{"id":29559,"date":"2015-04-30T01:00:02","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T06:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/?p=29559"},"modified":"2015-04-30T01:00:02","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T06:00:02","slug":"texas-bicycling-news-roundup-april-29th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texbiker.net\/blog\/2015\/04\/30\/texas-bicycling-news-roundup-april-29th\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Bicycling News Roundup April 29th"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local agencies work together in bicycle project<\/a><\/h2>\n

by FAITH HARPER\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0www.tylerpaper.com<\/h3>\n

Five government entities are coming together to transform an abandoned railroad into a hike and bike trail.
\nFor several years the Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority has been interested in purchasing the tract of land that used to connect Whitehouse and Troup by rail, the transportation authority\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interim Director Everett Owen said.
\nThe actual purchase of the 8.2-acre tract was made possible through a $400,000 grant from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The city of Tyler, Tyler Economic Development Council, Troup Community Development Corporation, Smith County and NET RMA each put in $25,000 to …<\/p>\n

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Daughter honors late father, Gainesville Police Chief<\/a><\/h2>\n

By: Kristin Nill\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0www.kxii.com<\/h3>\n

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\nGAINESVILLE, Tx – Maegan Fleming is getting ready for the ride of her life this weekend to honor her dad.
\nShe’s prepping for a 150 mile bicycle ride from Houston to Austin, May 2nd. She helped create the ride as a tribute to her father, late Gainesville Police Chief Steven Fleming and other officers who died in the line of duty.
\n“I’m really honored to be able to ride for such great men and also for all the fallen officers just to be riding for all of them,” Maegan said.
\nThis is the first year for the Texas Peace Officer’s Memorial Ride, which …<\/p>\n

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Ride across Texas helps connect, rehabilitate injured veterans<\/a><\/h2>\n

JC Jones | Herald staff writer\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0kdhnews.com<\/h3>\n

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\nLast year Maj. Jan Rose came to Fort Hood\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Warrior Transition Unit after incurring a serious illness while deployed, and found she had a lot of free time on her hands during recovery.
\nTo fill the time, she took up biking in the fall.
\nThough she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d only ridden as much as 25 miles at a time, Rose found herself pedaling from Houston to Fort Worth last week in the Ride 2 Recovery Texas Challenge, alongside nearly 200 other veterans who have …<\/p>\n

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Upcoming Rides<\/a><\/h2>\n

El Paso Bicycle Club<\/h3>\n

Saturday, May 2
\n60 is the new 40-8:00 am
\nB.I..G. Valley Ride-8:30 am
\nWednesday, May 6
\nWednesday Night Ride-5:30 pm
\nThursday, May 7
\nThursday Night Rollers (Ninja Ride)-5:45 pm
\nSaturday, May 9
\nA Ride for Mom-9:00 am
\nWednesday, May 13
\nWednesday Night Ride-5:30 pm
\nThursday, May 14
\nThursday Night Rollers (Ninja Ride)-5:45 pm
\nWednesday, May 20
\nWednesday Night Ride-5:30 pm
\nThursday, May 21
\nThursday Night Rollers (Ninja Ride)-5:45 pm<\/p>\n

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The VC Team at Fort Davis.<\/a><\/h2>\n

by John Bartle\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0violetcrown.org<\/h3>\n

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\nHalf of the starting field in the 60+ race at Hammerfest this year was VC; Frank Kurzawa, Mike Haney, Joe Haas and John Bartle. Could we prevail over the other four riders on three different teams? Our competition proved to be Charlie Johnson and Val Lincecum of Southwest Cycling Club Racing (SWCC).
\nThe Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 60+ race was combined with both the Women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Open and the Women 3\/4 races, so it was a cozy pack of about 20, of mostly Austin riders, that set out on the Saturday morning hill climb stage in a light wind. The pace was steady, with each group respecting the strategic moves of the other group; that is, until the route got seriously steeper and the lone Tulsa Wheel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 woman attacked. Frank went with her and Charlie Johnson and John Bartle settled in with three ATC women chasers who kept the …<\/p>\n

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More VCers on the Podium!<\/a><\/h2>\n

violetcrown.org<\/h3>\n

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\nDan Piercy digs deep in the sprint to the line in the Pace Bend 40+ 1\/2\/3\/4 race. The season is young and lots of …<\/p>\n

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Bikeabout TX<\/a><\/h2>\n

By Gordon Hodge\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0www.crazyguyonabike.com<\/h3>\n

