I Bike Richardson « Bike Friendly Richardson

December 27, 2011 • 7:08 am 2

I Bike Richardson – Jonathan Guzman

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Jonathan Guzman. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:

Name:
Jonathan Guzman
http://johny-doityourself.blogspot.com/

How long have you been riding?
Since I was a kid, I have always ridden a bike. After high school, I started college, most of my friends drove a car and I put riding a bike on hold for a few years. I became and avid runner instead. I starting getting runner’s knee around 2007, that’s when I picked up my first road bike. I have been hooked since.

How often do you ride?
I ride my bike every week. I have different disciplines of riding that keep me in shape even though I don’t commute by bicycle regularly. My rides consist of long road rides into the countryside or off road adventures by mountain bike. On a given week I average around 50 miles on my bicycle.

What’s your favorite route?
The best riding is around DFW airport and the surrounding cities, because it is real easy to route safe rides in that area. I also enjoy the stretch of roads in Sunnyvale from highway 30 to highway 80. White Rock Lake trail is a great route to get in shape and the trail around the lake itself is beautiful. Here are some links of some of the rides that I have done.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/61060190
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/60952180

Why do you cycle?
I ride for the fun and the exercise, but I don’t undermine the more profound impact cycling has had on me and other people. Texas has the top 10 most obese cities in the United States. Not surprisingly the bicycle infrastructure system is in it’s infancy. I think people who adopt this lifestyle of being regular cyclists are standing up against the stigmas and stereotypes others might have about people in Texas. If enough people start riding and demanding more respect for their rights as cyclists, Dallas would be more like Berlin or Amsterdam if given a chance.

What is your perspective on riding – in general or in Richardson?
Cycling renews the spirit. It reduces stress levels and improves circulation. It is a great tool for people who have depression issues and bouts with obesity. It is an overall health improver.

Richardson has something other cities as a whole in DFW have yet to adopt. They have a bicycle system of trails and bikeways through residential and business areas, not just through parks. This makes it more useful for commuting my bicycle as well as for recreation. Richardson has not been shy about bicycle lane development and transit oriented development. I think that impacts the cities’ image in a positive way.

Tell us about your bikes.
Too many for one person. I won’t say the number because it’s a little embarrassing. I have classic old bikes and new bikes. Mountain bikes and road bikes. My favorite bike is still the first road bike that got me back into cycling. Even though I have nicer bikes I continue to log thousands of miles on this bike. It’s a 2007 Raleigh Sport road bike.

We want to thank Jonathan, for sharing his perspective on Richardson cyling.

We’d also like to extend an invitation to any cyclist who lives and/or rides in Richardson to share their story as well. You can either answer the questions (above) or send in a story – along with some pics to bikefriendlyrichardson(at)gmail.com.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, Jonathan Guzman, Local Bike Riders

November 30, 2011 • 6:42 am 2

I Bike Richardson – Mike Freiberger

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Mike Freiberger. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:

Name:
Mike Freiberger
dorba.org: commie-forum

How long have you been riding?
I moved to Allen in 2003 and wanted to bicycle commute to the Richardson office, but never could find a route I was comfortable riding. In Spring 2007, I talked to a coworker (thanks Bob M!) here at the Verizon Richardson campus, and we sorted out a route for my bicycle commute. Since January 2008, I’ve logged over 12,000 miles bicycle commuting, most of them riding Allen/Plano/Richardson and back. Before that, I was a mountain bicyclist and commuter during my college days, and still enjoy mountain bike riding Erwin Park and Rowlett Creek Preserve.

How often do you ride?
I commute to work 3-5 times a week and telecommute the other days. On nice Sundays, my family and I commute to Mass. Cycle errands include all sorts of grocery, donuts, sporting activities, and parks trips. If I can ride there, I do, however sometimes the wife is not so enthusiastic. In those cases, I don’t push it because I love her, and I want her to be happy (and don’t want to be a buzz kill for when she truly does like commuting by bicycle). Sometimes a car is the best tool for a trip, and that includes when it helps to not provoke a family issue. As mentioned earlier, I like to get out and mountain bike when I can.

