Text When George Bush Park Flooded Needs Adjusting

I have previously written about one of my favorite bike commuting tools the USGS SMS Update when George Bush Park is flooded.   Unfortunately this tool no longer seems to be effective.  The Army Corps of Engineers is strengthening the dam and moving the current water gate and this looks to have effected the USGS sensors in the dam.  From September through November 2016 the USGS wasn't even providing text updates.  The service has resumed but the park was flooded this morning at just over 82'.  In the past the park was always passable up to 84'.  So I am thinking I may need to change my SMS alert to anytime the water level is above 80'.  I'll keep playing with it and please let me know what you are finding

Hard to see in the dark but this is looking East towards Barker Cyrpress after passing the wood boardwalk.  The path is flooded

Pictures: George Bush Park Still Flooded

George Bush Park has been flooded since April 18th.  Today's June 18th email alert from the USGS has the Barker reservoir at 90.87 feet and it needs to get to 84' to be passable.  In the past when the park has flooded it seemed like the park lost about .50-.75" of water per day.  If that is true we are six to eight days from being able to ride through the park again.  If we get no more rain- please please please!

USGS Chart of elevation of reservoir water at Barker Reservoir

I decided to check out the park and see what it looked like after being under water for two months.  Below are the pictures of my ride.  I entered the park from the FFPS soccer fields on the West side of the park. I've never seen it this flooded and, unless a lot water is let out from the reservoir, I have a hard time seeing the path clear for weeks.  Again, everything is conditional on NO MORE RAIN!

Warning side as soon as you enter the multi-use trail from the bridge that leads to the FFPS soccer fields

New Commute, The Good, Bad, & Ugly

I'm now commuting from Katy to an office building on the North I-10 frontage road and Kirkwood.  It's 19.5 miles each way and in many ways encompasses the best and worst of bike commuting in Houston.  With the shared use paths on the Bayous,George Bush & Terry Hershey parks, roughly 18 of the 19.5 mile commute is car free and safe as can be.  It's a scenic ride where I've seen deer, armadillo, rabbits, squirrels, alligators, coyotes, opossum, snakes, cygnets, swans, vultures, hawks, ducks, etc.  18 really great commuting miles.

Route Using Kirkwood Heading North

The other 1.5 miles or so isn't as great.  If I take Terry Hershey East to Kirkwood (screen shot above) I then travel North on the Kirkwood "bike lane".  This designated bike lane is maybe two feet wide and usually filled with debris.  The painted lane is faded and almost nonexistent in many spots.  It's the type of bike lane that is more dangerous than good.

Commute Using Terry Hershey Park  North of I-10

If I take Terry Hershey North of the I-10 (screen shot above), I ride on the sidewalk of the I-10 frontage road like a dork.  In the morning I'm going against traffic and in the evening constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure I don't get slammed by a right turning car.  I then cut up Eldridge for a block, again dorking it on the sidewalk, to get to Dairy Ashford and another 2 foot bike lane, albeit with less debris than Kirkwood.  This bike lane takes me to another off street shared use path at the Addicks Reservoir.  The weird thing is that heading East on Dairy Ashford there is no way to make a proper left turn onto the shared use path.  They built this great path and then also put a concrete median in the middle of Dairy Ashford blocking the path from East bound riders.  I end up riding in the painted median, cutting across Dairy Ashford and riding in the gutter against traffic for maybe 50 yards before I can make a left onto the path.  In the evening going home heading West the cars lining up to go right on Eldridge end up pinching the 2 foot bike lane.  I haven't clipped a side mirror yet but it won't surprise me when I do.

Map of Energy Corridor paths found on Addick Reservoir bike path.  North is the bottom of this map

Start of shared use path at Addicks Reservoir just off Dairy Ashford.  I need to take a photo of the jacked up median on Dairy Ashford that blocks this entrance

North I-10 frontage road facing East just after exiting Terry Hershey Park

Start of Terry Hershey Park North of I-10

Thought the Texas flags were a nice touch on this day.  This is the path around the Barker Reservoir that takes you towards George Bush Park.

I've seen riders on the street of the I-10 frontage road, and they have my respect, but I just don't feel comfortable sharing the road with that heavy car traffic.  Lately with all the rain George Bush Park has been flooded and I haven't been able to use the path.  I know I can take city streets to get to work, and in the morning sharing the roads isn't so bad, but in the evening when the roads are crowded and drivers are impatient...I just don't want to do it.  Four cyclist have been killed on our streets in the last month and that just chills me.  So there you have it.  A great workout, wonderful safe ride with beautiful scenery, and some frustratingly not well planned bike lanes on city streets.  And Mother Nature throws her twists in as well.

