Mar 192013
I can’t say I ever would have thought to check trail conditions before going out on a road bike ride. As it turns out, when your plan includes a riverside path in early spring, checking on the conditions of said path is highly advisable. What I thought was just some dirt across the path ended up being two inches of river-deposited, slippery mud. By the time I realized what was going on and saved a near crash, it was too late. So much for my nice, clean, pretty new bicycle. It lasted all of 25 miles before getting properly “broken in.”
A mile or so after the mud, the bike path was completely submerged. I was forced up onto surface streets, seeking a detour that would take me far enough south to miss both the swollen portions of the river and the construction. The detour signs were a little confusing and I missed a turn at first, but was a happy coincidence that led me to a familiar landmark:
I didn’t go in, owing to my muddied shoes and cleats that would tear up the floor, but it’s on the list now, especially knowing that I can ride there from my doorstep without much trouble. Standing there, with my decidedly modern garb and fast, modern bicycle, I wondered what Orville and Wilbur would have made of our current bicycles. I’d like to think they’d be proud of how far the science has come, which they embraced so early and with such passion.