Dallas Metroplex City Riding

I just got nack from a weekend in Dallas. I took my city road bike, and I managed to get in some 30
miles of interesting riding. Everyone was surprised that I was riding on the the city streets. Even
at Richardson Bike Mart and Cycles in Motion, where I stopped to check things out, they looked at me
askance when I told them I was riding from Garland to DFW International.

I took a road called Belt Line, which circles the metroplex. Everybody told me it would be crowded
and dangerous and I should be careful and I was crazy and yadda yadda yadda. I found that to be
completely wrong. Well, I might be crazy, but Belt Line was easy and fun to ride, the cars were no
more dangerous than any other city I've ridden in (in fact, they were considerate), and I was able
to make good time on good roads. So my question is: Why are Dallasites such wimps? You have an
excellent infrastructure there for commuter riding.
--
http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace a dirty exploding midget is a dark meat!
2:51:07 PM 2 June 2003

Kevan Smith <kevansmith23@yahoo.c0/\/\> wrote:

> So my question is: Why are Dallasites such wimps? You have an excellent infrastructure there for
> commuter riding.

I used to commute from Watauga to Irving (and back) across DFW airport and the Mid-Cities. I agree
that the roads were fine and the drivers courteous.

RFM
--
To reply, translate domain from l33+ 2p33|< to alpha. 4=a 0=o 3=e +=t

Kevan Smith <kevansmith23@yahoo.c0/\/\> writes:

<snip>
> I took a road called Belt Line, which circles the metroplex.

<snip>
> Well, I might be crazy, but Belt Line was easy and fun to ride,

But when (day/time) were you taking Belt Line? There are times when I'm sure it would be fine, but
others I wouldn't want to be there on a bike or in a car.

Dan

--
--------------
Dan Griswold Carrollton, TX
--------------

On Sun, 08 Jun 2003 20:00:52 GMT, Dan Griswold <dangriswold@earthlink.net> from EarthLink Inc. --
http://www.EarthLink.net wrote:

>Kevan Smith <kevansmith23@yahoo.c0/\/\> writes:
>
><snip>
>> I took a road called Belt Line, which circles the metroplex.
>
><snip>
>> Well, I might be crazy, but Belt Line was easy and fun to ride,
>
>
>But when (day/time) were you taking Belt Line? There are times when I'm sure it would be fine, but
>others I wouldn't want to be there on a bike or in a car.

Saturday afternoon from noon until about 5:00 p.m. I was going fairly slow with frequent stops.

--
http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace I want you to organize my PASTRY trays
3:18:44 PM 8 June 2003

Kevan Smith <kevansmith23@yahoo.c0/\/\> writes:

> On Sun, 08 Jun 2003 20:00:52 GMT, Dan Griswold <dangriswold@earthlink.net> from EarthLink Inc. --
> http://www.EarthLink.net wrote:
>
>>Kevan Smith <kevansmith23@yahoo.c0/\/\> writes:
>>
>><snip>
>>> I took a road called Belt Line, which circles the metroplex.
>>
>><snip>
>>> Well, I might be crazy, but Belt Line was easy and fun to ride,
>>
>>
>>But when (day/time) were you taking Belt Line? There are times when I'm sure it would be fine, but
>>others I wouldn't want to be there on a bike or in a car.
>
> Saturday afternoon from noon until about 5:00 p.m. I was going fairly slow with frequent stops.

Well that explains everything. It's really a different road then, as opposed to, say, Belt Line at 8
a.m. Monday morning.

Cheers,

Dan

--
--------------
Dan Griswold Carrollton, TX
--------------

I wonder the same thing. I bike commute to work from the north edge of Richardson to the north edge
of Dallas. There are some areas to avoid because of frequent bus traffic, school traffic, etc. and I
try to be considerate of car commuters by sticking to residential streets when it won't affect my
time much. There is a great network of streets in this area including the multi lane arteries like
Beltline, extra wide 2 lane streets, low traffic 4 lanes, and residential streets. There are many
possible routes to choose no matter where you're going. Alot of people here do think that bikes only
belong on sidewalks (especially since ped's don't use them), bike paths, and offroad trails. They
buy into and propagate the illusion that riding on the street is extremely dangerous. I'm not a
conspiracy theorist but it seems like manipulation designed to keep those recreational toys out of
their way as they race to work.

