I Had A Hunch

Last Saturday was a marvelous Spring Day . . . perfect weather for working on ones bike outside. It was also perfect riding weather, but I had a hunch I might find him working on his bike.

When I first starting seeing his bike parked on the street, it was red. Unlike the yellow BMW, it wasn't always in its spot when I rode home, but it was there often enough that I began to look for it. Then it just disappeared. This isn't unusual. People move and bikes get sold or stolen, but, not this bike. It reappeared. Or at least I thought it was the same bike. It had changed color. It was black and not red.

One day, either a holiday or a Saturday, I happened to be riding through the neighborhood and not only was the bike outside, but a man was working on it. Curiosity made me stop and ask if it was the same bike or not. Yes, it was the same bike. Come to find out it not only has been red and black, but at one time it was gray. It was only after I left and was well down the road that it occurred to me I could have asked to take his picture and a picture of his bike. I've been looking to remedy that situation for sometime.

Saturday I was in luck. He was outside working on his bike.

Yep, he was getting ready to paint it yet again.

He and I had another great conversation. And, this time before I left I asked if I could take his picture and he let me.

He tells me he can't make up his mind between red and black, but plans to paint it red again. He also said,  that he probably ought to paint it both red and black and be done with it. Somehow, I suspect that even if he did go two tone that wouldn't be the end of it.

Yellow signs of Spring

These Daffodils are nearly ready to bloom. This means it might be Spring.

And, the yellow BMW is back on the street. Haven't seen it since last December. This means it must really be Spring.

A week ago today there was freezing rain. It was completely unexpected. The weather folk missed it. The ground had been warm for a few days, but it was a classic watch for ice on bridges and ramps scenario. Actually, it was road crews out patching potholes who noticed the roads were getting slick in places. By then it was a wee bit late. Rush hour was a mess. There was an accident on one of the major arteries that involved twenty-six cars.

Tucker Blvd goes under I-64. It has been my custom to take Tucker Blvd on my daily commute.

I checked the weather before I left. Not much to worry about. I checked the street in front of the condo. It was fine, wet but good traction. It was a very typical commute until I got to Tucker Blvd. The bridge was closed. Later I would find out there had been a twelve car pile-up. Fortunately there were no major injuries.

This is another view of the Tucker Blvd bridge over the rail yard. In the background is the 14th Street bridge.

I was able to turn around and make my way over to 14th Street. There were police cars there as well, but the bridge was open. I suspect there had been a recent fender bender. By this time the salt was working and I was able to cross over into downtown without mishap.

I'd been thinking for sometime that the Tucker Blvd bridge was a hazard waiting to happen. I'd even thought about finding a route that would allow me to avoid all that quick to glaze road surface. But, I never seemed to get around to it. I was lucky that I didn't pay for my procrastination. Luck is good to have, but it isn't a very good plan. Having a strategy is a much better plan.

During my lunch hour I looked at maps and came up with a possible alternate route. After work I rode home that way. I actually like it so well that I'm making it my usual morning commute. Now, instead of Tucker Blvd. I'm going to go down by Busch Stadium.

I admit I liked the Busch Stadium that this one replaced better. This one is nicer, but he seems like so many other stadiums out there. It is difficult to find its personality. Perhaps that will come as the years go by and memories build.

And, I get to say, "Hi" to Stan the Man each morning.

And now a change of subject. I've now owned Billie for one year and just over 7400 miles. It has been great fun. To celebrate I took a long ride on Sunday. Part of the ride was going downtown to get the pictures I wanted to include above. Then I went putzing around some neighborhoods. I call this pink flamingo hunting, but I suppose one could say I'm working on my slow speed riding skills.

My mother, may her memory being a blessing, did stuff like this. It always makes me smile when I see a goose in costume.

Apparently one needs to be careful of ones cow. This one is chained to the handrail.

And, this was the strangest lawn ornament I saw all day.

And, another change of subject. Spring is definitely drawing near. Last evening I ordered new wheels and bearings for my inline skates. I want to be ready for Daylight Savings Time. It will be here soon and that will mean skates after work, yay!

It Was Worth The Wait

The other evening I needed to pay my internet bill. It was due. Yes, I could have paid it online, but whenever possible I prefer to deal face to face.

When I walked in the manager was once again manning the triage desk. One of the things about paying my bill in all kinds of weather while wearing my gear is folk tend to remember me. He and I have this little dance we do each month. I tell him I want to pay my bill. He tries to direct me to one of the self service machines. I remind him that since my head injury I don't do machines. He says he remembers and I believe him. But even so, he next offers as he does every month to walk me over to the machine and do all the work for me. Each month I decline and every month he reminds me how much he hates to see me wait. We go through this every month. This month he was particularly keen to get me to a machine since I might be facing as much as a thirty minute wait. I assured him it really was fine. Finally, he gave up. He wrote down my name and I retreated to the wall of windows that face somewhat west.

Waiting for me was a view of a most remarkable sunset. I knew that if not for this unintentional wait I would have missed this sight completely. I would have finished my commute, had the bike hooked up to the battery tender, and been in my condo feeding the cat. As it was, I had nothing else to do but stand there and watch the sunset intensify in color--orange, yellow, multiple shades of purple, and even some green.

