Texas Bicycling Daily News Roundup January 22nd
Hill Country Ride for AIDS kickoff party Thursday
By Pam LeBlanc      www.austin360.com
This year will mark the 15th anniversary of the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, which raises money for non-profits that work with people in Central Texas living with HIV or AIDS.
A kickoff party for the ride is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at Zach Theatre, 1510 Toomey Road. The ride itself is April 26.
If you’re thinking about doing the ride – which includes 13, 27, 53, 70 and 100-mile options – drop by, enjoy appetizers and…
San Antonio B-Cycle
WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT Siclovia ON MARCH 30TH!!!! MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND BUY YOUR B-CYCLE MEMBERSHIP AHEAD OF TIME
Girls Mini-Camp at the RPR RoundUp:
www.texasmtb.org/
Calling all dirt-shredding girls in the Texas League… here’s an event just for you! We’re planning a girls-only mini-camp on the Saturday before the first race of the season. This will be a chance for any female rider to get some practice and feedback on her riding skills in a welcoming environment for any and all questions. Coaches Ali Wilkerson and Kim Topp, A&M Consolidated Team will be leading the Mini-Camp.
The mini-camp will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday 8 February at Reveille Peak Ranch. We’ll have bike stands and tools available for a quick maintenance check of all bikes, so you’ll have a chance to ask…
El Paso Puzzler- A rocky rough good time!
Devon Balet      www.mountainflyermagazine.com
EL PASO, Texas- The El Paso Puzzler is considered one of the hardest mountain bike races in Texas, and is arguably one of the toughest 50 mile races in the nation. With endless rocky trails, the riding is demanding from start to finish. “I’ve been riding for 12 years,” said DJ Singh, one of the event’s organizers. “I’ve ridden many races in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. There are some races in Colorado with a climb of 2,000 vertical feet in one section, but nothing where it is a constant pounding, rocky terrain like El Paso.”
The El Paso Puzzler takes place in the rugged Franklin Mountains within the Franklin Mountain State Park. It is the largest urban park in the nation lying completely within city limits, covering…
Sweet Rolls
By Stephen Weber and Cindy Weber
Day 30: To Odessa,TX
Saturday January 18, 2014
Friday began as all our recent mornings began. Load up, breakfast in some cafe, grocery store for supplies and then hit the road. We were enjoying the morning ride about 12 miles east of Marathon,TX on. Hiway 90, the Southern Tier Route, facing a slight headwind but still maintaining good speed. As we rode helping to break the wind for each other, Cindy was behind me and a little offset to the left side for better drafting.
With no warning suddenly she was struck on her left side by what turned out to be a large pickup truck pulling a large, empty horse trailer. Cindy suffered numerous injuries to the left side of her upper body. The driver stopped and returned. I instructed him to call 911 immediately which he did. He then informed me that he had been on his cell phone and never saw us.
The location of Texas 90 where she was hit is very remote, a quiet road with little traffic and it is easy to see how a driver would be tempted to take care of business by phone while driving. Yet the consequences as we are experiencing are so high.
We waited an hour for EMS to arrive and begin to help stabilize Cindy’s injuries. Then it was an hour back down 90 to the town of Alpine where we were met by the trauma team. The team in Alpine did a great job assessing her, especially realizing she had a hemothorax and contused left lung which they treated immediately to alleviate the chest wall pressure. They prepared Cindy for a Life Flight to the regional medical center (MCH) in Odessa, about 150 miles north of Alpine. Once here, about five hours after she was struck, the trauma team began to put together a plan to address her injuries. Cindy has a compound fracture of her upper arm, a crushed left elbow and broken left wrist. She had surgery last night to stabilize the arm and treat for infection and will undergo surgery to repair her arm this coming week. Of more initial concern is a fracture in the cervical area (C7). She has good circulation and feeling but will have surgery Sunday on her neck. She has no neurological deficit which we are thankful for. She also has several broken ribs as well as…
Sweet Rolls
By Stephen Weber and Cindy Weber
Day 32: Medical Center Hospital – Odessa, TX: The Gifts in the Middle of Tragedy
Tuesday January 21, 2014
Dear Friends,
It has now been 72 hours since our trip across the Southern Tier came to an instant end when Cindy was struck from behind by a pickup truck on Highway 90 in south Texas, about 1300 miles into a west-east ride. The trauma of the first hours is behind Cindy but we are beginning to get a picture of what the arduous road ahead entails. Since the previous post the extent of her injuries has become more clear. In addition to the burst fracture of the C7 vertebrae which was successfully operated on Sunday morning, she has a severely shattered left elbow joint which is now being evaluated by the orthopedic surgeon to determine if the repair surgery should be done here in Odessa or at another location. Complicating the delicate elbow restoration is the compound fracture of her upper left arm (humerus) and her left wrist. Further evaluation has determined she has 9 broken ribs on her left side along with the hemothorax (punctured lung) and a broken left scapula. Breathing is shallow and very painful.
Before I give a report on her cervical surgery I want to express how much each one of the guestbook posts has meant to us during this time. As they come in at a steady pace I read them to Cindy and they have brought such encouragement and strength. They are not simple platitudes but represent to us the heart and soul of so many friends and strangers who each have given us pause and resilience, rooted in love and care. Thank you all. We don’t feel so alone in all of this.
