Thursday, February 27, 2014

3T recalls Cervélo bikes with Aduro Aero bars

Cervelo Douches on aerobars aren't dangerous enough, now the bars fall off while riding- great.

Link to recall notice is here T3 Recall.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN) — In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, 3T has announced the recall of 2012 and 2013 Cervélo P5 bicycles fitted with 3T Aduro aerobars.
The forward extension mounts can detach from the base bar while riding, causing the rider to lose control and posing a risk of injury. 3T has received 28 reports of incidents, including one report of a broken collarbone and four reports of abrasions.
The recalled Aduro bars were manufactured between January and July 2012 and are identified by their serial number. The recalled bars are on about 1,300 Cervélos in the U.S. and about 225 in Canada.
The serial number is on a label inside the base bar under the stem cap on the rear wall. The serial number is the seven-digit number following “FM78-Basebar-.” The manufacture date-code is the first four digits of the serial number in the MMYY format. Date codes for the defective handlebars are in the range 1201-1207.
Cervélo and 3T jointly issued a stop-sale order to retailers for the affected bars on Aug. 9, 2013. A green “é” sticker on the lower surface of the Aduro basebar distinguishes P5 bicycles that have already been inspected and passed at retailers.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Energy Riders MS 150 Training Week 8

Energy Riders MS 150 Bike Ride Training Week 8

This last Sunday we were back out in Waller.  We started further North than previous rides at the Waller Auxiliary Stadium.  This is just on the South side of the I-10 and one of the official MS 150 starting points the New Waller Stadium.  We did the full 51 miles route heading North around Prairie View and back into Waller.  The ride was mostly flat with well paved roads and good shoulders and a chill population used to seeing bicyclist.  That said, along  FM 1488 we had a duly pass us too close, he seemed determined to pass us without crossing double yellow in the middle and damn tough if the pinkos in tight pants on bikes don't like it, and a few minutes later another big pickup honked at us as we were preparing to pass a slower rider.  I say two incidents on one short stretch of road is more than coincidence and would reroute myself when I come back.


Starting point of our ride at Waller Auxiliary Stadium

One of the three break points

Third break point looking out at roads

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Houston Bike Safety Segment On NPR- Houston Matters

The local NPR affiliate KUHF has a noon time show called Houston Matters and last Thursday they did a segment on bike safety.  You can listen to it here Houston Matters (the first 14 minutes are abut bikes the rest motorcycles). The guests were Mike Payne from Bike Houston and the Sustainability Director for the City of Houston, Laura Spanjian.  It's a very civilized conversation discussing recent bike safety improvements in Houston and the future.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Personal Best Commute Time & Fans Welcoming Sagan To Cali (Video)

Stoked to drop over four minutes from my personal best on my commute this morning!  And I have to share this great video from the Amgen Tour Of California folks.  It is Peter Sagan meeting his fans.  Check it out.

This mornings bike commute to work



Monday, February 17, 2014

Energy Riders Week #7- Houston Bike Training Route

Energy Riders Week #7- Houston Bike Training Route

This was a great route and highly recommended.  It was nice to get North and ride some hills and see some pine trees.  Here is a map of the routeA nice break from the usual flat rides and bayou views in Houston.


Houston, Bicyling, Bike Routes, Recommended Bike Rides
Map Of Route
We started at Montgomery Intermediate School just off FM 149.  We headed Southwest on Highway 105, then North on FM 1486 for about 18 miles where we went East at Richards along FM 149.  The FM 149 part  of the ride carried us through the Sam Houston State Park for a good 8-9 miles.  This was a 36 mile loop with an option to do another 20 miles loop cutting down Johnson Rd and FM 1097.

I was told that there were three aggressive dogs on Johnson Rd and another rider had his shoe bitten.  The only dog I saw was a wild one in Sam Houston State Park.  He crossed the road 50 yards in front of me and by the time I got to where he crossed, he was in the trees paying me no mind.

Houston bike routes, Houston bike training, MS 150 training
Little country store that was site of our first rest stop

Houston bike routes, Houston bike training, MS 150 training
First rest stop
Houston bike routes, Houston bike training, MS 150 training
Looking south on FM 1486 from first rest stop

Houston bike routes, Houston bike training, MS 150 training
Second rest stop in Richards
Houston bike routes, Houston bike training, MS 150 training
Closed gas station in Richards that was our second stop



Houston bike routes, Houston bike training,
Last rest stop in Huntsville State Park

Houston bike routes, Houston bike training,
Last rest stop

Friday, February 14, 2014

Let The Commute Begin

Houston Bicycle Commuting:

Coming soon I'll go into greater detail on my commute and commuting in Houston but for now a short trip report.  Between the short days, ice storms, and crazy work schedule I haven't commuted via bike once this year.  So it felt great to get up a little early this morning and get on the road.  It was about 45F and foggy.  Around the Barker Cypress Reservoir was extremely foggy and seven miles into my seventeen mile ride my toes started to get numb, but other than that it was perfect.  I saw three other cyclists and a couple joggers going through George Bush Park, which is light traffic for this heavily used trail.  Perhaps it's still a little early and cold for the masses to start taking advantage of the park. One of my favorite parts of riding through the park early in the morning, or just before dusk, this time of year is seeing deer roaming the park.  

