Flood Debris, Arm Sleeves, Fallen Power Line Bike Ride

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Until around 11:30 AM today I wasn’t sure I would ride today but the overcast sky thinned a little and sun came through. Reminding myself of the rule to not ride because of somebody predicting rain while the conditions do not agree I got ready to ride and set out at 11:58 AM on the “Kingwood-Community Drive-Valley Ranch” route. I chose this route for being a little shorter in case the weather changed and I could get back home maybe before the rain arrived.

I am happy to say the rain didn’t materialize and after riding 25.3 miles I finished biking at 1:52 PM with the sky still overcast but some brightness coming through.

Weather during the bike ride: start 82 (87% humidity), overcast, wind SE 6 mph. Finish 87 (77% humidity), overcast, wind calm. I tried something new with my biking kit: shorts and a short sleeve jersey but I added a pair of bcg arm sleeves for sun protection. I bought two pair last evening at Academy Sports + Outdoors in New Caney at Valley Ranch. Thanks to a gift card I can try these out without any cost. The pair I wore today were blue with a black stripes. I was wary thinking they would make my arms hot but that didn’t happen even with 87 degrees. The zinc oxide sunscreen wasn’t working and was too messy so the arm sleeves look like a good solution so far.

With the light breeze I was able to build up my average speed to 14.2 mph on the return to Kingwood. My legs felt good with the power needed.

At the beginning of the ride through the Elm Grove Village in Kingwood when I turned onto Creek Shadows Drive several homes had piles of damaged and soaked debris from Tuesday’s flooding at the curb. This street is not too far from a drainage bayou to the north that must have came over it’s bank. Its so sad that these homes came through Hurricane Harvey without getting wet and then get water.

Near the end of the ride as I rode by Bear Branch Elementary school Tree Lane was blocked by an Humble ISD Police cruiser and trucks from the Harris County Flood Control District. I asked one of the officers want happened and he said a tree fell across power lines along a drainage bayou and they were working to get the tree off the lines. About 400 homes were without electricity but the school had electricity. I rode around the problem on the sidewalk and went on to finish the bike ride.

Rain is still in the forecast for later today (Thursday), Friday and Saturday. But if my rule applies I will bike.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Strava Year Progressions YTD Bike Ride Miles

2107 which lead 2019 until recently now is trailing 2016, 2018 and 2019. 2016 is 38 miles behind 2017, 2017 120 miles behind 2019, and 2018 just 10 miles back from 2019.

Strava Year Progressions YTD Bike Ride Miles

Texas Bicycling News Digest May 8th 2019

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Project to bring sidewalks and bike lanes to south Waco set for this summer

By: Estephany Escobar | www.kxxv.com

WACO, TX — The City of Waco plans to add sidewalks, bike lanes and pave some streets in South Waco this summer.

The project aims to encourage pedestrian and bicycle traffic to and from community services, school events and church services.

As part of the $1 million project, the city will add sidewalks along Gurley Lane from 12th Street to 27th Street. They will meet American with …

‘The pros mix with the Joes’: Why Central Texas cyclists like gravel grinding

By Pam LeBlanc | www.austin360.com

Back in April, a crowd of eager bicyclists tapped their toes as patiently as they could while waiting for a line of rain-spewing, charcoal-colored clouds to pass over a small Texas town.

A hundred or so of them packed into a metal barn, where organizers of the Castell Gravel Grind had set up race headquarters. Others huddled inside vehicles or moved into a community church across the lane as lightning flashed, thunder cracked and raindrops fell. …

Houston Grand Crit • May 5 2019

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Categories » Junior 10-14 » Junior 15-18 » Men Cat 3 » Men Cat 4/5 » Men Master 35+ Cat 4/5 » Men Master 40+ Cat 1/2/3/4 » Men P/1/2 » Women Cat 3/4/5 » Women P/1/2/3

Reflections from my Houston to Austin ride from bikehouston

Public offers input on proposed Regional Mobility Authority for Brazos County

By CAITLIN CLARK | www.theeagle.com

Following a successful review by the Texas Department of Transportation, Brazos County’s petition to form a Regional Mobility Authority took another step forward Tuesday with a public hearing held to gather the community’s input. …

… Initial project The county is required to identify an initial project to pursue as part of the RMA petition process. The proposed initial project focuses on a 1.2-mile section of University Drive adjacent to the Texas A&M University campus from Wellborn Road to Texas Avenue.

The project would include about a half-mile depressed section from Wellborn Road to just east of College Avenue that would be capped with a surface built for bicycles and pedestrians. According to Tuesday’s presentation, the objective of the project would be to improve safety and mobility by eliminating conflicts between cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles. …

New Nonprofit Hopes to Save Lives of Cyclists

By Lena Blietz| spectrumlocalnews.com

SAN ANTONIO — Many locals are nervous about biking on San Antonio’s roads, especially after the recent deaths of two prominent cyclists.

