What a Difference a Week Makes

Seven days ago, I posted about our local Ginkgo tree in all its glory. The post, here, noted that the fall color of the Ginkgo is quite brief. Well, today, that same tree's photo is below. All that's left of its foliage is what is still on the ground underneath. Note that the neighboring Maple trees haven't changed much in the intervening week.

King Richard's Reign was Short

Lighting Up a King

While I'm not sure if Rantwick plans to do a post about his "King Maple," here in North Texas, we were treated to a brief show of autumn color by the very same tree I posted about two full years ago, here. Unlike 2021, however, we had a brief bit of Indian Summer while the tree was showing close to its very best, and it was much better than the photo in the afternoon sun as sunset approached.

As in 2021, we had a brief freeze; followed by moderate days. Sadly, I expect this display to be brief as there's a cold front expected by the weekend and the tree will quickly become bare. Perhaps this tree is honoring King Richard III, another monarch whose rule was very brief.

King Richard's Tree in Texas?

Ancient King Close to Home

Rantwick, as is his habit, likes his "King Maple." Even this year, though he was a bit tardy, his post shows it here. He hasn't yet said which "RAT" he might be at this year. Myself, I've been marooned in Ocean Shores over the winter, only returning to DFW recently. The trip was somewhat surreal since pandemic responses ranged from one extreme to another along the way. When we left, fall color hadn't really made its appearance in the Pacific Northwest. Arriving back home, it seemed somewhat summery, with warm days and even warm nights. Until recently when we hit a cold spell.

Ancient

At this point, I'll digress. Many millions of years ago, long before any Maple trees existed that could claim to be any sort of king, there was the Ginkgo.  Gingko fossils have been found that are 170 million years old (the Middle Jurassic Period) and almost identical to the Ginkgo biloba; native to China. The Ginkgo biloba is found around the world. It is the last remaining species of its order. Certainly it is an ancient tree.

King

Ginkgo trees are not usually considered to have spectacular autumn color. According to Wikipedia, "the leaves turn a bright yellow, then fall sometimes as quickly as one day. However, if the leaves remain, the tree truly can be considered as a king of the forest. It's been that way since the dinosaurs dominated the animal kingdom. At the top of this post is such a King. While perhaps not the largest tree in the neighborhood, it is rare to see one so colorfully yellow with almost all of its leaves. That is the result of a fall freeze followed by many more moderate days without much rain or wind. Long live the King!

Close to Home

Strangely, this particular king isn't in a distant arboretum or otherwise hiding away. While I've noticed it in past years, it is nicer than ever this year. Where is it? It's across the street from my own house in Colleyville, Texas! You can't get much closer to home than that. Below, you can see the King, with 2 of its courtiers - 2 Maple trees that it puts to shame. If you look closer, you can also see a few Christmas decorations. Autumn arrives late in North Texas!

Losing Another Opportunity in Texas

From time to time, I make a post lamenting how our fellow people needlessly miss opportunities to make communities easier and safer for people not in cars to get around. For example, here, I showed how a brain-damaged developer in Keller put up a fence that prevented kids in the development from walking to a school (in the same development) a couple of hundred feet away and how the locals cut a hole in the school fence to allow kids to walk. A couple of years later, here, I showed how our local city spent a lot of money on a road "improvement" that turned a local street into something hostile to safely and legally operating cyclists, not to mention driveways that cut across the remaining sidwalks. In that post, one thing I noted was the "Cute Path to Nowhere." That path runs in my own development, but it doesn't go anywhere. It simply turns around.

Things seem to be getting closer to home. Right next to my development, someone got approval to put in a "gated" community. Gated communities are an excuse, IMO, to avoid integrating with the local community. People buy there to feel "safer." Well, maybe, or maybe it simply satisfies the urge to "be better." Few gated communities help anybody but themselves. The "Strong Towns" blog has noted this repeatedly. ONE example is noted here.

In this case, I fear the opportunity to connect with a newly building shopping center via foot or bike will soon be lost. The "Cute Path to Nowhere" may become the "Cute Path to Nowhere That COULD have Served All of Us." I brought this up at our HOA meeting a while back, but I didn't sense any urgency on the topic from our HOA board. They seemed more concerned that someone would use this "back route" to enter our HOA neighborhood rather than the far simpler access via city streets. Whatever...