Bike commuting through George Bush Park, Houston. TX. Strava segment "GBP Heading North",
This would be Strava segment, "GBP Heading North"
Bike commuting through George Bush Park, Houston. TX, Strave section "ILC Sprint"
Start of Strava section "ILC Sprint"

bike commuting through George Bush Park, Houston. TX. Start of Strava section George Bush East Police Substation to Hwy 6 Curve
Start of Strava section George Bush East Police Substation to Hwy 6 Curve

Bike commuting through George Bush Park, Houston. TX. Rounding around the North side of Barker Cypress heading East.
Rounding around the North side of Barker Cypress heading East.


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Sunny, Not Warm & MS 150 fears

Weather for bicycle traininig ride through George Bush Park
Sunny but cold and windy day.  What does the MS 150 have in store??

Got in a quick 13 miles through George Bush Park today around Noon.  It was a really bright sunny day but cold at 41 degrees and windy as all hell.  Last year at this time I was only riding as a commuter but I can tell you it wasn't this cold for this long.  It seems like every training ride I have had since November has been in the cold or wind or both.  I have been told that the MS150 ride usually features some tough weather and that last year was the first good weather MS 150.  I keep telling myself this is great conditioning in case the April 12 & 13 MS 150 has tough conditions, but now I think the best description for my feelings on training for the ride is foreboding.







Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Today's Big News- Arrest in Chelsea Norman's Hit & Run Death

I wasn't going to post about this but it is the big news of today.  After two months of wondering who hit and left Chelsea Norman to die on the side of the road we now have an arrest.  Police believe it was a woman, Margaret Mayer, who was driving home from a night of drinking at a bar.  She is charged with not stopping her car after hitting Chelsea.  Unfortunately she is not being charged with anything that says hitting Chelsea Norman was illegal or with driving drunk.  It appears charging for hit and run has the best chance for conviction.  It will be interesting to see if this gets plea bargained down to some lesser charge or light sentencing.  The fact that Margaret Mayer has a prior DUI and the bicycling community has really rallied around finding the person who killed Chelsea Norman makes me think that an actual stiff sentence may get handed down.  We'll see. Here is the Houston Chronicle story:

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Hit-and-run-charge-filed-2-months-after-cyclist-s-5206673.php?cmpid=hpbn

In the end the whole story is depressing to me.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Houston Critical Mass Bike Ride

Houston Critical Mass Bike Ride:

Every last Friday of the month is Houston's Critical Mass bike ride. The ride starts at Market Square Park downtown and the route varies from event to event.  Here is the 19 mile route the January 31st, 2014 ride took.


Houston Critical Mass Bike Ride Route

We had a long stop for a train to pass, as well as a planned stop.  I did the 19 miles in 3 hours and found everyone in good humor and didn't see any hostility with cars. 

A video of my favorite bike. You play Tortured Soul and I'm rolling along with you.


Some Photos from the Ride:

Criitical Mass, Bike RIde, Fox News  
Fox News at Market Square Park
Lighted Bike
The thatscoolwire.com booth featuring bike wired with Cool El Wires


Unicyclist
Custom unicycle.  Guy has serious skills
Organized stop. Time to grab another beer or hit the food truck

Critical Mass Bike Ride In Houston
One of the bridges we crossed
Critical Mass Bike Ride In Houston, customized bikes






Critical Mass Bike Ride In Houston
Unofficial lead rider.  Just follow the music and you won't get lost

Critical Mass Bike Ride In Houston, bicycling


Energy Riders MS 150 Training- Week 5



Energy Riders MS 150 Bicycle Ride Training- Week 5

Strava bicycle route for MS 150 training ride


This weeks Energy Riders MS 150 training route was similar to last weeks.  We met up at Royal Jr High and made our way to Farm-To-Market Road 359 and headed North for 12 miles where we met out first rest stop at Frey Rd.  This was the same rest stop as last week.

MS 150 bicycling training ride rest stop
This week the rest stop was the start of a 10.7 Mile loop that started East on the Richard Frey Monaville Rd, North on Schmidt Rd, then East again on Frey, then South on Cochran, then West on Bell Rd, then back to Schmidt to head South, to end up on FM 529 heading West to FM 359.  We then had the option to head North on FM 359 for two miles and do another loop, or two or three, or head back to the starting point.

The Route:
The back roads of the loop were bumpy and not the best paved but I only saw two pickups and one car on my two times around the 10 mile loop.  FM 529 is newly paved and really nice, but had no shoulder.  I recommend FM 359 because it is heavily used by cyclists and has a good shoulder.

Our Ride: 
February 1, 2014. Brutal!  Was windy as all hell- 20 mph winds coming from South East. I did 51 miles and got my work in!

Favorite Bike On Ride:
I'm in no way, shape, or form a Trek fan after what they did to my boy Greg LeMond, but beautiful is beautiful.  This is a damn nice bike.


Trek Project One Bicylcle customized with flames