Dallas in the Big Ring

In the big ring? Of course I was in the big ring today. I was riding in Dallas. I've never seen anything so flat. I barely needed to change gears. In fact, cyclists here only need about three gears, and there is certainly no need for the small chainring. Here is the profile from today's 139km ride:

And here is the profile from a typical ride in Europe (NB: the y-axis is meters, not feet):

Speaking of pancakes, I am told that Dallas has more restaurants per capita than any other US city. It makes sense. Every road is lined with fast food chains. This is just a small selection, including the Crab Shack, Olive Garden (one of my least favorites), Spring Creek and El Fenix:

All the bad food and huge portions explains why Texans drive massive trucks. I don't think a yocal could fit into a Honda Civic:

Although, I have to admit these restaurants are damn good. An "In-n-Out Burger" opened just around the corner from my friend's apartment last week. It was so good, Sanjiv and I went twice in one day. The restaurant was packed not only with customers, but with staff too:

Our multiple trips to In-n-Out Burger were followed by a lunchtime visit to Five Guys for a cheeseburger and fries the next day. And that was followed by ice-cream. I sound like a Texan:

Water towers are a fixture of the mid-west and south. We never see them in the northeast:

This is another fixture of the south. I lost count of the number of churches I passed today:

Dallas is surrounded by housing developments. The house number on the mail box is the only way to identify a building. They all look the same. But you could probably say the same about people in the northeast and their obsession with Brooks Brothers:

Bur more importantly, Medellin: T minus 68 hours and counting...


In the meantime, here are more photos from the big ring:

There is plenty of road to share.