Day 13 Huntsville, TX to near North Zulch,TX: Leaving the ST, heading NW, winds NW
\nTuesday April 28, 2015, 53 miles (85 km) – Total so far: 501 miles (806 km)
\nI have decided to head back toward home. I am not quitting my tour as much I would like to keep going to Florida. This was supposed to be a 1-2 week bike about and I have done. I am loving the tour so far and it is hard to turn homeward. There is still a few days of roads to explore, though most of these are areas I have been in my earlier years. The area should appear quite different at 10 or less mph. The weather is forecast for NW winds and cooler for next several days.
\nI left the comforts of hotel in Huntsville at 0830. Skies were temps in the low 50’s, overcast and misty. I donned my windbreaker and soon had to put on rain jacket. Legs were fine, so didn’t wear rain pants. Getting out of Huntsville I made a wrong turn! I have driven this route 100 times 40 years ago and really stupid for making a wrong turn here. I noticed something wrong as I was surprised to have a nice shoulder and down wind ride. 2.5 miles later I figured out why at the next intersection. So I backtracked the 2.5 back to hwy 75 north toward Madisonville. 5 mile mistakes are no fun for cyclists. The road was way worse than I expected. There is now a lot of commercial traffic on the road with heavy traffic and 1-2 feet of crumbling shoulder. I found my first FM road west to get off this planned route. I took FM 1696 to Bedias and then …
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Day 14- North Zulch to Marquez, TX: More headwinds
\nWednesday April 29, 2015, 31 miles (50 km) – Total so far: 532 miles (856 km)
\nHad a good night sleep in my stealth site except for the 2 trains overnight that came through my tent or so it seemed. It was OK, I went quickly back to sleep. Overnight temp was around 47F, great sleeping weather in warm bag. I stayed in the bag a little long this morning as I did not want to go out in the cold. It was clear and sunny with a high of 73. I did finally get packed and moving about 0900 my norm. I did need my windbreaker early in the ride. 5 miles up the road I came into the small town of Normangee. I felt my rear tire going soft and aired it up and continued to find a breakfast caf\u00c3\u00a9 and worry about the tire later. I was directed to a local caf\u00c3\u00a9. Before I got into the caf\u00c3\u00a9, Bobby Davis saw my bike and was full of questions. While I was seated he came in and asked for a picture of me and my bike for the mayor’s wife working across the street. She wanted to post it on Facebook (FB). After the photo op, he was getting in his van for something to write my web address on. He is a safety products salesman. I asked him if he happened to have a safety vest. He gave me some compression gloves but no vest. Once back in the caf\u00c3\u00a9, he came back in to talk some more. A really great personality. He said a guy was coming over with a vest for me. The guy, Ronnie Meadors the town mayor and business owner extraordinaire came by with a vest from the Normangee fire dept. He was the owner of the caf\u00c3\u00a9. I felt like a celebrity given the key to the …
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Progress on Cycing\/Ped bridge over railroad tracks near the Domain<\/a><\/h2>\n

bicycleaustin.info<\/h3>\n

The first two sections of the bicycle and pedestrian bridge on the southbound side of MoPac south of Duval Road are now in place. Once more piece to go.
\nGood to see some more connectivity here.\u00c2\u00a0 This is evidence that cycling advocacy is working slowly and surely.\u00c2\u00a0 Projects like these are on very large timescales and it takes commitment from all groups that their voices be heard even if the pay off is 10+ years away.\u00c2\u00a0 These HOV lanes were first proposed in 1994, CAMPO took it over in 2002, first public open houses were held in Oct 2011, by the second open house meetings in December the cycling community was …<\/p>\n

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APD Fills a Loophole: A crash is now a crash for Austin cyclists<\/a><\/h2>\n

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

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\nLast summer, when Austin cyclist Heather \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Frankie\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Frankovis got into an accident on the way to the Thursday Night Social Ride, she ran into more than just an errant jogger: she ran into the problem that, unless you hit or are hit by a motor vehicle in Austin, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s little way to get justice, never mind insurance coverage.
\nAt the time, according to the Austin Chronicle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s full write-up \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Crash Not a Crash?\u00e2\u20ac\u0153, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Officer Griffin didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t initially complete a crash report \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsince the incident was not one that would normally require that an incident report be written: The officer responded to a call to assist EMS; however, no criminal offense had been committed. I did however, request that a report be written in this instance.’\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nNow, thanks to the persistence of Frankovis and attorney Lenore Shefman, things are set to change.
\nDue to go into effect this Friday, on May 1st, APD will …<\/p>\n

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Market Watch: Why The Bottom is Falling Out From The Used Bike Market<\/a><\/h2>\n

A Bicycle’s Point of View\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0bicyclepointofview.blogspot.com<\/h3>\n

Wanting to sell your nice lugged, steel road bike? You may want to wait a couple of years.
\nThere is no market indicator for the used bike market. Like all unofficial, unregulated cash in hand markets there is no “official” way for tracking improvement or decline of sales, especially when the sellers are people unloading their second-hand goods on others. However, as somebody who actually pays attention to these things, I have picked up on a market trend which will probably benefit consumers more than anyone else in determining what their next bike purchase will be.
\nIf you, like me are a die hard vintage bike collector, now is not the time to keep adding old bikes to your collection. If anything, now is the time to start letting go of whatever old bikes you’re able to, probably at …<\/p>\n

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New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar<\/h2>\n
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New Event Rudy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ride – San Antonio, TX http:\/\/t.co\/Sgif0sc6tL<\/a><\/p>\n

Rudy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ride Ride starts at 8am from Rudy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s BB\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 http:\/\/t.co\/JfITT3yWZk<\/a><\/p>\n

— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 30, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n