Bike Friendly « Bike Friendly Richardson

May 19, 2012 • 5:32 am 1

Pics From The Richardson Bike To Work Day Energizer Station

The BikeDFW/Bike Friendly Richardson Bike To Work Day Energizer Station was a great success! We had about 2 dozen bike commuters stop by to recharge for their ride to work – and we think we’ve motivated dozens of other commuters to think about biking. Here are some pics. Click here to see all of them.

I would personally like to thank:

- Marc, Brian, Michael, Warren and the whole BikeDFW group for making this event possible – and for providing the pastries and coffee.
- Chris from DART who let us set up at their Arapaho Center Station.
- Richardson Bike Mart for providing Dana made bike repairs for those who needed them.
- Taco Republic for providing delicious breakfast tacos.
- Dr. Pepper and Neuro for providing water and Neuro energy drinks.
- The Egg & I Restaurant for providing some really good orange juice.
- Whole Foods Richardson for providing water.
- And finally, Jenny Rilling with BikeDFW and Bike Friendly Richardson, who came up with the idea of the Energizer Station and made it happen.

Since it was such a great success, we’d love to do this every year – AND we’d love to see other bike friendly groups doing it around the Metroplex.

Filed under: Advocacy, Bicycle Events, Bike Friendly, Good Causes

May 17, 2012 • 8:02 pm 5

Help Out A Fellow Cyclist

Some of you may or may not have heard about bike commuter, Michael McNair, being hit by a car on his commute to work last Tuesday.

The details about the accident are still limited, but here is what was posted on the DORBA Facebook Page:

CYCLIST HIT – For those of you that know MMACH5 / Michael Tripp McNair…was hit by a car today on his commute to work. He is in the Baylor ICU unit downtown with a broken neck and hips, lacerated spleen and many other injuries… Please pass the word and put him in your thoughts.

The latest update (as of Thursday) he made it through his hip surgery and all is still going smoothly. He is still sedated, but hopefully they’ll bring him out of it after another day or so. They are planning another MRI and will most likely do surgery on his ribs (Friday) and he’ll be in ICU until next week at least. They’ve said that due to all of his hip and pelvis fractures that his legs will be non-weight bearing for at least 3 months.

The driver did stop and, reportedly, was the one who called 911.

As you can see, Michael has a long, uphill battle for a full recovery – and our thoughts and prayers go to him and his family. If you are wondering how you can help, friends have set up a ChipIn page for donations. Every little bit helps – even just a couple of bucks. Click here to donate.

Filed under: Bike Friendly, Good Causes, Bike Accident, Cyclist Hit By Car In Dallas, Donation Page, Michael Tripp McNair

May 7, 2012 • 10:54 am 3

Richardson Bike To Work Day: Commuter Energizer Station

May 18th is national Bike to Work Day, and Bike Friendly Richardson has teamed up with BikeDFW, DART, and Richardson Bike Mart to get you energized and show appreciation for your bike commute.

Leave the house a few minutes early on Friday, May 18th, and stop by our booth at Arapaho Center Station for free coffee and Taco Republic breakfast tacos, water from Whole Foods, commuting information, free bike tune-ups by an RBM mechanic, Neuro energy drinks, AND, if you become a member of BikeDFW, we’ll hook you up with a sweet prize courtesy of Richardson Bike Mart. You can join BikeDFW at the event (cash or check), or join online and show us your PayPal receipt at the event. (Prizes available while supplies last.)

Filed under: Advocacy, Bicycle Events, Bike Friendly, Partner, Bike Repair Station, Bike To Work Day, BikeDFW, DART, Dr. Pepper, Recharge Station, Richardson, Richardson Bike Mart, Taco Republic, Texas, Whole Foods

April 10, 2012 • 6:22 am 2

Ride To Dallas’ First Ciclovia – This Saturday

A couple of us are volunteers for the Ciclovia de Dallas - happening this Saturday, April 14 from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm., and we’re heading down there by DART and bike. Our goal is to arrive at 8:00 (an hour before it actually opens) to help set up. Click here for more information about Ciclovia de Dallas.

Anybody is welcome to join us. IF you want to volunteer, click here to sign up. OR, If you just want ride with us, then tool around downtown Dallas for an hour until it opens, you are more than welcome to do that as well.

Here are the details of the RIDE:

Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012
Time: 7:30 am (ride start)
Location: Starbucks at Mockingbird Station (in Dallas) – we decided to meet there so that we can stagger onto the train and not overcrowd it. From there, we’ll be taking the Katy Trail into downtown Dallas.
DART Train Info: According to the DART schedule for Saturday, the 7:00 am train, from the Bush Turnpike Station, will get you down to Mockingbird Station by 7:24 am. Be sure to be at your local DART station of choice by 7:00 am. $4 should cover your train ride (be sure to give yourself enough time to buy your ticket).

If you miss your train or just don’t like to get up that early, you are more than welcome to follow our route on your own. Click here to see our route.

