I miss biking

From May 2008 until January 2009 I was able at my work to telecommute. There are a few drawbacks but for the most part it was an additional raise.

I was able to claim an hour and a half back from my day in not having to commute by car. My work is in Fenton and it is outright dangerous to even contemplate trying to bike to work additionally it would be quite awkward once I got there to try and chance into street clothes.

Once I was able to work from home I sold my car (actually a Jeep Wrangler) and bought a bike. For the next 7 months my family was a one car family and it was great. If I needed to go somewhere and the Fit was not available I would just hop on the bike and get where I needed to go.

St. Louis is a wonderful place to bike, most of the streets are light traffic there is a detailed and well marked bike St. Louis map which provides signage and in some places dedicated bike lanes to get almost anywhere in St. Louis.

Alas it is now winter and I have a car and I find it much harder to force myself to go for a ride when I could just take the car.


picture credit randomduck: http://flickr.com/photos/rudiriet/140898286/

What did you do this weekend.

Just a question as I am certain all of us in some way or another went about our daily lives independent and unaware that we all seemed to follow the same script.

I like many needed to run a few errands this weekend. I needed to purchase groceries, I went out to eat; I visited family, went out with friends, and I attended church.

Though not always practical for many reasons all of these activities were located within walking or a reasonable biking distance from where I live.

How many items of the every sort not including your employment isolate you from your community and pin you to the automobile.

This weekend Sara and I learned that behind the Urban Eats Cafe at 3301 Meramec there was the original street car turn around loop for the grand route. What a shame to no longer have such a great and simple transit system in our city and ironic too as my step mother pointed out that many street cars across the county (including in San Fransisco still in operation) were originally made by the St. Louis Street car company.

Clang Clang Clang goes the trolley.

Crossing Paths

I've had two conversations over the last two days with people whom I work with who all have some connection to south city area and it reminds me how deep many peoples attachments are to the city in a more than just visceral way.

I also realized that although both no longer live in the city they still have many fond memories and seem to appreciate on a deeper level the idiosyncrasies of urban living. I initially would have stereotyped both of them as just being run of the mill suburbanites when in fact both have much more investment in this community than I.

As guilty as I am of attacking the mindset of those who live amongst sprawl I must first remember the old adage that everyone is master to me in at least one thing it for me to discover what it may be.

One of the greatest charectoristics of the city is not just the present interactions derived but the knowledge that so many before you walked these very same streets and lived their lives in the very enclaves we call home.