Friday Ride- Continued

My last blog post left off near the Colonial Country Club and Fort Worth Zoo. From there I rode into the area near Texas Christian University (it's really just a short ride). I kind of meandered around the back side of the university, where there are some awesome homes.







The views of the university when you come in the back way are less spectacular.





I got over to the TCU Bookstore and my destination just beyond.



In the strip mall next to the bookstore are several businesses. Among them is Colonel's Bicycles, a very popular local bike shop.





But that wasn't my destination this time. It was lunch time and I was hungry so I stopped into one of my favorite eateries: Buffalo Brothers, a place in the style of a classic Buffalo, NY, tavern.



It was after then lunch rush so they didn't mind that I brought The Old Gentleman in and stored him in the corner.



Being from Buffalo myself, I really like the place.



I ordered the Friday special, a fish fry. Sorry, I have no pictures of that. I was so hungry I forgot! If you go there, I also recommend getting the combo of 4 chicken wings, a slice of pizza and a drink. This truly is a happy meal, because you can get the special with either a soft drink or a beer! The fried bologna sub is pretty good too.

After lunch it was back on the bike. I wandered south and eventually got to Bluebonnet Circle, a traffic circle near the south end of University Drive. It has several restaurants and night spots around it, including Mellow Mushroom Pizza (which I haven't been to yet but I've heard is pretty good)...



...and Ocean Rock, which I have been to, and it is very good.



Proceeding southwest out of the circle on Park Ridge Boulevard, then South Hills Avenue, I come to this sign.



This is one of the things, in my opinion, that makes Fort Worth bike friendly. There are huge multi-laned streets running through the major retail districts that are none too bike friendly. But there are also neighborhood feeder routes like Trail Lake that run for several miles at a stretch with fairly light traffic. From the TCU area I can ride on neighborhood roads like Trail Lake, Westcreek and Vega to get most of the way home, and only have short stretches on the major thoroughfares. A lot of these streets run by city parks so the view is qute scenic. So my ride home looks kind of like this.









This is a two-lane street, one lane in each direction, but notice how wide the shoulder is in my direction. Plenty of room to coexist with car traffic.



Coming south on Westcreek, just past the I-20 underpass, is one of the most discouraging sights of my ride:



This hill doesn't look like much, and it really isn't too bad, but it lies on one of my homebound routes. So a lot of the time when I get to this point, I'm near the end of a ride and feeling a little tired, and I have to ride up this hill. It kicks my butt every time. It's a short hill, though, and one I get up it, the road is wide and flat again.



I made one more stop before getting home, but that will have to wait until my next post.