Texas Bicycling News – April 11, 2024

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Kabala brothers, MSU Cycling Team enter conference with tons of confidence

Andy Newberry | news.msutexas.edu

The Dušan Kalaba-led Midwestern State University Cycling Team will charge into the South Central Collegiate Conference Championships event in Wichita Falls with a lot of confidence.

The event will be on the MSU Texas campus from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, April 13, with criterium races set up. The cycling team encourages students and local fans to come see the action in person. Admission is free.

Kalaba and his brother, Pavle, were first …

Kabala brothers, MSU Cycling Team enter conference with tons of confidence

Lynn Walker | www.timesrecordnews.com

The Dus?an Kalaba-led Midwestern State University Cycling Team will charge into the South Central Collegiate Conference Championships event in Wichita Falls with a lot of confidence.

The event will be on the MSU Texas campus from 2-5 p.m. Saturday with criterium races set up. The cycling team encourages students and local fans to come see the action in person. Admission is free. Dus?an and Pavle Kalaba pictured with unidentified thrid place winner after finishing 1st and 2nd at San Marcos.

Kalaba and his brother, Pavle, were first …

Pickleball, tennis, mountain biking top resident wish list for Flower Mound’s Trotter Park

By Don Munsch | communityimpact.com

Residents attending the Flower Mound Parks Board meeting April 4 saw drawings of two versions of Trotter Park, which would have pickleball and tennis courts, a track, and other amenities.

The park will be located in the 4500 block of Cross Timbers Road on the west side of Flower Mound.

Eighteen residents shared their opinions during the work session, with many preferring one design over another and some wanting an amenity not included on the design: a mountain biking component. Others spoke in support of pickleball and tennis courts, featured prominently in both designs. …

Houston’s New Mayor Pumps the Brakes on Street Safety Projects

Jared Brey | www.governing.com

Street safety is increasingly a source of conflict between state and local governments. Houston’s new mayor has paused a series of redesigns.

In Brief: Houston Mayor John Whitmire is conducting a review of projects that would add bike lanes and remove vehicular lanes on city streets.

Advocates worry that a shift on transportation policy could jeopardize federal funds and put people at risk.

The Texas Legislature and other state governments are increasingly hostile to urban road design projects. …

Houstonians share new bike route maps

Jay R. Jordan | www.axios.com

Jay here! I wanted to share a pair of crowdsourced maps I can’t wait to try out on my bike.

Why it matters: With a budding but incomplete bike network, Houston streets can be less than hospitable to those of us who pedal to get around.

Since riding with traffic is nearly inevitable, it's important to have the inside scoop on which roads are bike-friendly.

The intrigue: Madeleine Pelzel, a cyclist, organizer and urban planner, compiled Houston’s best and most dangerous bikeways in Google Maps.

The map works as a wayfinding source strictly for cyclists, with a clearly labeled legend showing specific streets' bikeability, warnings of crossings to avoid, and up-to-date trail closures.

Meanwhile, I’m excited to …

Blog: Tim & Fred Southern Tier 2024

By Tim D. | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Cross-country bike trip from Feb 24 to ??

#1: Southern Tier – Day 35 By Tim D. (Timdow) on Sat 30 Mar 2024 17:52 (US/Pacific) Reply Rating: (0) We are in Cold spring, TX today after long 74 miles – the third longest of the trip.

We met up with several cyclists going the opposite direction. Michael from New Zealand and his wife (sorry name escapes me). We exchanged contact information so we can meet up with them when they get to San Diego (we will already be home by then. We also met up with a trio of riders: David, Sue and Sarah who are going as far as Phoenix, then to the Grand Canyon. They have the Facebook/Instagram handle of Sabbaticycle.

Two more days in Texas!

