This crazy Texas weather

This Texas spring of 2013 is downright perplexing.
During Wednesday evening’s ride with our bicycling mayor, Betsy Price, on one of her “rolling town halls,” and later with the Fort Worth Night Riders, we wore T-shirts, short-sleeved jerseys and Hawaiian shirts. The temperature was in the 80s, as was fitting for May 1 in Texas.

Bicycling Mayor Betsy Price ready to lead Wednesday night’s “rolling town hall’ ride

Today, during a 26-mile bike ride with a neighbor, the temp was in the 40s, and the stiff northerly wind felt like it had come straight from the Arctic Circle. I wore three layers of winter wear and still felt chilly.
For Thursday night and Friday morning, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth forecasts northwesterly winds of 20 to 30 mph, gusting to 40 mph, and the prospect of freezing temperatures on the northwestern edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
A couple weeks ago, in mid-April, when the temperature was pushing toward 90, we discovered that our 33-year-old air-conditioning system was kaput. Nary a breath of cool air emanated from the ducts.
Now, with a new system installed and up and running as of Wednesday evening, we haven’t even had a chance to try it out.
“The weather of Texas is remarkable for its versatility and suddenness,” a wag once said. “Oftenest told on this subject is the one about the farmer who started to town in a wagon drawn by an ox team. On the way, one of the oxen froze to death and, while he was skinning it, the other died of sunstroke.”
That pretty much sums up the past few days.

Getting oriented on the Trinity Trails

A cityscape can look strangely different from a bicycle trail.
Familiar landmarks and thoroughfares, viewed from behind the wheel of a car, afford a quick fix on a location. But from a bicycle saddle, riding along a trail, those landmarks and thoroughfares take on a different, disorienting perspective, and it’s sometimes difficult to figure out where you are.
But that problem is being remedied along Fort Worth’s Trinity Trails network, thanks to new signage being put in place by the Tarrant Regional Water District, which oversees the Clear and West forks of the Trinity River in Tarrant County.
Twenty-six new trail map signs that say “You are here” provide information on nearby amenities such as water fountains, restrooms, fishing piers and canoe launches. They also include mile markers so trail users can easily determine how far they are from certain destinations.

My bike at the trailhead at Southwest Boulevard

Identification signs are also being placed on 26 bridges that cross over the Trinity Trails, allowing trail users to know at a glance where they are in the city.
The Tarrant Regional Water District maintains the 27-mile Fort Worth Floodway as the local sponsor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It has built and maintains more than 40 miles of biking and walking trails and numerous trailheads that provide such amenities as restrooms, water fountains and parking areas.
I’ve been riding the Trinity Trails for more than two decades, and it took a while before I always knew where I was in the city. Now, it will be much easier for newcomers, especially for those who come from out of town to ride our trails.
More information on the Trinity Trails is available at http://www.trwd.com/recreation.

Open Streets and lots of bikes

Fort Worth’s new bike-share bikes got a lot of use on Sunday at the Open Streets event on Fort Worth’s near south side.

Juan Pablo’s Surly at Zio Carlo’s

Hundreds of people turned out to stroll along Magnolia Avenue, closed to traffic from Eighth Avenue on the west and Hemphill Street on the east.
Sponsored by Fort Worth South Inc., the event featured street musicians, glass-blowing demonstrations, roller derby skaters, skateboarders, food trucks, vintage clothing vendors, yoga classes, face-painting and, of course, lots of bicycles.
I took a couple of cameras but shot only a few photos, including some snapshots of three of the “elders” in Fort Worth’s emerging bicycle scene — Larry Kemp, Dave Hickey and Jon Devine — and a shot of a friend’s Surly bike at Zio Carlo’s brew pub.

From left, Larry Kemp, Dave Hickey and Jon Devine

Shameless self-promotion

If you’ve read the past several posts on this blog, you know by now that Fort Worth has launched the first bike-sharing system in North Texas.
It was an effort fueled largely by hundreds of volunteers, a city with the good sense to realize that bicycles can play a big role in its transportation plans, a bike-riding mayor who holds “rolling town halls” from the saddle of her bike, some very good local bike shops and an ever-increasing number of clubs for bike riders of all levels of skill and experience.
And now for a shameless bit of self-promotion.
At the launch ceremony on Monday, Earth Day, the master of ceremonies, Mike Brennan, paid tribute to all of those above. And then Mike, who is board chairman for Fort Worth Bike Sharing Inc., gave a nice shout-out to Jim’s Bike Blog and another blog, Fort Worthology, by friend Kevin Buchanan.
Below is a video of the launch ceremony. The nice words about Jim’s Bike Blog and Fort Worthology begin at about 7:05 minutes into the video.

