The Safety of the Houston Streets I Ride

When I tell Housotonians that I occasionally ride my bike to work, they are usually incredulous. Some of their surprise is due to their impression of the effort required to cycle 15 miles each way, but the primary concern is because they think it is unsafe. There are a few sections of my commute that require extreme caution (Wilcrest near Harwin and Briar Forest east of Beltway 8 come to mind), but I think most of it is very safe.

For example, the roads near my office are very wide and lightly traveled. The photo below was taken on a Sunday, but it looks about the same on a weekday. The most dangerous thing about this section of road is the acorn covered surface, cracking and popping as I ride over them.

Executive Drive near Corporate Drive in Sugar Land, Texas

Even better, about 80% of my commute is through quiet neighborhoods. In the mornings, kids wait for the school bus, and my big worry is the occasional driver that doesn't look before backing out of the driveway. In the afternoons, kids play in the yards, and a few even say hello. Dads wash cars, and dogs are walked. Sure, there is a little traffic on the road, but it's as safe as it gets. The photo below shows what I see on the majority of my commute.

Belle Park near High Star in Houston

Like many bicycling advocates say, I feel most unsafe when I'm in a striped bike lane. Cars assume that I have plenty of room, and mirrors pass at 45 mph and only a few feet away from the end of my handlebars. I negotiate glass, gaps in the pavement, poorly installed drains, standing water, and other debris. The cars would rather crowd me out than crowd the lane of the vehicle to their left. Again, Wilcrest and Briar Forest come to mind. If I could avoid the bike lanes, I would. I only use them when other routes aren't feasible, and thankfully, it's for only about 15% of my route.

The first time I really got worried was today -- and it was due to rain, not cars. Even though I have waterproof panniers and my iPhone was safely stowed in a zippered plastic bag, when I turned east and saw the storm clouds and falling rain, I called for the family SAG wagon. I was only a few miles from home, but I was glad I did, because as soon as we loaded the bike, the rain hit us.

Rain Clouds near Briar Forest and Beltway 8 in Houston

I hope that any Houstonians (or others for that matter) that read this will understand that cycling in Houston is not as unsafe as you think. Don't think about riding the same route you drive; instead, realize that there are parallel alternate routes that are less traveled and more cyclist-friendly. Join me. You'll be glad you left your car at home.

Riding from the Old Home Place

On Sunday I went for a 40 mile ride. Not really unusual, except that I left from my parents' house. It's the same house I grew up in from 1974 to 1988, and I haven't ridden a bike there in over 20 years.

I left the house at 7am, and the first part of my ride took me along some back roads that I selected because they helped me avoid a dangerous section of farm-to-market road. When I was a kid, we rode on this same stretch of dangerous road, but we road AGAINST traffic, moving into the proper lane whenever a vehicle approached. Luckily, they didn't approach often. My dad caught us doing this one day on his way home from work and about lost his mind. As a parent, I would too.

Within a mile of starting, I was chased by no less than 6 dogs. That was the only negative thing about the ride. I had expected close calls and roads unfriendly to cyclists, but it was a solid, smooth ride. The road conditions were great, with smooth, clean pavement. Additionally, there were signs posted asking motorists to "share the road". My Mom said that she has seen groups of cyclists on this section of road, and I know that TexBiker has ridden it before too.

Cyclist-Friendly Sign on FM 2090 West of Splendora

I had decided to log 40 miles on the ride, so I simply rode until the odometer hit 20 mph, and then turned for home. I turned around in the parking lot of a local volunteer fire department facility. I ate a gel, drank some water, and took a snapshot of the bright blue doors and faded sign.

Montgomery County Rural Volunteer Fire Department - Station # 42

I turned for home, and realized that I had been riding with a tailwind, and would be facing a headwind on the ride home. Luckily, it wasn't too much wind (<10 mph), so I just put it out of my mind and rode. As I rode past stands of pines, I was startled several times by the sound of squirrel claws as they chased each other up and down the tree trunks. I saw Fall colors, falling leaves, and muddy roads filled with ruts from the offroading enthusiasts. All the same stuff was there from when I was a kid, except now I was seeing it from a road bike and not from my pick up.

