Google is taking over the world!!

Again, Google did it again when they introduced bike routes on their maps.  Below is a cropped image of the Greater Houston area.  What I like about this map displayed below is the growth of green on the map.  Being a cyclist is an action of being green.  So fortunately, it is a nice feeling to see how green the map is getting for Houston.  Google has taken the time to take the inputs from people and now it is definitely showing up on the map.  Even the small picnic loop at Memorial Park is a dashed green line.  Sick!  Use it, experiment it and improve it.  They just made a Houston bike playground.  Now go play!

It’s a great feeling to see groups of people coming together. Not just for a great purpose but also to show that there is a community out there willing to come out because of what they love. This city needs more mobile socials like this. Not only because it’s a great way to get bike awareness out there but it’s something fun to do and a great way to meet people and even network.

It’s cool to see a bunch of bikes on the road not there to cause a ruckus but just simply riding. The rules of the road were abided and the riders took it upon themselves to use legitimate bike signals for the riders behind.

The ride was a casual pace and the views of the city were spectacular, not to mention a great catch of the sunset over the city on the way back to Memorial Park from City Hall.

It’s cool to see the blinky red taillights in a blur from behind and to see the dancing twinkles of headlights as they approached the finish of the ride.

Cheers to a successful Ride of Silence. Thankful that we are here to ride it for those who could not.

Just another quick reminder of the Bike to Work day event with Mayor Annise Parker from Memorial Park to City Hall at 7:30PM this Friday!!  Please meet at 7:00am as everyone will be heading out at 7:30.  Let’s see Houston on their bikes!

So what would “Bike Week” be without a mention of the famous Lance Armstrong.  At the moment, he’s hammering it out with Team Radio Shack through the Amgen Tour of California.  Here are the latest results before today’s race:

The coverage is on the Versus Network where the telecast is 4-6PM CST and the rebroadcast at 11PM CST.  Make sure to check out how ridiculous the scenery is along the California coast.  It runs 8 stages and the Individual Time Trial stage runs in Los Angeles during stage 7 so that will definitely be one to check out.

In addition, I thought it would be cool to add a pretty awesome of Lance having some fun with the cats from MASHSF in Austin.  The way Lance pulls away at the end is epic.

bikesbelong.org – Bikes Belong Coalition just like BikeHouston.org but on a national scale tries to advocate cycling and the importance of it.  They are based out of Boulder, CO you know they mean business when it comes to cycling.  Colorado is definitely a catalyst for all things cycling as they have the versatile terrains.    Also their chain flower logo is just pretty badass.

Check out their latest news and projects here.

Also, there should be more Houston affiliations on this member list.

bikehugger.com – Great Website with great community content.  Met Byron at SXSW during the Change the World, Lives with BIkes panel who also shared the open forum with Livestrong CEO, Doug Ulman.  Both have done amazing things for the bike community and also helped change people’s lives by the influences of cycling.

photo courtesy of EvoVelo

This site definitely makes your city want to be just as actively involved as other big cycling cities, like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, etc.  Hopefully you will start to see Houston become more centralized within town that people will start to find other means of commuting other than the good ol’ automobile.

Go hug your bike today.