Tuesday, May 06, 2008
paving part of the commute
So, yesterday morning my boss came out of her office and said she had to move her car from where she'd parked it behind the library. It seems the city is reworking some sewer lines, and one of them runs along the length of Sproles, then up Lawton. Uh oh.
Going home for lunch yesterday I weaseled my way down the narrow strip of asphalt they hadn't yet ripped up, bumping over the grooves they'd cut to make the new stuff adhere better. Coming back to work was more interesting. They were using some machine that carved up asphalt and created huge black clouds of dust. Forget that. I decided to hop up onto the sidewalk, then muscled my way up the steep little dirt hillside to the loading dock, rocking over the roots and transitioning up onto the ramp.
I had a flashback to six or seven years ago and falling down after botching a crossing of a tree branch - now I was mixing cyclo-cross moves, trail riding, and fixed-gears, making the 28mm tires do what they were meant to do.
Today was even more interesting. The surface as I rode in a little after 7:00 was scarred and striped and grooved, full of old patches uncovered by the road work. I stayed loose and spun my way along and nodded to the guys in hard hats setting up for the day. Coming back home for lunch today involved going down the dirt hillside, then back to the service entrance for the dining hall. From there, over the nice new sidewalks with their sharp turns (watching out for pedal strikes!) and over the nice new footbridge that leads to the back of Centennial Hall. Across the parking lot, down Barksdale to its dead end on Henrietta, then home from there. Not too bad, and that's how I went back to work after lunch.
Ah, but when I left for the day today ... they'd finished the paving. I rolled out the back driveway, and lo and behold, they'd fixed that nasty transition between street and entryway. Smooth, easy, no more swearing under my breath when someone parked one foot further forward and forced me to bunny hop or post over the gap. Buttery smooth.
The asphalt was still slightly tacky under my tires, and there was a little clattering of tiny pebbles kissing the insides of my fenders, but the road was smoooooth.
Let's hope it stays that way for a while. ¶ 9:33 PM
Going home for lunch yesterday I weaseled my way down the narrow strip of asphalt they hadn't yet ripped up, bumping over the grooves they'd cut to make the new stuff adhere better. Coming back to work was more interesting. They were using some machine that carved up asphalt and created huge black clouds of dust. Forget that. I decided to hop up onto the sidewalk, then muscled my way up the steep little dirt hillside to the loading dock, rocking over the roots and transitioning up onto the ramp.
I had a flashback to six or seven years ago and falling down after botching a crossing of a tree branch - now I was mixing cyclo-cross moves, trail riding, and fixed-gears, making the 28mm tires do what they were meant to do.
Today was even more interesting. The surface as I rode in a little after 7:00 was scarred and striped and grooved, full of old patches uncovered by the road work. I stayed loose and spun my way along and nodded to the guys in hard hats setting up for the day. Coming back home for lunch today involved going down the dirt hillside, then back to the service entrance for the dining hall. From there, over the nice new sidewalks with their sharp turns (watching out for pedal strikes!) and over the nice new footbridge that leads to the back of Centennial Hall. Across the parking lot, down Barksdale to its dead end on Henrietta, then home from there. Not too bad, and that's how I went back to work after lunch.
Ah, but when I left for the day today ... they'd finished the paving. I rolled out the back driveway, and lo and behold, they'd fixed that nasty transition between street and entryway. Smooth, easy, no more swearing under my breath when someone parked one foot further forward and forced me to bunny hop or post over the gap. Buttery smooth.
The asphalt was still slightly tacky under my tires, and there was a little clattering of tiny pebbles kissing the insides of my fenders, but the road was smoooooth.
Let's hope it stays that way for a while. ¶ 9:33 PM
