Comments from ...
2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005

Comments on 2008 Ride ...

Excellent ride!!!! Loved the new route! Hardy Toll Road was great! Giving the entire north-bound lanes to the cyclists provided for a great, smooth, and fast course where cyclists could really focus on riding their bikes without worrying about cars, upcoming turns, etc. Please plan to use the same route next year - at least the Hardy Toll Road portion. The Aldine-Bender portion got a bit dodgy at times due to both traffic and cyclists passing each other without calling out "on your left" to warn others of their presence. Thank you!

The 2008 Tour de Houston was a greaat ride The start time should be moved to 8:00 if daylight savings time is to start early again next year. everyone I talked to said it was a little to dark at the start. The route was exceptional. Riding the toll road was the best part of the ride.

Loved the route. Parking was horrible...I did not see anywhere on the website that said we needed a letter or anything else to get into the parking garage...consequently I was charged $6.00 to park. Then when I finally picked up my packet, I saw that I was supposed to give them the letter to get into the garage. I could not get my packet early, because they ran out. When I showed them the letter, they would not give me money back and said I would have to deal with it on Monday. I would still like my money back! Then when finishing the ride, I saw many people riding their bikes into the garage. I did not realize that my tire would fit into the grates that were not marked nor covered at the bottom of the garage. My front tire stuck in the grate and luckily I just have a bruised chin and thighs, but could have needed stitches or a cast.

The ride itself was very good. Police at every intersection and a good route. But the oganization was poor. I pre-registered on line and was guaranty a t-shirt but when I arrived at 6:30am they had no t-shirts, no numbers for tracking the riders, no maps for the routes and some of the volunteers were rude. Also, the 2nd rest stop was out of water and snacks. That is a big no no for riders!! SAG was very good. Is there any way to pick up t-shirts for some of us who pre-registered did not get one?

I thought that the ride route was great. I enjoyed the 70 mile ride very much. I arrived late because we had difficulty getting to the start location due to unforeseen construction and on top of that, did not see any signs or people showing us where the free parking site locations were, so we ended up parking in a nearby garage off of Milam and Lamar. Upon reaching the pre-registration check-in table, the volunteers were practically shooing riders to get to the start line and said that we could pick up our t-shirts and packets at the end of the ride. I never officially checked in and sadly, I did not see a table at the end of the ride with check-in packets. Sadly I did not receive a t-shirt, which was one of my reasonings to pre-register online. I'm a size small in shirts, and it is usually difficult to get a small shirt at most rides, so I pre-register for rides to guarantee a small shirt size for myself. I was disappointed to find that there were no t-shirts left because the riders who finished earlier had taken them all. At the 3rd rest stop for the 70 mile route (at the Hardy North Plaza) they ran out of bananas. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium and help prevent muscle cramps. On the other hand, the rest stop on the Hardy South Plaza managed to have plenty of bananas for 70 mile riders on their last stretch to the finish line. The Discount Tire guys at the Hardy North Plaza rest stop were cheerful, encouraging and very efficient at distributing fluids to thirsty riders. The direction signs were very clear and helpful. I am very appreciative of the large arrows and the police officers directing traffic.

First Time rider to this event and I loved it! It was a perfect day for a ride--weather was great! I particulary liked the protection from cars while on the Hardy, plenty of porta-potties--no long lines, plenty of snacks & sports drinks, etc., sanitary wipes at every stop were a nice touch, and lots of police protection at major intersections --very nice touch! Riding again next year and bringing the team---Team Metro!

Only one complaint...after arriving early to stand in line to receive a number for lunch and then riding 70 miles, there were no lunches left on my return. Also, the comment by a person in the food tent that we should ride faster next time was not appreciated. Every thing else was great and enjoyed the ride.

Fantastic ride! Try to arrange for a tailwind on the way back to City Hall every year, ok?

2008 Ride Truly a great ride, the Hardy Toll road all to ourselves was amazing. I know it must have been hard to close that road for such a long period of time, but from a seasoned rider, it was well worth it. I have never felt more safe on a ride, then I did this weekend. Thanks for the effort and I will be back again next year.

The ride was great, I did the 40 mile route and really enjoyed the HARDY toll road. I was dissappointed that I did not get a T-shirt even though I pre-registered on 3/08. I have a collection that I am aiming at getting 8 this year. I would like to contact someone to see if I may still receive one. thanks

Very solid orginization and planning. What were the totals for 70/40/20 participants. I plan to repeat in 2009 weather permitting.

