CIP MEETING UPDATE
Save the Anthills, Houston, TX
As a reminder, please plan to attend the City’s important CIP meeting MONDAY evening:
When: Monday, March 19th at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Paul Revere Middle School Auditorium (Capacity 800)
10502 Briar Forest Drive (it’s like 5 mins away from the Anthills)
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Unlike the HCFCD’s Charting Buffalo meeting on February 8th which focused solely on flood mitigation, this City meeting will cover a wide range of City of Houston Capital Improvement Plan (“CIP”) projects, not just the M-261 CIP which specifically deals with excavating Buffalo Bayou detention basins. Expect people to be addressing a variety of CIP projects, including street repair, street flooding, pot holes, etc. Our Briar Forest Super Neighborhood leadership in particular will be addressing at least four CIPs, including M-261 which threatens our forest. However, there will be several other Super Neighborhoods represented from District G, each with their own special concerns.

Cibolo Ride – San Antonio Wheelmen
Date:     03/31/2012
Time:     09:00 AM-12:00 PM
Location:     Cibolo, TX
Details:     Cibolo Ride (NE) [F to R]. Routes of 20, 27, 39, 51, 66 and 71 miles.
Meet at the City Hall parking lot in downtown Cibolo. From I-35 North, turn right on FM 3009 (Roy Richard Drive, exit 175) to FM 78; turn left and then left again on Main Street in Cibolo. City Hall is just off of Highway 78. Contact: Cliff Hickel, 210/884-9470 Please wear your Wheelmen jersey!
Lunch at Catalano Pizzeria (102 N. Main St, Cibolo)

Texas RAAM Cycling Challenge Race Results
By John Foote         www.ultraracenews.com
The 200 mile Event
Kurt Searvogel wins the inaugural RAAM Texas Cycling Challenge 200 mile event in 9hrs 55mins.  Seven racers lined up at the start, but it was only rookie racer Stephen Stafford that was able to pressure Searvogel on the very hilly route with 10,000 ft of vertical gain.  Stafford finished just a mere 3 minutes behind with Larry Ide rolling into the finish in third place with a 11hr 39min elapsed time.

Two – Four person teams also competed at the 200 mile distance with the team of Steve Logan, Jason Dunn, David Tietz and Tammy Walters bringing it home first in 12hr 42min…

Tour de Houston riders hit the streets for a cause
By Naheeda Sayeeduddin            www.chron.com

Carmen Busceme uses the trails of Memorial Park to train for marathons and bike rides. The 35-year-old found it fitting to give back to the park by riding in the Tour de Houston on Sunday, which was sponsored by Apache Corp. to benefit Houston park reforestation. Busceme, a first-time rider in the tour, was among the nearly 4,000 who peddled up to 60 miles – a roundtrip from City Hall to Johnson Space Center – Sunday to help raise money for new trees to area parks ravaged by the drought. “A lot of people are riding because of the fact that it is a…

saturday shots
by bikedenton

When life gives you lemons, or in my case, a handlebar stab in the calf, you make blog posts. I’ll be resting up this week as my leg heals, so inevitably I’ll be getting some posts out of my (brain) queue.

Here are random shots from yesterday, an all around great day that started with mountain biking at Johnson’s Branch, working at Querencia, and rolling down to the new Oak St Drafthouse for pints. …

Important Last Chance Pre-Race Work Party on Sunday, 3/25, 9 to noon
GHORBA
Important Last Chance Pre-Race Work Party on Sunday, 3/25, 9 to noon and beyond (if people want to keep on working). Meet at the Rec Area Trailhead parking lot. Free entry for trail workers, bring your bike and ride afterwards. Pay Dirt eligible, bring your forms. Please confirm your attendance with trails@ghorba.org.

We’ll be finishing up the drainage improvements on the new trails and grooming the race course. Trail tread and shoulders need to have vegetation chopped back in some areas and derailleur eating small branches-n-twigs need to be removed. Tread is generally…

From gators to peacocks, bats and raccoons, Houston is a real urban jungle
By Tarra Gaines                houston.culturemap.com
Several summers ago I was riding my bike along the Buffalo Bayou Hike and Bike Trail, nearing the Sabine Bridge, when two guys flagged me down for a camera emergency. Neither had one and they were desperate to get a picture of a log in the water. It took me a few seconds to recognize that log, floating leisurely, and to my eyes amicably, in the bayou, was a large Texas alligator heading…

15 miles on a Mountain bike tonight
discussions.texasbowhunter.com
It may not seem like a lot to some of you but to a 56 yr old ex smoker 15 mi is a good place to be right now.
Bought a Specialized Hardrock from Brian (BLUEDOG80) before Christmas and finally started riding somewhere in January. Been riding 2 to 3 times a week and slowly working my way up and not trying to hurt myself. You…

Willow City Loop, First Leg
by Roy and Christine        Pedal Pushers

Willow City is a tiny community just outside of Fredericksburg, Texas. The Willow City Loop has been a part of the Wildflower Pedal Power organized ride, however, this year the event was cancelled. So a day trip was planned to ride the loop. It was chancy as it is still early in the spring, and in good years, April and May are the best times to view wildflowers. This time last year everything was brown from the drought. However, some glorious winter rains produced a good showing of some of the earliest wildflowers on…

Willow City Loop to THE HILL
by Roy and Christine        Pedal Pushers

…Crash? No, we found another nice spot. Have I mentioned we weren’t in a hurry? This was a real stop and “smell the flowers” ride. …

Willow City Hill to Willow City
by Roy and Christine        Pedal Pushers

…Christine stopped some ways back as the hill started its steepest incline. My Garmin registered 15% grade. The first time I went up this hill a few years ago, I reported that I went 2.9 mph–and stayed upright. It was on an organized ride and I just barely passed a person pushing her bike up the hill. I am happy to report that I went up…