new biker in Houston
 

It was very intimidating trying to buy a bike- the 4 other places I went to, nobody offered any help. But as soon as I walked into Performance Bicycles, I was greeted, and assisted in the process!

I walked out with a GT Timberline, a helmet, a hand pump, and a spare tube.

Unfortunately, I'm going out of town, and won't be back until Sunday afternoon, but hopefully I'll get to take her out sometime next weekend!

Any good strategies for biking around on Westheimer? I live near Westheimer and Voss, so I was thinking of making a trip to/around Memorial park and back? Too many runners and/or other bikers to dodge? (keep in mind, it's been 10+ years since i've been on a bike, so quick dodges are probably out of the question). Would it be better if I just went down Westheimer until I was tired, then turned around?

Yikes, the thought of biking on Westheimer scares the bejeezus out of me.

Personally, I'd load the bike up in the car and head to one of the trails. Bray's Bayou and White Oak Bayou are my favorites right now. I plan on doing some road riding too, but will probably head out on one of the organized club rides in the country rather than peddling around on the major thoroughfares in town. The fruit loop in Memorial offers some good riding too, but I tired of going around and around the same path pretty quickly.

I've ridden on Westheimer going from Weslayan to Kirkwood....... At like 6:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Pretty much anytime other then that is taking your life in your hands. It's like a freeway with stop lights and I tend to see a whole lot of jackassery from the drivers on that road.

If I were you and I was looking for a nice long ride, I would make my way carefully to Woodway and go WEST. It becomes Memorial and then Briar Forest. There's a tricky backway when you turn north on Seagler (you can find it easy looking at Google maps or something) that will spit you out near the entrance to Terry Hershey Park at the Beltway. From there you can go all the way to S. Fry Rd. where George Bush Park .

A most excellent ride with lots of scenery and wildlife. Some of it not even smushed by cars.

I live near Sharpstown Mall and would ride with you and show you around but there is a broken spoke on the rear wheel of my bike and I'm stuck riding my wifes bike which is a scootch too small and more rigged out for hauling groceries then long rides.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Like Sushi and Tex said, avoid Westheimer like the plague. Its what, an 8/9 lane road and so many cars turning in and out of all the businesses.

I've never had the desire to ride in circles so have never done the Memorial loop.

I'd second going to George Bush Park and riding the trail there. I used to drive there and bike when I first got into cycling in Houston. Usually George Bush is pretty open for cyclists (fewer walkers/joggers than other trails). Just don't try to ride it after a heavy rain because that area drains for days and water runs over the path.

For your location, I'd simply hop on Briar Forest and go west. When Briar Forest ends you can pick up a connecting path to go to the George Bush path. PM me if you need more specifics. Here's a bonus no one has mentioned yet ... Briar Forest actually has a decent bike lane on the right side of the road. The Terry Hershey trail is near Briar Forest, you definitely want to check it out a few times, but my experience is there are more walkers/dog walkers/joggers due to being behind a residential area, especially if you go on a weekend. Most of the George Bush path is far enough away from homes that you'll see more cyclists than walkers/joggers.

Westheimer used to be 6 lanes there 3 nice wide lanes each way. The made it 8 lanes by repainting the lines back in in the 70's.

Like Yeamac said, Briar Forest does have a fairly nice bike lane that goes all the way out to Hwy 6 where you can catch the MUP that goes north up around the flood control dam. That's worth looking into on weekends when Terry Hearshey is choked full of families leting their kids ride their Barbie bikes with training wheels all over the MUP. I usually don't ride weekends though. I have one of those jobs where I'm most likely to get days off on weekdays and that's when Terry Hershey is nearly a paradise. Mostly adult joggers, cyclists, and roller bladers and they are few and far between. Add to that the fairly steep rolling terrain that the MUP follows and you have lots more fun then slogging away on Briar Forest next to traffic. The fact that Terry Hershey and George Bush connect up is great. There's been a few times when I would ride from my place near Sharpstown to the beginning of Terry Hershey at Beltway 8 and end up all the way to the end of the George Bush MUP on S. Fry.

