Today’s Texas Bicycle News
The Joy of Bicycling in Austin
By Kevin Curtin | www.austinchronicle.com
A one-person sociological study of springtime biking where every ride is his favorite
Many nights I’ve made this climb. Eight stories up on two wheels with one destination: the top of an unmanned parking structure reserved for state employees. It’s a million-dollar view of Downtown Austin, free to innocent trespassers.
I’ve come here to clear my head, but first I’ll break a sweat because my impulsive ass happens to be riding upon the heaviest bike on planet Earth – a 1960s Royal De Luxe three-speed that’s so classically Dutch it looks incomplete without a large blond person riding on the cargo rack. After ascending endlessly counterclockwise on straining calves, I bump down the kickstand and dismount into my observation deck of the city’s kinetic core.
From up here, I study a flow of thousands of anonymous nightlifers strolling, stumbling, scooting, driving, and cycling among the ever-growing scape of skyrises. As I marvel at how unabashedly metropolitan this …
Progress on track with 183 North Mobility Project in Central Texas
By Sylvia SheltonBy | www.bizjournals.com
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority bringing improvements on and off the roadway in Northwest Austin
Austin’s growing list of accolades hasn’t slowed in recent years. The city has topped lists for best places to live, find work, open a startup and be happy. It’s no wonder the region continues to see tremendous growth.
Demand has led to rising housing costs in Travis County, pushing people to seek more affordable options outside of the city’s core. Perhaps this is no more apparent than in far North Austin in Williamson County, where, according to the Texas Demographic Center, the population is expected to nearly double by 2035, bringing with it an increase in commuters heading to Austin’s city center. …
… Specifically, a direct connector between the existing express lane on MoPac and the new express lanes on U.S. 183 will be built, allowing for an uninterrupted route from far North Austin and Williamson County to downtown Austin or beyond. Further, the 183 North Mobility Project will address safety concerns along the corridor by making improvements to the corridor’s bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The project will add and/or reconstruct all sidewalks along the U.S. 183 frontage roads going both north and south from SH 45 to MoPac so the community has a continuous, ADA-compliant option for pedestrians. Additionally, the project will connect existing bike lanes in the corridor with new cross-street connections and two segments of shared use path to provide cyclists a dedicated route through the heavily constrained corridor. …
Soldiers get crunk, not drunk
By Blair Dupre | www.forthoodsentinel.com
The Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program hosted their first Alcohol Awareness Month event, Let’s Get Crunk, Friday at their headquarters.
The Soldiers spent time listening to music provided by a DJ, playing pool, ping-pong, Jenga, football, basketball and cornhole, as well as grabbing food from food trucks. There were also relaxing activities including yoga and coloring, but debatably the most entertaining activity was bicycle and tricycle racing with drunk goggles.
“It’s a simulator of what it’s like when you’re driving high or drunk to see how dangerous that is,” said Sgt. Jasmine Tcha, BOSS President. “I did throw on the goggles to test them. (They were) really …
Texas Hill Country
By Mary Buchwalder | www.crazyguyonabike.com
Preface
Planning
Logistics
Adventure
Yikes: Last-minute logistics
The Drive
Parking the Car: A tale with a bit of chaos
Riding day 1: The country mouse and the city (and suburbs and more suburbs) mouse
Riding Day 2: River and lake views
Day 3 riding: Mad dogs and Englishmen: Eating my words about adventure
Day 4 Riding the hills: Oh, the flora!
Day 5 – Rest day!: My hands and sit bones thank me
Day 6 Riding: Loose livestock and sketchy cattle guards
Day 7 Riding: Lakes and hills
Wednesday April 19, 2023, 42 miles (68 km) – Total so far: 257 miles (414 km) Yes I know, dear reader, I have “hills” in the title of today’s ride, knowing full well that this is a Texas HILL Country ride. The hills were a bit different today. Granted, the initial route out of Llano sported familiar undulating ranchland and roadside flora. But the middle of today’s route was unlike earlier days. As we came to the burg of Buchanan Dam and through the mid-section of today’s route, we skirted Lake Buchanan and Inks Lake. The latter, in particular, impressed us with short, steep ups and downs, stunning rock formations and vistas. I wanted to get pictures, but I didn’t want to pause in the middle of a nice coast downhill nor, worse, lose any momentum by pausing while climbing back up. (Really, the steepness sopped up any momentum almost immediately anyway. But stopping and restarting uphill then becomes its own challenge.) If we found a place to pull off at the top of a climb, and the vistas called to me, I’d snag a pic. But I didn’t get the photos I wanted of the …
Ribbon cutting set for new hiking, biking trail in Borger
By Vanessa Garcia | www.newschannel10.com
BORGER, Texas (KFDA) – A volunteer group is hosting a ribbon cutting for a new hiking and biking trail dedicated to a Borger resident who was an avid mountain biker.
The ribbon cutting is hosted by Six Pack Outdoors for the Chad Alan Foster Memorial Trail System at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Borger. A trail ride and hike will follow immediately after the ribbon cutting.
The trail is dedicated in memory of Foster with hopes to provide an outlet for outdoor recreation. …
Southern Tier CoMotion
By Keith Misegades | www.crazyguyonabike.com
Shorter day than hoped: Fredericksburg to Kerrville Thursday April 20, 2023, 34 miles (55 km) – Total so far: 1,668 miles (2,684 km) Not a whole lot happened today. The roads were little travelled by other traffic and I went through some pretty scenery. A lot of ranches one after another, some bigger than others. One ranch, the Morris Ranch appeared to to be quite large and I think that it was the one that had the metal horse drawn carriage. Very impressive.
