Houston Biking

Bayou City Outdoors is full of riders and cyclers! We even have about 70 participants in this year's MS150 from Houston to Austin. From casual fun rides to serious training rides, we always have a lot of fun. Some of our famous events are our monthly Farmer's Market Tour Ride and Houston's Too Cool Tour Ride.

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 Here is some additional information on biking/cycling:

 Mountain Bike Trails in and around Houston Area 

   For General Information on Houston Bike Trails click Here!

By www.trails.com/activity.asp?area=10312

Our favorite is the Memorial Park in Houston

Memorial Park Map

Memorial Park in Houston has some of the best technical areas I have ridden.  From near impossible climbs to decent that leave you face down in the leaves.  People have been know to tell us there is no way we can climb certain areas, and they stand in disbelief as prove them wrong, most of the time.  

Although not all the trails are mark, most are.  On the main trails you we see these wooden post with colored arrows hopefully leading you in the right direction.  There are several trails that have been closed to bikes and those areas are marked by roadblocks.  It is important to respect the signs because the City of Houston has been trying to close all the trails to bikes.

All the trails in Memorial Park are surrounded by dense forest.  There are trails everywhere and maps are hard to come by.  Click here for a MAP of the main trails.  Watch for hikers and other bikers.  Be sure to call "RIDER!" when rounding a blind turn so people will know you are coming.  Likewise, be sure to yield when you hear another biker yell.

The Buffalo Bayou runs along the back of the park and washes out parts of the trails.  It is a long drop to the water so be careful.

This is one of those rides that can take all day just because you find a jump or climb that you want to try over and over again.  The three pictures above are all places like that, a creek crossing, a root infested hill, and a "roller-coaster" double hill ending with a steep wash-out with a brick erosion prevention path.  All three worth spending a few minutes at.

Some days everything you do is perfect and you start thinking that you should start racing, then you get over confident and you are sent over the bar or even worse, you are sent into your bars.

By http://www.lx.net/schizo/Houston.html

Why Start Riding?

Why I Ride
by Chad Stamper

"I think this is it." I thought to myself while beginning my rocky dual track ascent up what would prove to be an amazing journey. Dark clouds form above me and the sound of thunder a short distance away threatens my ride. Unfazed by natures attempt to knock me down I push on expecting harsh rains and bitter cold temperatures. "Should I turn back?" No, a little rain can be fun but the cold is a little too much to bare. My uncovered hands were going numb. I press on though, thinking the workout would warm me up.

For the next two miles, I endured a steady dual track climb in what felt like freezing rain. The intensity of the ride warmed my lower half while my arms were kept numb by the wind. Reaching the top, I am greeted by a spectacular view of Lee Mountain. Within seconds, the clouds begin to disperse and the suns rays thaw my chilled arms.

Another trail intersect and a steep but quick hill, I made it to the top. The thought of 3 miles of mostly singletrack downhill reverberated in my head. The first two miles greet me with technical rock and root combinations. My calves burn while my toes grip the pedals, hands on weak brakes, I continue my descent.

The scenery changes again with a turn into the trees. I find myself tracking a small stream, hands still clasped tight absorbing roots and splashing my way down. Turn after turn and bump after bump, one of my best rides yet.

Finally, reaching the blacktop, I know the ride is coming to an end. Hands off the bars, arms spread, palms up, wearing a smile. This... is why I ride.

By http://www.dirtworld.com/trails/TexasMountainBiketrails.asp

Biking Safety

Houston’s Bike Lane Blues

Dan Lundeen

People are bummed about the bike lanes going up all over Houston. Motorists mourn the loss of a lane, businesses are organizing to get their parking back, and the bicyclists, die-hard riders and wannabees alike, are so discouraged they're staying away in droves.

