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February 28, 2015

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Bike MS 2015 training is in full swing!

Well, it’s official. I’ve signed up for my 8th annual Bike MS ride and started training 3 weeks ago! For the second year in a row, I’m doing the Sam’s Club Round Up Ride in DFW on the first weekend in May. I had originally planned to choose a different ride, but our schedules this year just didn’t allow it. Plus, they’ve changed up the Sam’s Club Round Up Ride so that it ends in downtown Fort Worth’s Sundance Square on Sunday, rather than ending at the Texas Motor Speedway both days. Thanks to you, I achieved top fundraiser status last year, so that should make this a good year. I haven’t yet set up my fundraising page, but I did have an interesting training ride last weekend that I wanted to share. We were in Dallas to tour some breweries and I took my bike and explored the paved hike and bike trails in the area. There are many miles of bike trails in Dallas, but almost no bike lanes. We stayed right downtown at the Magnolia Hotel and I took off from there Saturday morning. You can see my 41 mile route on Garmin Connect.

I rode along bike routes, which were sharrows, not dedicated bike lanes, down past the American Airlines Center to pick up the Katy Bike Trail.

The Katy Trail was a popular place to be on a Saturday morning. Luckily, it had two paved sections for most of its length, half of which was for pedestrians only.

After coming to the end of the Katy Trail, I rode on the streets for a while and passed through Southern Methodist University (SMU).

Next I came to White Rock Lake, a nice lake with hiking and biking all around it just north of downtown, with some very nice houses over looking the lake.

Houses along the lake:

At the north part of the lake, I exited onto the White Rock Creek Trail. It was nice and new in some sections and quite old in other sections. It was fairly flat and not that crowded.

Saw the Dallas train a few times – the DART.

After a while I split off on to the Cottonwood Trail, which was a new trail.

The Cottonwood trail took me under intersection of interstates 635 and 75.

At the top of the Cottonwood trail, I cut over on some streets to Valley View Park to pick up the north end of the White Rock Creek Trail. I saw a Mini Convertible that had a bike rack just like the one I used to have – including bike and beer stickers on the bike rack!

The While Rock Creek Trail returned me to White Rock Lake right where I left. The trails along the lake switched between open and closed road and paved trail.

It’s small in this photo, but I could see downtown Dallas from a number of places along the lake.

I left the lake for the Santa Fe Trail by the White Rock Lake Dam. It was a long sloping dam.

The trails often had these happy little bike signs reminding people of proper etiquette when sharing the trails.

The Santa Fe Trail took me to Deep Ellum, a neighborhood just outside of Dallas that totally reminded me of East Austin. The trail obviously used to be train tracks at one point.

After the trail ended I had just a mile or two left to get back to our hotel. I found a bike lane on one road, but mostly sharrows. Luckily there aren’t many cars out in downtown Dallas on a Saturday late morning.

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Laura

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April 28, 2014

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Last Bike MS training update, April 26: Red Poppy Ride

This past weekend was my last training weekend before the Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas next weekend! The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway, 105 and 67 miles respectively. This is my 7th year participating in a Bike MS ride, fundraising for the National MS Society in honor of my godmother and other family members that have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis. If you can, please consider making a donation in support of my participation.

I just finished tallying up my training mileage for this Bike MS. I started training at the beginning of February and so far I’ve ridden 1,183 miles. I think I’m ready for next weekend 🙂 Last Saturday, I rode the 10th annual Red Poppy Ride up in Georgetown. This year I actually saw red poppies! It was a nice but windy ride with a bit of mist almost all day. I rode the longest route, 102 miles. Despite the wind I was able to average 16.6 miles per hour so I was very happy but exhausted. While I was out riding, my husband did the sweetest thing anyone could do for me after a long ride – he went all the way down to south Austin to pick me up my favorite treat – a hand-dipped chocolate covered banana from Bananarchy! It was the most amazing food I’ve ever eaten, covered with graham crackers and toffee…. yum!

