Friday, October 03, 2008

I'm getting so peeved with the road construction and it is not from a motorist point-of-view, but from a bicyclist point-of-view! Being from a family of engineers, I am normally very patient with road construction. I see the need to fix the roads and I gladly take the detours. However, it just seems like there is a conspiracy this year because these construction projects seem to be placed so strategically between my home and my job, on the roads that I typically use to bicycle to work. Then, just when I become accustomed to my new, alternate route, yet another project begins to block my alternate route - this happens again, and AGAIN and AGAIN!!! C'mon people, what is going on here?!?

First they closed Lake drive at the East Beltline, so we started going around the west side of Reed's Lake (that is when I saw the turtles, remember?). Then they finished that project, open he road for a bit and then closed the same road between a little further east, between the East Beltline and East Paris. Back to our alternate route on the west side of Reed's Lake. Then they closed the intersection of Robinson Road and Cascade road, so we took Lakeside. Then they closed Lakeside, so we started going around the east side of Reed's Lake. Yesterday morning we
found that they closed Reed's Lake Blvd. We were able to take the pedestrian pathway that was along that section of the road, but then yesterday afternoon they had a big pile of dirt across the road and a big piece of construction equipment across the entrance to the pathway. I was LIVID! I'm tired of this!!! My patience has reached its limit!!! I'm sure it is a conspiracy!!! Boyce would say, "probably a Republican." (That is quite likely given that this is WEST Michigan.) I'm thinking it is probably some motorist who hates bicycles on the road and is peeved that we're still bicycling to work in October in 40-degree temperatures. But I'm not caving!!! We're going to keep riding! Even if we have to ride 5 miles out of our way, up hill in both directions, in the rain, we're going to keep riding. If nothing else but just to win this battle of wits!!!



. __~O
. - \ <,
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"Work to Eat, Eat to Live, Live to Bike, Bike to Work."


(See attached file: Construction.jpg)

3 comments:

JimR said...

Arghh!! My sentiments exactly!!!

Unknown said...

Want me to get you a "permit" to walk your bike thru the construction zones? :)

Shawn said...

Tom, I don't think that would help! We normally come thru before or after the people working on the site are gone for the day and they block everything off with fences, huge piles of dirt and heavy equipment.

Next year, we want to be on the scheduling committee!