What’s your favorite route?
Sherrill Park and Lookout Drive are awesome because of the low motor vehicle traffic, yet bikes can go directly East/West with no problems all the way from US75 to Garland! And that new Spring Creek Nature Preserve trail is a best-of-class kind of facility. I expect that kind of thing in Boulder, CO, or Portland, OR. Richardson hit a home-run with that thing. And when Plano connects their trail system to it, LOOK OUT.

Why do you cycle?
I cycle for all of the reasons and one more: I’m a jerk when I don’t ride. I need the outlet, or those around me suffer.

What is your perspective on riding – in general or in Richardson?

I like the way the world looks from my bicycle, thus being on it makes life better.

My part of Richardson is great to ride because there’s so much bicycle infrastructure around Telecom Corridor. You have Spring Creek Nature Preserve to the North and West, Sherrill Park/Lookout to the East, the DART trail to the South. My coworkers can’t understand why I ride my bicycle to work: I can’t understand with all of the MUPs around here why they don’t! Even if you just ride your bicycle to the Parker Road station and take the Red Line down here, what an amazing improvement to your commute! Just say no to sitting in traffic on US75 (talk about a drug with an awful side-effect!)

Tell us about your bikes.
I own one less bicycle than it would take for me to be divorced. With a family of seven, you can imagine that there might be a bicycle or two in my garage….

We want to thank Mike, for sharing his perspective on Richardson cyling.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, Local Bike Riders, Mike Freiberger

September 5, 2011 • 6:02 am 7

I Bike Richardson – Stephen Hazelton

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Stephen Hazelton. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:

Name:
Stephen Hazelton

How long have you been riding?
Five years. I rode when I was a kid, but hadn’t really done much riding since High School.

How often do you ride?
More or less daily. I’ve been riding Greater Dallas Bicyclists Tuesday-Thursday rides at Poteet High School, ride randonneuring rides on weekends, and just ride my daily route or out to White Rock Lake otherwise.

What’s your favorite route?
The most common route, not necessarily the favorite, is out East Fork Road down through Sunnyvale, continuing on around the airport if desired. On occasion, I’ll take Dallas Bike Route 280 down to White Rock Lake, and on weekends, have been doing randonneuring rides. I’ve done quite a few charity rides in the past, too.

Why do you cycle?
I started off bicycling to lose weight, now I’m trying to lose weight to bicycle better. It’s been loads of fun. The last two years, I’ve been doing randonneuring rides, and having a blast.

What is your perspective on riding – in general or in Richardson?
I’m not in Richardson, I just pass through on occasion, and have been over specifically for some of the rides in the area. But I ride in quite a few areas. I live in Garland, and my daily rides take me into Mesquite, Sunnyvale, or Dallas most commonly. A lot of the randonneuring rides start well out out of the Metroplex. A while back, I was counting up how many Texas counties I had ridden in, and I think it was over 60. I’m too busy riding to advocate riding, if that makes sense, and a lot of the people I ride are pretty similar in that respect.

Tell us about your bikes.
I started on a $100 Academy mountain bike, which both wore out and was stolen after a year. I rode a Worksman cruiser for a couple of years and still have it. Most recently, I’ve been riding a Raleigh Sojourn on the longer distance rides. I’ve also got a cargo tricyle, several unicycles, and a couple of other old bikes. At some point, I’d like to upgrade to something a bit lighter than the Sojourn, but have no immediate plans to do so.

We want to thank Stephen, for sharing his perspective on Richardson cyling.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, Local Bike Riders, Stephen Hazelton

August 20, 2011 • 9:29 am 1

I Bike Richardson – Jason Sprouse

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Jason Sprouse. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:

Name:
Jason Sprouse

Website:
www.y8design.us

How long have you been riding?
I’ve been biking for about two years now.

