And Maybe Next Week!

Last week Bob's Barricades appeared along SW 41st Place announcing the next big step toward completion of Archer Braid Trail. Excavation for the section of ABT that will run from Tower Road to GRU's Water Reclamation Facility has begun.
When the entire project is completed Kanapaha Park will be a natural starting point for family rides to Haile Village.

ABT has become an integral part of Gainesville's bicycling community. The wooded 1.5 miles beginning at the trail head in Archer has been embraced by its citizens and it is common to see families strolling, skating and riding along that section.

The real news, though, is that paving may begin next week and will encompass all of SW 91st Street to SW 46th Blvd. and much of SW 46th Blvd. as far as the short section passing in front of Haile's Equestrian Center. The final piece of the Trail has not yet been started; parallel to Tower Road from SW 46th Blvd. to SW 41st Place.

When Do Reminders Become Memories?

"The Real Florida" is a term I hear often and, as with subjectivity, it means many things. For me it's a fascination with how people have dealt with natural Florida; it's flora, fauna and climate. There are many things nearby that speak of the way it "use ta be" and when I see them I take a picture. It might be part of my personal yearning for what "use ta be" when life was a little simpler, though, I guess assinations and wars labeled as conflicts aren't so simple.

A year ago I photographed an abandoned building, one that's familiar to anyone doing a lot of secondary and tertiary road riding. It had the look of a tobacco drying barn, but could have been used for something else. I'm neither a farmer nor a native so I don't know anything more about it than was captured in the images below.

Photographed November 29, 2012 Obvious and familiar to anyone traveling near archer on SW 143rd.

Photographed May 20, 2013 The passing a local landmark.

Photographed October 31, 2013 A reminder becoming a memory.

If you happen to be into old buildings and want a better image let me know.

More Things Seen While Riding

After a hiatus of a few weeks . . .

A recent addition to the ABT Trailhead kiosk is a small anouncement. Everyone using ABT should give support and thanks to the  4H Archer Trailblazers who are adding Litter Pickup to their community serivce project list.

Click picture to see larger image of 4H sign.

Ever wonder what the railroad equivalent of a ground crew is? Looks like it's this Flail Mower that relies on chain flails on the business end of its boom to beat grass and brush into submission.


With Trek entering the transport bike market with its longtail Transport there may be more human powered, urban utility vehicles around soon. Some people have already invested in cargo bikes. This bakfiet (Box Bike) from Clever Cycles (clevercycles.com) is dressed in the right seasonal color.

Bikes are much more than just recreational vehicles. Anyone who makes an effort to replace automobile mileage with time aboard a bicycle does as much for the world as for his or her physical condition.

Few real hills, good weather . . . Go ahead, bike my day.

Archer Braid Trail Becomes a Reality in Archer (June 15)

Until paving began in earnest I felt like the rough path to Archer was for me and a few life-style riders. I met numerous people who formerly used Archer Road to get from Archer to G'ville where they worked, shopped or . . . well . . . did something. Not people riding carbon fiber or multi-speed road bikes, but people of a wide range of ages on big box bikes, cobbled together cruisers and anything else with wide enough tires to handle the pre-paving rough surface. Now those riders will be joined by riding groups and personal best-setters and the whole area is better because of it.

Here, where the terrain is, at its worst, gently rolling and the weather is moderate to hot most of the year, many people could easily ride instead of drive. The essential requirements are access, equipment and desire. Archer Braid Trail is evidence of the kind of access that makes getting around by bike possible. Now, downtown Archer is not much further away from my front door than downtown G'ville and the trip is markedly safer. Equipment? Less than $200 will buy a satisfactory entry level multi-gear bike at one of the big box stores to begin the process of developing the desire, because desire is the greatest obstacle.

In a culture where we buy fast food and diet sodas, pay large sums to use exercise facilities and fret over which diet plan to try next, our sense of perspective is a bit skewed. I like the idea of "Eat less. Do more." Riding is very definitely something that fits in the category of "do more" and anyone within a few miles of the new Archer Braid Trail ought to look into riding as a part of developing the desire to "do more." Might turn out that you'll like riding enough to commute by bike a day or two a week. Maybe you'll save some money, too, and then you can invest in a bike from your FNBS that'll truly suit your needs and desire.

So, come June 15 at 10 AM, the newly paved, marked and signed Archer Braid Trail segment will be officially opened in Archer. And Archer got a nice thing in their backyard! About a mile and a half of rolling, shaded, woodland walking or riding that is as pleasant as a trail can be. Riders get a safe, smooth passage from 91st to the railroad crossing in Archer.

Apparently it'll be a moderately big To Do in Archer with ribbon cutting, celebrating, speech making and such. Riders should show up in force as a show of support for further bike trail development such as extending the trail to Bronson and beyond. Damn! Wouldn't it be nice to have a trail all the way to Cedar Key?

Joining When You're Not a Joiner

Never been much of a "joiner." Joined the Army in 1965 rather than be Drafted. Not sure whether being Drafted would have been better. Survived and I guess that's the among the better things for which you could hope. Decided, recently, to join the National Bike Challenge as part of the feeling that I need to advocate bicycle riding. Don't like admitting that I have gotten into the competition part of it.