At one point I noticed the manager dealing with a particularly angry customer. I admired his patience, but thought I detected a certain sense of burden on him. I began to suspect this had not been an easy day for him.

I watched the sunset unfold and waited for the manager to be free of customers. When this happened I called to him and motioned him to come over to where I was standing next to the door. He came over. I told him to open the door, step outside and look west. To my surprise he didn't question me, but just did as I asked.

I watched him stand there looking at the sunset. He stood there for at least a full minute, maybe longer. Then he came back in.

"Pretty cool, hey?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said and smiled at me.

As he left me, it seemed he had a little more bounce in his step, but these things are difficult to gauge and I was well aware I could have imagined it. I went back to watching the sunset and waiting to pay my bill.

Later, the manager walked a customer to the door. They have a custom at this store. After your dealings are completed, the person who waits on you walks you to door, opens it for you, and thanks you for your business. It is a nice touch and I like it. Anyway, the sunset was waning, but still glorious as he closed the door. I said to him, "You didn't ask her to look at the sunset."

"No, but I did text my wife and asked her to look at it," he said, smiling as he pulled out his phone and showed me the proof.

"Cool," I said.

Eventually, I managed to pay my bill. The whole transaction took maybe a minute and a half tops. And, it was worth the wait.

Stumped #3

Today was my first ride of February. That's a long time between rides -- too long.

The alley after two days of nearly 60F temperatures.

My first goal was to get out of the alley which I accomplished just fine. It was actually easier than I'd anticipated. My second goal was to get a photo of another stump sculpture I'd discovered in Kirkwood.

Unlike the other two I've found, this one has been painted.  The Pelican is rather impressive.

I spent the rest of the late afternoon ride just wandering around. There was lots of water from the run off of the snow melting.

Through the Looking Glass?

The sun was getting low in the sky as I headed for home.

Getting back into the alley was a little more exciting than I liked, but I stayed up. It would have been a cold wet fall.

Three or four inches of water surrounded by slush -- yum, yum.

As I was putting Billie away I noticed a familiar smell in the air. Sure enough my neighbor had pulled out the lawn chair and was firing up the Barbecue.

It was good to be back on the road.

So Near, Yet Too Far

There is a block and a half of ice between the Symba and the open road.

Billie is hidden behind one of the garage doors on your right. The white is not snow it is sleet covered by ice.

This is where the alley meets Ivanhoe Street.

Ivanhoe is the street that leads to freedom. The City of St. Louis concentrates its resources on clearing  streets that have been designated  as snow routes. Ivanhoe is not a snow route. The snow removal strategy for streets not designated as snow routes is to simply let the snow melt on its own.

We have had just enough warm weather followed by quite cold weather to make the side streets not only very slick, but rutted as well. Usually when the streets get this way, I cheat and ride the Symba out on the sidewalks, but the sidewalks are not in much better shape. So, even though all the other streets I take to work are clear and dry,  I'm stuck commuting by car.

This is the view from the File Room where I work looking towards Police Headquarters.

This is from another window. The Police Headquarters is on the left, but now part of City Hall is in view. Notice how nice and dry Tucker Blvd is.

Others are riding. My friend Maggie rode both yesterday and today. And, as I was taking photos I noticed a scooter parked on the sidewalk in front of the Jail.

The nice thing about a 50cc scooter is you can park it anywhere.

Apparently if  you take the markings off  your 150cc scooter and pretend it is a 50cc,  you can park it anywhere you want as well. You can even park it right in front of the City Jail. I don't think that would be my choice..

The high today was 20F and the low tonight is expected to be 8F. The forecasters are predicting a warm up to begin on Friday with the high in the mid to upper 30F's. By Sunday we may see temperatures in the 50F's. So, soon the scene that greeted me when I arrived home tonight may only be a memory.

Early evening on the Ivanhoe Ice Field.

But, until then clear highway will remain so near, yet too far.

Sleet.

The freezing rain continued on and off through out the night.

Ice can be beautiful

We got enough ice to make the trees pretty, but not enough for the power lines to come tumbling down.

Unsightly icy build-up as of 0900 CST

We didn't get the snow the forecasters had warned us about, but we got lots of sleet.

Ice and sleet build-up as of 1330 CST

People pretty much heeded the warnings to stay in. Again, this is sleet not snow. If it had been snow it would have been quite deep.

On my walk I saw this car. I suspect this isn't what its owner had in mind. I think someone is in for an unpleasant surprise.

The sleet and freezing rain mixed on the ground to make something that was like sand. Walking in it was like walking on the beach. You can see how it flew into the air as this car went by. When I got home I told Heather it was more like sand than ice or snow. I said, "I could ride in this. I should get Billie out." She said, " A . . . no." Billie stayed in the garage.

As that famous former St. Louisan once said, "It ain't over til it's over," but it does appear the St. Louis Metropolitan Area dodged a bullet. We may get two to four inches of snow over night, but that is a far cry from the numbers that were originally bandied about.

And, we are one day closer to Spring.