The good part is that if I'm feeling beat by the milage and heat I can take the flat shorter route down Briar Forest to get home and there are lots of stores and places to stop along the way.

biker:
http://www.rvtravel.com/blog/alaska/...ker-760090.jpg

cyclist:
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/daily...st_for_web.jpg



which one are you?

I also live in southwest Houston ( S. Gessner & Bissonnet ). I have never ridden west, bit might try after reading this post. Since the Braes Bayou trail is at my door step, I ride east along the bayou to the medical center. From there I have gone north to downtown/heights or east to Hermann park/Rice/Zoo area. I would like to try the Terry Hershey and George Bush trails. Any safe path to get there from the south side of 59?

Traveling down Westheimer can be very tricky. I have a friend that commutes via his bike everywhere around Westheimer from around Voss to the Galleria area. It is do able, but as other have mentioned Westheimer has a lot of vechiular traffic moving very fast.

Any chance the BF's in SW Houston get together?

That would be totally cool, right now I'm starting a new job after being layed off in April. Not sure what my schedule would be like. My SS road bike (that I rode my first century on last April going from Sharpstown Mall to Katy Mills Mall and riding the 62 mile ride of the Katy Ram Challenge) has a broken spoke on the rear tire and I'm stuck riding my wifes grocery getter until I get the money together to buy a new wheel set.

As for a safe way to get to Terry Hershey from Brays Bayou, well, 59 is a real pinch point there are a couple of back street routes but they don't go past 59. Once you get north past 59 the best way is to get on Ranchester which has a bike lane and keep going north when it turns into Briar Park which still has a bike lane. Once you hit Westheimer keep going north past the light into that neighborhood just past Westheimer. Eventually the street curves west towards Seigler where you turn north again and go past Briar Forest. From there it's a matter of keep going north til you can't then go west til you can't then north again. Basicly keep going north and west through this quiet neighborhood until you reach Beltway 8 and that sould be just before the entrance to Terry Hershey park.

Sorry that sounds a little vague but if you look at Google maps using the hybrid mode you can find it pretty easy.

aggarcia, I live near N. Braeswood and Hillcroft and this past spring we had many a Saturday training rides for the MS150 start out in Katy, so I would ride the Bayou path west to Braeswood/Gessner and then just take Gessner north to Briar Forest. Early Saturdays is no problem, but coming home at 1-2 pm was always a bit more traffic. A little sketchy at times, but not that bad; with 3 lanes in one direction the traffic can go around without much of a problem. I couldn't find a better route, so just stuck with that one.

If we decide to try to get BF members together let me know. What type of distance we looking to do? It can be like our own little "Tour de Houston", maybe showing each other places we have learned to ride. :)

Tex Arcana - Thanks for your basic directions - I will map it out this weekend. I under stand the whole job situation. I am working, but at a much lower position and salary than normal - but I still have a job. Why not repair your broken wheel until funds are there to replace them?

yeamac - I ride past your area several times a week on the Braes Bayou trail. I ride most rodes everyday as I commute to Sugarland , so I do not have a problem riding streets, but drivers in Houston do not watch where they are going most of the time - they are too busy on thier cell phones. I try and avoid major streets if possible because of the traffic. I will try and make it to the trails next week.

SW Houston BF ride - I would love to be in the shape to ride the MS150, but not to that point yet. I am up for a ride after work or on weekends ( depending if I am free and wife and kids can make weekends very busy). Does that work for any one else?

thanks everyone, i think i'll get my "sea legs" on Briar forest, and make my way to Terry Hershey park as i get more distance in!

Isn't that a MTB? If so, there is good riding at Memorial Park and at Terry Hershey too.

http://www.singletracks.com/bike-tra...rial-park.html
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-tra...shey-park.html

BTW - what shops did you go to? Did you ask for help and still get ignored? Or were you expecting someone to walk up and ask you if you needed help? If the later, check out Daniel Boone, West End, or Southwest/Northwest Cyclery, they tend to have people who are more "chatty", like Performance is. Some of the other local shops like Sun&Ski or Bike Barn tend to wait for you to ask for help.

