This Sunday’s Santa Ride looks to be a pretty nice day of 53 degrees and mostly sunny. We’ve just posted the route map here, and plan on passing through Deep Ellum, circiling Dallas Heritage Village, passing over the Houston Street Viaduct to Bishop Arts, then heading back past Lake Cliff Park and returning to Downtown. Note that we’re starting this ride at the beautiful new Main Street Garden Park at Harwood and Main. Toys for Tots will be on hand, if you’d like to bring an unwrapped gift before we get started, and Dude, Sweet Chocolate will be selling their incredible Hot Chocolate. We’re trying to line up an old fashioned Salvation Army Christmas band to perform in Bishop Arts, so hopefully there’ll be an opportunity for some caroling!

For those who want to dress up, eHow offers a cheap DIY Santa suit option here, and an elf suit here, and of course, Goodwill offers a giant selection of ugly holiday sweaters. See you all Sunday at 2:30!

(An Oak Cliff open-air market which North Dallas reps seek to restrict)

As Oak Cliff slowly shakes off the decades of neglect due to car-first planning which saw the dismantling of our streetcar system, destruction of historic structures in favor of parking lots, the creation of wide one-way thoroufares through the heart of our residential neighborhoods, all of which only benefited the sprawling suburban areas of the city, it’s amazing to see efforts being put forth to stop homegrown grassroots efforts that are actually working. The latest afront is a plan put forth by city staff to regulate and limit the number of open air markets and community gardens in the area by creating a central regulatory body that would oversee the entire process. And why? To protect the Downtown Farmers Market, which has been ailing for years, and definitely deserves our support, but not at the detriment of our own community. The ripple effects here have the potential to end our amazing events like Bolsa’s monthly local farmers market, Make’s Urban Bazaar, Bishop Arts CliffFest, and the handful of new community gardens that are beginning to spring up. Point of fact, Bolsa’s market is responsible for launching new businesses in the area like Dude Sweet, Chocolate, while Make’s Urban Bazaar started off in the Downtown Farmers’ Market but left due to the heavy restrictions put in place by the city.

It’s notable that the councilmembers in favor of regulation are from far North Dallas, in areas that were built well after WWII with sprawling car-only infratructure with an emphasis on decentralization and separated zoning. These regulations do little to hurt their own communities, as they weren’t built with a townsquare/people-first form like Oak Cliff. Their districts also boast an abundance of organic grocery options like Whole Foods, SunFlowers, or are only miles from a Central Market. In the Cliff, these same stores bypass our community due to a lower percentage of college-graduates (which is the demographic most of these use when looking to develop a new store).

The groups organizing our grassroots markets are doing so because we are lacking in our area, and the service they provide is one that allows us and our families a necessary and enjoyable option where we can simply hop on a bicycle, ride a few blocks from home, and purchase fresh vegetables, honey, meats and poultry from local providers. This only hurts the close-in neighborhoods and not those living in Districts far from the city core who have a plethora of options. Can you imagine visiting a city like Florence, Paris, New York, or Austin and seeing city officials restrict open air markets? We’ve already suffered the damage of regulations that make it nearly impossible to open an outdoor cafe, a mixed-use building, or small retail establishment with limited parking…this is not how you rebuild a city.

Lydia Pierce, a former Dallasite who recently moved to Portland, answers a few questions for BFOC regarding the differences between pedaling in the “worst city for bicycling” vs. the “bike friendliest” city in the nation.

What is it that makes Portland more appealing for you to bicycle in, over Dallas?

I bike more often here because there is more to do within biking distance. If I know a place is within 2 miles of my house I know I can bike there safely. Portland is so condensed that there are a ton of cool bars, restaurants, and shops within 2 miles of my house. In Dallas all of the places I preferred to hang out were miles and miles away from my place. Many were on the other side of Dallas. It just wasn’t practical to ride my bike.

I bike more here because there is a cycling community. A few examples of how this has worked in my life: I told my friend Amanda my bike was in disrepair and she gave me the number of her friend who does $30 tune-ups. Also, I got a flat tire and my friend Cat came over to my house and we walked my bike to the Community Cycling Center. I paid $2 for a new inner tube and $4 for the plastic clamps to help get my tube out. Cat taught me how to change my tire out of the goodness of her own heart. She also received a minor repair on her bike at the Cycling Center FOR FREE! A donation was suggested by the repairman. Cat decided to donate a few dollars. I live one block away from Bike Farm, another cycling center Cat has recommended to me, but I have yet to visit.

