Sometimes you have to be rescued!

Went for a ride on a nice rainy night and had to be rescued by the wife. I really should buy tubes with longer valve stems.

The last little bit is coming soon!

Colleyville's construction will complete the remaining gap of the Cotton Belt Trail linking Grapevine to North Richland Hills without interruption.

Once the gap—between Grapevine and Colleyville—is filled, bicyclists and pedestrians will be able to travel from North Richland Hills to Grapevine uninterrupted. All that remains to connect the Cotton Belt Trail is a portion of about 800 feet, which is from Colleyville’s entry sign to the existing trail on John McCain Road. Construction is currently underway on this small portion of the trail. Colleyville officials said the gap is expected to be closed by spring.


Elsewhere on the Trail

At Rufe Snow drive there is a trailhead under construction. The trail head will feature a water fountain, a shade with benches, and a bicycle rack.

There is a rumor that:
LD Lockett park will get a bike repair station.

Mellow Johnny's bike shop coming to Fort Worth.

Lance Armstrong's iconic bike shop Mellow Johnny's will be coming to Fort Worth probably opening this fall.  Mellow Johnny's had said on their website it was supposed open spring 2015 however not making that spring date. The bike shop will be located in the new Clear Fork Trailhead development along Trinity Trails.  Their website describes it as…

            The Cycling and Fitness Center has broken ground, with an opening slated for late Spring 2015. In addition to Mellow Johnny’s, the 13,000 square foot facility will house a fitness studio that expands off the initial Trailhead concept. With views of the Trinity River and the Trinity Trail system, the rooftop bar will have food, beer and wine service during evening hours and on weekends. Much like Mellow Johnny’s in Austin, the Trailhead location will be a gathering place for shoppers, cyclists, and diners.

Here's to hoping that it becomes a cool destination to bike to!

New traffic counter on the Cotton Belt Rail Trail

 PASSIVE INFRARED SENSOR COMBINED WITH INDUCTANCE LOOP DETECTOR

     While riding out to breakfast I noticed this newly installed bollard along the trail. It is located just east of Holiday Lane right before the curves. I haven't been able to find anything on the NRH website about it. It is a passive infrared and inductance loop combined counter. It will count the number of bicycles and pedestrians that move along the trail, logging the time and help the city make better decisions in regard to maintenance and future planning.

    

    Help us keep the count up and ride by this thing whenever you can. I have a suspicion that the more use that the trail sees then the more trails we will see.

On being a weight weenie!

I'm not usually a carbon fibre widget guy. I tend to err on the side of quality and longevity. So when I bought this carbon crank of eBay it was because it was the only octalink compatible compact crank. 

I had been running a Dura-Ace 7700 crankset with 39/53 gearing. I need some gears for riding in the mountains so hence the compact. The new crank weighs 543 grams and the old weighs 603 so I end up saving around 60 grams. Whoo-hoo!

That monstrous savings amounts to a free snack. 

Carbon while it can be made über light it usually is only marginal on a single part. 

Been building up a new bike.

New bike swag!

Just got a new compact crankset just in time for the Fort Davis Cyclefest. 

Riding in Cowtown.

Took a day off to ride my bicycle and build some V.
Micah

Hey there is a new bike shop in Colleyville on Hwy. 26.

While out riding with a friend on Saturday we stopped for a peanut butter protein smoothie at Scooter's Coffee in Colleyville and while there a nice fellow told us about a bike shop. PlayTri is a new shop for Colleyville but isn't new to the DFW. This store will be their third location in the area.



Playtri is a full triathlon and bike store that provides:
USAT certified coaches that will help you set and reach your individual goals through a variety of available plans.

A retail store stocked with the best brands available.

Group training opportunities to keep you well motivated, club workouts, camps, Bootcamp classes, fitness classes and informational clinics.

Races to measure your hard work from your first Sprint Triathlon to Olympic distances.

Complete youth and juniors program featuring the only USAT Nationally Ranked developmental team in the DFW metroplex









The store is open but still under construction. It will be large for a bike shop. They are certain to have just what you need.


-Do what you can to enjoy Life!

The final segment of the Cotton Belt Trail

I am really excited about the final section of the Cotton Belt Trail being slated for construction. The city of Colleyville and Grapevine are sharing the costs and the construction is planned to happen during the widening of the southbound lanes of State Highway 26. The highway expansion has been going on for sometime now and the northbound lanes are nearly complete. This being the final section of the trail needed to connect downtown Grapevine to North Richland Hills will result in a final trail length of 12 miles.
   The segment of the trail soon to be under construction is a bottleneck of a creek roads, railroads and city boundaries. At .64 miles with no safe alternate route the crossing of bear creek is and soon to be was a major obstacle, for cyclists in north east Tarrant county.

Rule #9 compliant!

Being resolved to bring myself away from the slump I've been dwelling in; I have been trying to put on the miles and the time in the gym. I will have a bigger engine!

While surfing velominati.com I read an older post that has inspired me to "start" or begin. The post began: The task spreads out before me like molasses poured onto a tabletop, indulging in its viscous immensity. Its growing breadth makes it a kind of enigma, the sort distinguished by an elusive end and therefor an intangible beginning. It occurs to me, at this moment, that the difference between those who achieve and those who stagnate is not measured by their greatness, but by their courage to begin. There is a boldness in embarking on that to which the end is unknown, to trust in your ability to navigate a path along which the way can be felt more than it can be seen.


