The Block Party at the End of the Longest Cycling Event in Dallas History

By Danny Fulgencio Mon., Oct. 12 2009 at 3:26 PM

Categories: Events, Things We Like

Danny Fulgencio

Nate Lightfoot placed third in the art competition and offered up his Sharpie so others could tag his ice cream bike's cooler.

In a dark alleyway beside the Oak Cliff Bicycle Company the crowd counts down in unison: "Three ... two ... one ... GO!" And they're off: two cyclists pedal with such fury their legs melt into a blur reminiscent of old Warner Bros. cartoons. The bikes shake; the crowd cheers. The projection screen clocks the bicycles in excess of 50 mph -- even though they remain stationary. Twelve seconds later the race is over. Amidst applause, one man climbs off his bike breathing heavily. "I think I'm going to throw up," he says.

GoldSprint bike races drew a thick crowd when several hundred cyclists turned out for the
Tyler Street Block Party in Oak Cliff on Saturday. The brouhaha, slightly damp from a light drizzle and a visit from Dallas's finest, marked another milestone toward the finish line for Bike Friendly Oak Cliff's 10-day bicycle extravaganza, Cyclesomatic. And we've got the slide show to prove it.

Matt & Rob's Backyard BBQ and Urban Dog Coffee kept the masses fed and warm while judges from KERA and Reach Media deliberated on entries in the art bike competition. Among contestants was R.J. van der Wegem whose bike sculptures were featured at The Cube Creative, Mighty Fine Arts and Decorazon.

Later in the evening, The Happy Bullets rocked out to an assembly of toe-tapping attendees. Just around the corner, Denton's Texas-Toast fixie crew ripped up 7th Street with an acrobatic barrage of bike tricks. The Boom Boom Box closed the evening around 11 p.m.; bless them for
rattling the foundation with a set including red lights and a smoke machine. They likely left their audience with something more lasting than fond memories -- more like, tinnitus.

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