What's the best area in DFW for a cyclist to live?
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What's the best area in DFW for a cyclist to live?
I am considering moving into DFW from the country and one of the big reasons is because I want to be closer to an active cycling community. So far the only place I've seen like that around DFW is the Lakewood area. Seems to be covered in cyclists on the weekends. I've done group rides from stores in Arlington and have ridden the trails in Ft. Worth and Arlingston as well. Are there any other places in the DFW metroplex that are active cyclist communities so to speak?
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Richardson may have the most on street bike paths. Frisco has a velodrome. Plano may have the best cross-city trail system. Dallas has WRL. Southlake may have the most Saturday group riders. Proximity to a decent bike shop, DORBA trail, and meet point of group rides might be nice. Or if you are a commuter, a place that allows for a 45-60 minute safe commute to your place of business.
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I see large groups going through Irving occasionally but I don't know where they originate.
There are lots of group rides that start from Richardson Bike Mart.
There are lots of group rides that start from Richardson Bike Mart.
#4
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Plano seems to have the most cyclists in the area. Generally, the farther out of town you are, the better, though.
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Thanks for the info so far. What is the map of above?
I'd like to find a place where I can hop on a trail and get around town easily. Maintain a 16+ mph pace doing it.
I have been considering moving to White Rock Lake because of the loop around the lake, White Rock Creek Trail, Santa Fe Trail, Katy trail, etc. Are there other areas that have better trail systems than that? I need to stay somewhere between downtown Dallas and McKinney due to work.
I'd like to find a place where I can hop on a trail and get around town easily. Maintain a 16+ mph pace doing it.
I have been considering moving to White Rock Lake because of the loop around the lake, White Rock Creek Trail, Santa Fe Trail, Katy trail, etc. Are there other areas that have better trail systems than that? I need to stay somewhere between downtown Dallas and McKinney due to work.
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Think twice about keeping a 16+ mph average on the trails you mentioned. There are usually too many other trail users to safely and politely keep that speed up. The Katy and WRL trails are packed most of the time. Santa Fe trail is nice, but there are too many unprotected road crossings for my tastes. Its a good way to get around, but the crossings kill your average speed.
If you want good fast trails, Ft. Worth's Trinity Trails are perfect.
If you want good fast trails, Ft. Worth's Trinity Trails are perfect.
#7
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Jarrett, if you're already in Waxahachie, just drive up and check it out. Ride around White Rock Lake, up White Rock Creek, etc. Go ride in Plano, Richardson, wherever.
I think in general, you won't find good places to do reasonably long fast rides on trails. It is a 10 mile loop around White Rock Lake. That part is reasonably fast, if you don't mind riding the same 10 miles over and over. And on about half of it, the faster riders are all on the road, not the trail. White Rock Creek trail tends to be narrower and bumpier, and you can ride up it at 16 mph, but I would rank it lower in desirability than a lot of the suburban roads. Santa Fe Trail has a lot of road crossings, and not really a good part of town.
Plano has extensive bike trails, but they tend to have grade crossings at streets, so you ride a block and wait for traffic, ride a block and wait for traffic. Fine for taking the kids for a bike ride, lousy for getting a good workout.
Richardson has some on-street bike lanes. Basically, they're all on streets that don't need bike lanes. And some of them are combined bike/parking lanes, so you can't actually ride a bike in them due to parked cars. So zero value to most riders.
Some of the Trinity Trails are gravel, some are paved, so you have to know which is which.
I think in general, you won't find good places to do reasonably long fast rides on trails. It is a 10 mile loop around White Rock Lake. That part is reasonably fast, if you don't mind riding the same 10 miles over and over. And on about half of it, the faster riders are all on the road, not the trail. White Rock Creek trail tends to be narrower and bumpier, and you can ride up it at 16 mph, but I would rank it lower in desirability than a lot of the suburban roads. Santa Fe Trail has a lot of road crossings, and not really a good part of town.
Plano has extensive bike trails, but they tend to have grade crossings at streets, so you ride a block and wait for traffic, ride a block and wait for traffic. Fine for taking the kids for a bike ride, lousy for getting a good workout.
Richardson has some on-street bike lanes. Basically, they're all on streets that don't need bike lanes. And some of them are combined bike/parking lanes, so you can't actually ride a bike in them due to parked cars. So zero value to most riders.
Some of the Trinity Trails are gravel, some are paved, so you have to know which is which.
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There is also River Legacy in Arlington. Its 7 miles of concrete trails, plus some that go out of the park. Lots of roadies use the East end for training. You can get some great speed with minimal non-athletic trail users. From there, you can ride over to Euless/Grapevine/DFW Airport and get tons of road miles.
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Katy trail in my opinion isnt long enough to be worth it. White Rock is a nice ride, depending on what times you go its hard to maneuver around the amount of people at times.
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Image is a heatmap (from Strava) of routes used by cyclists on a Saturday morning.
Chisholm Trail in Plano runs along a creek from 16th Street to Legacy (over 5 miles) with only one road crossing (Crossbend; underpasses everywhere else).
Bluebonnet Trail, also in Plano, runs east-west under the power lines and has stretches of one mile long without road crossings and most crossings are minor roads with excellent visibility. Consequently, lots of opportunity to slow instead of stopping. Preston Ridge Trail is the exact opposite. Lots of frequent, near blind intersections that require a complete stop for safe passage.
Living close to one of these trails can get you to most places in Plano.
Some of the local trails have a 15mph limit, but I have never seen this enforced. If you are riding faster than 20mph, the road is a better alternative. I cannot understand the folks on race bikes in full kit riding in a group fast around WRL. It is just too congested during normal hours, just like Katy Trail.
Chisholm Trail in Plano runs along a creek from 16th Street to Legacy (over 5 miles) with only one road crossing (Crossbend; underpasses everywhere else).
Bluebonnet Trail, also in Plano, runs east-west under the power lines and has stretches of one mile long without road crossings and most crossings are minor roads with excellent visibility. Consequently, lots of opportunity to slow instead of stopping. Preston Ridge Trail is the exact opposite. Lots of frequent, near blind intersections that require a complete stop for safe passage.
Living close to one of these trails can get you to most places in Plano.
Some of the local trails have a 15mph limit, but I have never seen this enforced. If you are riding faster than 20mph, the road is a better alternative. I cannot understand the folks on race bikes in full kit riding in a group fast around WRL. It is just too congested during normal hours, just like Katy Trail.
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Plano trails are marked "15MPH" maximum, so maintaining a 16mph average will be challenging.
They're called 'intervals'.
If a rider has a real jones for paved trails, one can now ride from northwest (Dalrock and Stargazer) to southeast (15th near Central) entirely on trail and far east Plano (roughly 18th & Fireside) to far west Plano (roughly Kings Ridge & Cannon Falls) and only be on the street for ~2 blocks...although those 2 blocks include a death-defying unprotected crossing of Preston.
FWIW, one outfit gave Plano the highest 'bikeability' score in Texas.
If a rider has a real jones for paved trails, one can now ride from northwest (Dalrock and Stargazer) to southeast (15th near Central) entirely on trail and far east Plano (roughly 18th & Fireside) to far west Plano (roughly Kings Ridge & Cannon Falls) and only be on the street for ~2 blocks...although those 2 blocks include a death-defying unprotected crossing of Preston.
FWIW, one outfit gave Plano the highest 'bikeability' score in Texas.
Last edited by tcs; 09-29-13 at 03:58 PM.