And now for my ride recap.

I saw the guy with the yellow recumbent bike again.

I saw my first red poppies early in the ride.

Walburg, Texas. An old biergarten.

A couple of red poppies and cyclists.

I think these are poppies too, but they were more of a purple color.

This ride has quite a large contingent of motorcycle escorts. They were very helpful, keeping an eye on things and helping us cross some of the busier intersections. This guy was like my own personal escort for much of the ride checking in on me a number of times.

Wildflowers and I-35.

A llama and his pal the donkey were just hanging out watching us go by. Isn’t he the cutest?

This ride had the bumpiest roads I’ve ridden this year. It was like riding on gravel in some cases.

Red poppies at the rest stop!

The rest stop was in Schwertner, Texas – a little town with a big heart apparently.

It has a big church, of course.

The little towns we rode through mostly felt like old ghost towns.

In Granger, I saw an old city hall with a lion statue in front of it.

Across the street, a matching lion guarded the park.

It had an old hardware store.

And of course Granger has a big church!

Randomly, I saw a large metal rooster in a field. And I mean really large, this photo doesn’t do him justice.

So many bluebonnets!!

Bluebonnets and yellow flowers.

A country cemetery.

Luckily, the ride went in a loop so I was only in the wind for sections. A few times I found some groups to draft off of and it was wonderful. I thought you might enjoy seeing what I looked like after riding 103 miles – check out that hair! I was sporting my new Ireland bike jersey, a birthday gift from Dad and Ellen.

On Sunday my husband and I rode our bikes to check out the Mueller Farmer’s market for the first time. It was quite nice and we bought lots of great food. It was an 18 mile round trip and I used my commuter bike and panniers to bring home our goodies. I think we’ll do that again.

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Laura

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April 22, 2014

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Bike MS training update, April 19 – 20: A lovely ride to Elgin and back

Only one more training weekend before Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas during the first weekend of May! The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway, 102 and 67 miles respectively. This is my 7th year participating in a Bike MS ride, fundraising for the National MS Society in honor of my godmother and other family members that have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis. If you can, please consider making a donation in support of my participation.

This past Saturday was forecast to be not windy early in the morning, progressing to a south / east wind. Sure enough, that’s what happened. I planned an 83 mile route that headed east from home and then south pretty quickly, eventually hitting Elgin, Texas and then heading home. It was a good route, with the exception of a few roads with higher traffic than I expected. I ended up averaging 16.5 mph for the ride and enjoyed wildflowers the whole time.

I started early and saw the sun soon after sunrise.

Bluebonnets under the early sun:

Around mile 20 I went through Manor:

Pink winecups and two cyclists on Old Route 290:

Industry in the middle of nowhere:

There is a fake ghost town near Manor. One of the signs was about an Easter egg hunt.

Straight open road and blue sky:

New road, old road:

Bright red barn:

My shadow, cows, and some calves:

White prickly wildflowers:

Bluebonnets hiding between the trees:

Indian paintbrushes and a tree stump:

The scenery was just so green:

An old bridge:

A lonely looking house:

An old farmhouse, no longer in use except for the barn:

So many wildflowers!

A pack of cyclists coming at me:

Longhorns looking at me:

Lovely house and wildflowers:

Elgin town square:

Train station in the middle of the Elgin square:

There was a farmer’s market:

A church in the middle of nowhere, called Lund, Texas

Riding, riding, riding…

Bluebonnets and a bike lane on Howard Lane:

Near Dessau Rd, I went through a neighborhood that had the exact same style houses as our neighborhood. And I saw these bright houses:

And then I was home. On Sunday, it was windier but not ridiculously so as it was the last few weekends. I rode 35 miles around town.

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Laura

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April 16, 2014

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Bike MS Training, April 12 – 13: A windy weekend

And the countdown continues, only 2 more training weekends before Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas during the first weekend of May! The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway, 86 and 67 miles respectively. This is my 7th year participating in a Bike MS ride, fundraising for the National MS Society in honor of my godmother and other family members that have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis. If you can, please consider making a donation in support of my participation.

