pstock

we are attending a wedding in Plano Texas at the end of May.
as we have 3.5 days to kill around the wedding time, we are thinking of taking our Bike Friday travel road bikes to get some miles in.
But is there anywhere to cycling from (I expect) the centre of Plano? what is the surrounding countryside like? we'll do 40-50 miles happily if we can find some reasonably quite roads.

(we had great fun with our bikes a couple of years ago in Arkansas, north of Little Rock.)

texbiker

Check out the Plano Bicycle Association website. https://planobicycle.org They have scheduled rides.

tcs

I've lived in Plano and ridden in the area for the last 34 years. I've planned & hosted rides in the area for clubs.

We took the light rail/train from Plano to Fort Worth over the weekend and toured back over two days. 60% trails (mostly wooded riparian), 35% neighborhood streets but perhaps too urban for some. Anyway, my wife is still gushing.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28329454
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28329536




If you want something more rural, here's an imperial century out on tiny, paved country roads through northern Collin and Grayson counties (the best-kept cycling secret in Texas) all the way to the Oklahoma border:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/3656731



18 miles inside Plano, 14 on trails and 4 on neighborhood streets:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/3656731

indyfabz

I was in Plano last year for a family reunion. I didn't see anything that even remotely resembled "countryside." I did see a fair number of people riding on a Saturday morning. Looked miserable.

tcs

If you need any cycling 'stuff', check out the massive Richardson Bike Mart. Plano is home to the USA's only stocking velomobile dealer, Bicycle Evolution. Arrange ahead of time & they'll set you up with velomobile test rides!

The see-and-be-seen spot in the area for cyclists is the ride around Dallas' White Rock Lake. Definitely bring the Fridays and take the light rail from d/t Plano to Mockingbird station. From there it's an easy ride down the new trail and quiet Fisher Road to get to the lake.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29812067




Late May, and you're from Toronto? Most likely you will find it warmish. Perhaps early ride starts?

Fun fact: 'Plano' is Spanish for 'flat'!

tcs

If you have the use of a motor vehicle to get to the start, here's a truly lovely countryside route out of Van Alstyne in northern Collin County:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29812235

Here's a ~60 mile route from the county seat (McKinney) out through the countryside to Bonham State Park. You could do as much or as little as you wanted as an out-and-back:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18760005

When Davy Crockett lost his re-election to the US Congress, he told his constituents, "You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas." He famously did, and as he passed through this part of the state he wrote home, "I do believe it is a fortune to any man to come here ... I have no doubt that it is the richest country in the world good land and plenty of timber and the best springs and good millstreams good range clear water ... bees and honey plenty."

fietsbob

Reading Plano has a Recumbent bike dealer Bicycle Evolution.. might have some Velomobiles to try ....

BlarneyHammer

I grew up in Plano. If you know where to look, there's good riding to be had.

Plano is laid out in a very grid-like pattern. The major roads all run N-S or E-W, and they're spaced about a mile apart. Directly between those, there's often a residential road that's a straight shot through the neighborhoods, sometimes for miles at a time. Roads like Cross Bend and Mission Ridge.

Plano also has quite a few paved hike/bike paths along greenbelts. If you stitch together the Chisholm Trail and Bluebonnet Trail by riding through East Plano on 18th and 15th streets, you can make a ~20-mile loop that's on dedicated bike trails 80% of the time and on reasonably quiet roads the other 20%.

Riding the Cottonwood Creek Trail (Richardson) down to White Rock Lake (Dallas) is another good option, and it's a quick jaunt from there to the Katy Trail (also Dallas).

But if you're looking for country roads, go east of Plano. The areas around Lucas, Lowry Crossing, and Princeton provide great riding. Winningkoff is my favorite road out that way.

In all of these cases, you can create a route on Strava with the global heatmap turned on to help you see what routes are most popular.

tcs

And now you live in the Hill Country.

Hmm.

Ever ride in the Tour de France?

tcs

Connected to the White Rock Creek Trail by the Flagpole Hill, SoPac, Ridgewood and University Crossing Trails. The ~3-mile long Katy...sigh. It's signed 10mph and covered with boatloads of pedestrians moving at random speeds in random directions. Great fun if you want to slow roll/people watch but not a great match for 40/50 miles in the countryside on quiet roads.

BlarneyHammer

Shhhh, you'll blow my cover!

tcs

So, pstock, anything appeal yet? Want some 'more like this' suggestions? Or does it all look miserable, the way it did to indyfabz?

pstock

like I've never met a red wine I couldn't enjoy, any riding is better than no riding at all.
this has been helpful.
we are taking our Bike Friday folding performance road bikes and so we'll just have to figure it out.

many thanks

Peter