Yeah, that’s the bike but it’s not the setting it was supposed to be.
When I go for a ride I generally head out of town. The thing is, as the years pass it takes longer and longer to get out of town. What that means, though, is that I see it happening as the city grows.
I went out Sunday (funny how I never have to specify what bike I was on any more) and headed out to the southeast. My only destination starting out was Tagawa Gardens where I wanted to see if they had something I wanted to wrap up some landscaping we just had done out front. Might as well make this ride productive as well an enjoyable. They didn’t have what I was looking for but a lady there suggested a way I could handle the situation with materials on hand. Good suggestion–thanks.
Now where to? I was on Parker Road so I just kept going to Parker. Through Parker and then I took a right onto Hess Road, heading west. Hess is far enough south that it’s still largely undeveloped along there, particularly on the south side of the road. That won’t last. Check back in two years, unless we have a recession and the housing industry tanks. Then maybe three or four years.
Oh, and I might mention, it was a beautiful, sunny, warm spring day. Great day to be out riding. As usual I was over-dressed but never felt too warm except once when I was stuck going slow. Certainly never turned the electric vest on. But I was wearing it.
As I was approaching I-25 I came upon some huge earth-moving operation. This is new. The road is rising to meet the interstate and along the north side there was this large retaining wall. Hmm?
I got a little higher and there was a completely flat, broad expanse, with another retaining wall rising up at the other end. The cut the hill away at the high end, used that dirt as fill at the low end, with the two walls to hold it all in place. What the heck are they doing here? You could fit a high school onto that flat.
They are also realigning the road that I intended to go north on, just before reaching I-25. So I missed it and had to do a U-turn to get back to the new turn. Crossed the area being altered on a temporary bit of pavement and a really interesting perspective. I stopped and got off and shot a couple photos.
It was a good shot. The bike parked in the middle of what had been the road, with barriers behind it, asphalt suspended in midair behind the barriers, and off behind that a good bit of the construction project visible. The sun was so bright I had a hard time seeing the image on the screen but I trusted the camera would do its work just fine. Except that when I got home and tried to take a look they were not there. How did I screw that up?
From there it was the usual roads home. But they’re nice roads, basically frontage roads along I-25 and pretty, with the mass and mess of the interstate in clear view right over there.
So–a good ride.
Biker Quote for Today
Riding a motorcycle is like tasting freedom with every breath.
