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Home→Bicycling News→Texas Bicycling News March 31st 2022

Texas Bicycling News March 31st 2022

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Coast to Coast via the Southern Tier – Spring 2022

By Fletch Dobbs | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 21 – Las Cruces, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas: On the road again!

Wednesday March 30, 2022, 60 miles (97 km) – Total so far: 821 miles (1,321 km) Well, 5 days later I’m back to riding with my friends on the ACA Southern Tier Tour.

Because of extreme winds on Tuesday, I chose to remain at my hotel one more night and join the ride this morning from Las Cruces to El Paso, TX, state numbers 4 for this tour. Winds on the ride today were also extreme but nothing like yesterday. And, the winds were west/northwest so they were our friend and helped to make the miles pass very quickly. Mileage for the group was about 6 more than me because I …

Texas Hill Country Loop 2022

By Tom Camp | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 1: Llano to Enchanted Rock State Park: Windy Windy Windy HEADWIND

Monday March 28, 2022, 41 miles (66 km) – Total so far: 41 miles (66 km) The Three Amigos started the Texas Hill Country Loop today at 9AM from Llano, TX. Phil’s son lives there and has a great place, complete with goats, chickens, and donkeys.

The first day of a tour is always tough: trying to make sure everything is working well (both the bike and the body), that the bags are not falling off the bike, making sure we have enough water and snacks, etc. Weather is always a wild card. Today the good news was that it was not raining or cold; however, the not-so-good news was that we were riding into a strong headwind the entire day. We all struggled a bit. Unfortunately, Phil began feeling progressively worse and began cramping at mile 28 of our planned 40. He opted to cash it in and hopefully will be back with …

Day 2: Enchanted Rock State Park to Fredericksburg, TX: WINDY WINDY WINDY HEADWIND

Tuesday March 29, 2022, 22 miles (35 km) – Total so far: 63 miles (101 km) As promised, we started the day by hiking up to the top of Enchanted Rock. Absolutely incredible! It was definitely worth it. There was another wind advisory today: 25 mph winds from the south gusting to 35 mph. We did not get blown off the top even though it seemed possible at times.

As we prepared to start the ride (heading to the south right into the aforementioned wind), I elected to remove the Da Brim Bike Helmet Visor as I did not want to be lifted off the bike (impersonation of Sally Field in the 1967 Flying Nun sitcom?). That turned out to be a good move as the wind seemed stronger today than it did yesterday. The weather report for tomorrow also shows a wind advisory with stronger sustained 35 mph winds. The good news is that the wind will be out of the northwest tomorrow, so we should have some tail wind for a change, or at worst, a few side winds. Tomorrow should be the last day for these crazy winds (fingers crossed).

I neglected to mention yesterday that …

Day 3: Fredericksburg, TX to Blumenthal, TX (including Luckenbach!): Windy Day: But in our favor!

Wednesday March 30, 2022, 26 miles (42 km) – Total so far: 89 miles (143 km) I forgot a couple of things to include on yesterday’s update. When we were camping at Enchanted Rock, we talked to a guy in the morning who was saying that he had some animal activity at his campsite in the middle of the night. I asked him if he knew what kind of animal it was; his response was that "it was something that knew how to work a zipper and also liked Flaming Hot Cheetos". That should narrow it down. Also, we did stay in a motel in Fredericksburg last night. That was planned and we could not have been luckier as it rained pretty hard in the middle of the night.

This morning we had to hang around Fredericksburg until 10AM to stop by another bike shop. When I got my tire replaced yesterday, it did not occur to me then that my emergency spare tubes would not work with the new tires. Hence the slight delay. While we were doing the final packing at the motel, we met the nicest couple from Iowa: Carol and Art. They are on their way back to Iowa after spending the winter in South Texas. We solved all sorts of the world’s problems in the 30 minute conversation. Art has his eye on getting a motorcycle; go for it my friend. Their picture is below. Wonderful people.

