Surly Bikes
As I write this the date is March 4th, 2013 and it is snowing balls outside…. That means the season for cabin fever bellyaching is in full swing, and since we barely even had a winter here in the Twins last year people are hitting it hard and fast when it comes to complaining about how sick they are of winter. I get that, but hearing anyone complain about anything generally makes me want to stick lit fireworks in my ears so instead of joining in on the misery I try to make my day less boring. Thankfully for me it doesn’t take much to be entertained and this usually includes riding my bike someplace I find interesting.
When I was an angry young man working in the bike shop, my friends and I used to enjoy riding our bikes to remote locations where there were bridges. We would do things like jump off of them into the water below, climb around on their skeletons, invariably stop on or under these bridges and invariably we would have beers. It was a tradition that I’ve always enjoyed and continue to enjoy today. One of the innumerable awesome things about Minneapolis is the fact that there are - what science has only been able to describe as - a ‘shit-ton’ of bridges in and around the city. Access to many of these bridges is frequently under water throughout the year, but in the winter, while everyone else is complaining about the fact they can’t go to Cancun or how slow everyone drives when it snows or some other such bullshit you can busy yourself by riding your bike to these locations and goof around with your pals!
I did that not long ago and took some photos. I’m not sure where my love of riding to and hanging out under bridges comes from, but it’s there and I will not deny this part of myself. It might be the fact that I grew up in Northern Lower Michigan, a people that were referred to as “Trolls” by the Yoopers. Maybe it’s just yet another piece of regional culture ingrained in my psyche but I’m glad it’s there whatever the reason. What the present calls “infrastructure,” the future will call “ruin”, so there’s a lot of character in these places waiting to be released by the sands of time. Since it’s only seasonally available, why not go outside and admire it while it’s above water and still standing? I can all but guarantee that while you are doing this, you will have zero things about which to complain. One man’s path over water is another man’s Cathedral. Enjoy a little of the Sacrament and ride yer damn bike.
