SAVE THE DATE: November 25, 2011 – 3rd Annual Black Friday Ride
It’s BACK!! The third annual, Black Friday Ride.
Avoid the mall!
Avoid the crowds!
Work off the turkey!
Have a stress free start to the holiday season.
This will be a nice, leisure ride around town. Details and route map to come!
Doing Errands by Bike
By Jenny Rilling
In addition to commuting by bike, this year I’ve been using my bike more for errands that would usually involve driving. It’s worked out so well that I even added large wire baskets to one of my bikes and made it my designated grocery bike.
So far, I’ve ridden my bike to go grocery shopping, get takeout, go to the bank, the drugstore, and to pick up food for our two dogs. I’m trying to use a bike instead of a car more often for trips of under 5 miles. Besides the exercise benefits and reduced emissions gained from leaving the car at home, pedaling though neighborhoods and side streets is a lot more fun and feels like less of a chore than driving to accomplish the same errands.
Bike-thru banking - Like a boss.
Last weekend, my husband and I rode out to do some grocery shopping at Sprouts, which is on the other side of US 75 from where we live. We took the Central Trail to Campbell Rd. and crossed under the freeway at Campbell. There are conveniently placed curb cuts and signal request buttons that make it easy to cross on the south side of the intersection (Starbucks side). From the Starbucks / hotel parking lot, we hopped on Richardson Dr., then took Melrose Dr. to Mimosa and went north on Mimosa to Sprouts.
It was the Gluten-Free Jubilee...
The bikes wanted to take a break in a nearby park.
Between my baskets and James’ pannier, we were able to get a good amount of food.
There's some rice and lentils hiding under the clementines.
If you’re thinking of shopping by bike, I have a few recommendations:
A double-footed kickstand really helps keep your bike from falling over to one side and keeps it level and steady while you’re loading and unloading. I love the Porteur Double Kickstand from Velo Orange, so much that I now have it on two of my bikes.
Load the bike as evenly as you can – if you have two panniers or two rear baskets, try to distribute the weight of your purchases evenly among them.
Invest in a cargo net and a couple of bungee cords for strapping things to a rack or covering the top of a basket.
Comments Off on Doing Errands by Bike
Federal funding for bicycling is under serious attack
This is a message from PeopleForBikes.org. Below is a link to an easy online form that helps you contact your local US Senators.
Federal funding for bicycling is under serious attack. Today or tomorrow, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma will introduce an amendment to eliminate dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements, which is the main source of funding for bike projects of all types. We need you to take action today by emailing your U.S. Senators to urge them to oppose and defeat Mr. Coburn’s amendment.
If Senator Coburn’s amendment succeeds, bicycling in the U.S. will become less safe and more difficult. Twenty years of consistent, cost-effective investment in beneficial bike projects will stop.
When we launched peopleforbikes.org, we promised you that we would only ask for your help when we really needed it. This is one of those times.
We need every U.S. Senator to hear from hundreds, if not thousands, of their constituents who value government support for bicycling. A strong vote against Coburn’s amendment will be a convincing statement of how much Congress and Americans value bicycling, and will influence all future votes on bike and pedestrian programs and funding.
Please email your U.S. Senators today and tell them to oppose Coburn’s amendment and preserve funding for bicycling. (You can find your Senators, review basic suggested text for your email, and send your note directly from this link.)
Thanks for your support and your quick response to this call to action.
Tim Blumenthal
Director, Peopleforbikes.org
Comments Off on Federal funding for bicycling is under serious attack
Off Topic – Recycling In Richardson
One of the great things about Richardson, is the fact that there is a recycling collection service. Every week, we put out our little blue bags filled with papers, bottles and cans with hopes to reduce landfill waste and lessen the consumption of our natural resources.
What happens when you can’t fit your recycling in the little blue bags? Well, the answer is just across town for you. Richardson has a recycle center, on Cottonwood Drive, just north of Belt Line Road. Click here for more information about recycling in Richardson.
Comments Off on Off Topic – Recycling In Richardson
Melted Ice
Melted Ice, originally uploaded by dickdavid.
I was joking at the office about my 100+ degree commute home. As I was filling this ice, I claimed that it would be melted within a couple of miles. Turns out it wasn’t such a joke.Quite honestly, I don’t mind the heat. Once you’re in it, it isn’t so bad. I figure, this is Texas – I can either hide from the heat or embrace it. Anybody else ride in the heat?
Comments Off on Melted Ice
Garland Neighborhood Guard Rails
New Garland Neighborhood Guard Rail
Living on the east side of Richardson, we find ourselves traveling into Garland quite a bit. Like with my neighborhood, the houses are older, middle-class homes that have been warn by the years, but still hold their own. The neighborhoods are quiet and feel quite safe.
