Houston Marathon Crash Race

This Sunday January 15th, 2017 is the Houston Marathon.  In the wee hours of the morning before the runners start a group of cyclist will race the course.  Here is a link to Facebook page for info and here is a link to the page to register.  Race starts 4 AM at Rusk St and St. Emanuel.  Riding in the dark through deserted, car free, Houston streets sounds like a blast.

Event Flyer

Video From Last Year's Race

Houston's Energy Corridor Getting Dutch Inspired Intersections

Today the Energy Corridor Business District just announced that intersections at Highway 6, Eldridge, and Dairy Ashford along the I-10 frontage road will get new pedestrian and cycling friendly redesigns.  The article goes into detail but this video is a great explanation of the design coming soon to the Energy Corridor:

                                        Video explaining "Dutch Junctions"

Draft Of Houston Bike Plan Released

The other day I passed a group of cyclists who were stopped at the end of George Bush Park and I heard one of them say, "I've heard that from the last 4 mayors".  I'm sure they were talking about the newly released draft of the Houston Bike Plan and the new mayor stating he wanted to make Houston a more bike friendly city.  The release of the plan has generated a good amount of publicity.  Bike Houston had their annual meeting last night and the release of the draft was a major part of the agenda.   You can read more at the following links:

The plan has it's own web site:  Houstonbikeplan.org

Bike Houston is a major driver of the plan: Bikehouston.org

Local papers have written about it:
Houston Press

Houston Chronicle February 23 article

Houston Chronicle  February 22 article

Houston Chronicle  February 21 article

Tribune.com

Local TV:

KHOU TV

And here is a report from January on PBS News Hour

Vote With Cycling In MInd

With tomorrow's election you have the option to consider cycling into your decision.  Bike Houston has sent a candidate questionnaire to mayoral and city council candidates.  You can review there responses here.  One candidate who has bicycling as a central aspect of their lives is Tom McCasland running for the City Council At Large #1.  McCasland has commuted in Houston exclusively by bike and public transit, he wrote the grant to turn utility easements into shared use paths, and was critical in the three foot safe passing law getting passed in Houston.  So go read up on the candidates at Bike Houston's web site and don't forget to vote tomorrow.

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.

2015 BP 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!

Bike Houston's Annual Meeting

Bike Houston had their annual meeting this past Tuesday March 24th at the Ensemble Theatre just across from their offices.  The main takeaways were that the organization is growing, they currently have 800+ members and a fulltime staff of three.  This is small compared to bike advocacy groups in other cities but progress from where they were just over a year ago with 80 members and no fulltime staff.  Also the city has been receptive to the organizations input on the Bike Master Plan

If you want to become a Bike Houston member sign up here
If your broke but want to let it be known you support safe cycling in Houston sign up here
You can always like Bike Houston's Facebook page here

Chair of Bike Houston Regina Garcia

Ballot for Bike Houston Board of Directors vote

Michael Payne- Executive Director of Bike Houston

Edward Gonzalez Houston City Councilman.  He is being term limited out of office this year- a shame

Pat Walsh City of Houston Director of PLanning

Cathy Halka City of Houston Planning Dept and Project Lead for the Houston Bike Master Plan

Geoff Carleton from Traffic Engineers, the firm hired for the Houston Bike Master Plan

What happened to the Barker Store & Post Office?

So an incredible Saturday found me hung over on Sunday and in no condition to challenge personal records on Strava.  I still needed to get out and get some time on the bike.  So I rode through George Bush Park, around the reservoir, to where Highway 6 and Terry Hershey Park meet.  I decided I would make frequent stops and enjoy the park.  Usually my rides on this route are a hurried commute or a test of how fast I can ride.  It had been two years since I actually rode through the park to appreciate the park. Damn if I didn't miss a major change. 

On Barker-Clodine Rd as you exit the park to the North there is an old church.  Next to the church stood the Barker General Store and Post Office established in 1898.  I loved that this old building was still standing.  Clearly it has moved from its original location on Barker St but that was great.  Someone in Houston gave a shit.  Someone cared enough to preserve this old piece of history.  Well it’s gone now.  I have been banging away at Google but can’t seem to find anything about a planned relocation.  Good god don’t tell me this building became firewood.  Between this building disappearing and no-one seeming to give a shit that TXDOT has a plan to destroy the bike path through the park, I don’t think I can take much more.  

A coworker said he saw the building being put on a truck for moving.  Can anyone confirm this or where it went?  Here is an article about Barker, TX and some pictures I took of the building a couple years ago.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlb08

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.

September Critical Mass

So after last weeks fully charged cell phone battery dying five miles into the Conquer The Coast ride I knew I needed a new solution for taking videos and photos of my rides.  So I brought my trusty digital camera to Critical Mass.  I took a few videos of the walking start from Market Square and then bam!  The memory card was full.  Damn.  More proof life controls me and I don't control my life, or some other businessy self-help tripe.  Damn Damn damn.