Welcome to cycling and to Houston! :) As already indicated, we call ourselves cyclists much more so than bikers, as the motorcycle crowd has pretty well claimed the title of biker. Yes, bicycles were around before motorcycles, but not by much.

+1 to staying off of Westheimer; it can be a hairy place to drive a car.

ok, i've got a solution to the dangerous conditions of Houston cycling

4 am rides.
it's simply a matter of me getting up in time!

of course, i failed to ride today, but tommorrow! oh tommorrow, how i will ride!

I hate to say it, but you'll want a misquito net. I commute some times at 5-6am, and the bugs on the bayous are BAD. :D

(I know you're joking, just pointing out that even this won't provide perfect conditions!)

Around Westheimer and Voss, the Briargrove neighborhood is a nice, quiet place to ride. Here is a link in Google Maps. The neighborhood runs both north and south of San Felipe.

Here is the path I take to get to Terry Hershey / George Bush Park. It's not the most direct way (the fastest way would be to jump on Briar Forest or Memorial itself), but I definitely find it more relaxing to take the wide sidewalks in Bunker Hill and Memorial and not worry about cars zipping within a foot of me every few seconds. On the Bikely route I've noted the sections where and on which side of the road I take the sidewalks; if there are no notes then assume I just take the road.

From Briargrove you can also head east on Sugar Hill across Chimney Rock to Tanglewood, which has a very nice bike lane (link in Google Maps). The entire neighborhood surrounding Tanglewood on both the east and west sides is also very good for walking and cycling.

wow, thanks aaronechang
kwrides- i think i'll try bug spray first, a net won't go over my helmet =0P

it's not the bites, it's the flying in your teeth, nose, eyes, and ears...seriously, I know you will not be doing this, but this may help someone who searches on "new biker in Houston"
http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Summit-Mos.../dp/B001CTVNV8

Why do you guys not like memorial park? It's an awesome place to ride, and there are always rides leaving out of there doing a town loop or death ride. Pretty fun stuff!

In my case I do heavy traffic urban riding all the time. It's nice when I have a weekday off to hop on the THP MUP at Beltway 8 with it's varied rolling terrain with friendly folks and roll down to Hwy 6. When conditions allow you can go further out and ride into George Bush park to S. Fry Rd.. For me starting at my home that is nearly a 50 mile ride with views of Buffalo Bayou, wild flowers, and wild life.

Compared to all that awesomeness Memorial Park is a bit far, flat, a hassle to get to and short. I tend to ride alone, and do my own ride anyway most of the time.

Ohh... sounds nice. May I come ride with you one day :D

Since I broke a spoke on my SS I haven't been there lately myself. I've been stuck with my wifes too small for me 7 speed grocery getter with the produce crate tied to the rack ( tonight I got an 8 pound bag of dog food, dozen eggs, bag of flour, two packs of hotdogs, can of chili and loaf of bread :) ) for commuting.

Not my favorite bike for riding 50 miles. Last BFer I rode Terry Hershey with was CPBlue on my Ironhorse Urban and my left crank fell off. It was my day to ride 50 miles the day before my 50th birthday and I was determined to do the ride. CPBlue was very patient with me stopping every 10 to 20 minutes to tighten my left crank back on again.

I guess it's stuff like that that makes interesting memories for what's already a pretty good trail. Let me fix my SS ( it's an SE Draft, people like to bag on it but I rode my first century on that bike ) and I'll be happy to ride with any of you out there.

I ride on Braes Bayou all the time, but I start at the East end and usually when there aren't many joggers/dogs out.

I'm down if any of you guys want to ride around this area.. :thumb:

tzarbomba - what time do you ride Braes Bayou? And how far east? I usually commute to 59/90 4 days a week. I end up with about 20 miles a day unless I have to run errands, then mileage goes to 35 miles. Next week because scheduling conflicts I will drive in everyday, but an after 6 pm ride is possible.