Sunday, January 24, 2010

Views of Downtown Fort Worth

I've been out of town on business and not riding my bike. So this weekend I tried to make a point of riding. I was planning on going up to the Denton Denim Ride on Saturday but the high potential for rain in the afternoon made me consider other options, so I went on my club's breakfast ride (which was also abbreviated due to weather).

Today was a nicer day, although there was a stiff wind out of the north which made it feel colder than it was. I decided to ride into the teeth of it so I could have it at my back on the way home. I rode my Schwinn Cutter single speed. It's interesting to ride a bike with only one gear; the ride itself always seems for fun. On the way out I stopped in Trinity Park and took some pictures.

On a bridge over a stream on the Loop Trail


Every day is a winding road... or path... or whatever


A boy and his bike


Views of Downtown from the north end of the park and the Trinity Trail




I wanted to see if I could get up the Taylor Street hill on the single speed which I've heard is a 12% grade (I tried to verify this on Google and that said it is a 15% grade!) At the bottom looking up...



...is not nearly as good as being at the top looking down.



Taking some pictures while riding Downtown:



Bass Hall


Close up of a Bass Hall angel


From Downtown I set out northward, up Samuels Avenue. There is new development along Samuels. I rode through just kind of gawking before I realized I was past it.... and I forgot to take pictures. I finally decided to take some near the north end of Samuels where it crosses the Trinity River.



The road and rail bridges look to be pretty old.


From the north end of Samuels I got back on the Trinity Trail which provides some nice views of Downtown. This one is further out:



And these near the Main Street bridge show the Courthouse a little better




Peeking under main Street to see the Radio Shack headquarters:


A picture of the bike... looks like it's swimming upstream.



It was clouding up and I feared it might rain, so I started riding a little more quickly and didn't take anymore pictures... until I ran into a group of cyclists that looked familiar at the south end of Trinity Park. It turns out they were the crowd from my favorite bike shop, The City Cyclist. They said they were going to pop into Chili's for a drink and wondered if I wanted to join them... so I did.

Me and Debbie and Larry


Larry and Mike the Mechanic


A group shot of the whole crowd- Debbie and Larry standing, then Mike, Eric, T-Ann & Mica


And another shot to show that yes, I was really there.


The staff at The City Cyclist usually don't get a chance to ride much, except on Sundays. I rode with them afterward along the Trinity Trail until I had to split off to head for home.

8 comments:

Big Oak said...

Great mini-tour. Thanks for the shots of Downtown Fort Worth.

Can you imagine being surrounded by cool bikes and bike parts all day without being able to ride them? It's like a mild version of hell, I suppose.

Apertome said...

I enjoyed the photos of downtown Fort Worth. I've never been there, but it looks nice. Looks like there was very little traffic, too.

And it's always cool to run into someone unexpectedly like that. Fortuitous timing!

PennyCandy said...

There was no one downtown that day because they were all at the Fort Worth Stockshow in the Cultural District.

Maybe Doohickie will make his way there before it leaves down at the beginning of Feb.

Doohickie said...

Oooh.... good idea!

MELI. said...

love this post! pretty cool - I like the fish mural :D

Felicia said...

Great pics!

Avus said...

Your chance-met companions look a happy crowd (but that is cyclists the world over). Interesting to see views of your demesne.
Are you riding a fixie on that Cutter? (I guess not seeing it has two brakes??)

Doohickie said...

It has a freewheel, Avus. Not fixed.

Now I have to go and look up demesne.