Did you know that there are no fat people in San Francisco? Actually that’s probably not true, but during my short jaunt there last summer I was struck by the hordes of skinny people on every street corner. I’m pretty sure that this demographic trend can be explained by one of two things:
-The lack of decent pizza restaurants, or
-The fact that everyone (and I mean everyone) rides a bicycle.
When I got back to Dallas the contrast was staggering. Dallas is a car-loving city for sure, and as a result has been consistently ranked at the bottom of government records that track bike ridership and has the distinction of being known as the “worst city for cyclists” in the United States. Definitely a sad revelation for a new Dallas-ite who loves to get around on his two-wheeler.
However, all is not lost. A couple of months ago I was taking a walk around my neighborhood when I noticed something that had escaped my attention up to this point; a blue sign with a pegasus and the welcome words “bike route” emblazened on it. After some brief research I discovered that Dallas had indeed established a rather thorough web (somewhere in my research I encountered the figure “400 miles”) of bike routes throughout the city some time in the early ‘90s and marked the more prominent ones with these handy blue signs. Over the past few weeks I’ve started exploring some of the routes with great success, though I’ve learned a few things:
- The route maps, which can be downloaded here, are terrible. Pretty much useless unless you just want a general idea of where in the U.S. “Dallas” is. I think the bike routes are shown in actual highlighter and were drawn by someone who knocked back a few too many before getting down to business.
- Maps aside, the routes are extremely well marked and difficult to stray from. I was a bit worried at first that signs would be missing since at this point they have been up for a couple of decades and have no indication of being well used, but so far this fear has been unfounded.
- The routes, though well marked, are OLD. Some of the streets that were nice and quiet 20 years ago are now pretty high-traffic areas.
- Riding the bike routes is a great way to familiarize yourself with Dallas, especially if you’re new to the city. I still regularly get lost within two blocks of my apartment or office, but I’m making progress slowly but surely.
Words of caution: Dallas is full of really bad roads, construction, and drivers who have no idea how to share the road with cyclists. Riding in Dallas requires constant alertness, a helmet (please?), an absence of earbuds from one’s ears while riding, and no shortage of assertiveness. Due to the city’s lack of bike lanes (a whole story within itself) claiming the lane is a must for leg-powered drivers.
So, get out and enjoy those bike routes. Once you start looking you’ll see them everywhere.
Resources:
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff - A great community resource for Dallas cyclists whether or not you live in Oak Cliff proper. Lots of interesting info on the bike lane debate as well as well as other relevant stuff. Also, I got many of my links for this article from BFOC, so thanks to them for that.
Cycle Dallas - The blog of PM Summers, the former official Dallas Bike Coordinator. It has a bit of inside information and is an interesting insight into a vehemently anti-bike-lane viewpoint.
Dallas Bike Plan - Here are those infamous maps. Be prepared to do a lot of squinting, but they’re worth a look.
Katy Trail - I mention this trail only because it is within spitting distance of my apartment (actually not, that’s kind of gross) and I’ve heard great things about it. Have I tried it myself? No. Have I heard glowing reviews about it from leisure cyclists who prefer to avoid Dallas roads altogether if possible? Yes.