Tweed Ride Meeting Point: St. Pete’s

Slap on your tweed and join us at St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin for a quick pint before we roll down to the Grassy Knoll for the Tweet ride meet up.

2:30pm this Sunday at Petes. Cheerio!

Yoga for the Bike in Us

Sun salutations, cyclists! This Sunday (November 14), Super Yoga Palace will open its doors to the BFDE group for a free hatha flow yoga class with poses and postures specifically “geared” for cyclists. Ha!

Stomping around Deep Ellum for more than a decade, Jessica Jordan, owner of Super Yoga Palace, spent her time bending people into enlightenment and touring with the Polyphonic Spree. During a break between tours, she decided to follow her passion for yoga and give to the community. She gifts Deep Ellum in the way of Super Yoga Palace. Located in the Life of Deep Ellum Cultural Community Center, Jessica wishes SYP to be a safe place for people heal, grow, connect, and build community friendships.

This sunday, all levels are welcome. From the, “I’ve never laid on a mat before,” to the “I can contort my way into a shoe box.”

There will be no ride, just meet at the Community Center for an 11 AM class. This is an open, free class, but tips for her time and kindness are encouraged by BFDE.

Thursdays at Taco Lounge

Just in! If you bike to Sol’s Taco Lounge on Thursdays, you’ll be getting half off margaritas and half of Fat Tire beers!  Big thanks to Ivan and the gang over at Taco Lounge.

Friday Morning Blowout

Friday, the end of the week. They day we all look forward to most. The day we do the least amount of work and usually, the day of the week that we show up to work recovering from a Thursday night bender.

This Friday was no different. After waking up from to my emergency alarm, I stumbled out of bed into the shower. “What is this taste?” I wondered. Oh ya, it was the reminder that “beer before liquor, never been sicker” actually holds some water. And while I did hold everything down last night, I was feeling the consequences. Snapped into my compression tights and shirt, I pedal out to the train station with the frigid, 42 degree autumn cold hitting my face. Once on the train I promptly fell asleep.

Now I do have an alarm set to wake me up before my stop. It’s set at the exact time the train is supposed to stop at the location BEFORE my stop. Which gives me about 4-5 minutes to clean up any sleep-drool from my chin before the train hits my stop in Richland Hills. Well, it also gives me about 4-5 minutes to fall back asleep. Which is exactly what happened.

Waking up, seeing the train doors start to close at your destination is frightening. An instant panic sets in. Can you pull a super-quick Jackie Chan move, gather your bag, helmet and bike and slip out the door before the train starts moving? The answer is no, no you can’t.  Welcome to Fort Worth, sleepy head!

So, pop quiz hot shot: Downtown is eight miles from Loop 820 (where I work).  You’ve got 20 minutes to be there on time and the next train doesn’t arrive for another 40 minutes. Do you wait for the train? Or do you hop on your two wheels and muster up the gusto to throw down 8 miles in 50 degree weather wearing your work clothes.

Gotta man up.

So I start pedaling, through downtown, through some projects, and over the Trinity with the sun is rising directly in my eyes. I even see another commuter go by – how cool! And Google Maps has me biking down the access road of highway 121 as the fastest route.  And while I wasn’t afraid of the cars on the access road, I didn’t even think about the conditions of the road.

About a mile into my access road foray, everything’s going great until POP! SSSZZZZZZZ… My tire blows out.

Are you freaking serious! Another blown tire! I just  bought new wheels, new tubes, and new tires so this wouldn’t happen! Now what am I going to do? With no spare tube, no patch kit, all in the freezing cold, I start walking. What else can I do? Oh yeah, let’s call Emily (co-worker) – who happens to also be running late to work.

After walking a mile, and giving directions to a distracted Emily, we meet up to put my bike in her trunk. As I put the bike in the trunk, I check the tire to see if I can find the wound that foiled my epic ride to work.

This is what I found.

A rusty old nail that punctured not only my tube, but went straight through my rubber tire as well. After, waking up drunk, sleeping through my train stop, biking in 45 degree weather, blowing a flat and having to walk in the very same weather, I can take away one thing:

I am 100% buying a saddle bag to hold a spare tire and patch kit.

Dig Deep: Bike and Brunch

Fall is in full swing and biking around Deep Ellum is spectacular. The only problem is it can be a little cramped sometimes. Let BFDE work you out.

Enter, Dig Deep. A bike and brunch designed to stretch and workout the legs before football on Sunday. So put on your workout gear, grab your water, and prepare to dig as you and fellow Deep Ellum cyclists speed to, around and back from White Rock Lake. And to top it off, we’ll finish the ride at La Grange for some brunch and mimosas. Scrum-diddley-umptious!

Where: Meet at La Grange
When: Sunday, November 7, 10 AM
What: A ride intended for people who want to bike faster, longer.
Where are we going? Bike to and around White Rock Lake, back in time for brunch at La Grange.
I’m not sure if I’m fast enough to participate: We don’t have spandex, hyper-light, full carbon anything, so no land speed record will be broken.  Just come out and we promise to not leave you behind if you promise to not leave us behind.

Happy Halloween

We hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. We would love to see your Halloween costumes! Post them on Facebook.com/BikeFriendlyDeepEllum. We had an owl join us on our grocery ride Sunday night.

And BFDE’s own David Brindley and his wife, Becky, on the train. How cute.

Deep Ellum Monthly Taste and Drink

It’s that time of the month again. Wait. No. Gross. Let me rephrase that….

Each month, Deep Ellum Enrichment Project (DEEP) sponsors a monthly taste and happy hour at a different business in Deep Ellum. And it’s THAT time of the month again. Deep Sushi, located off of Main St., Deep Sushi will be our host this evening. From 6-9pm, you can find great drink specials and complimentary foods that will leave you wanting more from the fantastic Deep Sushi. Hope to see you there!

First Grocery Ride a Success!

Thanks to all the BFDE fans who came out tonight to the grocery ride.  Saw some familiar faces and new faces.  Hope to see you all again next week!

Bring Out Your Dead!!

This Saturday, Deep Ellum will rise from the grave to try and break the world record for most zombies walking. Come dressed as a zombie to 2826 Arnetic at 3:30pm for the start of the walk.  If you would prefer to get your makeup done professionally, bring a couple bucks out at 2pm. The proceeds benefit North Texas Food Bank. Zombies of all ages are welcome and receive food and drink discounts at several of the bars in Deep Ellum. More than 4,000 zombies have confirmed on Facebook, so drop dead and be a part of a world record!

What: Zombie Walk Dallas
When: 2pm to get your makeup done; 3:30pm at 2826 Arnetic
Where: Starts at 2826 Arnetic. Or Ride the Dart Green Line with fellow zombies!
Specials: 2826 Arnetic, Monica’s, Zini’s, The Nightmare, and more!

Better Everywhere

Deep Ellum Outdoor Market is taking a shot at the Better Block project.  For those who don’t know what this is, it’s a day long attempt to show Dallas what streets could be like if they were built better!  More room for pedestrians, more room for bikes and more room for businesses!  Where does that room come from you ask?  How about a couple of those car lanes on Elm St.    This is going to be big! and we’re pumped! Check out the past event over in Oak Cliff here or the one over in Ft. Worth here.

See you there!