Hi
I just moved to Dallas this week, and I have a 6 hour ride scheduled for Sunday. The only area I am familiar with is the White Rock Lake loop, but I can’t imagine doing that for 6 hours.
If anyone has any other suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. I am willing to drive to get there, as I am living close to downtown.
Thanks
Go to Richardson Bikemart in Richardson (Coit&Campbell). They have route maps for 40-50 mile rides that leave starting at 9 on Saturday mornings. I would recommend taking the east-west route (46 miles) and doing it twice plus some change. That is what I did for my 100s. I live up that way.
OR
Go to the RBM store on Garland Road (east side of WR Lake) and ask them for routes going east from Dallas toward Greenville. This may be the more convenient option for you if you live closer to WR.
I know lots of people who start in dallas and head out east, but waaayyy too much traffic getting out of town on a bike for me. I’m partial to the Cedar Hill/Grand Prairie/Mansfield area (since I live south). Cedar Hill has the only hills in Dallas Co., and you can ride out from Joe Pool Lake towards Mansfield or Venus and get a good ride in. Less traffic too. Just my 2 cents
Jago-
You could go look at the “Prarie Man” route at Joe Pool Lake - 54 miles / 2 loops
Hook up with Richardson Bike Mart at the 7-11 on the South side of the lake - http://www.miragecycling.org/events/rides/
WR loop would get a little boring after 12 laps!
Hope this helps
Thanks for the suggestions.
LOL… just checked the weather report… seems Rita might make things a little wet and windy on Sunday
No doubt, the lake does get boring! But it’s easy. No traffic, no lights and little or no risk of getting hit. It’s a 10 mile loop. To break up the monotony I’ll do a few laps and then head out on one of the main arteries for an hour or so before returning to the lake for more boredom … err, I mean laps.
Try catching Northwest Highway on the North side of the lake and head East to Shiloh. From there I turn North and then work my way back to LBJ and Hillcrest where you can pick up a bike trail that leads back to the lake.
For some hill work (rather, Dallas-sized rollers) catch Ross Avenue off of the lake and head through downtown and across the Trinity River bridge to Oak Cliff.
If a group ride interests you at all you can meet at the 7-11 store at the lake at 7:30. They usually get a pretty good turnout. Richardson Bike Mart has great group rides that leave from their store mid-morning. Obviously these won’t get you 6 hours but you might combine it with riding solo.
One redeeming factor of the lake is the people watching. Several marathon programs training in the morning and plenty of bikers as well. Lots of “talent” to see. 
I’m there most weekends. Hope to see you there.
Heh heh. I did the WRL loop 12 times to get one of my 100+ mile rides in last year. Boy was that mind-numbing. Your best bet is to get out of Dallas proper… obviously. McKinney has some good rides, with some surprising hills. Check out some of the routes on the local rallies. Check out http://www.bicycletexas.com/dallas.htm for a list of rallies. The websites will usually have the route maps.
I do WRL a couple times a week (rode 30 and ran 9 last night there) but prefer Joe Pool area on the weekends. I also did one 12 lapper getting ready for IMFL and found it very similarr to race conditions, you can stay aero for hours, some wind, and the best part for me is no lights and little traffic to worry about. If riding out there on the weekend, I prefer to start after 9AM when it is heating up and all the runners are heading home. Like others have mentioned, the RBM ride is good if you want a group thing. ps…on Tuesday nights several girls XC teams run the loop…
Dude! How old are you? Thos XC runners are high school girls!
I just moved here too! Just in time for a week of record heat and an impending hurricane!
I’m in the Mid-Cities area…any suggestions for me? I’m more than willing to drive for the long stuff, but need some help with the shorter, weekday stuff.
G
forget the Bike Mart crowd. Ride with Plano Bicycle Association. Much more friendly crowd, and they have better routes IMO.
The interactive map on Bike Web is pretty nice.
http://www.dfwinfo.com/trans/bikeweb
For Mid Cities routes, try the following page at Bicycles, Inc:
You can also check out some of the local Tri clubs. Dallas Athlestes (www.dallasathletes.com) has a swim at lake grapevine and a bike ride after on Sunday (weather permitting). The ride is normally 30 miles, but there is usually someone who will go longer.
Josh
I live out in the Lucas (east of Allen, TX) are and there are several routes I take where I can ride for 2+ hours on smooth back country roads and not see more than 4 cars. Nice rolling hills too. Drop me a PM and I can hook you up with some good routes.