A list of upcoming events that promote cycling and open streets from Julia McCleeary, Transportation Planner for the city of Fort Worth.

April

This Sunday, April 29
Open Streets 2 on Magnolia – noon to 4pm - http://www.fortworthsouth.org/community/events/open-streets/

Get a sneak preview of Fort Worth’s future community bike share program! A demo bike will be available to view. The event will involve the closure of segments of streets to car traffic – only human-powered modes will be allowed, from pedestrians to bicycles and everything in between. The closed streets will be transformed into urban playgrounds, with food vendors, live music, kid’s areas, fitness classes, and more. This Spring Open Streets will take place on Magnolia Avenue and 5th Avenue forming a path linking the hotspot of Magnolia to the Fairmount neighborhood and FairmountPark. Some parts of the route will be chock-full of activities and vendors, while some will be more relaxed, allowing the gentle enjoyment of a neighborhood not dominated by cars.

Some of the scheduled vendors and activities include: skate park, Salsa Limon food truck, Humane Society, Gallus Cycles, Stir Crazy Baked Goods, Rahr Brewery Tasting, Bike Rodeo, Yoga in the Park, Happy Tomato and more! Stop by the Bike Fort Worth table for updated City of Fort Worth bike maps and the bike share demo.

May - National Bike to Work Month!

May 18
Bike to Work Day

Log on to www.fortworthtexas.gov/bikeFW to sign up for group rides from the north, east, south and west into the ITC and The T’s Bike to Work Day Celebration. More information on group rides is available on the City’s bike website. If you are riding on your own, stop by the ITC between 7am and 9am for refreshments and exhibits.

May 19
Mayor’s Southside Neighborhood Ride Benefiting Fort Worth Police Bike Patrol Support Group
9:00 a.m. at One Safe Place, 777 W Rosedale (corner of Hemphill & Rosedale)
Eventbrite registration www.fortworthtexas.gov/bikeFW

"According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 718 bicyclists were killed and 51,000 were injured in crashes with motor vehicles in 2009 - yet many feel invincible in bicycle helmets. Bicycle clubs, event organizers, bike magazines, bike shops and school programs all strongly urge cyclists to wear a helmet - and many require it. Yet, these same organizations rarely offer any kind of safe riding instruction beyond the admonition, "Wear Your Helmet!"^#

"WEARING A HELMET IS NOT YOUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE. In fact, education is! Cyclists of all ages and abilities know riding in traffic or on trails can be hazardous if you are not prepared. Operators of motor vehicles are required to follow the rules of the road (we hope), to properly maintain their vehicles, understand avoidance tactics and practice defensive driving. While they are required to wear seat belts, and air bags are becoming the industry standard, it is widely understood that they are passive forms of protection, useful in the event of a crash. Seat belts and air bags do not prevent crashes, and neither do bicycle helmets. Lucky for us, the League's Smart Cycling curriculum and their trained nationwide network of League Cycling Instructors (LCIs) are educating new and returning riders with the vital traffic skills needed to prevent accidents in recreational and traffic situations - in addition to wearing your helmet."^#

Here's an opportunity to learn skills to help ride safely and effectively!

Traffic Skills 101 Course
Sunday, April 29, 2012
8:45 AM - 2 PM
Location: Casteel & Associates, 10031 Monroe Drive, Suite 105, Dallas, TX 75229
Cost: $20 - includes a light snack and a printed copy of the Traffic Skills 101manual (a $10 value).
Instructor: Renee Jordan ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Come have some fun learning safe, effective cycling from Instructors certified by the League of American Bicyclists who are active riders and commuters. The course includes an online portion you can take anytime (as long as it's completed by April 27th) and a 4-5 hour on-bike session learning skills and practicing riding in traffic under the guidance of your instructors. The riding portion includes a lunch stop so bring along some money!

Signup Instructions: Email Renee at the above address. Payments may be made via PayPal after you have signed up, or on the day of the class. The written portion is taken online at: http://bikeed.org/ and must be completed at least 48 hours before class time.

^#Text and cyclist photo reprinted from the Jan/Feb 2012 edition of American Bicyclist with permission from the League of American Bicyclists.

Ride your bike, challenge yourself, compete for your team, compete for Texas, save the planet!

