Houston Chronicle Article "Dying To Ride"

Twenty-three bike riders killed in collisions with cars in last 5 years in Houston.  Three convictions of motorists with 45 days in jail, spread out over 5 years, the stiffest punishment.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/dying-to-ride/

Chilling Houston Cycling Cartoon

Cartoon by Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle. The numbers on the back of the vehicle are accurate for the City Of Houston and chilling.

Here is a link to the site: http://blog.chron.com/nickanderson/2014/01/cycling-in-houston/?cmpid=opedhphcat

Love this jersey (kit)!

Saw this yesterday at the Bicycling University event at Sun & Ski the other night.  Great message with a Texas attitude.

Funny Video On Cycling Faster For Free!

The first minute eleven seconds crack me up. But I guess it's good advice if you are struggling on that day.

Photos From Energy Riders MS 150 Bike Ride Training- Day 4

 Some photos from January 26th 2014 MS 150 bike ride training session.  This was a 40 mile bike route along FM 359.  We started at Royal JR. High in Brookshire and biked up to the Waller County Fairgrounds, then headed back.


 

 Safety meeting at the starting point Royal Hr. High

First Rest Stop 12 Miles Into Ride:

Just a really neat looking old general store.  Sadly it's closed for good

Took a mental note to come back here for some good clubbing

Love this old sign

 Turn Around Point 20 Miles Into Ride:

Waller Fairground was the spot

Perfect spot to corral our bikes

MS 150 Bike Ride- Training Session 4 with Energy RIders

Today we biked 40 miles from Brookshire to Waller. The route was an out and back 20 miles each way. The ride back had a 20 MPH headwind and I bonked. At one point I was going 8 mph and thought if a hill came up I would need to walk! Here is a map of the route. Definitely a recommended bicycling route.


View Larger Map

Track cycling in Houston! A Trip To The Alkek Velodrome.

Alkek Velodrome

Houston has a velodrome?  Damn straight.  All part of the complete biking experience in Space City.  Alkek Velodrome is in Cullen Park.  What is a velodrome?  That's French for a bicycling track.  IN this case Alkek is a 333 meter concrete track with 33 degree banks in the turns.  Race season starts in March and they have Spring, Summer, and Fall race seasons.  Here is their web site:  http://www.houstoncycling.org/index.php though it looks like their Facebook page may be more active: https://www.facebook.com/AlkekVelodrome

We went in May and had a great time.  This is definitely on my "to-do" list.  They have a training series as well.

 Add a little chalk to the mix and the kids entertain themselves...

Sun & Ski "Bike U"

Went to the Bike U at Sun & Ski on Westheimer last night.  Easily over a hundred people attended.  There was free booze and food along with clinics on bike maintenance, training for the MS 150 ride, riding safely etc.  Several sales reps from bike manufacturers and accessory makers were there to talk about their products.  And my main purpose for going- free bike fits!

When I showed up to the area they were doing the fits there were thirteen people on the wait list in front of me and a cute young girl was getting fitted.  I looked at her and thought, "great her fitting will take forever while Bike Shop Hero works on getting her number".  But as it turns out my wait wasn't too bad.  This was my first time in the shop so I roamed around and was impressed with the place.  My fitting was interesting.  The first thing the mechanic said when I mounted the bik was he would need to raise my seat but when he got his protractor out my knee angle was okay.  He then asked me if I had a fitting before.  Nope never but he ended up not changing anything other than the angle my seat.  I had told him my hands were getting sore easy and I was slipping around on my seat so we decided to raise the angle up a bit.  We'll see.

Good job to the folks at Sun & Ski.  They hosted a good size crowd but it never felt crowded and kept a good vibe the whole time I was there.  I hope the mechanic got the girl's number too.