Texas Bicycling News for November 15, 2023

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Former city councilman bikes 56 miles on 56th birthday to fundraise for student scholarships

By Jadyn Stack | www.kbtx.com

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Bryan Rotary Noon Club member and former Bryan city councilman Brent Hairston on Wednesday biked 56 miles for local student scholarships.

The Bryan Noon Rotary Club works every year to raise funds to help local students in their future education efforts with scholarships. This year, Brent Hairston decided to take an alternate route to raise funds for the students. He is asking community members to donate $56 for his 56-mile biking journey on his 56th birthday. Hairston started his journey on Nov 15 by driving to Manheim and will finish by following the 56-mile road back.

“I turned 56 last Friday and I thought it’d be fun to bicycle 56 miles on my 56th birthday,” said Brent Hairston, Bryan Noon Rotary Club member and former City Councilman. “When I was …

Bicyclist recovering from crash with train, police say

By Mary Meaux | www.panews.com

ORANGE — A bicyclist is recovering from injuries after a collision with a train Tuesday before daybreak, authorities said. Orange Police Detective Sergeant D.B. Mulhollan said the crash took place at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday at the train tracks at Bob Hall Road and Cordrey Avenue. Mulhollan said it appears the cyclist attended to cross the tracks as the train was approaching.

The man, who is about 40-years-old, police said, suffered a fractured femur and was listed in stable condition Tuesday morning.

FrankenBike San Antonio # 146: SATURDAY

by Chris | frankenbike.net

City of Paris Secures Funding for Dedicated Bicycle Lanes Linking Northeast Texas Trail to Historic Downtown

By Greenville Chronicle Staff | www.greenvillechronicle.com

In a move to enhance bicycle commuting safety and accessibility, the City of Paris in Northeast Texas has secured funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for dedicated bicycle lanes. Awarded through the Transportation Alternatives Program, the funds will support the construction of five-foot-wide bicycle lanes connecting the Northeast Texas Trail to Historic Downtown Paris.

The project, spearheaded by City of Paris Engineer Todd Mittge and Chris Donnan of Hayter Engineering, will link downtown Paris with the Trail de Paris section of the NE Texas Trail near First Street SW and Hearne Avenue. The bicycle lanes will be marked on existing pavement along each side of First Street SW, extending from West Sherman Street to Kaufman Street. …

Cool Cat Cycle’s….luv the crunch Fort Bend County, Texas

Superflyspin ? jack snider | strava.com

Active cycling, Katy Texas – shop ride Katy, Texas

Nicole Volek | strava.com

Always nice to have ride options close to home Thanks Liz Woodrow for the invite! Let’s do it again!!

Morning Ride San Antonio, Texas

Roger Ramon | strava.com

Great ride with Louis G , and Gerardo R. Chilling on the greenway and enjoying the beautiful weather!

A Little Chilly At The Start. Kingwood – FM1485 – Kingwood

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After an absence since last Thursday biking outdoors I was back on the road. Zwift riding is good but there is nothing like biking outside for me. It was a little chilly at the 10:47 AM start and I bundled up some with a long sleeve thermal jersey under a short sleeve jersey. No leg warmers though. After about 15 minutes of riding my body heat compensated for the north wind which brought some chill with it. I rode north on my Canyon Endurace CF 7 bike following my Kingwood – FM1485 – Kingwood route for the 18th time this year. The route might vary slightly from time to time. Today I rode through several Kingwood villages, Woodridge Forest, E Knox Street to US59, US59 to Community Drive and over to Loop 494. Loop 494 took me to New Caney where I saw the barriers were gone on the bridge over Caney Creek. Back to US59 I looped under the freeway to head back. The frontage road took me to Valley Ranch Parkway all the way to FM 1314. Briar Tree and Oakhurst streets to Northpark Drive were next. From there I rode on Kingwood Place to Kellington Drive and back to US59 to make the u-turn at Kingwood Drive. Through Kings Manor following a short section on Loop 494 and I was back in Kingwood finishing at 1:03 PM.

The days riding Zwift indoors might’ve rested my legs because they powered north into a 7 mph wind that increased to 13 mph by the end of the ride. I built up my average speed above 13 mph before leaving Woodridge Forest and increased it to 14 mph by the time I hit Community Drive. Making the u-turn at Caney Creek the tailwind assisted me most of the way back. For part of the way back my average speed reached 14.9 mph, higher than most rides. I hope that continues on the next ride.

I closing in on my November road mile goal of 360 miles with 271 miles (75% of the way). I rode 32.28 miles today. The other day I was looking at my YTD miles and rides and found some duplicates in Strava and SportTracks. They messed the year progressions in Strava, increasing the YTD miles. I don’t know what added the duplicates, maybe moving to a new phone and the Wahoo Element app was the cause. The correct YTD miles from SportTracks: 9071.97 combines road and Zwift. Stravini from Strava is not too far off with 9067.

