{"id":29190,"date":"2015-03-17T23:11:43","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T04:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/?p=29190"},"modified":"2015-03-17T23:11:43","modified_gmt":"2015-03-18T04:11:43","slug":"texas-bicycling-news-digest-march-17th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/2015\/03\/17\/texas-bicycling-news-digest-march-17th\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Bicycling News Digest March 17th"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living Local: A bike-centric guide to Austin, Texas<\/a><\/h2>\n

by Stephen Krcmar\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0www.grindtv.com<\/h3>\n

Custom bike-frame builder Lauren Trout provides the two-wheel lowdown on ATX
\n\"\"
\nLast August, Lauren Trout left her home of many years, Boston, to return to Texas. The bike messenger turned custom bicycle-frame builder had lived and worked all over the U.S., delivering packages by bike in cities like Houston, San Francisco, Denver, and Washington, D.C., while competing in courier competitions in urban centers like Seattle; Montreal; New York City; Columbus, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; and Richmond, Virginia, before returning to her home state.
\nA native of Houston, the owner of Saila Bikes headed back west to escape Boston winters, the fast pace of the East Coast, and to set up shop in a place that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the bazillion custom builders that …<\/p>\n

\n

Bicycle Safety Awareness Media Campaign<\/a><\/h2>\n

www.texasbids.net<\/h3>\n

Bid Date & Time: 04\/22\/15 2:00 PM
\nPrebid: 03\/24\/15 10:00 AM
\nSolicitation Title: Bicycle Safety Awareness Media Campaign
\nStatus: bidding\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Report: 6193087
\nCountry :United States\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 State: TX\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 County: Bexar
\nLocation: San Antonio
\nScope: Bicycle safety awareness media campaign.
\nNotes: Written question deadline: 03\/31\/15 by 2:00 PM. Pre-bid meeting will be held on 03\/24\/15 @ 10:00 AM at The City of San Antonio, Finance Department, Purchasing Division, Large Conference Room, 111 Soledad, 11th Floor, San Antonio, Texas 78205.
\nPlans: From Owner. See attached file.
\nOwner Type: Public
\nBuyer: San Antonio, City of – Purchasing & General Services
\nAddress: PO Box 839966 City Hall Annex, 131 West Nueva
\nCity: San Antonio\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0State: TX\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Zip\/Postal Code: 78283-3966
\nTEL: 210-207-7260\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0FAX: 210-207-7270
\nWebsite: http:\/\/www.sanantonio.gov\/pgs\/ …<\/p>\n

\n

Riding Brevets: Part 1, Texas<\/a><\/h2>\n

On Bicycles, and…. what else is there?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0djconnel.blogspot.com<\/h3>\n

This year I decided to dip my toes in the brevet pool.
\nBack now further in time than seems real, in the late 1990’s I began a Hill Country Randonneurs brevet series hosted by Russell Hahn and John Fusselman out of Austin Texas. I didn’t ride these bacause of embracing any sort of randonneuring culture. It was more an interest in the ultra culture, a culture I’d experienced with Nick Gerlach’s excellent Texas Hell Week, which I first attended in 1997 when I was at Stanford, then later on a more limited basis when I lived in Austin from late 1997 to 2000.
\nIn California, we had our double centuries: fully supported 200 mile events where all you had to do was carry two water bottles and enough food for at most 40 miles. Davis Double, for example, had 11 rest stops, more than one every 20 miles. That could easily be ridden skipping every other rest stop with …<\/p>\n

\n

RGV provides biking opportunity in Mission<\/a><\/h2>\n

JOSE RODRIGUEZ | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0discovermission.com<\/h3>\n

There is nothing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mountain\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about the Valley, and bicycling has little fanfare along the border.
\nBut mountain biking in the Rio Grande Valley is growing, thanks to the Mission Hike and Bike Trails. The park boasts an extensive series of narrow paths carved into dense woodland, and for the adventurous it offers miles of startlingly good fun.
\nThe trails can get technical and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to need appropriate gear. Get a good bike, but don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spend a fortune. Instead, spend time searching for the best balance between cost and performance. When I first set out, I asked a knowledgeable friend for help choosing something from the local department store.
\nHe said sarcastically that any cheap bike would do but added that I made sure I had dental insurance because when it …<\/p>\n

\n

MS150 Training, Week 8 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c A Ride of My Own<\/a><\/h2>\n

The Surly Biker\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0thesurlybiker.wordpress.com<\/h3>\n

So, the Ready2Roll Training ride was all the way out in Fayetteville, TX, this past Saturday, and I just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the heart to get up at about 5am and drive an hour and a half out there to begin around 7:30am. Instead, I decided to hit the pavement around here like usual and bang out as many miles as I could. Unfortunately, about 18 miles in, I got foiled by the park being flooded \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see in the pics below. So, I turned around, and did some other stuff around the neighborhood and still managed to get in almost 40 miles.
\nNothing special to share, just some interesting pics of the flooding from …
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Pedal Through The Pines<\/a><\/h2>\n

Pedal Pushers\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0roy-pedalpushers.blogspot.com<\/h3>\n

Pedal Thru The Pines
\nMarch 14, 2015
\nSmithville, Texas
\nSmithville is a small town just outside of Bastrop which is near Austin. “Pedal Thru the Pines” has been starting from the Smithville Park for several years now. We used to pedal through the pines until a wild fire swept through miles of ranchland and decimated the forest of unusually isolated stands of loblolly pines. The ride, however, is still one of our favorites, and we try to attend each year. They have 24, 40, and 70 mile rides. This year we chose the 40 mile ride. …
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Where do people get hurt on the #TheDrag you ask? [PICS]<\/a><\/h2>\n

Austin On A Bike\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0austinonabike.com<\/h3>\n

Last year, the city began taking a serious looking at improving the hairy situation we Austinites fondly refer to as The Drag. The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Guadalupe Corridor Improvement Program\u00e2\u20ac\u009d began in 2014 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to identify and recommend short to long-term transportation improvements to enhance mobility, safety, and quality of life along the Guadalupe Street Corridor.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Now, the results are being released and we have some fun maps to look at in the meantime. We all love maps, right?
\nThere are a plethora of items to dig through on the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s page, including the survey results which we briefly reviewed earlier this week in our post \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Survey confirms what I already knew as a cyclist: The Drag still sucks\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Before moving on, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to note that the conversation is not over and there is still time to give your own feedback on what should come next to the Drag. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a comment hotline for public input \u00e2\u20ac\u201c (512) 676-5488 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and they are using the hashtag #TheDrag on Facebook and Twitter (as you can …
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Spring Fever – Sulphur Springs, TX March 14<\/a><\/h2>\n

www.bicycle-stuff.com<\/h3>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar<\/h2>\n
\n

New Event Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Festival – College Station, TX Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Festival at Colle\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 http:\/\/t.co\/lze0RzxV8S<\/a><\/p>\n

— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) March 17, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n