The hills aren’t bothering me that much anymore, I just gear down and go slower. I averaged a whopping 10 mph and have realized that in the big hills on other tours, this is about all I can do. With patience, the miles go by. The was one section of road that didn’t have a fence on one side up next to the road. I passed over a number of cattle grates which served the same purpose as fences. I think that if a person wanted to make a good living installing and fixing fences, they should do it in Texas.
I have also been using these distances to see how much …
Evening Ride San Antonio, Texas
Steve Gutierrez | strava.com
West U Trek Ride – little bit of spice Houston, Texas
Simon Mumford | strava.com
Riding In The Storm!!! San Antonio, Texas
Esther Barrientez -TEAM TACO | strava.com
VCC Tempo Thursday: Good luck Paulo on your IM on Saturday Montgomery County, Texas
Leo Vela | strava.com
Texas Biking from Twitter
Last year, we had an unforgettable time at SunCycle's Bikes & Brews event! We got to enjoy delicious craft beer & food at @Oldsheepdogeptx & @DeadBeachBrewer , & meet some wonderful people along the way.
— Sun Cycle (@SunCycleEP) April 20, 2023
Let's make this Bike Month even more memorable! https://t.co/9KFOq1Z6fA pic.twitter.com/mCz2zrMuvl
Get ready to pedal through May with Tour de Four! Explore the city's sites on 4 rides hosted by the Frisco Bike Advisory Committee on May 6 & 13. Complete 1+ rides for a Frisco Tour De Four medal? and Play Frisco swag. Join us for #TourDeFour
— Play Frisco – Parks & Recreation (@PlayFrisco) April 20, 2023
More Info: https://t.co/UiXQTW1bi2 pic.twitter.com/2pCwesdKKE
City wants $2.7 million grant to complete short section of Circle Trail https://t.co/TIrTQ5ZkzS
— Times Record News (@timesrecordnews) April 20, 2023
STOLEN – Green Jamis Citizen 2 in Houston, TX https://t.co/51EiBsP2J8
— Bike Index (@bikeindexstolen) April 20, 2023
STOLEN – Blue Diamondback Response Sport in Austin, TX https://t.co/5UHA9OPHU6 pic.twitter.com/gJGneu9dvj
— BikeIndex Austin (@stolenbikesatx) April 20, 2023
????????Share your input on the proposed Irving Bike Plan! The plan identifies priority corridors for safer bike travel in Irving. Check out the proposed plan and give your feedback by April 28. Follow the link for more information, https://t.co/mTWopXF5uc. pic.twitter.com/xoa0opisdJ
— City of Irving (@thecityofirving) April 20, 2023
A new, 2.5-mile section of off-street trail has been added to the San Jacinto Bayou Greenway project. https://t.co/UUkj9dfXZr
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) April 20, 2023
New Events Added to Texbiker.net Calendar
New Event Kids on Bikes in Parks – Austin Kids on Bikes in Parks at Austin, TXhttps://t.co/jm1Dgr3YBfhttps://t.co/urfPW3ZSaw
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
Wave 1 – Borrow a bike or bring your own 9:00 AM 1 hours 30 $0
Wave 2 – Borrow a bike or bri… https://t.co/Yd2uqI84Xp
New Event Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor – Mini Series #2 Passes & Week 7 Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor – Mini Series #2 Passes & Week 7 at Austin, TXhttps://t.co/sq7skfcgSFhttps://t.co/PBmzZC0OIf
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
… https://t.co/usGK6hrZPd
New Event Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 11 Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 11 at Austin, TXhttps://t.co/ixZDeqW2UHhttps://t.co/PBmzZC1mxN
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
Rothe Training Cat 4/5 4:00 PM 30 m… https://t.co/yJ6qbBqfIt
New Event Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 12 Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 12 at Austin, TXhttps://t.co/MjuzWQACzs
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
https://t.co/PBmzZC0OIf
Rothe Training Cat 4/5 4:00 PM 3… https://t.co/FQ2GqGiBes
New Event Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 8 Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 8 at Austin, TXhttps://t.co/Or0G6XruoQhttps://t.co/PBmzZC0OIf
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
Rothe Training Cat 4/5 4:00 PM 30 min… https://t.co/CCLlYcZUqT
New Event Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 9 Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 9 at Austin, TXhttps://t.co/8DHHOluu4Xhttps://t.co/PBmzZC0OIf
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
Rothe Training Cat 4/5 4:00 PM 30 minut… https://t.co/xE6bGSelS8
New Event CameronDuro: Texas Enduro Cup #2 – Waco, TX CameronDuro: Texas Enduro Cup #2 at Waco, TXhttps://t.co/1XvxNl7o4Qhttps://t.co/8HaDiZnO0y May 13, 2023 at 10:00AM https://t.co/VO6G6esdpW
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
New Event Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 10 Capitol Chevy DRIVEWAY SERIES presented by The Meteor Week 10 at Austin, TXhttps://t.co/plMG9lKamPhttps://t.co/PBmzZC0OIf
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) April 21, 2023
Rothe Training Cat 4/5 4:00 PM 30 mi… https://t.co/VhCli8jzub