This is the one ride that I was so looking forward to, I did last year for the first time. I liked the 2007 route better but it was a great ride, great entertainment, great food. I did the 70 mile route and I was running a little late so when I got there, they only gave my rider number and told me to contact you with my address and that they would mail it to me

This year was by far the best Tour de Houston ever. What a great idea to ride on the Hardy Toll Road. This is something that people could only imagine doing. Thanks for such a great ride.

Overall, I think this is a very good event. I did it last year and this year (today). I enjoyed going to Clear Lake last year, but I think the route this year was better. Closing the Hardy Toll Road makes a long, safe road, and it is a nice clean road. The streets by downtown were better this year (less potholes). The police support was excellent. The bike repair support was good (I had a flat before I started). The rest stops were good, the volunteers were friendly and enthusiastic. The fruit was good - I would have preferred a little more variety than pretzels and pesnuts (cookies & protein bars are nice). I live in Sugar Land, and there was not a convenient packet pick up before the event. I got there about 6:45, and they were closing the packet pick-up, so I was not able to pick a packet up. If there are any T-shirts left, I would like to pick one up. If not, that is OK.

The ride was great other than the fact that, when I went to check in, I was told they were out of everything. I don't understand how, if someone has pre-registered (a month ahead of time), their packet would be gone. Was this first come, fist served? On every other recommended ride, I've been able to pick up my packet the morning of the ride. I'd like to know if I'm going to get one at a later date.

Overall the ride was fantastic. Ride Marshalls did a fantastic job especially when problems arose. The rest stops/after party was great-good choices for food!! Riding on the Hardy Toll road was so much fun-can't tell you how much fun as a cyclist it was not to worry about traffic/cross traffic-we could just empty the tanks! There were only 2 problems that marred the ride. Elysian Rd is in deplorable shape-especially for us road cyclists. The bumps and cracks along with many inexperienced riders made for a hair raising adventure. I saw a few cyclists go down there, including me. Also, there were a few officers,especially on Elysian, that seemed to have to clue as to how to direct riders. They were literally standing in the intersection with their arms at their sides. My hubby, being ex MP was unsettled as was I. At one point I had a major wreck because an officer was standing in the middle of Elysian and a school bus was trying to pull out. I was watching the officer for direction and ran right into my hubby who was also looking for direction from the officer. The officer just stood there and then walked off to the far corner and watched us and the rest of the cyclists cope with an unprotected intersection. That made for a dangerous situation. Over all the police did a good job-but you always seem to remember the few who didn't. I applaud the effort. If you keep the same route next year (hopefully something can be done about Elysian) I will definitely be back.

Several comments 1. Leaving before sunrise was not a good idea. The route on Elysian north of downtown in the dark and it was difficult to see imperfections in the roadway. This may have led to at least one crash. Delaying the start for 30 minutes until sunrise would have been appropriate. 2. The first rest stop for the 70 milers was arranged poorly. The potties were set up along the entry/exit road used by the cyclists to get to Aldine Bender. Guess what? The lines for the potties formed into the entry road and blocked riders wanting to go straight through. Additionally, bikers just stopped in the middle of the exit road to get to a spot to park their bike to take a break further congesting the area. 3. One issue nobody gets right at rest stops are places to lean the bikes. Most bikes nowdays do not have kickstands so they cannot stand upright on their own. Set a bunch of portable wooden contruction barriers organized out of the way and that would organize where bikes are leaned and not have them blocking the roadway areas. 4. The route was great! I enjoyed this ride as much as any other I've done in the past year. Except as noted above, the support was great, police guidance for the most part was proper(they were thanked continuously by riders), and the rest stops were improved dramatically over the 2006 TourDeHouston fiasco to be some of the best for this type of ride. Thank you. I plan to ride next year!

This was my 3rd year participating and again, I was very please how the ride was organized

Absolutely Fantastic! The best supported ride I've ever been on! The Hardy Toll Road was a excellent route. I hope you keep using it in future events. Kudos to all who organized and volunteered. Thank you!

BACK TO TOP

Comments on 2007 Ride ...

I am so glad the City of Houston is organizing this ride. I really enjoyed it and will tell all my friends about it. To me Houston Parks and Recreation is a great cause - I would love to be able to raise more money for you!

The tour was a wonderful event - congratulations to you and all involved. Routes were well chosen, and showed me a few parts of the city I hadn't seen before including some occasional gems. Intersection control and the various police units were fantastic - I think I only stopped very briefly two times during the entire ride!

Great ride!

This was my first ride and it was great! Congratulations to all who worked so hard to make this a great event.

It was a GREAT bike ride (great weather). Very well supported and the rest stops were great. I loved it and cannot wait to come back next year...

