‘Tour Dallas’ a cycling event for the whole family!

A north Texas celebrity
Bikin Mike

We caught up with local biking celebrity ‘Bikin Mike’,  who is the founder and ‘brains’ behind the ‘Tour Dallas’ event.  It’s important to note that it’s ‘Tour Dallas’ which is something you DO and not ‘Tour of Dallas’ a thing or an event.

He was gracious enough, to let us bounce off a few questions of him:

How did the ‘Tour’ come into existence and what goal are your trying to accomplish?

I felt like there were no bike rides for the casual cyclist. 80% of all bikes sold come out of big box retailers and most of those cyclists do not know anything about the “cycling community”. Tour Dallas was designed to be fun, easy to get to, easy to participate in with shorter routes and a family friendly atmosphere.

I gathered that there is a misconception about “Tour Dallas” with some of the riding community?

The local cycling community wants me to let them go as fast as they want and as far as they want. In order to maintain the safety and fun/casual ride atmosphere, we will always discourage speed. We will also retain the route distances so that we will not scare off the casual cyclist. We think with this model we can grow the event until it is larger than the White Rock Marathon

Could you please explain the difference between a regular bike ride/race in north Texas and the “Tour Dallas”?

Tour Dallas is not a race. It was not designed to be a rural ride with long routes. We also discourage speed in our literature and along our routes.

The Tour primarily has shorter distances, would you mind sharing your thoughts behind that?

We are trying to attract the casual cyclist. Our experience has taught us that we attract more first time event participants at Tour Dallas than any other area event.

Who benefits from the ‘Tour’?

Tour Dallas is first and foremost a bike ride for the community. Our participants benefit more than anyone else. As the producer of the event, I make a donation to a local or national charity from the proceeds of Tour Dallas. I was taught to give back the first 10% of what I earn to my “community”, so we model that behavior in our business efforts. Last year we gave away 30% of the net income.

What motivated you personally, to start the ‘Tour’?

I think that we would all be healthier if we were more active. As a result, I elected to encourage more people to ride bikes. I began doing that in 1974 and I hope to continue for many more years.

Which was the most rewarding experience hosting the ‘Tour Dallas’?

We have great things happen every year. Watching the kids finish, watching the families who are riding together, hearing the stories like Brenda Barnell. While she was riding a hybrid at

White Rock Lake, she was encouraged to ride Tour Dallas. It was her first organized ride. Through the exposure to other events, she became a rather avid cyclist. Within 3 years, she was

participating in the Race Across America on part of a co-ed team. She has done that twice and is a very active cyclist.

Logistically, can you give a participant an idea of all the planning, labor, finances and energy it takes to put on an event such as this?

I work on Tour Dallas for 12 months and put in over 500 hours in administrative planning and operations. Additionally, we have a leadership team of 12 volunteers who serve in a variety of management/operations duties and some 200 volunteers. We hire 220 DPD Officers at a cost of $45,000 and spend roughly $125,000 to produce the event. We never know until the day of the ride if we are going to lose money, break even or make a profit.

Seriously, how many port-a-potties do you have?

40 at the Start Site and 20 at each break point for a total of 80 units.

Personally, how did you end up becoming a cyclist?

As a 19 year old student at Richland College in 1974 I watched the film “Run For Your Life” by Dr. Ken Cooper. Running did not appeal to me, but the idea of riding a bike for aerobic exercise appealed to me. I went to a garage sale, bought a Schwinn Varsity for $25 and have been cycling ever since.

What do you take on a ride with you no matter what (besides the bike of course)?

Music. It is either in my head, on my ipod or blasting from the trailer I pull at area rides.

What’s your favorite ride in North Texas that you just HAVE to do?

HHH in Wichita Falls.

Ever got pulled over by a cop for running a stop sign around White Rock Lake?

Sorry to admit it, but I have never had that happen. I stop at stop signs.  Still, in the early 90’s, while participating in a group ride on a tandem with my wife, we were stopping at an intersection when the motorist to our right (nobody else was there) motioned for us to go on. We did. A Plano PD Officer who was behind us stopped our group and wrote tickets to all of us. His reason? That the motorist did not have the right to wave us through the stop sign. To this day, as a result, if a motorist is waving me through, I stop anyway.

