Ironic

While riding the Tomahawk Creek Trail this morning I encountered a group of 3 people standing on the trail deep in conversation. Since they completely blocked the trail I rang my bell well in advance of reaching them. Then, I rang it again since they had ignored the first attempt. They finally moved ... which means the ones on the left moved to the right and the one on the right moved to the left not really changing anything. I squeezed the brakes, and slowly maneuvered through the little group. As I proceeded down the path I heard one of them say, "See, they're not all jerks."

Been There. Done That.

This morning, as a matter of fact.

"...hundreds of little spiders pendant on the end of long tough webs were floating about in it. These early-rising creatures, or rather their webs, caught upon the horse's and our own forms by scores, and ... we rushed along coverd with hundreds of long grey threads that streamed out a yard or more behind us -- and a very strange appearance they must have given us."

From the book Allan Quatermain, by H. Rider Haggard 

Elsewhere on the Indian Creek Trail...

From General Bike Pix

I'm sure the recent heat wave is the cause of all the vertical cracks that have opened up on the Indian Creek and Tomahawk Creek trails. There are a few places where you could catch a tire and cause some damage to yourself or your bike. Be careful out there.

Indian Creek Trail is now closed at Switzer! For real.

As of today, Indian Creek Trail is now officially close at Switzer road until "March 2012."


View Indian Creek Trail Closure August 2011 to March 2012 in a larger map

The red line above is the section of the trail marked as closed. The blue line is the posted detour.

From General Bike Pix

I spoke with a polite gentleman at the Park Services Department a week or so ago and he had told me that they would be setting up a detour, but he admitted that it might not be completely bike friendly. He wasn't kidding, although only half of the detour causes me much concern.

From General Bike Pix

The signs went up within the last day or two. Here are the signs at 119th, just east of Quivera.

From General Bike Pix

The narrow sidewalk has several low hanging branches to contend with. Also, there won't be enough room for passing another bike or pedestrians. I believe there were eight places where you had to cross over streets or highway on or off ramps. 119th is a busy street and 69 highway and 119th is a busy interchange. Depending on the day and time of day, this could take a while to navigate.

From General Bike Pix

From General Bike Pix

From General Bike Pix

From General Bike Pix

From General Bike Pix

The detour also runs along Grant Drive between College Blvd. (111th) and 119th.

From General Bike Pix

From General Bike Pix

Once you're on Grant, things should calm down a bit as the street is wide enough for both automobile and bicycle traffic.

The detour adds 0.3 miles to the ride and the hill up to 119th and Grant is impressive. I'll still make the loop occasionally, but I believe I'll find some other places to ride until this is finished. Again, the 119th section is too narrow and busy to use more than once in a while.