cannibals...

rode in this morning with my TOO DRUNK TO SHIFT t-shirt
no... I was not TOO DRUNK TO SHIFT

but I wore the shirt anyhow
rode the freshly reassembled Jamis Exile 29er
wanted to test things out before The 12 Hours of Lodi Farms mountain bike relay race this weekend


last night there was no time for a ride

this week has pretty much been rest and recovery from The Greenbrier Challenge
and preparation for Lodi Farms
perhaps more importantly...
focusing more on the family than the bikes
bicycles are part of my life
but there needs to be a balance

yesterday rode straight home from work

got home and looked at the clock

thought about where Dean's baseball game was and the need to walk the dog

so rather than walk the dog and then ride my bike across town
I figured I could just take the black dog brutus for a slightly longer walk that would end at the park where the baseball game was being held


my path was KLINGLE VALLEY

I wanted to take a look at Klingle Valley and take a look at its potential

as it turns out...
Klingle Valley is a wasteland...

I knew this...
it is not so infrequent that I cut through this area that looks like some sort of post apocalyptic waste land

but with all the construction vehicles and the smell of chemicals from the paint and who knows what
well... this area is worse than it ever was
trucks... gas tanks... rolled up metal fences... and basic construction site rubish


as I approached the freshly painted bridge I saw what this area could be...

it could be a beautiful park

a bike path... a hiking path... a dog walking park...

of course I daydreamed about winding single track and pump courses

but since that is never gonna happen I let my mind focus on the two options

-hiker/biker path and natural park

vs.

-a road

to to aid car drivers so that they do not have to wait a few minutes during rush hour
for the queue of cars to make it through the light at Porter and Connecticut Avenue

HIKER BIKER PATH!
NO DOUBT!

why reward cars for driving?

let the cars back up...
let the car drivers think of other options

WHAT!
this is the route that we take to drop our kids off at school

yes... but we can leave five minutes earlier and the future DC can have some beautiful green space

but Rock Creek Park has plenty of green space?!?!

no... there is never enough green space!

and the residents tend to only use what green space butts up against their back yards

this is a great section of land that could keep a great number of people active
while granting them access to the park and sanctuary from the madness of the city

so... brutus and I make the hike through the wasteland which is Klingle Valley

arrived for some of Dean's game...
baseball for six year olds is really the beginning of the learning curve

especially for some of these kids who have not had the exposure to throwing and catching
the kids enjoy it just the same
we all must learn to walk before we run
and well
the kids do enjoy it at the level that they understand it


after the game we were all starving
not having our wallets made picking up some food from the grocery store impossible
so... we dropped brutus off at home then I grabbed my wallet
then off to Cactus Cantina for dinner...
YUMMY!

bummer though
we had to wait at the light at Porter and Connecticut when we could have gotten there 12 seconds faster had Klingle Valley Road been an option

people need to look past their dash boards!

think green

think the future

we have enough roads

we could use more parks

meant to go on about getting my Jamis Exile ready for Lodi
stole some parts of the old Rocky Mountain Blizzard with 26 inch wheels