Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup 10/8/2013
Anybody riding Corps of Engineers parks during the Govt. shutdown?
by MMSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â forums.mtbr.com/texas
The good ol’ Government shutdown has all the Corps of Engineers parks closed. That means at least 2 of my local trails are closed (Dana Peak, Miller Springs…maybe BLORA). Does this mean they are a bust, and stay away…or are they still rideable? Don’t particularly wanna go to jail or pay any fines…but road riding sucks. …(several replies)
Aurora Ciclovia – October 18th
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
BFOC Start: Ten Bells Tavern, 232 W 7th St, Dallas, TX 75208
Time: Meet up 6:30, Roll Out 7pm sharp
Grab your glow sticks and your LEDs! Bike Friendly Cedars is hosting the City’s largest lighted ride and bike competition. BFOC will ride from Bishop Arts down to the Main Street Gardens where we’ll meet up with other…
Why I ride, and why more women should too!
www.wheelbrothers.com
Hello. My name is Rachel, and I’m a bicycling addict (Insert a collective, sympathetic, “Hello, Rachel†from the group here).
And I’m not alone. There are thousands of us. Yes, I know, most of us don’t have boobs, but that’s gonna change. In fact, it is changing.
But I’ve been thinking: Why don’t more women ride? Let’s see.
Safety? Women, being the more rational creature (admit it, boys), are the more safety conscious. For starters, San Antonio has a scarcity of bike lanes, and a city without bike lanes is a city of non-bike-lane-conscious drivers, from texting teens (“LOL. Where? Me too!â€) to harried parents tying to…
Tern offering bike shares at Austin eco conference
by BRAIN Staff
AUSTIN, TX (BRAIN) — Tern is offering share bikes for the second annual South by Southwest Eco conference, held in Austin this week. For several years, Tern has offered bike shares at Austin’s larger SXSW music and technology gatherings held in March.
The SXcycles bike share program at SXSW Eco 2013 is presented by Tern and the city of Austin. Tern folding bikes are available to conference attendees to get around town.
“Explore the real Austin by bike this week,†said Andrew McCalla, project manager at…
El Paso City Council approves modified bike share program
By Aaron Bracamontes / El Paso Times
The El Paso City Council will move forward on a $400,000 pilot BikeShare Program that would include six stations around Downtown and the University of Texas at El Paso.
Council decided to support the plan during this morning’s meeting. Originally, council approved a 20-station plan that would use an additional $1.6 million of federal money from the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program, or CMAQ.
The money is managed by the Texas Department of Transportation, which said it would not…
Marathon to Dryden and beyond: A downhill day
by Mark         www.brothersbikeride.com
Tuesday October 8, 2013, 86 miles (138 km) – Total so far: 342 miles (551 km)
Cowboy Mark Starts a Stampede
by Tim      www.brothersbikeride.com
Marathon to Somewhere East of Dryden
I am sitting outside our motel in Sanderson, TX, looking at the sky as the sun is setting. The puffy clouds are orange and purple against a blue sky. Another spectacular day in West Texas.
When we pulled out of Marathon this morning, Mark announced that he was going to entertain Brian and I today. (He entertains us every day). After passing a herd of deer and a few elk during the first 15 miles, we started seeing cattle grazing along the fence next to the road. (Point of interest, there has been a fence along both sides of the road this entire trip.) I don’t know what…
Day 5: Marathon to 10 miles past Dryden, TX – our longest ride on L3
by Brian      www.brothersbikeride.com
Today’s ride of 85.5 miles was our longest but not the most difficult. And we were all in pretty good spirits, joking and teasing each other most of the way, which helped the ride go faster. At our first unplanned stop, there were cattle grazing by the road, and Mark wanted to get them stampeding; so he whistled and whooped and got them running, kicking up clouds of dust and “sort of†stampeding. But it was just funny to see that…
Fort Davis to Marathon, TX: A little detour but worth it
by Mark         www.brothersbikeride.com
Monday October 7, 2013, 55 miles (89 km) – Total so far: 257 miles (414 km)
Since we have Beth’s limousine and bicycle taxi service at our disposal, we decided to get dropped off in Fort Davis instead of back in Marfa and ride from there to Alpine, TX and on to Marathon. The distance is the same and we wanted to see at least some of the Davis Mountains if we could. It was a good decision. The ride to Alpine was downhill and beautiful. The starting temp was about 50 and winds were not a factor. Once we were back on Rt. 90, the riding was very similar to what…
Race Preview – San Antonio CX, It’s a Bexar! October 12-13, 2013
joeyTWOwheels
Week two, bitties! Let’s keep this mo rolling.
We’re off to Alamo city, home to amazing tacos and some of the fastest guys in our races. Drew Akin of Kickstand Racing answered a few questions and we got a local to give us some extra flair. …
Tour to the Lake 2013
by Eliot Landrum       www.bikingindallas.com
For the past several years, Switching Gears Cyclery has hosted a “Tour to the Lake†overnight camping expedition (also known as a “s24o“: sub-24 hour overnight). This year I was finally able to participate and enjoy the weekend escape. The crew meets up at BuzzBrews in Deep Ellum, home to Fixed Touring‘s weekly rides, and sets off for a 35 mile ride to Cedar Hill State Park at Joe Pool Lake.
I was uncertain of going until I got Saturday morning calls from Clifford and Zach, so I quickly took my pup to boarding, grabbed some essentials from the grocery store, and…
Rail Trail Updates
Bike Denton
Beyond the popular MLK Jr. Pedestrian bridge over Loop 288, the City has been keeping an eye on further ways of improving the look and amenities of the Rail Trail from the DCTA Transit Center down through Hickory Creek.
They currently have a vote taking place on EngageDenton to gather public input on benching and other resting amenities. My vote is for Benching option A, but…
Tweets
This Saturday is our last official #WomensRideDay event of 2013! Be sure to join us and RSVP today! http://t.co/2KnvDO4PFq
— Bicycle Sport Shop (@BSS_Austin) October 8, 2013
Cyclists, not too late to sign up for the Marfa 100, most scenic ride anywhere. http://t.co/H8QNcOBJmO FB page: http://t.co/18FJOD0fHb
— Beth Nobles (@trailgirl) October 8, 2013