Fred’s Southern Tier Ride

By Fred Houry | www.crazyguyonabike.com

Table of Contents

Day 15: Horizon City to Fort Hancock
Day 16: Fort Hancock to Sierra Blanca
Day 17: Sierra Blanca to Van Horn
Day 18: Van Horn to Marfa
Day 19: Marfa to Alpine
Day 20: Alpine to Marathon
Day 21: Marathon to Sanderson
Day 22: Sanderson to Comstock
Day 23: Comstock to Del Rio
Day 24: Zero mile day
Day 25: Del Rio to Brackettville
Day 26: Brackettville to Camp Wood
Day 27: Camp Wood to Vanderpool
Day 28: Vanderpool to Kerrville
Day 29: Kerrville to Fredericksburg
Day 30: Fredericksburg to Johnson City
Day 31: Johnson City to Austin
Day 32: Austin to Smithville
Day 33: Smithville to Carmine
Day 34: Carmine to Navasota
Day 35: Navasota to Coldspring
Day 36: Coldspring to Kountze
Day 37: Kountze to Merryville ...

‘Much more agile’: APD increases bicycle patrol in Downtown Abilene, Cedar Creek Waterway

by: Tobin Smith | www.bigcountryhomepage.com

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The Abilene Police Department (APD) is increasing officer bike patrols along the Cedar Creek Waterway and Downtown Abilene as the weather heats up.

One of the tools of the trade for most police officers is the standard squad car. However, those vehicles can have difficulty in high traffic and slow speeds in locations like Downtown Abilene and the Cedar Creek Waterway. Lieutenant Joel Harris with the …

Spring Branch to start work on new neighborhood trail for hiking and biking

By Janet Miranda | www.chron.com

The 1-mile concrete stretch from Yes Prep Northbrook High School to Blalock will connect two existing trails in the area and revamp traffic lights.

In an effort to provide more amenities to northwest Houston residents, the Spring Branch Management Board is moving ahead with a project to connect the neighborhood with a series of hike-and-bike trails through the center of the sprawling suburb.

According to a permit filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, work …

2024 Candy Rush at Sugar Land Recap

texasmtb.org

A community as sweet as Sugar Land

The inaugural Candy Rush at Sugar Land was hosted on April 6 and 7 at Brazos River Park in Sugar Land, TX. The race came together thanks to the Texas NICA race crew, the City of Sugar Land, and the Fort Bend Mountain Bike Association (FBMBA). The Brazos River Park and Sugar Land Memorial Park support a host of outdoor activities, making this one of the most family-friendly venues on the Season XIII schedule. When not racing, …

Adventure Cycling Big Bend Tour – Ft. Davis to Marathon 3/31/2024

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On January 22nd I made my reservation for the Adventure Cycling Association Big Bend National Park bike tour. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. Reading over the information for a van supported tour I lined up all of the stuff to buy or gather up. Those included a sleeping bag, ground cloth, sleeping pad and a tent. Not having any experience doing a bike tour I didn’t know what questions to ask but I did ask on Bikeforums.net about whether I should use a 1 man or 2 man tent after I purchased the Coleman Hooligan 2 man tent. The tour would begin at Ft. Davis on March 30th. Each person can use up to 2 bags to hold camping supplies and clothes. I had a large hardshell suitcase plus a Jeep duffel bag. I thought everything would fit in those, one of my mistakes. On the drive from Sonora to Ft. Davis I stopped at the Walmart in Ft. Stockton to buy a bigger duffel bag (wise move) to hold my stuff better.

March 29th arrived as I drove from Kingwood to Sonora, about 400 miles. On March 30th I drove from Sonora to Ft. Davis arriving before 4 PM, the designated meeting time at Stone Village Tourist Camp. I arrived early and met with Jeff from Ohio. Not too long after that Rob from Texas drove into the parking lot. As we chatted 4 PM passed without anyone else coming. The rest of the people were driving from El Paso to Ft. Davis with the ACA van and leaders. Around 4:30 the van pulled into the parking lot with a trailer and several bikes on a roof rack. The driver got too close to a tree and knocked one of the bikes off the roof. Jeff, Rob, and myself watched the bike bounce a couple of times on the gravel, fortunately without any damage. Carbon frames can taking some rough treatment.