Filed under: Bicycle Events, Bike Friendly, Ciclovia, Ciclovia de Dallas 2012, Dallas Ciclovia

February 15, 2012 • 4:53 pm 6

Some Exciting News

Bike Friendly Richardson is pleased to announce that we have just submitted the application to have Richardson considered for a Bicycle Friendly Community designation!

This was an idea that we had had for a while and last November, Jenny Rilling took it on as a project. With the help of City staff, we made it happen. The Bicycle Friendly Community program is administered by the League of American Bicyclists. With all the bicycling improvements in recent years, and more to come, it was time to throw our hat in the ring. Not every application receives the Bicycle Friendly designation, however, the LAB staff generously provide feedback to each applicant to help them do better next time.

This is our first time submitting the application, so we don’t know how we’ll do, but we are proud of how far we’ve come, and we’re looking forward to getting feedback on where we can improve. Currently only three cities in Texas have received the Bicycle Friendly Community designation: Austin, San Antonio, and The Woodlands.

We’d like to recognize the following people without whom this wouldn’t be possible:

Richard Wezensky and Jenny Rilling with Bike Friendly Richardson

Dave Carter, the City’s Bicycle Coordinator and Assistant Director of the Transportation Department

Jessica Shutt and Mark Titus in the Transportation Department

Jim Lockart and Jim Dulac at the City

The Richardson City Council, Parks Department, Police Department

And of course, all the BFR friends and everyone out there who said, “Hey, we should improve biking in Richardson”, and everyone out there using the bike trails, bike lanes, and roads and having fun and trying to continually improve things for cyclists.

Thanks, everyone, for all you do. See you out there on the road!

-BFR Staff

Filed under: Advocacy, Bike Friendly, Bike Friendly Community Program, City Of Richardson, League of American Bicyclists

February 10, 2012 • 6:24 am 4

Plano Safe Passing Ordinance – Monday Night Vote – February 13th

Our friend Warren Casteel, with BikeDFW, sent us an email encouraging cyclist to come out and show their support at Monday night’s Plano City Council meeting. Apparently, they are voting on The – long awaited – Safe Passing Ordinance. There is hope that if we can pass this in Plano, perhaps we can pass it here in Richardson as well.

This ordinance stipulates distances motor vehicles must allow cyclists, outlaws throwing or objects or substances at cyclists, and provides legal remedy if a cyclist is hit by a motor vehicle in some situations. The ordinance can be viewed here (pdf).

Plano City Hall is about a block from the DART Station. Map.

We hope to make it out there and we hope to see you there too.

Filed under: Advocacy, Bike Friendly, City Stuff, Plano, Safe Passing Laws, Safe Passing Ordinance

February 4, 2012 • 7:21 am 2

Heading Into Dallas? Check Out The Dallas Bicycle Cafe!

It’s finally happening. Dallas is starting to become a bike friendly city. Not only are we beginning to see bike friendly businesses, but also places that are actually built for cyclists. Dallas Bicycle Cafe is now one of those destinations. Parked close to both the White Rock Creek Trail and the DART White Rock Station, this place will be a great hub for cyclists and commuters. Here’s there information:

Dallas Bicycle Cafe
Addresss: 7510 E. Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75214
Phone: Not Available Yet
Website: http://www.DallasBicycleCafe.com Not Up Yet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BicycleCafeDallas
Hours:
Tue – Thu: 6:00 am-10:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 6:00 am-12:00 am
Sun: 6:00 am-10:00 pm
Description: Health Food, Green Nutrition, Coffee, Tea, Beer, Wine, Bicycle Storage Lockers, Changing Room. @White Rock Lake

For more information, check out this post over at BikingInDallas.

Filed under: BFR Misc, Bike Friendly, Dallas, Dallas Bicycle Cafe, Dallas Bike Cafe

December 23, 2011 • 5:03 pm 3

Richardson Voted To Be The Most Bike Friendly Neighborhood

Bike Friendly Oak Cliff has announced their “Best Of” for bicycling in 2011. The city of Richardson has made it on their list for “Most Bike Friendly Neighborhood.”

It’s nice to get recognized for something we already knew: Richardson is a bike friendly area. With 11 miles of bike lanes and 24 miles of multi-purpose trails (with many more on the drawing board – and funded), the City of Richardson has made many strides at making our area one of the most bike friendly neighborhoods in the DFW Metroplex.

Congratulations, Richardson!! I think I’ll celebrate by taking a ride later.

Filed under: Bike Friendly, City Stuff, Bike Friendly Neighborhood, Bike Friendly Oak Cliff

December 13, 2011 • 10:21 am 0

Way To Go, Plano!

I saw this NBC video on Facebook, talking about the city’s new bicycle signs. Click below to see the news report.

Filed under: Advocacy, Bike Change, Bike Friendly, Bike Signs, NBC News, Plano

December 9, 2011 • 9:00 am 0

Richardson Police Department Bike Patrol – On The Job

You know you live in a bike friendly city when the police department has a bike patrol. These guys were keeping spectators and attendees safe during last weekend’s annual Christmas parade.

Now all we need is postal delivery and meter readers done via bike.

Filed under: Bike Friendly, City Stuff, Bicycle Patrol, Bicycle Police, Richardson Police Department