SABikeRides

Riding from the House

2010-03-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

One thing I've never been able to capture with my maps is the most common type of ride we all do. That's the ride from the house. It's the personal ride(s) that all of us dedicated cyclists have. These are the rides that won't make it on anyone's list of great rides, but we still love them. They're OUR rides. They're the rides we do when we don't have time to go do something epic. They're the rides we toss in on a Saturday afternoon or a Tuesday night when we've only got a little bit of time available. They're the rides that we know every single pebble and pothole and low hanging tree branch on. They're the rides that keep us sane. Here's to rides from the house!

Worthwhile Upgrades

2010-03-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

My road and mountain bikes are both around 10 years old and counting. People occasionally suggest to me that I'd really benefit from upgrading them. I tell them they're wrong. There have only been a few new technologies in the last 20 or 30 years worth spending the money to upgrade to. While there have been tons of other innovations, those are only worthwhile buying when your old stuff breaks or wears out. Here's a list of worthwhile upgrades:

Road bikes:

friction shifters to indexed shifting: indexed shifting "just works", allowing you to concentrate on riding rather than shifting

downtube shifters to bar shifters: the obvious difference is that you don't have to take your hands off the bars as much (which is safer), while the subtle difference is that you end up riding MUCH more efficiently since it's so easy to shift and keep yourself in a comfortable gear range

toe clips to clipless pedals: the comfort and ease of use of clipless pedals is great

tubular (sew-up) tires to clincher tires: tubulars totally suck to deal with when they go flat on a ride - stick to clinchers if you don't have a follow car

aluminum frame to any other type of frame: aluminum frames tend to have harsh rides, and there is good evidence that smoother rides lead to significantly less strain on the body

Notice that the most recent of the worthy road bike innovations (STI shifters) is from 1990. The basic road bike configuration hasn't changed in a long, long time.

Mountain bikes:

toe clips to clipless pedals: once you're used to them, you can get out of clipless pedals in an instant without conscious thought - they will save you major injury at some point, guaranteed

rigid fork to front suspension: you never realize how bumpy even the smoothest trail is until you put a good suspension fork on your bike

hardtail to (good) rear suspension: the energy you save by sitting more is subtle but really adds up quickly - Horst Link (FSR) designs are the gold standard

tube tires to tubeless tires: these virtually eliminate flats when used with good tire sealant

rim brakes to hydraulic disk brakes: it's really amazing how well hydraulic brakes stop your bike when it's wet and when you're going downhill a lot

Things to keep an eye on:

tubeless tires on road bikes: if these can eliminate flats like tubeless mountain bike tires do, they will be worth it

Here's what really matters:

your bike fits you: you should be comfortable - if you notice your bike more than you notice the ride, check into this

you have a comfortable seat and good riding shorts: your ass is the most important component of comfort on the bike, I promise

your bike functions properly and reliably: it needs to get you to the end of the ride

you ride enough to comfortably finish the rides you want to: if you only ride occasionally, you will always be struggling and won't enjoy the rides

Note to the racers reading this: I could argue all day long about whether the newest, coolest, lightest, trickest thing will really make you faster, but I won't. If you think it makes you faster, then that is all that matters, because the mental component of racing is huge.

Additional note: when you do buy new parts, buy as far up the quality ladder as you can. Bike parts are made incredibly well these days, and the good stuff will last you for a long, long time. The more expensive parts tend to be a good investment.

February 2010 Release

2010-02-15T18:03:00.000-08:00

I just pushed out a new release of the site. Other than a few new rides, most of you won't notice anything new since the main thrust was finishing-up the process of open-sourcing the site.

New rides:

Paradise Canyon

Willow City Loop

Fredericksburg - Harper

The biggest change is the final open-source release of all the code used to create the maps. The overall project is described on The SABX Project. It'll point you to all the relevant stuff. The code itself is now on GitHub, so you can go there to check it all out.

