Construction

I have the pleasure of watching two bridges being built.  One is a half mile walk from our house and so we go check it out from time to time.  The other is directly over the bike path where I scooter each day.  Especially with the latter, I don't know if I have ever been able to watch up close a project like this.

Logistically, you might wonder how they can keep the path open during construction.  Fortunately, there are two bike paths parallel to each other, one on each side of the creek.  And so, except for the week they demolished the old bridge, they have been able to keep at least one path open.  Because of this, I have had to budget a few extra minutes because day to day, I never know which path will be open and one is a slight longer trek (but nothing extraordinary).  But in my opinion, that is a small price to pay to watch the building of this bridge.

Here are some photos from about 3 weeks ago:

The columns supporting the bridge are made from poured concrete.  First, they build an internal frame with green metal rods and place them.  Then they build a wood frame around it.  (In the first picture you can see they are doing that to prepare for pouring the top cross beam.)   Then they pour the concrete.  The four columns were built start to finish in only about 2 days.

Here is a photo from about 1.5 weeks ago:

As you can see, they had finished the top cross beam.

This past Wednesday overnight into Thursday, they placed the metal support beams.  Here is a photo:

Where's your motor?

I get great comments from people about my scooter.  This morning, a gentleman in the elevator asked me where my motor was?  I told him, "it's my feet."

One day last week or the week before, one of the US Marshals at the courthouse asked me where my scooter was.  They had gotten so used to seeing me with it.

And a while back I remember the incredulous look someone gave me when they asked if I scootered all the way from home (they knew how far away I lived).

There was the woman on the bike path who asked what I did in the winter.  I explained that I still ride it most winter days, as long as there isn't snow on the path.  But that clearly wasn't explanation enough and she was much relieved (releasing the breath she was holding) when I told her I can drive, if I need to.

One older lady at the bus stop one day asked if I ride it around the office, commenting how fun that would be.

Rubber Shoes

I was at Stan's Fit For Your Feet looking for white sandals during their clearance sale when I found these:

They are rubber and 100% waterproof.  What better shoes could there be for scootering on a rainy day???  It was supposed to rain today but missed us.  Murphy's law says that I probably prepared too much for the rain.  Oh well.

So before I go on to my scootering experience this evening, let me tell you a story that made me laugh about my new shoes.  There are people whose every thought crosses their face so clearly you can read their minds.  In this case, it is a woman who passes judgment on just about anything a little out of the ordinary.  So when I passed her in the stairwell, her eyes immediately went straight to my shoes.  (She has given my scooter the same look.)  Being someone who is proud of my uniqueness and not afraid to stand out, I just chuckled once she was out of earshot.

Anyway, so this evening I decided to hang out downtown after work since my husband wouldn't be home.  I went to Jazz in the Park at Cathedral Square and then I checked out the members only preview event of the new exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum before catching the 8:20 p.m. bus home.

I reached the end of the route about 9:15 p.m. and realized I had left my headlight at home.  (In the summer, I have no need for the headlight, unless I stay out late.)  I picked the more lighted route home and the lightening show in the distance gave me bursts of light to see by.  The rest I had to depend on my memory to avoid the holes and bumps and cracks (and hope no large branches had fallen on the sidewalk).  Fortunately, the bus ride had given me an hour to sober up so I wasn't swerving too badly.  ;)

Scootering in the Heat

We had some hot and humid weather this past week which brought up questions about whether or not I scooter in this weather.  The answer is absolutely!  First, I have grown to like the heat over the last couple of years.  Second, the heat is much more tolerable on a scooter as you are traveling a bit faster and have the breeze in your face.  Plus, unless you are going up hill, you really aren't putting a lot of effort into scootering.

Storms to the North and the South

I could see the storms in the distance to the north of me and to the south of me.  I even was ready for a downpour (and was kind of hoping for one).  But I had to be content with just a few rain drops.    I was also hoping the path would be deserted enough to entice out some deer but no such luck.  Ride along with me on my ride.

Battling the Rain to Find Both Paths Closed

It wasn't supposed to rain this morning.  But you know, weather forecasters are never right.  So this morning, I checked radar as it looked like it might rain and decided I had just enough time to scooter to the bus stop before it started raining.  All the storms were north of interstate or still out to the west a bit.  To be sure though, I left a couple of minutes early.  I also put on a pair of shorts and put my skirt in my bag in case I did get caught in the rain.  I would hate to walk around work all day with mud all over the back of my skirt...

I was soaring down a long hill when I heard the first rain drops.  I didn't see or feel them first, I heard their splot as they hit the pavement behind me.  Then I started seeing huge drops on the pavement all around me, but I had yet to feel my first drop.  I must have been traveling just a bit faster than the speed of rain.  ;)

I was almost to my bike path so figured I wouldn't bother with my poncho.  The path had enough tree cover to filter most of the light rain that had started.

When I reached my normal bike path, I found that they had put up the detour sign and the path was closed.  Knowing I would be on city streets for a bit longer without protection from the light rain, I pulled out my poncho and put it on.  (I must have been a sight to see.)

I took the detour which has become quite familiar to me over the last few months to the second bike path.  (They are building a bridge over the bike paths but have stated their intention to always try and keep one of the paths open - which one changes from day to day.)

As I reached the second bike path, I encountered a huge path closed signed with no further detour signs.  Looking at my watch, I noted there was not enough time to go back home, get the car and drive to the park and ride.  And my alternate scooter path was the complete opposite direction and so I knew I would never make the bus doubling back and taking that path.  So my options were a bit limited.

The bus I take has many stops along a road parallel and north of interstate.  I was south of interstate and the number of roads that go under or over interstate is quite limited but I knew there was another one if I started heading east.  The question was, which road?

By this time, I am getting pretty sweaty in my plastic poncho but I don't have time to stop and take it off if I want to still catch this bus and it is still raining.  So I start exploring the city streets until I find one with a ton of cars traveling north.  With so much traffic, I figured this has to be the one that goes through and I was right.

It was a little treacherous when I reached interstate as they are rebuilding that bridge as well and had all traffic on only half of the road.  This meant no sidewalk, no shoulder, and narrow lanes.  But traffic was traveling slowly and it was only a very short distance (just under the bridge) and I was back on the sidewalk.

I pulled up to a bus stop and had just enough time to fold my scooter and get out my bus pass before the bus pulled up to pick me up.  It was a good thing I didn't miss it and have to wait for the next one as shortly thereafter, it started pouring pretty good.

When I got to work, I changed out of my wet shoes, socks, and shorts and was no worse for the wear.  I think next time it rains I will bring a change of shirt as well so I can skip the poncho if it is hot and just change out of my wet clothes when I get to work.

The Bike Path

This morning, my husband and I walked the bike path that I normally scooter with my new camera so I could take some pictures and videos and share them with my loyal blog followers.  So without further ado, enjoy!

The path to the right leads to my bus stop, which you can see,
the path under the bridge is how I come home after work
when the bus drops me off across the street.

And now for some videos.  Listen for the the red-winged blackbirds in the first video and the chickadees in the second.

A Spooked Deer Spooked Me

This morning as I soared down the path on my scooter, I was quite unaware of the wildlife hiding in the grass beside the path.  Suddenly, a deer that had been standing about 5 feet from the path, hidden in tall grass, dashed away.  The sudden movement caught me by surprise but it was amazing to think how close I got to the deer.

After the fact, I realized how lucky I was the deer didn't decide to dash across the path instead of away from the path as we surely would have crossed paths.  When I shared the story with my husband later via e-mail and had assured him I was alright, he asked, "Are you insured?"