I got so many good shots today that I’ll have to divide them into two posts. First up is where Interstate 40 overpass along the Eagle Lake Trail, with the North Canadian River below, all in the light of dawn. Far in the background is the First Americans Museum with all sorts of new construction. This will continue blocking the old bike route for years. Yes, it’s still under a curse. I navigate around it because the new Greenway Trail is open on the opposite river bank.
That Greenway Trail at one point runs very close to Interestate 40. This is my first long ride on the Zizzo Forte, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a whole different way to ride, and brings a different mindset for me. This little thing is much lighter and closer to the ground. It feels like I have far more control than on conventional frame bikes.
The Greenway Trail connects to the North River Trail at the Boathouse. While I didn’t get a shot of the Boathouse, this is the canal alongside the Boathouse where all kinds of watercraft are likely tied up at any given time. I’ll get the Boathouse itself on another trip; I was seeing too many attractive shots. Riding this new bike made it so much easier to notice them, and to stop and shoot. Cycling becomes the tool for something else, not something that absorbs you with itself.
This is Walker Avenue crossing the North Canadian River and the bikeway. The city did a really nice job of landscaping when they turned this area into a park. Because the frame geometry of the folding bike is heads-up, you see the world more like you would walking. Thus, while it’s not nearly so ergonomic as a conventional bicycle, it’s far more efficient than walking. It was less hassle to stop and see things. I stopped several times simply because mounting and dismounting this thing is much easier than other bikes I’ve owned.
The Wheeler Ballpark makes a good foreground for the OKC Skyline. The ballpark is seldom in use during work hours; it’s always evenings and weekends. That makes is easier for Parks and Rec to maintain it without disrupting events. There were crews all along the north bank of the OK River when I rode through, and the mowers were out around Wheeler Park at this point. The grass was fresh cut and the air was a little dusty.
Only around early to mid-morning will you find this seating stone shaded. I took a shot of the bike with the Wheeler Ferris Wheel and Wheeler Addition in the background, across on the south bank of the North Canadian River. The river was clear today and didn’t stink as much as usual, so we aren’t getting a ton of sediment right now. It’s not like the smell of stagnant water (rather like sewage) or pollution when it’s bad, but the stink from sediment is it’s own kind of thing. You’d recognize it as a natural smell, but not pleasant.
The temperature today was not yet up into the 80s. With clear skies, this sweeping view of the river and trail together caught my eye. Most days, even this early, I would expect to see the occasional rider or walker. It was oddly vacant today, all the more so being so nice outside. Keep in mind that there is the constant roar of Interstate 40 in the background, running parallel off to my right. It’s quite heavy right now, but more with passenger cars, because it’s morning rush hour. In fact, just about every major artery I encountered was pretty busy. Crossing these was pretty slow.
The homeless camps along the river were busy, too. This is a collection of dozens of “borrowed” shopping carts. It started with a couple of abandoned strollers a few years ago, but almost neatly parked along the edge of the shrubs in the grass. The mowing crews avoided them; no one’s in a hurry to clean up the mess. Since then, more and more shopping carts have shown up. I get the impression they leave them for others to use. There’s a very large collection of tents off in the trees just off camera in the background to the right. I try to avoid provoking them; most are friendly until you start aiming cameras at them.
More tomorrow.
