Possible Sighting of the Vehicle of the City's First Bicycle Tourist

Motorscooter with Tamaulipas plate moored at La Plaza at Brownsville Terminal

The scooter above reminds us of Kevin Costner's promise in The Field of Dreams:  "If you build it, they will come." Is the unknown rider of this vehicle, locked into a city bike rack, Brownsville's first bicycle tourist?

We can only hope.

This impoverished city has gone out of its way to "build it," be bicycle-friendly, not only with trails, but also bike rentals and convenient bike parking. City Commissioner Rose Gowen has raved about the millions of dollars of revenue this emphasis on cycling will generate for the city, even speaking glowingly about the type of tourists who will visit Brownsville just to ride the trails, describing them as having "an annual income of $190,000, no $200,000 and an average of at least two advanced degrees."

To promote such bicycle tourism, the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation spent $7,000 to display the postcard on the left in the lobby of the Valley International Airport in Harlingen so that passengers disembarking would be reminded to bring their bicycles next time they landed at H-town.

Caricature of Ramiro Gonzalez by Nena

The city's Goodwill Ambassador, Ramiro Gonzalez, also a bike visionary, once mentioned on a grant application that over "1,000 riders" used the Battlefield Trail daily into Linear Park.  While that "vision" has not yet materialized, it can be a foregleam into the city's prosperous future, enhanced by cycling travelers.