Texas Bicycling News Digest February 17th 2018
Winter Texas MTB Tour
cyclesinlife.com
I joined one of my best friends this past week for a tour of some of Texas’s MTB offerings. We rode some trails in Austin and then headed to Palo Duro Canyon. It was a fun week of car camping and riding some tech in mostly sunshine.
We started in Austin Texas riding at Pace Bend. It was a neat place with some rocky riding. It’s nice to be able to start and end rides from your campsite. There’s about 13 miles of trail that weaves around the peninsula that varies from windy rocky fun to smoother dirt and flow. …
Author and Cyclist Andrew Tilin Dies in Collision
Alex Heard | www.outsideonline.com
Andrew Tilin, a former Outside editor, a longtime contributor, and a close friend to many people affiliated with the magazine, has been killed in a traffic-related accident that occurred early on the morning of February 17 in Austin, Texas.
Law enforcement details are not yet available, but a spokesman for the Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed that a life-threatening accident involving a male in his fifties occurred near the intersection of Marshall Ford Road and …
Outside Magazine says one of their contributors killed in RM 620 crash
kxan.com
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Outside Magazine is reporting that a cyclist who died after being struck by a car near Lake Travis Saturday morning was one of their contributors.
The magazine says that Andrew Tilin, 52, was riding his bicycle in a group ride on Ranch to Market 620 near Marshall Ford Road when his bicycle had a flat tire and he pulled off the road to fix it. They said a passing vehicle skidded on slick pavement, hit another vehicle, which in turn struck Tilin. …
Man injured after his bicycle is struck by a car in Bryan
www.theeagle.com
A bicyclist was injured Friday evening after he was hit by a vehicle on Texas Avenue in Bryan. ​
According to Bryan police, first responders were called to the intersection of South Texas Avenue and Inwood Drive just after 6 p.m. A bicyclist was attempting to make his way across the intersection, and pulled out in front of a vehicle being driven by a teenager, police said.
The man received non-life threatening injuries, and was taken to a local hospital.
The teenager was not cited in this incident. …
Full Loop – Odessa Mountain Bike Park
www.mtbproject.com
Must be a PBBA member for access. Scan code/website at the front gate to pay online before use. Only $25/year per person for access. Helmets must be worn by all riders.
It’s great to have some off-road areas to ride in the west Texas flat desert!
Family Friendly: All the trails are in close proximity with a covered patio area to hang out.
Dogs: Off-leash
Need to Know
Membership is required. Helmets are required.
Description
West Texas is known to be flat. The PBBA and City of Odessa did a great job utilizing two caliche pits to create a great place to ride. This ride is made up of the Green Trail loop of 3-4 miles which is for beginners and the Blue Trail loop that combines around 9 miles of trail (in total). For more advanced riding, there are some Red/Black “expert” trails which can add some more miles. …
Coast to Coast US Tour via Southern Route
By Nicholas Gimbrone | www.crazyguyonabike.com
That’s it… I’m doing this!
Saturday May 27, 2017
I’ve signed up to do a US “coast to coast” (San Diego to St. Augustine) bicycle tour in March & April of 2018! This has been on my bucket list for over 20 years now… and this journal is about the realization of that dream.
The $ has been sent in, commitments are made to ride my bike from coast to coast… now to prepare!
How I decided to do THIS ride…
Tuesday August 29, 2017
In the past the big blockers on doing this have been:
a) having time available to do it at a pace I can actually achieve (I’m no longer up to 3 weeks of PAC Tour’s 100+ miles daily pace, and really only ever was up to back to back 125-ish mile days);
b) finding a logistics company to remove the logistical hassles for me… for me this really was THE key question (forgive me for going into it more below, but I can’t stress how important it was for me).
Until my retirement, time pretty much eliminated the option. While I could (and still can) imagine doing a crossing in 4 weeks, I doubt it would be anywhere near the fun that a 7 week crossing will be… stopping to take flower pictures (etc) is a part of the fun. …
Storm ravaged TX
Saturday September 2, 2017
Rt 10 in eastern TX has been (literally) under water… Will riding thru the Houston TX area still by then be like riding through a disaster area? Will the displaced fire ants still be a problem for camping? I’m counting on these logistics being handled by others and trying to put the fear out of mind.
Travel Plans All Set
Wednesday October 18, 2017
Travel plans to the start of the trip in San Diego have been firmed up. My wif & I will be traveling via AmTrak, realizing another item from our bucket lists of a cross country train trip, complete with sleeper car. This is exciting!
