Texas Bicycling News Digest March 26th 2016
2016 Texas Team Preview : Rock Riders Cycling
texasbikeracing.com
With a hat tip to Dallas’ most beloved fitness trail, Rock Riders Cycling participates in competitive races, charity rides, and community events to promote a healthy lifestyle through cycling in North Texas. Founded last year by four friends and cycling enthusiasts, the team includes racers and recreational riders alike.
“We are a group of guys who like racing, riding bikes, and sharing life together,†Teal Carlock, racer and …
Thief returns stolen racing bike thanks to Fox 4 photojournalist
www.fox4news.com
A University of North Texas student was sure she’d have to push back her next bike race after her expensive ride was stolen, but she had it returned today, thanks to an observant Fox 4 crew member.
Surveillance cameras at Denton’s West Oak Coffee, where 21-year-old Taylor Rector works, give a look at what happened. The video shows a tall, skinny man with long, stringy hair grab the bike, Thursday night, and leave. …
Tom Goes West 2016
By Thomas King www.crazyguyonabike.com
Day 26 – Shepherd to Anderson, TX: From Big Thicket to Big Sky
Friday March 25, 2016, 68 miles (109 km) – Total so far: 1,249 miles (2,010 km)
16% through the 1070 miles of Texas. Keep pedaling. We drove up to Shepherd to start my ride. The day started cool at 51 degrees and warmed quickly under the bright sun and clear sky. This morning a guy was photographing me as I rode by and he said “smile Tom” and it was Ari who I met the other day cycling with his sister Alex. He went to see the orthopedic doctor who recommended he quit the ride to San Diego but option 2 was to take a week off. So he rented a car and is following his sister and then will pick up the riding again. He had news of other riders and said there are more cross country riders he’s met in …
Escaping Winter : The Other Half of the Southern Tier
By Zandra Bainas and Steve Marsh www.crazyguyonabike.com
Day 21 – Van Horn to Lawrence E Woods Picnic Site: Travelling With Denny
Tuesday March 15, 2016, 111 km (69 miles) – Total so far: 1,845 km (1,146 miles)
We agreed to meet Denny at 8 am, not realizing sunrise wasn’t until 8:10 am now that we are in a new time zone. We still feel pretty tired as we got to bed at midnight and it is also unappealingly cold outside.
We are still packing up when Denny comes by in the dusk-like morning light, and we quickly stop him from rolling his bike over the grass to prevent him picking up a load of thorns. When ready, we roll out for the grocery store, then breakfast, then a pharmacy in that order. The grocery is Porters ( chain store). We successfully pick up real cheese, bananas, and chocolate covered cookies here. One of the clerks provides a recommendation and directions to Lizy’s Taquiera’s, which requires us to work our way under the interstate and through a more residential neighbourhood. Breakfast here was …
Day 22 – Lawrence E Woods Picnic Site to Alpine: Visiting the McDonald Observatory
Wednesday March 16, 2016, 86 km (53 miles) – Total so far: 1,931 km (1,200 miles)
We wake up and this morning and only start moving after the pre dawn light has lit up the tent. The sun won’t rise over the mountains until after breakfast is started (oatmeal and tea). Once the sun is out, it is certainly nice to stand in the light and absorb the heat. It was cold enough last night that some left over tea froze in a cup on the picnic table. Funny, because we found it very warm under the covers with only the winter sleeping bag in use this time. It was however really really damp, probably because the accumulated moisture just condensed in the tent as it hit the colder air just above our sleeping bag.
When we do head out, all three of us complain about having tired legs which is ironic because we have some more steep climbing to do yet before we reach the observatory. It is a beautiful morning, but it takes us 2 hours or so to reach the Observatory which is only 10 miles away. We talked with visitor reception at 11:05 am…just in time for the 11:15 tour of the observatory. Luckily there is a …
Day 23 – Rest Day in Alpine: Happy St. Patrick’s Day to Y’All
Thursday March 17, 2016
Today turned out to be a real day of rest.
