General Cycling Discussion - An Observation During A Vacation In Dallas

Living here in Portland Oregon it's very common to see people traveling via bicycle. Verily, it's simply part of the landscape.

I traveled to Dallas, Texas this past week, on vacation to visit family. I was there from Friday May 9th to Saturday May 17th.

While out riding in my brother's truck shuttling to and fro to various family dwellings etc., I observed

ONE (1) cyclist!

the entire time I was there.

I'm sure there is actually more than one cyclist in the Dallas area, but it was eye-opening to go from a bike-friendly environment to one that is considerably less so. I count my blessings.

(This is not an indictment of all things Texan, by the way. I spent most of my life in the state, and a friendlier bunch of citizens I've yet to meet. So puh-leeze don't flame me. :D )

-Rob

That was me you saw!

I live in the Dallas area and I rarely see cyclists on the roads either.

Originally posted by supcom
That was me you saw!

I live in the Dallas area and I rarely see cyclists on the roads either.
:lol:

Oh, please, I hope you're wrong!

:crash:

Well if you don't count people riding around on xmart bikes, the only two places I see cyclists are around White Rock Lake and at organized charity rides. Every once in a great while I see a group of club riders.

Oh, I do see cyclists when I go to an LBS.

I almost never see a lone cyclist around Dallas.

well ya'll need to come up north to Frisco, Plano, Allen
to see the real riders (for you unfortunate non texans
thats about 25 miles from downtown dallas).
usually see folks on the FM roads that way.
but yeah, I agree Dallas county is not the most
cycle friendly place in the world.

Marty

Having been in and around Dallas/Ft.Worth many, many times in the past, I'm assuming the lack of cyclists there is partly due to the reckless nature of many of the local motoring populace. In the south-central US, people tend to drive a bit more carelessly than in other parts of the country, but in DFW they drive carelessly and fast, too! And don't forget-about 5% are drunk at any given time, and armed as well!
I was once in DFW on a day that 3-4" of snow had fallen overnight-what a mess!!! I was at a busy intersection, 3 lanes of traffic stopped at a red light. The light turned green, and about 30-40 cars simultaneously started spinning tyres in the snow, sliding sideways, sliding into each other, etc.
Traffic in DFW scares me more than NYC, or even Boston!

I'm sure there is actually more than one cyclist in the Dallas area, but it was eye-opening to go from a bike-friendly environment to one that is considerably less so. I count my blessings.

hey Rob, i know exactly what you mean. i grew up in Dallas (over 18 years there) and then lived in Portland Oregon, and now Munich Germany which has even more cyclists... when i go back to Texas it just freaks me out --- for most of Texas you just NEED a car for everything and the possiblity to ride a bike is so much less and no one even thinks of cycling as an alternative to driving (you must be underage or DWI - Texas calls it Drinking While Intoxicated instead of DUI unless it's changed recently).

a friend of my parents rides his bike to work (in New Braunfels, a smallish town in central Texas) and everyone thinks he's some kind of freak like he belives he's been abducted by space aliens and they told him to bike to work.

and even within Texas, Dallas is much less cycling friendly than other places like Austin. Dallas drivers do drive REALLY fast and using a blinker is not encouarged as that gives your enemy drivers the chance to cut you off (stealth driving where you piss off the other guy before he can stab you in the back is the preferred driving mentality with tailgating and hand-signals and gun-pointing are "recommended" driving techniques for those who don't want to the let the other guy take advantage of him) -- i went home for the summer from UT Austin after riding with the univesity cycling club with plans to continue training and with the crappy drivers, few good places to ride and my non-cycling high school friends, my cycling dropped to almost ZERO.

in Dallas it is maybe possibly aceptable to ride some super-expensive bike with all the "right" gear - and put the bike on the roof-rack of your Mercedes and drive to and then go for a tour around White Rock Lake - but to actually ride a bike to work or to the local mall on a bike you MUST be weird.

fortunately, my parents no longer live in Dallas so i am rarely there (was back 1 week in summer 2002) but i am always shocked when i do go. the difference in the attitudes towards cycling and driving is mind-boggling. i must admit that it would be very difficult to be car-free in Dallas!

and it sure makes me appreciate places like Portland or Munich!!

Texas is a real friendly place unless your on a bike. A cyclist here was just hit by a car, always looked like one of those follow the rules guys.
Rules of the road in Texas Urban\Suburban cycling:
1: You are invisible even if you shower in glow paint you are still invisible.
2: Rough pavement and loose gravel is the norm use good tires with tread.
3: Sidewalks are bike friendly because nobody uses them.
4: Cars always have the right away at all times a)because your invisible b)your on a bicycle it will be your fault
5: know where all vehicles are at all times and get out of the way

stay safe

Dallas schmallas! Come on down to Houston baby. The motorists here don't ask questions. They just run you down and keep on going. Texas is an extremely car-dependent society. In my neighborhood, you pretty much have to have a car. There is no public transportation of any kind. This town really blows. Oh and is it any wonder that Houston was voted "the Fattest City" in the US??