How often do you ride?
Everyday, for fun and commute.

What’s your favorite route?
I really like being able to jump on the DART rail and going to different trails near the DART service areas. There are so many great trails all over the place, but one of my favorites is definitely Gatalyn Park. I’ve ridden many trails all over Richardson. Another one of my favorite routes is the Cottonwood Trail down throught the High Five corridor and out towards White Rock lake.

Why do you cycle?
I bike for exercise mainly, but it’s fun slowing it down a bit and learning about all the natural ammenities in the DFW area.

What is your perspective on riding – in general or in Richardson?
Richardson has some of the best bike paths in Dallas. There’s really alot of really cool places to see.

Tell us about your bikes.
Trek 7300 and before that I had a Trek 3900.

We want to thank Jason, for sharing his perspective on Richardson cyling.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, Jason Sprouse, Local Bike Riders

August 1, 2011 • 8:40 pm 7

I Bike Richardson – Justin Husman

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Justin Husman. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:

Name:
Justin Husman

Website:
seenonthetrain.blogspot.com

How long have you been riding?
I took up riding a folding bicycle to commute in 2007, and actually sold my car in 2009 and went carless for a while. About a year and a half ago I gave up the mixed commute in favor of riding my bike the entire way to work. I may be live in downtown Plano, but I spend a good part of my commute riding on Richardson’s incredible trails and lanes.

How often do you ride?
I commute at least 3 days a week from Plano to Forest and 75. I also ride longer rides on weekends.

What’s your favorite route?
The bike trail from Renner to Waterview is a great long climb, and when it connects to the bike lane it turns into a time trial – with proper stops at the stop signs, of course.

Why do you cycle?
At first, I cycled to be “Green”, then I cycled to get fit, now I cycle for everything.

What is your perspective on riding – in general or in Richardson?
Riding a bicycle gives you those moments of complete exhaustion that you rarely get otherwise, when you can really feel your human frailness – and toughness. Cycling also takes me back to those days when two wheels meant freedom, and I could explore as far as my engine took me, as long as I was home by dark. Cycling in Richardson means protected lanes and trails, which is awesome.

Tell us about your bikes.
I don’t want to put this in writing, but I have eight bikes in active duty right now; an electric bike, a 1968 Falcon San Remo converted to a fixed gear, 1973 Raleigh International, a 1974 Schwinn Suburban, a 1987 Schwinn High Sierra mountainbike, a 1992 Univega Ultraleggera, a 1995 or so GT Force that I commute on, and a 2009 Dahon Vitesse folder. My favorite in the Univega – it’s a 19 pound steel roadie with 1st gen Dura Ace STI shifters. It’s incredible.

We want to thank Justin, for sharing his perspective on Richardson cyling.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, Justin Husman, Local Bike Riders

July 20, 2011 • 11:13 am 1

I Bike Richardson – Bill Johnson

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Bill Johnson, who is also helping us test out a different format. He took the time to answer a few questions about biking. Enjoy:

Name:
Bill Johnson

How long have you been riding?
Years ago in Junior High and early High School, I used to ride a single speed coaster brake bike everywhere in Forth Worth, then I got a car. Somewhere along the way in the late eighties, I decided to Bike again so I got a 10 Speed and road that thing for a long time until I just didn’t have the time (I always comptemplated Commuting to work, but had too many faux excuses). In 2003, a friend at work wanted to go try out mountain biking so we both went to WalMart and bought $125 Bikes and put them together at Arbor Hills on August afternoon. That got my biking juices flowing again. I finally bought a commuting bike and remove those excuses and ride pretty much everywhere.

How often do you ride?
I commute almost everyday I go to the office near the Galleria (from Pearce area of Richardson). I make exceptions when the temps drop below 30 degrees because ice made by people who still want their lawns watered in dead winter and for days where it is going to rain all day. Weekends are for Mountain Biking or exploring Dallas area if the trails are muddy or I have someone that wants to explore the streets with me.

