alohaboy

Hey everyone,
I've decided that I'm not going to do the Tour of Houston and Space Race next year. I've done them the last 3 years and want to do something new. I did the Schulenberg Historic Dance Hall ride last year and despite suffering immensely for 4 hours (I wasn't in the best shape then), I really enjoyed it.
Can ya'll recommend rides west of Houston to keep an eye out for? I start checking active.com at the start of the year, but I don't know the names of the ones out there.
Any help is appreciated.

amillhench 

https://www.bicycletexas.com/houston.htm

alohaboy

Thanks for the links. Can ya'll recommend some hill-specific ones to look out for. I think climbing is going to be my focus for this "season". Last year was distance as I rode a century and the MS150 to Austin.

alpha_bravo

Good luck in Houston. I love to climb, and living in Houston / South TX kills me. I've heard there are some "hills" in the Woodlands, but I can't justify the 80 mile round trip to find out. In town when I want to hit hill repeats, I'll head to a parking garage early in the morning for an hour or so. I have a couple that are security guard free for now.

When I want to hit the hills, I try to make it count. I've had great luck getting out to the hill country and Austin. I love riding in San Marcos. There is great riding and some good solid hills out there. Heading up River Road is a nice hilly route and there is a tough uphill on FM 306 at the end. Austin is a great get-away, not many mountains to speak of but I don't think there's another place in the world with the same concentration of short, steep hills. A long route along the famous "Dam Loop" can yield 2000 feet of climbing depending on how you route it. The Jester is as steep and nasty a hill as I've ever ridden. I have a route starting from Zilker park that is about 1200 feet of climbing in 24 miles if you want an intense challenge many of the gradients are in the 15-20% range.

68venable

Try the weimaride this year. I did it last year and it was a ton of fun!

alohaboy

Well, like I said, the Schulenberg ride was ridiculously hilly, but still fun. I highly recommend it, assuming they have it next year. I think it was in March.

adamrice 

Hills, you say? Tour das Hugel.

amillhench 

Without having to leave Houston, look for some nice parking garages at off peak hours for hill training.

alohaboy

Oh, I don't mind leaving Houston; I know I have to drive out west on I-10 to get to some hills. Driving an hour or so to a ride doesn't bother me.
Thankfully we have a nice parking garage here at the Sugar Land Town Square and it's deserted early in the morning when I like to ride.

clarkgriswold

How long are your rides?

Houston Randonneurs has some great routes out of Brookshire, but hills don't start until 25-40 miles in.
You can do Belleville-Washington on Brazos or Independence which I think is around 100 miles and goes through Chappell Hill.

You can do just Chappell Hill. An out and back can be as short as 18 miles round trip, or you can make it about 40 round trip by going to Independence or Washington-on-Brazos. Thats the hilliest stuff around until you get out towards Navasota and Anderson Tx.

You can also start in Magnolia/105 area and head out 149 through the National Forest, and over to Anderson. Northwest Cycle Club did a 100 miler around there two weeks ago. There are maps on ridewithgps and mapmyride for some of these.

For hilly charity rides, there is a bluebonnet ride that is in Chappell Hill area, another one called "head for the hills" I think.

alohaboy

Great, thanks for the suggestions.

big_heineken

These are somewhat hilly:
https://www.active.com/cycling/new-wa...-d-autism-2010

https://www.active.com/page/Event_Det...ent_id=1871039