I bike more here because I’m aware of safer cycling. It’s against the law to not have flashing lights on your bike here. After driving my car and cursing the cyclist that did not have these lights I understand why they are needed. A cyclist is totally invisible without these lights at night. I’ve had to come to a screeching stop a few times because of irresponsible cyclists. Driving around cyclists changes your consciousness. I always have to check my rearview mirrors now to make sure I don’t turn or back up onto a cyclist. I know that some cyclists are better at making sure they are seen than others. I try to stay aware at all times. That’s how drivers in Portland drive. I feel as if cyclists and pedestrians have the right-of-way here. Many times I feel like people are not afraid of cars. They know most Portland drivers will take the effort to see them. So cyclists feel comfortable.

I bike more often because there are bike lanes everywhere. I look around and make mental notes of which streets have bike lanes. It’s comforting to know that cycling on that street is an option. I also am aware of which streets don’t have bike lanes. I make mental maps of residential streets I can use my bike on to avoid those major streets. Web sites like http://bycycle.org/ have been a big help. So has the bike-friendly map I got at the Community Cycling Center.

I bike more here because it’s infectious. A friend invited me to the Midnight Mystery Bike Ride. On the 3rd Friday of every month a meeting place is announced on the Mystery Bike Ride Blog. Everyone shows up there and at midnight a mysterious bike ride starts. No one knows where it will end and there’s usually a keg at the stopping place. I went to the Halloween-themed ride. There were at least 200 people there. There were lots of freak bikes and some were towing subwoofers and speakers. It was so nice to ride in a big group and had fantastic italio-disco/electro music as a soundtrack. That night was madness and left such a good taste in my mouth for cycling in Portland in general. People are crazy here, and I love it.

Do you feel that the city’s commitment to bicycle infrastructure has increased your likelihood of bicycling? If you could make improvements to the current infrastructure, what would they be?

I’m not sure if it’s in Dallas’s culture to fully embrace cycling. Portland is a more European city. Recently the Dallas Morning News compared Dallas and Portland. That article stated: “Seattle and Portland received much of their initial migrants from the northern tier of America, which has always been heavily Germanic and Scandinavian.” Many people are of European heritage and embrace European things. Many people say Portland reminds them of Amsterdam. I think the European heritage is part of the reason.

That said, I think Dallas could make some changes to improve cycling, but I think it has to market itself in a different way. I think people who are comfortable in their cars will be wary of the need to put money into cycling infrastructure. I wish there were an effective way to speak to low-income families and minorities and teach them why cycling is important and how to do it safely. Class issues are so strong in Dallas. If cycling is marketed to low-income families and minorities, the high-class, SUV-driving families won’t want to support it. If it’s marketed to higher-income families the lower class will be left out in the cold. They’ll be uninformed and won’t see the need for better cycling infrastructure and won’t know how to use it if it ever came to be.

From what I have observed, inner Portland is made up of mainly middle and upper class people. They are educated, love all things European, and understand a need for cycling infrastructure. The really, really poor families in the Portland area live in smaller cities outside of Portland. They don’t use bikes and see no need.
Portland only has about 500,000 people. Dallas has about 1 million. I don’t really think what’s effective in Portland is feasible in Dallas. Maybe Dallas should take cues from what bigger, more diverse cities, like Chicago have done to improve cycling.

I think that if Dallas were to put more money into cycling they should start with bike lanes. Just seeing that paint on the street is inspiring for some. Then there needs to be a lot more education on safe cycling. People don’t know how to signal they are about to turn or stay out of blind spots. They don’t know how to respect cars as they turn or stay aware of people opening their car doors suddenly. People need to be informed. I think free lessons would help. Cycling centers like the ones here in Portland would help. I also think motorists need to become more informed. Dallas is huge and there are drivers from all over Texas driving in Dallas every day. Some drivers are just completely unaware of cyclists. Big huge trucks definitely have the right-of-way in Texas, not cyclists or pedestrians. That’s just the culture of Texas. It’s going to be hard to change the culture of the whole metropolis.

When given the choice of bicycling on a major street with a bike lane, or one without, which do you prefer to bicycle on?

It depends. I personally prefer to cycle on residential streets without much car traffic. There are a lot of busy streets here with safe bike lanes, but I just prefer to take an off-road that is parallel. It just depends on what kind of cyclist you are.