I was in DFW back in Feb and I only saw 1 cyclist in a week. I found it scary just driving there, I wouldn't even dream of cycling there. :eek:

I was reminded also that, unlike here in Portland where the horn is used liberally (that's my city: attitude worn aggressively on the sleeve and no opinion left unchallenged), Dallas motorists appear loath to express themselves in that manner. It gives the impression that, to other motorists at least, Dallas drivers are much more sanguine about the process. They drive like bats out of Hell, but they're quieter about it. Portland motorists greet the least infraction with blaring indignation.

Of course, ask a Portland driver about the rude motoring habits observed in our city and many will blame the influx of Californians. Or Texans. :rolleyes:

-Rob

Having visited once (more than enough) I give the worst drivers award to Miami, and Dave Berry agrees with me, so I must be right. We saw the first accident within 5 minutes of getting our rental. I stopped counting there. I didn't see too many bikes, just a few on the beach. You would have to pay me a lot to take a bike on the roads there and then only in DH armor. Most drivers have three things in common: Bald tires, over-worked horns, and cell phones. Some have TV's, as well. The knife fight a couple of blocks from our hotel the first night didn't help with first impressions either (and no, I wasn't in "the bad part of town")

Dallas schmallas! Come on down to Houston baby. The motorists here don't ask questions. They just run you down and keep on going. Texas is an extremely car-dependent society. In my neighborhood, you pretty much have to have a car. There is no public transportation of any kind. This town really blows. Oh and is it any wonder that Houston was voted "the Fattest City" in the US??

i lived 2 1/2 horrible years in Houston (summer 1993, and 1994-1997)

and while i hated it beyond descrition (woke up every morning and asked myself why i lived in this sh@thole)... and have never been back (thank God! and hope never to have to) except for a layover at the airport last year on the way to Austin.

but... i think Dallas is still worse for cycling than Houston... it's a tough call with the horrible humidity in Houston and the massive sprawl... but drivers at least tail-gate a little less than Dallas, driver a _little_ less agressively and occaisonally drive less than 15mph over the speed limit...

as to Florida... i've never been there, but from all i hear it is supposed to be the worst -- most cycling deaths -- and my sister lived there 3 years and had a FULL 7-Eleven Big Gulp thrown at her while she was riding on the shoulder causing her to crash... and the motorists laughed!

i used to bike commute into Downtown Houston and it was not SO bad --- because i lived inside the loop -- but at least once a week i was asked by co-workers if i needed a lift... or when my car would be out of the shop (no one even considered i biked VOLUNTARILY and with a functional car sitting at home - what was i an Alien? and without air-conditioning? oh the horror!!)

but Houston still sucks -- in all my time i was on the search for natural swimming (i.e. no chlorine): the the nearest non-polluted natural water to swim in that i found was 60 some miles away - oh, i forgot the name, but a State Park north on I-45

I was reminded also that, unlike here in Portland where the horn is used liberally (that's my city: attitude worn aggressively on the sleeve and no opinion left unchallenged), Dallas motorists appear loath to express themselves in that manner. It gives the impression that, to other motorists at least, Dallas drivers are much more sanguine about the process. They drive like bats out of Hell, but they're quieter about it. Portland motorists greet the least infraction with blaring indignation.

true, but the Northeast is where they really use the horn -- like NYC!

but yeah, it's strange, the horn in Texas is only used to tell the "old lady" to hurry up and finish her makeup because her husband is waiting in the driveway with the motor running... or in a parade or something.

Originally posted by nathank


oh, i forgot the name, but a State Park north on I-45

Huntsville state park, Sam houston state univeristy is right there. i grew up in that area.
its nice.

yep, that's it. i typed Sam Houston... but then i couldn't remember.

cool area. went up there one time on a first date with a girl to go hiking and swimming (she was from Virginia and we were both complaining about lack of the "outdoors" in houston)... afterwards went to dinner there in town and then to a local bar... were having a decent time and then the lights came on at midnight and we were like "uh, what's going on?" and a bunch of friendly people say "oh, the bars close here at midnight, but come on over to our party" and we hung out there all night and then about 6am crashed on a fold-out couch (it was a cool first date - oh, well, i don't mean it like _that_) but some nice people!

but yeah, that's the nearest non-poullted water i could find to Houston - but QUITE a long drive from downtown. the little pond there is nice and the wooden docks are good for doing backflips.

Man oh man the love on this fourm!

I live here and love it. As for cycling we do what we can. On any given Saturday, and Sunday, Tues or Thurs, there are anywhere from 3 to 40 of us that start together. You just gotta know where to start.