Anything that you REALLY would love to pass on to everyone reading this?

Riding a bike for fun and fitness is easier than you think. Just remember these simple rules “Less load — more leg speed”. Riding a bike to lose weight? Slow down and quit eating so much on the ride. Riding a bike to go fast? Get a USA Cycling License and start entering real races.

A north Texas cycling event for the whole family

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DS

10 Questions with Craig ‘Junior’ Miller

Craig 'Junior' MillerIf you are listening to sports radio in North Texas, you know Junior Miller from the little Ticket. We’ve been listening to him and George since 1995 and as most P1’s know, he is an avid runner and cyclist.

We managed to catch up with him and he was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

How long have you been cycling and what got you into the sport?

I’ve loved riding since I was a kid. I remember in 8th grade I used to go up to the bike shop near our house and read the bike racing magazines–I would see these pictures of Merckx and Hinault, looking like gods, racing in the Alps.  I thought it looked like the coolest sport ever.  I’ve been hooked since.

How regular do you ride any personal goals?

For the last three years I’ve been running marathons, but I’m still riding one or two days a week.  Before that, I raced for 20 years.  After I run Boston in a few weeks, I’m planning on getting back into bike racing.  I miss it a lot.  Before I started running, I was really getting good at time trials, so I would like to continue to pursue that discipline–but I may have lost too much to get back!

What kind of bike do you ride?

I’ve got a Pinarello road bike and a Kuota time trial bike.

What do you take on a ride with you no matter what (besides the bike of course)?

Always take a flat fix kit–tube, patch kit, cartridges, tire irons.  Also usually some food–gels or something.

Buttbutter – Gay or not gay?

Not gay.  Have to have it.

What is the best wreck you have ever seen or been part of?

I don’t like to talk about wrecks–bad karma.  No such thing as a good or best wreck.

In your opinion, why couldn’t Jan Ulrich beat Lance?

Work ethic. Lance simply out-worked him. If I were Jan, I couldn’t live with that.

Have you ridden your bike around IN the new Cowboys Stadium yet?

-If no – plans too?

No, Jerry would have me shot.

What’s your favorite ride in North Texas that you just HAVE to do?

I love going down to Cedar Hill and doing my loop that takes in every single climb.  Getting a little crowed down there, but still great hills.

How do you balance ‘Family’ life with going on training rides or does your wife ride with you?

My wife is a runner, so she understands training.  Plus, we don’t have kids (yet), so it’s easy.

 

You can listen to Junior on 1310AM/104.1FM “The Ticket” from 5:30AM-10AM every weekday morning.  He has a interesting blog on the ticket website and has a Twitter feed going .

Weekly race series, group rides help Austin’s bike racing scene sizzle

Texas CyclingJust how fast can a Texan pedal a bike?

Here in Austin, home of perhaps the most powerful pair of quads in the world, plenty of bicyclists are trying to find out.

They gather for weekly hammerhead training rides that depart area coffeehouses and bike shops. They line up for a 33-week bike race series staged on a track in East Austin. They drop $3,000 to $5,000 on road racing bikes that weigh considerably less than the tricycle you had as a kid.

Austin’s warm climate, varied terrain and obsession with fitness make it a great place for budding bike racers. And yes, there’s the Lance Armstrong effect. The seven-time winner of the Tour de France is regularly spotted training on the hills around town. Talk about motivation!

‘It’s definitely the hottest scene in Texas,’ says Andrew Willis, president of the Texas Bicycle Racing Association, the governing body of bike racing in the state, and the head of Holland Racing, every Thursday from March to October.

The Driveway Series isn’t exactly the Tour de France, but it does epitomize local bike racing.

Announcers call the action as cyclists zoom past on a privately owned, twisty paved loop usually reserved for race cars and motorized go-carts. Sponsors names hang from temporary fencing. Cyclists and fans dissect the action while munching burgers grilled under a tent. Riders throw their hands high as they blow across the finish line.

‘Anybody who races bikes in Austin does the Crit Series – it’s the perfect balance of racing and community,’ says John Trujillo, 27, a local racer who competes nearly every week in the series, which started March 18.

