What Willie sang

It is fairly unusual for me to miss four days in a row in June but I just did.  Three days going to and coming back from Iowa with a party in the middle and then yesterday just seemed too cold for this time of year, in the 60s, wet streets, threatening skies.  Today had none of those deterrents so off I went, back on the road again, even though when I headed out a temperature of only about 71 still seemed a tad coolish for so near the solstice.

It fairly quickly became apparent when I reached the Minneapolis side of the Marshall Avenue bridge that most people emphatically did not share my misgivings.  The m family was out in impressive numbers.

It's a 10 foot wide path along the river, usually plenty OK on a Tuesday afternoon.  Today I came upon a tandem and a third member of the party, all bikes parked ON THE PATH and all riders standing on the path side of their rides.  I am sorry but I expect other bicyclists to be aware of and sympathetic to the needs of other bicyclists who might be using the path.  Those three were taking up slightly more than half of the pavement and none of them were moving.  Everything they were doing could have been done every bit as well on the grass.

End of rant although I probably should throw something in about the family of four with one of those pedal cabs from the park weaving back and forth up the hill at that one choke point where the path shrinks down to only six feet with a fence on one side and a cement wall on the other.  They were using about five feet of the available pavement, you know, weaving back and forth trying to get up the two percent gradient uphill.  My handlebars are 40 centimeters (not quite 16 inches), I waited.

OK, now for sure end of rant.

It felt pretty dang good to be out there riding around.  Sometimes I just can't wait.

Of late at the Falls I have been leaving the street side path at the earliest opportunity and riding along the path next to the deer pens area of the park.  This leads to the Falls from the downstream side.  Today I went ahead and rode all the way up to the roundabout and descended back into the park on the upstream side of the Falls.

The creek is still running very, very high.  There is still an absolute torrent separating the lovers on the island from the tourists on the mainland.

I've been on that island lots of times.  Usually by late August you can get there without even getting your feet wet.

I went over towards the Falls where I left my bicycle at the bottom of the stairs and walked up onto the bridge over the creek and took a photo from above.

Historical note:  I was about 10 stair steps and 15 of so feet from my bicycle when I took this picture.  That is actually the farthest I can remember ever being from my bicycle in a public place with who knows how many potential thieves around.  I did it because there was a lull in the pedestrian traffic, there was a family of 5 or 6 on the bridge at the same time I was and not a soul around the area where I had left NewLOOK.  It still made me nervous.  I quickly lined up the shot, snapped the photo and hustled back to my bicycle.

It was a touching reunion, I assure you.

We made it home safely.