What I find interesting is the difference in what each city puts into it’s infrastructure. Over the past couple of years, it appears that both cities had the goal of putting up structures to protect their neighborhood’s outside alleyways from the main thoroughfare traffic of Arapaho Road.
The city of Richardson built and updated beautiful, brick retaining walls that enhance the beauty of their aging neighborhoods. In contrast, Garland just recently put up an unattractive guard rail. Not to compare one city to the next – Garland is a nice town with nice people – but, it’s really nice knowing that the city that we’ve decided to settled in, is investing in maintaining street appeal and property value.
Richardson Neighborhood Brick Wall
Edit: It’s occurred to me that in my efforts to praise Richardson, this post may have come off a little negative towards our neighbor Garland. That was not the intent. Although these guard rails are not best display of aesthetics, they are functional at keeping the neighborhoods safe. Also, in contrast to Richardson, Garland has had great success in reviving their downtown infrastructure. You can read a little about it here.
Comments Off on Garland Neighborhood Guard Rails
A Ride From Richardson To White Rock Lake
One of the great things about living in Richardson is that we are so close to Dallas. We get some of the great suburban amenities, like really great schools and quiet neighborhoods, but also the convenience of having such an great urban center within biking distance.
Yesterday, I decided to try out our newest connection to Dallas – the extended Cottonwood Trail. Not only does it provide safe passage from Richardson to Dallas (under some major highways), but it also merges with the White Rock Creek Trail. From there, I was able to take a nice spin down to and around White Rock Lake.
Here are some pics of my ride:
B-Cycle – Bike Sharing Might Come To Fort Worth
Image © B-Cycle. Please Visit Their Site
The folks over at Fortworthology have a great report on the possibility of bike sharing coming to Fort Worth. You should really check it out.
B-Cycle is a bike sharing service that is making it’s way across the country – giving communities an alternative mode of urban transportation that’s inexpensive, healthy, fun and environmentally friendly. Cities like Denver, Boulder, Chicago and even San Antonio have already started using this system. Hopefully, it will make it’s way to north Texas.
Since Richardson isn’t large enough to justify a system like this, we hope that Dallas would consider pairing up B-Cycle with it’s new 2011 Bike Plan. How cool would it be to ride your bike and lock it up at the DART Red Line station, catch a train to downtown, and have another bike waiting for you when you arrived at the West End? If you’ve ever tried bringing your bike on the train during rush hour, you’d really appreciate a bike sharing system.
We can only hope.
Image © B-Cycle - Please Visit Their Site
Comments Off on B-Cycle – Bike Sharing Might Come To Fort Worth
GRAND OPENING – Switching Gears Cyclery – Saturday, May 14, 2011
Our friends over at Switching Gears Cyclery (in Dallas – Fair Park) will be celebrating their grand opening in a few weeks. Be sure to mark your calendars to attend a great event.
Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011
Time: 3:00 – 9:00 pm
Place: 833 Exposition – Off Parry, Dallas, Texas 75226
Hosts: Andee Pittman & Colin Clarke – Proprietors
Featuring: Lone Star Goldsprints, Live Music By Sea Lion, Team Party Time Race Dales Dash, Door Prizes, And More.
RSVP: Here on Facebook
Don’t forget, please support your local bike shops.
Comments Off on GRAND OPENING – Switching Gears Cyclery – Saturday, May 14, 2011
Spread The Love
Spring is here and so are the multiple, charity ride events. I’m sure you’ve been invited to help out with a donation to support a fellow rider. Well, if you are in the giving mood or just want to donate to some great causes, we have just a few names to consider.
Raul Bonifacio
Event: Bike MS: Sam’s Club Ride 2011
Date: April 30th – May 1st
Distance: Frisco to Fort Worth (150 Miles)
Supporting: National MS Society
Donate Here (or to the OCBC Team)
Rob Sumner
Event: Texas Tough 250
Date: May 7th – 8th
Distance: Austin to Dallas (180 Miles)
Supporting: Children’s Medical Center
Donate Here
William D. Neumann
Event: Tour du Rouge
Date: May 1st – 6th
Distance: Houston to New Orleans (526 Miles)
Supporting: Gulf Coast chapters of the American Red Cross
Donate Here
Of course these are just a few of the BFR friends that are doing charity rides. If you are doing a charity ride, please feel free to add your information in the comments below. Maybe somebody can help out.
Comments Off on Spread The Love
Bike Friendly Richardson 
Comments Off on SAVE THE DATE: November 25, 2011 – 3rd Annual Black Friday Ride