Hiking Trails and a Mustang museum

Last week we were scouting where to go in flat as pancake Dallas. Wondering what to do. We decided to check out some hiking trail in Las Colinas town about 15 miles from Lewisville. Thinking it would be some interesting wilderness and tough hiking we started driving towards Las Colinas.

The Mustangs of Las Colinas is nothing but a large courtyard in front of a building where life like bronze sculptures of mustand horses have been installed. These mustangs appear as if they are running through a stream of water (fountain) and are pretty interesting. The sculptures are executed well and look realistic.

The hiking trail was nothing but a paved path through some countryside. Dallas has a lot of creeks and springs which flow throughout the year. Some of them are also fed by the city's drainage while the others are fairly clean. But the one good thing about these creeks is that there is no trash visible, there maybe drainage but it is only water, not plastics, paper or anything else. Moreover on both sides of the creek, the are is landscaped with good lawns and these are maintained pretty well. I don't know how the city's administration raises budgets for this, especially when the state government does't levy any income tax on its 4 million citizens (a few millions lesser than Bangalore's population) but Texas is several times larger than Bangalore. That perhaps explains the low real estate value and sparse population in the state. One can buy an excellent, fully furnished home for about $250,000 (Rs.1 crore) with a nice garden, sited in one of the better residential localities in suburban Dallas. But in Bangalore getting a piece of land for that price is difficult.

Coming back to the hiking trail it is just a paved path for people to walk/ bike (bicycle) and children to skate. The path passes through a nice green forest and grassland, this is what it is all about. We opted out of walking the trail and just drove back to Mary's home.

Roaming in Dallas

Have been leading quite a stagnant life since the past nearly two weeks. In Dallas, the flat-as-pancake state of US. Have been browsing about various places around here and visiting the city's main and interesting localities. There are hoardes of Spanish speaking people here. Many a time I have been mistaken to be Hispanic and addressed to in Spanish :).


One thing in the cities I have visited, I haven't seen any newspaper shops. The little shop selling odds and ends along with newspapers and magazines which is so common in Indian towns and cities is absent here. Magazines sell in all super markets while daily newspapers are sold through machines. Yes machines sell newspapers, much like the coin telephones in India. There are machines to sell water, coke and newspaper too. Here is the picture of couple of vending machines installed on pavement in a strategic location in downtown Dallas.



Last week my good friend George Dailey took me aroud downtown Dallas showing me how spaces have changed and are being managed by the city administration. George also treated me to a nice Tex-Mex lunch of cheese enchilada and rice at a cool restaurant in downtown known as Meanies. After the meal we made a beeline to Dallas downtown. Among the several landmarks we breezed past was the Dallas Museum of Art.



For the first time since entering US, I saw a railway level crossing where a train was passing through. Surprising thing is that though there is no gates like in India, fast cars, super fast bikes and even walkers and cyclists waited patiently for about 15 minutes before the train actually arrived and crossed over after it had passed. And another surprise, the train didn't blow any whistle. This was a great experience of the discipline that is followed here.




George showed me the major landmarks of Dallas including the place where former US president the flamboyant Kennedy was assasinated, the old museum, the 6th floor museum, the neighbourhood where Dick Cheney lived etc etc. One thing I noticed in US which is very similar to India, polluting creeks and rivers with drainage. There is this water stream known as Turtle Creek which flows right through the town. Authorities have made the surrounding landscape beautiful by planting lawns and builiding walkaways on either sides of the creek but then there are places where I saw huge drain pipes emptying all kinds of water into the creek. I expected better here. At leasts the water should have been treated before being let into the creek....

Anyway a unique feature of this creek is the round dam.. what is this? George said that he would show me a dam that I would have never seen anything similar in my life. I was intrigued and curious. Then he pulled over and showed me this unique well-like round shaped dam. What they have done is to make the creek accumulate at one point and then flow under a bridge they have built a wall and made a lake kind of feature. Then in the middle is a round well like contruction which leads across the bridge into the creek. A unique dam never seen such a feature anywhere during my travels.


Then we went back to downtown where we visited the giant cowboy sculpture. In the middle of a park near the Dallas Convention Center, is installed a life size bronze sculpture series of a herd of cattle being herded by two horse borne cowboys. The sculptures are so well executed and life like it makes a pleasant picture of how life in Texas was before development and industry came into fore.


Here are some pictures of the cowboy memorial.

Pictures of the Boss Hoss demo
Some network problems I couldn't upload the pictures. Here are the pictures I have been able to upload. Enjoy and feel envious... I am one of the few Indians who have ridden this monster on two wheels or rather on three wheels... :).

