Originally Posted by
wphamilton
I lived in Irving Tx in the late 80's, 90's, mostly working in the Dallas area and just a little in Ft Worth. Bicycles weren't on my radar at the time but I have a faint recollection of hearing that Ft Worth or at least parts of it were favored by cyclists. I never learned exactly why that was so, other than people in general having a different style or attitude in Ft Worth. Not in such a crushing hurry on the roads.
Yeah, I can't think of many places in Irving I'd want to ride a bike. You're right, there's a very different vibe in the vast turf known as the mid-cities between Fort Worth and Dallas. A hectic, irritable vibe. It seems to be ingrained into the entire mid-cities culture by the nature of being in-between, drive-through cities.
Fort Worth has always been pretty laid back. That's why I prefer the Panther City epithet over the tired old Cowtown moniker. There are lots of cowtowns scattered throughout the midwest and west. But the Panther City nickname seems to fit better. It began as a snide remark by a Dallas newspaperman in the late 1800s when Fort Worth was in an economic slump -- referring to Fort Worth as being such a slow town that a panther was seen sleeping in the middle of Main Street. But Fort Worth soon adopted the nickname and many local businesses still use the Panther City name and sleeping panther logo.