What’s your favorite route?
I love that you can ride all the way from 121 to Baylor Hospital in Dallas with only a few blocks on the street. Park Lane and Northhaven roads in Dallas are a couple of my favorite exploration Biking roads, I never know who I’ll see or what streets will draw me to ride.

Why do you cycle?
I ride for fun, if it wasn’t fun I wouldn’t do it.

What is your perspective on riding – in general or in Richardson?
Richardson is a great city to ride. Lots of neat neighborhoods, loads of friendly people, lots of businesses that are friendly to cyclists.

Tell us about your bikes.
Mountain Bike is a 2004 Specialized Stumpjumper FS.
Commuter and general purpose street bike is a 2006 Trek 7.5 FX Livestrong Edition that has more than 10,000 miles of use so far.

We want to thank Bill, for sharing his perspective on Richardson cyling.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, Bill Johnson, I Bike Richardson, Local Bike Riders

July 13, 2011 • 6:00 am 1

I Bike Richardson – Serena Lambiase

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Serena Lambiase, who is helping us test out a different format, by answering a few questions about biking. Enjoy:

Name:
Serena Lambiase

How long have you been riding?
I’ve been riding bikes since I was a kid. In college, started doing bike rallies and tried a mountain bike race and a duathlon. I started doing triathlons when I was 35 and started road bike racing when I was 41.

How often do you ride?
A couple times per week.

What’s your favorite route?
RBM Richardson 50 mile route.

Why do you cycle?
Fitness, fun

What is your perspective on riding – in general or in Richardson?
Richardson is great for fun/sport/exercise cycling.

We want to thank Serena, for sharing her perspective on Richardson cyling. We’d also like to extend an invitation to any cyclist who lives and/or rides in Richardson to share their story as well. You can either answer the questions (above) or send in a story – along with some pics to bikefriendlyrichardson(at)gmail.com.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, Local Bike Riders, Serena Lambiase

June 15, 2011 • 5:18 am 2

I Bike Richardson – Jenny Rilling

It’s time for another installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, Jenny Rilling, who shares her story about getting back into biking, finding the right bike and becoming confident on the road, while riding in Richardson. Enjoy:

My Cycling Journey

Back when Mark Wahlberg was Marky Mark, I used to ride my little blue single speed coaster brake bike almost every day. The bike was indestructible and easy and fun to ride. However, I outgrew it, and as a teen I wasn’t interested in mountain biking or comfortable with “ten speeds” with drop bars, or BMX. I felt very physically awkward and un-athletic as a teenager in the era of “Xtreme” sports, so anything that looked like it would take a lot of skill or balance to ride was intimidating, and I didn’t see any adult sized city bikes or cruisers around at the time, so for a long time I didn’t think there was anything out there for me.

A few years ago, during the 2008 spike in gas prices, I decided to try to get back into biking, for health and recreation if nothing else. I bought a hybrid / comfort bike from Target. While it was fun to be on a bike again, I had no idea which of the 18 gear combinations I should be in at any one time, and the bike probably weighed about 50 pounds. I started riding it to the DART station one or two days a week, until one day it was stolen from the bike rack at the station.

As a replacement, I got a 1970’s steel frame Huffy internal gear hub 3-speed from a thrift store. Vowing to never again leave a bike locked up all day at the station, I started taking the Huffy onto the DART train with me and leaving it in a corner of the office at work. The Huffy really brought the joy of cycling back to me and kindled my interest in vintage city bikes. The low maintenance hub, chainguard, and upright North Road style bars were perfect for my commuting needs. There were a couple of drawbacks though: the bike didn’t have fenders, and the fork was so narrow that I didn’t think fenders would fit. So if I wanted to ride the bike to work, I was limited to days where the road was dry and it wasn’t going to rain in the morning. I commute in my work clothes, so getting mud on the back of my pants isn’t acceptable. The Huffy was also quite heavy – I could just barely manage to lift the Huffy onto the bike hanger in the Light Rail SLRV car. So, I decided to look for another vintage bicycle for myself and give the Huffy to my aunt for her to use for recreation.

