Real Bike to Workers

Spin the Wheel at "Tryparkingit" and Win Your Choice of a Wristband or a Mousepad

I like the Fort Worth “Bike to Work” event. It is very easy for me to get there without even much of a detour from my usual commute. I simply remember to go an extra half block and hop on the TRE commuter train at Hurst Station. Two stops later I’m there. If it weren’t “part of the package,” it’d be almost as easy to drop the bike off at work and go to the event on foot. Back in the days of my v2 commute, it would have involved several added hours to do it via bicycle. However, the event isn’t quite perfect. It is scheduled according to what is sometimes called “banker’s hours.” As a result, I mostly get to watch things getting set up – and then I have to depart for work. While I like the idea of “Bike to Work,” I don’t like it enough to take a half day of vacation. It makes me wonder if the event is really FOR bike commuters or more ABOUT them. In that way, “Bike to Work” is like many other events. Besides, simply GOING is a break in the routine.

Missing the main part of the hoopla isn’t all bad. You get first shot at the “loot” that gets put out early, it isn’t crowded, and I really don’t care about inspirational speeches. Some of the media get there early as well, and they eagerly pounce on anyone that looks like a cyclist. Some radio station even interviewed me. I don’t remember which one, but I managed to sneak a “cycling is fun and safe” into the interview.

Torrance Strong, Holding "Hissy"

This year, I discovered another advantage of getting there ahead of the crowds. I actually ran into someone I knew from cycling, and into a REAL bike commuter I didn’t know. Torrance Strong was in my first LCI Classand is first-rate. He actually OWNS a messenger service and is teaching a TS101 course in Arlington tomorrow. In addition, a lady who commutes to school came up as Torrance and I were talking. We discussed the advantages of shoulder bags versus purses. I’m a “purse man” myself. My fellow commuter noted she couldn’t hang around the “Bike to Work” event, either she had to get to work as well. SOLIDARITY!
I almost felt a little guilty about the photo where Torrance stood with Buddy - AKA "Hissy." No, I STILL haven’t gotten around to patching that front tire. I can almost hear it…

"I've Got to Get to Work!" A REAL Bike Commuter Stops By. She Favors a Shoulder Bag to Carry Stuff

Torrance Strong and Bike Commuter

Richard Maxwell of "The T" Gets Things Set Up and Chats with Photographer

By Coincidence, a "T" Bus Sweeps by with a Bike on Board

At 7:30, the Bike Valet Area is Still Getting Set Up

On Display - a "Bike Share" Bike up from Austin

Bike Commuter Headed Away from the "Bike to Work" Shindig on the TRE Train