I've always been competitive, but mostly against myself. When I lived in Atlanta and ran alot back in the late 70s and early 80, when running was very much a part of my life experience, I knew I could not keep up with whippet slender real runners. I was a plodder, a sub 10 minute miler most of the time, but I could run for hours. I ran because it felt good. Thirty years later my knees reject the idea running while readily accepting the limited stress associated with sliding onto a B-17.

That competitive sense has been stirred by joining the National Bike Challenge. I joined to add my mileage to the team (Go Team!), the Gainesville Bicycle Society (Gainesville Cycling Club to use its proper name) to which membership gives me a 15% discount on parts and accessories at my FNBS. Now, I am drawn to the local and national rankings and like seeing that of the 22K plus people registered, I rank in the top 1500 or so. I tend to ignore the hundreds whose names appear but have logged no mileage.

It's a good deal for someone like me since every time I slide onto my Brooks or FrankenBrooks B-17 I garner 20 points plus 1 point per mile ridden. A single trip to Publix totals 20 + 3 and I make that trip three and four times a week. This is about the promotion of bicycles as a way to make the Earth a healthier place or, as the website suggests, "the power of the bicycle to build healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy planet" (National Bike Challenge), so those of us who live the bicycle lifestyle might represent the "ground roots" of the Challenge.

Today I did a 20 something mile circuit that included the Archer Braid Tral and found that all but about one-quarter mile remains to be paved of the six or so miles. The support elements are in place at the Archer Trail Head; parking space, kiosk, sidewalk, and trail. All that remains is to pave over the tarred sand. About a dozen other riders were abroad on the Trail today and I expect it'll become a favorite of many G'ville riders.

Everyday It's Getting Closer

OK, so it's not quite done and all the false alarms have been a pain, but paving has moved into the woods east of Archer and it is now possible to ride on smooth asphalt  between SW 154th Street, the access road to Jordan Glen School, and SW 91st. The short distance from the Trail to Archer Road using SW 154th Street is a minor inconvenience for anyone riding between G'ville and Archer and it will disappear soon.

Evidence that the project is nearing completion is the installation of tactile thermoplastic warning strips at all intersections.

"Might get to Parker Road today."

Thus spoke one of the men working on paving the Archer Braid Trail

I was on the last leg of a forty mile ride when . . . well . . .  the title says it and the pictures below show it.

Except for the Trailhead in Archer, paving should be completed in time to ride unfettered from 91st to Archer on Saturday!

The Archer Braid Trail . . . Almost Here

As the Archer Braid Trail nears completion its personality develops. Approaching Archer will be a rider's delight as the trail rolls smoothly through the shaded woods. 

 

















  
Grassy berms have been installed and, weather permitting paving of the entire length could be complete by Friday. Access at the Archer Trailhead, where eventually there will be a parking area, lags behind the rest of the path because of installation or new water lines for the city.
 












Seeding beyond the berm and covering with straw will be completed just before paving commences.

Very Pleasant

Near the Trail's starting point in Archer

I t was another perfect spring day in Florida and required that I do something outside. I joined three things I wanted to do into one extended ride.

Heading toward Archer gave me an opportunity to see progress on the Archer Braid Trail after I recently discovered how much work had been done and how little remained to be completed. I hoped to be able to ride into Archer on the segment that disappearing into the woods west of SW 143rd Street. Before doing so I spoke briefly to two men working on the path. They expected that asphalt would be ordered to begin paving "sometime next week." I thanked them for doing all of this work for me and set off toward Archer.

The nature of the path changes dramatically when it enters the woods east of Archer. To that point traveling west it will be a wide black ribbon and it will be a well used black ribbon, too, but the Archer section will become one of the favorite places to ride because of the  seclusion created by the canopy of trees. Sounds of Archer Road remain a constant, but visually it will be a nice place to ride.

The starting point in Archer is much further from completion that the rest of the path. For riders accustomed to riding through Archer on one of the many GCC routes and stopping at

Not yet ready for Prime Time Riding

the Kangaroo will be comforted knowing that the path is a conveniently short distance south of the common stopping point where the railroad crosses N. University Avenue (US 41). While there is still much to do the result of the investment of money and time will be of broad benefit, especially to people living in Archer. For anyone trying to ride the path now be aware that you cannot easily exit the path in Archer, as the accompanying pictures show, but this is a minor and temporary inconvenience.

  

Looking north toward Kangaroo in Archer from unfinished starting point of Archer Braid Trail

After enjoying discovery of this portion of the Archer Braid Trail I headed north on US 41 to Newberry then east on State Road 26 with the intention of stopping at Tioga Town Center. The last time I'd had a battery replaced in my Fossil chronograph I felt the guy who did it didn't have even a hint of customer care. I knew. I knew that I could count on the people at Lang Jewelers to do the same thing and I'd feel better about the whole transaction.

When I received the Fossil as a gift it had been many years since I last wore an analog wrist watch, but reduced visual clarity made seeing time on a digital very difficult. Hand position solved the problem of telling time. Eventually, new lenses cured the problem of being able to see at all, but by then I had grown very attached to the chronograph. You say, "But it's only a battery!" I say, "Yeah, but it's no different than choosing to have work done by my FNBS" (which you all know is Friendly Neighborhood Bike Shop and that is, of course, Bikes and More). It's no different than choosing a set of Marathons over any other tires. And it's no different than making my FNBS the place to acquire 'em. Some things make more sense to me than other things do.

I got to experience the Archer Braid Trail, got my watch running again and did a very pleasant 32 miles. What a day!