Tyler Bicycle Club Meeting, January 9, 2012
Please join us for an important Tyler Bicycle Club meeting on January 9th at First Christian Church. (Corner of Broadway and the Loop). The meeting will start promptly at 6:30 PM.  Park on the Broadway side of the church and enter the building to the left of the sanctuary door (admin area). We will have someone stationed at the door to guide you to the room. There are several items on the B & B agenda that we need help with. Please show up!  Thanks to you all for your support of the club and the the Beauty and the Beast Bicycle Tour!
Agenda items include:
-election of board officers for 2012
-update from the trails and paths committee (Lindsey Park)
-planning of the Beauty and Beast. (exciting updates and several key needs)

Triple Eight recalls 30,000 kid helmets
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN)—Triple Eight Distribution is working with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall more than 30,000 kids helmets that do not comply with CPSC safety regulations.

The helmets were sold under the Little Tricky, Triple 8 and Sector 9 brands in bike and sports store and other outlets between August 2006 and November 2011. …

Loving the Commute: Edition #2
by Darryl
This is Edition two of a series on bicycle commuting by guest contributor, Aaron Madrid. These posts are all about Aaron’s experiences as a newcomer to commuting, and he’s here to share it with you.  We’re hoping this series will encourage you to become a commuter yourself?  Be sure to check out Loving the Commute: Edition #1 as well.

Loving the Commute: An Interview With Mike Kumlin
by Aaron Madrid
Mike Kumlin is a New England resident that I met several years ago at my first New York Comic Con. We became friends thanks to twitter and other various social networking sites and eventually he gave me my first opportunity to try on my writing legs. Since then we have stayed pretty close. Mike’s decision to get off the couch and get back in shape was one that inspired me to do the same. Mike’s advice was invaluable when I got…

The first one about the water bottle freezing is foreign to me but I guess that could happen somewhere in Texas.

10 Worst Mistakes to Make Winter Riding
by Singletrack.com
We’ve all done it: overestimated the temperature outside, hammered up a climb in the cold only to freeze in our own sweat on the descent, put on that extra pair of socks in an attempt to keep feet warm only to have all blood circulation cut off from the tight fit, accidentally stayed out after the sun had dipped below the horizon. There are hundreds of ways to mess up a winter ride with more dire consequences in the winter than the summer.

There are a few classic mistakes, that when avoided, can greatly enhance a winter riding experience. This is by no means an exhaustive list of things that can go wrong, and each point has a dozen variations, but the next…

College Active Transportation Safety
by donna@biketexas.org (Donna Hoffman)
BikeTexas’ College Active Transportation Safety CATS Course

Texas colleges and universities are promoting walking and cycling. They are solving parking problems, accommodating economic abilities, addressing sustainability and air quality concerns, and encouraging active, safe and healthy lifestyles for students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

Texas has the third highest number of annual bicyclist fatalities in the U.S.  The majority (70%) of those fatalities occurred in urban areas.  College students moving into urban areas to begin post-secondary studies are more economically and socially inclined to walk or cycle – some of them for the first time and…

This has past but I wanted to recognize the event.

Celebrate the Fort Worth Avenue Bike Lane Fundraising Campaign! Friday Jan 6
by The Announcer Guy
It just goes to show you that public and private sector partnerships can make things happen. Hopefully this effort will become a blueprint for others that want to see cycling improvements in their own neighborhoods. …

Dear Angry Bearded Man …
By Pam LeBlanc        Fit City
I hope your day gets better.

It can’t be pleasant starting your day (a Friday, for goodness sake!) by shouting obscenities at a couple of folks riding their bikes along Winsted Lane.

I know, I know. It was 6:30 a.m. and you hadn’t had your coffee yet. Maybe your girlfriend kicked you out of bed. Maybe you were even late to work.

That might explain why you roared south on Winsted in your late model car, traveling well above the speed limit. …

Early regiment got in gear with trek
By Bill Cullins            San Angelo Standard-Times
Do you think you’re a strong cyclist, able to ride long distances in harsh conditions over rough terrain? Could you do a long bike tour carrying camping equipment and food on your bike?

If so, try replicating the ride that a group of Army soldiers in the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps did in June and July 1897.

As part of a “field test” to determine the effectiveness of bicycles for transporting infantry troops long distances, this group of hardy cyclists rode, pushed and carried…

Biking community pushes for safer roads

AMARILLO, Texas – On the heels of a tragic incident, Amarillo’s biking community continues to push for safer roads.

46-year-old David Isom and 47-year-old Anna Isom of Amarillo were riding their bikes together Thursday when a car struck them, claiming David’s life and leaving Anna hospitalized at Northwest Texas Healthcare, where she remains in critical condition.

Amarillo’s Share The Road chapter president, Kenneth Graham, says it is the fourth fatal…

NICA High School Cycling News Round-up
By: Cycling News
…In 2012, three new leagues will each run a race series: Minnesota, Texas and Utah. This rapid growth is expected to double the number of student athletes to more than 2,000 overall. NICA plans 32 races in 2012, 21 camps for student athletes, an expected 220 teams, and an expected 690,000 hours of student athlete participation. …

Charlie writes “
Old Tascosa Cycling Club
Yesterday was another sad day for bicyclers in our area. I happened to ride upon the accident and saw firsthand just how tragic an accident like this can be. I woke up this morning thinking about what we can do as a club to make our area more bicycle friendly. A few suggestions are: have more frequent meetings with programs, outreach to local civic clubs to provide speakers for club meetings, try to get to speak at small towns along our regular bicycling routes so that we can communicate to the farmers and ranchers who we share the secondary roads with. The terrible accident yesterday won’t stop the national trend of having more and more bicyclers on the nation’s roadway. OTC will continue to grow and we need to grow our programs to meet the needs of our membership. We’re about to be put on the map as Adventure Cycling completes the Route 66 bicycle route mapping. By next summer, we should start seeing “thousands” of bicyclers coming through the Panhandle on the Route 66 tour. This means the…