As I mentioned Cindy’s surgery to repair the burst vertebrae went very well. Her surgeon stopped by today to review the post-operative plan and shared that he had never seen anything like what he saw with Cindy’s injury. In all the other cases he has seen in which a patient had a similar fracture, the end result was paralysis. He said it was a true miracle that Cindy has no deficits from the shattered part of her…
Rocky Mountains to Hilton Head SC via gulf coast
By William Farynaz
Esparenza to Van Horn
Tuesday December 10, 2013, 52 miles (83 km) – Total so far: 885 miles (1,424 km)
SAN DIEGO to KEY WEST
By Linda Genest
Day 20 El Paso to Fort Hancock, TX: Goathead Territory
Sunday January 2, 2011, 51 miles (82 km) – Total so far: 932 miles (1,501 km)
Temp 47
We left our Quality Inn in El Paso at 9am after enjoying our minimally discounted breakfast at their attached restaurant. A greater benefit was the convenience and the saving of our time. It is only a little warmer than yesterday. We are still traveling in wind pants and lots of layers but today, we were able to shed the wind jackets for longer periods of time. With only a 180 ft total climb for the day, we had 50m of mostly flat easy roads. The scenery was kind of boring but we cruised along at a quick pace for most of the day.
January Fun Ride!
Corpus Christi Cycle Club
When: Saturday, January 25, 2014
Time: 7:30am
Where: 801 E Broadway Ave, Portland, TX 78374
Who: Any & All local or visiting Cyclists who want to join us for a fun/social ride and can ride a distance of ~ 65 miles (with refueling stops at mile 20 & 42). We will have 2 groups to accommodate a larger number of local cyclists. Group 1 will ride at an average pace of 16-18 MPH, and Group 2 will ride at an average pace of 14-16 MPH. Each Group will have a dedicated SAG Support Vehicle. This is a fun/social ride, and NOT a Hammerfest or Race Pace ride!
What: Come on out and join us for a fun & social ride and explore one of the beautiful routes South TX has to offer – just over the bridge. A SAG Supported ~64 mile loop starting in Portland, heading out on 181 toward Sinton, then heading West on…
29th Annual Super Bowl Sunday Ride
Greater Dallas Bicyclists
February 2, 2014
Cycling enthusiasts will ride from sites all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex to the West End in Dallas for the 29th annual Greater Dallas Bicyclists Super Bowl Sunday Ride. For the past 28 years, GDB has partnered with bike shops and bicycle clubs all over the metroplex to host a bicycle ride that starts everywhere in Dallas-Fort Worth and converges on the West End in downtown Dallas. The ride is free, the people are fun, and the food is great, so don’t miss this DFW cycling tradition
Find a start location near you, show up at the designated time, and pedal through the streets of Dallas and surrounding cities with plenty of friends. If you wear spandex, wear your club, team, or cycling store jersey. If you’re into fixies, cruisers, critical mass, or cycle chic, we’d love to see you too! This is an event for ALL cyclists!
Here are the meet up locations, start times, mileages, and…
To wave or not to wave: is it even a question?
www.peopleforbikes.org
One fall morning last year, our president, Tim Blumenthal, arrived at the PeopleForBikes office with a new resolution. “I vow to say ‘hi’ to every other bike rider I pass on my way to work,†Tim declared. “Every bike ride should be a celebration. I’m happy when I’m riding my bike. At the very least, I should muster a smile for the fellow riders I encounter. There’s no room for being smug.â€
This idea of Tim’s got the rest of us thinking. Why should we acknowledge other bicyclists, and how should we do it? And what would it look like if every rider did this?
It’s safe to say that greeting another bicyclist—whether it’s with a nod, a smile, a wave, a bell ding, or even a “helloâ€â€”can’t hurt, perhaps except in special situations. If you’re flying down a…
Bicyclist injured in collision with Metro rail car
By James Pinkerton      www.chron.com
A bicyclist was taken to the hospital after being hit by a Metro rail train Wednesday afternoon at a crosswalk at Main and Hogan streets, Metropolitan Transit Authority officials confirmed.
Margaret O’Brien-Molina, a Metro spokeswoman, said the accident was reported at 5:30 p.m. and involved a 52-year-old man. The bicyclist had contusions to his head and was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, she said.
“The person apparently was at the intersection, at the crossing, and it was a cyclist. All I have is the initial call, and the person was struck by one of our light rail vehicles,” said O’Brien-Molina. “I do not know if the person…
2014 Week 1 Training – Sweat and Gears
www.turnincranks.com
Well, my official week 1 training is complete. I say official because unofficially, I started a week prior to that! But the first week consisted of mainly fitness and power tests, as well as some ‘warm up’ riding to get back into the groove.
I haven’t spent much time on the bike in a couple of months so I hit the ground running to get things kicked off.