The races at the Driveway are staged on a 2.2-mile course that is partly shaded and partly exposed. Depending on how it is configured – eight variations can be set up, and they rotate each week – the route can be completely flat or include up to 90 feet of elevation gain. Sometimes the course is technical; other times it’s almost straight.

‘Other places will have group rides, but to have mock races on a closed course where the pavement is really smooth and there are officials and responsible parties should anything go wrong, and skills clinics available – that’s really unique,’ says Kate Sherwin, 30, a former professional racer who still rides in the Driveway Series.

The weekly event draws about 300 racers and spectators from as far away as Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. The races are divided into skill-based levels from beginners to elite. (In bike racing terminology, categories range from category 5 for entry-level riders to category 1, the top level in amateur racing.) There’s even a Kids Fun Lap, a special master’s series in June and July, and Ladies Night once a month hosted by the Austin Flyers cycling club.

For several years, Austin also hosted a downtown bike criterium, staged on urban roads around City Hall. Because of a lack of sponsors this year, that race has been canceled.

But bike racing isn’t for folks with light wallets.

Nearly 90 percent of bike racers are men, between the ages of 35 and 45 years old, with a healthy amount of disposable income. According to the National Association of Sporting Goods, the average household income of a bike racer is $75,000. The average racing bike costs about $3,500, but that number can easily climb to $5,000 or more. In Texas, 30 percent of racers earn between $100,000 and $150,000, and about half have bachelor’s degrees, according to a 2007 survey by Racing Post, a Dallas-based cycling magazine.

According to USA Cycling, the governing body of bike racing in the United States, Texas trails only California in the number of licensed bike racers.

The fastest-growing segment of racers is 50-years-and-older males who have retired from impact sports like running and triathlon. Cycling isn’t as hard on the knees.

But it is fierce, which might partly explain why it’s more popular among men than women.

‘Racing is really competitive, it’s ego-driven, and it doesn’t have the feel of a multi-sport event. People show up, they race, they check results and go home,’ Willis says.

Willis, a former professional racer himself, is now more involved in the business side of the sport. Last year he took over the Driveway Series from Barry Lee, who had started it in 2006.

‘It’s an incredibly rewarding sport,’ Willis says. ‘It forces you to stay focused, set goals and work toward them in a way just (recreational) cycling doesn’t.’

By Pamela LeBlanc of austin360.com – Link to Original Article here

Lance Armstrong attacks radio host who urged running over cyclists

Lance ArmstrongLance Armstrong has laid into an American radio host who claimed live on air that motorists should run cyclists down. Armstrong branded ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser a “complete f-ing idiot” on his Twitter page, saying the comments were “Disgusting, ignorant” and “foolish”.

Kornheiser, who has recently returned after being suspended for criticising a female colleague for “dressing too young”, launched into a rant about cyclists while discussing a new cycle lane in Washington.

“The last time I looked, the roads were made for automobiles,” he said. “We’re going to be dominated as if this was Beijing by hundreds of thousands of bicyclists …”

The broadcaster also attacked cycling clothes before urging motorists to run over those on bicycles.

“They all wear … my God … with the little water bottle in the back and the stupid hats and their shiny shorts,” he said. “They are the same disgusting poseurs that in the middle of a snowstorm come out with cross-country skiing on your block. Run ’em down.

“Let them use the right, I’m OK with that. I don’t take my car and ride on the sidewalk because I understand that’s not for my car … Why do these people think that these roads were built for bicycles? … They dare you to run them down.”

Armstrong, a seven-times Tour de France-winner, reacted furiously, posting: “Disgusting, ignorant, foolish. What a complete f-ing idiot.” He then later suggested his Twitter followers should write to ESPN to complain, after adding: “Tony Kornheiser on cyclists on the road, ‘run ’em down’. Really? Big mistake, Tony.”