This weekend the wind was strong both days, blowing out of the south. For my long ride on Saturday, I planned a route that headed east from my house and then south pretty quickly, meandering through the outskirts of Austin down to Buda and then heading straight north. It was a ride full of surprises. Take a look at my photos while I remember the surprises.

The wildflowers were everywhere. Bluebonnets behind the fence, yellow flowers near the road:

At some point at the beginning of my ride, a large truck drove by with a Rottweiler hanging out the passenger window. Just as it passed me, the dog barked at me. I’m lucky I stayed on my bike. The BP MS 150 from Houston to Austin was this weekend, and I saw this sign in preparation for the riders rolling into Austin on Sunday.

Bluebonnets and Indian Paint brushes at MLK and 183:

I passed the Yellow Bike Project headquarters on Webberville:

A fancy ice cream food truck passed me:

A guy and his dog skateboarding along 5th street:

Crossing town lake:

More wildflowers:

Pink winecups:

Farm land:

The yellow flowers are Engelmann’s Daisies.

Blue sky, green trees:

The wind on this stretch of road was coming at my side and I had multiple moments of wondering what would happen when it blew my bike out from under me. The trees provided a bit of a wind break from time to time.

I crossed I-35 in Buda:

A place call Cleveland’s! No idea what it is, but it’s on the main drag in Buda.

My route called for me to ride up South First Street. I thought it had bike lanes, but it didn’t. I made the decision to cut over to South Congress instead. About the time I hit South Congress, I realized my bike wasn’t shifting the front derailler. It took me a bit, but I finally figured out the battery in my electronic shifting system (Shimano Ultegra di2) was dying. Apparently I hadn’t checked it in about two weeks. The good news is that the rear derailler continued to shift for the rest of my ride, which is more important then the front derailler anyhow. I’ve only charged the system twice in the year I owned it, so it’s hard to remember to check it.

I crossed Lady Bird Lake on the pedestrian bridge only to find a surprise on the other side – a festival had closed down my route so it took me a bit of time to figure out the best way to get around it.

A new painting on the railroad bridge:

I finally made it home after 73 miles of adventure and headwind.

On Sunday, it was also windy so I headed out for a 30 mile ride around town. I didn’t take any photos because you’ve basically seen the route plenty of times before 🙂

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Laura

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April 8, 2014

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Bike MS Training: April 5 – 6: Spokes N Spurs ride

And the countdown continues, only 3 more training weekends before Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas during the first weekend of May. The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway. This is my 7th year participating in a Bike MS ride, fundraising for the National MS Society in honor of my godmother and other family members that have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis. If you can, please consider making a donation in support of my participation.

This weekend I rode the Spokes N Spurs, a ride benefitting Spirit Reins Ranch. Spirit Reins transforms the lives of children and families impacted by abuse, neglect and other trauma by healing the past, strengthening families and communities, and building hope for the future. While not the first time I did this ride, it was the first time in quite a while. It’s a good ride, well-supported and goes through nice country roads out of Liberty Hill, Texas. Saturday was cool, with a chance of rain. I ended up wearing a jacket and did not regret it.

The ride starts in the dirt driveway of the ranch:

Two horses were out to send us off:

Small country road:

Ranch gate with bluebonnets to the right:

Bluebonnets amongst the rocks:

Oh the things you see, fire hydrants lining a driveway:

There were times it felt like I could see for miles – this was looking out over a small valley:

Two horses checking me out:

About halfway through the ride, the skies starting getting very interesting…

We rode under a couple of railroad tunnels / bridges made out of black railroad wood:

A bike and bluebonnets:

We went through the non-existent town of Oatmeal, TX.

Ominous skies. I did not get rained on, luckily, but the wind really picked up when we were near the dark clouds.

