I rode over the PerformanceBike to pick up a bottom bracket that had ordered a few weeks ago. Then I hopped the DART Rail to the Vernon/Tyler station (I was going to get off at 8th St & Corinth but the train blew through without stopping).
I was surprised to see the sharrows along the streets—I'm not sure if the city put them in place or the locals took it upon themselves. I gotta say, I love the wide outside lanes in Oak Cliff. They actually ARE big enough to accommodate a bicycle and a car (all of the WOLs I see in North Dallas aren't wide enough to be of much use).
Anyway, I didn't know anyone at the event but there were a few friendly folks who came up and chatted with me. STEW played a great set and the BBQ was tasty (I gotta get some of that sauce for cooking out at the house).
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is one of my favorite movies—I was just out of high school when it came out. I found a spot on a rise along the wall, in the alley and watched it from atop Big Red. It worked out well because I could see over the people who were coming and going.
Once the movie was over, I ran over to 7-11 to refill my coffee mug and water bottle. I came back to the shop to hang out for a few minutes before heading to the train station. I took 8th Street over to Corinth and got to the station with 20 minutes to wait for the next train. I decided to point the bike towards home and just keep pedaling.
I used to be a delivery driver in Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove. I don't know if things have changed since the mid-80's but we had several drivers get robbed in the area around City Park. So, rather than ride through that area, I turned North on Akard and went toward Downtown. At City Hall, I came up on a half dozen other riders, heading home from the Block Party. They were good people and we chatted as we went through Downtown. We rode together until Hall St where they turned off to Old East Dallas and I headed over to the Santa Fe Veloway.
Once I got across Gaston and around the South end of the lake, I felt like I was back on "home turf." I cut off at San Rafeal and took residential streets the rest of the way home. When I got to the house, I realized that I got home before the train would have dropped me at the White Rock Station, which is four miles away.
Aside from my daughter not being along for the ride, I guess my only regret was that I opted to ride the train to Oak Cliff. I could have just jumped on the WRCT at Walnut Hill after I got done at Performance Bike. The MUP would have taken me to Winstead and then I would have had the same route to get there that I took home.
Overall, a fun day on the bike. I hope they do more stuff like this.