Scubagirl,

They don't know what they're missin


Marty

I';ve heard that about Dallas and Houston- even with the nice weather, you almost never see anyone on a bike, or walking for that matter. Hard to believe LA comes from Texas. I remember reading about how when he was in high school in Plano, his classmates thought he was weird because he rode his bike to school.

Hard to believe LA comes from Texas. I remember reading about how when he was in high school in Plano, his classmates thought he was weird because he rode his bike to school.

well, i've posted this before on the forum, but whatever...

but what LA wrote in "it's not about the bike" about Dallas is SO true. he did a great job of capturing the attitudes there -- about how he was almost hit daily by cars, how his classmates made fun of him for "goofy clothes" --- as well as the fact that there are still some serious riders and lots of races in the Dallas area. and his take on Austin (being laid back and people don't really care what you do or how you look compared to Dallas) is also right on (i went to UT and was in Austin 5 years).

You are so right about there not being many real cyclists in the Dallas area. I live in Plano and the only cyclists i see are illegals who can't afford cars and ubber-yuppies who are 35lbs overweight who just went out and bought a $3500 road bike because he heard that Lance Armstrong was from Plano, and decided to jump on the band wagon. i actually ride a mountain bike on the sidewalk sometimes because the only decent trail is about 20 mins from me and i get lazy sometimes. You may wonder why i said sidewalk, ill tell you why all of the posts so far about the terrible drivers are true. This has got to be the only city where drivers will speed up when you turn your blinker on to not let you change lanes. I may be ranting but its only cuz i HATE this town. The local bike shop, plano cycling, is so used to dealing with gullible yuppies all day long they think everyone is stupid. One of the service guys tried to tell me that the rotors on my disc brakes were not heat treated! WHY THE HELL WOULD A MANUFACTURER MAKE A ROTOR (a part that is going to exposed to a lot of heat) NOT HEAT TREATED?!?
ok i'm done.

This has got to be the only city where drivers will speed up when you turn your blinker on to not let you change lanes.

yes!!! from my experience dallas is the only place where people do that - and REALLY, they really do! i only drive maybe once a year in Dallas now so i still use the blinker and just get cut off... i also got punched in the jaw while sitting in my car in a traffic jam in Houston once b/c i was "blocking" this guy's path who was driving over construction barriers to pass everyone... another story. ah, friendly big-city Texas drivers...

BUT, from my experience Dallas does have some pretty decent riders and a decent race scene ---- you just have to find the 1000 or so serious cyclists among the 2+ million in the DFW area...

but for bike commuting and everyday riding, Dallas really sucks! but then so does Houston, and San Antonio isn't much better (well, more mountain bike trails)... and Austin continues to get worse...

yes!!! from my experience dallas is the only place where people do that - and REALLY, they really do!

Plano resident here - and my first thought is "Yeah, otherwise you'd have to slow down." Having spent most of my formative years in Dallas (including my early driving years) it's natural and required to assume everyone drives badly! Blinkers are a sign of weakness especially on the highways, which are huge btw.. we have one turnpike thats 18 lanes at times. The bridge systems connecting major highways are quite a sight.

I ride my bike to school (2.5mi) and to work when I'm not in school (8.5mi). Plano is a little better for cyclocommuters than other suburbs (Garland is horrendous) but I've still developed a habit of looking back every 15 seconds or so. Only takes one instance of being passed within 12 inches at 45mph to make you cautious.

The one place where you regularly see serious cyclists is White Rock Lake, but they aren't commuters.

You are so right about there not being many real cyclists in the Dallas area. I live in Plano and the only cyclists i see are illegals who can't afford cars and ubber-yuppies who are 35lbs overweight who just went out and bought a $3500 road bike because he heard that Lance Armstrong was from Plano, and decided to jump on the band wagon

agree. agree. agree. agree. and agree.

dallas, as a whole, is a **** city. theres the suburb with stupid spoiled kids street racing daddy's car in the weekends... and then the really really slummy inner city. the downtown is huge, but on the weekend, its absolutely deserted. theres only a very few areas to party/hang out in...but theyre crap.

lancaster isn't so bad. well. i haven't been run over yet. and you do see a fair number of messengers in downtown. other than that you really do need a car. i've only seen 4 cyclists down here so far. there was a group of 2 old ladies and one old dude. they all had REALLY big legs. then there was this other guy i suw a few weeks ago. i'm the only other one that i know of. and i only cycle because cars cost too much.

Damn, you guys are makeing me think that I have to add Texas to my list of Extreme Cycling Adventure spots to visit. southern Florida, New Deli, and along the Nile, outside of Luxor I hear are evn more of a challenge, though. Sweet Texas, I hope you can wait! And for the love of all insanity, don't change!