Mobility study makes the case for bicycling

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from The Houston Chronicle (full article)

By RAD SALLEE

The big transportation news last week was that traffic congestion in the Houston area and around the country is getting worse.

That fairly obvious observation — verified every year or two by researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M, and reaffirmed last week in their 2007 Urban Mobility Study — usually draws two kinds of feedback.

Some drivers blame the supposed waste of highway dollars on mass transit, or the wrong kind of mass transit. Transit advocates, and some who say they’d ride transit if only it went where and when they want it to, blame the waste of potential transit dollars on concrete.

Peter Wang took a third path, pedaling serenely from his home in Copperfield to a meeting 12 miles away near Dairy Ashford and the Katy Freeway.

Ever Wonder How Cycling and Running Compare in Calories Burned?

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Dave Moulton, a former frame-builder, has the conversion charts and other information. It is based on a study by Dr. Edward Coyle at the University of Texas. It all boils down to speed and time. Cycling 15 mph for 20 miles can equate to 5.6 miles of running.

Read Dave’s blog story here.

Houston’s Mayor views progress one pedal at a time

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from The Houston Chronicle (full article link)

By CAROLYN FEIBEL

Wearing a white helmet and multicolored jersey, Mayor Bill White led a pack of cyclists Sunday morning on a 12-mile tour of housing projects in northeast Houston. His Honor and his wheeled entourage kicked up dust, set dogs to barking and surprised churchgoers in the Settegast and Trinity Gardens neighborhoods.

The mayor organizes such cycling tours a few times a year. "You can see the neighborhood in a way you can’t see it driving by at 30 mph," said Frank Michel, his communications director and fellow cycling enthusiast. "You can stop and talk to people and see things on the ground."

Tour de Tech Terrace rocks hub city (Lubbock)

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from The Daily Toreador (full article link)

The Tour de Tech Terrace, a 10-mile bicycle ride through the Tech Terrace neighborhood organized by both Texas Tech students and alumni, convened for the seventh ride Saturday, when roughly 400 bicycle enthusiasts came together for the once-per-semester event.

According to the Web site www.tourdetechterrace.com, the tour was founded in the summer of 2004 by Tech students Omar Abotteen and Aaron Blom as a way for students to ride bikes, socialize at nearby houses and mingle. The tour eventually expanded into a bi-annual event. Blom, now a Tech graduate and Dallas resident, said he came back to Lubbock to support the tour this semester and was pleased with the progression of the event.