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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Closing of the Bridge

Regular readers of my blog may have noticed that many of my posts mention the Walnut Street Bridge. Going to town and back, this Bridge is part of my regular commute and one of the things that make riding to work so pleasant. I have never ridden it without getting a sense of being gifted that this is part of my route. The view, the people, the events, everything, makes the ride always different and always enjoyable.




In December the bridge has been closed for repairs and will remain closed until May. Though the repairs need to be done and in the process the wooden part of the bridge will be extended to make it more appealing, it is TOUGH not having access to it.










I have the choice of going to the left,over the Veterans Bridge or to the right over the Market Street Bridge. The Veterans Bridge have on and off ramps and the speed of the cars is faster. But there are wide shoulders. The Market Street Bridge has been newly redone and it is beautiful in its own right. The lanes are narrow and in riding the bike it is necessary to take the lane completely. Early morning motorists don't appreciate that.





Which bridge to take? While I enjoy the Market Street Bridge more, Veterans is faster and closer to where I need to go. So I have been taking that.

Except I keep forgetting to make the left turn that will get me to the bridge. Many mornings I am approaching the Walnut Street Bridge before I remember, in which case I proceed to the Market Street Bridge. Adds to my ride. Which I don't mind-unless it makes me late...which it often does...make a note-remember to make that left turn or leave the house earlier!



All three Bridges

Icy Summer (Snow II)

 Its been a month since my last post. Holidays, being under the weather and life in general has kept me away. So here it is a month after the snow of December post and I am posting about snow again.


The fact that we had snow just once month apart is unusual. And what is most unusual about this month's snow is it is staying around. In December, while we got more snow, it was completely gone by noon of that day. This snow, because of our string of exceedingly cold days, what little we had has stayed around. And turned icy.

Yes, I am still biking in this cold and ice. I will post later my experiences of riding in this frigid cold, Riding Friday into work was not difficult once I got out onto the main roads but traveling my neighbor roads was a little treacherous. While going down hills I made sure I didn't make any sudden moves. Going up Summer was quite a trip though. I was making my way up when suddenly I lost traction. I had hit the ice.Jumping off the bike befoe completely loosing it, I then had the challenge of standing upright .  I took a deep breath and looked up Summer, which  is a very steep hill. This is what I saw-



Just one giant sheet of ice. Up hill. Ugh! I slowly made my way up, at times loosing ground and sliding back. I could see from the car tracks that I was not the only one having trouble. People of the south really don't know how to deal with this. Snow tires for my bike?