Biking Around Fort Worth with the LMRA Bicycle Club

By Nick Olivier, communications intern

Lockheed Martin employs thousands in the Fort Worth area. Many of these employees stay fit by taking part in various opportunities provided by the Lockheed Martin Recreation Association (LMRA), such as adult softball leagues and water aerobics. About 75 LMRA members have chosen cycling as their preferred path to recreation, relaxation and exercise. The LMRA Bicycle Club began in late 2004 and is geared toward road cycling. Think skinny tires and form-fitting jerseys.

I tagged along as the club went out on its Saturday Morning Breakfast Ride. The ride takes place every weekend all year long, unless it’s under 40 degrees or raining. It’s a social ride, open to anyone, and it’s accommodating to riders of all skill levels. Rather than all ride as one, or all ride independently, the group splits up into three subgroups – swifties, pacers and cruisers. The swifties travel longer distances and at faster speeds than the cruisers. But all end up at the same location at the same time. The groups meet up for breakfast at a different location each Saturday, before then biking back to the LMRA site on Bryant Irvin Road. The breakfast stop splits up the long-distance ride quite nicely and adds to the social nature of the club.

I took to the road on my mountain bike, which is not ideal for the distance I would be travelling that day. I managed to keep up with the pack, the cruisers of course, as we traversed 25.5 miles at 11.6 miles per hour. This week there were 15 riders in all, split into just two groups, but as many as 30 will show up on cooler weekends. My fellow cruisers each took turns riding alongside me, telling me about the club they had grown to love. Each was passionate about cycling and it provided me the energy to keep pace. The group boasts members of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels, including those with no affiliation to Lockheed Martin. This Saturday, 14-year-old Chandler joined the ride and was warmly welcomed by the group. Another past member, Imari Miller, has gone on to become an elite junior national cyclist.

It all started with Jim Wilson. As founder and president of the bicycle club, he has somewhat unintentionally become a prominent voice for cycling advocacy in North Texas. Jim is a F-16 product support engineer with Lockheed after spending 20 years working with F-16s in the Air Force. When he’s not working with jets or cycling around town, Jim takes his elected seat on the Benbrook city council. His path to city councilman began through cycling advocacy. He was instrumental in gathering the various cycling groups across Fort Worth and encouraging them en masse at town hall meetings to ensure that cycling was placed on the agenda. He’s worked with the cities of Benbrook, Fort Worth and Arlington to become more bike-friendly by building trails and including bike lanes in urban areas.

Visit LMRAbicycleclub.com to learn more about this great organization. The group puts on Wednesday night and Friday morning/night rides as well. Annual Dues: $15 individual or $25 family annual dues. There is an annual $20 LMRA guest fee if you are not a Lockheed Martin employee.

Click HERE to see photos from my excursion. Click HERE to watch Jim cycling through Trinity Park.

Did you know about the bike lanes on West 7th, 10th and Texas streets? Didn’t think it was possible to safely traverse the city on bike? Looking for other cyclists to ride with? Leave a comment to let us know.

Water Skiing on the Trinity River. Really?

By Nick Olivier, communications intern

Who knew it was possible to water ski in the shadow of downtown Fort Worth? Of all my adventures so far this summer, I was most surprised to hear that I would be going water skiing on the Trinity River. When I think of water skiing or wakeboarding, I think of driving at least 45 minutes to a lake, or at least a wider, more rural river. Turns out both activities are offered within the city limits.

For water skiing, I hooked up with the Metroplex Ski Club, a family-oriented, social ski club active in Dallas/Fort Worth. The club started out in 1974 based in Dallas, but migrated to Fort Worth in the mid-1980s. The group now spends much of their time at Marine Creek Lake in Fort Worth and on a 3-mile stretch of the Trinity River. The group currently has about 70 memberships, amounting to approximately 130 members (some memberships are for families or couples). A little over 50% of members have their own boats, which is not a requirement for membership. The group hosts tournaments and features slalom skiers, show skiers and jumpers. They have put on clinics for disadvantaged youth and the physically disabled.

Streams and Valleys Executive Director Adelaide Leavens joined me on this excursion. She water skied as a teen and was excited to get back on the skis. I, however, had never water skied and was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stand up on the water. But I had some great teachers, who provided me with the water ski equivalent of training wheels. They placed a “boom,” or bar meant for barefoot skiing, on the side of the boat and I held onto that first, rather than starting out with the rope behind the boat. After that, a short rope was attached to the boom, and then I tried out the real thing. With this slow progression, I was able to stand up on my second try behind the boat.

My coaches were ski club secretary Mike Oleson, vice president in charge of the Trinity River Kip Ballinger and former president Bruce Carr. Each has their own story for how they started skiing and how they heard about the club. Mike is from Wisconsin and moved to Fort Worth to work on projects related to the Trinity River Vision Authority. Before moving to Fort Worth, he looked up the ski club because he wanted to find others to ski with. He now helps out with the club’s show ski team, which performs tricks and pyramids.

The club meets every third Tuesday of each month at 7:30pm at the Coors Distributorship at I-35W and Meacham Blvd. in Fort Worth. Visit the MetroplexSkiClub.com for more information.

On a side note, visit CowtownWakepark.com to learn about the new wakeboarding cable park (no boat necessary) along the Trinity River in Fort Worth.