In the top photo, you can see the end of the "Cute Path to Nowhere" at location 1. The photo below is take from location 1 towards the disappearing forest that's getting taken by the gated community.

Photo looking from Location 1 Towards the Disappearing Forest

Locations 2, 3, and 4 show views where the forest has been chopped down, as seen just beyond the end of the "Cute Path to Nowhere"

Photo 2, Showing the End of the New Cul de Sac. Oddly, There's no Fence Here

Photo 3, Looking Northeast Where a Pedestrian Bridge Would be WONDERFUL, but There Won't be One.
Colleyville Parks Said "No"

Photo 4 - Looking East Along the New Subdivision "Back Wall" and the Start of the Fence

Finally, Photos 5 through 7 show just how easy it would to add a crushed gravel path to connect to a MUP (Photo 8) the city REQUIRED the developer to put in.

Photo 5. Looking East Along the New Subdivision Fence

Photo 6. Interestingly, the City Required no Erosion Control.
Note how the Developer Protected the Side Toward the "Back Wall"
While doing Nothing on the other Side of the Stream.
I Suspect Someone Will Regret that Choice

Photo 7. The Eastern End of the "Back Wall" Looking Toward Heritage Avenue

Photo 8 - Looking North Along the MUP that the "Path to Nowhere" Fails to Connect.
New Shopping Mall is Ahead and to the Right. A Short Walk.

Bird's Eye View of the Disappearing Forest

For reference, a "bird's eye view" of the area from Google Maps is shown above.

Even Ocean Shores Makes Bike Progress

Brand New Bike Rack at the OS IGA - Not the Greatest Rack or Location, but Securely Installed

Ocean Shores is an odd place. It's got odd ideas about bicycles, with benighted ordinances such as I recounted HERE. Despite my worries, I have not heard of the police tasering a six year-old girl for riding her bike on a local sidewalk and I've not been cited for violating the "extreme right" definition. Some local businesses similarly "just don't get it." One example was recounted HERE. I avoid patronizing such clueless spots. However, today's post is about neither sort of Ocean Shores oddity, but of two businesses that deserve a shout out. One case took a lot longer than I might have expected, and I might have pushed just a tad in the other,  but progress is being made even in Ocean Shores. Perhaps one day we'll even have a bike rack at City Hall!

EXAMPLE 1     The first example is our local IGA grocery store. As I recounted HERE, I was told by a store worker that "they" were the reason the store had no bike rack. However, the store manager told me in his email that they were ordering a rack. This was back in May. Apparently, the bike rack was ordered for delivery via covered wagon because the rack finally got installed week before last. It was a classic "wheel bender" rack that was placed closer to the building than optimum and as far from the front door as possible, but it provides a place for people to lock their bikes that is under the cover of the front roof. That is an advantage that my preferred location of locking to the shopping cart rack does not possess. It was also securely installed, unlike the "pretty" racks at the Colleyville City Center I recounted HERE. Kudos to IGA! My mom was shocked since she'd been asking for a bike rack at the IGA for several years.



EXAMPLE 2     The second example is our local McDonald's. Honestly, I don't go to McDonald's very often, but for some reason I did so yesterday. For much the same reasons as motorists (convenience), I used the drive-thru. Unlike my previous experience with the drive-thru, recounted HERE, I knew to look for an induction sensor which I had no trouble triggering with my bike. LIKE my previous experience, I was told that McDonald's does NOT allow cyclists to use the drive-thru. At least this time, they took and gave me my order.

Well, long-term readers of this blog know that I get GRUMPY about such things, as noted HERE. So, I rode home, printed off the email I received from the store owner (thank goodness I asked for and received one - phone calls leave no records!).

Well, the employee read the email but argued that it meant they should only serve people on 4-wheeled bikes. We didn't discuss how 2-wheel bikes were somehow less deserving of service than people on horses. After a brief stand-off, I suggested we resolve the question simply by calling the store owner, whose phone number was on the email. Almost surprisingly, the employee (a shift supervisor) agreed. During all this, I was worried that the worker bees' eyes were going to pop out, despite the civility of our talk.