My search for a lightweight, affordable bicycle that could be set up the way I wanted let me to Craigslist, where I scored a 1970’s Follis mixte frame made in France for an excellent price. Now that I knew I enjoyed cycling as an adult, it became very important to me to set up the bike with the components I thought essential, and to do all of the work myself since a new bike with my preferred specs was out of my price range. I stripped the old paint from the frame and in between new coats, I immersed myself in Sheldon Brown’s website and the Lovely Bicycle blog. Freshly painted, the mixte was set up with a Shimano Nexus 3 speed internal gear hub with a coaster brake, and front caliper brake. I also installed Wald fenders, a Brooks saddle, vintage Wald chain guard, North Road style bars, cork grips, a Porteur Double Kickstand from Velo Orange, and a Soma rear rack.

During 2010 I gained a lot of confidence in riding. I went from riding through the crosswalk at intersections to taking my place in the traffic lane when necessary, though I prefer to use bike infrastructure that keeps me separated from cars. In this respect, I believe that living in Richardson really facilitated my getting back into cycling in a way that few other areas of the Metroplex could, and I’m grateful to live in a city that is so bike-friendly. This year, I joined in the Bike Friendly Oak Cliff 1 day a week / 52 weeks per year challenge to get around at least one day every week without using a car. It hasn’t always been easy to stick to the challenge, but it has been a very rewarding experience. It’s inspired me to go further and do more on a bicycle, and I’ve even got my husband interested in adding panniers to his bike now that he’s seen me working on my grocery bike.

Because the mixte goes in the train, I wanted to keep it from getting too bulky, so I once again went back to Craigslist for a bike that I could bolt big baskets to. My grocery bike had to be inexpensive and sturdy, and I found a Raleigh USA step through bike from the early 80’s that would do fine. The price was right, but many of the components were in rough shape. I replaced the crankset, tires, a fender strut, the seat and grips, got a new old stock trigger shifter + cable, replaced the brake cables, and scrubbed off surface rust. The finishing touch for this bike will be a set of Wald baskets so that I can use it for groceries and bringing home bags of dog food. We’ve already started doing small errands on our bikes in the evening, instead of getting in the car. Thanks to bikes, all sorts of formerly routine things have become fun and new as I experience them in a different way.

We want to thank Jenny, for inspiring us with such an awesome story. We’d also like to extend an invitation to any cyclist who lives and/or rides in Richardson to share their story as well.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, Jenny Rilling, Local Bike Riders

June 7, 2011 • 6:00 pm 1

I Bike Richardson – James Berger

Welcome to the fist installment of the I Bike Richardson series, where we put a face on Richardson cyclists. We’d like to introduce, James Berger, who shares his story about growing up with bikes in Ohio and coming back to them as an adult, living in Richardson. Enjoy:

Cycling. It’s what you do when you don’t have a car. Right? The answer is weirder than I would have imagined until this point.

When I was young, I cycled. A lot. In the summer, when school was out and the days were long and bright, I’d get in between 80 to 100 miles in a day, just exploring the city and the urban environment around me. Time went by, and I went to college and started driving. It’s Texas, after all. No one walks unless they’re forced to. Unlike where I grew up, everything is spaced out in wide disarray. Streets were made on virgin land where pedestrian traffic had never been a concern.

Before cars became common, walking was something people engaged in a bit more often from what I can infer. The streets in Ohio were built with pedestrians in mind. And carriages. If you’ve ever wondered as to the reason that Texas streets are incredibly wide in comparison to their northern brethren, let’s just say that streets originally designed for horse-drawn carriages are a much more narrow affair. That and the amount of land that’s been spoken for since time immemorial.