I added a Stages Power Meter to my road bike and have been exploring training with power. It has also given me new drive to…
Cycling 101: Pedaling
www.wheelbrothers.com
Wheelbrothers is excited to have Shannon Burke as a guest today. Shannon shares a little about pedaling and what a major impact it has on your performance…
Cycling 101 Pedaling
There are many different ways to become a better cyclist, but one of the easiest and most effective ways is to simply focus on pedaling. While everyone understands the importance of pedaling in propelling you forward, not everyone understands how proper technique and cadence can improve your overall experience on the bike.
Next time you ride, put your mind on your pedal stroke and think about these aspects of pedaling:
FORM: Are my toes pointing down? When we first learned to ride a bike, we simply pushed down on the pedals. In doing so, most of us acquired the habit of pointing our toes when pushing. That’s actually inefficient and limits how your leg muscles engage in pedaling. Try to keep your feet flat. A proper pedal stroke is similar to wiping…
Fossil 50 Challenge
www.texasmountainbiketrails.com
If there was one race in 2013 that I really regretted missing it was The Fossil 50 Challenge.
The Fossil 50 Challenge
This is going to be one of the more difficult races we have available to us this year. The course combines 30 miles of singletrack with another 20 miles of country roads around Glen Rose Texas. You’ll start out at Solavaca Ranch with a loop of their awesome trail then take the country roads over to Dinosaur Valley State Park for a loop there. After finishing Dino Valley you jump back on the road and head back to Solavaca for a lap in the reverse direction.
Freaking Awesome route!
Last year in 2013 it happened to fall on Father’s Day which kept me from being able to ride. I remember seeing the pictures that night and the next day from all my friends that went…
January 25th & 26th (Jack & Adams/Steakhouse Ride) Rides!
Steiner Ranch Cycling Club
New Kits Meeting Please meet us at The University of Texas Golf Club in Steiner Ranch in the bar area this Thursday (1/23/14) at 6pm.   This will be our first meeting to discuss the new Steiner Ranch Cycling Club kits. If you have contacts, experience or just want to be involved in helping design the coolest kits in Austin please join us this Thursday. There are going to be 4 key responsibilities that I see so we can talk about who wants to take those on. We should also include input into what we want in this new kit. We talked about high quality material, full zipper and increasing the size of the SRC logo. We talked about full sponsor vs. people paying up some amount too. We can talk about this too. I think there is another topic here we should talk about too since about half our riders don’t live in Steiner Ranch and we should somehow think how we can incorporate some props for them without diluting the Steiner Ranch Cycling Club identity.
Happy hour ends at 7pm so you might want to get to the UT Golf Club as close to 6pm as possible. I have a draft agenda we can all work with but it will totally be informal and I’ll take a lot of notes.
2014 Event Calendar Please visit our event calendar on our website at http://steinerranchcycling.com/event-calendar/ as it is starting to fill up with some great ideas for rides. Every…
Meet Our New Ride Coordinator
Plano Bicycle Association
Brad Chaney (the one on the left) has been elected our new Ride Coordinator. Meet him and all our other Board members at the PBA Holiday party on Saturday. And be sure to bring cash for the bar and cash/checks for the silent auction. There will be some really super items to…
An Old Guy On Two Wheels
Ecology Action
Mongo and I rode down to Yellow Bike to pick up the bulk cardboard that has accumulated. Some of this comes from parts and supplies shipments, some from donations boxes. Regardless of the source we could easily overwhelm our single-stream recycle bin. So we take it to Ecology Action in downtown Austin.
This was another interesting load. Not at all heavy, just a little bulky and hard to secure. But I got it figured out.
Mother Nature decided to play little tricks on my ride from the shop to the recycle center. Again cardboard is not very heavy but it makes great…
New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar
New Event: Texas Cycling Challenge – Marble Falls, TX: When: Sat Mar 8, 2014 5am to Sat Mar 8, 2014 10pm CSTW… http://t.co/CtPCcosI89
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) January 23, 2014
New Event: Texas Cycling Challenge – Marble Falls, TX: When: Sun Mar 9, 2014 12am to 3pm CDTWhere: Johnson Pa… http://t.co/xS8VxTyEhi — Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) January 23, 2014
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Tweets
#txcx cross season is not over yet! #seesaw #timcook pic.twitter.com/1QMcTM9FJE — Stefan Rothe (@stefanrothe) January 22, 2014
An amazing sunrise here in Fort Davis, Texas @ Fort Davis http://t.co/d28QdzCsHQ — Dirty Biker (@dirtybiker) January 22, 2014
MT @Siclovia: Exciting news! SÃclovÃa moves to an exciting new South Side location! http://t.co/nzE7Vmixvr
— Safe Streets Texas (@SafeStreetsTX) January 22, 2014
https://t.co/M9qcZbqJuB Texas Cycling currently ranks 12th in the nation… http://t.co/GMkE5DZFow
— UT Cycling (@UTCycling) January 22, 2014
The WTF moment of my entire LA trip… out riding (in my AB/Rev kit) & spotting a @BSS_Austin kit on the bike path. #smallworld — Duckie (@DuckieTris) January 22, 2014
#texastechcycling #westtexas #cycling #wreckem http://t.co/Vqayznl9M6 — Andrew Storm (@DrewiferdLee) January 22, 2014