Just in time for Christmas, Oak Cliff’s newest indie bookstore “Cliff Notes”, two doors down from the Oak Cliff Bicycle Company, has signed on to offer 10% discounts to anyone bicycling to their shop! The address is 416 N. Tyler Street, and they offer a mixed selection of books, with a prominent focus on the beat writers and poets. Also, the owners recently began hosting an Oak Cliff open mic poetry night across the street at Mighty Fine Arts. Their first night was a huge success with a great turnout. Be sure to pedal by when you get the chance.

You can find Cliff Notes on Facebook here, and on twitter here.

This morning, a handful of volunteers lead by community organizers Van Johnson and Patrick Boyd, set to work planting the first round of trees on Jefferson’s wide medians in North Oak Cliff as part of a beautification project for the area. These medians run a distance of 1.6 miles and account for the former right-of-way of the original Interurban line connecting Dallas with Fort Worth. Council member Delia Jasso, and Judge Juan Jasso were on hand with shovels and rakes helping set the ground and begin the plantings. This is part of a broader initiative that includes bringing native plants to the medians and development of a bike/ped trail system to connect with the Coombs Creek Trail. The CC Trail is partially built out now, and will eventually connect to the Trinity Strand trail. A couple of BFOC’ers were on hand to snap some shots and help with shovels. For more information, check out the Jefferson Median Beautification Project website here.

(Councilwoman Delia Jasso)

(OTB Bicycle Cafe in Philadelphia)

We can’t reveal the complete details at the moment, but as of January, work will begin on a new gastro pub in Oak Cliff modeled after those found in Portland. It will be located near the Tyler and Davis area with a large patio and plenty of bicycle parking. This is exciting news, along with multiple bike infrastructure projects being announced on various streets in North Oak Cliff which we will detail soon. Today, members of BFOC and the Oak Cliff Transit Authority (our parent organization) will be recording a video segment at City Hall with Council Members presenting the state of multi-modal initiatives within the area, and our future plans. 2010 is proving to be a very exciting year for bicycle/pedestrian work in Oak Cliff.

(photo from i,etc.’s photostream)

If you’re a fan of hands on construction, BFOC and the Oak Cliff Bicycle Company are looking to start a bicycle frame building class in January, where we’ll bring in area bike frame builders and have them walk you through the basics of putting together your own bicycle from scratch. We’re planning on partnering with Adamson High School’s auto-shop class, which has everything from welding and machining tools, to a full paint shop, and rolling out a series of weekend classes. For now, seating will be limited, and we’re going to try and keep these priced at $35 per person, to allow for as many people interested in creating their own custom ride take part. Email us at info@oakcliffta.org if you’d like to be first on the list to sign up. We’ll provide more details in the coming weeks on teachers/builders and times.

Streetsblog highlights Bicycle Boulevards in yesterday’s post. These are exciting people first street concepts which have been used to great success in other cities around the world. The streets allow residents to comfortably drive to their residences, but discourage through traffic with special focus on bicycling. The end results are a safer street for children and pedestrians, with slower traffic, all while encouraging bicycling.

Local bike shop, Fleetwood’s KitKat, has been nominated for Daily Candy’s Sweetest Things award in Dallas. Be sure to head to DC and vote for them, to show your support for all of their efforts!

With Christmas right around the corner, we felt it was the perfect time to gather everyone up for a holiday themed ride. Dress up like santa, an elf, or wear an ugly holiday sweater, and join us for a group ride around Downtown Dallas. Also, we’re teaming up with Toys for Tots, and asking everyone to bring an unwrapped gift before the ride. The US Marines will be on hand to take the gifts before we head out.

This ride will begin at the new Main Street Garden Park at Harwood and Main Street (across the street from where we took the Tweed Ride group photo) on December 20th at 2:30PM. We’re going to try and drum up a Hot Chocolate sponsor to warm everyone up before we head out. Since we’re a few weeks out, the weather is unpredictable at this point, so you might want to look at buying some thermals in preparation. For those who have not attended a BFOC group ride, we ride very casually, and move at a slow to moderate pace. Be sure to decorate your bike…Home Depot has battery powered LED christmas string lights on sale right now!

Special thanks to Carlos Cardoza (our winner at the Halloween ride) for coming up with the idea and creating the artwork! For more inspiration, check out David Sedaris’ hysterical Santaland Diaries. The Facebook event page is located here. Be sure to check back for more details, and route maps.