Live to Ride hopes to keep cyclists safe Will teach drivers, cyclists how to share the road 200 cyclists took part in nonprofit launch “Our biggest fears are DWI, DUI and distracted driving. Those are the biggest challenges bike riders have right now,” said Jeff Moore, the president of SATX Social Ride. …

Wednesday with Cyclones

Eduardo Salas (Cyclones) | www.strava.com

Solo bayou ride

Alison Carey | www.strava.com

Southern Walnut Creek Trail: East Austin’s Green Wonderland for Bicylists

A DUDE ABIKES | adudeabikes.com

I rode the upper half of this trail again, and realized that although familiarity breeds contempt, I’ve never grown weary or bored of this trail. Maybe it’s because there are no cars, so one can relax and enjoy the ride. It could be the variety of sights from thick, evergreen trees to the distant skyline of downtown Austin. There’s occasional deer, rabbit, or armadillo (all of which I saw), not to mention birds, frogs, bugs and more. It’s also used by people walking, running, on rollerblades or even …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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The Day After The Sky Fell Bike Ride

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The sky opened up after I got home from yesterday’s bike ride. While I got soaked that was only the beginning. By the time the rain slowed down our street flooded twice and my home weather station recorded 10.9″ of rain. Fortunately no water in our house. Traffic came to a stop in the area as the water flooded streets, businesses, and homes. By midnight traffic started to return to normal.

Starting today’s bike ride at 11:10 AM I expected to see signs of the deluge but surprisingly the evidence was not as wide spread as last Friday’s storm. The forecast said the rain could happen again so I kept a wary eye on the sky as I rode along the “Atascocita – Walden – E. Lake Houston Parkway” route. The overcast sky looked threatening at times as dark clouds moved around but no rain.

Weather during the ride: start 78 (88% humidity), overcast, wind S 8 mph. Finish 82 (82% humidity), overcast, wind S 14 mph gusts 21 mph. With the somewhat cooler temperature I wore a long sleeve jersey, shorts and a short sleeve jersey. By the time I finished at 1:24 PM that attire was warmer than necessary so I sweat a lot.

The short rides for the last two days is slowing my reaching my May goal but I am still ahead at this point with 217.48 miles, almost 33% of the way to the goal and 23 riding days left.

The stiff wind that arrived while I was riding didn’t seem that strong but when it became a tailwind I noticed how helpful it was on the ride north back into Kingwood. My legs had the power to pedal into the wind but I started the ride at a slower pace as I looked for storm damage. I changed the route around the 4 mile to 6 mile section to avoid some fallen trees and limbs along Kingwood Drive.

Thurday’s weather calls for more rain but if there is an opening like today I will get on the Canyon for a ride. After today’s ride I washed the Canyon which I couldn’t do after yesterday’s ride.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary

Strava Year Progressions YTD Bike Ride Miles

Strava Year Progressions YTD Bike Ride Miles

Texas Bicycling News Digest May 7th 2019

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How We Talk About Drivers Hitting Cyclists

Joe Lindsey | www.outsideonline.com

Maria “Triny” Willerton was on a final course recon for last year’s Ironman in Boulder, Colorado, when things literally went sideways. It was a sunny, calm weekday morning in early May—“a perfect day to ride,” she says—and the 46-year-old triathlete was travelling east on Nelson Road, a straight, treeless rural route roughly nine miles north of town. After signaling with her arm, she started to turn left onto North 65th Avenue, a quiet stretch of pavement where she would be able to worry less about traffic. She never made it. …

UT arguing in Texas Supreme Court to make cyclists trespassers on all government-owned land

BY EMILY HERNANDEZ | www.dailytexanonline.com

Non-University affiliated hikers and bikers injured on UT property would be considered trespassers and unable to sue for damages if UT wins a Texas Supreme Court case.

The issue stems from a lawsuit filed against the University in district court four years ago by cyclist April Garner, 57, who was struck by a UT service truck backing out of a parking space on UT property in April 2015.

