Cycling Oasis Inside the Loop

Often Houstonians, upon seeing a strange two-wheeled, pedal-powered machine and its apparently human rider, ask themselves, “why bike?” Why subject yourself to the hotter-than-Hades, muggy, when it-rains-it-pours, car-happy labyrinth of narrow death gauntlets that is this city? Even walking to your destination is often scoffed at with the similar disbelief or misconstrued scorn as cycling.

Certainly transportation outside of personal automobiles is reserved as a lower-tiered necessity of the destitute and poor, right? Should we not continue running from building, to automobile, to traffic, like hermit crabs chanced upon a shiny new shell? Or rather, is there something to hardening that soft body by peddling against the current?

Well, in proper Houston fashion, this city’s answer to cycling is just as bifurcated and motley as the no-zoning urban design. One can find bums on old cruisers laden with prized clothes and bedding, possible immigrant workers on three-speed mountain bikes headed to the proverbial job site, or the typical avid road biker covered in the latest, multicolored polycarbonate and spandex powering through on a shiny thousand-dollar mount. Communities vary widely in Houston, as do the strength and organization of the cyclists and the individual riders themselves. Surely this bi-wheel-diversity is caused by the isolation of communities circumscribed by roads and highways.

Most local riders who have braved the humid pothole-pocked streets agree on one thing: Houston has potential. Despite the rush hour of hummer-encased, angry commuters that never ends, there is a space and desire for change. One finds a definite need for a healthy system of bike lanes, paths and bike friendly neighborhoods, and a greater awareness of existing bike laws that are common in other places. Vibrant, people-friendly, urban landscapes such as Boulder, Colo. or Portland, Ore. are shining examples of what could be.

The inner loop has the inadequate METRORail that only connects downtown to the medical district. There are plans to expand the rail system, but only barely. Bikes are allowed on the METRORail but at the metro driver’s discretion and bikes are not allowed during rush hour. The rail is certainly nice for the communities connected by it. However, it’s simply a patch job where a whole new style of dress is needed.

Alternatively, a decent rail and bus system could pulse at the city’s center supplemented by bike friendly streets. At least, the bus system did have bike racks installed very recently after the racks apparently sat in a warehouse for years. However, the bus system is notoriously slow and inefficient and has been known “to take an hour and half to go one mile,” according to Russ Wirtjes, a local bike mechanic at Blue Line Bike Labs.

However, there are exceptions to the anti-alternative transport trend of Houston. Russ’s boss, a local enthusiast and shop owner, Fred Zapalac believes the Houston Heights is such a place. A hardened, avid cyclist, tattoos up his arm, Fred owns and operates Blue Line with his brother, David Zapalac. Both of them have been avid riders for years and grew up in the area. Fred is quick to say that he hasn’t lived in Houston his whole life although he was born and raised here. He’s familiar with the terrain of the Texas hill country and Northern California.

As the first bike shop in the Heights, Blue Line is basic and well equipped, but covered in style such as a snazzy mural and design on the outside walls. Fred Zapalac and his team seem to understand what bikers of all treads need. From lazy Dutch cruisers to fiery downhill set ups, bikes line the far wall in four rows; sections of the space offer tires, seats, and all the accessories and parts one could desire.

A couple of blocks down, Heights Boulevard has the premiere, if not only, example of proper bike lanes in Houston that line a well planned jogging trail set to a backdrop of beautiful trees.

“The Heights really draws young professionals from outside of the Houston area because it reminds them of cool places in California, or New Orleans, or the Northeast,” said Fred Zapalac. “The architecture and the artisan style draws people in with a little bit more progressive ideas than many Houston locals.”

Cycling awareness and recognition is on the rise in Houston. Bike events stand out, especially the MS 150, a 13,000 cyclist strong multiple sclerosis benefit race.

“It’s the largest in the nation and that’s huge,” explains Fred Zapalac. “It is very likely that if you don’t ride in the race, your sister does, or somebody at work does. So, all of a sudden it’s made cyclists into real people instead of some crazy nuts.”

True to his trade, Fred Zapalac has followed the road, or forest path, to which his calling adheres. He doesn’t see the world like a normal commuter, but rather, he sees bikes and bikeways. What is a perfect byway for cars is a “dangerous place for riders, like Shepherd or Waugh,” he laments. “The number one thing that could help Houston and the Heights is building a pedestrian/cycling bridge that spans Memorial and Allen Parkway so that there is a safe way to get from the North side of the city to the South Side.”

Such a project might resemble the old rail bridge over White Oak Bayou, once a graffitied relic of the Heights’ industrial rail era, now being converted into a walking and biking bridge.

“That thing was supposed to be finished months ago, but at least it’s happening,” says Fred Zapalac. Houston does often come up with too little too late in these areas. But in the end, one is inclined to see it as this optimistic tattooed rider does. “It’s getting better all the time, ya know what I mean?” he declares with a sly smile.

Photo Credit: Jamie Lockard

© 2009 – 2010, Philip Huffeldt. All rights reserved by Sub Urban Media Group.