Problem With You Ten Speeders

Today we did our usual Sunday morning ride out of the Katy Mills Mall only the ride got quite a bit more interesting.  As we were riding back to the mall we had a confrontation with a guy in a pickup. We were heading North on Spring Green Blvd and approaching Falcon Landing Blvd where we would make a right turn.  I should note that both roads have two lanes in each direction and this was Sunday morning around 10 AM.  The light was red at the intersection and we were riding two abreast.  The pickup behind us honked his horn at us just before we got to the red light.  We then made the right onto Falcon Landing and the truck followed us.

Our route from Katy Mills Mall goes through Katy into Richmond and Fullshear then back

The truck then went into the lane next to us and started yelling at us while going the same speed as us.  At first I couldn't tell what he was saying and tried to ignore him, but it was obvious he wasn't going to just have his rant and speed off.  I looked over at him and he yelled, "you need to stay within three feet of the curb" and then he said "you can't ride side by side".  I yelled back, "that's not the law.  We can take the lane" at which point he yelled back "that's the problem with you ten speeders...(something I couldn't hear)... I know the law!"  It went back and forth with my riding partner saying "have a nice day" and me repeating "we can take the lane" and the truck driver telling us he knew the law and was going to call the police.  The truck driver then proceeded to get in front of us and slow to almost a stop.  We slowed and, when the other cars that were being slowed down by the truck passed, we swung around and passed the truck on the left.  At that point the truck came up along side us again, passed and stopped in front of us at an intersection.  He got out of his truck holding his cell phone and said he had the police on the phone.  I told him, "great you don't know the fucking law" to which he said "don't you cuss me and you need to get away from me".  Unfucking believable! I need to get away from him!  I walked my bike around his truck and waited for the light to turn green without looking at Mr. Truck.  Finally the light turned green and he drove off.

Blue Dodge Ram 1500 single cab license BT4 6743  out to educate them ten speeders

When I got home I called the Fort Bend County Sheriff and two deputies came out and talked to me.  Turns out one of the deputies was actually on the phone with the truck driver when he got out of the truck.  The deputy said that he told the driver not to do something like that again.  He told me what the driver did wouldn't get him cited for harassment since "harassment needs multiple incidents".  The one thing that ticked me off, and I have to say the two deputies were professional and couteous, they didn't just blow this off and took this with seriousness, but the deputy said that the law was ambiguous.  Here is the relevant law (551.103c) quoted directly from the Texas Transportation Code:

(c) Persons operating bicycles on a roadway may ride two abreast. Persons riding two abreast on a laned roadway shall ride in a single lane. Persons riding two abreast may not impede the normal and reasonable flow of traffic on the roadway. Persons may not ride more than two abreast unless they are riding on a part of a roadway set aside for the exclusive operation of bicycles.

This area of Katy, Fullshear, Richmond in Fort Bend County gets a lot of bicyle traffic and in the last two years I have never had an incident beyond the occasional "faggot" call out or the time a guy in an older pickup pulled out his choke as he passed so we got carpet bombed with black smoke. I do my best to wave thanks or give a thumbs up when drivers give right away or show courtesy but today was rattling for sure.

Spring Creek Greenway

North of George Bush Airport in Spring is the Spring Creek Greenway.  Currently the Spring Creek Greenway has about 12 miles of shared-use paths with plans to expand even further.  The shared-use path along the greenway connects Dennis-Johnston Park, Pundt Park, and Jesse Jones Park.  This path is just winding enough to keep a cyclist interested, and even has some small elevation changes. For someone who rides through George Bush Park all the time it is refreshing to have to pay attention to the curves in the road and shift gears occasionally. The scenery is great.  And just like G Bush and other bayou trails it is great to not have to worry about cars and their texting operators.

I parked at Pundt Park and started heading East from there

View from parking lot at Pundt Park

Start of the shared-use path

 Beautiful scenery, smooth well paved, fun winding path.  This one is a recommended ride.  Enjoy some pictures:

Houston Bike Master Plan Funded By City

The Houston City Council has voted to fund a Bike Master Plan. A consultant will be hired to develop a master plan to help make Houston easier to navigate by bike.  The city has budgeted $125,00 and Bike Houston has promised $100,000  You can read about it in this Houston Press Article

Interesting to me is the Houston-Galveston Area Council is supposed to kick in $100,000 for the study.  That is the group that came up with West Houston Mobility Plan that cuts off the bike path through George Bush Park and shows streets that don't exist.

Proposed Road To Cut Through George Bush Park

Last night another cyclist told me that the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT)  has approved a road connecting Highland Knolls Dr. with Briar Forrest Dr.  This new major thoroughfare would cut right through the North section of George Bush Park and effectively kill off a green space area and a multi-use path used by thousands of joggers, walkers, and cyclist every month.