Enjoy!
Jay Farrimond

New Trails at Flat Rock Ranch

2010-01-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

We rode the Upper Loop at Flat Rock Ranch yesterday. It looks like they've done some trail work recently, and it has really paid off. They have re-routed the trail in a couple of spots and added a whole new section of trail that skirts around the edge of one of the hills. I thoroughly enjoyed the improvements. The Upper Loop used to be the part of Flat Rock that wasn't very enjoyable because it was too steep and not thought-out well enough to let you get a good rhythm going. Now it rocks!

January 2010 Release

2010-01-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the new year, I've released an update to the site. I made some big changes for this release, but it won't seem like it if you aren't a software developer.

The biggest change is that I'm open sourcing the project. I'll write a complete blog post about this soon, but for the moment suffice it to say I'm putting all the source code under a GPL license. The map data, on the other hand, I'm keeping private. Well, semi-private (I guess). It wouldn't be very hard to take the JavaScript data files for each ride and reverse-engineer them, and I doubt there's anything I could do about it. Still, I'm not giving the data away, so you'll have to work at least a little bit if you want to steal it.

I've also gotten rid of the comments and conditions tabs. Nobody was using them, and I don't feel like maintaining that code, so now they're gone.

I fixed a quirk with elevations that could have made some of the profiles wrong. You'd really have to know what you were looking for to find it, but it was there. Basically, when I create a ride out of several different GPS tracks, it was possible for some of the segments to have different relative elevations than they should have. This resulted in weird jumps in the profile when going from segment to segment. I've normalized everything using USGS elevation data, so it should be about as good as I can make it now.

Last, but not least, I added a new ride. Paradise Canyon is an old favorite of mine, and I'm glad to have it up.

Enjoy!
Jay Farrimond

PDF Maps Added

2009-11-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

I think I'm finally getting close to printed maps that I'm satisfied with. Or that I at least don't totally hate. Long ago I started with trying to setup Google Maps to print out the routes, but those were totally unsatisfying. Then, I discovered the OpenStreetMap project and Mapnik, which helped me along the way. Still, those maps were fuzzy when you printed them and not very useful. I've finally gone one step further and created high-resolution maps that should print nicely. I had to put them into PDF files to achieve this, so the print feature is no longer available. Now, you can download the PDF file for a particular ride option and print that out. I'm still not totally satisfied with how readable they are, but I feel like I'm heading in the right direction. The next refinement to the printed maps will be to fiddle with the fonts, colors, line weights, icons, etc... to make them works of art. I'm sure I'll get to this someday.

As a result of removing printing, I had to redo printed driving directions. Now there's a button on the parking page that brings up the standard Google Maps page for directions from your starting point to the ride start. I think this will work nicely.

Other refinements in this release are no more adds on the maps themselves, and radio buttons to choose the ride length. The map adds were just plain annoying and didn't make me enough money to justify their existence. The radio buttons stemmed from a user complaint that it's not obvious that there are different length options for each ride. I hope this helps. Only time will tell.

Up next I have some final refinements to the map page that I want to implement. After that, I have some ideas for a mobile-phone app for the site to help navigate on rides. Keep an eye out for these refinements in the near future.

Enjoy!
Jay Farrimond

Meeting for Public Art for Leon Creek Trail

2009-10-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

I recently received this email that I thought I would share with all:

Hi Jay,
My name is Daniel Rodriguez, public art specialist with Public Art San Antonio.
We currently have a public art project that is in the design phase and is looking to be done on the Leon Creek Trail/Prue Rd. intersection (underpass I believe).

I am looking to put together a public art focus group for this project for area residents and frequent users of the trail. Would you happen to know of any bike clubs, bikers, or anyone who might frequently use this trail that I can contact? These meetings are primarily a forum to exchange ideas of what the project could be and a chance for the public to meet the project artist, jack Robbins.

The meeting is scheduled to happen on Nov. 9 from 5:30-6:30pm at the

Igo Library,
13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy
San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: (210) 561-6113

If you or anyone else you know would be interested in attending this meeting and providing feedback and ideas to the artist, we would be happy for you to join us.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Daniel R. Rodriguez
Public Art Specialist
City of San Antonio
Phone: 210-207-1435

New Printable Maps

2009-10-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last night I released a new version of the site. The major change is new printing features and better printable maps. The minor change was fixing a bug that had come-up for Internet Explorer users.