To make a long story short, my bike is once again welcome at the Ocean Shores McDonald's and the shift supervisor sent an email to that effect to all the other store management.

Today, I took the "customer survey" and it is reproduced below.

Building to Push Out Cyclists

CAUTION: This is NOT a Cheery Post


"Car Friendly" Colleyville



I've lived in North Texas nearly eight years now. A significant fraction of my property taxes have gone to "improve" local roads. From a cyclist's eye view, I can't think of one single penny of that property tax money that has actually improved my lot as a cyclist. In most cases, the money has served either to subsidize motorists passing through local areas faster to get somewhere else, or to get cyclists off the road. At least in Colleyville, I think Andy Cline's "one mile solution" is further away today than when I moved here. I'm ashamed to say that some of the deterioration is due to misdirected cycling advocacy. Some is due to simply not considering where and how cyclists travel. We DO need better cycling advocates.



Cyclists Were Pushed Off Glade in Colleyville - BY DESIGN - "Safe Routes to Schools"

Glade Now is Definitely NOT Encouraging for Cycling

It started with Glade Road. When I arrived, Glade was just another two-lane road with a 30MPH speed limit and a double yellow line down the middle. Motorists didn't really drive much faster than that, and the configuration made it easy to pass any slower moving traffic (like me). Unfortunately, the traffic engineering people and politicians couldn't leave well enough alone, nor could bike advocates. Before you could say "holy moley," there was a "Safe Routes to School" pathway that crossed SIX driveways in a block and a half, but did not facilitate cyclists turning into any of the major neighborhoods nearby. The photo above is the ONLY time that I have actually seen someone riding a bike on this path. I have seen a few pedestrians - and a guy on a Segway riding the path facing traffic. Myself, I simply clench my teeth and shoot the slot. If you think a minute is a short period of time, try casually riding down this road sometime. Nowadays, motorists normally drive 40 down the road, since there's now nothing but a median and occasional cross traffic to scare them from bombing along.. Sometimes they go faster than 40. Conveniently enough, they've now added a roundabout on this road, ensuring that motoring traffic has less long gaps for any cyclist not wanting to slow the whole shooting match down when using his right to use this public road.

There are a couple of paths in my neighborhood. When I moved in, they didn't actually GO anywhere. They still don't, despite being identified as part of the DFW "Regional Veloweb." I did some reconnaisance just to see if there was a way to get from the "Cute Path to Nowhere" to Heritage Avenue. I concluded the only route would involve much machete work and barbed wire snips. So much for the local Veloweb.

When I went down Heritage Avenue, I discovered that the traffic boffins have been at work once again. It looks like this time, they're busily using my tax dollars to construct a service road for a future mall right across the city line in Euless, adjacent to Highway 121. While there's no evidence of any bike path construction, there's quite a bit of newly poured pavement that'll soon raise the motorist speeds on Heritage from about 20mph to roughly twice that speed. Scenes, such as those shown below, will be disappearing as soon as local developers figure there's a buck to be turned. In this case, the good news, if you can call it that, is there's no median or driveway bike path. Just a DASHED yellow line, which is unusual nowadays around these parts.

No, in case you were wondering, no particular event prompted this post. However, it does get a little lonely being the only cyclist on the road anywhere nearby most days...

Part of Heritage Avenue that Hasn't Been "Improved" Yet



Looking Toward the Future Mall from Heritage Avenue. You Can See the Red Ribbons Around Many of the Trees.
You Think Those Ribbons are for the Veloweb?

Perhaps most disturbing, another of those black birds that John Romeo Alpha pointed out when he commented on my LAST post...

Something from Stephen King - or from Hitchcock?

Deja Vu Sorta

New Gas Station Along the Old Route
Cheap Coffee and Hot Dogs for Cyclists

They say you can't go home again. In some ways you can't go to work again. Well, at least if you go to where you USED to work, it just isn't the same. Not exactly, anyway.

Since mid November, as reported in this post, I haven't commuted to Fort Worth Alliance Airport any more - until today. It was Deja Vu All Over Again, and then it wasn't.

