May is National Bike Month
League of Amercan Bicyclists

National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride. Whether you bike to work or school; to save money or time; to preserve your health or the environment; to explore your community or get to your destination, get involved in Bike…

On tour: Is Houston the next bicycle capitol of the US?
Author Elly            takingthlane.com
“Houston is the sleeper — the next big bicycle city that nobody knows about yet,” Tom McCasland told us on Thursday.

I was, of course, skeptical. My impression of Houston so far was all potholes, unpredictable driving, the chaotic geography of a city without zoning, and only a few sightings of hardy bicyclists. A conversation the night before with our host, a bike advocate, hadn’t altered that impression much. Besides, aren’t…

HBC Sealy West Ride
Sat 05/05/12
Distances: 32(A), 43(B), 48(B), 60(C) miles
Ride rolling pasture land to Bernardo, and Cat Springs. Long route visits New Ulm. Stores in Bernardo and New Ulm. 53 miles W on I-10 to Sealy (45 miles west of 610 loop), north on TX-36 to 2nd light, left to Abe and Irene Levine Family Park.  Park on 4th Street, South side of the park.

Waco Bicycle Club Ride
Eastland Lakes Ln, Waco
When: Monday 06:00 PM
What: Road/race
Contact: Spencer Jewell
Phone: 254-644-3803
Distance:  10.6
2nd Monday of every month.

Bullis County Park Ride
San Antonio Wheelmen
Date:     05/05/2012
Time:     08:00 AM-11:00 AM
Location:     San Antonio, TX
Details: Bullis Park Ride (N) [R to H]. Routes of 21, 34, 48 and 66 miles.
Ride some familiar roads from a great starting spot. Meet at Bullis County Park on Blanco Road between Borgfeld and Old Blanco roads. From Loop 1604, take Blanco Road north about 8 miles. Inside the park, please park only on paved areas. If parking inside is full, park outside along the road.

Did you buy a used bike?

Study: Used bike owners ride more, buy more
ALLENTOWN, PA (BRAIN) Monday April 23 2012 11:45 AM MT—Owners of bikes they bought used ride more, buy more, and visit bike shops more often than owners of bikes they bought new, according to a new study.

Used-bike owners also ride their bikes to work more often than owners of new bikes, and, in what the researchers called a big surprise, they are wealthier: 22 percent of owners with household incomes of $200,000 or more own a bicycle they purchased used, compared to 12.5 percent that own a bicycle they purchased new, said Elliot Gluskin, managing partner of The Gluskin Townley Group, which…

Austin Rattler 100 2012 results
by Singletrack.com
Brief results
1 Tristan Uhl in 4:43:27
2 Kristoffer Nielsen
3 Adam Gaubert
4 Tracy Martin
5 Robbie Robinette
6 Alec Petro
7 Paul Dalton
8 Eric Hess
9 DeBoisblanc/Duncan…

2012 State Championships
by League Director            Texas High School Cycling League
Make sure that you are going to be at the upcoming TXHSCL High School State Championships May 5th & 6th in Coldspring and Houston, Texas.   Our H.S. state championship RR will be great and is on a beautiful course amidst scenic pine trees and the high school state championship crit is along a neat parkway right in downtown Houston.  The crit is super spectator friendly and is a big party atmosphere all day long.  It is also put on by one…

The Austin Flyers 5-part Skills Series for Women starts Tuesday
by elliott            Austin on Two Wheels
Ladies looking to start road racing/riding or improve your skills, take note: The Austin Flyers are hosting a 5-part Skills Series for Women starting this Tuesday, April 24, out at the Driveway, 8400 Delwau Lane,, and will be continuing these once per month through August.

This series is not just for ladies who want to race. The series will work on a range of skills that will not only help you be a safer, more competitive racer, but also a safer, stronger, and smarter rider. Pace lines, group…

Seen at the Deep Ellum Bike Co-op Fundraiser
by Christopher Curnutt            Biking in Dallas

Switching Gears Cyclery hosted a fun raiser to help the Deep Ellum Bike Co-op.  There was a group ride and then party where beer and BBQ was served mixed with sunshine, Frisbee, and some of us played in the on-site photography studio.  This occurred after the Dallas Cycle Style Cyclist Census…

Cyclist Census – Excitement and Apology
by UrbanPedal
We just looked through all the photos from yesterday’s Cyclist Census and are blown away at all the great shots! So many of our friends and lots of complete strangers to us had their photos taken – we laughed and cried…. (no we didn’t really cry.) We had some really great photographers shooting this year.

So a big thank you to our photographers who spent their Saturday with all of you. And a big thank you to all the cyclists who either took the afternoon to take a photo (or visit multiple photographers in some cases) or got…

GHORBA Greatness
www.imba.com
The Greater Houston Off Road Bicycle Association (GHORBA) has been doing big things to improve mountain biking opportunities around Houston. One thing they have been doing lately is taking on an increased roll in getting important work accomplished in the design, review, construction, and maintenance of new and proposed trails. The group’s earlier hard work and successes on other trail projects has helped area land managers come to view GHORBA as a source of…

Bicycle Polo surges across Texas
by Charles Scott of The Daily Campus    www.pegasusnews.com
Take a little bit of bike dork, mix it in with a pinch of jock, and what do you get? A “hardcourt” Bicycle Polo player.