I've always hated the way printing in the site worked. It was too complicated, offered too many choices, and was confusing for the users (including me). I went back to the drawing board and stripped out all the options that were there, going instead to a simple "print map" command. You get the parking directions (if you've queried for them), short ride instructions, profile, and maps. I may add some simple options back in the future, but for now this is it.

For the profiles, I added labels to them so you can see where the turns are when looking at the profile. I like these, but they're not perfect yet. They have a cluttered look to them still, but I have some ideas for fixing them in the future. Sometimes I take baby steps in the route to perfection.

The printable maps are completely new. I've never liked how Google's maps printed, and there's always the problem of copyright involved with distributing maps printed from the site. I've gotten around that by using OpenStreetMaps and Mapnik to create static printable maps that are completely unencumbered by intellectual property restrictions. Also, I now have complete control over the map data and how it looks.

The new maps still have a ways to go, though. I'm not completely satisfied with how they look, so I'm going to continue working on that. For the time being, though, I think they're a significant step forward.

In addition to the large map it's always had, the print page now has zoomed-in sub-maps showing areas of detail that aren't obvious on the large maps. I hope these help.

After I've lived with the new printable maps for a while, I'll go back and make the changes that become apparent to me. Until then, I hope you enjoy the new features! If you have any comments, suggestions, or gripes, email me (please!!!).

Thanks!
Jay Farrimond

Memorial Photos

2009-10-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.mysanantonio.com/slideshows/Cyclists_Ride_to_Bruehler_Memorial_Service_.html

Five New Maps Up Tonight

2009-10-06T19:40:00.001-07:00

I rolled out updates to the site tonight. Here's what's different (in no particular order):

I posted five new maps.

Bulverde - Rebecca Creek
Cibolo - New Berlin
Fredericksburg - Doss
Bullis County Park
Government Canyon

I added a 72 mile option through Blanco to the Bulverde - Kendalia map.

I redid the front page. I re-organized the ride list into Road Routes, Mountain Bike Trails, and Family Routes.

Wimberley Maps Added

2009-09-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

I just added two more maps, both of which feature routes going through Wimberley.

Sattler - Wimberley and Canyon Lake - Wimberley.

Enjoy!

Bulverde - Kendalia Map Added

2009-09-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

I added a map for several routes going from Bulverde to Kendalia and back. These are some rides I've done and enjoyed for many years. Check them out!

http://www.sabikerides.com/781/Bulverde-Kendalia.php

Enjoy!

Crested Butte Recap

2009-09-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

I just got back from spending a week riding my mountain bike in Crested Butte. I've gone there several times in the past, so I know which trails to ride. I took four friends along, and we had a great time. Here's a recount of which trails we rode and what we thought of them.

Sept. 5 - Walrod Gulch
This is my traditional first day ride in Crested Butte. It's only around 7 miles long and starts from the condo we stayed at, so it's convenient for the first day. It's by no means an easy ride, though. It climbs over 1000 feet up some incredibly steep trails, then drops back down even faster. Great short ride!

Sept. 6 - Trail 401
This is a truly classic trail. You park above Gothic at a parking area, then climb up the road to Schofield pass for several miles. Once you hit the pass, you take singletrack to the right that climbs you the rest of the way up to 11,300 feet. Once there, you start on a multi-mile descent over some great trails. The bottom part has some ups and downs, but all-in-all this a great ride.

Sept. 7 - Upper Loop/Upper Upper Loop
This is one of the classic from-town rides in Crested Butte. You go up the recreation path to the lower part of the mountain village, then head down a driveway that connects to the singletrack. It takes you across the mountain on the Upper Loop. This is some nice trail. The Upper Loop T's into the Upper Upper Loop and Whetstone. We went on Upper Upper Loop, but it's very rocky and not as much fun. It's rideable, but it's a real pain in the butt. I'd recommend taking the Whetstone trail instead. I've never ridden it, but it HAS to be more enjoyable. Still, this is a good option for a quick ride from town.

Sept. 7 - Lower Loop
This is another classic from-town ride. It's not very technical, which makes it a good ride for less experienced riders. Still, it's a good trail and enjoyable.

