Ft Worth – Panther City closes, Trinity grows

Today is the last day Panther City bikes will be open, ever. After 6 years, they’re closing. Cheers guys. It was definitely one of the cozier bike shops I’ve visited. There were couches, a keg of Rahr beer, Masi and Indy Fab bikes, and a great location next to the Spiral Diner. What a nice final portrait, gentlemen.  Just look at the spirit of adventure in that pose.

Outside the shop I found a beautiful Indy Fab bike with wooden fenders; a nice fit with long-reach Tektro sidepull brakes:

Fort Worth has an increasing number of nice staple racks around town, especially on the south side, as Fortworthology reports.

Magnolia has bike lanes that help encourage riding in the area, and I was pleasantly surprised to see some middle-aged women on bikes. The bike lanes seemed too narrow, though, and they passed right in the parallel parking door zones.  From the photo below, you can see Magnolia’s lanes might be wide enough to fit some wider bike lanes and narrower car lanes.

A few miles away, Trinity Bikes seems to be growing quickly. We went there a year ago when Russ and Laura from Path Less Pedaled came to speak about long-distance bike touring. Trinity had so many interesting things in the shop, like this strange labyrinth Alex Moulton small-wheeled bike.

The below beauty is a vintage Raleigh Professional, painted by Brian Baylis of Masi USA fame. Velo Orange hammered fenders.

This is the new 3-speed fixed Sturmey Archer hub, which the Trinity guys said has a little bit of backward play before engaging. Perhaps good for touring, but not so good for freestyle.

Bernie of Trinity rode this pink Surly 1 x 1 fixie (yes, a 26″ mountain bike frame) all the way to Austin earlier this year. If nothing else, it’s got the most mud clearance I’ve ever seen.  This bike makes me feel sweaty and weird, and I’m ok with that.

Fall Alleycat This Sunday – 3:30 – Mckenna Park

 

This Sunday, there’s an alleycat race that spans from Mckenna park across downtown and through both college campuses.  The proceeds benefit Querencia Community Bike Shop, a worthy cause.

From the Facebook event page:

COME OUT AND HELP US SUPPORT QUERENCIA COMMUNITY BIKE SHOP
– QCBS is a non profit organization that provides the Denton cycling community with access to tools, workspace, and assistance (free of charge). for more about the services and programs that they run for the community – http://www.qcbs.org
– All Proceeds from the race will be donated to QCBS.

All riders welcome

here is the race outline as it stands now:
– race starts and ends at McKenna park
– registration opens at 3:30pm and closes at 4:00pm, announcements will follow and the race will begin as close to 4:00 as possible.

– As it stands right now there will be two categories, this may change based on attendance.

– Single Race
each entry is his/her own team – no help. each rider must visit ALL check points. the route taken in between checkpoints, and the order of checkpoints will be left up to the rider. – – entry is 3$ – – prizes for 1st 2nd and 3rd

– Team Race
Form a team if you don’t want to ride as far, want to finish faster, or simply want to compete with a friend. at least one member from each team must visit all check points (checkpoints are the same as the singlerace checkpoints) teams should consist of 3 people, but entries of 2 person teams will be accepted. – – entry is 6$ per team – – Prizes for 1st and 2nd

Checkpoint Locations – check points can be visited in any order. you must show your card to attendant.

UNT Campus – Library Mall Fountain. Circular fountain

North Lakes Park – “fishing pier”

Denton Square – Courthouse front steps

TWU – Circular fountain in front of the library

The final Check In will be your return to McKenna Park. after having visited the first four.

Maps and pictures of the check point locations will be available in limited quantity before the race.

judging/points/score!
– points will be awarded to riders at each checkpoint. more points for the faster you get there. As mentioned, no particular order is required in choosing which checkpoints to go to. First one to attend all four checkpoints, and check back in at McKenna (first to finish) will be given a lot of points. It will be possible (but unlikely) for this person to not come in first overall.

Fixie + Unicycle + Trampoline

Via Bike Commuters via Car Free Days:

Incredible.