For those who don't know the particulars, I regularly made the 40-mile roundtrip commute from home to Alliance Airport from April 2009 through Remembrance Day of 2010. During that time, I put the better part of 6000 miles on Buddy, more miles on other bikes, and I and learned a lot about how a transportational cyclist can successfully operate in a vehicular manner over all types of roads in all weather and lighting. Every day. My v3 commute, by comparison, is about 7 miles each way. The difference is a lot more than just the mileage, as I was reminded today. I did the old commute again because I needed to take care of some administrative stuff with my engineers at Alliance, and I expected it would take pretty much the whole day. I looked forward to deja vu on the old commute with a little trepedation mixed in. It'd be fun, but sometimes reliving old experiences reminds us of what we didn't enjoy rather than our memories that grow fonder with the passing of time.

It all started out real familiar. I rolled out of bed about 45 minutes earlier than my new commute, and was ready to depart in plenty of time. Other than having to remember not to make an early LEFT turn, it all seemed familiar. In fact, it was SO familiar that the main difference I noticed was that the mighty P7 light eliminated any past questions about whether the video traffic signals would recognize the forward progress needs of the commute cyclist. I must say I highly recommend a bright, steady headlight to trigger those video-triggered traffic lights. In fact, I triggered them easier than my motorists along the route. About the only other differences on the way to work in were my thoughts - about 1/3 of the way to work, the thought hit me that if I were making my new commute, I'd be at work. About 2/3 of the way to work, the thought hit me that if I were making my new commute in the worst weather in recent memory, I'd be at work. Still, the ride itself seemed just like it used to be in the predawn darkness. When the sun peeked over the horizon, I was nearly at work and simply noticed a few more new houses in the developments close to the Alliance Gateway Freeway. It was as sweet as ever to head up the last stretch, and then finally move into the left turn lane to turn into the parking lot.

Then, I brought the bike inside and started to notice not everything had remained unchanged. I experienced Obamacare first-hand when I encountered our former shower that was now locked, thanks to the "nursing mother" provision. Then I found that the cafeteria doesn't have chorizo for omelets any more and they'd changed cooks. What's more, there was no green salsa. Well, none of those were strictly commute related, and there is another shower in the building. It was fun to see people who KNEW I was there because "Steve's bike is here" in the office I was borrowing. Still, Alliance seemed a little less legendary. The larger differences became apparent on the way home. Homeward bound is the real test anyway more often than not.

The first big difference was that, in contrast to early November, the trees looked dead. My daughter, Abbey A, really was the first of our family to observe that it looks really DEAD in Texas in winter.The grass looked dead too. It's Texas winter. No more color for these cowboys and cowgirls until the weather warms up seriously. Somehow, I didn't notice that change nearly so much on my new commute, but seeing dead-looking trees again that were full of leaves the last time I'd seen them made an impact that hadn't been apparent in the morning darkness.

Color or B&W, the Scenes Look Pretty Much the Same. Even the Grass is Beige

Gratuitous Bike Shot to Provide a Little Color

Then, as I rode along, I noticed that pockets of snow remain from last week's ice and snow event. We may not be in the snow belt, but even Texas still has some, and more is expected tomorrow. Maybe quite a bit more. We shall see. More things one didn't notice in the predawn ride in to work. There certainly was none of this stuff around last November.

Snow on a Roof in Keller, Texas

Snow Remnants in a Yard in Keller, Texas

On a more serious note, there were still remants of the gravel and sand used to provide traction near the intersections. In the predawn darkness, a cyclist could easily go down if he weren't in the habit of riding in "the line of sweetness." As it was, the sand made a lot bigger impression on me when I could actually contemplate it at the leisure of a red light. This CAN'T be good for the drivetrain!

Note all the Sand at the Intersection Approach. I Can't Remember WHY I Appear to be in the Right Wheel Track. I Usually Approach this Light
From the Right Side of the Left Wheel Track. It May Have Been the Other Photos I Took That Led Me Astray
You Don't Notice This Stuff So Much in the Morning Darkness when the Mighty P7 Makes all the Lights Change



One thing that also was different was seeing a coyote on the way home, only about four blocks from Colleyville City Hall. I've often seen coyotes on the way to Fort Worth Alliance Airport, but usually fleetingly and in the dark or dawn. This was the first time I've EVER seen one in the late afternoon in a fairly mature neighborhood. Remember y'all, keep your cats indoors! Those coyotes are more hungry than usual this time of year.

