College daze, moist mornings

The big change in GR this week has been the start of local colleges.   On Monday I had a chance to ride at noon to pick up something at another site of our hospital systema and had to ride through the campus of GRCC.  The cars were backed up for miles.  I wondered why so few chose to ride their bikes and to wait in mile long lines.

Today I had a chance to ride out to Millenium Park and the Westsider Cafe between meetings. The air was so moist and gentle, yet the shadows were long and the light less intense.  The flowers are changing to fall flowers.

I wonder who is the mystery blonde girl who I see walking in the park.  Once she was carrying a very big backpack, and today she was carrying a folding chair and little dog.  Is she a nature lover, a person escaping an abusive relationship, homeless?  No way to know.  I just greeted and smiled.

Glistening dew

Friday

The mornings are getting darker, so I put both forward and back lights on the bike this morning, and rode the new bike lanes down through the downtown, past the lines of homeless waiting to get into Degage for breakfast, past the construction cranes, by Founders Brewing where men were already up working hard to finish the expansion before ArtPrize, and then on to Millenium Park.  As I made the first right turn to start the outer loop I came upon a field of glistening dewdrops, illuminated from the size, and a layer of haze just above the fields.

Dewdrops on spider web.

 As I continued on around the outer loop, the low angle sunlight lent a golden glow to the whole park, and as far as I could tell, I was the only one there.  An it occurred to me,  what if you discovered there was a beautiful  park in your back yard that you could visit every day?  What if all you had to do was to open your eyes and see it?

Hazy day

A cormorant swims agressively toward a goose

Today was an "air quality action day" which means the air is not fit to breathe.  The recommendation is that everyone ride their bike or walk to reduce air pollution.   I snapped this shot in an area of the park I call Cormorant City, where geese are apparently not welcome.

Morning errand sweetness

I had two hours free between meetings and before starting up clinical hours in the afternoon.   At first I resisted the thought of taking my shirts to the cleaners.  But then I thought, I could carry the shirts on my bike and make a couple of other errands, transforming this from a joyless task into a series of interesting and enjoyable encounters at a slowed pace.

And sure enough, the morning was sprinkled with mini-encounters and other enjoyable moments scattered among 4 businesses.

New bike lane!

 Wednesday

It was another beautiful end of summer ride before work, with a pair of deer crossing my path in Millenium park.  But I had to cut it short to get to work a little early.

On the way home I decided to check out the new Thursday evening farmer's market downtown.  To my surprise, Heffron Farms will be there so I can buy organic, hormone free meat.  It's going to be so convenient for shopping on my way home.

Heading back across Division I was surprised to see new bike lanes on Cherry Street .

It looks like it will be much easier to bike than to drive to work from the looks of this photo.

Foggy morning

Tuesday

The warm afternoon followed by the night time clear skies and coolness was perfect for creating fog along the river in the morning.   The fog hugged the low land areas along Wealthy Street, and then blanketed all of Millenium Park.  The sun began to break through in areas.

Millenium park - sun breaks through the fog. 

Eastern /Cherry intersection was now open which helped to normalize some of the traffic flows and make people a little less testy.

Nature watch:  The Virginia creeper and sumac are the first leaves to turn red.   The goldenrod is about 1/3 in bloom.   Tree leaves are losing their dark green coloring in preparation for fall.

Bluest blue sky

With the morning off, I rode down to the library and to the Lantern Coffee Shop at Oakes & Commerce where I chatted with a friend in an easy chair.  Once again the day was cool and clear, with the bluest possible sky.  I stopped by the Blue Bridge which is being repainted in preparation for Art Prize.  Even when on a bike I had trouble finding a route to the library, but managed to hop some curbs, walk through some sand and traverse the mass of barriers.

With a little extra time, I decide to tackle the horribly skipping rear derailleur on my commute bike.  After 5 minutes of studying the manual, I was again familiarized with the process of tuning the derailleur, and within 15- 20 minutes it was working smoothly again.

After lunch I rode down to work.  The return was marked by masses of cars all trying to go around endless detours.  Fortunately, I could safely slide by in the right lane and proceed home without impediment.