The Falls

Date: Mar 11 Sun
Mileage: 21.5 (Bleriot)
March mileage: 95.5
Year to date: 535.5

Another great day for a ride, with sunny, sunny skies and a crispness in the air. Morning temps were in the mid-40sF, so I dressed appropriately in layers so I could peel off the warmth at some point. I decided to explore a bit of Indiana today as my destination. At some point I guess I need to do more mileage, but right now I'm pretty satisfied with these exploratory rides in the city. Of late there has been debate about the various bridge issues here in Louisville, several of which include cyclists' issues (or don't) and how they can use new or updated infrastructure. Since I crossed one of them today, I'll give a quick run-down:

• 2nd-Street Bridge- that's the one I crossed today. It's 4-lane, so seemingly adequate for cyclists, but there have been complaints of tire-eating joints and today I almost experienced that. I thought these folks were just weenies on 20C racer tires, but wow, those joints look like the teeth of the dragon. I hit the front rim on one, but the tire held sway. That's the 2nd time I thought I would get a pinch flat on the CdlVs, but they've held up. Right now this is a cyclist's only option to cross the river on bike.

• Big-4 Bridge. This is a disused railroad bridge that's connected to the Louisville Waterfront Park. The plans are pretty firm that this is going to be made into a pedestrian/bike/etc. walkway that crosses the river. Major complaints are that this will be very non-transportation oriented. It will be a pedway built for recreation and will not be in the least bit conducive to commuting. Many fear that, with this, cyclists will be barred from the Second Street Bridge.

• K&I Bridge. This conjoins the Riverwalk in Portland, but presently is closed to all traffic (non-train I guess). The long-term hope is to create a riverwalk loop on the Kentucky side and Indiana side to be able to cross the river at this point on foot/bike/etc. It's also somewhat less busy than the downtown bridges (it's perhaps 3 miles west).

• New Eastern Bridge. The Big Deal the last several years is to build two new bridges in Louisville, one downtown to help traffic on the I-65 corridor, where it's most needed, and to also build one in the east end of the county closing an outer ring interstate. This one, of course, is massively championed by the forces of Development, Development, Development to open up lands far and wide to $@#$ subdivisions and their soul-leeching powers. This is one of those political boondogles that may never happen. Point is, at one point it was supposed to have pedestrian/bicycle access on a major interstate bridge.
  

All this is speculation. Very recently there was a big to-do because some monies were taken away from providing bicycle access on the one of the "real" bridges and moving that money to the Waterfront Park bridge. Most "real" cyclists see this as a step backwards, b/c no body will commute in what amounts to a park with a bunch of dumb-ass non-transportation elements.

Well, here are some pics from today:

(I lied. I'm too lazy to load the pics. Maybe later)