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.

Fort Worth Mountain Bikers to Host Fat Tire Festival

By Nicholas Olivier, communications intern

The Fort Worth Mountain Bikers Association is a small, but passionate group of off-road cyclists dedicated to bringing the biking community together by building trails, hosting events and providing educational programs. FWMBA, pronounced “fwumbah,” was recognized as a 501c3 nonprofit organization in August 2006 and has grown to about 100 members. The organization has agreements with the City of Fort Worth to build and maintain trails at Marion Sansom Park and Gateway Park. The group’s members have donated over 6,500 man hours of volunteer work towards the trails.

Among the events hosted by FWMBA is the series of Tuesday Night Time Trials. The set of eight races began in March and ended June 21st, alternating between Sansom and Gateway parks. I own a mountain bike and used to ride beginner’s trails as a teen, so naturally I entered the final race of the series. I showed up at Sansom Park and quickly realized that I might be unprepared. Most other participants wore Camelbacks (water packs) and had shoes that click into the pedals on their high-end mountain bikes. I came equipped with a water bottle and tennis shoes. I started out strong enough before losing track of the trail and having to backtrack for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, I was huffing and puffing my way to the finish line, coming in tied for last place alongside the one other newcomer to the series. I finished one lap (approximately 5.5 miles) in 90 minutes. That week’s winner finished two laps in 42 minutes. The good news is that Streams and Valleys has agreed to help fund signage for the Sansom Park trail so that other newcomers won’t have the same problem during next year’s series.

This Sunday, FWMBA will host its inaugural (and hopefully annual) Fort Worth Fat Tire Festival, July 10. Held in Gateway Park from 8am-2pm, the event features many different types of mountain bike events for riders of all ages and skill levels. The schedule includes a Kid’s Cup, an “on-and-off-the-bike” Adventure Challenge, and a Time Trial Finale. The “Fat Boy Crit” race allows riders over 200 lbs., called Clydesdales, to compete on a special oval course and is likened to “NASCAR on two wheels.” The event will also feature live music and wonderful Mexican food from Lanny Lancarte, owner of Lanny’s Alta Cocina. Lanny, an avid biker, will be providing burritos and iced coffee for breakfast and then tacos and tamales for lunch.

A $15 donation includes one meal ticket, an American Apparel t-shirt with FWMBA logo, a water bottle and a koozie. Proceeds go towards Phase II of the Gateway Park trail build, including over 200 feet of elevation and spectacular views of downtown. The organization estimates that the 5.5 mile extension will require 1000 volunteer hours per mile. To learn more about the Fort Worth Mountain Bikers Association and its events, click HERE. To subscribe to the official FWMBA podcast, The Mountain Bike Whisperer Radio Show, search for it on iTunes or click HERE.

Click HERE to view photos of the final Tuesday Night Time Trial and podcast recording.

Click HERE to view videos of the bikers in action.

Have you explored the trails in Gateway Park and Marion Sansom Park? Did you know Fort Worth had such a thriving mountain bike community? Do you plan on attending this weekends Fat Tire Festival?

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?