Bike selfie at a rest stop:

The skies from the rest stop:

The Oatmeal Cemetery and some great sky:

Some fluffy sheep, some shorn sheep:

I added a few extra miles at the end of the ride to meet my training plan. I ended up riding 67 miles on Saturday.

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Laura

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April 6, 2014

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Bike MS Training: March 29 – 30th, checking out Salado

One month to go! In just four weeks, at the beginning of May, I’ll be riding the Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas. Please consider making a donation in support of my participation! The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway.

This weekend I decided to try a “new-to-me” charity ride: The Salado Smokin’ Spokes, a ride that benefits the Salado Volunteer Fire Department. I headed up to Salado early on Saturday morning to ride 70 miles. It was clear, but cool, so I had to wear leg and arm warmers ( on top of a warm long sleeve base layer.)

A picture from the starting line:

There was a guy at the start that was riding a recumbent that had a yellow plastic shield with a cloth yellow covering. It was weird. It reminded me of the banana bike that I sometimes see in Austin.

The ride started and we crossed I-35 on an “under construction” portion. Somehow I managed to not start my Garmin on time. The course on the other side of the interstate was beautiful.

This ride was especially interesting in the way that the riders were all grouped for the majority of the ride. In many charity rides, I end up riding along for much of the ride, but I was basically never alone during this ride.

Bright red barn:

Random hill:

Can you see the lake in the distance? It’s called Stillhouse Hollow lake.

A retreat for patriots. Non-patriots need not apply.

Lake close-up:

For awhile we road along the recently repaved frontage road of 190. It wasn’t too bad actually, because there was very little traffic on it.

Bluebonnets!

The lake, again. I caught up with the group of cyclists in this photo and basically got a good draft off and on for the rest of the ride.

Lovely country road. I didn’t get a good picture, but there were tons of bluebonnets in the fields along this road.

A fence made out of bicycles:

The view from one of the rest stops – their was a very large special events and conference center spread out along this road. In front of the building in this photo is a stream with a little waterfall.

Horses:

We ended up a dirt road for a while towards the very end of the ride:

Church, waterfall, and picnic tables:

The view from the park where we started and ended the ride, it looked like special events / wedding venue across the stream:

I ended Saturday’s ride with a sandwich at a cafe in Salad0 and a chai latte. I think that chai latte was the best I’ve ever had. Of course, biking lots of miles does strange things to my taste buds. I rode 68 miles in all.

On Sunday it was very windy again and I headed south from my house for a ride through the neighborhoods.

A modern house that catches the eye on Shoal Creek blvd:

Love the big agave plants:

The view across Shoal Creek into some backyards:

The pedestrian bridge that connects Far West with Shoal Creek:

I rode 25 miles on Sunday.

Bike MS Training, March 22 – 23: Rosedale ride

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Laura

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March 26, 2014

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Bike MS Training, March 22 – 23: Rosedale ride

My training continues for the Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas during the first weekend of May. The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway.

This weekend was the 20th anniversary of the Rosedale ride, a fundraiser for the Rosedale School, the only AISD for children with multiple disabilities. I’ve done this ride almost every year since I’ve started riding, and they always have the best volunteers and route assistance. Every turn marked, often with volunteers in costume to point us in the right direction, great rest stops, and plenty of SAG vehicles.

While the forecast said the morning would be warm with almost no wind, there was definitely a wind out of the south, but I was still able to average 17.5 mph. The course was a bit different this year and the roads were not nearly as bumpy as I remember.

Saturday morning was dreary, and a bit damp. The traffic was bad getting into the ride at Samsung Semiconductor, so they started us 15 minutes late. At least we had the UT band to entertain us. You can see their tubas in the background. They played Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore and then I proceeded to have that song in my head for the entire 62 mile ride.

At the start location – Samsung out on Parmer Lane.

The first of many cows hanging out along the road.

The route was well-marked with signs and volunteers.

I ran into a friend along the route, wearing an awesome pink and green kit.

