A Short Sunday Ride

I did not setup a group ride this Saturday morning because it was too cold, so I went to spin class at St. John's with Doug and Rae. It was cold again today (34 degrees), but I headed out this afternoon because the sun was shining. I rode Jefferson to Madison to Holland; swung east to Phelps Grove Park; back to Holland southbound to the South Creek Greenway; out to the end of the greenway and back, about 19 miles. Not much distance, but it was on the road and not the trainer. I stopped at the Fred May Plaza just west of where Holland intersects the greenway. Fred was the former Springfield planning director and helped establish the greenways.















I did not ride on the greenway the entire distance. I don't like the greenway street crossings at Grant and Fort, so I ride on Sunset. There are two traffic lanes and a parking lane with few parked cars, which allow plenty of passing room for cars, although traffic was light today. There was only one jogger on the greenway east of Close Memorial Park. Someone had put a red shawl on the statue of Anne Case Drummond in the park, and there was a man keeping her company as he fed the ducks.















There were more joggers and dog walkers west of the the park, and I almost ran into a jogger who was on the right but cut across on the left at a curve. I had yelled, "On the left", but the volume on his ipod was too loud. He realized his error when I came by on his right and yelled an apology. This segment of the greenway is only six miles long. There is another paved segment further south that will be connected in the future. I don't know if the trail off the end of this paved section connects or not. It was getting late, so I headed home.