Riding in the Richardson Area???
 

I have to go to the Dallas area this weekend for a soccer tournament my daughter is playing in...I'll be staying at the Crowne Plaza suites near Richardson....are there any nice(safe)places to ride nearby???....any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Just south west of where you will be staying, you can hop on the White Rock Creek Trail. It's a paved MUP that you can ride all the way to White Rock Lake.

This map is using an old aerial photo so the path doesn't look like it has been completed, but it is now.

Also if you head north a ways, the Plano Bicycling Association ( http://www.planobicycle.org/pba/ ) has plenty of rides leaving saturday and sunday morning from Independance and Legacy. Also check bikemart.com for some of their routes leaving from Coit and Campbell not far from where you'll be staying. I'd love to ride with you, but you pick the weekend I'm headed to SoCal to come on into town.

Best bet is to ride with the PBA. They have a ride for all skill levels.

...if you like riding in groups.

There are several decent options.

For paved riding, try the White Rock Creek/ White Rock Lake Trail. The trail goes up to Valley View but signs there currently show it closed north of 635. So take Park Central Drive from 635, turn south. You come to some parking lots at soccer fields; park there (if full, go down the road a ways and there are more lots) and the trail is the sidewalk back behind the parking lots. It is about 6 miles from there to White Rock Lake, about 10 miles around the lake. It helps to have been there before, but you can probably find your way around just by watching where other people go. Note that for a good bit of the route on the north or east side of the lake, there is a trail and a road and the road is a lot smoother and faster than the trail, and mostly just kids/families use the trail. There's one spot where the roadies seem to make a loop around a couple of blocks, but I just go on straight. There's a loop on the south end that goes up over the dam. Not sure if bikes are intended to go there or not, but it's best avoided (narrow sidewalk with switchbacks is awkward but passable on a bike). There are a couple of wyes and generally you want to stay on the lake side if in doubt. There's some construction on the northwest side, but they have one lane of the road turned into the bike path there, so it's clear sailing for bikes. It's mostly level, by the way, ups and downs are fairly minor. Dallas has a helmet law and they have been known to ticket cyclist running stop signs (there are only a couple on the whole route).

Plano has a connecting network of bike paths. You can park at some ball fields off Alma Drive north of Spring Creek Parkway (not to be confused with Spring Valley). Go west from there on the Bluebonnet Trail, and you cross the Chisholm Trail and the then the Preston Ridge Trail and can go north or south on either one. The Bluebonnet Trail and the Preston Ridge Trail both follow wide power-line easements and are just open areas not especially scenic. The Chisholm Trail follows a creek and is more scenic & has more people. Once again, these trails have some minor ups and downs but no major hills.

For mountain biking, check out the Rowlett Creek Preserve in Garland, and if not too far, the North Shore Trail on Lake Grapevine. The Rowlett Creek Preserve has a bunch of looped trails. Most are fairly level, very curvy, with a few whoop de doos (although Loop 7 has places you can fall off of, though). YOu can pretty well pick your milage there. There is some construction going on in the south end, so check on that before going. The North Shore Trail is about 9 miles one way, with a hard spot about every half mile with pretty easy riding in between- biggest hazard looks to be the returning riders. (On Rowlett Creek Preserve, it's not marked, but most everyone goes in the same direction around the loops and if you go that direction, you should seldom meet anyone.)

The Turkey Trot is coming up this Saturday morning in Denton:
http://www.dentonbreakfastkiwanis.or...8f14f27f70030e

Does this path start at Valley View Park??...I'm trying to get a address to put into my cars GPS...thanks...it looks perfect for a quick ride....I'd try a group ride, but my ride time will depend on when the games are.

Theres some construction on the trail last I heard. Between the park and I-635 it was closed. Thats a very
short section of the trail, but you have to get on a freeway access road to get to the trail because of that.

See this map for how to get to the open part of the trail:

http://www.geocities.com/hobartlemagne/trail.JPG

the "2" destination is where the open part of the trail picks up. From here you can go all the way to
White Rock Lake, around it and back.

The signs say the trail is closed at 635. It was flagged off, but last couple of times I was over there, people were riding on past. Get to 635 and Park Central Drive for your GPS. When you turn south, from that point, you are right beside the trail. Going from Valley View would only add another mile or so.

thanks folks!!!...I really appreciate the info!!!....looking forward to riding somewhere new!!

and thanks hobart for the map....it's printed up and in my bag!!!

no problem. You can't miss the left turn onto the trail- theres a stop sign on the access road, and the
path will start right under the freeway.

is there a place to park?...we just got in.

There is a small parking lot just south of the freeway. If there is a soccer game in progress, it may be hard to find a spot.

When my soccer team plays there, most of us just park along the curb on Park Central.

Have fun!