Originally Posted by
Zedoo
This is part of a 12 mile commute I had many years ago, with a more recent pic. I usually left the paved path, crossed the field, and took a twisty muddy bumpy and partly downhill shortcut through the woods past the abandoned crane. Then I was back on straight pavement for most of the remaining 10 miles. Going back up that shortcut in mud and snow sometimes exceeded my biking ability.
That brings back memories of my early childhood, when we lived in Oakland County. I remember a lot of family picnics at Bloomer Park, and autumn visits to the cider mill. I'm glad they've left a lot of parkland and the trail system as the area urbanized. When I was a kid, there were still a few farms around there between the subdivisions. Rochester and Utica, even Farmington, were more like small towns than continuous suburbs.