Today is National Bike to Work Day. It was a beautiful morning for a bike ride. Across North Texas, folks hopped on their bikes and headed to work. Here's a look at how people are marking the day.
ALAN HARMON: Meet a man who bikes every Friday
KERA’s Stephen Becker spoke with Alan Harmon, who bikes every Friday.
Name: Alan Harmon
Hometown: Dallas
Age: 35
How often do you commute via bike? Every Friday
On other days, how do you usually commute? DART
How far do you commute? 12 miles
What would make you bike to work more? Better weather
What’s the weirdest/most interesting thing you’ve seen while biking to work? “Riding around the lake (he lives near White Rock), you see a lot of interesting people around there, just kind of chilling out at sitting. You kind of wonder whether they’re going to work or not.”
Interesting fact: Harmon works at HKS Architects, where they have a shower, which helps.
Quotable: “Actually, only one city in Texas is kinda known for bikes, and that’s Austin,” Harmon told KERA. “And even with that, I have more friends in Austin get hit by cars than any other city in Texas.”
And when he’s on his bike, he’s always watching for cars. “My head’s always up, I’m always looking ahead at least 200 to 300 feet,” Harmon said. “Watching for cars coming out in the driveway. I know that the probability of them seeing me is not likely, so I tend to slow down when I get close to them and not take my chances. I know I can wait. It’s one of those things where you think you can make it, but you know you can wait. And so I tend to be more patient.”
ELIOT LANDRUM: This biker posted his journey on social media
Eliot Landrum's love for biking seems obvious. Check out his Twitter handle: @Eliotbikes. His bike ride took him from Little Forest Hills to White Rock Lake to Santa Fe Trail to Columbia Avenue and into downtown. He posted pictures of his journey on Twitter and Instagram.
Ready for #biketoworkday @bikedfw #kerabike (at @dartmedia) http://t.co/6F3gpfnRKc pic.twitter.com/U8v7aF9EWZ
— Eliot Landrum 😷 (@EliotLandrum) May 16, 2014
BAKER STONE: "You get to see a lot more when you ride a bike"
KERA’s Shelley Kofler talked with Baker Stone, 34, who works at Richardson Bike Mart in East Dallas. He bikes all the time – in fact, he decided to live close to the store so he wouldn’t have to drive his car.
“It’s easier than driving a car, you can get around pretty easily,” Stone told KERA. “I don’t have to spend money. I haven’t filled my car up in a month or so. With gas, it’s really expensive you get to see a lot more when you ride a bike.”
In Dallas, people are becoming more receptive to biking, he says. But it would be nice if more roads had bike lanes – Dallas, after all, was built for cars, he says.
“You try not to take major streets,” he said. “You try to take back roads – you see different things.”
Stone bikes wherever he can. He only hops in his car if he has to travel more than a few miles or to go grocery shopping. A bike can’t handle a gallon of milk and water, he said.
“I have a bag that I carry with me when I ride my bike so if I pick something up, I can take it with me,” Stone said. “I have a luggage rack so I can carry even more. I carry a rain jacket so that if it ever rains, I’m not super soaked. You do look at the weather a little bit more often and you have to plan ahead.”
CAMERON JONES: "You kind of just feel more alive," one biker says
KERA’s Doualy Xaykaothao talked with biker Cameron Jones, who lives in downtown Fort Worth. He doesn’t have a car.
What does he like about biking?
“I think the best thing about it is that you are never tired when you get to work because you’ve just exercised for 15 to 20 minutes, at least, and so you get your adrenaline pumping,” he told KERA. “You actually get to work and you’re alert even if you were tired when you walked out the door, because you don’t have to be mentally awake to start riding, but then once you do, you wake up pretty fast.”
He added: “I absolutely prefer biking. It’s better exercise, better for the environment, more pleasant, even when it’s hot out, you kind of just feel more alive.”
CARRIE IVES: Biking to work with the kids
Carrie Ives, who calls herself a regular KERA listener and occasional bike commuter, sent us this email: "I rode from Richardson (near Breckinridge Park) to work at Flextronics in Plano (Shiloh and Plano Parkway). I dropped my kids off on the way. I'll be riding back home this evening, but Dad will be picking up the kids (not having that extra 75 pounds in the trailer makes a difference)."
Pictures from around Dallas
Showing bike love on social media
Here are pictures that North Texans posted on Twitter and Instagram on Friday:
Ready for #biketoworkday @bikedfw #kerabike (at @dartmedia) http://t.co/6F3gpfnRKc pic.twitter.com/U8v7aF9EWZ
— Eliot Landrum 😷 (@EliotLandrum) May 16, 2014
It's national Bike To Work Day today. #fortworth #bikeshare #bcycle pic.twitter.com/NfzEDIj2kw
— Sean Buckley (@seanbuckley) May 16, 2014
Our pant legs are rolled up & we’re ready to ride! See you tomorrow @ #FWb2w: http://t.co/ip3LIj13tj (CC: @JoelBurns) pic.twitter.com/ajvy7J5DQh
— Betsy Price (@MayorBetsyPrice) May 15, 2014
.@MayorBetsyPrice welcoming riders to the #FWb2w rally at the Ft Worth ITC pic.twitter.com/ehn9YLclt8
— NorthTexasCommission (@NTxCommission) May 16, 2014
Great morning to ride to work#FWb2w pic.twitter.com/ENUcflkqZA
— Erik nielsen (@Eriksponderings) May 16, 2014
Whoo Hoo! Friday. Tons of bikes on the road. @JustRideLA pic.twitter.com/5P8UdesLu4
— JustRideDallas (@JustRideDallas) May 16, 2014
We are having a party in downtown for #biketowork. Come join us! @BikeDFW pic.twitter.com/6FfhU83NsX
— CyclingSavvy DFW (@CyclingSavvyDFW) May 16, 2014
Love the bright @CyclingSavvy shirt. #biketowork #kerabike pic.twitter.com/qtTlaFMHF0
— Eliot Landrum 😷 (@EliotLandrum) May 16, 2014
A pic from my commute to work this morning. Bicycle with assist from DART. #biketowork #kerabike #BikeCommuterCabal pic.twitter.com/Rdt9dMSz3I
— Brian Rogers (@coderCyclist) May 17, 2014
Did you know?
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates commuter cycling has jumped 60 percent nationwide since 2000. But when the League of American Bicyclists ranked the top 70 American cities for bike commuting, four of the lowest 12 were in North Texas. Dallas was No. 65, and Plano bottomed out at No. 70.
Send us your pictures
Are you a proud North Texas biker? Do you plan on riding your bike to work Friday? KERA wants to hear from you. Post a picture of you and your bike on the KERAtx or KERANews Facebook pages. Send us a tweet @keranews with the hashtag #kerabike. Or send us an email at eaasen@kera.org and let us know where you'll be riding on Friday.
