I just barely caught my train to Dallas; I was running late and just barely got there in time after racing to the station. About halfway to Dallas, the tracks pass some illegal dirt trails near highway 360 often used by Motocrossers, ATVers, and the occasional mountain biker.
Suddenly I heard the air brakes of the train activate, HARD. The conductor started laying on the horn for an unusually long time. Just as I realized the train was trying to stop to avoid something on the track (it takes a half mile to stop a train), we heard a crash and felt something go under our feet and be dragged along by the train.
When the train finally came to a stop, the conductor and engineer came hauling ass through the cars to get off the train. I heard on the radio, "Did you hit him, did you hit him." And the answer was, "I don't know, I didn't see him get out of the way"
Turns out some knucklehead dad was riding his dirt bike across the track. His son followed but his bike got stuck. Dad and son were trying to pull the bike off the track as the train approached, but couldn't get it. They bailed just before the train hit the bike and dragged it all the way across the railroad bridge that crosses 360. After they pulled their bike from under the train's wheels, and the conductors did a safety check, especially of the brakes which had just been used pretty dramatically, we were rolling again. Here's a picturce of the MotoKnuckleHeads that I took out of the front window of the train:
The conductors did quick stops after that, and despite a 20 minute delay, by the time we got to Dallas they had made up all but 4 of those minutes. Four minutes isn't even enough for the TRE to consider it a "late train" according to a conductor I talked to.
I learned lots of cool Kennedy trivia I didn't know previously. I also thought it was interesting that the old Parkland hospital where JFK was taken after he was shot, is now abandoned and vacant. This is a place where a U.S. President was declared dead after an assassination, and it's boarded up with nary a historical marker. Now, I realize that this is a dubious distinction, but it just seems like there should be a little more respect for that piece of history.
Here's a couple of shots at the finish. Fittingly, since I had already drank many a Fat Tire, the photos are blurry. This is a pretty accurate depiction of what I saw at the finish:
Me on the train coming home, where I chatted with the conductor about that mornings motorcycle incident:
Then, getting from the T&P Station and home, after not having any incidents of my own all day on the mean streets of Dallas (though I did see a couple of nasty crashes in the race), I was cutting through the Paris Coffee Shop parking lot to avoid a light, got my front wheel caught in a crack that was way deeper than it looked in the dark, and ended up eating asphalt. Less than a mile from home! CRAP!:
14 comments:
Actually, I think the old hospital closed in the mid 50's... although it is a really cool building. It is very Dallas-like to take an incredible historic building and board it up though. I'm surprised that they haven't torn it down yet.
There is a plaque at (current)Parkland where JFK was pronounced IIRC. Once of those things where I spent probably a billion hours there but never really paid attention to it.
Thanks for representin' though! I wish I could have gone.
Well, I did some research... turns out Parkland did move to the new location in the '50s (1954 to be exact), but the old location remained open with its 143 beds until 1974. Then it was a minimum security county jail and the office of the Sheriff's Department until sometime in the '80s. It's been boarded up since then.
In retrospect, I'm guessing the race stop was at "Old Parkland" because there was less chance of a bunch of Grungy bike messengers drinking fat tire causing a problem with the hospital police. We'd have been arrested at new Parkland for sure.
Nice job representing FW, Bernie!
Results?
Well... since I was the only one from FW there... I guess I can make up my results...
I won! I slayed. It was epic. You shoulda been there.
Sorry about your wreck. I can tell from your face that what the conductor had to say was riveting.
Tell me, what is up with those padded tube protectors on the messengers bikes. To protect from heavy chain locks?
Methinks it to be more fashion than function.
More to protect the top tube from getting scratches and paint streaks when leaning up against the pole the bike is locked to.
Also makes the top tube more comfy to sit/lean on when hanging out.
They are fashionable? Dang, gotta get me one.
Like I said, totally for fashion concious dudes like bernie who are too afraid of getting paint scratches to actually go ride. What a lame-o.
Actually, I'm so lame I don't even have one. All my bikes have scratches on the top tubes. Several of my bikes even have big dents on the top tube.
And everywhere else. I fall down a lot.
Of course i spoke in jest, all the while knowing your top tubes were padless and that you in fact are not a velo-fashionista. Maybe we could all start a trend though by padding up our entire frames and putting those old huffy bmx spoke covers on that made the entire wheel appear solid.
Like this.
Wow, that hurts my eyes to look at it too long.
Sweet! Someone vomited a box of crayons on that bike!
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