I passed a rural Cessna airport. You can see the windsock and how the “no wind” prediction was a lie.

Countryside railroad crossing

Donkeys!

Quaint little farm

Riding into Coupland, TX:

Downtown Coupland, as far as I can tell:

The rest stop in Coupland was staffed with boy scouts. The cutest little Cub Scout was shouting to us about water, gatorade, and free snacks. See him there in the blue?

The Coupland rest stop:

House with a white picket fence, on Manda Carlson Road, out in the country:

Rest stop on Manda Carlson Road, at the old two room school house:

The New Sweden Church:

And the cemetery just a bit further down the road:

Windmill:

The last rest stop, at a church:

The last turn on the route had volunteers all dressed up and cheering:

The finish line featured a cheer squad from a local school:

Finish line selfie!

Sunday’s ride was entirely too windy, with a cool northernly wind. I was able to get in 20 miles and felt like I was crawling at few points where it was uphill into the wind. I rode north to the Wells Branch neighborhood and took a few photos of the nice park trails.

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Laura

Posted on

March 17, 2014

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Bike MS Training, March 15 – 16: The ride must go on…

Well, it was a rough weekend for biking. At least I finally got my Bike MS fundraising page up! In case you missed it, I’m riding the Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride in north Texas during the first weekend of May. The ride goes from Frisco to Fort Worth with an overnight at the Texas Motor Speedway. My in-laws live in Fort Worth, so it will be great to know some spectators again.

The forecast for this past Saturday called for rain, but not until noon. Even as I left that house at 8:30 am, the forecast said rain at noon. I left in a fog / light mist. As I went further north, the fog and mist got worse. By about mile 5 I’d call it light rain. From there, it basically alternated between mist to actual rain for almost the entire ride. I hit one dry spot as I rode over the Mansfield Dam on my Dam Loop route. You don’t get any photos because of safety, I was too busy hanging on to my handle bars. I was drenched when I got home, but at least I rode 52 miles. Later that day, as I enjoyed a lovely sunny afternoon at SXSW, I silently cursed those weather forecasters.

On Sunday, the forecast called for a cold front with blow-you-down winds to roll in. When I woke up, the winds weren’t supposed to start for about 90 minutes. However, 30 minutes later after I finished breakfast and went out on my ride, it was windy. And dreary. At least I only had to ride 20 miles, right? Well, at mile 6 I heard my front wheel hissing… fourth flat in 3 weeks! Just after I changed my rear tire so that I wouldn’t flat anymore this training season… and my front gets a flat. It was hissing, but only slowly losing air. I found the source of hiss, and there was almost no mark on my tire. I pulled out the tube with the slightest puncture and decided to “boot” the tire with a dollar bill so that if there was something on the inside of the tire (even though I couldn’t feel anything) it wouldn’t cause another flat. It was so windy that as I tried to install the new tube, the dollar blew away and I had no idea where it was supposed to go. Oh well. I pumped up the tire and rode on, into a cold and nasty headwind.

Luckily, the new tube held and I eventually turned out of the headwind and took a few photos for you. It was such a relief to turn into the Balcones / Spicewood neighborhood.

The neighborhood has a golf course.

Some of the houses I ride by in this neighborhood are amazing. This one was recently redone:

This one is being renovated and will be on the market soon, choose your paint colors now! (It says that on the sign, if you can see it)

I love the eclectic architecture in this neighborhood. Some houses are obviously different, like this one. On one street, there’s even a house that looks like a castle!

As I came out of the neighborhood onto Jollyville Road, the sky became blue… and I could see how the wind was pushing the clouds out. It was pretty awesome.

This was a really spectacular view, with the sun just on the edge of the cloud line:

On the road that brought me into my neighborhood, the clouds were all spread out.

And luckily I made it home without any more flats. I guess I’ll be changing that front tire too because I would like to avoid flats for the remainder of this training season!

