12.02.2008

Richmond, VA














I parked in a parking lot on the other side of the river in Richmond. Today I rode my bicycle over the Boulevard Bridge (above) to explore the downtown / historic area of the city. The first leg of the ride lacked a sidewalk or shoulder and the Richmond drivers competed with me for space on the road (it was two lanes and not congested, mind you, so they could have easily just gone to the left of me, the assholes...). I thought I might die.




















You can't ride your bike across the bridge; you have to walk it over (above). It's too bad because it's such a smooth, straight chute, it'd be lovely on a bike. Well, that's probably why they outlawed bike-riding on it. People got carried away. The water below is very shallow. Lots of rocks.














The highlights of the day were riding down the Boulevard and also Monument Way (err Ave?). These were bicycle-friendly rodes with lots of beautiful architecture. There was also a sequence of increasingly grandiose monuments of famous men like General Lee on horseback. Being on a ride of my own, I felt inspired.















There weren't many decorations up and perhaps the people in the next picture aimed to compensate for that. With balls.


































Lastly, I took a detour through a park on the north side of the Nickel Bridge. It had one of those Physical Fitness Trails where every 100 feet there is an apparatus to test your strength. I did well on the ropes but found that I'm largely out of shape. I could only do 5 chin-ups comfortably. A week before leaving on this trip I fell off my bike and injured my knee. The injury has persisted and prevented me from doing my daily jog or any strenuous hiking. Cycling, though, doesn't affect it.





















No martinis allowed in the park!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What beautiful blue...balls. Does't sound right from your mother.

Anonymous said...

img 1662 (stream over mossy rocks)is my new wallpaper. Have a great holiday with all of the other anonymouses! Just call me DOCTOR anonymous.