Texas Biking News June 11th 2020

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Houston testing whether signs make East End streets friendlier to cyclists, pedestrians

Dug Begley | www.houstonchronicle.com

Houston Public Works installed barriers along McKinney from Milby to Dumble on June 10, 2020. The one-mile stretch of East End streets is Houston’s first run at slow streets, a nod to changes in traffic from COVID-19 that city officials hope will reduce cut-through traffic speeding along residential streets and offer more room for walking and …

Taking a page from some other cities, Houston officials are slowing traffic along about a mile of East End streets in a test to see if they can curtail zip-through drivers and offer a safe route for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Houston Public Works crews on Wednesday installed six temporary signs along McKinney and Dumble, near Eastwood Park, alerting drivers that the street is for local traffic only. The plan is to keep the signs in the street until …

"TOO FAST" radar sign on bike trail!

PJay120 | www.bikeforums.net

This is funny! In Harris County (Houston area) Texas, we have the Spring Creek Greenway. 16 miles of nice, paved trail along Spring Creek, from I-45 to I-59. I am getting my son into road biking, and this place is great because it is not too far from us, and is about the only place around to ride without car traffic! We had not ridden the upper end in about a half year. So, we were surprised to see this new radar type speed sign. Note that the ONLY people on this trail are joggers and cyclists!

We came upon it with no notice, traveling about 11mph, and I exclaim, "Oh no!" and start ramping up my speed like crazy. I get …

FMPD to offer virtual Junior Police Academy

by Mark Smith | www.crosstimbersgazette.com

The Flower Mound Police Department will hold its Junior Police Academy online this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flower Mound students entering seventh and eighth grade in the fall are invited to interact with FMPD officers and participate in a variety of presentations via Zoom, according to a news release from the town of Flower Mound. Presentations will include the K-9 unit, Investigative Services Department, Traffic unit, the SWAT team, Marine Safety Unit, Bike team and …

A Desire to Be Fast on the Bike Inspired This Man to Lose 87 Pounds

BY GREG BRADY AS TOLD TO JORDAN SMITH | www.bicycling.com

Age: 44 Occupation: Parking Operations Manager Hometown: Arlington, Texas Start Weight: 270 pounds End Weight: 183 pounds Time Cycling: Two years

When I graduated high school I was exactly 200 pounds, but that was a pretty strong and athletic 200 pounds—I wasn’t overweight. As the years went by, I put on pounds, leading to my heaviest—270 pounds, right after I got married in 1999. I yoyo-ed for years after that and got as low as 210 pounds. For years after, I settled in around 230 pounds.

Then, about seven years ago, my wife started running, which wasn’t something she …

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FWBA Resuming Rides!! Come Join Us!! Upcoming Rides

Fort Worth Bicycling Association | www.fwbaclub.org

Rusty Chain Gang Ramble Tue, June 16, 2020 8:00 AM 4936 McPherson Blvd, Forth Worth, TX https://www.fwbaclub.org/event-3871995

Rusty Romp Tuesday Edition Tue, June 16, 2020 8:00 AM Benbrook YMCA, 1899 Winscott Road, Benbrook, TX 76126 https://www.fwbaclub.org/event-3872024

Rusty Romp Thu, June 18, 2020 8:00 AM Benbrook YMCA, 1899 Winscott Road, Benbrook, TX 76126 https://www.fwbaclub.org/event-3872028

Rusty Romp Tuesday Edition Tue, June 23, 2020 8:00 AM Benbrook YMCA, 1899 Winscott Road, Benbrook, TX 76126 https://www.fwbaclub.org/event-3872031

Rusty Chain Gang Ramble Tue, June 23, 2020 8:00 AM 4936 McPherson Blvd, Forth Worth, TX https://www.fwbaclub.org/event-3872046

Looking for Gravel trails from BikingATX

SOHO – Mechanical, Chase, Drop

Fab Ordonez | www.strava.com

First road group ride on 3 year. Chasey chase

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Cut and Run, More CR2032 Volts, Humidity To Dream Of In The Blue

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I managed to start today’s bike ride at 10:42 AM inspite of a couple of problems. First the speed sensor battery got replaced and then as I walked out the back door with the Canyon Endurace CF SLX the right pedal cut my left calf when I wasn’t careful.

Other than that the weather was picture perfect again as I set out on the “Atascocita South – Walden – Huffman” route to bike 34.86 miles. My weekly total stands at 148.77 miles and June is at 381.63 miles. A 200+ mile week looks possible. So far in 2020 I bike this route 5 times, 3 on the Canyon Endurace and 2 on the Lynskey R300.

6-11-2020 YTD Bike Rides Summary Atascocita South Walden Huffman

The low dew point and humidity are hanging around for today. I could feel the difference as the ride began. Sweat dried quickly and my mouth dried out as I breathed so I drank ice water from the CamelBak. I screwed the CamelBak lid on correctly today to avoid ice water down the back of my shorts. Weather during the time on the bike: start 85 (45% humifity, 61.2 dew point), fair, wind NE 8 mph. Finish 89 (38% humidity, 60.2 dew point), fair, wind NE 9 mph. The video captures the bright blue sky but doesn’t do it justice.

The perfect weather accompanied me all the way to the 1:33 PM finish and beyond.

6-11-2020 SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Texas Biking News June 10th 2020

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Police ID bicyclist killed in crash with motorhome

By Chris Moore | www.beaumontenterprise.com

Police released the identity of a 21-year-old Buna man who was kill after being hit by a motorhome while he was riding his bike Tuesday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Charles Edward McCray Jr. died during the crash on US 96 in Buna at 3:30 p.m..

