Trip 17 -- Saying Goodbye to the Heat

This trip actually happened yesterday, when I left it was almost 90 degrees and windy (of course). I rode all the way over to the west side of town to visit some friends and while I was there, the cold front started to move in. Right when I decided to leave it started to rain, but it only lasted a few minutes. On my way home I could see that it was going to get worse, it was very dark to the south...so I decided to pick up the pace a little bit. Luckily I made it home just in time, a few minutes after I got home it started pouring and the wind increased. That would've been a nightmare to ride in...not to mention the dangerous lightning.

Well, as I look at the forecast it looks like it's gonna be cool for a while. Today's high is only 57 degrees (though the current temperature is 61 according to the NWS website). Pretty much the exact opposite of yesterday afternoon. I don't know if we're done with the heat for the year but it looks like we're done with it for at least a week. That's fine with me, I prefer this kind of weather.

This is from the University Ave. overpass in between downpours.



A view of a bunch of trains from the Columbia overpass over DeMers.



Hopefully we're done with the 80+ degree heat, I don't know if I'm alone here, but I prefer the cooler weather... I said cooler not cold. Winter can wait.

Time: N/A since I spent a while hanging out my friend's place.
Temp: 88 at the start and about 65 at the end





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Trip 14 -- Me: 1 Wind: 0

I already triumphed over rain, today's test was the high winds. The Weather Service says it's a south wind of 23 mph gusting to 35 mph. Riding north with the wind was no problem at all, but coming back was a beast. I had no idea bicycles could catch wind so bad, sometimes I felt like I was gonna get blown over. There was a point when I was on 55th st. and I came to a stop to take a picture. I stood up on my bike and my body was like a sail, the wind alone was pushing me down the road...it was pretty cool.

So I beat water, wind, and I guess you could say earth. I really hope I don't have to deal with fire, because I already concede.

Anyways,


Very windy today..that tree should be standing up straight.


So what exactly does a storm water pump station do?

Talk about homes being close to each other... at least they have alternating colors.


When I said I wanted to find crazy stuff in Grand Forks, this is what I meant. I have no idea why someone would put a chair on the top of a large dirt mound, but I'm glad they did.


The new welcome sign entering Grand Forks through highway 2. I do like it, it brings a little breath of fresh air to an otherwise unsightly road in GF.


Found this on the fitness trail by UND. I am completely stumped by what it is, but someone else was apparently curious as well and started taking bricks off.





People can be pretty frustrating sometimes...where the fitness trail crosses 17th ave there's one of those blinking light crosswalk beacons that I love so much. I pushed the button and a lady was nice enough to stop for me, even with like 5 cars behind her. I cross and the guy behind her just lays on his horn...I don't know if he was mad at me, her, or both...but really, guy? Did I slow you down that much? Did I make you late for some extremely important appointment? Jeez people, can we have just a little more patience? I never expect people to stop for me at those things, but I sure am grateful when they do.

Due to extremely high gas prices and a more health conscious nation, there are going to be more bicyclists than drivers are used to...we're going to have to find a way to coexist. Drivers are going to have to be more aware of bicyclists and vice versa.

Thanks for reading.


Start: 4:40
End: 6:20
Temp: 83
Trip: 12.66



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Trip 9 -- West

Wait, it stopped raining? I wasn't sure if i needed to start gathering supplies to build an ark, but it looks like we're safe for now. I ended up going to see the Twins/Yankees game yesterday with a few friends. A great game it was, the Twins shut out the Yankees...I won't go into detail, but it was awesome. We then decided to leave for home right after the game, it always seems like a good idea until around Fargo when it really hits us. I don't recommend driving while tired.

Today I decided to head west. I was pretty disappointed to see that the sidewalk on 42nd doesn't span all the way from 32nd to Demers. I really don't like riding on busy roads where there's not much room for bicyclists.

I've decided to make a change, I'm not going to be taking as many pictures from now on to help reduce the time it takes for the page to load. So from now on, the posts will be a little bit smaller.


So that's where Sertoma Park is. I hear about it all the time, but I've never actually seen it. I always associate this park with rubber ducks. Isn't there some kind of annual rubber duck race or something here?

Some construction right off of 42nd, I believe these are going to be apartments. Not sure when they're supposed to be completed.



A view from the University overpass. Kinda intense having cars go nearly 80 right below you.

Now this kind of housing development is cool. The houses are actually unique from each other, not the Stepford Wives style houses in one of my earlier posts.


A view of the western edge of town, now I just need to explore the extreme eastern edge.



One more thing...I really hate when people park their cars so that it's blocking the sidewalk. Today I was on the sidewalk and a girl drove by me, looked at me, pulled into her driveway and parked right in the way of the sidewalk...come on people.


Oh well, thanks for reading!


Start: 4:06
End: 5:43
Temp: 81 degrees
Trip: 11.66 mi



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