I'm still trying to get more details but this article gives some info.  The proposal is part of the West Houston Mobility Plan (link to plan) from the Galveston-Houston Area Council (whatever the hell that is).  This plan was finalized December 18th with the expectation that TXDOT will approve it this month.  What that means for actually getting built, I have no idea.  This is a terrible plan.  There are already 4 East-West thoroughfares through the area: 1-10, I-10 frontage road, Westheimer Pkwy, West Park Tollway.  I believe this new route would cut through a reservoir, mess up the regional flood protection, and kill of a major cycling route.

Here is a map of the recommended changes.  If my color blind eyes are reading this right, it shows existing streets connecting Kingsland Blvd with Memorial and Barker Cypress running through the park.  Hard to have faith in this study with such major errors.

My best hope right now is that this is some study that gets approved and then sits on a shelf for years without ever getting implemented.

Scoping New Work Commute Routes

So I have a new job that will have me working at Enclave Parkway near Briar Forrest in the Energy Corridor for the next 2 months.  I decided to try out possible routes from Katy on a Sunday afternoon.

Scoping Out New Work Commute Routes

With the multi-use path through George Bush Park and Terry Hershey Park I can ride most of the roughly 16 miles car free.  I was hoping there would be an exit from Terry Hershey right next to my new office but there wasn't.  If I exit at Enclave Parkway it is a fairly short ride to Briar Forrest Rd and there is a bike lane.  Always a welcome sight to see a bike lane

Bike Lane on Enclave Parkway

The shortest and quickest route is to skip Terry Hershey and instead take Briar Forrest from the end of George Bush park.  Unfortunately the bike lane on Briar Forrest has a lot of debris and sections where construction has blocked the path.  As nice as it is to see a bike lane, sometimes in Houston they can be pretty impractical.  So my choices are the winding , and in the early evening crowded with joggers, dog walkers, families, etc Terry Hershey path, and Briar Forrest with its less than stellar bike path and rush hour cars.  Guess that will be a game time decision.  Either way I am looking forward to commuting via bike again.

Road Trip To Corpus Christi For Conquer The Coast

Decided to break out from Houston and get some riding in a new area of Texas by doing the Conquer The Coast ride in Corpus Christi.  The 65 mile course is a loop from downtown Corpus Christi through Port Aransas, Mustang Island, and back through Corpus Christi.  The ride included a ferry ride to get us from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas (a first for me on a ride). The weather report had me worried the ride would get cancelled due to lightning ,but we ended up with just a slight shower that lasted about 10-15 minutes, on a very humid mid 80F degree day that saw the sun play peak-a-boo through the clouds.  Worrying about lightning, light rain, and 87% humidity- just another ride in Texas.

The ride was well supported with police controlling traffic at intersections, and separated lanes in areas, including the Harbor Bridge.  There were aid stations every 10-15 miles and they were staffed by Texas A&M- Corpus Christi athletic teams.  I stopped at Men's Basketball, Women's Softball, Men's Baseball, Women's Basketball, and Cheer Support stations and have to say the kids working the stations were helpful and encouraging.  I was impressed with their attitudes considering this was probably "mandatory" volunteering for them since partial proceeds from the event go to supporting athletic scholarships at the school.

Of course my phone decided to die on me even though it had a full charge.  So I have one picture and Strava activity for 5 miles and that's it.  My stats: 65 miles rode, left Whataburger Field at 7:30 AM and returned at 12:10 PM, stopped at 5 stations and skipped 2-3 stations (first, last, and I think at ferry crossing).  I started out trying to keep up with the young Whippersnapper I train with.  Whippersnapper got in a pace line going 18-20 mph.  At some point a gap started to develop between me, Whippersnapper, and guy in Hotter 'N Hell jersey who kept getting between us, and I started to really eat the wind.  Soon the 4-5 people who were behind me passed me and I didn't have the legs to latch on to the back of the line.  This all happened between the first and second aid stations, maybe 15 miles.  After that I was on my own.  The ride bills itself as having the "Toughest 18 Miles In Texas" which I believe is the straight on Mustang Island.  Fortunately the winds was at my back, or a crosswind, for that and not bad at all.

At some point just past 50 miles I got a second wind and felt great.  I started hauling ass and passing other cyclists.  Was a weird euphoric moment where I felt really strong and I had to go with it, even though I know it wouldn't last.  Sure enough everyone I passed ended up passing me again.  There were supposed to be 4,000-5,000 riders combined for the 65, 25, and 10 miles rides.  The 65 mile ride didn't feel crowded, most everyone I saw knew what they were doing, and the douche factor was low. Interestingly we were given finisher medals like this was a marathon.  Is this a new thing for bike rides?  I don't care, and my kids thought it was cool, so I guess this is okay??

I'll definitely do the ride again next year.