Dallas is home to more than 100 of them. Hardcourt Bicycle Polo has reached a new level of popularity in recent years, says Dylan Holt, a veteran of the sport and a founder of the Dallas Bicycle Polo club. …

Palo Duro Canyon destination for Bush, site of next wounded warrior bicycle ride
KAREN SMITH WELCH  Amarillo Globe-News
Presidential wheels rolling through Palo Duro Canyon could create some positive spin for the state park’s rugged mountain-biking trails and other features, according to those involved in events related to the The Bush Center Warrior 100K Ride.

Former President George W. Bush will bring the three-day, 100-kilometer ride to Palo Duro Canyon State Park Thursday through Saturday.

The ride is designed to draw attention to the service and sacrifice of military men and women wounded in the war on…

Baton Rouge hosts collegiate cycling championships
By Joshua Bergeron            www.lsureveille.com

…Once clocks struck 8 a.m., a ringing bell signaled the beginning of the criterium races. It also signaled the end of any momentum the cycling Tigers hoped to carry over from Saturday. Cyclists from the University of Texas at Austin swept the men’s D podium. The growing crowd’s enthusiasm remained high, carrying LSU to a third-place finish in the men’s C category. …

Texas/Texas State Race Report
by Nicole        cyclesharp.com
Leading the pain train

On the eve of the team’s departure for the Tulane race, I discovered a cyclist’s worst nightmare. My Cervelo’s carbon fiber frame was cracked around the seat tube, rendering my frame un-rideable. Instead of racing that weekend, I went back to the shop where I’d gotten the bike, and, thankfully, they took care of me. It took awhile to get the new frame in, though, so I rode the following race…

Riding My Bike Easy
texasbaptists.org
Riding my bike is easy. Riding from San Antonio to Dallas… easy.

I get to rest every 20 miles. I am off my bike by 2:30 p.m. (usually). The view is incredible. The conversation is rich. I get plenty to eat and drink along the way. Texas Baptist churches love and feed us every night. I sleep in a comfortable bed every night. Easy.

Riding my bike gives me an opportunity to worship God. The wind breezes past my body and it reminds me that God is near. The road reminds me that I am on a journey and must submit to what’s ahead. Looking too far ahead can crush your spirit. You must focus on the immediate. The breeze hits and reminds you that God is near. The moments after cresting a hill…

 

 

 

FIELD NOTES
By Pam LeBlanc        www.austin360.com
Desert adventure worth the stings, stabs, sears, scrapes

The best part about my latest adventure in the Big Bend?

Between nights spent snoozing in a tent under star-packed skies, cacti blooming with flowers so purple they looked like colored tissue paper and rock-strewn trails that twist through the prickliest scenery in Texas, it’s hard to choose.

We started our three-day, two-wheeled scramble through Big Bend Ranch State Park at the Barton Warnock Visitor Center, where I met a two-day-old orphan javelina (more below).

By noon, I had 16 rugged miles under my drawstring cycling shorts. Before the trip ended, our mangy group of six bicyclists (and a couple of very fine support drivers) had passed an old mercury…

Secret Service studies trails
By Kevin Welch             amarillo.com
…“There’s definitely a lot of preparation work on the front end,” Palo Duro Canyon State Park Superintendent Cory Evans said.

Bill Clinton will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday at West Texas A&M University’s First United Bank Center. Then George W. Bush will bike the trails of the state park Thursday through Saturday with 20 “wounded warriors” picked for their bravery and sacrifices in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The Secret Service advance teams have been coming in looking at the routes,” Evans said. “It’s gone really smoothly. Folks with security have come out and ridden the trails and become…

Presidential ride could enhance Palo Duro Canyon’s popularity
By KAREN SMITH WELCH         amarillo.com
Presidential wheels rolling through Palo Duro Canyon could create some positive spin for the state park’s rugged mountain-biking trails and other features, according to those involved in events related to the The Bush Center Warrior 100K Ride.

President George W. Bush will bring the three-day, 100-kilometer ride to Palo Duro Canyon State Park Thursday through Saturday. The ride is designed to draw attention to the service and sacrifice of military men and women wounded in the war on terrorism, spokeswoman…

Runners, walkers, cyclists celebrate new Colleyville trail
By Nicholas Sakelaris        www.star-telegram.com
COLLEYVILLE – A new section of the Cottonbelt Trail officially opened in Colleyville, linking Hurst, North Richland Hills and Colleyville along the railroad.

The April 19 ribbon cutting drew avid cyclists, City Council members and city officials to celebrate the opening of phase 2 of the Cottonbelt Trail expansion.

Mayor David Kelly called the 10-foot-wide trail a “low tech” way to connect with friends in a high-tech world.

“It connects us to each other,” Kelly said as he addressed the crowd. “Not as videos, or as holograms or as avatars or other animated images in this high tech landscape, but as living human beings – face to…

 

 

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Men A road race sprint finish (from UT Cycling)