Sept. 8 - Teocalli Ridge
This used to be one of the signature rides in Crested Butte. Now, it sucks big time. In no way can I recommend this ride. The climbs are a pain, but all the rides around here have that. The problem comes when the descents start. They are simply too washed-out and loose to be enjoyable. You're either walking around downhill washouts and dropoffs that aren't rideable, or tripoding (riding with one foot off the pedals) down loose ruts. Don't do this ride. Do Doctor Park instead. Doctor Park is what this ride should be.

Sept. 8 - Deer Creek
I didn't ride this trail this year, but I have in the past. The rest of the group rode it. It has a really steep climb for about the first mile or so of singletrack, but after that it's fun trail along the valley for a long way. Highly recommended.

Sept. 9 - Trail 401 descent
For our second ride on Trail 401, we left a car at the cutoff and ferried our bikes to the top. We did the short (1 mile) climb to the top of the mountain, then enjoyed the long downhill back to the car. This is definitely the way to do this trail if you're limited on time. The descent is simply awesome!

Sept. 10 - Doctor Park
For my money, this is the best trail in the area. It starts off with a long, but not too steep, climb up Spring Creek Road, then through pastures, until it hits the forest. You ride on some forest singletrack before coming to the downhill section. Wow! This is some of the best downhill ever. It has several miles of nicely bermed singletrack running through aspen groves and along creeks that are simply incredible. You finish off with some steep and technical switchbacks that put you back near where you parked. You have to do this ride if you're in the area.

Sept. 11 - Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman's
This is a truly classic ride. You start off doing the long fire-road climb up to Reno Divide, then blast down many miles of singletrack on the Flag Creek trail. Then you do another climb and another great long descent on the Bear Creek trail. You finish up by climbing up the Deadmand's Gulch trail to the ridge, then going down through 30 switchbacks on a cool trail that puts you back at the car. Another must-ride trail.

All-in-all, Crested Butte is a great place to ride mountain bikes. There's enough trail in the surrounding area that you can easily ride for a week and not see the same trail twice (if you don't want to). I doubt I'll ever have a chance to ride all the trails there.

SA Bike Videos

2009-09-03T08:21:00.001-07:00

Chris Michaut has been making videos of some of the mountain bike trails around town. Check them out on his YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/AHsanantonio.

Charity Ride in Corpus Christi on Oct. 11

2009-09-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

There's a group down in Corpus Christi raising money for injured rider Barb Savell. They're putting on a fund-raising ride on Oct. 11. It sounds like a worthy cause. Here's a link to their page with further information and a sign-up link.

http://www.starrscc.com/events_keeptexaswild.html

Site Updated

2009-09-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

I pushed out some updates to the site this afternoon. I'm sure I've forgotten some of the changes I made, but the following list hits the highlights.

I added a map for a route from Gruene to Bear Creek and back. In this case, Bear Creek is actually FM 2722. It's also called Bear Creek Rd., hence the name of the ride. This is a nice ride to do from the New Braunfels area.

The Flat Rock Ranch map was updated. An astute user pointed out that my map of the Upper Loop didn't get the entire trail. I rode out there recently and re-mapped that portion of the ride and got all of the trail. It's now an eleven mile loop on the map, up from the nine miles it was before.

The lines on the maps are now thinner. Although it's only a cosmetic change, I really like how this turned out. The old lines were too broad and made the maps hard to read. This really shows through on the mountain bike maps where many of the trails run close to eachother.

I updated the descriptions of some of the bike shops. I've had a chance to talk to the guys from more of the shops lately, and I've gotten new information. I'm trying to have a comprehensive list of which shops rent bikes and what kind of bikes they rent, and this is another step on that road.

Enjoy!

McAllister Park Map Added

2009-08-21T20:48:00.001-07:00

I added a map for McAllister Park tonight. Check it out here. Like all of my mountain bike maps, it doesn't have the usual turn-by-turn directions. It's just one long segment for the ride. Turn directions don't work well for a mountain bike ride, since there's no way to describe how to know when to turn. Use the map as an indicator of the scope of the trails, and then go explore them.

Enjoy!