Our cycling companion of the last two days, Denny, showed true hard core cycling spirit by actually heading out into the morning towards Marathon & Sanderson. We, being younger and exhausted, declared we needed at least one recovery day, and wished him a great trip onwards and downhill to Florida.
We originally thought that today we would take two rest days, rent a car, and go to Big Bend National Park for an overnight stay. Unfortunately, the rental car company in Alpine had no cars available, so we ditched the Big Bend plan for a single rest day. During the next twelve hours, we moved the tent to a real site. made and ate breakfast, did laundry, had lunch, went grocery shopping, found a drugstore, and ate much of our shopping efforts for supper.
Just before heading off for a shower, Zandra met Fran who is …
Day 24 – Alpine to Sanderson: a long but lovely day
Friday March 18, 2016, 148 km (92 miles) – Total so far: 2,079 km (1,292 miles)
OK, Here starts a bit of a gap with writing…Zandra developed a cough today, which became a head cold, which stopped the writing and upped the sleeping 😉 Not that she needed much incentive to do that! Now it’s, hmm, 8 days later, so catching up is a bit on the interesting side (what do you really remember from eight days ago)? —-
The Bakers Dozen Donuts in Alpine is actually open as we cycle into Alpine this morning on the way to Sanderson. We manage to get as far as across the road, before we turn around and go back into the bakery in search of calories. A sausage roll for Zandra and a cinnamon roll for Steve later, we leave the bakery fortified to now search out a real breakfast along the route out of town. Steve dashes on ahead to see if the Mexican restaurant ‘we had originally tried for two nights ago is open for breakfast – unfortunately not. As Zandra catches up, Steve then dashes off in another …
Where are we now
Monday February 29, 2016, 98 km (61 miles) – Total so far: 508 km (315 miles)
Gads! How do people keep their journals up to date ? Well it looks like it is almost a lost cause for us to keep our’s up todate but to let folks know where we are there is this page until we actually get the time to update the journal page for that day.
Day 2 – To Live Oak Springs (up the big climb into the second large valley after Pine Valley)
Day 3 – To El Centro. We are now in the green Oasis in the deser below sea level
Day 4 – To Glamis – wild camp just outside the Dunes park
Day 5 – To Blythe, California
Day 6 – To Hope Arizona
Day 7 – To Wickenburg Arizona
Day 8 – To Phoenix Arizona
Day 9 – rest day in Phoenix (3 March)
Day 10 – To Superior, Arizona
Day 11 – To Apache Gold Casino to camp at their RV park
Day 12 – To Safford, Arizona
Day 13 – To Coal Creek USFS campground, Arizona
Day 14 – To Silver City, New Mexico
Day 15 – Rest day in Silver City, New Mexico
Day 16 – To Kingston USFS Campground via the Santa Rita Alternate route, New Mexico
Day 17 – To Las Cruces, New Mexico
Day 18 – To El Paso, Texas …
Southern Tier Biking Adventures
By Nate Beiler www.crazyguyonabike.com
Day 32: Alpine to McDonald Observatory
Monday March 21, 2016, 45 miles (72 km) – Total so far: 2,017 miles (3,246 km)
We’ve had quite the experience now in Alpine. Even though practically everything we wanted there had been closed, we somehow still managed to get through. This morning we drove the car back to the dealer from Big Bend, said goodbye to the nice people who opened up for us the other day, and switched back to a currently more familiar method of transport: biking along at 10 or so mph. Before leaving town we stopped at a subway for lunch. While at the restaurant, the owner of the only bike shop in town (which was supposed to be closed today) happened to stop by, and seeing us, inquired if we …
Southern Tier eastward 2016
By Luba Agranovich www.crazyguyonabike.com
Luba: more riders
Saturday March 26, 2016, 34 miles (54 km) – Total so far: 1,048 miles (1,687 km)
Had a short day again in order to save our energy for tomorrow. The road was, like yesterday, quite beautiful and pleasant. Even 8 miles on I-10 with wide and smooth shoulders were great. On an access road met a couple, Bobbie and Glen, who are riding east to west. They started from St. Petersburg FL on February 1st and will turn off the Southern Tier after hitting the mountains and will continue on to Washington state. We are staying in the Desert Inn motel because it’s the closest to TX 90 where we’ll be riding tomorrow. The motel is quiote inexpensive but is very nice and clean. …
An Englishman in America
By Rob Lee www.crazyguyonabike.com
Mar 26: To Del Rio
Saturday March 26, 2016, 84 miles (135 km) – Total so far: 2,287 miles (3,681 km)
I amazed myself this morning by leaving the campsite before 8 AM. Which meant that the big family group camping next to me probably weren’t that happy with me clattering around before 6 AM…
It was a grey morning, although at least this meant that it hadn’t been cold overnight. It did however mean that nothing was looking particularly photogenic and so I didn’t attempt any photography until lunchtime!
