Houston saddles up for downtown bike share program
Houston Chronicle
Houston’s first bike share program will take to city streets Wednesday in an effort officials predict will transform how workers and visitors will travel short distances in the downtown area. Mayor Annise Parker, an occasional bicyclist, called the federally-funded program “a quick, easy alternative to being stuck in traffic or walking long distances in downtown.” “People want to live, work, play and eat close to one another and not be in their car as much,” city sustainability director Laura Spanjian said, citing a recent Rice University study that found most respondents wanted to live in compact, walkable communities. The love affair with the car is finally over, and providing…

Bicycle Club of Marshall
aka Maverick Chain Gang
Quick overview of upcoming rides

(RLAG) Season Opener Ride and Party @ Walnut Creek
Monday, May 7, 2012 – 18:00
Austin Ridge Riders
The Austin Ridge Riders are hosting a five-month program of weekly Monday evening women’s mountain bike rides, plus weekend rides at local mountain bike trails/parks. This is an opportunity to meet other women to ride with, learn new trails and learn new skills. Before each ride, participants divide into groups based on each rider’s ability and speed and all rides…

DATES Tandem Demo Days
DATES will be hosting “Tandem Demo Days” with our bike shop partners on May 26th and 27th.

Plano Cycling & Fitness – From 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM on Saturday, May 26th
Richardson Bike Mart – From 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM on Sunday, May 27th

Tell your non-tandem friends this is a great opportunity for them to try a tandem.  For those of us who already ride tandems, this is an opportunity to test other makes and model

May Newsletter Published
The May edition of the DATES-Line Newsletter is published and available for download from the newsletters page. This month’s edition includes the following:
DATES Rides and Activities
Fresh DATES
Do Seat Posts Last Forever?
Removing the Drum Brake
Ride Reports
Sunnyvale-Mesquite Ride
Ben Wheeler / St. Patty’s Day Ride…

PJ’s Aledo Adventure – Post Ride Round Up
Lone Star Cyclists
Patricia asked me to lead the 53 mile group, since time constraints had her leading the 40 mile riders. I agreed to lead the 53-milers, but only the touring pace group. Those who wanted to ride faster were free to do so. One of the great things about our club is that someone is always willing to lead a group when called upon, so I knew they would be all right.

I had an ulterior motive, I must confess, to leading the touring group. Our touring group rides at a slower pace and in doing so, they enjoy the roads, scenery, and conversation in a more relaxed manner. What was their average speed for the day? Doesn’t matter. What they talked about, the laughs they shared, now that’s what matters most to them. And haven’t we all seen a movie in which a couple on bicycles rides into the French countryside, seeking a repast under a…

Complete Streets Workshop
River Rockets Brownsville, TX

SLOW AND EASY RIDE
May 5th
San Angelo Bicycling Association
Gene Potter is hosting a new ride! It ‘s name is SLOW AND EASY. We will gather at the 14th street River Drive Park prior to 6pm Sat. 5th and the ride will begin at 6pm. We will ride from the park along the river drive to the Irving Street lower crossing bridge then loop around by the Y back onto the river drive and make our way to the Sonic Drive-in on west beaugard. We will take a short break to give folks an opportunity to purchase some refreshments from the Sonic. After the break we will ride the river drive back to our original starting point. This will be a very relax…

Typical Commute DUG UP
by Steve A            Dallas Point-to-Point
I thought that today I’d take a shot of the most dramatic, unusual, and dramatic event of my typical commute. I wondered if I’d dig up some blood curdling danger, or other item that would cause my loyal reader to consider whether cycling might be other than fun and safe.

Well, on the way in, I DID face a real stiff headwind. That slowed things down a bit, but I still arrived at work pretty much at the same time as usual, thanks to a couple of green lights I typically have to stop for. Still, a photo of…

Austin Bike Culture Calendar Events: 5/3- 5/9/12
by elliott            Austin on Two Wheels
In case you didn’t notice, it’s Bike Month… tons to do on 2 wheels. Please be sure to make Thursday night’s Pedaling for Safer Roads ride hosted by Please Be Kind to Cyclists.

Here’s a quick run down of recommended events for the coming week from our comprehensive calendar of all cycling events. As always, if there is an event you know about that’s not on our calendar contact us, and we’ll add your event on and possibly add it to the weekly round up.

Thursday, May 3
Driveway Crit Series
5 PM, The Driveway, 8400 Delwau Lane
Weekly Thursday night road racing through October that takes place on the closed car-free driving course at the Driveway. Races include Cat 3/4 women’s and juniors race at 5:00, Cat 3/4 Race and Women’s Open at 5:30, Kids Fun Lap at 6:20, Cat 4/5 Race at 6:25, and Pro/Cat 1/2/3 at 6:55. Races registration Weekly: Men $25, …

Ya basta: Time to demand safer roads for everyone
by elliott            Austin on Two Wheels
Sometimes there is a moment when we say enough of the abuse, enough of the threats to our lives, enough of public resources devoted to one form of transportation. The simple act of riding a bike should not be dangerous just because some of our neighbors want to get to work or the store a few minutes sooner.

