So day one of the bike riding is over, and I have some thoughts to share. First, if you are going to ride in a large city, plan ahead. I planned a route over the weekend and even drove the route in my car to see if I thought that it would be relatively hassle free.
The ride to the office in the morning was great. It was nice and cool outside, and there wasn't too much traffic. The cars that were on the road were giving lots of room when they passed. In fact, there was only one instance where the cars were passing too close for my comfort, and that was at the intersection of Live Oak and Pearl Street. I think that the reason that this happened is because I was too far right. Although in Texas, bike riders are treated like any other vehicle, they are asked to move as far to the right of the lane as practicable. By taking a third of the lane, I think that drivers tend to give more room. Other than that, I chose roads that I knew wouldn't be too busy, and even if they were, there were plenty of stop lights to keep traffic slow enough for me to keep up.
Though I absolutely detest LEED, it is LEED that is responsible for my company putting showers and changing rooms in the building.
When I left, I knew that there would be an uphill portion to the return route (different from the morning route because most of the streets in downtown are one way). However, I was not prepared for how heavily travelled the route I chose is, and so I was forced to ride on the side walk until I could turn onto Liberty Street from Ross.
All in all, I felt way safer riding here in Dallas than I ever did in Baton Rouge. This is due in part to the abundance of lanes with slower traffic in the city. They have room to get around and I have room to pull over and share the road. Compare this to Baton Rouge, where you have several small two lane roads (Perkins, Broussard, Claycut, Goodwood etc.) where there are no shoulders or any room. Cars don't slow down and respect your presence as a vehicle.
The other thing that Dallas has is a wealth of bike trails, literally hundreds of miles, though none of these fall along my route to work.
The ride to the office in the morning was great. It was nice and cool outside, and there wasn't too much traffic. The cars that were on the road were giving lots of room when they passed. In fact, there was only one instance where the cars were passing too close for my comfort, and that was at the intersection of Live Oak and Pearl Street. I think that the reason that this happened is because I was too far right. Although in Texas, bike riders are treated like any other vehicle, they are asked to move as far to the right of the lane as practicable. By taking a third of the lane, I think that drivers tend to give more room. Other than that, I chose roads that I knew wouldn't be too busy, and even if they were, there were plenty of stop lights to keep traffic slow enough for me to keep up.
Though I absolutely detest LEED, it is LEED that is responsible for my company putting showers and changing rooms in the building.
When I left, I knew that there would be an uphill portion to the return route (different from the morning route because most of the streets in downtown are one way). However, I was not prepared for how heavily travelled the route I chose is, and so I was forced to ride on the side walk until I could turn onto Liberty Street from Ross.
All in all, I felt way safer riding here in Dallas than I ever did in Baton Rouge. This is due in part to the abundance of lanes with slower traffic in the city. They have room to get around and I have room to pull over and share the road. Compare this to Baton Rouge, where you have several small two lane roads (Perkins, Broussard, Claycut, Goodwood etc.) where there are no shoulders or any room. Cars don't slow down and respect your presence as a vehicle.
The other thing that Dallas has is a wealth of bike trails, literally hundreds of miles, though none of these fall along my route to work.
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