BikeDFW is the regional host organization for The National Bike Challenge, sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, the Bikes Belong Coalition, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and powered by Endomondo. The Challenge is designed to inspire Americans to get up and ride bicycles more often.

Record your bike rides online and you'll automatically see the miles you've ridden, the calories you've burned, and the gas money you've saved.  You can connect and share stories with other riders and follow The Challenge on the Facebook page.

You'll be part of a network of more than fifty thousand riders (we hope) logging over ten million miles across the nation, demonstrating the power of the bicycle to build healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.

The National Bike Challenge - runs from May 1 to August 31, 2012 and is a fun way to take your bicycling to the next level, get back into bicycling, or bike for the first time.

Participating is easy

• Go to the Challenge home page (http://www.nationalbikechallenge.org) to join and register.
• Once you register you can choose to 1) ride solo, 2) join an existing team (at your work place for instance), or 3) create a new team and become its captain.

Lots of ways to compete - on your own, as part of a team, on behalf of your company and community, and for Texas.

Enter your mileage - manually online or track it automatically via the free smartphone app. Miles and points accrue automatically to your individual account, your team, your employer, your community, and your state.

The Leaderboard - shows how you and your team are doing in real time.

Prizes - prizes for teams and individuals will be awarded monthly. The more Challenge points you earn, the better your chances of winning a prize. You become eligible for prize drawings after you've logged just three days on your bike.

Download the informational flyer

Lancaster Country Ride
9 AM
April 14, 2012
Lancaster Town Square (off of Main and Dallas Avenues)

Make plans to enjoy a fabulous day of Texas springtime cycling in the luscious and calm countryside south of Dallas! For the 14th consecutive year, the Greater Dallas Bicyclists, together with the City of Lancaster, is staging the Lancaster Country Ride on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 9 am. Lancaster is a mere 15 minutes from downtown Dallas.

Join us as we cycle through the scenic countryside of Lancaster and surrounding areas. The routes traverse a variety of terrain, from flats to rolling hills, with a few challenging climbs. Rest stops every 10 or 12 miles with water, sports drink and fruit. The wildflowers are in full bloom in April and our routes feature picturesque meadows with dense concentrations of Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, and other colorful spring flowers.

Lancaster GDB socks for the first 1,200 registered riders!

We need a few volunteers for two big events coming up in March and April: a Katy Trail safety and membership event on March 24th and the first Dallas Ciclovia on April 14th.

Katy Trail Membership and Safety Event
9 AM - 2 PM
Saturday, March 24, 2012
David's Way, Katy Trail and Knox Street, Dallas

If you have ever used the super-popular Katy Trail in Dallas, here's an opportunity to give something back. BikeDFW will be participating in a Membership & Safety event organized by the Friends of the Katy Trail, where we will be giving away bicycle bells donated by Richardson Bike Mart.

Dallas Ciclovia
9AM - 3PM
Saturday, Apil 14, 2012
Houston Street Bridge, Dallas

The City of Dallas and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff will close down the Houston Street viaduct in Dallas and turn it into a bicycle and pedestrian ONLY street market and fair. BikeDFW will be there with our bicycle-powered smoothie maker to join an urban market, food trucks, live music and more.

Please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you can stop by and help out at either of these events, even if it's only for an hour or two.

Four dedicated women are riding across the United States to raise awareness of the need for safe, bike-friendly roads in communities all across America! They plan to ride from Frisco to Dallas on March 15 (Thursday), and then head towards College Station on the 16th. They are inviting area bicyclists to join them on the way to or from Dallas.

Four ambitious women are undertaking a cross country endurance ride that will kicked off in Key West on February 5, 2012 and culminates in San Francisco in late April.  Two sisters, Jeanie and Chelsea Ward-Waller, their mother, Jane, and close friend Stephanie Palmer are riding across America to benefit the bicycle safety advocacy efforts of the League of American Bicyclists and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. Dubbed "Ride America for Safe Routes" (RASR), their ride follows a route traversing 13 southern states and 20 major cities, logging over 5,000 miles between Florida and California. The mission of RASR is to raise $50,000 for the League’s Bike Friendly America program and for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs in local communities. In addition, the RASR Team will advocate the critical need for bike safety and promote the public health benefits of bicycling through events with local bicycle groups and SRTS programs in communities along their route. See the RASR website at http://rideforsaferoutes.blogspot.com or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information on the Ride and to support a future of bike-friendly communities.