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Laura

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March 3, 2014

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Bike training, March 1st: North to Bertram

It’s that time of year when my schedule gets crazy, so I sometimes have to be creative to work in my Bike MS training. This weekend, we had plans to head out to Enchanted Rock State Park with some friends on Saturday. The weather forecast for Sunday was cold and rainy so I devised a plan to ride from home, north on Parmer Lane, and then west to Bertram where my husband would pick me up along our route to Enchanted Rock.

Saturday morning started out foggy and misty. Can you see the droplets on my glasses in my selfie?

Five miles from home, my rear tire flatted for the first time on this bike. It happened on a bridge and I walked my bike down to the bottom. I changed the tube, which was surprisingly easier to do than changing the tube on my other bike. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that I couldn’t inflate the new tube. One cyclist pulled over and tried to help me with the CO2 cartridge, which I couldn’t get to work. He let me try his hand pump, but that didn’t work either. I called my husband to come help me. Right after I made the call, a very nice woman pulled over who was on her way to a ride that was delayed because of the weather. After trying her floor pump, I knew for certain my new tube was shot. I found a giant hole in it when I removed it. It was definitely a manufacturing defect. The woman gave me a new tube, I put it in and pumped it up. My husband pulled up and I no longer needed his help. Thank you stranger!

I continued along my route, 45 minutes delayed. Around Andice, the skies finally started to clear. I passed a number of cemeteries with colorful flowers.

In Andice I went by the General Store and a new church building.

Along the route, I came to the end of a road where I had to turn and these cows were intently watching me.

Big sky!

After not seeing other cyclists for quite a while, I was coming close to Bertram. The last few miles had more car traffic than I’d seen in a while and I happened across this group of recreational cyclists.

A very long, straight road.

Creek crossing.

Putting my bike on the car in Bertram – work my yellow Alaska jersey that has a bear, mountains, and flowers on it.

What a change in weather I experienced during those four hours!

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Laura

Posted on

February 25, 2014

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Bike training, February 16: Exploring east Austin

For week 2 of my Bike MS training, I planned a 40 mile route out into east Austin from my house. I wanted to go east / south at the beginning of the ride and then come back north because of the wind pattern. And boy was it windy by the time I was finished! It was a dreary and humid day.

The route started by going due east. I soon went by what I thought was a reservoir, but turned out to be the city landfill. I had know idea where the landfill was, apparently.

Of course, out in the countryside, near the landfill, a bunch of really close together houses were being built.

I rode down to Loyola Lane, near the Expo center, a place I hadn’t ridden in quite a while:

The view down the hill from near the Expo center:

Wait, what? Smoke or fog ahead (I saw neither)

Old Manor Road, and the old bridge:

Old water tower in Manor:

Old town Manor:

Random bar and grill in the country side:

Riding next to 130, the toll road, with an abandoned toll plaza in the center. Why did we build so many unused toll booths?

Horse stable – there were riders, but I didn’t get the camera out in time.

New bike facilities in north Austin!

Eventually, I rode through a neighborhood adjacent to mine. It was pretty cool. Can you see the black and white kitty?

Best mailbox ever. A T-rex holding up the mailbox with its mouth, with three T-rex babies in front.

New feature: what jersey did I wear? This weekend it was my Texas 4000 jersey from 2009 (acquired in a silent auction) along with my yellow visibility vest.

Bike MS Ride the Rim 2013 Recap

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Tag Archives: cycling

Bike MS 2015 training is in full swing!

Last Bike MS training update, April 26: Red Poppy Ride

Bike MS training update, April 19 – 20: A lovely ride to Elgin and back

Bike MS Training, April 12 – 13: A windy weekend

Bike MS Training: April 5 – 6: Spokes N Spurs ride

Bike MS Training: March 29 – 30th, checking out Salado

Bike MS Training, March 22 – 23: Rosedale ride

Bike MS Training, March 15 – 16: The ride must go on…

Bike training, March 1st: North to Bertram

Bike training, February 16: Exploring east Austin

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