The route initially went South along the Nueces River, before cutting West towards Brackettville. The cycling was …
Texas Bicycling from Twitter
Great Day!! Fossil 50 Winner. @rdusky99 @RichBikeMart @McKinneyVelo @Solavaca @iamspecialized pic.twitter.com/QyxXMQDpd5
— Bob Sandusky (@gdusky) March 27, 2016
Big ups to @ZahidArabFox4 for locating a bike thief in Denton and getting the bike back. Way to go! https://t.co/rmcB6TboIs @TomZizkaFox26
— John Clem (@Dolamite02) March 27, 2016
Do you know this bike/ped bridge over I-10 near @memorialpark on Cohn St? https://t.co/Q71ofRnitT @houstonbikeplan pic.twitter.com/O8Gsbb0h5T
— BikeHouston (@BikeHouston) March 27, 2016
Course update from today's scout team: "It was very clean, gravel heaven." #redriverriot
— The Spinistry (@Spinistry) March 27, 2016
Pic taken during a break from today's ride. Love this bike. 2012 @iamspecialized S-Works Tarmac SL4. pic.twitter.com/c31WjgQXro
— Daniel Cruz (@DCRUZ547) March 26, 2016
Oh the great things you see when you ride your bike pic.twitter.com/4JEkhoYnhD
— Jesus (@SrCampy) March 26, 2016
What a BEAUTIFUL day for @houparksboard #BayouGreenwayDay https://t.co/tPTVozbMQy pic.twitter.com/tdoVsjwOdo
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) March 26, 2016
And they're off! @BikeHouston's "Kidical Mass" looks like tons of fun. #BayouGreenwayDay pic.twitter.com/RCMDHEIvnA
— Houston Parks Board (@houparksboard) March 26, 2016
"Kidical Mass" about to shove off at #BayouGreenwayDay! @houparksboard pic.twitter.com/IWp5z0x8Ls
— Allyn West (@allynwest) March 26, 2016
Check out my 75.8 mile Training Ride with @thebikemasters Strava: https://t.co/tlteuFal8H#iamspecialized #S-Works #Tarmac #Vanity #Strava
— Daniel Cruz (@DCRUZ547) March 26, 2016
Let's race! pic.twitter.com/os09PNJa5b
— Preston Glace (@pgglace) March 26, 2016
Rides for all ages and all abilities start with #KidicalMass and #BikeArt with @velopaso & @EPDAFM#LetsRidehttps://t.co/pqUqIMxKk6
— Bike Hombre – STREETS ARE FOR PEOPLE (@sbwhite) March 26, 2016
Almost time to ride here @BandAgainstMS! #BikeBarnTX pic.twitter.com/BRHyiHmZtI
— Bike Barn (@BikeBarnTX) March 26, 2016
Race morning! pic.twitter.com/mLQymfzLa4
— Preston Glace (@pgglace) March 26, 2016
Matty, Parmer employee and BSS Club member, enjoying his day out at @sramroad's Open the Road tour. #opentheroad pic.twitter.com/o17ASqLFzj
— Bicycle Sport Shop (@BSS_Austin) March 26, 2016
New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar
New Event Elmendorf Ride – San Antonio, TX https://t.co/eKFmeJjSWp
San Antonio Wheelmen
This is a fairly flat, p… https://t.co/NfyuNOVIRX— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) March 27, 2016