All posts by cs

Springfield, MA

jogging, places

The Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway Trail is a good fresh air run. Inner city boom boxes drum from near distance. Best to stay with with a group. Level hard surface with few users on this late end of summer Sunday.

Wichita

jogging, places

Ghostly Old Cowtown is a nice cool down stroll on the Arkansas River Bike Trail. My 4 mile loop, like the dusty town, had few users (weekday). The trail is asphalt / concrete and flat running.

Now Reading

opinion, social

A good exploration of our 21st century food chain. The omnivore’s dilemma:

Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn’t-which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore’s dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we’re realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment…

Horace Williams Tract

jogging

These 900 acres are laced with soft trail through woods. I should have pre-run this loop on the Bolin Creek Trail. My trail buddy looked at me askance as we struggled with navigation. There are many (mountain bike) side track diversions and I was less than a masterful guide. The TrailHeads offer hand drawn maps of lost wanderings, but a GPS handheld sure would have offered assurance as our aborted track resembled thus. Great area for exploration. There’s even a preservation petition.

Chappaquiddick

jogging, places

The Chappy Beach (private) club is the vistor’s first landmark. There are many expensive estates, none of which are viewable from the road by common folk. This low on the tourist radar – country loop is a quiet jog / bike ride, as the island accessible by water taxi can only convey cars 3 per trip. The Litchfield Rd section is washboard packed sand (too soft for a street bike). 5 miles.

Cape Cod

jogging, places

There are cross road choices which necessitate a route map as the Province Lands bike trail meanders sand dunes. Despite the lands end location these mountainous drifts obscure the seascape. Paved 5 mile loop with no soft shoulders.

playing the sympathy card

social

Got it figured after hearing the same spiel from the hotel van driver. The conversation starts like so:

    Driver: Where you from?
    Guest: The state of ______ .

Armed with this knowledge driver starts into team sports dialog, namely school basketball teams. This is genuine conversation starter but it leads to the colleges that his children are attending and how he struggles to pay tuition expenses, works 3 jobs… the violin starts. Can’t help pony up a better tip after such a performance. Clever. Wonder if he has kids for reals.

South Carlsbad State Beach

jogging, places

Beach Access at Lifeguard Station 29 is by steep bluff trail eroded by local surfers. The sandy portion between cliff and surf can be narrow at high tide and it is strewn with smooth water worn pebbles. There are few beach goers mostly from a camping park above. For a change of scene I made the return run topside via bike lane on the Blvd.
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