Cycled across Stone Arch Bridge today for the first time since spring 2024. It’s due to officially reopen on August 9th after a $36 million restoration, but it looks like some enterprising person moved the barriers just enough for people to get through. I hope the workers are being fairly compensated for finishing the job over two months ahead of plan.
Category: Cycle
Ghost trains cross here
Out cycling, I spotted this railroad crossing sign—despite no tracks on either side of the road. I turned to Reddit for reasons. The sign should stay until the track is removed and the road repaved, helping prevent mishaps (e.g., bikes or snow plows) and limiting liability. Additionally, this preserves the right of way and increases adjacent land values. Click through for more discussion.
Lakeside breakfast
On our cycle ride, we stopped for a cooked-to-order breakfast sandwich from Bread and Pickle beside Lake Harriet. The park buildings look spiffy with a fresh coat of paint.
Cycling Hastings and beyond
After an overnight stay at The Confluence Hotel, a friend who used to live in Hastings joined our bicycle adventure. We watched the water rush past a mill in Hastings before crossing the Mississippi and cycling down to Prescott, Wisconsin, to the confluence of the St. Croix and the Mississippi. Back in Hastings, we loaded our bikes into our friend’s truck and drove back to Minneapolis.
Cycling the Mississippi: St. Paul to Hastings, MN
We took the LRT to St. Paul then cycled to Hastings, enjoying lovely glimpses of the Mississippi along the way. A friend joined us for the last 10 miles before we checked into The Confluence Hotel in a repurposed industrial building beside the river.
My atomic bike tour
The word “Atomic” inspired a less-traveled cycle route via Atomic Tattoo, Atomic Data, and Atomic Recycling. For now, I have to stay a bike’s-length from people while excess radioactivity works its way out of my system.
Beyond the forecast: pedaling the Mississippi
Despite an iffy weather forecast, a friend and I set out on a bike ride from near where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers meet. Our route took us downriver, past St. Paul and three miles beyond to our turnaround. The journey included fanciful Mexican animal sculptures at Raspberry Island, a pleasant coffee shop (despite being out of pastries), and a paddlewheeler with a functioning sternwheel. And, it didn’t rain.
Standing on a bridge to nowhere
Near the start of a cycle ride with a friend, we stood 680 feet out over the Mississippi on this bridge. Behind me, the bridge abruptly ends mid-river. The Rock Island Swing Bridge had two decks when it opened in 1894: a railroad above and a road below. We capped off our morning at a friendly coffee shop where we indulged in way too much cake.
Time to hit the trails
With a high in the 80s, it was time to pump up the tires, lube the chain, and get out on the trails with a friend.
Cycling around a caldera lake
Rode a mini-shinkansen bullet train (slower until it hits the much faster Tohoku line to Tokyo) for an hour from Akita, then a local bus. Cycled 20K around Lake Tazawa. With minimal wind and a properly tuned hybrid bike, the ride was easy and offered lovely views of this deep (1,400 feet), clear caldera lake–the deepest in Japan.