We are absolutely not going to …

Woman Tours Southern Tier

By Shelly Nevard | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 21: Van Horn, TX to Fort Davis, TX

Wednesday March 30, 2022, 91 miles (146 km) – Total so far: 1,277 miles (2,056 km) We all agreed that the Holiday Inn Express was a very comfortable hotel with good beds and pillows, plenty of outlets and a good breakfast. Marge and I set out as soon as we were allowed into the sunrise with a strong (25-30 mph) tailwind. We went 20 miles on the shoulder of Interstate 10 and in a short while we were passed by Linda, Alison, Nancy, Diane and Diane in a peloton. We got off at exit 159 for a SAG stop and got back on I 10 until exit 176 after 37.6 miles. The interstate was surprisingly easy to ride with relatively smooth pavement and just a little debris. We turned off onto TX-118 which was windy from the side. Now we were on chip seal pavement and the road started to climb. We had a second SAG stop at 46.9 miles. The scenery was rocky, with mountainous outcroppings with occasional groups of cattle. I thought I had …

Best/safest streets to enter and exit Bray’s Bayou between roughly Buffalo Speedway and TMC? from bikehouston

TRAVELS WITH TOBY WEEK FOUR: Waltzing (slowly) across Texas

By BJ Drye | www.thesnaponline.com

… Monday, March 28, Day 18 Valentine to Alpine, Texas

Upon emerging from my tent a little after dawn, I found Keith outside with his camera looking to the east.

“I think we’ve got us a UFO,” he told me.

Sure enough, looking to the east down US 90 was an object in the sky, not moving, which looked to have the shape of an enormous trout.

Having never heard of “West Texas Flying Fish” and knowing that most UFO sightings in the southwest seem to be around Roswell, New Mexico, we debated what, if not of alien origin, the object could be. Unable to come to a consensus, we figured since we were headed in that direction, we would keep an eye on it and hopefully find out.

Once again, the towns we would pass were significantly spaced out. The first (Marfa) was about two-thirds of the way toward our end …

… Wednesday, March 30, Day 20 Alpine to Sanderson, Texas

Well, the wind did stay behind us. Unfortunately, when we awoke this morning it was a 30 mph sustained “breeze” with occasional gusts to 55, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a “high wind warning,” advising all “high profile vehicles” to stay off the road.

As far as we were concerned, our bicycles were “high profile” enough that we didn’t need to fight that wind, so we decided to hold off until later in the morning to see if the wind would die down.

By 11 a.m., the wind had indeed eased up enough to lead the NWS to …

Austin cyclist OK after being hit by car that sped off

by: Monica Madden | www.fox44news.com

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin man’s evening bike ride almost turned deadly, after video shows a car hitting the cyclist on Riverside Drive and then speeding off.

A video captured by a bystander shows cyclist Nick Gardiner riding in front of the Long Center, when a car appearing to change lanes hits Gardiner and drives off. He said it happened a little before 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Austin Police said the incident occurred near the 700 block of W. Riverside Drive.

You can see Gardiner roll over from the impact almost three times before he makes his way to the sidewalk and collapses on a grassy area.

In the video, bystanders run by to attend to the cyclist and make sure he is OK. The …

Video: Bike trail from Odessa to Midland getting closer to reality

By Joshua Skinner | www.cbs7.com

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) – Plans are underway for a lengthy new bike trail in the Permian Basin.

“The road-related bike paths are sporadic and short,” said avid biker Justin Haslip, who owns Peyton’s Bikes.

It’s a common complaint from residents. Midland-Odessa isn’t known for its bike-friendly roads, especially for commuters.

Haslip knows this intimately.

He was one of three cyclists struck by a drunk driver in April 2018.

Haslip survived. The other two cyclists, Mike Mestes and Camron Stotts, did not.

“Several cracked ribs, fractured vertebrae, punctured lung, broken collarbone, and massive nerve and muscle damage mostly above the waist,” Haslip recalled.

That’s why he’s excited to see the …

UTA receives Bike Friendly University recognition

By Jonathan Perriello | www.theshorthorn.com

The League of American Bicyclists, an advocacy group dedicated to educating about and promoting biking, recognized UTA with a Bike Friendly University award March 9.

UTA received the bronze level, one placement above an honorable mention, and was one of 33 universities awarded.

The Office of Sustainability, which manages the university’s bike share program, decided to apply for the league’s award to remain in step with other UT System schools, chief sustainability officer Meghna Tare said.

In spring 2021, Tare and sustainability coordinator Bhargavi Jeyarajah, who together make up the sustainability office, had a preliminary meeting about the application and …

Texas Biking from Twitter

New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar

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About Rick Ankrum

In 1999 I had a burning desire to create a web site focused on Texas bicycling. Over the years this web site has existed many people have visited. As I think of information I need to bicycle I add them to the web site.

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