Narrow or not, they all had generous sidewalks, and their cramped nature kept traffic at a much more cyclist-friendly level, both in amount and speed. If you wanted to go somewhere nearby, the frustrations of driving those cramped streets made cycling a reasonable alternative. I brought my bike with me to college, but between the lack of sidewalks on many area streets and the temperament of Texas drivers where cyclists were concerned – “Oh look, something to ignore / take my aggression out on!” – I only cycled around the campus. And the campus wasn’t large enough to make cycling a better choice than walking more often than not.

And so I drove whenever I needed to leave the campus. Cycling down to Fry’s for spare computer parts just wasn’t an option. I graduated and drove some more. On taking a steady, responsible sort of job, I drove an hour or two every day in the regular commute. Much of it in frustration-inducing rush hour traffic. Dallas is one of the ten worst cities in the entire nation when it comes to traffic congestion. If you live there, a bit over 50 hours of your life, every year, is wasted this way¹.

My wife took an interest in cycling at some point, and before long, bikes were multiplying like rabbits in the house. Not much later, I was going to her when I had a cycling related question, where it was once the other way around. And her enthusiasm roused something in me I once though dead from neglect, cynicism and the perceived reality of the world around me.

I dusted off my mountain bike, inflated the tires that had been flat for longer than I’d been in college, cleaned the chain a bit, looked at the rust speckling the unpainted metal portions, shrugged, left it where it was, and cycled out the door.

Something came to me within that short space of time before I reached the end of the block. This was fun. A lot of fun, actually. The cold, clinical experience riding inside of a car was replaced by something joyous. I swerved side to side, jumped up curbs, down curbs and laughed.

Time went by, and the experience of using a mountain bike on flat terrain where you didn’t have to constantly fight buckling concrete and corners that had never heard of street-level ramps began to make me wonder if a different bike might be better. One without the all-terrain knobby tread that that came with a massive amount of rolling resistance. A road bike, in other words.

And so I searched Craigslist for a good ‘project bike’. A frame in good condition that could be upgraded bit by bit. My wife’s interest in rebuilding classic French bikes made me realize that a bike didn’t necessarily have to be something you found at the store, brought home, and never changed a bit of, save the occasional tune-up.

Then I found other people that enjoyed cycling, near my age and delightfully nerdy. It became a form of socialization as well, something that I’d greatly missed after college. People you could chat with about things other than what needed to happen next at work. Or the weather, or how their dogs were constantly getting into your yard. Things that made you think outside of the dreadfully diminished box the world had become when most of your waking hours were spent in the corporate environment. It’s nice to think of things other than that. Very nice indeed.

Cycling brought something back to me, something that had slipped away over the years without being noticed. The joy of riding a bike and going down the road, where what you experienced on the journey was enjoyable, rather than being something endured begrudgingly in a car. And feeling the world fly by, your own muscles propelling you – that is joy.

¹Texas Transportation Institute’s 2009 Urban Mobility Report

We want to thank James, for inspiring us with such an awesome story. We’d also like to extend an invitation to any cyclist who lives and/or rides in Richardson to share their story as well.

Filed under: I Bike Richardson, I Bike Richardson, James Berger

June 6, 2011 • 2:26 pm 1

Coming Soon – I BIKE RICHARDSON

We’re starting a new feature on Bike Friendly Richardson. It’s called I Bike Richardson. Similar to Pedallas‘ “Locals” series, the lifestyle bios on Biking In Dallas and Member Profiles at Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, we want to put a face on local bike riders. We’re asking Richardson cyclists to submit stories or biographies of their biking lifestyle, and we’ll share them here to inspire others to ride.

Stay tuned. We’ll have our first bio really soon.

You too, can share your cycling story. If you’re a cyclist that lives or rides in Richardson, please contact us at bikefriendlyrichardson@gmail.com, and tell us about yourself.