Kevan Smith wrote:
>
> I just got nack from a weekend in Dallas. I took my city road bike, and I managed to get in some
> 30 miles of interesting riding. Everyone was surprised that I was riding on the the city streets.
> Even at Richardson Bike Mart and Cycles in Motion, where I stopped to check things out, they
> looked at me askance when I told them I was riding from Garland to DFW International.
>
> I took a road called Belt Line, which circles the metroplex. Everybody told me it would be crowded
> and dangerous and I should be careful and I was crazy and yadda yadda yadda. I found that to be
> completely wrong. Well, I might be crazy, but Belt Line was easy and fun to ride, the cars were no
> more dangerous than any other city I've ridden in (in fact, they were considerate), and I was able
> to make good time on good roads. So my question is: Why are Dallasites such wimps? You have an
> excellent infrastructure there for commuter riding.
> --
> http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace a dirty exploding midget is a dark meat!
> 2:51:07 PM 2 June 2003

On Mon, 09 Jun 2003 10:39:21 -0500, John David Powers <j-powers1@ti.com> from Texas Instruments,
Inc. wrote:

>I wonder the same thing. I bike commute to work from the north edge of Richardson to the north edge
>of Dallas. There are some areas to avoid because of frequent bus traffic, school traffic, etc. and
>I try to be considerate of car commuters by sticking to residential streets when it won't affect my
>time much. There is a great network of streets in this area including the multi lane arteries like
>Beltline, extra wide 2 lane streets, low traffic 4 lanes, and residential streets. There are many
>possible routes to choose no matter where you're going. Alot of people here do think that bikes
>only belong on sidewalks (especially since ped's don't use them), bike paths, and offroad trails.
>They buy into and propagate the illusion that riding on the street is extremely dangerous. I'm not
>a conspiracy theorist but it seems like manipulation designed to keep those recreational toys out
>of their way as they race to work.

Kar Kulture. No wonder they get fat at Krispy Kreme.

I would comment more, but I'm just having my first cuppa o' the day and havn't really put the brain
cells into motion yet.

However, I will add one last thing: just riding on streets in the proper manner does a lot for
promoting cycling. I think at least a few people who see you will say, "Hey, that's a good idea!"
and begin cycling themselves. Take back the streets for bikes -- ride them!

--
http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace Now I'm concentrating on a specific tank
battle toward the end of World War II!
1:37:57 PM 9 June 2003

DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT ET CETERA! LIVE LONG AND PROSPER\

Kevan Smith wrote:

> On Mon, 09 Jun 2003 10:39:21 -0500, John David Powers <j-powers1@ti.com> from Texas Instruments,
> Inc. wrote:
>
> >I wonder the same thing. I bike commute to work from the north edge of Richardson to the north
> >edge of Dallas. There are some areas to avoid because of frequent bus traffic, school traffic,
> >etc. and I try to be considerate of car commuters by sticking to residential streets when it
> >won't affect my time much. There is a great network of streets in this area including the multi
> >lane arteries like Beltline, extra wide 2 lane streets, low traffic 4 lanes, and residential
> >streets. There are many possible routes to choose no matter where you're going. Alot of people
> >here do think that bikes only belong on sidewalks (especially since ped's don't use them), bike
> >paths, and offroad trails. They buy into and propagate the illusion that riding on the street is
> >extremely dangerous. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but it seems like manipulation designed to
> >keep those recreational toys out of their way as they race to work.
>
> Kar Kulture. No wonder they get fat at Krispy Kreme.
>
> I would comment more, but I'm just having my first cuppa o' the day and havn't really put the
> brain cells into motion yet.
>
> However, I will add one last thing: just riding on streets in the proper manner does a lot for
> promoting cycling. I think at least a few people who see you will say, "Hey, that's a good idea!"
> and begin cycling themselves. Take back the streets for bikes -- ride them!
>
> --
> http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace Now I'm concentrating on a specific tank
> battle toward the end of World War II!
> 1:37:57 PM 9 June 2003