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Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater Mon, 19 May 2008This Sunday, I decided I wanted to finally go get an archery target. They sell these blocks of layered foam that work well, and at least theoretically don't get torn up too quickly. It's been ages since I shot my Magyar horsebow. So, I got the Xtracycle down and prepared for the ride over to GI Joes (now Joe's Sports, apparently) in Northgate, where they stock this kind of thing. I dread riding to Northgate, though. The roads to Northgate (a local shopping mall) from my house fall into two categories: terrifying, and long; at least on a bicycle. The main drag is Northgate way, which runs east to the mall, bordering the north end of the mall proper. It's the obvious choice in a car. Unfortunately, Northgate Way is a four-lane, "30 MPH" (but actually 40-50 MPH) road occupying the space of a spacious two-lane or comfortable three-lane road. There are no shoulders. There's a narrow, frightening asphalt excuse for a sidewalk along the north edge, covered in cracks, broken glass, tree-root furrows, and with overgrown blackberry bushes taking up big chunks of it. Traffic flies along the road, which includes a J curve that scares me in any vehicle except a motorcycle (which is narrow enough to give room to the car in the next lane, since someone around me invariably crosses the line). The other choice is to travel south to 92nd (Northgate Way could also be called 105th or 110th, depending on which side of the curve you're on), where there's an overpass over I-5. Oh, did I mention? There's a major freeway in the way. Going 10 blocks south isn't a huge deal, but it involves more hills and more distance, so it's not my favorite choice. It's also essentially traffic-free, at least compared to Northgate Way, so it's a good choice that way. I ended up going down to 92nd on the way there, and taking Northgate Way (and that terrifying little "sidewalk") on the way back. The trip didn't seem as long as I'd been making it out to be in my head, and when I got back, I saw I'd only added 4-5 miles to the odometer for the whole trip. It's amazing how the quality of a road changes its perceived length, at least on a bicycle. I guess it's true of cars and motorcycles, too: a good road seems to fly by, but a bad road takes forever to traverse, no matter how fast or slow you're going. Posted at 10:23 permanent link category: /bicycle Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net. |