It was one of my favorites. I did 70 and it was the first time I had rode 70 and I didn't have any problems. I think they did an excellent job with the ride and I would definitely recommend this ride to everyone. The rest stops were like stopping at convenient stores. The best part of the ride downtown was after the 20-mile stop. There was a turn off that took you off of Galveston road just about a mile down. It went through the Clear Lake area and even by the lake. There were even designated bike lanes. The ride back was great it was mostly in tail wind.

BACK TO TOP

Comments on 2006 Ride ...

Congratulations on a great event!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd annual Tour de Houston.  This year I rode 70 miles and my wife 40.  The routes were well planned and the police help at intersections was superb.  I hope the ride continues to grow in popularity and that the money raised helps you to make our park system the best urban system in the
nation!  Thanks for your good work.

You guys did a great job with the event.  I really enjoyed  it.  The route was much better than last year's. 

The course maps for the Tour de Houston are too low-quality to read. I'd suggest putting some maps there next year that are high enough resolution so that one can actually see the street names where we need to turn. A 400 x 320 pixel map on a monitor running 1280x1024 resolution is only about 3 inches across. Even when I save the image and enlarge it with PaintShop Pro it's unreadable.

Another sign was needed at the turn into Rice University.

Just a quick three comments/questions.

The 2nd year was better than last year's ride.  I enjoyed the route, too.   I'll sign up for it again in a heartbeat!  Thanks for your hard work in improving the ride.

On site registration was fast and the volunteers were friendly.

The start was efficient.

Most impressive that the METRO LRT stopped for bicyclists.

The counterclockwise route eliminated many left turns.

Navigation and 75th Street are great routes to start with.

The hill behind the old AstroWorld was fast and it was the first time I saw the Fannin Street lot and LRT maintenance.

The demolition trucks at AstroWorld were the most dangerous vehicles on the route. They were backed up on both sides of the road.

The 70 mile route was a good addition.

I thought it went very well. I liked the staggered start. Trains were a pain but it gave everyone a chance to catch their breath and visit, especially the one on the NW side. The next to the last rest stop on the 70 mile loop was a little slow to set up. We hung around while they mixed up the Gatorade.

The event was much better coordinated, rest stops seemed OK, and overall the course was very good. It was funny that one train (along Navigation) crossed our paths, then immediately backed up so the ride could be moving.

Better route then last year.

A lot more cops at intersections.

Free parking was a good idea but I did not use it.

98% of the intersection cops did a great job of blocking traffic, but a few were not clear on their job duties. One just stood there and yelled at us that the light was red.

Some intersection were not marked or the marks were confusing.

Poor advertising before the event. Should include flyer at bike shops along with TV and billboards

Need more activity at the end of the ride to make it more festive. Maybe have some kind of drawing for prizes. Live music is always a plus. Also music at the start would be good.

Better maps, with arrows for directions, not "B"s.

Police officer on Mandell south of 59 was in the car on the cell phone instead of directing traffic

BACK TO TOP

Comments on 2005 Ride ...

It was one of the best rides I have participated in.

I felt safe: I liked how for the majority of the ride, we had an entire lane to ride in, and the police did a great job controlling traffic!

Everyone seemed to follow the biking road rules.

I loved how the ride started and ended at the City Hall reflection pool--it was a peaceful way to start and end the ride.

The route was clearly marked with maps passed out before, and there were big signs on the streets.

The rest stops were located in good spots and were not too far away from each other.

I thought the overall ride was very good, especially being the first time.

I thought the route was good and I would do this ride again. The police were great and kept the ride going.

The band was awesome and the food was very good.

I ended up doing the 40 mile route, and it was so much fun!

What a fabulous success the Tour de Houston was. Thank you for letting me be
a part of it. I keep smiling every time I think about it. The image of
bikers packing 3/4 of the streets surrounding City Hall is burned into my
mind. What a GREAT thing for the City.

It was Great.

It was well organized but road choices could have been better. There were ruts in a lot of the roads.

Have packet pickup centrally located.

Great Job. Thanks Houston.

The Navigation Bridge west of Cesar Chavez could have been better. The Franklin underpass was not good. It needed to be separated with cones. It was too dark.

The 40 mile route was too short. It was only 35 miles.

Good work with the police officers on the routes.

Let the 40 milers start first.

More advertising to the people in the route areas. For example, at Navigation and York, there were angry motorists because of being stopped for long periods of time. If we let them know, like we do for the marathon, they will be more aware of what is going on.

It was well organized but road choices could have been better. There were
ruts in a lot of the roads.

Fabulous.

Big crack on Waugh just south of Washington. The crack was 1 1/2 inches wide and the sides were uneven. Except for some bad choices of roads, the day was great.

On the maps, put arrows to point the direction of the route.

Keep email registration open longer.

If the online registration would have been open to the day before, not so many people would have needed to register the day off.