We weren’t quite sure what to expect at our presentation at Trinity Bicycles in Fort Worth, but we were completely blown away last night. For a town that is so below the radar in terms of great bicycling cities, there was a sense that something was on the verge of happening. Laura and I expected 30, maybe 40 people at most to attend our presentation but we were completely dumbstruck when the numbers on the Facebook Event page went above 70. We think the final tally was around 105 people!

Most of the people who came were from the Fort Worth / Dallas area, but we had a strong contingent from Denton, TX (we may just have to pass through there to see what great bikey stuff is going on), some folks from Oak Cliff, Mineral Wells and even someone that drove in from Oklahoma (thanks for making the trek)!

The crowd was great and the energy was amazing. We had a great time meeting folks that we had only communicated with through Facebook or email. Although everyone was virtual strangers, we felt welcomed. There were a whole variety of bikes there from a Bike Friday, a Kona Ute, more than a few Surlys and a beautiful Gallus bike with a dynamo hub and internal routing. With all the bike energy in the room, you felt like you could have been in a city like Austin or Portland.

We began the evening pressing flesh and drinking some local brew from Rahr and Sons. We talked with Bernie, the owner of Trinitiy, who was kind enough to rent a few racks of chairs after he saw the event numbers ridse. We learned that he had worked in Austin for a Senator and his goal while there was to get 3 foot safe passing law on the books. After making the rounds and working its way to the governor’s desk – it was vetoed. That battle was lost, but bigger campaign of making north Texas bike friendly has just begun. Bernie envisions Trinity as the future cycling hub of Fort Worth, where clubs, bike nerds and advocates can have programs and meet. His favorite part of the shop, he tells us, are the showers for commuters. With its close proximity to the train station and downtown, he hopes that his shop will support and foster the bike commuting community.

As the sun set, Laura and I started the presentation, kicking off with some riding footage from the very beginning of our trip to set the mood. From there, everything was a blur. The energy was so great from the crowd that it felt like time flew. We had a Q&A session after the presentation and talked details with folks. Afterwards, people hung around to introduce themselves and it was wonderful to meet readers who have been commenting on our site and Facebook page. One of our readers even gifted us with some eggs from his hens and some jerky! We had the eggs for breakfast this morning and they were spectacular.

As Laura and I rode back with our loaded bikes through the Fort Worth evening back to our homestay, we were elated and stunned. This sort of bicycle culture and excitement was something we had expected in Austin and Tucson, but Fort Worth? Denton? Something is going on in North Texas and that something is going to be big. We hope the newly minted blogging bike advocates will keep up the good fight and transform their landscape into a beautiful livable paradise.