In response to the shocking death of Verter Ginestra on Saturday on 360 and serious hit and run injuries of cyclist Evan Baird, Please Be Kind to Cyclists is bring the the Austin cycling community together this Thursday for a special ride called Pedaling for Safer Roads. …

May Announcements
by bmba                Borderland Mountain Bike Association
Our May meeting was extremely productive and some changes are coming to the club.  With 5 board members present (David Wilson – President, Brent Sanders – Vice President, Steve Ainsa – Membership manager, DJ Singh – Puzzler Committee, and Michael Hall), major changes to membership were approved.  A new set of bylaws are being finalized that focus more on the clubs purpose as a non-profit.  The Puzzler Committee is teaming with the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the EP Sports Commission, and the directors of the EP…

7:30am – Cup o Joe
by Scott Franklin            Corinth Cycling Club
When: Sat May 12, 2012 7:30am to 9am  CDT
Where: Ronny Crownover Middle School
Event Status: confirmed
Event Description: The Cup o’ Joe is a beginner level ride of around 15 miles. The ride heads south to Hickory Creek and stops for drinks at Starbucks on the way home. The ride leader for this ride is Bob Troyer.

A letter from a reader about cyclists
By Pam LeBlanc            Fit City
The death Saturday of a bicyclist riding along Loop 360 spawned a flurry of emails and calls this week.

Motorists and cyclists alike were saddened by the fatality on one of the city’s most popular training routes — and many are fed up with the situation on area roadways.

Some folks blame all the problems all on cyclists. I certainly don’t buy that. Just as there are good and bad motorists, there are good and bad cyclists, and I see both…

Accident numbers show hot spots for bike vs. car crashes in Austin
by KVUE
We also saw a high concentration of crashes on Guadalupe near the University of Texas north to 45th Street. However the highest concentration of bike and car crashes took place in the downtown area with high concentrations on streets like 5th between …

QUIET FOR 10 YEARS: The Ride Of Silence
By Chris Phelan / Contributor            healthblog.dallasnews.com
No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. (Edmund Burke, 1729 – 1797)

Larry Schwartz ambled down the road on May 4, 2003, on his bike and without a care, into history. When he died that day 10 years ago, he became the initial inspiration for The Ride Of Silence.

It was late morning and everything was normal. He was well on his way to riding another 20,000 miles that year on his bike, a number that was numbing to other cyclists who thought getting in 2,000-5,000 miles for the year was outstanding. But not Larry. This…

Mayor announces a successful first-year of bike-sharing program
San Antonio Business Journal by James Aldridge, Web Editor
Mayor Julian Castro says the city is investing in additional bike-sharing stations.

Mayor Julián Castro says it has been a year since the city launched the San Antonio B-Cycle bike-sharing program. Since last March, the program has attracted more than 1,200 members, 6,700 day-pass and yielded more than 124,000 miles ridden.

The San Antonio B-Cycle program is already the second-busiest B-Cycle program in the nation behind Denver, according to city…

Recreation calendar, camps, clinics
www.mysanantonio.com
CALENDAR
Bicycling: Today, 8 a.m., Wheelers Senior Ride, 30 miles, Floore’s Country Store, Helotes, 210-643-0314. …

Mountain bikers dispute charges against national park trail
by Bob Berwyn            summitcountyvoice.com/
IMBA says trail planning process was started under a national partnership to promote mountain bike opportunities in parks

SUMMIT COUNTY — A Boulder-based bicycling group is defending its advocacy for a mountain bike trail in Big Bend National Park. Conservation and watchdog groups charge that the National Park Service erred by starting construction of the trail before giving the public a chance to comment on the final decision — as required by federal law. …

Bicyclist hit-and-run raises safety concerns
By Sarah White            www.dailytexanonline.com
A recent hit-and-run accident near the UT campus has led to greater concern about cyclist safety in Austin.

Evan Baird, 22, was traveling home by bike from work south on Guadalupe Street at 38th Street when he was struck by a car. The vehicle sped off after colliding with Baird and he has been in the hospital since with debilitating injuries.

Evan’s mother, Sarah Baird, said he has traumatic brain injury, a shattered clavicle, a broken wrist and a fractured knee. She said the bone surrounding his left eardrum is shattered and he has been…

Sitting In with Leslie Luciano, Director of Advocacy
by djcurtin            It’s Time To Ride!

Chances are, if you’re reading this blog you like bikes like we like bikes. Be they on road or off, cargo carriers, tandems, heading to work, barreling towards a finish line, or rolling down a sidewalk to school, we love bikes and seeing people ride. But it’s not an easy thing to do for many riders in a number of parts town. And there’s plenty of trepidation for newer riders who might otherwise choose to go by bike, regardless of whether it is for leisure, …

Joe Martin Stage Race Criterium 2012
by Ken            Texas Racing Life
Because of my bike problems the day before, I was out of the stage race, and couldn’t compete in the criterium on Sunday.  So I became support for Bill, which didn’t involved much except yelling at him to move up during the crit. I really enjoyed watching the Pro crit and the Men’s 1/2 crit back to back, and to understand the differences.

From the sidelines, the pro race actually looked easier.  The lap times were about the same, but everything was much more controlled. There is so much teamwork going on. CompetitiveCyclist pretty much controlled the whole race. They have Mancebo on their team, who had the leader’s jersey the whole…

Kenny Hill Autowerks PURE Austin Driveway Album Week 7
By Driveway Bike Race Series · April 26 · · Taken at Driveway Bike Race Series (large gallery)