Click HERE for a photo gallery of our water ski trip. Click HERE to see video of me water skiing for the first time (warning: it’s not pretty).

Did you know it was possible to water ski and wakeboard so close to home? Have you ever seen the water skiers on the Trinity River? Think you could get up on your first time? Leave a comment to let us know.

Fort Worth Resident Gives Back to Trinity Trails

By Nick Olivier, communications intern

Loanne Chiu of Fort Worth had won cooking contests before. So when she won the Redwood Creek wines grilling recipe contest, she wasn’t surprised. The grand prize winner received two gifts. One was a trip for two to Colorado Springs to attend chef Steven Raichlen’s Barbecue University. The other gift was a $2,500 donation to the nonprofit organization of Loanne’s choosing. She chose to put the money towards Streams and Valleys for a new bench along the Trinity Trails. She is not into sports, but she loves to walk and ride her bike. “Every time I walk, I always see people enjoying the trails, sitting with a book or just enjoying the breeze,” Loanne said. “The best feature of Fort Worth is the river.”

Loanne had never heard of Streams and Valleys but she knew she wanted to give back to the Trinity Trails she enjoyed so much. After asking around, she found out that Streams and Valleys coordinates placement of the benches along the Trinity River working through the Fort Worth Parks & Community Services Department and Tarrant Regional Water District. She was pleasantly surprised to hear that she would have her pick of location along the Trails and under which tree the bench would rest. She picked the biggest tree offering the most shade on the Clear Fork banch of the Trinity River near the Overton Woods neighborhood. The spot is the close to her home and on the stretch of the Trails that Loanne and her husband have walked and cycled many times over the years. The bench will also be inscribed with the names of Loanne and her husband.

Loanne’s path to Fort Worth spans three continents. The daughter of a Chinese family, she was born in Indonesia, she attended college in Germany before moving to New York City in the early 1970s. In 1979, she moved to Arlington and settled in Fort Worth not long after. “Sometimes life dictates where you go, you just follow,” Loanne said. “We are glad to be here. I like the warm climate much better than shoveling snow in New York.” It was in Germany that she began cooking out of necessity. German food was unfamiliar and undesirable to her, so she cooked on an electric plate in her dorm room. She ate a lot of fried rice and any other dishes were learned through trial and error.

photo from ifood.tv

Now Loanne enters cooking contests as a hobby. She is a practicing psychologist and her clients like to hear about the latest contest and recipe. She won the Redwood Creek contest by creating a recipe for wine-tamarind glazed Cornish hens with tropical salad that is meant to be made and enjoyed with sauvignon blanc. Click HERE for the recipe. She really enjoyed learning from barbecue aficionado Steven Raichlen at the three-day grilling camp in Colorado. Thanks to Loanne and her culinary skills, the Trinity Trails bench will provide her and many others pleasure, relaxation and respite from the sun for years to come.

Contact info@streamsandvalleys.org to inquire about leaving your own legacy and donating a bench along the Trinity Trails.

How often do you make use of the Trinity Trails benches? Do you have a favorite spot to stop and rest? Have you thought about how nice it would be to have a bench with your name inscribed for all to see?

Kayaking on the Trinity River with the First Family of DFW Paddling

By Nicholas Olivier, communications intern

It’s easy to miss but there are three kayak chutes on the Trinity River at Trinity Park. Cut into the dams, the chutes offer kayakers a whitewater experience in the middle of Fort Worth. It also extends the section of the river in which kayakers and canoeists can paddle around. This stretch of the Trinity River is the site of the Streams and Valleys Kayak Clinics. Occurring once a month from June to September, the clinics provide anyone the opportunity to get on the water and paddle about. The next one is this Saturday, July 16, 9am-12pm.

The clinics are taught by Dave Holl, an American Canoe Association (ACA) Certified Instructor. Dave is the authority on paddlesports in Dallas-Fort Worth. Ten years ago, he retired from accounting and began to work full-time as a kayak instructor and retailer through KayakInstruct.com. He’s a licensed distributor of Jackson Kayaks, selling both recreational and high-end boats. His family is based in Rowlett, but the Holls can be found hauling dozens of kayaks at a time across the metroplex to different camps and clinics. As a member of the ACA Board of Directors, Dave is bidding for Dallas-Fort Worth to host the 2015 Paddlesports Conference.

I was able to paddle around with Dave and his two daughters, who are also experienced kayakers. We hopped in our kayaks and took to the water. Dave soon asked if I wanted to try exiting the kayak underwater to practice basic kayak safety. The thought of voluntarily flipping over and plunging into the Trinity did not exactly appeal to me, although Dave assured me that it was refreshing. Turns out he was right. To back up his statement, Dave and his eldest daughter raced each other to see who could roll over in their kayaks fastest.

Click HERE to learn more about the Streams and Valleys Kayak Clinics. The final three clinics of the year take place on July 16, August 20 and September 18. Visit KayakInstruct.com to inquire about kayak rental, purchase and lessons.

Click HERE to view photos of my paddle down the Trinity. Click HERE to view videos of Dave and his daughters executing more advanced kayak maneuvers.

Do you plan on attending one of the remaining Kayak Clinics? Have you ever paddled around on the Trinity River? Do you think you could successfully roll over in a kayak?