Daylight still

I am really getting a lot of miles this month. I am getting so many miles that were it not for the fact that hockey begins this weekend (can you believe it, hockey?) I might well be in line for the most miles ever in September. I will not be able to ride Saturday as the hockey starts at 4pm, too early to accommodate both my preferred arrive in time for the warm-ups hockey viewing schedule and a bicycle ride. As it is, second most miles ever seems still quite likely.

I rode over 700 miles in September of 2004. Who does that? What sort of whacko, a whacko who had a job at that time, rides over 700 miles in the declining daylight of September?

It must have been me.

It has been soooo dry, the radio and TV people are on and on about the need to water even your trees, but the net effect for a bicyclist who doesn't ride in the rain is that almost every day is a potential ride day. Today for example, not a cloud in the sky, temperature about 60 which even though below the average made for an excellent day in late September, a nice day for a ride.

I came upon this one, two, three strikes you're out sequence along Hamline near the appropriately named Autumn Grove Park.

I have been avoiding the east extension of the usual northern route, the part that takes me over to Lake Vadnais because of the construction over there.  Today I wanted to check on the beavers so I headed over that direction anyway.

It looks like Bob has been out with his shovel.  The channel has been dug down a tiny bit so water is once again flowing.

I keep expecting a return appearance by the men with machines.

We have a park closed for construction here too.  There has been some progress at Lake Vadnais but it is a bit difficult to gauge from the top of the former park road.

Fairly clearly, no road anymore but I still find myself stranded over a quarter mile from the lake. They have cleared some trees off camera to the right, I expect that is going to be the site of the new top of the lake parking area.  In additon, there are a few bicycle tracks in the dirt there so I won't be the first bicyclist down to the lake after the road was removed.  But I ride a mighty skinny tire bicycle, I won't be headed in there until the pavement returns.

It doesn't look like anything is going on but I could hear the rumble of heavy equipment as I stood there to take the photo.  My recent experience with observing heavy equipment in front of my house has led me to associate the sounds I heard at Vadnais with a tracked vehicle, probably a bulldozer.