splendid day for dupont circle

the energy of the city is on its corners and in its parks
days like today were made for hanging in dupont circle
I did not have time to hang in dupont... but I did have time to pass through

dupont has gone through many evolutions
it has been gay for a long time
the fruit loop is no new nickname to this place
but the park itself has gone through an evolution
an evolution in my lifetime alone

a park that has always been moderately safe

there were times where there were more homeless people
there were times when this park was a punk rock mecca
there was a time when this park was heavily infested with the messenger population

legend and lore have images of a sea of bicycles
so many bicycles in the center of the circle that there had to be the creation of a path through the chaos of wheels and frames

legend and lore also contains images of kegs tucked in the bushes and 40s in brown bags

this legend occurs in an era before the alleycat
but racing happened just the same
three lap races around the park in traffic were part of the energy
nothing official
no official start
nothing like stop watches or prizes
just folks riding their bikes in traffic around the circle really fast

legend tells it that the law worked very hard to break up the bicycle contingent in the park