Colleyville Coyote. This is the First One I've Actually Gotten in Pixels. He Doesn't Look too Fat to Me
A Coyote in an Urban Setting at 5:30PM Suggests These Guys are Extra Hungry



There were also differences in ME. For one thing, influenced by my new commute, I wore work pants for the commute. They worked well in the 30F morning ride, as well as for the 50F evening return. High vis cuffs finished off the look and kept wind from blowing up my leg as they kept my pants away from the chain. Simple and effective - and they keep the "High Vis Police" at bay. Sorta.

Work Pants Work Well for a 20-Mile Winter Commute

What's in a Man's Purse?

Buddy was pretty much the same. About the only change from the "good old days" was the addition of the MIGHTY P7. I was very careful since it's only got three hours on the high setting and I like to charge it on the weekends. Still, there WAS time to stop for coffee on the way home. Asked where I'd been recently, I noted I'd been transferred to Hurst, but I got to to to Alliance for the day. Those baristas have memories like elephants!

Buddy and the Mighty P7, Reclining at a Store of a Major Coffee Chain I Have Neglected Recently

The final change was on the very last leg home. How THOUGHTFUL of Colleyville to add a "cyclist potty stop" at the locale where construction might cause some cyclist delay. I really hadn't noticed the added cycling facility on the way in to work.

However, in all seriousness, I think the new v3 commute has softened  me a bit. I certainly encounter a lot less motorists on narrow, two-lane roads than formerly, and there aren't any high-speed, divided roads on my new commute that compare to the Alliance Gateway Freeway. The combination of the longer distance and the tough (in spots) roads, sharpened my skills and my awareness of developing traffic situations in a way no other method could have done. I deeply appreciate those lessons, but, in some ways, you really can't go to work again - unless it's more than just for a day. I'm also thankful that I didn't complete LCI training when this was my regular route. Even as it was, there were a few moments when I felt like I represented the bike-ed version of the "Provisional Wing of the Irish Republican Army." A little softening isn't necessarily bad...

I Don't Think the "Turn Around Don't Drown" Sign Refers to the Portapotty...

Lady Bird’s Legacy

Wild Flowers Along Old Denton Highway, Near Fort Worth Alliance Airport. September 2010

Texas really IS another whole country. Each spring, mowing maintenance along the freeways comes to a halt for the wildflower season. Many of these wildflowers are less wild than it appears, with seed having been cast along the routes to enhance nature’s beauty. Texans, who normally take pride in their ability to eat nails, kick Okie butts, shoot birds, and drive giant pickup trucks, gush over the Bluebonnets. Lady Bird Johnson encouraged this and helped it evolve into the mania it is today.

No Mow Area Adjacent to Webb House in Colleyville

Many of the local cities have small plots of land reserved for wildflowers, often surrounded by a fence or cable, complete with advisory signs. Mostly, this brouhaha takes place in the spring, but the warm Texas summers don’t really make the flowers go away. Even now, in September, the show continues, regardless of municipal “do not mow” areas and the cessation of freeway right-of-way seeding.

The Little Rope Fence Would Not Really Keep a Determined Flower Picker or Mower Away. The Stakes Were Barely Able to Keep Buddy Upright

Even in September, There Are Snippets of Color in These "No Mow" Plots in Texas

Just a Little Commute Short Stop

Webb House in Colleyville, Texas, on a BEAUTIFUL August Day

I've never done a lot of stopping to look at the sights along my commute route. Today's subject is directly along my route, both to and from work, and, what's more, it's lit up when it is dark out, making it hard to miss. Lately, I've been thinking about outlining some of the Cotton Belt Railway features in Tarrant County. This house sits within sight of the rails.

Who says you can't stop and look around when riding on the road bike? It just took me over a year to do so...

The Story of the Webb House

Somehow, I Don't Think the Caboose is in "Period" Markings for the Cotton Belt Line

Grapevine Vintage Railroad Runs Along the Cotton Belt Bike Path, Right Past the Webb House in Colleyville