As I rode into the sun, I worked my way east through many stop signs and side streets, eventually wrapping south as the sprawling suburban scenery clashed with the northeastern boundary of the six lane. In that surprising corner, I found an industrial section with some very nice s-curves, six in a row, and I took them at speed and smiled the whole way through. Back in the suburban landscape and back on my route to anywhere, I thought about heading further towards the river valley, only a few miles east now, but decided instead to head towards a midtown lake I know well. I parked for a bit to take in the sunrise.
Curious about the contrast, I cut south towards the city again, working my way through an ever-converging urban network of roads into downtown St Paul. The Sunday morning traffic had started to come up by then, and I was competing with busses, church traffic, downtown taxis, and more. From there the Summit area, then University, following the bisecting trolley line, and then onward we explored, my Bandit and I, for another hour or two.
From this bike, it seems I can blend into the landscape of anywhere and visit for a while without their sometimes-harsh realities having the time to 'stick' to me. Poor areas, rich areas, in-between areas. My ride took me through all of them, and left me feeling privileged to have such a 'world view' from this saddle.
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