60 Consecutive Days on the Bike-- Being a Tourist

Today was my 60th consecutive day on the bike.  Since that number corresponds with a milestone birthday that I'll be afflicted with this coming year, it's probably as good a place to stop as any, except that I really wanted to get more miles this month than last.

I had chores today that kept me busy until 2PM, only 2.5 hours until dark.  The weather was clear and cold, I had really hoped to ride 50 miles, but time was not on my side.

I put my front light in my pack, just in case, and pedaled out.

I had no planned route. Turns were made on last minute urges. I ended up riding toward Discovery Park.  Discovery Park is locally famous for being the birth place of Leo, an (in)famous cyclist known to many STPers. On the way up I stopped to read the informational sign at Kiwanis Ravine. I chuckled that when the Kiwanis donated the ravine property to the City to be used as a park, one of the agreements was that the area would remain in its natural state.  From this vantage point apartment buildings were built out from both sides over the ravine on stilts, covering all but the small creek at the bottom. There was also a project going on to stabilize the steep slopes.  All hardly natural.

I explored along the edges of Discovery Park.  I saw buildings that looked like they might have been an abandoned school, across the street was an institutional looking "office type building".  Even though there were no signs or markings, there were some clues as to what might be going on there.  Most of the vehicles in the parking lot had US Government license plates. I was riding down a road that had a dead end sign.  I continued down it until it dropped sharply and I could see the end a few hundred feet away.  I'm not that stupid.  I turned around and went into the park.

I have never been to the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center and took the opportunity today to stop in and look around.  Before entering I took in the great view from the front yard.

I turned and biked toward the building.

I took off my bike shoes so as to not damage the wood floors and walked in.
I was expecting a lot of public displays and informational kiosks.   There was some Native American art on the walls, but all of the first floor was open space (available for rent).  It seemed that most of the upstairs was office space.

After wandering around a bit I returned to the bike and pedaled up some of the car free roads/paths. I came to the rows of yellow housing that remains from the days when this area was Fort Lawton.  As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I didn't have a planned route.  I had the Garmin recording my ride, but had no route on it.  I wasn't sure exactly where I was (though I generally knew where I was)
The sign posts gave me some indication that I was at least still on the West Coast. ;-)

It was a couple of degrees above freezing, but with the shaded roads, there was still a lot of ice around.  Several times I got off the bike and walked over sheets of ice. A few other times while climbing the rear wheel would spin.  It was enough thrill to keep me on my toes most of the ride.

I exited the park and took turns to go back through Magnolia Center.  It was a nice day along the bluff.

I was taking conscious choices to end the ride.  The sun was going to be down soon, and temperatures would be going down.

When I got back to Dravus St, I crossed the bridge and went straight up the hill.  I had gone up the hill yesterday and found the 11% grades not all that bad.

I ended up with a paltry 15 miles, but in that distance a respectable 1300 ft of climbing.

 

It was a short, but good day on the bike.  I've got one more day this month to get 31 miles, which will fulfill my goal of getting more mile in December than I got in November.  (it is the little things!)

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today...........15...............0..............0...............0...............15 Jan.............710...............0...............0...............0............710
Feb............ 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ..........701...............0..............0...............0............701
April...........749...............0..............0...............0............749
May.............613...............0..............0...............0............613
June............309...............0..............0...............0............309
July............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August..........359...............0..............0...............0............359
Sept............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............620.................0..............0...............0...........620 Total..........6796...............0..............0...............0...........6796