Originally Posted by
Smaug1
Because it's one of the club's slower group rides, 12-14 mph average.
Jeez...that should have occured to me.
Originally Posted by
Smaug1
That's either a long commute, or you're hitting it pretty hard, for a commute!
I like to keep a quick pace. Actually, I can't help it. I'm a quick walker, too.
Originally Posted by
Smaug1
...it's such a shame that there on the eastern range cities, you have that great bike infrastructure, but the bums took it over, so you can't even really use it properly. I don't understand why they would want to camp RIGHT ON or adjacent to the bike path, instead of on some relatively softer, more concealed area...
The indigent population tends to congregate on the infrastructure near social services. Downtown Colorado Springs is bookended north and south by major soup kitchens with the trail system connecting the two. Unfortunately for me, my office is just off the intersection of two major highways, so the trail goes under the highways, plus the on and off ramps. In the winter the underpasses shield the wind, and in the summer they block the sun. The on and off ramps provide prime panhandling locations, and the creek that runs alongside the trail provides washing and bathroom opportunities, and probably hydration, also. Further from downtown where the trails diverge from the waterways you can see camps down near at the waterline. The trails often follow old rail lines because they've been flattened and graded, and the old rail lines followed the water sources for the steam locomotives. I have finally come to terms with the brief inconveniences of homeless camps on or near the trails, the exception being when the trail is completely blocked, or people are congregating in locations where they are obfuscated by darkness or infrastructure.