see.

At the beginning of the bike ride I needed 19 miles to make it a 200 mile week. I rode more than that coming at 31.88 miles pushing the week’s total to 212.88 miles.The prize for achieving this will be a rest day tomorrow and watching the Tour de France and Tirreno Adriatico after I get home from church. A summary of this week’s bike rides.

9-12-2020 Week Bike Rides Summary ending 9-13-2020

After 12 days my monthly goal looks in good shape with a 95 mile advantage. The advantage will shrink with my rest day tomorrow.

9-12-2020 MTD Mileage Goal Status

The Lezyne Macro Plus bike computer is starting to grow on me. It’s different from the Wahoo Bolt but after using the Macro Plus on 4 rides I use the buttons better. The numbers are larger than the Bolt and the buttons are on the side which might help if I ride in the rain. One thing I miss is the compass heading which the Bolt has. Before the ride I calibrated the Favero Assiomo pedals again just to be sure and the power readings seemed a little better.

My legs felt good today powering through the places with a headwind like riding east over Lake Houston. No new personal records though.

Link to my Strava activity page.

  • 9-12-2020 Strava Bike Ride Summary-1
  • 9-12-2020 Strava Bike Ride Summary-2
9-12-2020 SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Texas Biking Action September 11th 2020

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Austin Among Nation’s Most Bike-Friendly Cities: Report

By Tony Cantu | patch.com

SmartAsset researchers found that that 1.4 percent of commuters pedal to work in a growing trend amid the ongoing reach of coronavirus.

AUSTIN, TX — Austin is among the nation’s top 20 best cities for bicyclists, according to a recent report.

To achieve its rankings, SmartAsset researchers examined data for 100 of the largest U.S. cities across myriad metrics — the percentage of communters biking to work, bicyclist fatalities, miles of protected bike lanes and the like — to achieve its list.

The reckoning yielded Austin in the 17th slot, with about 1.4 percent of …

Monarch butterflies make their detour to Mexico through Texoma

Lynn Seman | www.timesrecordnews.com

One of my favorite times of the year as a Texas Master Naturalist is late September to early October.

Why? This is when the Monarch Butterflies that spent the end of their summer in Canada and the northern United States decide it’s time to escape the cold of winter and head to Mexico.

This special generation of butterflies focus on one thing, heading south, which means crossing right through Texas. They survive by finding nectar producing plants along the way as they make this long dangerous journey.

Monarch Joint Venture is an organization dedicated to unite partners to conserve Monarch migration across North America. As a part getting people involved in the conservation efforts, they are sponsoring an event called “Miles for Monarchs” to coordinate with the beginning of migration.

Participants can walk, run, bike, paddle, or hike miles to raise awareness for the migration during Sept. 5 to 19 and then log the miles on their website.

Since I enjoy riding my bicycle, I decided to …

CW plus road.

Kevin Highfield | www.strava.com

Punchy Truancy Ride + Brews with the homies!. 32 miles (51.4 km).

Raul E. | www.strava.com

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

Hint of Late Summer, 55 Chevy, Favero Calibration

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A hint of late summer waited for as I began today’s bike ride at 10:56 AM. Rolling the Canyon Endurace to the end of the driveway the Lezyne Macro Plus computer asked if I wanted to record today’s bike ride. Pushing the “Enter” button the ride began on the “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route. When I finished at 1: 50 PM the Lezyne showed 35.77 miles covered. My week’s total now stands at 181 miles with 200 miles for the week possible with Saturday’s ride.

During the last two bike rides I thought the power readings were lower than I expected. I thought I calibrated the Favero Assioma pedals but when I stopped at the cemetery at 11.2 miles today I went through the calibration again with the left pedal at the top. After the adjustment the power readings seemed closer to my expectations.

The hint of late summer came with a lower temperature at the start of the ride, cool breeze when riding in the shade, and 89 degrees at the end of the bike ride. What the weather data showed: start 80 (82% humidity, 74.1 dew point), overcast, wind N 9 mph. Finish 89 (67% humidity, 77 dew point), partly cloudy, wind NW 6 mph. The forecast calls for more summer like weather on Saturday. After battling the wind to get to Tavola it was nice biking south with a tailwind. With the cooler weather I thought my GoPro Hero 7 Black wouldn’t freeze but it did; no idea how to prevent this.

On the last couple of bike rides when I rode south of FM 1485 on the US59 frontage road I saw this ’55 Chevy wagon parked at Porter Glass and Mirror. It reminded me of a cousin’s husband who used to drag race a ’57 Chevy Nomad.

9-11-2020 Bike Ride 1955 Chevy Porter Glass Mirror

I held off using the Lezyne computer with my Lynskey R300 because it requires an out & back calibration ride to work with my PowerPod on the Lynskey. The PowerPod measures my power on that bike. Also I need to pair different speed and cadence sensors with the Macro Plus computer.

I almost reached the halfway point to my 700 mile September goal.

9-11-2020 MTD Mileage Goal Status

Link to the Strava activity page.

  • 9-11-2020 Strava Bike Ride Summary-1
  • 9-11-2020 Strava Bike Ride Summary-2
9-11-2020 SportTracks Bike Ride Summary