Back in July Houstonia Magazine published their Cyclists Guide To Houston and it is a good read. They have articles on What's Next for B-Cycle, a guide to various bike rides that hits the major points, a style guide for the best bike for you, an article on Bike Houston and the 3' safe passing ordinance, and an essay on the unexpected joys of being a bike commuter that I enjoyed. Here is a quote that I can relate to: I’ve become a connoisseur of Houston’s street art, my knowledge of the Montrose rental market is encyclopedic, and I see history everywhere. Yes, history. People who think this is a city without one just aren’t looking very hard.
Check out the article. It is worth your time.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Yet another attack on funding for trails, walking and biking has surfaced!
From my friends at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. I've called both Senators Cornyn and Cruz (oy vey)
The full Senate is gearing up to vote on its version of a transportation bill—and yet another attack on funding for trails, walking and biking has surfaced!
We need your help now. Call your senators and help defend critical funding for trails, walking and biking.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced an amendment that eliminates the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP)—the nation's largest dedicated source of funding for trails, walking and biking. This program also funds the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and helps people like you and me stay healthy, get outdoors, support our local economy and get where we need to go.
Trails, protected bikeways, sidewalks, crosswalks and safe routes to school are essential parts of our transportation system—and TAP helps fund thousands of these projects across the country.
But Sen. Lee has introduced an amendment (S.A. 2280) to eliminate this critical program.
Congress has debated transportation legislation over the past month, and every time an attack on TAP has surfaced, supporters like you have rallied to defend it with your emails and phone calls. It's working, but we need your support once more. Help us defend funding for TAP and for safe places to walk and bike in your community by calling your senators now.
The Senate could vote on this legislation as early as this weekend, and it’s important that your legislator hear from you right away. Call your senators using the information below:
If your senators' information does not appear above, please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 to be connected to your senators' offices.
Simply deliver this short message:
Please take this simple action now. A vote could happen as soon this weekend!
Thanks for doing all you can for walking, biking and trails in your state—and across the country!
Sincerely,
Patrick Wojahn
Director of Government Relations
Marianne Wesley Fowler
Senior Strategist for Policy Advocacy
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
The full Senate is gearing up to vote on its version of a transportation bill—and yet another attack on funding for trails, walking and biking has surfaced!
We need your help now. Call your senators and help defend critical funding for trails, walking and biking.
Trails, protected bikeways, sidewalks, crosswalks and safe routes to school are essential parts of our transportation system—and TAP helps fund thousands of these projects across the country.
But Sen. Lee has introduced an amendment (S.A. 2280) to eliminate this critical program.
Congress has debated transportation legislation over the past month, and every time an attack on TAP has surfaced, supporters like you have rallied to defend it with your emails and phone calls. It's working, but we need your support once more. Help us defend funding for TAP and for safe places to walk and bike in your community by calling your senators now.
The Senate could vote on this legislation as early as this weekend, and it’s important that your legislator hear from you right away. Call your senators using the information below:
- Sen. John Cornyn - (202) 224-2934
- Sen. Ted Cruz - (202) 224-5922
If your senators' information does not appear above, please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 to be connected to your senators' offices.
Simply deliver this short message:
“My name is Kent Peasley from katy, and I'm calling about the Senate's transportation bill. Please support funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program, or TAP, and the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) within it. I ask that my senator vote against Sen. Mike Lee's amendment (S.A. 2280) and any other attempts to eliminate TAP and funding for walking, biking or recreational trails. We should be supporting these modes of transportation, not limiting them. Thank you.”
Then tell us about your call. This important step will help us effectively advocate for biking, walking and trails.Please take this simple action now. A vote could happen as soon this weekend!
Thanks for doing all you can for walking, biking and trails in your state—and across the country!