In theory, bicycle facilities are supposed to reduce air pollution, ease traffic congestion, promote physical fitness and health, and make the streets safer for everyone. But for the car-dependent, if you have been backed up for 5-6 blocks at the Kirby light on Alabama, or sat endlessly in traffic to pick your kids up from school at 20th Street and Heights Blvd., you're no doubt wondering what wisdom led to the bikeway boondoggle in Houston. And if you had three flats from glass in the bike lane in one morning on your bike to work, you have to wonder if the City can ever sweep the bike lanes enough to make the seven-year wait for them quite worth it.

How did Houston ever get such a bad case of the bike lane blues? Well, unless you've been holding your breath under a rock, or you've been one of the estimated 435 premature deaths caused by air pollution every year here, you know that Houston had the smoggiest air in the country in 1999. Houston agreed to expand the bikeway system by 300 miles as part of the air quality plan (the so-called "SIP") required by the EPA under the Federal Clean Air Act.

Originally pushed by Houston's mayor instead of rail, unanimously approved by City Council in 1993, and funded under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) in 1994-95, Phase I of the bikeways were made a part of the SIP.

The bikeways and the SIP now have the force of Federal law. The sanction for non-conformity with the SIP is the forfeiture of all Federal transportation funding for the region, like the EPA did to Atlanta. Thus, we cannot realistically consider doing away with the bikeway system, nor should we want to.

Houston has no choice now but to live with its decision and somehow make the bike lanes work.

Unfortunately, the bikeways were designed 4-5 years ago in most cases --

Before inner-loop revitalization swelled the car counts.

Before the streets fell apart from the load of Metro's buses and the money to fix them was siphoned off for more sprawling road construction in outlying areas.

Before new businesses gobbled up free parking along the selected bike routes. Before we could learn how difficult it was to simply re-stripe and put up a few signs when the City, Metro, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are forced to share red tape on a government project.

If the bike lanes had been put in 4-5 years ago, there certainly wouldn't have been the extent of problems we see today. Revitalization would have grown up around established bike lanes and routes, and adjusted course accordingly.

Some cities adding just 10-15 miles of bikeways have a Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator's Office staffed with 20 employees. Houston is putting in more than 300 miles with just 3.

The City's Traffic Department has no experience whatsoever with bikeway facilities. To mildly understate it, the traffic engineers have had a rude awakening to the requirements of a modern transportation system that must now address the safety needs of non-motorized modes as well as the convenience of car occupants.

Is it really any wonder that the bike lanes seem empty?

The bike lanes (a) are only half-finished, and not signed yet, (b) are full of debris and glass, (c) are too narrow and/or rough/bumpy, (d) do not connect up yet (and some may never connect), (e) are resented by a few motorists who express their anger in their driving habits, (f) are unmapped and unknown to cyclists, and (g) do not provide a place to park your bike when you get to the store. Doing the bike counts at 2 P.M. on 96 degree ozone warning days, doesn't yield the best numbers either.

We can't get rid of the bike lanes, but we can get rid of the bike lane blues.  The Traffic Department will eventually figure out, at the problem intersections, how to better transition the bike lanes, and how to configure and time the traffic lights to get the cars through. They will also learn tricks like getting rid of the center turn lane mid-block to put back merchant parking between the bike lane and the curb.

Motorists will eventually learn how to merge with the bike lane traffic to make turns, and other legal techniques that help car traffic flow smoother.TxDOT will eventually get the bikeways up to code and safe enough for our ten-year-olds.

The Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator's office will eventually get out the word about the spectacular bike lanes and routes and trails linking a linear system of lush parks in the flattest city on earth with year-round cycling weather.

Above all, a few of the car-dependent will see that the bikeways are safe and start using all those bike lanes, routes and trails for some trips under 3-5 miles that they used to drive. Just 1-2% would be a huge success for the bikeways.

The former car capital of Texas will eventually be world-renowned for its walking and cycling.

The bikeways will eventually become part of Houston's mental and physical health, an integral component of our sense of community and place.

We'll eventually shake those bike lane blues and leave them in the dust.

By www.garynuke.homestead.com