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.

Mountain Biking Memorial Park

One of my goals for this past Fall season was to ride as many of the Houston area mountain bike trails as I could.  Then I crashed hard at the Anthills in Terry Hershey Park and spent a solid 4 weeks off all bikes.  Now almost three months later and still have some pain in my elbow, in particular when I hold my mountain bike handlebars.  There is something about that angle when on my MTB that makes my elbow pain flair up.  Aside from the physical recovery there is also the psychological factor.  I had been pretty gun shy about getting out on the trails, but I knew I needed to get out there, so I went to Memorial Park the Saturday after Thanksgiving and had a great time.

Memorial Park has seven mountain bike trails, five of them (purple, orange, yellow, blue, and red trails) are together in one section near the rugby pitch, softball field, and volleyball courts.  Here is the entrance and map of the trails

The trails are pretty well marked

 

I started on the Blue trail which is near the entrance just off to the left. It is probably the hardest trail of the five, and still being gun shy, I walked the more technical pieces. I then hopped on the Purple trail for a short time until I got on the Orange trail, and then back on Purple around the perimeter and back to the car.

One of the drops on the Blue Trail

Turn on Blue Trail

View from Top of, I think is the, big drop on the Purple Trail

Looking up at the drop

Bridge on Orange trail

 

Looking up at a drop on Orange Trail

Orange Trail

View of the Buffalo Bayou

Buffalo Bayou

HTX Bike Fest Pictures

Managed to make it for the last hour of HTX Bike Fest.  30+ booths of bike shops and vendors, BMX ramps, a freestyle section.  I hope to spend more time here next year.  This should definitely be on your calendar as well.  Here are some pictures

Hector Garcia, the guy who puts on the Fest, getting some freestyle action in

Gold Sprints

Karbach's name and beer stands were everywhere

Halloween Weekend Is An Epic Time For Cyclists In Houston

This weekend is shaping up to be an epic weekend.  Critical Mass is on Halloween night and that has to be a blast.  The next day we have the HTX Bike Fest and Bayou City Racing Cyclocross at Spotts Park in the Heights.  And Sunday has Sunday Streets

I hate to admit it but I'll be trick-or-treating with the kids and will miss Critical Mass. Thousands of people riding their bikes through Houston while in costume!  Now that they have smoothed out the issues with the police, and the route, I am sure it will be an epic good time.




I am really looking forward to HTX Bike Fest.  It is an all day bike festival at Market Square Park Downtown.  They will have bike vendors with booths and demos.  In particular I am looking forward to seeing the BMX stunts and watching my kids see the BMXers work ramps for the first time.  I'm guessing there will be some blown young minds.

Also on Saturday is a cyclocross race with a total of $1,200 in prize money.

Sunday is the 4th Sunday Streets festival.  Here is a guide to Sunday's festival.

HTX Bike Fest 2014 Commercial

Love this video made to promote the HTX Bike Festival this Saturday November 1st.

Bike Lanes Don't Increase Passing Distance

Bicycling Magazine's blog has an interesting story on a study conducted in the UK showing that bike lanes don't cause motorists to increase their passing distance.  This is something I think many bicyclists feel intuitively.  Often times I feel the only value bike lanes offer is after a crash.  If my bits and pieces are in a dedicated bike lane the driver won't be able to say they couldn't avoid me.  The take away for riders is, even if you are in a bike loan you need to be aware of your surroundings and aware of traffic.

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.