Starting the ride
Starting the ride
Heading East on Community Drive to Loop 494
Heading East on Community Drive to Loop 494
Making the u-turn at Caney Creek under US59
Making the u-turn at Caney Creek under US59
Riding south on Valley Ranch Parkway at Azalea Blvd.
Riding south on Valley Ranch Parkway at Azalea Blvd.
11-15-2023 Strava Ride Summary Kingwood-FM1485-Kingwood
11-15-2023 Strava Ride Summary Kingwood-FM1485-Kingwood

Texas Bicycling News for November 14, 2023

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Man in serious condition after being hit by train in Orange early Tuesday morning

Author: Lupita Villarreal | www.12newsnow.com

It happened at Cordey Ave. and Bob Hall Road in Orange.

ORANGE, Texas — A bicyclist was taken to the hospital in serious condition after being hit by a train Tuesday morning.

It happened at Cordey Ave. and Bob Hall Road in Orange around 1:20 a.m.

12News crew on scene saw a man laying on the ground and a bicycle in the ditch.

The man was transported by ambulance to St. Elizabeth hospital in Beaumont to be treated.

The Bike Lane: BellVelo Gravel Races

FOX 26 Houston | www.youtube.com

In this episode of The Bike Lane, Tom Zizka talks more about the BellVelo Gravel Races!

Texas Hill Country | Bicycle Tour | Day 1 |Austin to Martindale

Biking Brian | www.youtube.com

We start off our 8 day 320 mile Texas Hill Country Tour leaving from Austin airport as we head 40 miles to Martindale to camp at Shady Grove Campground.

…

TxDOT gives $11.7M to improve walkability and bikeability on campus

Daniel Scaman | paisano-online.com

UTSA has recently accepted a $11.7M grant through the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Transportation Alternatives program to improve pedestrian and cycling paths on campus. The grant enables changes that will add 12-foot-wide pedestrian paths and an eight-foot-wide cycling track with barriers to protect pedestrians and cyclists from streets. It aims to make sure all pathways adhere to the standards set by the American Disability Association. These changes will allow all students, regardless of their ability, to safely traverse across campus. “Sidewalks are deficient on campus — these will come with lighting, benches and a nice place to walk,” Director of Sustainability Lani May said. “It will be simpler and more accessible to walk on campus.”

Improving walkability and bikeability on …

Northaven Trail bridge in north Dallas opens for pedestrians, cyclists

By Cecilia Lenzen | communityimpact.com

A new bridge linking three pedestrian and cycling trails over North Central Expressway in north Dallas has opened for use, Texas Department of Transportation officials announced Nov. 13.

What you need to know

The Northaven Trail Bridge connects the Northaven Trail on the west side of North Central Expressway to the Cottonwood Creek and White Rock Creek trails on the east side. TxDOT officials previously said the arched 201-foot-long bridge will serve as a “gateway and centerpiece” for the north Dallas area while allowing greater mobility access for pedestrians and cyclists.

Construction on the $9.3 million project began in June 2021, and the bridge structure was built in …

ZHCC Tuesday Social Ride: Zwift Watopia Shoreline and Summits

Texbiker.net Posted on by
Start of the ZHCC Tuesday Social Ride (D)
Start of the ZHCC Tuesday Social Ride (D)

Not really feeling like riding outside today. The temperature slowly got to 67 degrees but the sun hid behind clouds more than I cared for. After doing some yard work i came inside and looked for Zwift events. Scrolling through several I landed on the ZHCC Tuesday Social Ride on Watopia’s Shorelines and Summits route for 60 minutes. I never rode this route before and after the ride I realized why, 2461 feet of climbing over 31.5 miles. Good thing the 60 minutes ran out before hitting the big climb at around 18 miles. The Shorelines and Summits route was added in late October. ZwiftInsider.com describes it: “This is one of the more difficult routes released with Zwift’s October 2023 coastal road expansion… a much spicier version of the Sugar Cookie. “Shorelines and Summits” begins near the Jungle start pens, then takes you on a loop along the coastline and up the Epic KOM, including the Radio Tower climb!“. Thank goodness I missed the Radio Tower. I’ve been up there a couple of times but not quickly. The map below shows the full route versus what I rode.

Full route map from ZwiftInsider.com
11-14-2023-Actual-Ride-Map-ZHCC-Watopia-Shoreline-and-Summits
11-14-2023-Actual-Ride-Map-ZHCC-Watopia-Shoreline-and-Summits

For the first 10 minutes I hung with the group but they pulled away. I rode the rest of the time by myself. The ride description said the pace was 1.5 w/kg and according to Strava I averaged 1.58 w/kg but not at the right time to stay with everyone. I get some PR’s. Zwift on the Acropolis Sprint at 51.81 seconds. Strava: PR on Jungle CCW Descent (4:05), PR on Temple Trek (12:46), and 2nd fastest time on Handful of Gravel Lead-In (7:13).

Start of the ZHCC Tuesday Social Ride (D)
Start of the ZHCC Tuesday Social Ride (D)