February Bike #2

This bike ride recap is going to be a short one. I didn't take any pictures because I forgot my camera at home and didn't realize it until I was pedaling down the street. I didn't want to turn back around because Eliza was getting fussy being all buckled up in the trailer and the only thing that made her stop fussing was for me to move! It takes quite a while to get everything ready for a bike ride with a baby. I'm sure with more practice, it will become easier. She fusses if left in the trailer for too long without any forward movement.

Today's ride took us from home to the R. Kelley Bryant bridge and back. Don't know that bridge by name? That's okay. Most people don't. But it's the new pedestrian bridge that goes over the Durham Freeway, connecting one side of the Hayti neighborhood to the other side of the Hayti neighborhood. There's quite a bit of history about Hayti that I've read a little bit about over the years of being an east Durhamite. And even more history about the original pedestrian bridge that the city built a long time ago to appease the local residents. That bridge was only in operation for a few years, but it was boarded up on both ends after it became a haven for drugs and crime. It stood boarded up and ugly for many years, so when they finally tore the old one down and built a new one in 2010, I think the whole city benefited, not just the neighborhoods it linked.

Here's a cool article about the bridge and pictures of it and its dedication ceremony. Read it here.

Anyway, we meandered from home through east Durham, to Pettigrew St, to Sowell St, to Humphrey and finally on to the bridge. Traffic was pretty heavy on the Durham Freeway underneath us as we rode over at rush hour. I wondered how many of the people I could see, could see me, or noticed me? Or were they in the "zone" that many people get into on their automotive, gas guzzling commutes home from work? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with driving to and from work. Some people have no choice. Maybe they work 30 miles away from home and getting to and from work via an alternative mode of transportation (bike, bus, shared carpool) just isn't feasible. But other people, like my awesome husband, do work not too far away from home (19.5 miles) and they have the ability to bike it and bus it to work some days. But more on that later! This blog is about our bike ride to the new bridge and back.

Nothing more to note about this bike ride. It was fairly uneventful. It was a short ride. Maybe 7 miles round trip. I managed to squeeze it in in between Eliza waking up from her afternoon nap (usually around 4pm) and her dinnertime (5:30 or so).