Work is sending me to Houston for two weeks during my build to a 70.3. Looking for recommendations on places to swim or bike. Spin is fine too.
Do you know where in the Houston area you will be staying/working?
When will this be?
Are you looking for open water swims or masters type?
Are you looking for weeknight rides, weekend rides?
Houston may not have the triathlon cred of Boulder or California but whatever you are looking for we have it. Except hills - we don’t do hills!
^ This
It really depends on where you’ll be staying. Houston is a humongous area and our traffic is some of the worst in the country.
Staying near the 8 Toll road and the ship channel on the east side of the city. I do have transportation to get to other places though
Staying near the 8 Toll road and the ship channel on the east side of the city. I do have transportation to get to other places though
I would say your best bet for OW swimming is 288 lake (https://288lake.net/triathlon-training/).
For biking, how much free time do you have? Can you drive down to Galveston and ride that course? Also, check the Bike Barn ride calendar (https://bikebarn.com/events/upcoming-rides-pg66.htm)
Staying near the 8 Toll road and the ship channel on the east side of the city. I do have transportation to get to other places though
My condolences on where you’re staying. 
Swim - Magnolia Masters
Bike - In your room on a trainer or drive to Austin
.
the 24 hour fitness on fairmont parkway near the beltway has a decent 3 lane pool. I’ve been there a dozen or so times.
5946 Fairmont Pkwy, Pasadena, TX 77505
Staying near the 8 Toll road and the ship channel on the east side of the city. I do have transportation to get to other places though
My condolences on where you’re staying.
Yikes. Yeah, bring your trainer.
You could go to Memorial Park and ride the Picnic Loop, a 1 mile loop where lots of people ride. Memorial Park is a bit of a drive from where you’ll be staying though. You can also check with Philip Shama at Shama Cycles and see when he does his group rides, but he too is on the West Loop (610 Loop West and I-10 area).
Honestly, I ride 100% indoors on my trainer. Just no place really safe or close enough to go in this big city.
Swim - Magnolia Masters
Bike - In your room on a trainer or drive to Austin
+1 on Magnolia Masters
.
Swim - Magnolia Masters
Did you even read where he’s staying? That’s at least an hours drive each way.
Did you even read where he’s staying? That’s at least an hours drive each way
Yeah, and that’s at midnight!
Swim - Magnolia Masters
Did you even read where he’s staying? That’s at least an hours drive each way.
Exactly. Anyone that said Magnolia Masters is either an idiot or has never been to Houston. It’s a 60 mile drive from the Channelview area to Magnolia. That’s about a 70-75 minute drive each way in perfect traffic conditions, which doesn’t exist here, so realistically 1:20 to 1:30 on a good day. Rush hour and that’s a two hour drive each way.
Riding is going to be a tough one for him given his location. Houston sucks ass for bike riding in general but it’s 10x worse on the east side of town. There’s nothing over there. Best bets would be to check out the Bike Barn rides going out of their Atascocita store (20 miles to the north) or their Clear Lake store (20 miles to the south). I’d probably head south to the Clear Lake store. That area is at least a bit more scenic, albeit with more vehicular traffic.
The best cycling around Houston is the quadrant that basically runs west to north (or north to west depending on your perspective) that includes the Katy/Fulshear, Hockley/Waller, and Magnolia/Woodlands areas. Once again, those are 60 mile drives each way.
To the OP… is bringing a trainer an option? That’s probably the best option if I’m being perfectly honest. My next recommendation would be to use spin bikes at a gym. Which leads to my next point…
Where your staying sucks. The area sucks, and it’s generally going to be a lower income area. I’m not meaning to disparage the people that live around there as it is what it is. But for you it means the gyms are going to suck and swimming pools might be hard to come by. There are no LA Fitness locations on that side of town. There’s certainly no high end gyms like VillaSport or Lifetime on that side of town. Looks like there are a couple of 24 Hour Fitness locations close-ish in Jacinto City, Pasadena, and Baytown that look like they have pools. Probably 10-12 mile drive to each from Channelview.
It’s a 60 mile drive from the Channelview area to Magnolia.
Technically most of the Magnolia Masters workouts are held in The Woodlands so about 15 miles shorter. We’ve got extended family in the Channelview area and visit a few times per year and it’s consistently an hours drive regardless of time of day.
most of the Magnolia Masters workouts are held in The Woodlands
I had looked into this a long time ago and forgot…What pools do they use?
And as far as rides, I know there are several charity/grand fondo type rides in the spring leading up to the MS 150. It’s a decent way to get out on the road when you aren’t familiar with the area since the course is laid out for you and there will be a more heightened awareness of cyclists in the area. Problem is you pay like $30 for a ride you could do for free.
Magnolia Masters holds practices at two locations. We swim out of the Magnolia High School Pool and the Creekwood Pool. You can find the schedules and locations and locations for both facilities below:
Magnolia High School Pool – 14350 FM1488 Magnolia, Texas 77354
Schedule: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:30pm – 8:30pm; Saturday 6:00am – 7:30am
Creekwood Pool – 3383 South Panther Creek Drive The Woodlands, Texas 77381
Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 6:00am – 7am and 12:00pm – 1:00pm
I live in Spring which is about 45 minutes north of you. You can try the braeswood bayou which is about a 15 mile bike/walking trail, but portions of it are interrupted by intersections. I’m not sure where the new east-end starting point is, but I work at the university of Houston and it passes right next to there.
Another option is to look for a new development near where you are staying. Where I live, housing developments are going up like crazy and the streets are built about three times wider than they need to be, which makes for great biking. If you can find one of the many still under development you’ll have no traffic and roads as smooth as glass.
There is a 24 Hour Fitness with a pool near the intersection of Beltway 8 & Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena. Can’t vouch for its current condition, but several years ago it was fine.
I mentioned it above. I use to workout there once a week or so. But like you haven’t been there in a while. It is funny to me that someone else on ST knew the gym.