It’s that time of year when we’re still on Daylight Savings Time in the USA and the sun is not rising in Austin until about 7:30 AM.
Makes for a rather dark 5:30 AM start for exercise around Lady Bird Lake, actually a river-like constant level reservoir on the Colorado River that gently flows through the Austin city center.
At this hour all is rather still and remarkably quiet.
There’s barely a soul to be seen at first, except for the occasional runner or cyclist coming towards me with their LED headlamps as the trail is quite dark in some spots.
Then I barely recognize a raccoon scamper across the dark trail in front of me. Yep a raccoon in the Austin city center.
At 5:45 AM the only sounds I hear are the crunching of runners’ shoes pounding the gravel trail (approaching me in the dark) that surrounds the lake.
At 6:00 AM there’s no wind and the lake is like glass. I stop to take a few more shots.
It’s still so quiet that I can clearly hear a rowing coach barking orders to the crew as it passes down the center of the lake.
At 6:45 AM the sky is just so slightly brightening and the colors are amazing against the skyline and the water.
By 7:00 AM the city comes alive. I hear the hum of commuter cars making their way in to the city.
The trains start rolling in. More runners and cyclists on the trail.
I’m not normally in the city center at this hour, let alone exercising!
However I do recommend that you give it a try once in awhile. It’s a lovely experience.
Last but not least there’s no shortage of hipster coffee shops open in the area once the sun comes up!
Pinky's Eye 