UT is claiming …

Saturday, May 11, 2019 – Austin

austinscalendar.com

2019-05-11 Saturday 7a – 9a NWAus- Nelo’s Cycles Shop Weekday Ride (Road)
7:30a – 10a SwAus- Gruppo VOP Saturday Ride (Road)
7:30a – 9:45a Gruppo VOP (Adv)
7:30a – 9:30a SwAus- Southwest Cycle Sport Saturday Road Ride
8a – 1p NwAus- Violet Crown Bagel Ride (Road Ride)
8a – 11a NwAus- Bicycle Sport Shop Parmer Store Saturday Ride
8a – 10a SwAus- Circle C Ranch Cycle Club
8:30a – 12p SoAus- Austin Tri-Cyclist Saturday Shop Road Ride
8:30a – 11:30a ATC Training Ride (Int,Adv)
8:30a – 11:30a Austin Flyers Club Ride
8:30a – 11:30a CenAus- Middle of the Road Ride (MOTR)
9a – 1p CenAus- Yellow Bike Project at the Austin Farmer’s Market (Downtown)
9a – 1p Georgetown- Sun City Cyclists Saturday Ride (Road)
9a – 12p CenAus- Mellow Mountain Ride
9a – 12p Kyle- Hill Country Tri Club Saturday Ride (Road)
9a – 11a CenAus- Mellow Johnny’s Scout-A-Ride Shop Road Ride
9a – 11a SwAus- Southwest Cycle Sport Saturday Mountain Bike Ride
9a – 10a NwAus- Saturday Brick Workout hosted by Bicycle Sport Shop
10a – 2p Meat CSA Pickup Week
10a – 1p CenAus- Orange Bike Project Shop Hours
10a – 1p Florence- Heart of Texas BMX Weekly Practice Time
12p – 1:30p Farm Tour & Volunteer Orientation
12p – 1p CenAus- Coed Hands-on Flat Fix Clinic

Houston Among Worst Cities For Bikes

By Fernando Alfonso III | patch.com

The advocacy group PeopleForBikes has released its 2019 city ratings. See how Houston fared.

Houston is among the worst places in America for biking, according to the nonprofit group PeopleForBikes, which published its 2019 nationwide city ratings Sunday. The group used a scoring system to evaluate cities based on five key areas: ridership, safety, network, acceleration and reach.

The report gave Houston 1.4 out of five stars. Here’s the breakdown: …

Dallas Is Among The Worst Cities For Bikes

By Fernando Alfonso III | patch.com

Dallas is among the worst places in America for biking, according to the nonprofit group PeopleForBikes, which published its 2019 nationwide city ratings Sunday. The group used a scoring system to evaluate cities based on five key areas: ridership, safety, network, acceleration and reach.

The report gave Dallas 1.4 out of five stars. Here’s the breakdown: …

Houston Grand Crit Recap – Podcast

By Paul Negrete | anchor.fm

Recap of the 4/5 and 35+ races. Chat with Armando of H-Tine Haps and Mean Dean with Fort Bend Kia Cycling. HGC Race Results.

Music: Back to the Woods by Jason Shaw https://anchor.fm/dropbartexas/embed/episodes/Houston-Grand-Crit-Recap-e3v0qd/a-aeg4e9

<iframe src="https://anchor.fm/dropbartexas/embed/episodes/Houston-Grand-Crit-Recap-e3v0qd/a-aeg4e9" height="102px" width="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Houston Safer Streets Program Launched

www.houstontx.gov

Mayor Sylvester Turner and Together for Safer Roads (TSR) launched Phase 1 of a Houston Safer Streets program in the Gulfton Complete Communities neighborhood. The goal of the program is to make the city’s streets and roads safe for pedestrians, bus riders, bicyclists, drivers, wheel chair users and others. Gulfton is the most diverse and densely populated community in Houston and has been the location of a high number of vehicle-pedestrian collisions and near-misses as families walk children to and from school. A large number of Gulfton residents rely on mass transit, bicycles and walking to get around. …

Foundations Host Kickoff Event to Launch Cycling Safety Fund

JACKIE WANG | therivardreport.com

About 100 cyclists crowded into Burleson Yard Beer Garden on Tuesday evening, many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “Live 2 Ride.”

The gathering was the kickoff event for the Live to Ride fund, which will raise money for projects designed to promote awareness about bike safety in San Antonio and sharing the road with two-wheeled vehicles. …

Long Beach, CA to St. Augustine, FL via the southern tier

By Tony Olague | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Alpine to Marathon TX Monday May 6, 2019, 30 miles (48 km) – Total so far: 687 miles (1,106 km) It was just a little of a climb out Alpine. Once at the top it was a steady decline into Marathon. I was riding under a clear blue sky all the way. Since it was only a thirty-mile ride I got into Marathon early. I had plenty of time to hang out in the very small town. I stayed at the Loma Del Chivo hostel. The owners were great! Even though they were getting ready to close for a three-week vacation they let me stay for the night. I stayed on an outside deck that had a …

Marathon to Sanderson TX Tuesday May 7, 2019, 55 miles (89 km) – Total so far: 742 miles (1,194 km) After breakfast and two expressos I was off to Sanderson. It was a great day for riding. It was a little overcast, and the temperature stayed in the low to mid 70’s. After about twenty miles it was a steady downhill all the way to Sanderson. About 11 miles from Sanderson I noticed three fellows walk onto the highway. I had a pretty good idea who they might be. When I came up to them, we spoke in Spanish. They asked for directions and explained they came across the …

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