Cycling Space City- discovering Houston's bicycle culture!
When we moved to Houston we had no idea it would be a decent bicycling town. The mixed use paths along the bayous, bike lanes from the Heights into Downtown, largest MS 150 bike ride in country, critical mass, yep not bad. Join us as we discover Space City's bicycle culture with candid bike shop reviews, discussions of bike routes, and issues effecting Houston's bike community.
Went to Memorial Park and got my rider packet for next weekends MS-150 ride. This year with Houston's petroeconomy in the tank raising the required $400 minimum was much harder. I also heard ridership will be down to about 11,000 riders. I''m looking forward to seeing if I notice a difference on the roads with less riders. Also with the Waller County Sheriff announcing his deputies won't support the ride, and his new zeal for ticketing cyclists, it could make that part of day 1 interesting. I'm not going to mention his penchant for losing machine guns or the very tragic death of Sandra Bland in his jail.
If you are riding in the BPMS 150 ride this year, now is the time to get your bike inspected. Inspections are free until April 8th at all official MS 150 Bike Shops. After April 8th the inspections are $15. Once your bike passes inspection they will put a sticker on your stem and the sticker entitles you to free labor on any repairs you may need during the ride. Last year I didn't get an inspection and when the cleat came off my shoe a guy working a repair booth screwed it back in at no charge. So I'm not sure how important the sticker is, but if you have some free time, why not get the bike looked at for free?
Yesterday I got my inspection at the shop where I bought my bike The Bike Route in Sugarland. When I dropped it off I told them the derailleur was missing every once in a while when shifting and they went ahead and fixed it. I have to admit I cringed a bit when paying $15 for them to tighten a cable I could have done myself. But after riding today, my bike is so damn quiet and smooth, I would say it purrs but that's too loud. It feels like a brand new bike again. Greg at Bike Route does some damn good work and sometimes you do get what you pay for! So get your inspection and hopefully enjoy a smooth ride.
Now is prime season for riding in Houston. The weather isn't blazing hot and humid and there are a bunch of organized rides leading up to the largest charity bike ride in the USA the- MS 150, including theBluebonnet Expressand theTour De Houston. Bluebonnet Express is a really well organized ride run by the Northwest Cycling Club and the Tour De Houston is nice because the route changes yearly and allows for seeing areas of Houston from the perspective of your bike you may not otherwise see. But I am really excited about the Grand Parkway Ride. This March 19th the new Grand Parkway Freeway will be closed to car traffic on a 12.5 mile section between Hwy 59 and I45. You know this road is going to be smooth and fast. And having the option to ride your bike on a road that will be closed of the bicycles is a great opportunity. Upcoming Rides: MS 150
The largest charity bike ride in North America is the BPMS-150. It is a two day ride from Houston to Austin with a mandatory fundraising amount of $400 for every rider. The ride is capped at 13,000 riders! Last year, 2014, the ride raised over $20 Million for the MS Society.
Riders packet
This year because of epic rains for a week leading up to the ride, the overnight campground at the La Grange Fairgrounds was too flooded and the ride organizers cancelled the first day. Since I had friends and family, many from outside Texas, donating $$ for me to do this ride I didn't want them to think I spent Saturday on the couch. I got a few teammates together and we did a 50 mile ride from Katy. I like this route because it looks kind of like Texas.
Our day 1 well it's cancelled but we gotta ride something route
For the second day the official start was at the courthouse in La Grange. We decided to avoid the sea of people and start on the route a few miles past the official starting point. This made our ride into Austin a little shorter- 63 miles instead of 67. So my final stats ended up- rode 113 miles and raised $650. This is such an iconic ride in Houston that I think I'll do it every year.
Our day 2 route. We cheated ahead by 4-5 miles
Last year my two regrets for the ride were that I didn't slow down and enjoy the first day. A lot of people come out to cheer the riders and make it a festival like atmosphere, I wanted to take that in more. The other regret was not doing the challenge route the second day. Well the first day was cancelled and the challenge route was flooded out. Next year!
Thank you from a woman with MS
Spectators cheering on their family
Top of one of the day 2 hills
Finish line from the spectator side
I had a few conversations while on the road. I was riding with my old company and had a nice chat with a client from that company. I went up to a guy who was killing it on his mountain bike and told him he was doing great. He told me he was tired. He said he rode the first day route the day before from the start of Terry Hershey Park to La Grange. His hotel was in Smithville- an extra 20 mile ride- so he had ridden 120 miles the previous day. I also stopped at a make shift stand a woman with MS had made to cheer on the riders. I bumped into one of my son's old preschool teachers and we had a good chat. And of course this being Texas the ride showed the extremes of our weather. Epic rains, flooded campgrounds and routes, to a sunny 90 degree day on Sunday. Classic. Here is my crossing the finish line video. Until next year BP MS-150, cheers!