McAllister Park Corpse

2009-08-21T20:26:00.001-07:00

I read today about the kid they found dead in McAllister Park. That's really sad. It's also kind of creepy because they found him right next to some trails I ride all the time. I was there Monday afternoon and Thursday night. Apparently they found him Wednesday sometime. I wonder if he was there on Monday when we rode? The family reported him missing on Monday, and the killer said he shot him in the park. It makes me think he was there when we rode by Monday afternoon. It's strange that that doesn't affect me feeling safe when I ride in McAllister Park. I've ridden there so many hundreds of times over the year that I feel completely at ease there.

Updated Site and Facebook Page

2009-08-19T15:03:00.001-07:00

Two quick items. First, I've created a Facebook fan page for the site. I had a Facebook group before, but that didn't do all the things I wanted. The address is http://www.facebook.com/pages/SABikeRidescom/124371492796. Become a fan!

Second, I've updated the site. The front page now has a link to the Facebook fan page, and I've got a new badge showing the blog feed. I really like how they've turned out. I also updated the Tour de Gruene tour map with a re-route, and I've added some more information on a few of the local bike shops.

Enjoy!

Charles A. James Co.

2009-08-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of visiting all the local bike shops. It's been an interesting experience so far. I didn't know there were that many shops in the area.

Today I went by and checked out Charles A. James bicycles. Their shop is right in the middle of downtown, on the corner of Main and Pecan. As well as selling and servicing bikes, they rent hybrid and mountain bikes. It sounds like they get a lot of convention and tourist traffic. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and check them out!

Saris Racks Rock!

2009-08-18T11:46:00.001-07:00

I need to give a shout-out to Saris. I have a Thelma hitch-mount bike rack that I bought a year or two ago. It's been a great rack, but lately it started having problems with the front wheel mounts. I called them up today to see if I could buy some new ones. I quickly explained the problem to the guy on the phone. He only had one question for me: "What's your address and phone number?" They're sending me new wheel mounts for free, under warranty, no hassle, no fuss. That's what I call awesome customer service! I'm definitely buying Saris the next time I need a rack, and I'm going to recommend them to anyone who asks.

Site News

2009-08-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

I stopped in and talked to Andy Zinn up at the Canyon Lake Bicycle Shop. It's a neat little shop located on FM 306 across from the entrance to the Madrone Trail. They rent all sorts of bikes as well as providing the normal sales and service thing. They also sell boomerangs, of all things! Andy's a really nice guy who transplanted here from Crested Butte, CO (the mecca of mountain biking in the US). Stop in, say hi, and spend some money when you're near there.

I've posted some new photo sets in the last couple of weeks. I did some pictures of McAllister Park and a ride I did from Gruene to Wimberley that I'm thinking of doing a map for.

I discovered a San Antonio club I didn't know about. San Antonio's Ride Like A Girl sounds like an interesting group. Check them out!

More Maps Coming Soon

2009-08-17T09:09:00.001-07:00

I've been doing a lot of riding and scouting over the past several weeks. I've got a bunch of maps ready to be entered over the next couple of weeks. Here's a list of what to expect:

McAllister Park (MTB)

Government Canyon (MTB)

Gruene - Bear Creek

Bullis County Park (4 options)

Bulverde - Spring Branch (4 options)

Bulverde - Kendalia (2 options)

Fredericksburg - Doss (4+ options)

Doss

No More USGS Elevation

2009-08-17T08:54:00.001-07:00

I've been playing around with my elevation data. I collect data from my GPS unit on each ride, and I also download the elevation data that the US Geological Survey (USGS) provides. I've been experimenting with both datasets to decide which one I like better. As far as I can tell, the GPS data is more accurate. When I compare the profiles side by side from each dataset, the GPS data looks better.

I had originally used the USGS data in the elevation analysis because I assumed it was better data. Now that I've played around and decided that my GPS data is better, I've changed the site over to use it. I just uploaded all new profiles.

Enjoy!

I'm Famous!

2009-08-11T17:13:00.001-07:00

Well, famous may be overstating things a bit. But, Colin McDonald mentions the site in his latest Green Living blog entry: Why ride in the Hill County?. Thanks Colin!