From Tom Bryant of Guardian.co.uk

Biking directions added to Google Maps

Whenever I meet someone who finds out that I work on the directions team for Google Maps, the first question I’m asked is often “So when’s Google Maps going to add biking directions?” We’re big biking fans too, so we’ve been itching to give you a concrete answer. I don’t want to keep the good news a secret any longer, so the answer is: right now!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN5_NBSu7Lw&feature=player_embedded]

Today we’ve added biking directions and extensive bike trail data to Google Maps for the U.S. My team has been keeping close tabs on all the public support for biking directions that’s been steadily coming in, but we knew that when we added the feature, we wanted to do it right: we wanted to include as much bike trail data as possible, provide efficient routes, allow riders to customize their trip, make use of bike lanes, calculate rider-friendly routes that avoid big hills and customize the look of the map for cycling to encourage folks to hop on their bikes. So that’s exactly what we’ve done.

Let’s say you want to bike to work, or maybe you want to drive less and spend more time outdoors. Biking directions can help you find a convenient and efficient route that makes use of dedicated bike trails or lanes and avoids hills whenever possible. To find biking directions, select “Bicycling” from the drop-down menu when you do a directions search:


So, how does it work? Well, I’m based in Seattle, along with the rest of the biking directions team. The city is notoriously hilly, but also has some great trails and a strong cycling community. Let’s say I’m trying to get from Golden Gardens to a friend’s house in Montlake:


This route avoids hills (phew!) and puts me on the Burke-Gilman trail for most of the journey. When I need to get off the trail to cross town, biking directions makes sure to keep me on bike-friendly roads and avoid some of the city’s busiest intersections. The time estimate for the route is based on a complex set of variables accounting for the type of road, terrain and turns over the course of my ride. If I decide that I want to stop at Woodland Park Zoo along the way, I can click on the blue path and drag it to my desired route – just like with driving directions – and we’ll still customize the journey for cycling suitability. Over on the Lat Long Blog, you can read more about all the unique tweaks and calculations factored into our routing algorithm.

We’ve also added information about bike trails, lanes and recommended roads directly onto the map. This can help you get a better sense of your route, or let you find trails nearby for a recreational ride. When you’re zoomed into a city, click on the “More” button at the top of the map to turn on the “Bicycling” layer. You’ll see three types of lines appear on the map:

  • Dark green indicates a dedicated bike-only trail;
  • Light green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road;
  • Dashed green indicates roads that are designated as preferred for bicycling, but without dedicated lanes


Thanks primarily to our partnership with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, we now have more than 12,000 miles of trails included in biking directions and outlined directly on the map. We also have data on bike lanes and recommended streets for 150 cities across the country. We’ll continue to add new trail information and encourage riders to send feedback (biking directions is in beta, after all) and route information for inclusion via the “Report a Problem” tool. When Map Maker is available in the U.S., all riders will be able to directly contribute their local knowledge about trails, bike lanes and suggested routes.

We know that many of you have been anxiously awaiting this feature, so head over to http://maps.google.com/biking to try it for yourself and then hop on your bike!

Posted by Shannon Guymon, Product Manager

Cancer diagnosis leads to cross-country bike ride

When Jonathan Triantafyllou received a phone call last semester and learned that his close friend Philip Bayliss had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, he was shocked.

“He was 22,” said Triantafyllou, a music senior. “It shattered the idea of [invulnerability] you have at 20 or so.”

In the years before, the two friends had talked about going on a large-scale bike ride for some kind of cause but never got around to it because of conflicting schedules, Bayliss said.

After his diagnosis, however, Bayliss and Triantafyllou felt that now was the time to bring this idea into fruition.

Thus, Bike Towards the Cure was born.

“We’re both very new to this, though we grew up in an area where mountain biking was really prevalent,” Bayliss said.

Bayliss has come to use the knowledge gained from his bachelor’s degree in business management – he is now pursuing his master’s in business administration at UNT – to help organize the official nonprofit organization.

However, he has had to learn a lot in the process.

“I’ve been lucky with the people I’ve reached out to for help,” he said. “[The organization] will help me professionally.”

Jonathan Triantafyllou, a music senior, lays out the 4,500 mile cross-country route he and his friend will undertake on their bicycles in June. Their ride will cover 15 states and raise funds for their newly created nonprofit, Bike Towards the Cure. The money will go toward cancer research. Photo by Drew Gaines/Photographer.

He said he wants to follow the example of some of his friends who organized a similar event for autism where they took boats up the east coast from Florida to the Jersey Shore.

