24 Hours of Fixed Gear Gallery

My 24 Hours of Fixed Gear Gallery Submission
Start: October 23, 2009 - Noon
Finish: October 24, 2009 - Noon

With no racing scheduled at the Superdrome (our local velodrome) for Friday night I was free to explore after work on my fixie. Normally, I would bolt home, grab the track racer and join the fray for a night of racing. Instead, I had the commuter and decided to ride south to downtown Dallas for an evening of adventuring around town. This isn't my first trip downtown, but the last trip was on a BMX bike I lovingly refer to as the FBomb. I had so many photos that I decided to get creative with some collages.

1. Katy Trail: About 10 miles out from the office I paused at SMU to take a shot of the football field. There was a game Friday night and, as always in the south, the crowds were out for an evening of football. Passed there I rode down the Katy trail. It is a rails to trails program that connects SMU to Uptown Dallas, right at Victory Plaza and the American Airlines Center.

2. Outline: I stopped to take a shot of this downtown building outlined in green neon, then had some dinner. It was leftover from lunch (second half of a giant Jersey Mike's sub) where I had chatted up some people about Thursday night's showing of "Race Across the Sky" an inspiring movie about the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. My dinner spot was surrounded by fountains and it lent a serene feeling to the evening.

3. Arts District: Last weekend they opened the new Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theater of Performing Arts in the arts district of Dallas. These are right next door to the Meyerson Symphony and the Dallas Museum of Art. It is really nice to see culture and arts invading Dallas culture. The interior of the Opera House is stunning and exterior design is equally impressive. The giant slatted roof/awning is made of airfoils.

4. City Hall: As much as the main photo looks like an alien creature checking me out while I snap a picture... it is actually a three piece sculpture. I also ventured to the Dallas Convention Center to check out the bronzed cattle drive, a DART train whizzing passed and a view of "South Side on Lamar". I wanted to get up on top to the heliport but security stopped me before I could make it up the ramp.

5. Train Ride: Well after dark I grabbed a train heading North out of town and snagged a reflected self portrait as well as a shot of my trusty steed on the train and the empty train station in downtown Plano. From there I rode 10 miles of bike trail back toward home and stopped to appreciate the Veteran's Memorial along the way. Saturday morning I was out of bed early to get on my geared bike and join my LBS for 55 miles of country roads. I completely forgot to take photos during the ride, and for that I am a bit annoyed with myself.