Chris Baab was a presence in the DFW cycling community, and there was nobody more dedicated to helping, encouraging and mentoring others.
Chris always had a ready smile and a joke or two, and was perpetually creating opportunities for old and new friends to join up for a ride. He was a true ambassador for cycling. He was loved and respected by many, and was truly one of a kind.
A Go Fund Me campaign has been established to raise funds to create memorial tribute benches in some of Chris’s favorite trails around the DFW area, including River Legacy Park and Trinity Trails.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/chris-baab-memorial-tribute-benches
We welcome your contribution to help to establish these lasting tributes to Chris. They’ll offer riders a brief rest stop, a place to gather, reflect and connect, and remember what Chris meant to our community.
Please visit the Go Fund Me site and share your favorite Chris photos and stories as we collect stories for his family and loved ones.
MORE ABOUT THE PLAN:
Dennis Welpe, the trail steward for River Legacy Mountain Bike Trails, helped with connecting me to the Parks of Arlington. We are planning for a bench (to match existing park benches) to be placed along the dirt trails with a plaque. Dennis helped to scout out the perfect location.
Mayor Betsy Price opened the door to the City of Fort Worth Parks Department, where there’s more flexibility. We have the opportunity along Trinity Trails to do something beyond a standard bench. These plans will offer a place to gather as well as sit—and that is even more representative of Chris and his love of cycling.
A Park Planner and architect, Patrick (a cyclist who just moved to the area), took his inspiration for this design from a brief discussion where we talked about Chris and the places he loved riding to get creative with some potential design concepts. We really fell in love with the design idea: a bicycle image in form with multiple sitting areas, facing the river along the Trinity Trail! When standing on the trail you will be able to see the bike formed of benches and seats of different types and shapes.
We look forward to all of us celebrating Chris and his joy of riding as we meet at or ride to these wonderful tributes!
UPDATE:
You all are AMAZING! We did it, we met the $10K goal. We have the funds to get the ball rolling on the two tribute projects to honor our friend Chris Baab! Please continue to share, and if you haven’t donated yet, please know yours is still welcome and will go to enhancing the project further! We are keeping the Go Fund Me open, welcoming additional donations, as the Trinity Trail project has no limitation. Additional funds could increase seating within the design or incorporate additional features such as a water fountain. We will get more formalized plans for the existing funds to share with you soon, and some ideas on how additional funds could enhance the plans. And, we will continue to apprise of progress along the way! Again, THANK YOU ALL!