Our group: Evan (Colorado and leader), Gary (Colorado and leader), Jeff (Ohio), Chris and Cath (Maine riding a tandem), Buzz and Beth (New Hampshire riding a tandem), Rob (Texas), Jim (Colorado), Mitch (Oregon), Marty (Alaska), and my self.

The van people unloaded their gear, found the assigned camping room before gathering to learn about the tour. Cooking would be shared Saturday by the leaders, Gary and Evan. After that riders would pair off for evening meal cooking, breakfast, and lunch for the next day. We ate and then headed to the grocery store in Ft. Davis for provisions. Each pair needed to create a meal plan and buy the ingredients. I paired with Jim from Colorado suggesting a mac & cheese casserole with canned chicken, salad, raisin bran and bagels for breakfast, bread and sliced turkey for lunch. After cleaning out the grocery store we rolled the carts back to Stone Village to fill the trailer.

Easter Sunday (March 31st) everyone was up early to roll out not too long after sunrise. The first day the route was from Ft. Davis to Marathon, 54.4 miles. Everyone would ride at their pace, some faster and some slower (me). I got ready, placed my two bags by the trailer and set off. The road turned rough not too far out of Ft. Davis with the old road surface ground off leaving ruts and bumps. Fortunately that didn’t last too long but the chip’n seal surface was not smooth riding either. All of the roads on the tour were chip’n seal.

A SW wind was in my face from Ft. Davis to Alpine where I stopped for a break with the two tandem couples. Pedaling was hard until the route made a left bend at 25 miles moving the strong wind more to my right side. On this stretch I saw other cyclists and as I got close to them their vests showed they riding coast to coast from San Diego to St. Augustine. I would see them again at our campsite in Marathon. Arriving at the campsite I got my first real taste setting up my tent. The tent would be my albatross for the whole tour. It was too big and the wind thought it was a sail.

Finally getting the tent up with some help from others we gathered for dinner. I was tired and when the sun went down I crawled into the giant orange tent to sleep. Day one in the book.

Link to photos.

Problems Before Heading Out On Today’s Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

After driving two days from Fort Davis back to Kingwood today was my first bike ride. I rode south and east on my Atascocita – Walden – Huffman route aboard the Lynskey Helix bike. Before leaving on the ride I patched the rear tire on my Cervelo Caledonia again because the adhesive patch came loose. This time I used glue and a patch. Sadly when I got home from the ride the tire was flat again. This tube had been a major flat pain. I give up and will replace the tube. Another problem came up with the rear ICAN Cycling Alpha 46 carbon wheel on my Canyon Endurace CF 7. I’m not sure what happened while I was gone but now the freehub will not turn when I move the chain in reverse. I didn’t use the Alpha 46 wheels during my Big Bend bike tour on the Canyon.

Rolling out later than I planned at 12:54 PM I wondered what might have change during my absence. I didn’t notice any big changes along the route.

The weather was comfortable but the wind made pedaling NW hard. 27 mph gusts on the way back from FM2100 at Old Atascocita Road challenged my recovering legs. Weather: Start 78 degrees, humiddity 45%, dew point 54.6, fair, wind NW 13 mph; Finish 81 degrees, humidity 34%, dew point 49.9, a few clouds, wind NW 12 mph gusts 27 mph.

Link to the AXS.SRAM.com ride report.

Texas Bicycling Action – April 10, 2024

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Kingsville Noon Lions Club takes a ride on the wild side

By: Makaylah Chavez | www.kristv.com

KINGSVILLE, Tx — The Kingsville Noon Lions Club is getting ready for their biggest event of the year – A Ride on the Wild Side Bike Tour at The King Ranch.

The group has been hosting the ride since 2003, but the nonprofit has been around for over 100 years serving the people of Kingsville.

“We do local community projects such as the dictionary project, we do …

https://youtu.be/vbBMsc4JJxU