Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Private construction

About 95 percent of my rides on the northern route pass through the parking lot of the Saint Odilia church and school.  During the school year the main parking lot is closed but I can detour around the back of the complex through the staff parking lot.  Summer and weekends I just ride right through on the front side of the building.

We were out there a couple of days ago to discover new curbing had been installed on the road down the hill on the side of the parking lot away from the main entrance.  The GRider suggested that it didn't look like they were through.  I was not sure, this is a church, paving and curbing are expensive.  The old road surface was in kind of rough shape but was still passable on a bicycle, not to mention an SUV.

I rode out there today and the GRider nailed it.
I have no idea what the timetable is but it seems apparent that I will be seeking an alternate route for those 95 percent of northern rides.

In a related note I discovered today that the Fairgrounds is closed beginning August 10.  It will not be available again for bicycling until the day after Labor Day, the day after the Fair ends.

September 8.

With a huge swath of Saint Paul temporarily closed by street oiling I have been riding through the Fairgrounds on all rides heading towards the south.  I am about to confront a 29 day stretch when THAT route is unavailable.

*sigh*

3 comments:

Santini said...

That is a very sad story.

Emily M said...

The fairgrounds are already closed? That seems super early. I wonder why? Can you cut through the farm campus and get to the transit way? That might work, unless there is street oiling in that direction. Plus, cows!

Gino said...

There is already a lot of activity on the grounds. All of the benches are out including the full set at that bandstand place. Signs are going up on the permanent food locations, the Ag/Horticulture building is positively buzzing. It is only three weeks until the Fair.

And you are correct, the currently seldom used cut through the farm campus/Saint Anthony Park route is moving back to the top or the preferred route list for rides to the south.

Cows.