Dedicated, Separated, Bike Lane Coming To Downtown!

Houston's Downtown area is going to get a seperated bike lane.  Sometime in October a separated bike lane will be installed on Lamar St.  This new bike lane will connect the Buffalo Bayou Bike Trail to Discovery Green. You can read about the project here Chronicle Article.

What makes this really exiting is that there is currently work going on to connect the four mile Columbia Tap Trail to Discovery Green.  This will make a 7+ mile separated urban path.

New Route- Katy-Fulshear-Brookshire-Katy 35 miles

I've ridden my road bike a little over 1,100 miles so far this year and I estimate over 600 of those miles have been through George Bush Park.  Time for a change huh?  So I recommended to my group we do a ride starting at Sun & Ski in Katy Mills Mall.  Now notice I didn't say, do the Sun & Ski weekend ride.  That would require getting up and rolling out of the parking lot by seven a.m.  I'm not a morning person and and neither are the rest of the crew.  Seven  in the morning isn't happening.

So the plan was to meet at 8:30 a.m. for a 35 mile ride.  New route, fresh ground!  The route would be South to FM1093, then West to Fulshear, and North on FM 359 cutting over to FM 1489 at Hunt Rd, and back North to Brookshire, then back East to Katy Mills along Highway 90.  The route:

We had ridden the areas around Fulshear with the Energy Riders training group and I was looking forward to the scenic country roads.  This is an area that sees a lot of bike traffic, so I always feel comfortable knowing I can get help in a pinch and the auto traffic won't freak out at the site of a guy on a bike- well for the most part.

We got a little turned around leaving Katy Mills and ended up on a dead end road and switching directions a couple times.  I suppose you could blame me for suggesting a route I didn't know, but I am finger pointing at the guy who said he would print, and bring a map of the route, and didn't show up.  Amazingly at one point we were trying to make a left in the middle of a semi-busy Katy Flewellen (not sure the street) and a guy in a new BMW actually stopped and patiently waited for us to make our turn.  A polite BMW driver!! Can you believe it?

Not quite ready for a cyclocross session

The day has a decent head wind along FM 1463 and it got a little too hot at the end of the ride.  I burned through my two water bottles and was pretty gassed by the time I got to my car in the shopping mall lot.  I went into Sun & Ski and got some advice on better routes South which we'll try next time.  Also with this heat we have decided we'll need to try and become morning people.  Next ride is this Sunday June 1st... leaving at 7:45 a.m.

Energy Corridor Bike To Work Site

In advance of May 15th's Bike To Work Day I came across the Energy Corridor District's great Bike To Work site.  They are having an event on Bike To Work Day from 6:30 to 7:30 AM at the Gazebo, just off Memorial, in Terry Hershey park featuring a free breakfast, raffle, and giveaways.  They will have Bike Champions leading commutes from several points in the surrounding area (Alief, Heights, Sugarland, Katy) into the event at Terry Hershey. The longest commute I saw was 19 miles. You can sign up for a ride or email a champion for more info.  These route maps are a keeper. 

My commute from Katy is pretty close to one they are doing, though I add a mixed use path from Fry & Mason to Westheimer instead of proceeding further North on Fry.  I just like being off the roads especially during commute hours.

These route maps are a keeper for both commuting and weekend ride ideas..

2014 MS 150 Houston to Austin Bike Ride. Crossing finish line in Austin

I'll have more on the MS 150 ride, but for now a video of what it is like to cross the finish line in Austin and a few highlights of the ride.




The battery on my phone died so I couldn't track it on Strava but here are my stats: day 1 83 miles, left Rhodes Stadium in Katy TX at 7:10 AM and arrived at La Grange 2:25 Pm. Day 2, 66 miles, left La Grange at 8:15 and arrived at State Capitol in Austin at 2:20.


Favorite moment was a group of workers from one of my company's competitors riding 2x2 in middle of lane, slow and sloppy as their regular work, cars passing on left, and after I called out cars back and they didn't move, I passed on the right.  One of them yelled at me, in most stereotypical southern accent imaginable, that I needed to pass on left. Then I told him to get right and got "I damn will when you get out of the way!".


Favorite rider was easily young pretty girl in full makeup, with false eyelashes, at the second rest stop first day. I wish I saw her day two and after about 120 miles. Or maybe I did?


Most sobering moment was having to walk on the shoulder halfway down one of the steepest hills of day two because police had closed off all street traffic and were tending to a crashed rider. Looked liked they were keeping her immobilized until the ambulance arrived. Riding this far, fast, and in traffic can be dangerous.



Most annoying thing for my teammates was easily my snoring. The next tent over put on an ambient noise app on their phone to drown it out. I remember thinking, "hmm crickets at this hour? Interesting but kind of nice. Soothing".

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