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October 29, 2006

Hello Darkness My New Friends (Or, Powder on the Tracks)

Last Friday and of course that means another Downtown Highlife Bicycle Club ride. Brad and I arrived at the Alamo at exactly 9pm to find a group twice as large as last month (10×2=20), which was an exciting development because we did next to nothing to get the word out, or put another way, we took a laissez faire approach and surrendered to the market forces. But what really happened was Brian emailed a bunch of people to show up, and in the email, he hinted that I might be wearing a costume, which is funny because it’s the one thing I said I wouldn’t do. So what was the theme for the ride? Obviously, Halloween.

At about 9:15, after some hellos and how are yous to the new riders we headed south on Alamo Street. Right by the Convention Center we passed the bagpipe players diligently working their craft, which gave the cool night an exotic sendoff.

Very quickly we took the southern route on Presa Street and made the long road towards the great evil beyond our midst, the Ghost Tracks. A few minutes later I overheard one rider say something like, “Last time I rode this block I wiped out on my bike.” And then what happened? He wiped out on his bike. Only a madman would attribute this to something other than the dark forces at work. Now that I think about it, at that moment I believe I was telling Brian about Donkey Lady Bridge…

At the VFW road we headed west towards the Mission Drive-In 4 and then quickly turned south along the banks of the San Antonio River. The blackness was enveloping. At a rare streetlight we pulled over for the first real break. Lone Star tallboys began to emerge from unseen bags. It was at this point that we realized Brad was no longer with us. And I don’t mean that he was dead, but even if he was only half-dead on the side of the road he would know better than anyone that no one is bigger than the ride. So, we kept riding. But only after I left him a message on his cell phone and found out that he had a flat and was doing fine, though bummed beyond belief.

30 minutes later we arrived at the destination – the Ghost Tracks. Many of the riders hadn’t heard of the Ghost Tracks and were wondering why there was a line of cars waiting to ride across the train tracks. The legend is that a school bus of children were killed by a train at the tracks, though Brad had earlier dropped a bomb hinting that it actually never happened. Funny, and Brad somehow got a flat tire and had to leave the ride…

The highlight of the night might have been this partial exchange I overheard between Ben (one of the many riders from the Lake/Flato crew) and a guy applying baby powder to the back of his car.

Ben: Yeah, I think I saw one of the babies when I rode across the tracks.
Guy: Really? (Getting very excited)
Ben: I felt one of them give me a push as I went across.
Guy: Wow. Was that scary?
Ben: No, it was cool. I mean, they’re just kids.

The ride back went smoothly and most of us retired to the Texas T pub to discuss costume ideas, Freddy Fender’s legacy, and whether the drag queen at the bar was in a Halloween costume or just her normal attire. Yes, it was a good night.

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