“The preliminary DPS crash investigation indicates that a 2000 Motorhome RV was traveling southbound on US 96,” the department said in a news release. “A bicyclist was traveling northbound on the …

San Antonio’s ‘Share the Streets’ Initiative Launches Pilot on Cincinnati Avenue

by Iris Dimmick | therivardreport.com

A recycle collection truck passes by as Councilwoman Ana Sandoval (D7) and St. Mary’s University President Tom Mengler (right) prepare to cut a ceremonial ribbon for the launch of the ‘Share the Streets" pilot program on Cincinnati Avenue. Credit: Iris Dimmick / Rivard Report

A new pilot program aimed at encouraging more bike and foot traffic on Cincinnati Avenue on the West Side between Woodlawn Lake and St. Mary’s University officially launched Monday morning. The street will be closed to non-local vehicular traffic for four weeks.

“If you’ve ever felt like cycling but you’re a little bit too worried that some car is going to hit you, well let me tell you there’s not going to be that many cars on this street,” Councilwoman Ana Sandoval (D7) said as a …

Detailed Online training on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Count Data

www.eventbrite.com

Module 2: Summarizing and Visualizing Pedestrian and Bicyclist Count Data About this Event The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) are offering a series of online training sessions about the collection and use of bicycle and pedestrian count data in late July and early August. This online series replaces the in-depth regional workshops previously scheduled for Spring 2020. Each of the three training sessions will be about 3 hours long. The goal of the series is to help participants better understand …

E-bikes give seniors the right push for fitness

By Sheryl Jean | www.dallasnews.com

Dottie Gandy, 79, wanted to try an electric tricycle last fall because she thought it sounded cool.

“It was easy,” says the Fairview resident, who hadn’t sat on a bicycle in about 15 years. "You didn’t have the wobbly, ‘I’m losing my balance’ thing. It’s a very, very safe feeling.”

As electric bicycles become more common, they’re opening new doors for many older adults who can’t ride a conventional bicycle because of injury and health conditions or who feel unsafe trying it. E-bikes are giving seniors new access to the outdoors and physical activities. Help from the electric …

New bikeways earn Austin a spot among best bike cities in 2020

by Ryan Thornton | www.austinmonitor.com

Austin has landed a spot in the top 20 best cities for bicycling in a recent survey by the U.S-based bike advocacy group PeopleForBikes.

The city received an overall score of 3.0 out of 5, tying with Los Angeles, Detroit and New Orleans while securing the 20th spot on a list of 567 North American cities. Although Austin’s bike network did not even make the top 300, the amount of relatively new bike infrastructure earned the city 4.1 points in the “acceleration” category, the sixth-highest score.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized for the accelerated efforts we’ve taken to meet the moment for Austin’s mobility future,” Robert Spillar, director of the Austin Transportation Department, said in …

Odessa auto shop hosts free children’s bike repair clinic

Pierson Beach | www.newswest9.com

A number of snacks including hot dogs, snow cones, and popcorn will all be served from 12-4.

ODESSA, Texas — A & A Diesel/Automotive in Odessa is hosting a free bike repair clinic for kids on Thursday.

The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include free snacks like hot dogs from Wilson’s Corner, snow cones from Felicia’s Frozen Treats, popcorn, and pickles.

The owners of A & A, Amalie and Modesto Barrientos, encouraged visitors to wear masks and added that anyone who wants to come to the event is invited …

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What’s A Dew Point? Bike Ride Coolness in a Hot June

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During the night a front passed through southeast Texas. According to Space City Weather the front brought a low dew point while not keeping the temperature from going into the 90’s it felt cooler with low humidity. They showed just 5 times during the months of June, July, and August have we had dew points this low since 1980. I could tell the difference as I started today’s bike ride at 11:03 AM. I started yesterday’s ride earlier with 90 degrees but with today’s later start it was 82. To be careful I opted to use the CamelBak for water keeping it cool with plenty of ice. When I finished at 1:44 PM and emptied the CamelBak some ice still remained. Cold water for the whole 34.75 mile ride was good. Weather during the bike ride: start 83 (44% humidity, 58.6 dew point), mostly cloudy, wind N 13 mph. Finish 89 (34% humidity, 57.1 dew point), partly cloudy, wind NE 8 mph.

The ride to the north did not start easy. first I had an issue with the CamelBak leaking ice water down the back of my shorts, not the way it should be (watch the video for the explanation). Then there was the 13 mph northerly wind I would fight getting to Tavola. The “New Caney – Tavola – Valley Ranch” route goes north for about 16 miles before it turns west and then south. I hoped the ride south would be as easy as the ride north was hard. Pointing the Canyon Endurace south I could tell the wind was at my back but it didn’t push as hard as the headwind tried to slow me down. Still I built my average speed up to 14.3 mph during the ride back to Kingwood.

GoPro performance today included no freezes. Maybe my heat theory has merit since it was cooler today. I am still working on the mic cable dangling from my helmet to the GoPro mic adapter. Today wind the wind and my movement the cable kept brushing my knee with the Velcro wrap I put around the extra mic wire. After the ride I moved the Velcro higher, maybe that will help.

In 2020 I biked today’s route 12 times, 9 times on the Canyon Endurace and 3 times on the Lynskey R300.

6-10-2020 YTD Bike Rides Summary New Caney Tavola Valley Ranch

MY year to date mileage continues on a record pace compared to the previous years back to 2011.

6-10-2020 Strava Year Progressions Mileage Graph

Strava noted that today’s ride was consistent with my usual efforts.

6-10-2020 SportTracks Bike Ride Summary