Biking to Fort Worth’s Bike to Work Day Celebration

Hi, I’m Nick Olivier, the new communications intern at Streams and Valleys. Friday, May 20th was National Bike to Work Day and Fort Worth cyclists celebrated the holiday with a morning meet-up at the downtown Intermodal Transportation Center. I decided that this was an event I had to attend. I ride my bike to school at TCU (about a one mile journey) and I wanted to try biking all the way downtown.

This was the route I took on my way to the event. Google Maps tell me the trip is 4.1 miles and would take 15 minutes by car. I was a little apprehensive because of looming rain clouds and the thought of cycling on major roads, but I decided to embrace the adventure.

Getting there was a piece of cake. The traffic at around 7:30am wasn’t bad and the rain waited for me to arrive at my destination before starting up. I purposefully rode on the streets and not the sidewalks in order to fully take in the bike commuter experience. I was very happy to see bike lanes as I turned right on West 7th Street from University Drive. It makes me wish every street was so bike-friendly.

I arrived just as the party was starting. Cyclists from Atmos Energy and others took in the scene and enjoyed free drinks and breakfast bars. The three speakers arrived via police escort, thanks to about a dozen members of the Fort Worth Bike Patrol. The speakers, including mayoral candidate Betsy Price and city councilman Joel Burns, exalted the physical and social benefits of bike riding, specifically as a means of getting to work. One speaker said that in Fort Worth, you can get anywhere with a “bike and a bus.”

On my way back, I decided to take the more scenic (although no less direct) route home – the Trinity Trails. However, when I turned off of 7th Street to meet the Trinity River, I chose the wrong side. The east side (closest to downtown) of the river has some bike trails, but it dead-ends at the construction site for the Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, scheduled to be completed December 2011. I was stuck.

I had two options: back-track to 7th Street or take to the roads alongside the river. I chose the path less certain and ended up on the access road for I-30, which is not a very bike-friendly street. Dejected and wet from the falling rain, I made another questionable decision and one that I definitely do not recommend to others. I crossed the Trinity River at one of the rock crossings. This could be an acceptable path for walkers on a sunny day, but I do not advise doing so with bike in hand and slippery rocks underfoot.

Needless to say, I made it across alive and rode the Trinity Trails all the way home. Count me among those eagerly anticipating the new pedestrian bridge linking both sides of the Trinity River.

Click HERE to view more photos from Bike to Work Day.

Click HERE to see videos from my adventure on our YouTube page.

Are you excited for the opening of the Tilley Bridge? What’s the farthest you’ve cycled? Do you wish Fort Worth had more bike lanes?