“I’m following their model a bit. They got a lot of press and coverage while [biking] would be best.”

While Bayliss works on the bureaucratic side of things, Triantafyllou plans the day-to-day route and performs unofficial public relation duties.

Combining two routes coordinated by the Advanced Cycling Association, the ride will tentatively begin on June 12 in San Diego, Calif., and will end about two months later in Avalon, N.J. – totaling about 4,500 miles.

“I plan on writing to larger cycling magazines,” Triantafyllou said. “There was already an article published [in the York Dispatch] back home on the East Coast.”

People who don’t want to try and conquer the full ride can join in for smaller intervals as long as they donate $1 for every mile they ride.

The organization just nabbed its first corporate sponsor, Shaklee Sports Nutrition, and Triantafyllou said he looks forward to seeing more follow its lead.

A handful of events during the ride are in the works, including a kickoff day at the beginning of the ride and a possible day ride in Phoenix, Ariz.

“I have a friend in Phoenix who’s heavily involved in the athletic community,” Bayliss said. “We’re talking about doing a half or full century [a 100-mile ride] down there.”

Both men feel slightly out of their comfort zones in pursuit of this endeavor, but they remain passionate and said they hope to reach their goal of $30,000 by the time they reach Avalon.

“This is a bit extreme,” said Bayliss, “but extreme measures are required.”

For more information and opportunities to donate, visit the Bike Towards the Cure Facebook page.

Link to the Authors post

Adventures while cycling in Texas

Texas

The following is a guest post by Chip Seal of http://chipsea.blogspot.com/.  He has had several run in’s with the Ennis Police Department and here is his personal take on this situation:

—

I had learned to ride a bicycle in California, and rode it for thousands and thousands of miles in that state. So when I took up cycling again in Texas in 2006, I wanted to be sure I understood Texas bicycle specific law and how to safely navigate on a streetscape that had few wide lanes like had experienced in California.

Texas law was straightforward: In Texas, bicycles are vehicles, so they have the rights and duties of all other traffic. Texas cyclists have the statutory right to the roadway, (travel lane) and a duty to follow all the traffic rules like automobiles.

Four years later, and after traveling 12,000 miles in Texas traffic, I was confident that I understood what the Texas Transportation Code (TTC) said. The City of Ennis says that I don’t know what I am talking about.

The way they interpret the TTC, a cyclist in the City of Ennis must either abandon the roadway and ride on a shoulder any time other traffic comes by, or a cyclist can only operate on a roadway in a school zone. (The only place a cyclist can travel close to the maximum posted speed limit.) The Jury wasn’t clear as to which result they preferred.

One of the officers who ticketed me said under oath that he had only stopped two other cyclists in the past year, and neither of them for “impeding traffic”, the crime I am accused of. He also testified that I was the only operator of any type of vehicle that he had cited for impedance.

This surprised me, for there have been only a handful of cyclists in Ennis that I have seen over the past two years who were operating lawfully.

I was likewise surprised I had been the only illegal impeder he had ever seen! Indeed many common vehicles in and around Ennis cause other traffic to slow, but are commonly accepted and not considered “impeding”. For example, traffic is impeded all the time by folks making left turns, vehicles pulling a heavy load, driving below the speed limit when towing other vehicles, slowing to park or turn into a driveway, garbage collection trucks, mail delivery vehicles, and the operation of a farm or construction vehicles on the public streets whose primary purpose isn’t transportation.

I am therefore not fully convinced that my cycling has been treated like all the other vehicles by the City of Ennis. But maybe I am wrong about this. If so, I would expect any vehicle unable to keep up with automobiles, like farm equipment, will be ticketed if they venture into Ennis this year. It may be a new enforcement policy!

In fact, the roads in Ennis have ceased to be public roads if the severest interpretation of the jury is adopted. The only vehicles that would be allowed on the formally public streets of Ennis are those that have obtained prior approval from the government to drive on them, and are carrying documents that can prove that. No unregistered vehicles allowed.

Kathryn Bertine – As good as gold

“Imagine George Plimpton. Except he’s got real athletic ability. And he’s a woman. And she’s taken on a challenge that makes Paper Lion look like a brisk game of Go Fish.