The dogs chased me again as I neared my parents' house, but even that couldn't shake me from my positive ride. I finished wanting more miles. It was a great ride, and now that I know how friendly the local roads are to cyclists, I'll be riding more when we visit my parents.

STATS SUMMARY (Details including map can be found HERE)

Distance: 40.2 miles
Avg Speed: 18.0 mph
Max Speed: 23.3 mph
Elevation Gain: 189 ft (seriously!)

My First Urban Houston Group Ride

After a month with very few rides, I decided last weekend to join the Bike Barn (Kirby location) Sunday Shop ride. The ride is advertised as "covering a variety of Houston neighborhoods" and is "not recommended for beginners. Must have intermediate to advanced cycling skills and be able to maintain a minimum of 15 mph for 25 miles." Disclaimers like these always make me nervous, because many cyclists seem to take them as a challenge. I expected the speed would be faster, but part of my decision process in choosing the ride was accepting that I would meet the challenge and ride hard and fast.

I was prepped and ready, sitting on my top tube at 7:15a, and met two other riders that were first timers. We chit-chatted about the challenges of finding good group rides in Houston, and figured out that we all shared the goal of not getting dropped. Being new to the ride, we were all concerned about getting separated from the group on a ride with LOTS of turns. The ride leader got our attention and announced we were ready to start, and we rolled promptly at 7:30a.

For the first few miles, we moved so slowly that I wasn't worried about getting dropped. Instead, I was worried that I had misread the ride description and that it was a novice ride. We rolled as mob, breezing through stop signs and barely hitting 12-15 mph. I wasn't keeping track of our location, but simply following the group. We very abruptly exited an oak-shaded neighborhood and crossed the Southwest Freeway via the Woodhead Bridge. I don't know that I've ever driven across the bridge, one of several that connect the gentrified urban neighborhoods on either side of the freeway.

Aerial Shot of Bridges Across US 59 Near Downtown Houston

As we pedaled north, we crossed through many intersections with stop signs or signals. It may have been dozens. It was uncomfortable for me, but we treated all but the largest of intersections as yields. If not for taking this approach, the ride would have disintegrated and taken hours longer. As I got used to the start and stop of the intersections, suddenly the group hit Waugh Drive / Heights Boulevard, and the hammering began.

We sprinted along Heights Boulevard from intersection to intersection, signal to signal, frantically riding through the serene, tree-lined boulevard as shown in the photo below. A small group separated at one of the signals, and as it was too dangerous to roll through, they became the rabbit for our chase group. We rode hard in the 23-28 mph zone, and within a few blocks we caught them. I was no longer worried about being challenged on the ride.

Oak Trees Along Heights Boulevard

The surges and sprints continued as we headed south along the Elysian Street Viaduct. It dumped us into downtown Houston, and we passed Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center, although I didn't have time to really take a close look. It was a new and fulfilling experience to ride on the smooth, wide streets of the city center.

Google Satellite Map of Houston City Center with Route Shown in Red

We left downtown Houston, and cruised past my alma mater, the University of Houston. We connected with Macgregor Way, speeds still in the 25 mph range, peaking at 32 mph as we passed near Hermann Park. As we neared Kirby Drive, a few riders turned off for the shop, but I stayed with a group that added on another few strenuous miles.

I finished with some interesting stats:

Distance -- 31.7 miles
Avg Speed -- 18.4 mph
Peak Speed -- 32.2 mph

It really felt like a tougher ride, and the Garmin Connect ride data supports the feeling. My heart rate was in the 160-170 bpm range for most of the ride. I didn't realize it during the ride, but after the ride I realized that the difficulty was exaggerated by the yo-yo effect of all the intersections. The start-stop sprints were taxing, and without going too deep into the analysis, it looks like the post warm-up average speed was probably nearer the 20-22mph range.

It's important to note that the ride did break into groups. A slower, intermediate level group separated fairly early in the ride, and finished about the same time our faster, extra-mileage group finished. The ride description is accurate -- if you can't ride at 15mph, you'll get dropped on this ride. It's a strenuous ride through a wide range of scenery in urban Houston, and I would definitely recommend it for any new or visiting Houston riders. I'll be back, and ready for the surges and pounding heart rate.