Riding the Boss

Yesterday I had one of the best experiences in relation with motorcycles in the US. I not only rode my dream machine, the legendary Harley Davidson, but also the biggest motorcycle ever made in the world - a Boss Hoss. This is a 5700 cc, V-8 motorcycle which churns out 400 HP of sheer power and can go from 0 - 60 miles in just 2 seconds.

Boss Hoss specifications
V8, 355 HorsePower @ 5250 rpm,
103" long and 28" wide

Transmission:
Floor gear 5 speed automatic that can be switched to Manual.

Participating in the Boss Hoss demo was a unique experience. I read about the demonstration and availability of the bike for trial runs in the local newspaper Dallas Times last weekend. I immediately decided that I would go for the demo ride and if they allow me would take a spin on the machine.

More information about the demo ride

Afteer a chain of mails, Keerthi Jayasimha of Cramster Club put me in touch with Avatar Singh a Dallas-based member of the club who owned a Harley Davidson. I proposed to Avatar the idea of going to the demo and he agreed. Further Avatar also agreed to let me take a spin on his Anniversary specialedition HD.

Me and Padma drove to Avatar's home in Plano on Saturday morning and after introductions I went down to the garage and took a look at his gleaming bike which was being further shined by Avtar. Once we got ready I took a spin on the HD and then we took directions from Google Maps.

I must say here that it is impossible to get around without the software map powered directions in the US. There are so many roads, exits, entries, turnpikes (mega fly over), bridges, interstates, toll ways, etc etc. Miss a turn/ exit and you will be forced to drive another 50 miles to come back to the point where you missed the turn.

Armed with directions to the Boss Hoss showroom in Grand Prairie where where the demo was happening, we started off Avatar and me, two-up on the Harley while Padma followed us in the car. It was a noisy and swift 25 minute ride to Grand Prairie during which we touched speeds of 70 miles per hour on the Harley. Anyway as we pulled in front of the Boss Hoss showroom I was amazed to the see the size of the bikes and the engine's deep-throated drone.

The first demo ride of ten bikes and three trikes was just starting and the pilot gave an indication and all the automotives started with their deep throated roars. With every rev the sound sent shivers of thrill down my spine. I wanted to be there sitting on the bike and revving it and not just stand and watch. Anyway soon Padma pulled in and parked the car. We went into the showroom and I checked whether my India-issued international driving permit was accepted. The showroom people just said "As long as you are above 30 years of age and don't have a Canadian license you can ride the bike". We both filled in the forms which was basically an indemnity bond and took Trike card and helmets and went out to get onto the Trikes. Weighing 650 lbs (300 kg) the Boss is heavy.... so we decided to ride the trike aka the three wheeled Boss Hoss which is built like the old Delhi Phat Phatiya, front like a motorcycle and rear like a car.

Anyway we took our positions on the bike me riding and Padma seated on the wide seat constantly warning me to be careful. The pilots came and gave me a quick run through on the controls of the trike. It is an automatic with a reverse gear, can be converted to manual with 5 speed. "Ride this like an ATV. Take long turns" said the pilot. I turned the ignition and the Boss roared to life. The sound was mesmerising, as I revved once with foot firmly on the brakes, I realised the awesome power I had at my fingertips.

We rolled out in a single file formation onto the road and then the bikes just vroomed off into oblivion... a few seconds later I see only the taillights of Avatar's trike and the bikes had virtually disappeared. Then I revved and caught up with Avatar and the others who, seemed as if were miles ahead of me. Not used to riding on the right side of the road and sticking to lane driving was a definite disadvantage. So I decided not to speed up too much and stick to comfortable speeds around 30-40 mph. The first turn came and it seemed as if I was coaxing a reluctant elephant to change direction of motion.

After clearing the first turn the pilot rider behind me rode up and told me to take long turns and rev up to catch up with others. But at the next red light, everyone else cleared but me and another rider. So we waited and then revved up again and after couple of more turns we reached back to the Boss Hoss showroom. Whew... was I relieved to get off the bike... you bet I was... Next time once I get used to riding in the American way I will participate again and it will be a bike then...

On retrospect I was thinking how little I knew about bikes. I had always thought HD was a big bike ... but HD looked puny in front of the Boss Hoss. Truly Boss Hoss is the Boss... it has amazing power... 400 HP... and other tech specs are equally awe inspiring. Powered by 8 cylinder V style engines these bikes available in two categories (Bike and Trike) and several variants, possess raw power and to ride one on a regular basis is as good as inviting death. The power gives a rush of adrenaline... which isequvivalent to none... the pickup of the bike issimply great... 0-60 miles in 2 secs...

Here are some pictures of the bike and me riding the Boss Hoss Trike - a three wheeled version of the same. Avatar and me are perhaps the only Indians who have ever ridden a Boss Hoss.