Ill throw in my two cents worth of commuting reporting. I live in Whittier and commute to Anytime Fitness on Lyndale and 54th three times a week, and work in Saint Louis Park. A couple of caveats: this is my first time trying to ride in the winter, and Im a total wuss when it comes to slush and ice. Im getting better fast, but Im not very competent yet. Recently, my Mom gave me her old bike complete with 26x1.95 knobby tires, fenders, panniers and a basket. This is a HUGE improvement over my 700x23 almost-slick tired road bike! Since Bryant between 22nd and Lake has been awful, I took Blaisdell south to the Greenway, and kick-pushed myself over the small ruts of frozen slush (I said I was a wuss). The Greenway was okay, except at one of the overpasses between Blaisdell and Bryant there was water draining from the road above onto the Greenway, creating a mini-glacier! Yikes! I got off and walked. The ramp up to Bryant was still icy this morning, but not too bad. However, the interchange between Bryant and the Greenway simultaneously manages to be churned-up slush and ice. I walked over this too. But, Bryant south of Lake had lots of nice clear pavement, and I rode on relived and happy, grinning. Last week, Bryant south of 50th was still a mess, so I detoured on 50th to Lyndale to get to the gym. Coming north from the gym on Bryant, I was relieved that the hill north of 50th didnt have much ice, and I climbed it easily. Also, even with the road construction on Bryant there was still enough room for me and cars without too much crowding. I was pleasantly surprised when I got back on the Greenway - there was a lot less ice than there was last week! I semi-fearlessly went along, wondering if St. Louis Park had finally plowed their part of the Greenway. Well, in the morning the SLP portion of the Greenway was still a rutty mess, but there was someone out in a pickup outfitted with a plow scraping it down. On my ride home, I could actually see pavement in some places! Also on my ride home, I took the chance and headed north on Bryant from the Greenway. Its a lot better - there was no clear pavement on Saturday at all - but there are islands of pack ice and occasional slushy bits. My rear wheel skittered sideways a couple of times, but no falls for me today!
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:01:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015