Fort Worth’s bike-share launch chronicled in photos

Steve Reisman, a cyclist and excellent photographer who has been chronicling Fort Worth’s emerging bicycling scene, was on hand with his cameras on Monday, Earth Day, to photograph the launch of the city’s bike-sharing system, the first in North Texas.
Three hundred volunteers delivered the 300 bike-share bicycles to 28 docking stations throughout the city.
Steve emailed to me 23 of his photos for use in Jim’s Bike Blog. Here is a gallery of the photos.

Fort Worth launches bike-share system

What a splendid way to celebrate Earth Day: helping to launch a bike-sharing system in Fort Worth!
As the sun crept over the eastern horizon, 300 volunteers began converging on a warehouse on the city’s near south side where 300 Trek bikes were lined up for delivery to 28 docking stations throughout the city.

Fort Worth Bike Sharing bikes awaiting delivery by volunteers

I and a handful of hardy souls walked from our south side homes to the Chat Room, a pub that is the rendezvous point for the nocturnal excursions of the Fort Worth Night Riders.
Fueled up with coffee provided by a bicycling neighbor who roasts and grinds his own beans, we hiked to the warehouse where the bikes had been assembled and stored.
Once we had checked in and been assigned a bike, Mark Troxler, a founder of the Night Riders, was on hand with a crew of veteran urban cyclists to coordinate the delivery of the bikes.

Mark Troxler coordinating the delivery of the bike-share bikes

We rolled out in small groups at regular intervals and rode downtown to Burnett Park for the official launch ceremony.
“All of you resonate the message that there is an acceptance of bicycles as an alternative,” Mike Brennan, a south side neighbor, bicyclist and chairman of the Fort Worth Bike Sharing board, told the assembled volunteers.
Added Fort Worth’s bicycling mayor, Betsy Price: “This is a great day for Fort Worth … And what a great day for a ride!”

Fort Worth’s bicycling mayor, Betsy Price, addresses the assembled volunteers

I and some south side friends were part of the group delivering bikes to docking stations on the near south side. Our ride was short — only to the south side of the T&P railway station on the southern edge of downtown.
But, as the mayor said, it was a great day for a ride. Balmy spring weather, camaraderie with 300 like-minded people and a couple of post-ride beers. I can’t think of a better way to have celebrated Earth Day.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

Chronicler of the cycling scene

Steve Reisman in action

Fellow cyclist, friend and photographer Steve Reisman has become the de facto chronicler of the emerging Fort Worth cycling scene.
You may have seen some of Steve’s photos in a Sept. 22 blog post, “Photo chronicle of memorial ride.”
Steve rides regularly with the Fort Worth Night Riders, along with bicycling Mayor Betsy Price on her “rolling town halls” and in various benefit and memorial events.
He goes to considerable lengths to capture the action, sometimes lying on the pavement to shoot up at a file of cyclists riding by.

Grizzled old cyclist

He has also produced some very nice portraits of Fort Worth cyclists, including the black-and-white photo of my grizzled visage at the left.
A couple of Steve’s recent photos are displayed below. You can view a larger selection of Steve’s photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yospiff/
He also posts many of his photos on Facebook.

“Ordinary” riders taking part in the Classic Bike Ride and Show in Fort Worth, Sept. 16, 2012

Fort Worth Night Riders cross Paddock Viaduct bridge

Another cyclist struck and killed

It’s happened again.
For the second time in a week a Texas bicyclist has been struck and killed by a motorist while crossing a bridge.
First was Iris Stagner, 54, who was killed Sept. 17 while crossing a narrow bridge over the Brazos River on U.S. 180 a couple miles west of Mineral Wells.
And early on Sept. 23, reports the Austin American-Statesman, 30-year-old Robert Anthony Ramirez was killed as he bicycled across the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin.