Becoming trained is an elusive beast of weight loss and strength. ArtistCarola and I have begun the chase yet again. Today we went on another training ride only this time it happened to be a beautiful Belgian day! (49 and raining) I am married to a rare bird, a true tenacious female, she is a badass! She is a Rule #9 woman!

Hmmm? What have I been up to?

Well I have been very busy lately. Not having time for riding this summer has gotten me down.
I feel like I put allot of effort into the early season and had no motivation left for the bike in the summer.



Early on this year I was training up to be the domestique for my mother-in-law in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in Colorado. With such a full plate I had to respite from blogging my brain just couldn't take it. So hopefully I'm back in the saddle again.

So in May we did the Iron Horse (my son edited the video) then not much as far as biking is concerned.
in June I didn't even touch the bike for two weeks. I commuted to work a few times and just couldn't get back in the swing of things. I fear I might be getting a little burned out.....Nah it just the "anti V"! Evil Evil

The cuz sitting in Artist Carola's Booth

So..where was I?... Oh yeah...In late June I did some short rides going to get stuff at the store etc but it seemed like i still didn't have the motivation i was wishing for. So August starts to come around and with ArtistCarola showing work in the Hottern' Hell Hundred consumer show and the someone being needed to keep them I had to skip out on riding the event this year and stepped back and worked logistics for everyone else. While being sort-of bummed out about missing out on the ride there is something rewarding about helping enable others to be inspired about cycling. My son rode with my cousin and they both got inspired to ride more.


    After HHH it was only a few weeks till Fort Davis Cyclefest, so I needed to get both my legs and my bike ready. Artist Carola was showing at cyclefest too so more logistics was needed also. We usually go out to cyclefest as a season ender it is a welcome respite from the heat of the Texas summer. This year was a little more than a respite from the heat. On the way out we were rained on nearly the whole way then when we got there the high for the first day (Thursday) was 58 degrees and the day of the tour (Saturday) it was raining hard and 48 degrees. We were camping, in a tent, in the rain, it would have not been very nice of me to ditch everyone to go ride in the rain and leave them to dry everything back out so... I slept in and waited till the rain stopped. We dried out the campsite and then about 11:30 I left to go for a ride.

This ride was perhaps the best forty miles I have ever ridden. It is kind of ride that plays a soundtrack in your head as you face the demons of gravity exploring your own feeble limits alone in the grandeur of the mountains. it showed me what a summer if being "Too busy to ride" does to you. I was a slow mountain slug. It was a good ride!
    So after that ride the weekend started looking up and i was all jazzed about the next days hill climb ride. My son was excited to ride also; this was his first timed event. when we got back from the dinner gathering saturday night I began to ready the bikes for our morning of "uphill" and noticed that I had broken a spoke right when I returned from my epic. I knew it happened then because I heard it... It sounded like a rock hitting my wheel. Man that stinks. I'd planned for everything but a broken spoke.
Oh well looks like I'm playing photographer for my son as he rides his hill climb.

He did well for his first time going up the highest paved road in Texas. The grade is steep (up to 17%) and it grinds you down to a crawl. He finished and won his finishers cap.
    After the ride was over the only thing left to do was break camp and drive all the way back to Fort Worth (8 1/2 hours). Since curses come in threes:

1. rain on tour day
2. broken spoke
3. Wheel blew off the top of the truck somewhere between Sweetwater and Weatherford.

Losing my wheel kinda bummed me out but stuff happens....

I went on a ride today with so old spinergy rev x wheels that i had in the BigBikeBarn and had a great ride.

Don't let the "Anti-V" get you!....... "Get out and Ride!"

Who is enjoying the tour?

This years tour is really heating up with Bradley Wiggins in yellow and David Millar for a stage win, the Brits are having a good year.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

ArtistCarola at Rahr's

ArtistCarola is showing during the Wednesday night tasting at the Rahr's brewery tonight.

She is showing primarily her "beer, babes and bike" paintings!

For you that aren't familiar Rahr's is a local Fort Worth micro-brewery! Tastings are Wednesday nights from 5-7 and Saturday from 2-5.

Commute-A-Sarus

Happy Easter

Are You Ready? Paris Roubaix is Today!

Watch It Here!

Training HAS to be in full swing.

Haltom road has a hill just north of 820 it is a good hill for training.


I need to train for:



May 26 is not long off so it'll be a life behind bars for me.

The Wolf Chasing a Hare.

Today I Got to chase down my mother in law!
(When does that ever happen?)
She left casa de commuteasarus thirty five minutes ahead of me heading toward Benbrook. The chase was on:


after I caught her we went to Panera Bread and she bought me a "Cobble Stone Muffin" :) Yum!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I dig the commute in the rain.

The commute into work in the rain was fun.


The temp was 66 degrees and it wasn't a cool rain. I thought this was winter. I got pretty sweaty on the way.


Commute-A-Sarus

The trail is nearly done.

The cotton belt trail is nearly finished. All That is left is the last little bit. Maybe a section of ten or twelve feet on either side of the tracks next to precinct line road.


Commute-A-Sarus

New pedals for the road bike!

My old pedals weighed 377grams.



My new pedals weigh 254 grams


122 grams less! Cool I can bring an extra bar an a half of chocolate!


Awesome!
Commute-A-Sarus