June Bug

Bear, what's your inseam? and...What is this "road bike" that you speak of?

Article from the Houston Chronicle with details on rolling coal, how trucks are modified to roll coal, EPA regulations, what's legal, what's not. Truck drivers say 'rolling coal' is for 'idiots,' but emissions cheating is a bigger Texas problem

Finally got this sorted out via NextDoor Gracywoods from someone who lives across the street from the trailhead. The dog-walker died at the Lincolnshire trailhead by the dam. For those that aren't familiar with this entrance, it's right at the "Dr." for Lincolnshire Dr. Insect stings seem to have been involved. He was walking two dogs; one was found and I don't know if the 2nd dog was located. The missing dog is said to be a chiweenie (cross between a dachshund and a chihuahua). I'm wondering if the dogs somehow disturbed a ground nest of yellowjackets/hornets. North Star Greenbelt was referenced upthread. It's a paved neighborhood greenbelt under powerlines and not in any way connected to Walnut Creek Park. Years ago my brother, a teacher at the time, was with a group of middle school students on a field trip near Killeen. One of the students managed to disturb a nest of ground hornets and enough kids were stung that it made national news. I just googled "students stung by hornets on field trip" and it's a more common occurrence than one might think.

I ASSess your statement as accurate.

Sponsored by Austin Ridge Riders Mountain Bike Club How many laps can you ride around the sweet singletrack at Reimers Ranch Park in 6 hours? Ride begins at 9:30am, but you can arrive and start laps at any time. The last lap starts no later than 3pm. Earn a raffle ticket for each lap you complete. Prize raffle at 4:00pm. There will also be trail work stations along the route. Stop and complete a station and earn an additional ticket for each station completed. Early registration ends Nov. 26 at 5 p.m. Onsite registration and packet pick up at Reimers Ranch beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 27. Rider registration HERE Volunteer registration HERE

It will be interesting to follow. The Grand Jury had zero problem returning an indictment, probably because it's so egregious. The BikeLaw blog entry referenced a Special Prosecutor. What's up with that? There was also an "adult" in the passenger seat, but name and age have not been released. Maybe another teenager?

Excellent blog post by Bike Law, the law firm representing the 6 injured cyclists: Felony Charges for Waller Driver The lawyer writing the blog deconstructs the statement from the Arnold's (parents of the minor teen driver) lawyer noting some misstatements and lies. For example, the teen did NOT call 911. The teen did not render or offer to render any kind of aid. The truck is a diesel F 250 and there is quite a bit of obvious damage to the bumper. Note the stain on the pavement, which I'm assuming is radiator fluid; the truck's license plate ended up on on one of the bicycles.

I didn't know it by either of those names. I thought it was the Shady Springs side trail that goes by the actual Shady Springs down in the little arroyo.

I like it, just had to get used to not shifting among chain rings! The old triple had pretty amazing range, but don't really miss it since there aren't any big climbs on the commute. I think this 1x set up has 10 rings on the cassette. There is this one spot in the middle where I keep shifting back and forth for the sweet spot that isn't there. Minor quibble, though. I have a double chain ring on my Salsa Spearfish, and am quite happy with that set up.

No surprise there. It's easy and direct access from North Lamar. I thought I was the only person that climbed up Char Dog...it's a nice little up.

I had Cycle Progression add a kickstand to my commuter bike to end the "Dammit, my bike just fell over AGAIN" urban commuting saga. I ride my bike to Hyde Park Gym on a regular basis. I lock it to a square metal sign post where it's in direct view of the front counter through a big picture window. Awhile back as I was doing lock up, the front wheel rotated around and the bike fell over, damaging the rear derailleur, leading to the installation of Box 1 drive train that had been sitting in a box for over 6 months. So, from a triple chain ring set up to single chain ring in front, win win maybe. Last month, the EXACT same thing happened, bike fell over, but this time it resulted in non obvious damage to the front brake, which then failed abruptly on the ride home, leaking fluid all over my hand in the process. The rear derailleur wasn't broken but needed major readjustment. Cycle Progression repaired the cabling , replaced the broken brake lever, adjusted the derailleur and while in the shop, I told them to root around and find a kick stand and install it. Handiest thing ever and bike will not fall over again. Cost of parts and labor for bike falling over twice: around $100 (not counting new drive train). Cost of kickstand: < $12. Cycle Progession is a block south of Hyde Park Gym on Guadalupe. Note that the shop cat is on extended leave until remodeling is completed.