Getting close to start time.  Fun atmosphere in Market Square Park

Minutes from starting and the crowd is spilling out of the park

Crowd overflowing from Market Square Park

Some great bikes were out.  This is only photo of a bike I got before memory card was overloaded

As for the ride, it was a good time and a great improvement over my last CM.  There was no hostility from the police or police helicopter hovering overhead.  The route was 18 miles and circled around downtown.  There were some great looking bikes and colorful people on display.  I stuck to my Critical Mass routine of staying away from knuckle heads, who look like they are going to cause a crash, while staying within ear shot of someone playing music I like.  Was a nice ride through town and some neighborhoods, frankly, this west side suburbanite would probably never see.

 Next Mass is Halloween.  What a blast.

Houston, America's Most Improved Cycling Town

Bicycling Magazine just released their 2014 Top 50 Bike Friendly Towns in America.  Texas had two cities on the list- # 11 Austin & #48 San Antonio.  I have to admit I am a little surprised by the San Antonio selection.

All is not lost for Space City however.  The editors at Bicycling did acknowledge the great progress Houston has made and named us America's Most Improved City They cite our large Critical Mass ride, 3 feet- it's the law!, the $215 million going to creating a bike network out of the bayous and flood control canals, and active Bike Houston group.  A nice quick read indeed and recognition of the progress Houston is making.

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.

No Bikes Allowed At Taxpayer Funded Skatepark

Today Houston opened a new skatepark.  Not just a skatepark but the largest skatepark in the USA.  Here is the description of the skate park from the Greenspoint Redevelopment agency's web site

With 72,000 square feet of skate surface, the skate park will cater to the young and young-at-heart. The unique design includes a world-class competition-scale Texas bowl featuring a full pipe, 12-foot vert ramp, 10-foot bowl, banked walls and speed hips, plus a couple of backyard-style pools and three beginner/intermediate/advanced flow bowls.  A section designed to emulate the street-skating experience will have ledges, rails, benches, banks, quarter pipes and stair obstacles, providing fun and creative challenge for skaters of all levels and interests.

Sounds great and is an exciting edition to Houston right?  Except they have decided that BMX riders are not allowed to use the park.   Of course skateparks all over the country are shared by bikers and skateboarders.  Seems to me folks at the Greenspoint Redevelopment Agency took a cool idea and failed to implement it with any understanding of what they were building.

Today at the skateparks opening there were protesters. A great first step in letting the powers that be know they should reconsider the policy.  To continue and voice displeasure with the policy, there are a few folks who should be contacted.  Just 4 emails needed: 

1. The park was built by the Greenspoint Redevelopment Agency. The Executive Director is Sally Bradford   
2.  The park will be operated by the Greenspoint Agency and the Greenspoint Agency Parks Manager is Treena Dockery. 
3. The City of Houston Parks Board approved the park and the  Executive Director is Roksan Okan-Vick
4.  Lastly, our Mayor who I think is pretty good about this stuff Anise Parker 

Here is the complete contact info. 

Sally Bradford
Executive Director
16800 Greenspoint Park Drive
Suite 160 South
Houston, TX 77060 

sbradford@greenspoint.org

281-877-9952

Treena Dockery
Parks & Recreation Manager 
281-874-2146
tdockery@greenspoint.org


Roksan Okan-Vick   
(713) 942-8500  
Roksan@houstonparksboard.org

Mayor Annise D. Parker
City of Houston
P.O. Box 1562 Houston, TX 77251
Phone: 3-1-1, or 713.837.0311
Email: mayor@houstontx.gov  

Roksan

Oka

Memorial Park Criterium

Another Houston criterium is the Memorial Park Criterium.  This series runs every Wednesday from early June through the end of August.  For 2014 the exact dates are June 4th to August 27th 2014.  The Bike Barn puts on the race and a portion of the proceeds go to the Memorial Park Conservancy.  You can find the most current updates on the races Facebook Page.  The race is run at the Memorial Park Picnic Loop (link to Google Maps)



Once again the best sound around:

Each week's race is sponsored by some major sponsors: Trek, Specialized, Oakley, Michelob Water, Chico's Bail Bonds, etc.  Prizes are awarded to top three finishers in each category and there is an overall series award as well.

I like to grab dinner to go and have a picnic by the races.  Then when we are done eating and my boys get bored of watching bikes go by we hike the great trails Memorial Park has.

Some photos from the week 3 race:

Sponsor Tent and Sign Ups

Sponsor Tent and Sign Ups

Cat 3 & 4 Racers

Cat 3 & 4 Racers