Meet Kathryn Bertine, elite triathlete, former professional figure skater, and starving artist. In the summer of 2006, Bertine was out of a job, a home, and a general sense of direction when ESPN staked her to a dream:  she was given two years to make the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing–by any means possible. As Good As Gold is the hilarious, heroic account of Bertine’s serial exertions in the realms of triathlon, modern pentathlon, team handball, track cycling, road cycling, rowing, open water swimming, racewalking, and–fasten your seatbelts–luge.

Katherine Bertine - As good as gold

On her journey, the obstacles range from jet lag to jellyfish, flat tires to dating disasters, knuckle bashings to road rash. But, as time starts running out, Bertine doesn’t sweat the small stuff, only the large—like scouring the globe for a tiny nation to adopt her, and pushing her body and mind as far as it will go. Maybe all the way to China.

Between harrowing, but laugh-out-loud episodes of triumph and humiliation, Bertine takes short “Water Breaks” to contemplate the ins-and-outs of fan mail, failure, re-hydration, nasal reconstruction, and what it really means to be an athlete.

Kathryn Bertine swims, runs, and rides like a champion—and her writing is victorious; mining literary pleasures from her physical pain and her spiritual tenacity. In As Good As Gold, Bertine proves she has something more valuable than an Olympic medal. She’s got Olympic mettle. When it comes to the human heart, she takes the gold.”

Buy the book on Amazon:
So You Wanna Be an Olympian?: One Woman, Twenty-six Sports, and 800 Days to Fulfill a Lifelong Dream

Longview Freeze Your Fanny 100k or “Look Mark, another freaking hill?!?!”

I used to live in Longview in the mid 80’s so some of this route was pretty familiar, they changed the course from last years run around Lake O’ The Pines. Temperature started in the upper 30’s and ended around mid 44 degrees although there was an annoying 10-15 mph north wind which made it feel colder.

The run to Gladwater was pretty smooth and fast but after that it was all chipseal and hills, lots and lots of hills.

Freeze your Fanny Pictures

Freeze your Fanny Ride Pics

Did I say the ride had hills?

Oh yea like 3700 feet of hills, nothing super steep but long and annoying hills, one after another after another. I didn’t do too bad on them although after the first 15 or 20 it was getting old. A few intersections had some traffic control by the local police and some with a great group of Harley riders however most intersections didn’t have anything but fortunately the signs were well placed and unlike the last 2 rides I didn’t go off-course.

I hit one of the final rest stops at the 44 mile mark and was so tired at the end I could barely walk and had several toe cramps…I HATE toe cramps! Supposed to be 60 miles but ended up a little over 58 which was fine by me. I’m glad I did the ride, wasn’t fast but almost never am this time of the year and I need a lot more work on the endurance and yes hill climbing. A couple of weeks of good weather and I’ll be fine with the next ride.

58.5 miles
3 hours 27 minutes
152 bps average heart rate
3,669 ft total climb

By Mark Leuck – Link to original story

Long-range bike plans move forward in Fort Worth

The Fort Worth City Council approved a long-range plan Tuesday to make it easier for bicyclists to get around the city. Here are some highlights of the plan, known as Bike Fort Worth:

Goals

  • Triple the number of bike lanes and trails to 1,100.
  • Increase the number of bicycle commuters from 0.2 percent of the population to 0.6 percent.
  • Decrease the number of car-bicycle fatalities by 10 percent.
  • Attain designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community through the League of American Bicyclists.

Plan of action

  • Adopt a “complete streets” policy so that new streets are built with room for cars, mass transit, pedestrians and bikes.
  • Establish a bicycling education program to promote safe bicycling and interaction between cars and cyclists.
  • Include the bike plan in the city’s Master Thoroughfare Plan. This will allow the city to set aside land for trails and bike lanes when it acquires land for future roads, and make it easier to apply for state and federal grants.
  • Distribute an updated bicycle map and commuter guide.
  • Ensure bicycle accommodation on all major transit corridors, station areas and transit hubs.
  • Develop a bicycle and pedestrian transportation plan.
  • Implement a zoning ordinance for bicycle parking.

By MIKE LEE – from http://www.star-telegram.com/local/story/1961439.html