I was in physical therapy about five years ago. A woman was coming in for treatment at the same time as I was seeing my physio. She was a year out from having been hit by a motorist on Parmer who had decided that veering onto the shoulder at speed and hitting two cyclists was preferable to running over a cardboard box in her lane. She was up and walking and superficially looked fairly normal, but the results of the trauma to her body will be forever. Two of the cyclists hit by the coal rolling a**hat are probably in the same situation. Their injuries were severe enough that they were life flighted to a major trauma center. It appears from damage to the truck that the teen driver hit some/all of the riders from behind; he didn't sideswipe the group. I'm interested in the demographics of Waller County. This is the same county where Sandra Bland, who was headed from a job interview at Prairieview A & M, was pulled over for not signaling a lane change. I suspect this is an extremely conservative good ol' boy county with a marginally corrupt police dept, and perhaps a lot of not so conservative people moving in. Felony charges against a white teen-aged boy for harassing and injuring cyclists are a bold step for the DA. I hope s/he survives their next election.

Waller County is just northwest of the Houston area and many Houston cyclists ride out that way. I honestly didn't think the kid would be charged, but here we are. A diesel truck has to be specially modified to "roll coal" which consists of blowing out clouds of black, sooty, partially combusted exhaust fumes. Rolling coal is used as an anti-environmental statement and to harass, for example, bicyclists. This modification is illegal in some states, but of course not in Texas. In this particular incident numerous cyclists were injured, several severely, when a 16-year-old driver tried to roll coal on a cycling group on a training ride. It is widely agreed that the incident was improperly/incompetently investigated on scene; the Waller County DA is taking a strong stand here.

Boggy Draw + Bear Paw Trails, above Dolores, CO. Photos taken from same spot, 180 degrees rotation! Also a warm pleasant day. Some hard climbing at 8,500

Riding on Cannonball Mesa is on a 4-wheel drive road rather than a trail. There are a few punchy climbs to get to the top of the mesa. One fork in the road on the mesa top takes you to Cannonball Pueblo, a late 12th C. Pueblo III canyon-rim complex of rooms, kivas and a tower. 2nd photo is Crusty riding down back to the car. The weather was sublime, maybe mid 70s and no wind. Amazing for the last day of October.

Photo 1: Start of the ride. Photo 2: Far end of Cannonball Mesa, SW Colorado, part of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Near the Utah state line, looking northwest to the Abajo Mtns and Cedar Mesa.

When does snacking usually begin?

next skill set will be learning to ride The Tower: Early concept for Frisco’s Northwest Community Park includes large biking tower for ‘gravity riding’

The WC area got at least 2.5" last night and early this morning. My weather page noted that Onion Creek may crest as high as 19' where Onion Creek goes under South 183. No notice about flooding on the McKinney Falls State Park page, though.

Google knows things.

August 4, 2018 Crusty et al. did the Zia South Boundary Big Ride event from Angel Fire to Taos. The Big Ride departure was at 7 am. I killed some time riding the Angel Fire greebelt trails and reading, then did the van shuttle to pick up the guys in Taos later that afternoon. Everybody finished the ride and all the bikes made it into the van, including the one yet to be loaded, and the 6 of us snuggled up for the twisty drive back to Angel Fire. description:

Generally buff and mellow but extensive greenbelt trail system at Angel Fire. Things get a bit more demanding as you head to the valley's edge and hit a bit of switchbacks, rocks and whatnot.

Definitely sounds like time to see a specialist, like a spine guy (or woman). They can do electrical conduction test or other tests/scans to see where the problem is originating, or perhaps there's an underlying condition and your injury tapped into it. My guy is Eduardo Elizando at Center for Healing and Integrative Medicine, but there are a zillion ortho/spine folks here in Austin, so maybe look for a sports oriented spine person.

some video of part of the Plunge. Holy exposure, Batman!

Such a classic! Yes, the market is insanely inflated for all trailers, tiny to large.