Brian Adam Mahy

The newspaper said that a 26-year-old man, Brian Adam Mahy of San Antonio, has been charged with two felonies in the killing of Ramirez: intoxication manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid.
Mahy was held in Travis County Jail, with bail set at $120,000.
The American-Statesman quoted Mahy’s arrest affidavit as saying that around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, a police officer arrived at the Congress Avenue Bridge to find witnesses who said they saw a Ford Mustang hit Ramirez at a high speed.
The witness attempted CPR on Ramirez until paramedics arrived, but he was pronounced dead a few minutes later. Pieces of the Mustang were found at the crash scene, the affidavit said.
“Just before 7 a.m., a man called police from a hotel and said he was the driver of the Mustang and wanted to turn himself in, the affidavit said,” the newspaper reported.
“Investigators met with the man, identified as Mahy, and he appeared intoxicated and had several bar receipts from the previous evening in his wallet, the affidavit said.
“Mahy told investigators he was the driver of the Mustang and its sole occupant, but declined to make further statements, the affidavit said. He was booked into jail that morning.”
Detective Karen Olson wrote in the affidavit: “Through my training and experience, and the time of the crash, it is probable that Brian Mahy had been out drinking all night and was possibly leaving the downtown area.”

A fitting farewell to a fellow cyclist

MINERAL WELLS, Texas — With more than 150 bicyclists riding in tribute, cyclist and runner Iris Stagner was given a fitting farewell today less than a mile from the spot where she was struck and killed by a pickup truck Monday evening.
Cyclists from throughout North Texas and beyond gathered this morning in the parking lot of Palo Pinto General Hospital for a memorial ride to a bridge across the Brazos River where Iris was killed and then to Indian Creek Baptist Church for a funeral service.
Iris, 54, was killed instantly shortly after 5:30 p.m. Monday as she was riding her bike west on U.S. 180, about two miles west of Mineral Wells. A pickup struck her from behind on the bridge. U.S. 180 has a wide shoulder heading west out of Mineral Wells, but the highway abruptly narrows and has no shoulder as it crosses the old bridge.

A ghost bike placed by family and friends of Iris Stagner near the bridge where she was killed

Under a large shade tree at the western end of the bridge, Iris’s husband, Butch Stagner, and other members of her family and friends installed a “ghost bike” in her honor on Tuesday morning. “Ghost bikes,” old bicycles painted all white, are placed at spots where cyclists have been hurt or killed.
The memorial ride was organized by BikeTexas, an Austin-based bicycling advocacy group. Iris had served on the BikeTexas board and had been instrumental getting the Texas Department of Transportation to place “share the road” signs on highways in North Texas.
Riding in silence and with a police escort, the phalanx of cyclists traveled slowly to the church and lined up in front so that family members and friends could take photographs. The cyclists came from such groups as the Fort Worth Bicycling Association, the Lockheed Martin Recreation Association Bicycle Club, the Fort Worth Night Riders, the Manly Bulge Bike Club, the Richardson Bike Mart cycling team and many more.
Robin Stallings, BikeTexas executive director, estimated the turnout of cyclists as at least 150, based on the sign-in sheets and a count on the road.

Some of the cyclists who participated in the memorial ride for Iris Stagner. Photo by BikeTexas

Inside the church, the spandex-clad cyclists filled the entire right-hand section of the sanctuary reserved for them.
Daughter Felicia Scott of Weatherford said her mother, who had worked for more than two decades as an administrative assistant for the Palo Pinto County Commissioners’ Court in nearby Palo Pinto, did not take up cycling and running until after she was 40, and then engaged in both sports with a passion.
She recently had been notified that she had qualified for the 2013 Boston Marathon on April 15.
In eulogies, Iris was described as a “go-getter,” and “over-achiever,” “a Tasmanian devil of passion and energy.”
If she rode her bike, she rode it fast, said the Rev. Guy Weathers, who officiated at the funeral service. If she invited you to dinner, there would not be just one dessert, he said, but three.
Recalling Iris’s achievements as a runner, Weathers cited 1 Corinthians 9:24, in which the apostle Paul compared life to a race: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
In life, as in a marathon, Weathers said, Iris had run the race to win the prize.