Sincerely,
Patrick Wojahn
Director of Government Relations
Marianne Wesley Fowler
Senior Strategist for Policy Advocacy
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Monday, July 20, 2015
Summer Crit Series
July 5th through August 1 is a weekly criterium designed for beginners, the Summer Crit Series at the Houston Sports Park. The weekly race features a beginners race program where instructors provide lessons on racing in criteriums. The races are for Nuniors and Cat 5,4,3 Men and Women.
Friday, June 26, 2015
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| Route Using Kirkwood Heading North |
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| 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.
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| Map of Energy Corridor paths found on Addick Reservoir bike path. North is the bottom of this map |
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| 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 |
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| North I-10 frontage road facing East just after exiting Terry Hershey Park |
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| Start of Terry Hershey Park North of I-10 |
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| 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. |
Sunday, May 17, 2015
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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| Blue Dodge Ram 1500 single cab license BT4 6743 out to educate them ten speeders |
(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.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Energy Corridor Bike To Work Day 2015
Today makes two years in a row I didn't commute via bike on Bike To Work Day. Last year George Bush was flooded and this year there is supposed to be lightning in the PM. I don't mind riding in the rain, and kind of enjoy it actually, but after a too close for comfort ride in a lightning storm two years ago I am now extremely gun shy about riding if there is supposed to be lightning. Ah no, I got to call bullshit on me. I just wanted to sleep in an extra hour this morning! Either way there was no biking to work today.
Here is the Energy Corridors bike to work site http://www.energycorridor.org/mobility/bike-to-work
I can't seem to get their maps to work but I posted them last year
http://cyclingspacecity.blogspot.com/2014/05/energy-corridor-bike-to-work-site.html
Coming soon I'll post the details of the route to my new work site.
Here is the Energy Corridors bike to work site http://www.energycorridor.org/mobility/bike-to-work
I can't seem to get their maps to work but I posted them last year
http://cyclingspacecity.blogspot.com/2014/05/energy-corridor-bike-to-work-site.html
Coming soon I'll post the details of the route to my new work site.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Update Tool When George Bush Park Flooded
***Update February 22, 20017. The shared use path through George Bush Park is flooded this morning while the water level is 82'. I'm not sure if the ongoing Army Corps of Engineers work has changed the USGS sensors or what but the below info needs to be updated-- see here:
http://cyclingspacecity.blogspot.com/2017/02/text-when-george-bush-park-flooded.html?_sm_au_=icVqSQJ24nJv1q2P *****
A coworker introduced me to this great tool from the United States Geological Society that notifies you when the path at George Bush Park is flooded. He claims when this chart of the elevation of Barker Reservoir is above 84inches feet the path is flooded.
You can set an SMS alert to send a daily update when the water level is above a certain thresh hold, in this case 84 '.
I know the park was flooded yesterday April 30th and if the trend line continues the park should be okay for a Monday commute. I'm looking forward to seeing how accurate this is. Twice last year I packed the panniers and headed out for work to find the park was surprisingly still flooded and return home for a cager commute.
You can find the graph, and sign up for the alerts, here waterdata.usgs.gov The chart you want is third down "Elevation of reservoir water surface above datum, feet, Press Transducer, High Orifice"
http://cyclingspacecity.blogspot.com/2017/02/text-when-george-bush-park-flooded.html?_sm_au_=icVqSQJ24nJv1q2P *****
A coworker introduced me to this great tool from the United States Geological Society that notifies you when the path at George Bush Park is flooded. He claims when this chart of the elevation of Barker Reservoir is above 84
You can set an SMS alert to send a daily update when the water level is above a certain thresh hold, in this case 84 '.
I know the park was flooded yesterday April 30th and if the trend line continues the park should be okay for a Monday commute. I'm looking forward to seeing how accurate this is. Twice last year I packed the panniers and headed out for work to find the park was surprisingly still flooded and return home for a cager commute.
You can find the graph, and sign up for the alerts, here waterdata.usgs.gov The chart you want is third down "Elevation of reservoir water surface above datum, feet, Press Transducer, High Orifice"
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