The plan for after the ride continues to be that the wif will meet us in FL and we will drive back up the coast to home.
One of the niceties of these plans is that the wif will get to see our ceremonial wheel dipping at both ends of the tour! 😉
The start of the long, cold, damp training months just before the ride…
Sunday November 5, 2017
It is getting cooler & wetter here in on the east coast, cutting into my riding. I’m supplementing regular 60 mile rides with 2-7 mile walks on the less pleasant days, and past years’ experiences make me confident that I’ll still get enough winter riding (and exercise) in to be fully ready for the physical side of this ride.
Bye Bye Tiferme: The bike has been shipped, training is done…
Friday February 16, 2018
The bike went off to the shop yesterday for shipping (via BikeFlights, a FedEx reseller specializing in bikes) to the ride start… no more riding until I pick it up a few days before day 1 of the ride.
Riding this winter has, as always, been a bit “catch as catch can”, with 500-600 mile months being typical (both past years and this). February would likely be similar if it were a full month of riding, but that is not to be due to the shipping time requirements. As it is, the 230 miles I got in this rainy month will have to do, backed up with lots of walks (46 miles so far). …
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfUVIGUB6wC/
Ride Santa Ana: Refuge weighs cycling, geocaching pursuits
By RICK KELLEY | www.valleymorningstar.com
HARLINGEN — Cycling and geocaching have been the most talked about among eight refuge uses which are being reviewed as being appropriate to start or to continue at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.
“Several years ago, before the flood in 2010, bicycling had kind of evolved from a few at a time to where it got really popular, and it got going before we …
28th annual Jalapeño 100 Bike Ride forges ahead despite strong winds
FREDDY GONZALEZ | www.valleymorningstar.com
HARLINGEN — The wind was harsh, but the smiles were prevalent at the 28th annual Jalapeno 100 Bike Ride on Saturday.
With winds gusting well over 20 mph across Cameron and Willacy counties, the push of air made riding a little more difficult, but it also made finishing much more satisfying. …
Texas Bicycling from Twitter
Sun morning looks pretty good – gonna ride! All groups headed EAST! Let's get out and RIDE!… https://t.co/ObauyIAzZP
— Shawnee Trail CC (@ShawneeTrailCC) February 18, 2018
Got in some time with my MTB pic.twitter.com/wVhtRqbpqp
— Daniel Cruz (@DCRUZ547) February 18, 2018
— Stefan Rothe (@stefanrothe) February 17, 2018
Sharing the City with Bike Share https://t.co/NtP4OEy16v pic.twitter.com/XlPNM8RL3x
— Bike Friendly OC (@BikeFriendlyOC) February 17, 2018
Rider down in Austin. Any news on this? https://t.co/GPqbFvjuVe
— Bat City Cycling (@batcity) February 17, 2018
reset at the bell in men's A. Josh now on the attack with Glace & Reed from UT & TAMU. 30s to the field.
— MSU Cycling Team (@MSUCyclingTeam) February 17, 2018
We need to announce some open positions, but first let’s thank the person who filled one of those – April Desch…. https://t.co/FrewANnaMg
— DORBA (@dorbaonline) February 17, 2018
Mens A race, 2 laps of 7 complete. @pablocesarcruz solo off the front with a 2 minute gap to the field. Chase… https://t.co/8D5Ro9hWXV
— MSU Cycling Team (@MSUCyclingTeam) February 17, 2018
Mens A are off on gravel roads under cloudy skies at TAMU. pic.twitter.com/5D1LCOitoT
— MSU Cycling Team (@MSUCyclingTeam) February 17, 2018
@MSUCyclingTeam leaves @MidwesternState today on the way to compete at @tamucycling this weekend
Good luck! @Ameless_F @Joshua_Buchel @PabloCesarCruz @aissirb_m @shipleysuzanne1 pic.twitter.com/GhaHq0657X
— Hotter'n Hell 100 (@HotternHell100) February 17, 2018
New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar
New Event Ride the Campion Trail – Irving, TX For full details, including the address, and to RSVP see: https://t.co/tafgIul45y
Let's start to take advantage of the extra day light and ride from the Yard House in Irving down the Campion Trail. We can e… https://t.co/iOB6SfYgqn
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) February 18, 2018
New Event Government Canyon [Very SLOW Night Ride] – San Antonio, TX For full details, including the address, and to RSVP see: https://t.co/F4QnP3Cpcf
Lets try a Mountain Bike night ride at the government canyon front-country trails.
There is a fee of … https://t.co/fkQCodJimR— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) February 18, 2018